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Unfortunately Required Reading

Unfortunately Required Reading

By Unfortunately Required Reading

Review and relive the books that made you cringe in school, but now with cocktails and sass.
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Victory Gin and Rats to the Face

Unfortunately Required ReadingJan 19, 2019

00:00
46:44
Basically, Just Real Life in Late Stage Capitalism (Fahrenheit 451)

Basically, Just Real Life in Late Stage Capitalism (Fahrenheit 451)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Mar 16, 202401:35:09
Episode 110: I Bet on Losing Dogs (Lady Chatterley's Lover)

Episode 110: I Bet on Losing Dogs (Lady Chatterley's Lover)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Lady Chatterley's Lover, sex politics, and what DH Lawrence means by a "crisis."


Feb 17, 202401:16:09
Strong Independent Pilgrim (Little Women)

Strong Independent Pilgrim (Little Women)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, and the myth of typical femininity.

Jan 20, 202401:31:27
A Bug's Life (Metamorphosis)

A Bug's Life (Metamorphosis)

This month Amanda and Victoria discuss Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, traumatic childhood abuse, and the utterly depressing life of Franz Kafka.

Dec 17, 202301:19:58
This Time, We Want to Join a Cult (or Build a Submarine)

This Time, We Want to Join a Cult (or Build a Submarine)

Baron Von Cheeseplate returns to discuss 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne with Amanda and Victoria.

Nov 12, 202302:22:45
Do You Want to Get Sued? (The Shining)

Do You Want to Get Sued? (The Shining)

For Spooky Month Amanda and Victoria discuss Stephen King's infamous work The Shining, alcoholism, hotels, and Stanley Kubrick.

Oct 07, 202302:24:37
A Whole New World (Brave New World)

A Whole New World (Brave New World)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, ethnobotany, drugs, and enough weird stuff to fill a 2-hour podcast.

Sep 09, 202302:06:56
Episode 104: Paper Folding Peace Signs (Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes)

Episode 104: Paper Folding Peace Signs (Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, as well as the atomic bomb and the lasting effects on America and how it is viewed internationally.

Aug 19, 202301:25:12
Look Down (Les Miserables)

Look Down (Les Miserables)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Victor Hugo's massive fan fiction, Les Misérables.


Jul 22, 202301:22:59
Is the Movie Better? (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Is the Movie Better? (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Happy Pride!


Jun 10, 202301:06:56
Animal Harm (Animal Farm)

Animal Harm (Animal Farm)

This month Amanda and Victoria discuss George Orwell's Animal Farm, and the historical events that inspired it.

May 20, 202301:37:03
F*** You, Mark Twain

F*** You, Mark Twain

By some miracle, we made it to 100 episodes. This week we discuss Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and wonder why we give this book to children.

Apr 22, 202301:31:46
I Dreamed I Went to Mandalay Bay Last Night (Rebecca)

I Dreamed I Went to Mandalay Bay Last Night (Rebecca)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.


Mar 30, 202301:10:01
Death From Above (The War of the Worlds)

Death From Above (The War of the Worlds)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss HG Wells as The War of the Worlds.

Mar 18, 202301:56:01
The Ultimate KGB C*ck Block (Doctor Zhivago)

The Ultimate KGB C*ck Block (Doctor Zhivago)

This is the reuploaded version of our episode on Doctor Zhivago. Some listeners advised the end had been cut off by our editing software. Thank you! 

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the drag that is Doctor Zhivago and why it was so scary to the USSR.

Feb 26, 202301:19:29
A Guide to Why Your Black Friends Are Exhausted (A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas)

A Guide to Why Your Black Friends Are Exhausted (A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas.

Feb 12, 202301:31:39
The Return of Two Host One Mic (The Secret Garden)

The Return of Two Host One Mic (The Secret Garden)

Amanda and Victoria FINALLY get to record together in person for the first time in....almost three years?  Welcome back with The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We discuss ableism, rest cures, and the garden metaphor. 

Jan 21, 202350:59
A Thinly Veiled Cult Metaphor? (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

A Thinly Veiled Cult Metaphor? (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

This week Amanda and Victoria read a book that managed to break Victoria, Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Jan 07, 202353:50
Cottage Core White Girl Fantasies (The Witch of Blackbird Pond)

Cottage Core White Girl Fantasies (The Witch of Blackbird Pond)

Amanda and Victoria discuss The Witch of Blackbird Pond and why Kit definitely would have been found guilty of witchcraft in Connecticut.

Dec 18, 202258:20
Being a Mermaid is Just One Giant Metaphor, Isn't It? (Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid)

Being a Mermaid is Just One Giant Metaphor, Isn't It? (Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the uncomfortable dating history of Hans Christan Andersen...wait, we mean The Little Mermaid. 

Dec 11, 202201:19:43
Do Androids Dream of Dick? (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

Do Androids Dream of Dick? (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

This week Amanda and Victoria read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick, the book that was adapted loosely into Blade Runner.

Nov 19, 202201:11:43
So You're Saying I Can Dodge? (Neuromancer)

So You're Saying I Can Dodge? (Neuromancer)

Amanda, Victoria, and special guest Baron Von Cheeseplate discuss William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Nov 06, 202201:34:03
Trauma All the Way Down (The Haunting of Hill House)

Trauma All the Way Down (The Haunting of Hill House)

This week Amanda and Victoria cover spooky season with Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House.

Oct 23, 202201:10:09
Episode 88: It Was a Monkey? (Murders in the Rue Morgue)

Episode 88: It Was a Monkey? (Murders in the Rue Morgue)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe for Spooky Season.

Oct 08, 202256:09
These are the MF Jokes (Oedipus Rex)

These are the MF Jokes (Oedipus Rex)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sophocles' work Oedipus Rex (aka Oedipus the King) and make surprisingly few jokes about incest.

Sep 24, 202201:17:35
Sexting in the Time of Cholera (Love in the Time of Cholera)

Sexting in the Time of Cholera (Love in the Time of Cholera)

This week Amanda and Victoria read Love in the Time of Cholera.

Sep 10, 202201:08:45
Encanto with Incest (One Hundred Years of Solitude)

Encanto with Incest (One Hundred Years of Solitude)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the most beloved Latin American novel of all time, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Aug 13, 202201:19:02
Sartre Diem (No Exit)

Sartre Diem (No Exit)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sartre's one-act play No Exit.

Jul 31, 202201:16:02
A Night with Uncle Tennessee (The Lady of Larkspur Lotion)

A Night with Uncle Tennessee (The Lady of Larkspur Lotion)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Tennesse Williams' one act play, The Lady of Larkspur Lotion. 

Jul 23, 202201:06:14
Mimosas are Not the Only Brunch Beverage (Oranges are Not the Only Fruit)

Mimosas are Not the Only Brunch Beverage (Oranges are Not the Only Fruit)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

Jul 01, 202201:09:59
Getting Dragged by Gods (the Iliad)

Getting Dragged by Gods (the Iliad)

This week we discuss the Iliad for Pride month. 

Jun 18, 202201:29:53
nolite te bastardes carborundorum (The Handmaid's Tale)

nolite te bastardes carborundorum (The Handmaid's Tale)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and despair.

May 28, 202201:16:07
Another Robbie Burns Inspired Book (Of Mice and Men)

Another Robbie Burns Inspired Book (Of Mice and Men)

This week Amanda and Victoria unpack Of Mice and Men, the exploitation of the American worker, and the utter exhaustion of existence.

May 14, 202201:06:32
Like Ducks on a Frozen Pond (Catcher in the Rye)

Like Ducks on a Frozen Pond (Catcher in the Rye)

This week Amanda is drug kicking and screaming into a book they didn't have to read in school and Victoria has flashbacks to dating people who need therapy.

Apr 23, 202201:07:25
Being an Adult at 13 Sucks (Dicey's Song)

Being an Adult at 13 Sucks (Dicey's Song)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the heartbreaking book Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight.

Apr 09, 202242:23
Irish Catholic Childhoods are Hard (Angela's Ashes)

Irish Catholic Childhoods are Hard (Angela's Ashes)

his week, Amanda and Victoria discuss the memoir Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Mar 26, 202201:10:16
Unfortunately Apt War Allegory is a War Allegory

Unfortunately Apt War Allegory is a War Allegory

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Art Spiegelman's Maus and the Holocaust. 

Mar 12, 202201:08:55
And Nothing Has Changed Since 1974

And Nothing Has Changed Since 1974

This week Amanda and Victoria are exhausted and discuss James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk.

Feb 19, 202201:11:06
A thinly veiled excuse to talk about Cruel Intentions (Dangerous Liaisons)

A thinly veiled excuse to talk about Cruel Intentions (Dangerous Liaisons)

This week Amanda and Victoria decide to discuss Cruel Intentions instead of Dangerous Liaisons.

Feb 05, 202201:18:32
Button-Induced Trauma (Coraline)

Button-Induced Trauma (Coraline)

This week Amanda and Tori unpack Neil Gaiman's Coraline, and a lot of childhood trauma in the process. Oh god, those button eyes.

Jan 22, 202201:05:16
Bet You're Pronouncing It Wrong (Eugene Onegin)

Bet You're Pronouncing It Wrong (Eugene Onegin)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Alexander Puskin's Eugene Onegin and celebrate a delayed birthday month. 

Jan 08, 202248:34
A Different Goddess in Every Port or Group Projects are a Nightmare (The Odyssey)

A Different Goddess in Every Port or Group Projects are a Nightmare (The Odyssey)

This week Amanda and Victoria tackle the Odyssey and the audacity.

Nov 27, 202101:32:11
 The Amount of Descriptors Tax My Wits

The Amount of Descriptors Tax My Wits

You've waited. You've watched. BARON VON CHEESEPLATE RIDES AGAIN! This week Amanda, Victoria, and the Baron (aka  Jason) return to discuss Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Nov 06, 202101:37:50
Really Close Friends, Roommates, Just So Close (Carmilla)

Really Close Friends, Roommates, Just So Close (Carmilla)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Carmilla by J. Sheridan le Fanu.

Oct 30, 202101:26:24
Spooky Incel Sh*t (Sleepy Hollow)
Oct 16, 202101:15:60
The Very Worst Suicide Squad Film (A Separate Peace)

The Very Worst Suicide Squad Film (A Separate Peace)

This week Amanda and Victoria continue pain month with John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace. It is not peaceful. 

Sep 18, 202150:07
Only Legal in Washington State (Equus)

Only Legal in Washington State (Equus)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the Peter Schaffer play Equus and question our life choices. 

Sep 04, 202101:07:13
All Loud on the Eastern Back

All Loud on the Eastern Back

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss World War 1 and The Erich Maria Remarque book All Quiet on the Western Front.


As mentioned in our content warning this week: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/hotline

Aug 21, 202101:22:28
I Am Not Feeling Good (Things Fall Apart)

I Am Not Feeling Good (Things Fall Apart)

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. 

Aug 07, 202101:14:27
Behold the Cathedral in Which I Grove My F***Bois (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Behold the Cathedral in Which I Grove My F***Bois (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

This week Amanda and Victoria go through the slog that is the Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

Jul 24, 202101:34:32