No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 46



No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 46th episode of No Improvement, we discuss three episodes of season 2 of The Good Place: "Team Cockroach," "Existential Crisis," and "The Trolley Problem."

Next week, we will be talking about episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the second season of The Good Place.

Subscribe on iTunes!

All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 27

All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!

In the 27th episode of All in Good Storytime, we finish "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour. In these chapters, Marin's enigmatic past and the truth of her grandfather's death finally reveals itself. Marin explains that shortly after Mabel left for college her grandfather drowned himself. Marin discovered that his half of the house was filled with her dead mother's pictures and belongings and that the letters he had exchanged with "Birdy" were really letters he was writing to her mom. The novel ends with Mabel's parents joining them in New York and successfully convincing Marin to join their family.

We discuss whether or not Marin's grandfather was manifesting an extreme form of grief or if he was mentally ill, why it took more than just Mabel to convince Marin to come live with her family, and our desire to see more interaction between Marin and Mabel's parents to make the ending feel more realistic. We end by theorizing that Marin's grandfather didn't die and has been living in the dorms this whole time.

Next, next week (the first weekend of February) we will be reading from the beginning up to (not through) the section "Jennifer Silver" of White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi.

Subscribe on iTunes!

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 45

No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 45th episode of No Improvement, we discuss the first three episodes of season 2 of The Good Place: "Everything Is Great!" (Part 1), "Everything Is Great" (Part 2), and "Dance Dance Resolution."

Next week, we will be talking about episodes 4, 5, and 6 of the second season of The Good Place.

Subscribe on iTunes!

All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 26

All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!

In the 26th episode of All in Good Storytime, we continue by reading chapters 7-15 of "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour. In these chapters, we learn how Marin and Mabel's romantic relationship quietly developed during their senior year of high school, that for unknown reasons Marin's grandfather was apparently lying about having a pen-pal named Birdie, and that Marin and her grandfather were both aware that he was seriously ill but they never truly discussed his illness. We discuss possible explanations behind Marin's grandfather's story about having a pen-pal and the reasons that Marin never explored his half of the house.

Our top theories are that her grandfather was a serial killer who kept his victims under the floorboards, or that he was a sad, lonely man who never learned how to cope with his grief following the loss of his wife and daughter and expressed his sadness in unconventional ways. We also discuss the implications of Mabel's offer that Marin should move in with her family and her suggestion that they could live together as sisters, despite having had a romantic relationship. We end by building on our previous prediction that the novel will end with Marin agreeing to come to live with Mabel and with Marin experiencing some sort of emotional catharsis thanks to Mabel's winter visit.

Next week we will be reading chapters 16 through the end of We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

Subscribe on iTunes!

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 44


No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 44th episode of No Improvement, we discuss the final three episodes of season 4 of Black Mirror: Hang the DJ, Metalhead, and Black Museum.

Next week, we will be talking about the first three episodes of the second season of The Good Place.

Subscribe on iTunes!

All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 25

All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!

In the 25th episode of All in Good Storytime, we begin reading We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. In these chapters, we are introduced to the mysterious Marin, who is spending her winter break at school in New York instead of returning home to California. As she says goodbye to her new friends for the break, she prepares for a visit from an old one. We slowly start to uncover why Marin had a falling out with this friend (Mabel) and the story of Marin's former life with her grandfather in California. 

We discuss the implication that Marin and Mabel were romantically involved and what that means for the future of their friendship, we question Marin's seemingly trauma-fraught relationship with her grandfather, and we observe the stark differences between the warmth and inclusive nature of the surfer community and Marin's distant relationship with her grandfather. We share a tense tale of one  of our own encounters staying in a college dorm during a school break and fighting off wasps, and we end by making predictions regarding what form the climax of this novel might take.

Next week we will be reading chapters 7-15 of We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

Subscribe on iTunes!

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 43



No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 43rd episode of No Improvement, we discuss the first three episodes of season 4 of Black Mirror: USS Callister, Arkangel, and Crocodile.

Next week, we will be talking about the first three episodes of the fourth season of Black Mirror.

Subscribe on iTunes!

No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 42



No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.

In the 42nd episode of No Improvement, we read and discuss the YA mystery novel One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. Namely: its many twists and turns, and what we thought of the book overall. Have you read it yet? Who did you suspect?

Next week, we will be talking about the first three episodes of the fourth season of Black Mirror.

Subscribe on iTunes!