Smug Book Club

Manga, eh? Anime, yeah? Why is it when the ‘Murricans get their grubby hands on it to adapt for their screens, they always seem to balls it up? Do they even know what they’re doing with it? Is it all just a culture clash? Or is there a slither of merit in what they’re creating?

Callum and Ryan (somewhat) answer these questions, alongside their standard literature chit chat.

Another author has stepped off this mortal coil, a differe...

Callum and Ryan are back again! In the spirit of chatting about more ai and some dodgy poetry, they thought they'd just let ChatGPT sort out this week’s episode description. Enjoy!

In the realm of words and stories, a tale unfolds,
Where Very Novel's hosts bring insights untold.
Callum and Ryan, their voices intertwined,
Unveiling the podcast's latest episode in kind.

They ventured into a literary terrain,
Where politics and music'...

No podcast for sad men? Well, there’s always this one. Cormac McCarthy died, and Ryan and Callum are bummed. But it’s okay – they have each other to talk about the man’s legacy and what made him so darn special.

There’s also some encyclopaedia chat, as well as an honest assessment of some kneejerk review bombing following Elizabeth Gilbert’s decision to pull her upcoming Russia based book from publication. You can also expect the u...

Yee-haw! It’s time to saddle up for another Very Novel. Down at the ranch Callum and Ryan are rounding up the latest book stories for y’all. Like why are they banning the ol’ bible in schools across the pond? Why are young fellas not getting the diverse reading they need? Why is Ulysses such a pain in the chaps to get through? And why did we make this episode description cowboy themed? Only one of those questions doesn...

It’s another round of Very Novel — and Ryan and Callum are snapping into the spines of some fresh book chat.
 
This week, we revel in the joy of a thriving independent bookshop scene, and contemplate the pitfalls of online reading challenges and book tracking. We pay our respects to Martin Amis — a dude we know virtually nothing about — while the Bradford Literature Festival is washing its hands clean of their AI artwork controvers...

Your boys are back with a fresh take at what’s going on in the world of books.

This week, a storm in a teacup involving Bradford Literature Festival and Midjourney has us anticipating the wider implications of AI in literature, we ponder the point of displaying fake books in your gaff, and what the hell are revered writers like Neil Gaiman getting up to in their spare time? (Spoiler: it’s writing other things, mostly).

We also chec...

Hello, what’s this? It’s only a new flippin’ topical book series, right here on the feed, featuring your two favourite book boys. Every fortnight we cover the latest book news, opinions and titbits, all the while going, erm, nose deep in our current reads. What’s not to love?

In our debut episode, we talk recent censorship woes, Matthew Perry’s latest desperate attempt to sell his book, and the reasons people get so wound up over t...

Uh oh. UH OH. It's our yearly update on our favorite books, but... it's almost a year late.

Look, we can't be perfect all the time, so you're just gonna have to accept this wonderful content whenever it rolls around.

So... what were the best novels we read in 2021? Well, those were:

• Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

• Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi

• The Song Of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

• Middlemarch, by George Eliot

• Nickel Boys, ...

Okay, yeah, we may actually be closer to 2022 than 2020, but when do the Smug Book Club boys let tradition stand in the way of a good time?

No, that's not a rhetorical question: WHEN? ANSWER US, WHEN?!?! (Spoiler: never).

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter when we released this episode, because books are nearly always good. And damn, do we have some good recommendations for you.

So, in no particular order, here's a lis...

WATCH OUT, WOOOOOOORMS!

That's right, the Smug Book Club boys are back and talking about one of their all time favourite novels: 'Dune,' by Frank Herbert.

In this bumper-length episode (that just means we talked a whole load of nonsense for ages), we cover a veritable smorgasbord of topics. This includes:

• Our experience with Dune
• FRANK HERBERT FACTS
• What happened in 1964 (well, two things)
• How the story holds up today
• Whether ...

HEY THERE!

Never read 'Twilight?' Or has it been a long time since you have? Or maybe you just fancy a refresher on Stephanie Meyer's famous novel?

Well, you're in the right place, friend.

Why? Because this is a SYNOPSIS episode where we break down all the pertinent plot points from the sparkly vampire novel, meaning you can listen to the main episode, peaceful in the knowledge that you know what the hell we're talking about.

So, s...

Whip out your white party make-up and glitter, it's 'Twilight' time!

Yes, you read that right, the Smug Book Club boys (or are we now men?) have focused their laser sharp wits on Stephenie Meyer's classic vampire novel.

This work of Young Adult (YA) fiction is one of the most famous books of the last 20 years — and, potentially, ever — so the time was nigh to finally give it a read. Oh, and the fact Meyer also recently released ano...

Yes, after a long hiatus, the Smug Book Club boys are back!

But rather than our normal approach where we review and analyse a book, we're doing something a little different. So, strap yourself in and get ready for a breakdown of our 6 favourite books we read in 2019.

That means 3 from Callum, and 3 from Ryan. Because, you know, fairness.

So, what are these 6 glorious novels? Well, in no real order (I can't remember what sequence we...

Have you been wondering what Bill Clinton has been up to? He’s been writing thriller novels!

And have you been wondering what those loveable scamps at Smug Book Club have been up to? Why, trying to get their heads around this abject mess that Clinton has produced, of course!

It’s taken a few months, though.

And with such a dismantling due, they’ve resorted to the tried and tested method that only they know best: The Dirty Dozen. Wh...