Books That Burn

This fortnight we’re discussing “Extras” by Scott Westerfeld.  Book CW for anxiety and gaslighting.  Topic 1: Frizz - Compulsion. Begins at (0:50), CW for compulsion, gaslighting, discussion of trauma response, anxiety.  Topic 2: Aya - Social Anxiety. Begins at (8:15), CW for anxiety.  Topic 3: Aya - Loss of Privacy. Begins at (21:21), CW for loss of privacy, anxiety.  Promo for Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:50).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Specials”, book three of the Uglies Quartet by Scott Westerfeld.  Book CWs for ableism, discussion of eating disorders, major character death. TW for self-harm.  Topic 1:  Specials, Shay, Tally - Emotional extremes (emotional inhibition). Begins at (0:50), CW for self-harm, medical condition description, medical abuse.  Topic 2:  Zane - Ableism. Begins at (18:42), CW for ableism, discussion of cosmetic surgery, character death.  Topic 3: Shay - Cutting/self-harm. Begins at (33:48), CW for self-harm, medical condition description, medical abuse.  Promo for Bad Songwriter Podcast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (48:18).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

*This interview was conducted in mid-2020. As of late 2022 this author's name is August Clarke, you may find future publications under that name or as H.A. Clarke. Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Hannah Abigail Clarke, discussing their new book, "The Scapegracers". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. (Read The Transcript) Intro (0:00) Can you tell us a little about your book? (0:35) Can you talk a little bit about the way trauma works in your writing? (1:08) Do you feel that trauma for the sake of trauma is valid for characters to go through or be put in stories or does it always need to be plot related? (2:24) Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (4:10) How do you decide what a character's reaction to traumatic events is going to be while writing them? (5:48) When depicting types of queerness that you do not share, do you check them with members of those communities? What do you use to guide those depictions? (9:03) How do you approach incorporating “visible” queerness in your work? (10:45) Do you have a thought process on approaching ace or [aro] characters? (12:20) What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? What do you do to make it go beyond social coding (or not)? (17:20) Have you ever had a character surprise you with their appearance/identity after you started writing? (18:38) What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? What do you do to make it go beyond social coding (or not)? (21:20) Do you consider your character’s body image and/or physical description when depicting them and their traumas and how others treat them? (23:45) --- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 --- Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (27:48) Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shout-out? (29:54) What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (30:06) Where can people find your work? (31:46) --- Check out Hannah Abigail Clarke's website for more info about his writing, You can follow them on Twitter and Instagram, or check out her Goodreads profile. The major work discussed in this interview is Hannah Abigail Clarke's debut novel, "The Scapegracers". --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.  You can find Robin's written review of The Scapegracers at Reviews that Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.  

This fortnight we’re discussing “Pretties” by  Scott Westerfeld.  Book CW for for discussion of eating disorders, self-harm.  Topic 1:  Zane - Brain damage, headaches/migraines. Begins at (0:50), CW for physical injury, memory loss, abuse, drowning.  Topic 2:  Tally and Zane - Surveillance, loss of privacy. Begins at (13:51), CW for abuse by control, privacy violation.  Topic 3:  Tally - Food denial behavior. Begins at (27:01), CW for anorexia, bulimia, purging, food control, self-harm.  Promo for Drinking and Screaming; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:28).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld, the first book in the Uglies Quartet (shout-out to anyone who remembers when this was officially a trilogy).  Topic 1: David - Loss of home. Begins at (1:25), CW for loss of parents, loss of home.  Topic 2: Tally - Self Esteem. Begins at (11:26), CW for surgery, lack of self-esteem based on looks, intentionally cruel nicknames, systemic cruelty.  Topic 3: Tally - Consent. Begins at (25:51), CW for surgery, coercion, lack of consent.  Promo for Midwest Meltdown; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (43:55).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Virtual Vandals” by Diane Duane. This is book one of the series "Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers".  Topic 1: Stunted emotional growth. Begins at (1:30), CW for discussion of classism and classist perspectives.  Topic 2: Threat of physical harm. Begins at (16:44), CW for vehicular manslaughter, threats of murder.  Topic 3: Neurological damage. Begins at (25:32), CW for physical danger, shock, and brain damage.  Promo for Garrett Talks to Himself; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:06).  ---  Read the transcript here. If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Please enjoy the spoiler-free (or at least spoiler-light) portion of our interview with author Shaina Krevat. Timestamps are marked for the interview questions.  Introductions (0:00) Brief description of books written by Shaina Krevat (Tales of Mundane Magic). (0:15) Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (2:10) Do you plan traumatic events ahead of time for your characters or do they just unfold as you write the story? (3:17) Do you ever put in traumas for representations sake, to work through things you've experienced or to "flesh out" a character? (4:40)  Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (7:55)  Do you have a good example of a marginalized culture in your books? (9:20)  What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color? (12:05)   Have you ever had a character surprise you with an aspect of their identity after you started writing? (16:08)  (Building on the last question) Have you ever had that happen with appearance or with racial or cultural identity? (17:58)  When building your characters’ identities, what aspects did you intentionally include? (20:00)  Do you consider your character’s body image when depicting them and their traumas? (22:10)  Bridget has one mundane eye and one eye that only sees magic. Is there a difference in how she navigates the world when she's in mundane areas vs areas with concentrated magic? (26:42)  Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references (either that exists in our world or under specific rules in your world)? (29:30)  What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your published books? (36:20) Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (37:55) What types of books are you interested in reading more of? (39:18) Pluggables and Outro (40:00)   ---  Check out Shaina Krevat's website for more info about her writing, Tales of Mundane Magic also has a website. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook,  Instagram, and Tumblr, or check out her Goodreads profile.  Major works by Shaina Krevat discussed in this interview: "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume One", "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume Two",  "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume Three".  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.  You can find Robin's written reviews of Tales of Mundane Magic;  Part One; Part Two; and Part Three at Reviews that Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds. Robin has been looking forward to this episode all year, ever since it was recommended to them by a very helpful librarian when they went home for Christmas 2019. We're pleased to report that the book was as good as they were told, and we're excited to share our discussion with you.  Topic 1: Mom - Death of family members. Begins at (1:30), CW for self-harm, gun violence, murder, revenge killings, death of family members.  Topic 2: Will - Premeditation of murder. Begins at (11:30), CW for ideation about death and violence.  Topic 3: Will - Cycle of violence: Revenge edition. Begins at (22:00), CW for gun violence, revenge killing, trauma on readers.  Promo for Infectious Groove; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:10).  ---  Read the transcript here. If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Welcome to our first discussion episode, the topic is J. K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series. Please read the CWs in the show notes below before proceeding with the episode. Take care of yourselves, and we understand if you need to skip this one. This episode is mainly for people who are currently unaware of or just learning about J. K. Rowling's problematic nature and rampant transphobia. When we recorded this, in early July 2020, JKR had been putting out at least one transphobic tweet for almost a month and a half and doesn't show any sign of stopping. We focused our discussion on portrayals of bigotry and trauma in the main Harry Potter series, with some discussion of the contents of her recent tweets. This book contains specific spoilers for the first book, and general spoilers for the full Harry Potter series. Discussion topics/CWs: Fatphobia (linking large body sizes with laziness and cruelty) Child abuse (food restriction and malnourishment, denying meals to a minor, locking a minor in a confined space as punishment) Racism (anti-Black and anti-Asian racism, specifically) Antisemitism (portrayal of Gringotts Goblins) Slavery (House Elves) Betrayal (implications of JKR's actions) ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Kingdom of Gods”, book three of The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin.  Topic 1: Kahl - Abandonment. Begins at (0:50), CW for abandonment.  Topic 2: Sieh - Loss of Innocence. Begins at (17:00), CW for loss of innocence.  Topic 3: The Arameri - Cycle of Violence: Colonialism Edition. Begins at (27:20), CW for slavery, colonialism.  Promo for Too Many Captains; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:25).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.   

This fortnight we're discussing "The Broken Kingdoms", book two of "The Inheritance Trilogy" by N. K. Jemisin.  Book TW for body horror, massacre, genocide.  Topic 1: Shiny - Suicidal Tendencies. Begins at (0:50), CW for suicide, self-harm, mention of cutting, death, murder.  Topic 2: Oree - Kidnapping. Begins at (12:08), CW for kidnapping, ableism, indoctrination, threat of murder, loss of autonomy.  Topic 3: Oree - Guilt / Body as a weapon. Begins at (25:03), CW for weapons, mention of sex, death, loss of autonomy, guilt.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:07).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we bring you “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms”, book one of "The Inheritance Trilogy" by N. K. Jemisin.  Topic 1: Enslavement and Constraint. Begins at (1:30), CW for enslavement, incest mention, "one drop rule" mention, torture, death, description of magical disembowelment, visceral description of physical torture.  Topic 2: Yeine - Ostracization, Isolation. Begins at (24:00), CW for ostracization, death, abandonment.  Topic 3: Yeine - Atmosphere of Cruelty. Begins at (34:45), CW for description of physical magical disembowelment, animal cruelty example, murder.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (46:00).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Part one of our interview with author M. D. Neu. You can find part two by supporting us on Patreon.

This fortnight we bring you our discussion of "Salamandastron", our highlight episode from the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques.  *Book TW for viral outbreak and quarantine, with fever.  Topic 1: Epidemic - Dryditch Fever. Begins at (1:30), CW for plague, fear of death, child in danger, sickness, death.  Topic 2: False accusation. Begins at (14:45), CW for child punishment, false accusation, murder, terrorizing others, threat of physical violence, weapons.  Topic 3: Parent/child relationships. Begins at (24:30), CW for threats of murder, child abuse, verbal abuse, rage, descriptions of violence.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (38:45).  ---  Read the transcript here.  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we bring you our discussion of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", a stand-alone book by Robert A. Heinlein.  *A brief vocabulary note: The term "Loonies" is used throughout the book (and our discussion) as a term for residents of the moon. This term has a historically ableist context in modern English but is not used derogatorily in the book.  Topic 1: Marie Lyons - Rape and murder. Begins at (1:30), CW for rape, gang-rape, murder, police mention, mention of sex slavery. *Discussion contains an explicit quote from the text.  Topic 2:  Mannie - Racism. Begins at (20:35), CW for racism, police/jail mention, discussion of deportation, mention of assault.  Topic 3: Mannie - Ableism. Begins at (32:30), CW for ableism, description of missing limb, loss of autonomy.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:35).  ---  Read the transcript here. If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.