Shoulda Books

Jonathan Faircloth Kirk
  • 5.0 (46)
  • Books

The podcast about all the books you shoulda read by now.

  1. Oct 1

    40. "Sense and Sensibility" in the age of AI slop

    Sense and Sensibility is over 200 years old. But it speaks to the current moment in ways both obvious and surprising. In this episode, I explore some of the ways this book has become even more relevant in recent years, and in a Shoulda Books first (and probably last), I attempt to do some math.   Sense or Sensibility... What if Jane Austen Had to Choose?: https://lithub.com/sense-or-sensibility-what-if-jane-austen-had-to-choose/   The Economics of Jane Austen's World: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol36no1/toran/   "Have I Been Rightly Informed?—Is It So?" Information, Privacy, and Responsibility in Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-43-no-1/anderson/ for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks   books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.   Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780141439662 join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   this month, we're reading Carrie by Stephen King https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781984898104 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  2. Sep 24

    39. talking Zadie Smith, Raymond Chandler, and Peter Sellers with Below the Fray

    Blake Lefray (from the excellent YouTube channel Below the Fray) joins the show to chat about Dr. Strangelove, mass market paperbacks, suburban feuds, and more.   Follow Blake's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BelowTheFray   Follow Blake's substack: https://belowthefray.substack.com/   for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks   books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.   Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780142410332   The Trial by Franz Kafka https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9789363113756   On Beauty by Zadie Smith https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780143037743    join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   this month, we're reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780141439662 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  3. Sep 17

    38. Christian fiction was...strange

    today, I'm revisiting some of the Christian fiction that shaped both me and some of the listeners. if you grew up going to youth group and checking Plugged In to see how many swear words The Bourne Supremacy had…this episode is for you. topics discussed include The Shack, Babylon Rising, the John Birch Society, Frank Peretti, and more.   check out my new short film "Green Sky Bastards", starring Miles Bonsignore, on the Shoulda Books Patreon. you can sign up for a membership for $4.99/month, or buy the film a la carte for $3. https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   this month, we're reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780141439662   next month, we're reading a TBD Stephen King book for spooky season follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  4. Sep 10

    37. I read my former boss's spicy book (STRANGE BEDFELLOWS)

    author and screenwriter (and my former boss on many a set) Amanda Mortlock joins the show to talk about her steamy new novel Strange Bedfellows, the tropes she can't stand, His Dark Materials, and possibly the most whimsical heist of the century.   in the ad-free, extended version, Amanda and I discuss our shared lore in the halcyon days of Verizon's Go90 streaming service. check it out on the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks pre-order "Strange Bedfellows", available everywhere September 22 via Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Strange-Bedfellows/Amanda-Mortlock/9781668205778   follow Amanda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandydemoo/   follow Strange Bellows on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@strangebedfellowsbook books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.   The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780440418320   The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780385490818   The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781101981634 join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   This month, we're reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780141439662 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  5. Sep 3

    36. trust me, BELOVED is worth the effort

    today I'm talking about the most challenging book I've read so far in 2026, Toni Morrison's Beloved.   for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks   books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.   "Beloved" by Toni Morrison https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400033416   join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   This month, we're reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780141439662 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  6. Aug 27

    35. no country for old podcasters

    filmmaker Jason Nguyen talks mythology, Cormac McCarthy, and the…interesting place where he loves to read most.   follow Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonnguyentv/?hl=en   check out Room 105: https://room105media.com/ for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks   join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   This month, we're reading "Beloved" by Toni Morrison https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400033416 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  7. Aug 20

    34. reacting to your hot book takes w/ Will Witwer

    Will Witwer returns to answer listener questions, respond to hot book takes, and rant/rave in general about our "twist-based" society.   follow Will on Instagram because he's going to learn how to dunk: https://www.instagram.com/wwitwer/?hl=en for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   This month, we're reading "Beloved" by Toni Morrison https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400033416 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

  8. Aug 6

    33. The Odyssey and the End of Reading

    Today, I'm examining Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey, comparing it to the film, and taking a look at the relevance of oral storytelling in a world where no one reads anymore.   for early, ad-free, extended episodes, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks   "Democracy, Neo-Orality, and the Unraveling of Political Norms: What Can We Social and Political Scholars Do?" by Jacqueline Fendt https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=143088   "The End of Reading is Here" by Rose Horowitch https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/reading-crisis-postliterate-age/687618/ books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission. "The Odyssey" by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson: https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780393356250 join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw   This month, we're reading "Beloved" by Toni Morrison https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400033416 follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/ follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks   follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en   Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

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5
out of 5
46 Ratings

About

The podcast about all the books you shoulda read by now.

Information

  • Creator
    Jonathan Faircloth Kirk
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Shoulda Books

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