Terrible Book Club

Chris & Paris
  • 3.9 (63)
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Terrible Book Club

Join Chris & Paris every other Tuesday to discover if you really can judge a book by its hideous cover, bad title, or weird synopsis. Support TBC on Patreon

  1. JUL 1

    Points of Origin by John L. Orr *Patron’s Choice*

    Paris is on the case again this week! Our Patron Patrick requested that we read and review Points of Origin saying, “This book was written as a fictional story about a fictional investigator trying to catch a serial arsonist who was terrorizing California in the 1980s. The author was a[n] actual fire investigator at the time and this [was] based off of real events. Literally real events! Because it turns out the author John Orr, the arson investigator, was [convicted of being] the real life arsonist…This book was even used during his trial. In the book he had knowledge about the crimes which weren't available to him and [he] wouldn't have known. At one point in the book the author slipped up and switched from 3rd person to first person when talking about one of [the] victims." Thank you so much for supporting the show, Patrick! We hope you enjoy this very special true crime episode of TBC. We owe some additional thanks to the rest of our patrons whose funding allowed us easier access to extra research material for this episode. All hail the patrons! Remember that if you, too, would like to have us read and review a book of your choice on the show, you can gain that power by joining our Patreon at the appropriate tier. Today’s episode includes our usual barnyard language in addition to arson, fires and their fetishization, infidelity, murder, sexual assault, and other sexual themes. Links & References: Firebug podcast by Kary Antholis and his team from truth.media Burned by Frank C. Girardot, Jr. and Lori Kovach Orr

    1h 36m

  2. JUN 17

    Just Call Me Orville: The Story Of Orville Redenbacher by Robert Topping *Patron's Choice*

    Get out your corn kernels and hot oil, today, folks, 'cause we're goin' poppin'! Today's book comes to us from our longtime Patron Arrant who said, "I read [something] that might be fascinating for you guys rather than simple bad: "Just Call Me Orville" by Robert Topping, which is about the life and rise of Orville Redenbacher. Yes, the Popcorn guy. I quite enjoyed it and I was surprised by how fascinating and genuine he was as a person. And if anything, it fits into the weird food universe since he's so synonymous with the popcorn brand that people didn't even realize he was a real man and that was his real name." Chris tries to tell Paris all about Orville in this surprisingly laugh-a-minute episode about farming, business, and food marketing in the early-mid 20th century United States. Still, we must beware the Butter People as they are afoot once more. Legend has it that to banish them, you must chant, "Baby, is it anymore popcorn?" three times into the nearest popcorn machine or, failing that, the last pan you used to pop corns.

    1h 28m

  3. JUN 3

    Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland *Special Guest Mary Parker*

    Chris was called away on a years-long shipping voyage by a conniving relative, so he can’t be with us today. In his stead, Mary returns! You may remember her from such episodes as this past October’s The Phantom of Manhattan, 2021's Die Hamletmachine, and our now beloved E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in His Adventure on Earth episode from 2023. We discuss our experience reading Fanny Hill by John Cleland, originally published in 1748 and since routinely banned as the first known published English-language erotica. Mary found a copy of this in a little free library years ago and since then, it has taken up permanent residence in her mind and she has talked about it off and on. I figured it’d be a fun one for the show since we, somehow, have yet to feature 18th century erotica on TBC. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes coerced/trafficked sex work, graphic sex, and sexual assaults as this book is mid-18th century pornography. Links & References: Fanny Hill in Bombay: The Making & Unmaking of John Cleland by Hal Gladfelder Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson Joseph Andrews and Shamela by Henry Fielding Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue by Marquis de Sade Juliette by Marquis de Sade

    1h 37m

  4. MAY 20

    The You You Are: A Spiritual Biography of You by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, PhD (the book from the AppleTV Show Severance) - Episode 218

    We revert to our previous format this week with both Chris and Paris reviewing today's book. The You You Are: A Spiritual Biography of You was published in the last week of January of 2025 by Apple Books and immediately caught our attention since Paris has been obsessed with Severance since it debuted and Chris was recruited into the madness this year. We thought it would be fun to check out a prop from a TV show that had become a real book. Listen as we do Ricken's self-help exercises and become severed in real-time! If you are trying to keep yourself completely pure before watching Severance, there are some mild Severance spoilers from early in Season 1 between 1:12:00 - 1:15:45  Links & References The You You Are: A Spiritual Biography of You by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, PhD Dr. Dolly Chugh: How to let go of being a "good" person — and become a better person

    1h 25m

  5. MAY 6

    Who Killed the Fonz? By James Boice *Patron’s Choice*

    This week, Paris turns up the Perturbator records, dons some aviators and a trenchcoat, and heads out into the rainy nights of 1980s Milwaukee to help our Patron Fred. Fred wrote to us saying, “...the sheer notion of a murder mystery with Happy Days characters that is apparently officially sanctioned by whoever owns the rights is enough to give me pause. I can’t even find any information about why th[is] book was made and I just end up asking myself, “Who is this for?” because while I don’t doubt that Happy Days still has a large fan base, I don’t think many people would want to read a book about how one of the best characters on the show gets murdered.” We hope you enjoy this episode, Fred! Thank you so much for supporting TBC. Remember that if you, too, would like to have us read and review a book of your choice on the show, you can gain that power by joining our Patreon at the appropriate tier. Today’s episode includes our usual barnyard language in addition to infidelity, kidnapping, murder, and one brief moment of drug use. Additional Links: Interview with James Boice (2011) Interview with James Boice about his writing of Who Killed the Fonz? (2019)

    58 min

  6. APR 22

    In The Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland *Patron’s Choice*

    Chris has to travel to another reality again today - this time, it's a Grecian fantasy world that isn't actually Greek! Speaking of Greece, thank you to The Metal Classicist Dr. Jeremy Swist for pronunciation help on today's episode. Our Patron Austin sent Chris on this voyage through the world of In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland for his Patron's Choice this year saying this was, "...a book about a girlfailure who ends up step-cousins to the royal family, all of which become inexplicably interested in either becoming her friend, f*****g her, or both. Some highlights includ[e] a first chapter that involves fucking on top of a two story gazeebo, an island of vaguely celtic wizards who all have anime hair and eyes, a love interest who does that scene with JOI and the prostitute in Blade Runner 2049, and distracting your ghost bodyguard by almost flashing your t**s at him." We hope you enjoy the episode, Austin! Thank you for your longtime support of TBC. Remember that if you, too, would like to have us read and review a book of your choice on the show, you can gain that power by joining our Patreon at the appropriate tier. Today’s episode includes our usual barnyard language in addition to discussion or mention of blood, corpses, death/dying, necromancy, and sex.

    1h 26m

  7. APR 8

    A Live Reading of The Horse of the Invisible from Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson *Special Guests D & Ken of Antiques Freaks*

    Nearly 5 years ago to the day, we reviewed The Horse of the Invisible with our very best podfriends the Antiques Freaks. Years later, we realized that we had never actually read the story aloud as we had promised you, as we've done with all the other Carnacki stories. Once again, we were wrong - there is yet one more 'nack to Carn, so the Terrible Antique Book Freaks assembled anew! Dust off your Carnacki Bingo cards and enjoy a second round of the gobble-neighing contest, all set to the impeccable scoring and SFX talents of Chris (Oselka Sound). If you haven't had enough invisible horse after you listen to this episode, you can also hear our review of the story from April of 2020 in Episode 83 - The Horse of the Invisible from Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson *Special Guests D & Ken from Antiques Freaks*

    1h 19m

  8. MAR 25

    The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

    The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson has been floating around in the American pop cultural stew for the last 22 years. Paris had always been interested in reading it, so when it happened to be in a pile of books some friends were giving away, she heeded the call of our dark lord and tossed it on the schedule for 2025. Get on your fancy new bicycles, affix a lightbulb to the front, grab a can of PBR, and somehow also balance a bowl of Shredded Wheat while you're at it for a wild journey from the 1880s through the early 20th century. Paris leads us through Larson's dual accounts of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and its Director of Work, Daniel Hudson Burnham, alongside the Chicago years of "America's first serial killer", H.H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett). If you think you know the Holmes story because you already read this book or saw some TV dramatization - you don't. Together, we'll discover that misinformation and disinformation have suffused this story for 120 years (and counting)! Thanks to Ken from the Antiques Freaks for helping me down the research rabbit hole & to Adam Selzer for a stellar book, without which much of our disappointment in and suspicions of Larson's tale would not have been justified and relieved.  In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes swindling/fraud, infidelity, sexism, racism, and murder. Links & References: H.H. Holmes: The History of the White City Devil by Adam Selzer

    2h 16m
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3.9
out of 5
63 Ratings

About

Join Chris & Paris every other Tuesday to discover if you really can judge a book by its hideous cover, bad title, or weird synopsis. Support TBC on Patreon

Information

  • Creator
    Chris & Paris
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2025
  • Episodes
    216
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 Terrible Book Club
  • Show Website
    Terrible Book Club

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