The Book Was Better

I discovered this one a little late, but it has become my go-to podcast when I want to listen to something a little lighter. It's fun to learn about these novelizations without having to read them, and the incidental discussion is consistently amusing as well.

A long running podcast with a great concept: discussions of novelizations of movies. You would be amazed how different the book versions of movies are- and the secrets they reveal: Gremlins are aliens! Terminator was filled with hot, graphic sex! ET hated Elliot! The host, Luke, is a well oiled podcasting machine, and the revolving stable of cohosts always bring a different feel to each episode, keeping things fresh. Kick your feet up, crack open a hamburger, and give it a go!

I've been listening to "The Book Was Better" for a little over two years and have gotten a huge amount of pleasure from the show. It's changed and evolved a bit over that time, but the core concept has remained the same: the hosts review and crack wise about the novelization of movie. The movies are diverse -- good and bad, old and new, popular and obscure -- and the novelizations are similarly varied, ranging from quick cash-grabs targeted at pre-teens to proper adult novels (sometimes even a bit too adult, so to speak), with prose ranging from the cringeworthy to the surprisingly evocative. So though the format is similar to what one gets with any "bad movie" podcast, there's a lot more variety in the objects of scrutiny than you might expect. It also helps that, unlike movie podcasts that might only occasionally intersperse a couple of clips or trailers of the film they're discussing into the episode, "The Book Was Better" is able to read quite a few selected passages and unintentionally hilarious sentences from the books and give you a much more direct feel for what the book is actually like, which means you can get a lot out of any episode even if you haven't read the novelization (which, of course, you probably haven't), or even if you haven't seen the movie. Luke Milton and his guest hosts are very funny, but they also bring some genuine analysis to these books and actually engage with them -- it's a comedy podcast, but it genuinely delivers on its premise rather than just using it as an excuse to do improv. Indeed, the first thirty or so episodes almost work as a course in the stock techniques and devices of novelization writers. Later episodes don't focus quite as much on hashing out the craft of novelization, since the rules get pretty well sorted out in that first year of episodes, but you still get regular insights into the tropes of characterization and cultural stereotypes as well as the novelization genre's eternal need for padding, padding, and more padding. If you're interested in writing, interested in film, interested in pop culture, and if you like your comedy mixed with a dose of cultural criticism (or vice versa), I highly recommend "The Book Was Better."

I have the dubious fortune of working at a place where my job is so dull that I can listen to podcasts for eight hours a day. After spending far too much time listening to every stray piece of internet audio passing my way, I've decided that this podcast is my absolute favorite. Jess and Luke are hilarious, and they deserve to be named the new mascots of Piggly Wiggly. I propose a letter writing campaign in support of their coronation!