Cracked Spines
Crack open a good book with two wise-cracking besties. Sarah and Cyrus are two queer English majors who use their degrees to commit crimes against literature.
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Episodes
129 episodes
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
We are pleased to announce this is NOT an episode about Mortal Kombat. You might be surprised at the challenge that presented. It is, however, an episode about the phenomenal science fiction political thriller, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady ...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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51:42
Animorphs Part 3: It's All Uphell From Here (Books 11-19)
Hi, guys! We read more Animorphs. Don't...look at how long its been since the last one. In this episode: Trauma! Murder! Elaborate set pieces! These kids are fighting a war they can't tell anyone about, and they are handling it so well. We disc...
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Season 3
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Episode 37
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1:10:48
Danmei Beatdown!!
This week on Cracked Spines, Sarah did all the dang work and presents to Cyrus volume one of three Chinese danmei series for their consideration: The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, and You've Got Mail: T...
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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44:14
The Book of Billl (and More!)
Well, guys. The third of our recorded episodes about Gravity Falls. This is really our Return of the King. Cyrus and Sarah discuss media in-ties for a children's show--Journal Three, Lost Legends, and The Book of Bill, all written by Alex Hirsc...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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1:05:34
"That's Life!" A Harrowing Tale of Triumph, Humiliation, and Gravity Falls
What does a feel-good video about compassion in nursing, a trainwreck of social ineptitude at the site of a roadside attraction, and the television show Gravity Falls all have in common? Well, they're all in this episode, kinda funny, and someh...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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59:39
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
In today's episode, Cyrus bullies Sarah into reading a book she really enjoys. Sucker! For fans of pining, fealty, political maneuvering in a fantasy setting, and panic attacks, you can't go wrong with A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowl...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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46:47
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
This week, we're reading Nat Cassidy's second horror novel about vampires, babies, and New York real estate that is so completely not ADA compliant. With special guest, our friend and resident horror book recommender Katie! Talking points inclu...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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1:03:26
Alien Romulus: We did not like The Man
Cyrus saw Alien Romulus and loved it so much they immediately went back to see it a second time; Sarah saw Alien Romulus and experienced an internal crisis about the state of feminism in 2012. Somehow, we reconcile these two experiences. <...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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1:13:44
This Is Not An Episode About Dungeon Meshi (lofi)
It makes a valiant effort to try to be, but ultimately fails. We're rusty! We took the summer off! We're just vibing! We're so rusty that frankly the audio on this episode is maybe our worst ever. We're working on it, guys. We come...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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51:42
Illumicrate Book Subscription Box
Is there anything better than receiving package in the mail? Well, it helps if you actually enjoy the stuff inside of it. Cyrus and Sarah discuss three months worth of Illumicrate subscription boxes with the ultimate conclusion that maybe this ...
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Season 3
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Episode 30
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49:43
He Who Drowned The World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Oh my GOD we finally read this book. And it was good! But we are not without thoughts. Turns out 400+ pages of characters hating themselves is occasionally a bummer. Cyrus flip flops on the topic of duologies. Sarah is weirdly positive about th...
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Season 3
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Episode 29
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1:09:08
Ex Marginalia: Essays from the Edges of Speculative Fiction
This week we read Ex Marginalia, a collection of essays edited by Chinelo Onwualu that focuses on the experiences of marginalized creators writing speculative fiction. In addition to talking about our favorite essays, we discuss everything from...
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Season 3
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Episode 28
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59:47
A Rube Goldberg Machine for Self-Crucifixion
The episode title actually doesn't refer to the whole concrete and flooring situation Cyrus has got going on in the basement. This week, we're talking about Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke and Other Misfortunes, a collecti...
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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45:40
Dungeon Meshi by Ryoko Kui
Who's hungry? This week we're sampling the delights of Dungeon Meshi, aka Delicious in Dungeon, a manga by Ryoko Kui. 50 percent of our podcasting duo is scared of eating zucchini, while the other 50 percent would probably give boiled boot leat...
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Season 3
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Episode 26
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50:00
WE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND FORGOT HOW TO READ
I mean, look at the title. What do you want us to say. This is not a traditional episode so much as it is a 50 minute apology-brag about the most exciting thing in our lives right now. We bought a house, and Cyrus is single-handedly tearing it ...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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50:00
The Whole Milieu of Frances Hardinge
This week on Cracked Spines, we discuss SO MANY BOOKS by British children's fantasy writer Frances Hardinge. Sarah gushes over the strange little girls and bizarre worlds of the books. Cyrus finds a character who is Tobias from Animorphs but so...
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Season 3
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Episode 24
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50:32
Animorphs Part 2: High Stakes Moral Crises for Children
This week we're discussing books 6-10 of Animorphs. This includes The Capture which is a great piece of sci-fi horror that hit Cyrus' preteen brain like a comet. It also includes the first Megamorphs, which isn't a master...
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Season 3
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Episode 23
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1:10:49
Translation State by Ann Leckie
Gender, self-determination, and law drama collide in Ann Leckie's Translation State! Your hosts rank their favorite characters; unsurprisingly, Cyrus was head over heels for pro-vivisection Qven, whereas Sarah was charmed by Enae's swagle...
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Season 3
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Episode 22
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57:25
2023 End of Year Wrap Up Lamentation and Vows
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, guys. It's time for us to discuss the best of what we read, our disappointments, and what we're planning on next year. Cyrus discovers they're making good progress on their reading list for next year, but onl...
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Season 3
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Episode 21
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1:04:29
Animorphs Part 1: Baby's First Existential Dread
Thanks to our generous benefactors on Patreon, we're embarking on our journey to read and discuss the entire 54-book Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate, plus at least a few of the extra...
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Season 3
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Episode 20
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1:01:22
The Real Horror is Marriage but the Clones Don't Help
This week Sarah and Katie (wait whomst? guest host filling in as Cyrus is sequestered in Spain!) discuss two books that are basically the same idea, prepared two different ways: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente and&...
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Season 3
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Episode 19
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1:01:28
My Best Friend's Exorcism
First things first, this is Sarah and I say an incorrect fact at the end of the episode, the Catholic Church actually updated their guidelines for exorcisms in 1999. Second off, hello, hi, this week, we're discussing My Best Friend's E...
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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1:00:27
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Sorry, We're Still Obsessed
Whoops! Your hosts are still totally under the sway of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. This episode, we recap the series as a whole from our favorite characters to which of the cast would bomb the worst at improv comedy...
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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1:01:43