This episode, Stephanie and Meg discuss VAMPIRES. Are they back? Are they even scary any more? Did Twilight ruin vampires for good? We dive into the short story anthology Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite to see! This collection is focused on taking the vampire mythos away from the cliche European, hetero vibe and twisting it into new and inventive ways! While some do not quite live up to this exciting idea, overall these are a lot of fun to explore.  Next Episode: Tim and Ollie discuss Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray while Stephanie and Meg take a small break!    Judging Book Covers Podcast is now part of Certain POV Network! Please check out our sister podcasts and give us all some love!  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Judging Book Covers Podcast

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova

Despite our inching towards summer, Stephanie and Meghan are joined by Victoria Lucia to get in the mood for some fall spooks! For this round of our Read Harder challenge, we read Small Spaces by Katherine Arden! We talk about whether we as both 6th graders and as adults, how much we love and want to protect all three of our protagonists, and how much this book reminds us of our love for middle grade horror!  Next Book: Vampires Never Get Old, edited by Zoraida Córdova  Judging Book Covers Podcast is now part of Certain POV Network! Please check out our sister podcasts and give us all some love!  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram and guest:  Victoria's Twitter | Victoria's Blog Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

This week Stephanie and Meg read Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas!  First, there are some serious content warning for this book: the main character has to deal with a family who hasn't accepted that he is transgender. Major CW for misgendering, discussions of dead names, and other issues with families that only see the binary. We discuss how wonderful this magical community is, falling in love with a dead boy, when is it appropriate to go to school during a murder mystery, and how bad ass a best friend can be!  Next Book: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden Judging Book Covers Podcast is now part of Certain POV Network! Please check out our sister podcasts and give us all some love!  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

This week Meg and Stephanie are joined by Network co-host Matt Limerick to discuss If the Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman! We loved discussing this fat positive romance that is also not based in the US! We discuss our love of these cinnamon bun characters, the way tropes are diverted, and also a healthy discussion of our love of Bucky/Winter Soldier/White Wolf! Next Book: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Judging Book Covers Podcast is now part of Certain POV Network! Please check out our sister podcasts and give us all some love!  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Our Guest: Saturday Morning Confidential Podcast | Instagram | Twitter | Linktree Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

If The Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman

This week Stephanie and Meg dive into the world of fan fiction! We went with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic as it is a fandom we both know and love; however, we do not openly support Joss Whedon.  For this week, we read a short retelling of season 6: Even Death is a Shadow of Forgetting by redcheekdays! It is Stephanie's first fanfic, so come listen to see if she enjoyed it or not!  Next Book: If The Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman Judging Book Covers Podcast is now part of Certain POV Network! Please check out our sister podcasts and give us all some love!  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Buffy Fan Fiction

To celebrate our 100th episode, we are putting aside our read harder challenge in order to read a book about the 1920s and GHOST MURDERERS! We read The Diviners by Libba Bray, with two of our favorite all time guests, Ollie Brady and Tim Lowe! Tim dresses up in fashionable pilgrim clothes 1920s clothes and Ollie lectures Meg about her book choices!  Next Book: Buffy Fanfic! Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Find our guests:  Tim's Twitter | Minds at Yeerk Instagram | Best Acquaintances' Facebook Group Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Thank you for letting us take some time to deal with personal problems! We are back with an exciting fantasy book called Black Sun. We are so excited to share this book with listeners! Fantasy with gods and cults and massive ships! Meghan and Stephanie discuss how good it is to see a fantasy book where women are allowed to be themselves and where queer and non-binary people are allowed to just exist.  Next Book: The Diviners by Libba Bray Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Stephanie and Meghan take a spooky turn in their reading challenges! This week we read The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike! This Japanese book falls somewhere on the horror/gothic spectrum, and we had a blast discussing haunted apartment buildings and basements. Don't go into your basement alone at night! CW: Discussion of animal deaths, ghosts, horror  Next Book: A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-Sex Love in America by Leila Rupp Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike

Stephanie and Meghan continue to dive into Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge! This week we read a nonfiction book about anti-racism: Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper! This book differed from the anti-racism books we've read in the past, as it discusses primarily black women and how we need change our focus and thoughts about them.  CW: Sexual assault and rape are discussed in this episode.  Next Book: The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

Judging Book Covers kicks off our 2021 Reading Challenge: The Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge! Our first challenge up is a book that intimidates us, and we went with the recommendation of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro!  We talk about what intimidates us in books, did this book make us cry, whether we believe in love in this book, and clones!  Next Book: Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The biggest duh ever: 2020 was a rough year. Stephanie and Meghan both had pretty big issues during the year, but chose instead to remember the good things they experienced!  This episode includes Judging Book Cover's 2020 favorite:  Books TV Shows Podcast  Music As well as a discussion of what we are doing in 2021!  We are going to be doing Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge for 2021! Check out the episode for which books we are doing in January!  Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

JBC 2020 Wrap Up

After a long delay, we have a LONG EPISODE! Stephanie and Meghan read Scott Sigler's Mount Fitzroy,  the sequel to Earthcore, which we read and loved a few years ago!!  While this book is only out in audiobook, it is 30 hours long!! Which means heads up: this episode is LONG. And we do talk spoilers. So this is your fourth warning that we do discuss spoilers!  Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

2020 JBC Challenge: A Longterm Sequel Release

For Stephanie's birthday, we decided to read an advance copy of the newly released How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole! Because this podcast stans Alyssa Cole almost more than anyone else?! This is a new spin off of her Reluctant Royals series, and there are so many characters that pop up! We also talk about how great it is that Cole can blend social commentary into a romance novel in ways that actually had us taking notes.  Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

2020 JBC Challenge: A December Book

This week Stephanie and Meg read Memorial by Bryan Washington! This book has recently been released, so there is a bit of a spoiler warning. But don't worry - we break it out into a non-spoilery and then spoilery conversation. This book addresses relationships in a hard light, both romantic and family. Lots to unpack here!  Content warnings: Parental (Father) death, cancer, abuse, tough family relationships, break ups Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

2020 JBC Challenge: Memorial by Bryan Washington

This week Meghan and Stephanie read How to be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi! This book discusses challenging your way of thinking so that you are continuously getting better and better. It discusses the different kinds of racism, and how we can achieve becoming antiracist.  This episode was recorded prior to the election, and while we try to not let our feelings out, it is definitely a tense discussion at times! And then it was delayed because we were too focused on the election.  Judging Book Covers Podcast stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, and if you are looking for black owned bookshops, please check out these links:  50 in 50 Black Owned Bookstores A More Current List  Find us on the web: Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | Email: judgingcoverspodcast@gmail.com Find our hosts: Meghan's Twitter | Stephanie's Instagram Network Information:  Certain POV Network | Discord Link | 

2020 JBC Challenge: Essays

Judging Book Covers Podcast is a podcast hosted by Meghan Griffin,  featuring two new guest every month. Each guest picks a book to make the other two read and discuss, getting people outside of their comfort zone.