Watchmen is, without question, the most unique book to be up for discussion on Just In Case We Die. Of all the tomes to ever appear on the curated list, Watchmen is the only comic book. Originally released as twelve individual issues, the final collected volume premiered at the end of 1987 and has subsequently become one of the most consistently-reprinted graphic novels of all time. It also managed to win the Hugo award and find a spot on Time Magazine‘s list of 100 Best Novels as one of the most influential English-language books since 1923. Not bad for a comic book, eh?

Well, not every comic book is superhero nonsense intended for children. Knowing this, Rodney hand-selected this influential work for discussion this month. What exactly is Watchmen? What makes this influential work literary enough to stand amongst the likes of Dickens, Faulkner, and Haruki Murakami? Did Rebecca like this book? Have Aaron and Rodney gotten her to climb aboard the comic book train?

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It is February 2026. This means that this is the first episode of the fourth season. It also means that Rebecca has a pre-arranged prior commitment and cannot join the cast for their bonus discussion.

While the cat’s away . . .

This seemed like a perfect opportunity to bring Rodney’s friend Joe Tavano, former sci-fi podcaster and self-avowed expert on all things J. R. R. Tolkien, in for a discussion about two books that Rodney and Aaron knew that Rebecca would vehemently veto. Those books are The Hobbit and all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (#s 538 and 714, respectively), novels that are very near and dear to the hearts of all three participants in this month’s discussion.

They discuss J. R. R. Tolkien. They discuss his rivalry with contemporary C. S. Lewis. They discuss the myriad differences between science-fiction and fantasy. They discuss their personal experiences with the discovery of this tremendous work of art. They talk shit about a very famous modern fantasy novelist. They also geek out. Big time.

It’s a fun and lively discussion that gets season four off to a great start!

The final episode of the third season features one of the world’s most successful writers. The author of novels, short story collections, works of nonfiction, children’s books, and comics, Margaret Atwood has been topping bestseller lists and wowing prize jury judges for more than six decades. Few Canadian writers have enjoyed the success that she has made seem easy.

This discussion is an interesting one. Aaron is already a fan of Margaret Atwood. Neither Rodney or Rebecca have read her before. All three enjoyed this novel, but all of them walked away from it with differing opinions on its meaning, impact, and importance. Is this a feminist novel? Is Margaret Atwood even a feminist at all?

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If there is one thing that everyone here at Just In Case We Die can agree on, it’s this: Haruki Murakami is one of the greatest contemporary storytellers. Japan’s best-selling novelist, Haruki Murakami has made an international name for himself with thought-provoking, meaningful narratives that explore loneliness and the nature of love within the warm, surreal embrace of magical realism. He is the author of fifteen novels, five story collections, and five works of varied non-fiction– and that’s just a catalog of the work that has been translated into English!

This month, in the penultimate episode of the current season, Just In Case We Die celebrates this beloved writer’s 77th birthday with a lively discussion, paying tribute to his body of work, cultural impact, and vivid imagination.

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This month’s book up for discussion involves one of the strangest novels to ever be featured on Just In Case We Die. It’s a crass, vulgar, and irreverent  commentary on American media wrapped up in a misguided and confounding allegory written by an Australian author who somehow managed to beat Booker Prize-stalwart Margaret Atwood for Britain’s most distinguished literary prize.

Confusion aside, this is a really good novel that made the cast laugh, think, and shake their baffled heads. How did this novel manage to woo the judge panel of the Booker Prize in an almost-unanimous majority? Especially if the judges already knew about DBC Pierre ‘s past. You are simply not going to believe what Aaron’s research uncovered!

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Remember last December when the crew at Just In Case We Die celebrated the holidays and National Read A New Book Month by combining both into one gift-giving effort? Well, they decided to do that same thing again (even if two of them still haven’t finished the books they were given last year).

Classic titles, obscure titles, novels by authors who have been mentioned repeatedly on the show, and one cast member tricked into reading a wholly new genre. Six new books up for discussion.

Happy holidays!

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André Brink’s A Dry White Season is a great example of the sort of novel Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca are describing when they classify a book as “essential.”

First published in 1979, this thought-provoking story recounts the journey of a white Afrikaaner as he transforms from a passive observer into an active challenger of injustice. Emphasizing the necessity of taking action against oppression, this novel explores the complicity of white privilege, moral awakening, and the personal costs associated with resistance.

Framed as a deceptively simple legal thriller, this is not a novel they will soon be forgetting.

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All three cast members of Just In Case We Die are acknowledging that their accumulation of books has gotten out of control. The to-be-read piles get increasingly more problematic. This is not a problem that appears to be remedying itself in the near future.

Consider:

1) Next month, each cast member will be given two books by their co-hosts.

2) Every month for the next year, they’ll be reading one book from the list for discussion.

3) Each of them will, more than likely, receive many books for Christmas.

4) Aaron has committed himself to reading every Salman Rushdie novel that has been published (and has, somehow convinced the others to pick authors of their own)

This list isn’t even counting the books that will catch their eye in reviews and bookstore displays!

Something clearly has to be done.

For November’s bonus, each of our literature lovers are picking three books from their ever-growing piles and making a commitment to read it. From post-modern masterworks to revolutionary science-fiction, from memoirs to recent award winners, from pulling the trigger on a dauntingly-long series to a recommendation from one of their own, these lists run the gamut and are sure to be surprising.

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It’s Aaron’s turn to handpick a book from the list, and he selected Italo Calvino’s 1979 post-modern masterpiece. This novel is one that he has admired for more than a quarter century. In fact, he’s been trying to foist it on Rebecca seemingly ad nauseum since 2001.

The real reason he picked it, though, is because he wants Rodney to gain a greater appreciation of post-modernism, and there are college courses that consider If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler a core text for academic study. Rebecca and Aaron have placed a friendly wager on whether he likes it or not. Who will be the lucky winner?

There’s only one way to find out . . .

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When it turned out that maybe Aaron and Rodney might be able to convince Rebecca that not all science-fiction was a waste of her time, Aaron recommended Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. It was a gamble, to be sure, because this is a Science Fiction novel (note the capital S and F). Space exploration? Alien race first contact? Scientific calamity that might bring on the apocalypse? Check, check, and check.

Guess what? It took two years and a well-crafted trailer for the upcoming film adaptation, but Rebecca has finally read it. This month, we’re going to talk about whether or not she liked it, what separates a book like Project Hail Mary from other sci-fi tomes, and try to come up with other recommendations that she would appreciate as well.

Salman Rushdie is in there somewhere, too, but you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out why!

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