Originally published on Set The Tape
I love a good book. There’s nothing better than finding a really good book to read to pass the time. But with so many books out there, how can you make sure you’re going to be picking up a good one? Well, if you’re looking for recommendations about what to pick up, The Worst Bestsellers is not the podcast for you. If anything, it helps you to know which books to avoid or, occasionally, which books are so bad that they actually end up being quite good.
Hosted by Kait and Renata, two friends who have worked in book selling and libraries, and who have been lifelong fans of reading, the series takes listeners through some of the biggest names on the bestsellers lists which don’t quite live up to the hype.
Over the course of their 185 episodes to date they cover books like Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (not as bad as you might think), Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard (a stepping stone to a cult), and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (probably not as bad as you’d expect). All the books they cover are bestsellers, even if they’re ones you’ve never heard of before. There are dodgy erotica novels about the US President, self help books that seem incredibly toxic, YA novels that are clearly trying to cash in on the big things, and tie-in books to films that were big disappointments. But no matter the quality of the book they’re reading, the hosts always make it fun to hear about how bad, or sometimes surprisingly good, the books they cover are.
We occasionally get treated to some theme episodes too, with Flashback Summer seeing them covering popular books from their childhoods like Animorphs, Goosebumps, The Babysitters Club, and Sweet Valley High. Sometimes, they decide to focus on a particular series, such as going back to the Twilight series for their anniversary episodes.
The hosts share their thoughts on the books alongside the guests joining them each week, but also throw a few games and features in to spice things up. You get candy pairings that recommend a good candy to eat whilst reading your book, alternate recommendations to read instead of the book (or in addition to it if you liked it), and ‘The Rock, Paper, Snikt’, in which they will pitch ways in which the story could have been improved with the inclusion of either Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson or Wolverine, which their guest has to decide.
It might not add too many books to your TBR, and it might be really silly at times, but The Worst Bestsellers is a fun, wonderful podcast that book fans will be sure to enjoy.
You can listen to The Worst Bestsellers on Podbay, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify among others.
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