Skylight Books Podcast Series

OooOOoooOOooOOOoo!

Don't worry, this SPOOKY game is not going to be anything like Gerald's Game, Ripley's Game, or Ender's Game.

Back in 2023, Better Than the Movie did their first Halloween episode, at which Allan Traylor debuted a Goosebumps-themed quiz game. This time around, Allan cooked up a more general (and more specific!) horror-themed quiz game in which co-hosts Tyler Austin and Justin Remer will compete.

How well do Tyler and Justin know horror? And more importantly, how well do they know Allan???

Find out in this brief and silly bonus episode, made special for you to enjoy this spooky season.

If you like what you hear, look for "Better Than the Movie Halloween Special: GOOSEBUMPS" and "Better Than the Movie Halloween Special 2: GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!" in the Skylight Books Podcast back catalog.

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Tyler Austin, and Justin Remer.
Produced by Justin Remer.

Music by Duck the Piano Wire (plus some werewolf howls).

It has been ten years since Frank Ocean released his last full-length album to date, Blonde. In 2016, writer Yousef Srour was still in high school. In his new book for the 33 1/3 series, Srour talks about how the album has grown and changed with him, from high school to a quarter-life crisis and beyond. Srour blends intense research and pop culture cross-references with poetic evocations of the indelible emotions that the album created for a generation of listeners. In this discussion with writer and bookseller Justin Remer, he talks about Ocean's development as an artist and the "heist" that he pulled off to create and release this classic album independently.

If you like iconoclastic albums of the mid-'10s, check out "SKYLIT: Sequoia Maner, "33 1/3 TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY" " from the Skylight Books Podcast back catalog.

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.

Out of Body is a wild and attention-grabbing debut story collection that gets at the building anxiety and free-floating dread of our present moment with a mix of literary and speculative fiction (including plenty of horror, humor, sex, and death). Author Chris Vanjonack joins writer and bookseller Justin Remer to discuss the ten-year development of the collection, how genre elements can be used to intensify literary storytelling, and how the author felt relieved at not having to come up with new voices to read his stories for the audiobook version.

Pick up a copy of Chris Vanjonack's book from Skylight or download the audiobook version from Libro.fm.

If you like short stories, maybe you'd be interested in a gem from our podcast back catalog, titled SKYLIT: George Saunders w/ Alena Saunders.

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab.

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.

An underdog story both onscreen and in real life, COYOTE VS. ACME is a hybrid animation/live-action movie in the vein of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? or SPACE JAM. Its premise is simple and elegant: what if Looney Tunes' Wile E. Coyote sued the Acme corporation for selling him all those malfunctioning products that kept him from catching the *beep beep* Road Runner. Physical media and animation enthusiast Conor Holt returns for his third visit to the podcast to talk about the film, its wildly convoluted journey to the screen after being completed -- and nearly deleted -- by Warner Brothers, and the charming New Yorker piece by reporter and humorist Ian Frazier (Paradise Bronx) that inspired the whole darn thing. 

If you'd like to hear Conor's previous short story selection for BTTM, you should check out Better Than the Movie 25: THE DEAD w/ Conor Holt. It's a lovely discussion of John Huston's final film, based on a story from James Joyce's Dubliners.

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.fm - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Hosted by Tyler Austin, Justin Remer, and Allan Traylor.
Produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zoom (because Zencastr updated and now it won't work with two of our computers... to be continued...)

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band

One of the most influential albums in the history of industrial rock music, The Land of Rape and Honey was the third album from Ministry. Warner subsidiary Sire Records may have thought they were getting the Chicago version of English electropop stars Depeche Mode, but Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker delivered something deeper, darker, and crazier. Music journalist Jason Pettigrew talks about the chaotic creativity that brought this album to life in his 33 1/3 book on the album. He talked to the band, he talked to the beleaguered record exec, he talked to the bystanders. And in this episode, he talks to bookseller and writer Justin Remer about the album and the book.

Fun fact: The album's title has its origin in an actual slogan for a Canadian town whose main export was rapeseed oil. Listen to the episode to find out more.

If you like experimental music and 33 1/3 books, check out "SKYLIT: Matthew Blackwell, PLUNDERPHONICS (GENRE: A 33 1/3 SERIES)" from the Skylight Books Podcast back catalog.

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.