Episodes

  • "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen

    "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen
    Aug 19 2025
    Was it profound or was it pretentious? Is the author a genius or a misogynist? The only thing we know for sure is that a man made love to a couch. Mean Book Club returns for our 20th season with "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen. Big thanks to patron of the mean arts, George for generously forcing this behemoth onto us!

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!

    Here’s the Season 20 reading list:
    1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
    2. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
    3. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
    4. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
    5. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Jonson
    6. Beautiful Ugly byAlice Feeneyy
    7. Where is Joe Merchant by Jimmy Buffet
    8. Skipping Christmas by John Grishham

    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub!

    Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.

    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert." You can get it here: https://www.free-stock-music.com

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 41 mins
  • From the Vault: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

    From the Vault: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
    Aug 12 2025
    Mean Book Club "From the Vault!" We're periodically reuploading episodes straight from the ghost of Mean Book Club's past! This week we're taking a look back at the book that started the multimillion dollar franchise: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer.

    Sarah, Johnna, Clara & Sabrina rip apart this week's NYT bestseller: Twilight. Released in 2005, this book debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list within a month of its release and later peaked at #1.

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!

    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Season 20 Book List and Promo

    Season 20 Book List and Promo
    Aug 5 2025
    Mean Book Club is BACK with their biggest season yet! Join us for a series of bad romances, self-help stinkers, and mandane mysteries to celebrate our 20TH SEASON. New episodes start on August 15th and follow us on Patreon for even more of that sweet, sweet season 20 content!


    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!

    Here’s the Season 20 reading list:
    1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
    2. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
    3. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
    4. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
    5. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Jonson
    6. Beautiful Ugly byAlice Feeneyy
    7. Where is Joe Merchant by Jimmy Buffet
    8. Skipping Christmas by John Grishham

    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub!

    Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.

    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert." You can get it here: https://www.free-stock-music.com

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • From the Vault: "Congo" by Michael Crichton

    From the Vault: "Congo" by Michael Crichton
    Jul 22 2025
    Mean Book Club "From the Vault!" We're periodically reuploading episodes straight from the ghost of Mean Book Club's past! This episode we're revisiting "Congo" by Michael Crichton. Check out our thoughts on this bad, bad book before we watch the bad, bad movie!

    Hey book nerds! This week Colin O’Brien (Just For Laughs) and Michael Wolf (Comedy Central, MTV), hosts of the Literati podcast, forced us to read Congo by Michael Crichton. This book spent 12 weeks on the NYT bestseller list in 1980 and was later adapted to a movie in 1995 (unfortunately not starring Sean Connery). But WHY? Mean Book Club breaks it down.



    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!

    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 39 mins
  • "The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center (w/ Emily Fidago)

    "The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center (w/ Emily Fidago)
    Jun 17 2025
    A Hollywood romance, a high diving board, and a weirdly important video from high school: this week we read "The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center for a very exciting season finale, featuring special guest Emily Fidago, and the triumphant return of Sabrina!

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!
    Here’s the Season 18 reading list: 1. Fourth Wing by Yarros 2. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 3. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 4. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg 5. A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 6. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes 7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 8. While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 52 mins
  • "The Paris Apartment" by Lucy Foley

    "The Paris Apartment" by Lucy Foley
    Jun 3 2025
    Family drama, wine caves, and Johnna crimes: This week we read "The Paris Apartment" by two-time Mean Book Club offender Lucy Foley and it was un peu ennuyeux.

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!
    Here’s the Season 18 reading list: 1. Fourth Wing by Yarros 2. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 3. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 4. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg 5. A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 6. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes 7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 8. While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 11 mins
  • "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

    "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
    May 20 2025
    Heartbreaks, hate rates, and a host of husbands. This week we read "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid and it was... pretty good? Special shoutout to the person who recorded Johnna's version of the audiobook. This episode wouldn't have been the same without you.

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!
    Here’s the Season 18 reading list: 1. Fourth Wing by Yarros 2. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 3. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 4. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg 5. A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 6. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes 7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 8. While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 20 mins
  • "The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Live Constantine

    "The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Live Constantine
    May 6 2025
    Rich husbands, dead sisters, and another non-NYTimes Bestseller!? This week we read "The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Liv Constantine and, twist, it was a stinker. Big thanks to Molly our recommender who was very correct about the NYTimes Bestseller status of this book.

    Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday!
    Here’s the Season 18 reading list: 1. Fourth Wing by Yarros 2. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 3. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden 4. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg 5. A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 6. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes 7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 8. While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
    Send any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub! Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.
    CREDITS: Hosted by Sarah Burton, Clara Morris, Johnna Scrabis, & Sabrina B. Jordan. This episode was produced and edited by Sarah Burton and Blake Opper. Special thanks to FSM Team for our theme song, "Parkour Introvert."

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 17 mins