This "Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream" is a landmark of Gonzo journalism, a sensational writing style of which Thompson is the OG. Thankfully, we did not have to journey to Las Vegas on our own. We're joined this week by Mel and Dave from Strong Sense of Place, a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 609 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson (w/ Strong Sense of Place)

What if you got playing cards in the mail? Playing cards that told you to help random people in your community? Would you do it? Could you do it? What does "helping" mean? And who is even sending these cards?? We answer MOST of these questions as we discuss Markus Zusak's The Messenger (aka I Am the Messenger).
This episode is sponsored by Microdose Gummies. To learn more about microdosing THC go to Microdose.com and use code Overdue.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 608 - I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak

Our friends Renata and Kait are back to talk with us about Colleen Hoover and her debut novel Slammed. We dive into her recent reign as Queen of BookTok, the appeal of slam poetry, the lack of dads, and whether or not this work of New Adult Fiction worked for us.
Find more episodes of The Worst Bestsellers at worstbestsellers.com.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 607 - Slammed, by Colleen Hoover (w/ The Worst Bestsellers)

It's time to meet the Queen of Suspense! To kick off her reign, Mary Higgins Clark spins a tale about a wrongfully accused women trying to reinvent herself -- only to be nearly caught by the monster she thought she'd left behind. It's more thrilling than mysterious, so it shouldn't be a surprise that we DO get an answer to the novel's titular question.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
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Ep 606 - Where Are The Children? by Mary Higgins Clark

You don't end up liking everyone by the end of Madame Bovary, but in kind of a funny way? Come for the book talk, stay for the butchered French pronunciation. 
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 605 - Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert

Who is Mr. Benedict? And why did he recruit four outstanding orphans to uncover and stop a madman's secret plot to takeover the world? Solve the puzzles hidden in this episode to find out! (Don't worry, you can just listen. There aren't any puzzles...or ARE there?!?) 
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
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Ep 604 - The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart

When a book's plot and characters don't break a ton of ground in and of themselves, you're left hoping that the writing and the perspective will be enough to make a book interesting—luckily for us, Jenny Offill's Dept. of Speculation is insightful and entertaining despite its narrow scope and well-trod material.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 603 - Dept. of Speculation, by Jenny Offill

Bring on the battalion of Dad Books! Cornwell started writing the Richard Sharpe novels because he wanted something like Horatio Hornblower on land. Well, we haven't read any Hornblower yet but we can attest that this book sure is about a British rifleman fighting in the army during the Napoleonic Wars!
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 602 - Sharpe's Eagle (Richard Sharpe #1), by Bernard Cornwell

Welcome to our newest show-within-a-show! We're working our way through Neil Gaiman's signature graphic novel series THE SANDMAN. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption.
In Episode 5: A GAME OF YOU, the story is about Barbie, her fantastical dreams, Barbie's friend Wanda, their neighbors Hazel and Foxglove, a vengeful witch named Thessaly, an authoritarian cuckoo bird, and MARTIN FLIPPING TENBONES. 
In Episode 6: FABLES AND REFLECTIONS, Gaiman penned another set of one-off stories. Some are fables, others are reflections. Tune in to find out which is which! Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sand By Me: Neil Gaiman's The Sandman - Books 5 & 6

Imagine a version of the spaceship from Wall-E, but with racial and class divisions that mirror those in our own society. That's a (dramatically oversimplified) one-line summary of what's going on in this week's book.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 601 - An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon

It's episode 600, baybee!!! To celebrate, we're embarking on a voyage through Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, some middle-grade fantasy-but-in-the-real-world fiction that passed us by when it came out in 2005. We'll be reading the first five books in the series, starting with The Lightning Thief.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
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Ep 600 - The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1), by Rick Riordan

We're talking Mondays. We're talking lasagna. We're talking annoying dogs and bumbling owners. We're talking Lyman -- wait what? Join us as we dive into the Garfield deep lore (and learn to make a Garf of our very own).
Want to join the chat for future Bonus Episodes? Head to patreon.com/overduepod
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 599 - Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack Vol 1, by Jim Davis

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If you're a wizard of Earthsea, you can make it smell however you want if you know it's TRUE name. LeGuin's beloved fantasy novel is notable for how it plays both against and into common fantasy tropes, delivering a proper hero's journey without the same Sturm und Drang we've come to expect in the genre.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Join us for our 600th episode recording at bit.ly/overdue600. We're talking PERCY JACKSON!
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 598 - A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin

We've covered vaguely spiritual self-help books before on the show, but The Alchemist is unique insofar as it attempts to wrap the broad platitudes of a The Secret up in a there-and-back-again adventure story. Please listen, as long as it fits with your Personal Legend. 
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 597 - The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Our Patron's Choice Poll for June had a theme: Junebugs! And this novel by Weiss about a roach colony attempting to assert control over the apartment in which they live is uhh...well it won the poll. So Craig read it. And now he's going to talk about it.
Caveat lictor: this book is a strange one (also it's got more explicit sexual content than you might expect!)
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 596 - The Roaches Have No King, by Daniel Evan Weiss

It's summer, and we all need water to live, two things that make Sarah Moss's Summerwater feel timely this week. One other thing the book reflects is the Simmering Anxiety of Our Times! 
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 595 - Summerwater, by Sarah Moss

Meet Gulliver, a traveling English surgeon. First he's big, then he's small. Next he's wise, then he's a Yahoo! To wit, Swift's seminal satire is realer, grosser, and really grosser than either of us knew.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 594 - Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift

This week’s book tackles aging and writing and the author’s determination to write a book about a gay character who is allowed to experience joy. These are all themes that hit us where we live as we trundle into early middle age ourselves.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 593 - Less, by Sean Andrew Greer

Flog the jib and shiver me timbers, it's time to set sail with the first of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels Master and Commander. It's equal parts ship jargon, ship action, and shipmen (aka sailors) pondering themes of isolation and authority. Plus, we get to the bottom of who exactly is the master and who is the commander.
Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.
Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 592 - Master and Commander (Aubrey/Maturin #1), by Patrick O'Brian

Welcome to our newest show-within-a-show! We're working our way through Neil Gaiman's signature graphic novel series THE SANDMAN. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption.In Episode 3: DREAM COUNTRY, Gaiman needed a bit of a break after the Doll's House arc, and the result was a series of one-shots that contributed bits and pieces to the series' mythology without telling one larger story. Doesn't mean there isn't a lot to talk about, though!In Episode 4: SEASON OF MISTS, there is a plot! Specifically, a plot about the Devil retiring and giving Dream the key to Hell and a bunch of other supernatural beings pleading their case for why they should get that sweet piece of real estate. Also a little kid sees some ghosts.
Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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