Howl's Moving Castle, Studio Ghibli & The Animation Renaissance

The Other Bennet Sister, Two Men in a Lake & Mary's Redemption

Mary Bennet finally gets her story and we are not calm about it. This week we're doing a full breakdown of The Other Bennet Sister — Janice Hadlow's novel and the BBC/BritBox adaptation that we have been waiting to talk about for what feels like an entire year. We cover the book, the show, the casting that made us gasp (Richard E. Grant! The woman who played Mary Bennet in the Colin Firth adaptation!), the two men in a lake scene that rewrote history, and why the Gardiners are the real heroes of this entire story. Also: Our July book club pick is The Seven Year Slip — with Catherine's famous lemon pie recipe included. Come join us on Patreon! For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions [http://patreon.com/bookishambitions]

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Bill Pullman's Son & Octopus Movies

We read it. We watched it. We cried at an octopus. We are not okay. This week we're doing a full book versus movie breakdown of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and the new Netflix adaptation starring Sally Field and — yes — Bill Pullman's son. We talk about what the book does beautifully, why Caroline thinks the movie actually improves on it, Marcellus the giant Pacific octopus and why his chapters are the best thing in both versions, the themes of grief and kindness that hit harder than either of us expected, and the Nitwit Crew's dating rules, which we are adopting immediately. Also: Caroline is officially going the traditional publishing route, Book 2 is already started, and our Patreon book club is reading Every Summer After this month — come join us! For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions [http://patreon.com/bookishambitions]

Wishbone, The Documentary & Where Our Love of Books Began

We have wanted to do this episode since day one! This week, we're talking Wishbone — the PBS live-action children's series that aired from 1995 to 1997, the new documentary What's the Story, Wishbone? that just dropped, and why we genuinely believe we wouldn't have this podcast if we hadn't grown up watching a Jack Russell Terrier in a Renaissance costume act out Romeo & Juliet. Also: Caroline's novel is in beta-reader hands, Catherine is reading it and had to stop herself to come record, and we have a new Patreon perk where you can submit TBR recommendations and get a shoutout on the show. Bonus Patreon episode this week with our favorite Wishbone episodes. Become a member today after you listen! For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode, head to our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

Summer Reads, Summer Adaptations & Lobster Rolls

We recorded in person, we kept it short, and we are extremely proud of ourselves. This week we're talking summer — the adaptations we're most excited about, the books we're adding to our TBRs, and the trips we're absolutely planning around our favorite books. We cover Interview with the Vampire Season 3, Every Year After on Prime, Heartstopper Forever, and Five Star Weekend on Peacock. Plus: Caroline is on draft three of her novel and is sending it to beta readers; Catherine is starting a summer thriller for book club; and someone may be planning a book-recipe series for Patreon. Also, we spent a solid five minutes talking about lobster rolls and how Maine is where Catherine's soul belongs. It's that kind of episode. For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention in this episode — plus links to find them — visit our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions

Twilight, Millennial Nostalgia, & The Off-Campus Easter Egg

We made it to 10 episodes and we are celebrating with the most important deep dive we could think of. This week we're talking Twilight — book one, movie one, and all the feelings. We cover why Twilight hit so differently for millennials, the Mormon lens Stephenie Meyer brought to her vampires, why Edward Cullen is absolutely a red flag and why we loved him anyway, the iconic blue tint and what it actually meant cinematically, Robert Pattinson reading Midnight Sun to find his character, Taylor Lautner fighting for his role, Anna Kendrick pretending she was never there, and the Off-Campus Easter egg that broke our brains. Plus: Catherine just finished watching it twenty minutes before recording and has thoughts. This is episode one of many. We have too much to say about each film to do it all at once. Consider this your Twilight re-entry point. For a full list of every book, show, and movie we mention this episode — plus links to find them — visit our Patreon: http://patreon.com/bookishambitions