Episode 111: The Fault In Our Stars

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This week, we take a look at what very well may be our most universally-loved book of the month, "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green. Dietrich and Josh dive into the beautiful and heartbreaking young adult book that is so much better than it has any business being, read emails from listeners who loved the book as much as we did, and admire how deftly Green manages to take a number of character types that should be dull and manipulative and make them relatable and lifelike. In addition, Dietrich raves about a horror masterpiece by Joe Hill, and Josh revisits a beautiful children's book by John Connolly. Finally, the pair wrap up with a discussion of the struggling third season of "Game of Thrones", and the challenges faced by this favorite of the podcast. You can send questions or comments to questions@thelibrarypolice.com.

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What We've Been Reading

0:00 to 19:11

  • Joe Hill, “Thumbprint”
  • August V. Fahren, Thursday Thistle: A Fairy Tale
  • John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things
  • Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box

Criticism and Roger Ebert

19:11 to 56:06

This week, we take a look at our current Book Club selection, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. It’s a book that has no business being as good as it is, and we spend much of our discussion trying to look at all the ways the book could have been a disaster and admiring the many ways John Green’s choices keep it from doing so. On top of that, a couple of readers chime in with praise for the book’s characters, the plotting, the prose, and even the title, and we use all of that to launch into an in-depth (and spoiler-filled, as a reminder) discussion of this book that seems likely to go down as a modern classic.

Off The Bookshelf

56:06 to 1:14:10

A light Off the Bookshelves this week, with only a couple of extracurricular activities to talk about. I’ve got one of them, which is another entry in “horror reboots that should have sucked but don’t” to follow up our praises of Hannibal from last week. But most of this week is spent discussing the new season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which is struggling to pull everything together in as satisfying a way as the show has managed in the past.