Hardcover Hooligans

Real Nerd Sh*t (The Lord of the Rings - Appendices)

February 26th, 2024  |  1 hr 7 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

That’s right, the appendices of The Lord of the Rings have so much frickin’ nerd stuff we need a whole separate episode.

An Infamous Scouring (The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - Part 2/2)

February 12th, 2024  |  1 hr 35 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Danylo and Mc read and discuss the finale of Lord of the Rings. There's like twelve different endings, including Sharkey and the infamous Scouring of the Shire.

Doomscrolling On a Palantir (The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - Part 1/2)

January 29th, 2024  |  1 hr 40 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Mc and Danylo read Book 5 (a.k.a. the first half) of The Return of the King. Battles with orcs, battles with pirates, and battles with despair!
Plus, Mc shares an internet book culture pet peeve.

New Evil City (The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - Part 2/2)

January 15th, 2024  |  1 hr 15 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Our heroes get ever closer to Mordor, where it’s dangerous to look at the evil stuff for too long. Danylo definitely thought this part was going to be boring (it was not), and Mc gets confused about the layout of a cave. But in all sincerity, the main take is that these books definitely don’t get enough credit for their subtlety, nuance, and literary merit. It’s just good.

It’s an Entmoot, Baby (The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - Part 1/2)

January 1st, 2024  |  1 hr 9 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Danylo and Mc chug some ent-draughts and discuss the first half of The Two Towers. Dwarves love running actually, Wormtongue is the alt-right pipeline, and waving around a sword cures depression. We also meet the second and final woman in these books! Wow!

The Crypto Mines of Moria (The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Part 2/2)

December 18th, 2023  |  1 hr 30 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Danylo and Mc read the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring, during which they try to answer the question “what if Frodo was wearing armor made of Bitcoin?”

Hiking With Haunted Jewelry (The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Part 1/2)

December 4th, 2023  |  1 hr 27 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Danylo and Mc throw a long-expected party by reading the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (we know it’s not technically a trilogy, it’s one whole story, but who cares). Danylo constantly compares the book to the movies (sorry), and Mc revisits one of his favorite books. They both have a crush on Aragorn.

How To Rob People With Riddles (The Hobbit)

November 20th, 2023  |  1 hr 28 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review, tolkien

Mc and Danylo read a classic in the fantasy genre, which is also a classic in the “cheating at riddle games to get over-powered jewelry” genre.

The Sequel Is Better…Kinda (Dune Messiah)

November 6th, 2023  |  1 hr 5 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, geek, review, sci-fi

After the baffling conclusion of Dune, Danylo and Mc read the sequel, Dune Messiah. We get the satisfying conclusion of the epic story of Paul Muad’Dib Atreides, as well as a bunch of weird 1960s sci-fi pervert stuff.

It Hasn't Aged...Horribly (Dune - Part 2/2)

October 23rd, 2023  |  1 hr 15 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, geek, review, sci-fi

The sweeping, epic adventure story of Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides just suddenly kinda…ends. And he wins. And beats everyone. And becomes emperor. Okay.
Danylo and Mc talk about Dune’s legacy, lasting impact, and how Frank Herbert doesn’t know what women talk about when there are no men around.

Into the Dune-iverse (Dune - Part 1/2)

October 9th, 2023  |  1 hr 19 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, geek, review, sci-fi

Kwisatz Haderach. Bene Gesserit. Fremen. Melange. Muad’Dib. The C.H.O.A.M. Company.
What do these goofy words even mean? Find out on this week’s episode.
Hint: they’re all things in the novel Dune, by Frank Herbert.

Oppenheimer Invents the Internet (The Dispossessed - Part 2/2)

September 25th, 2023  |  1 hr 14 mins

book, book podcast, books, booktok, comedy, criticism, discussion, geek, review, sci-fi

We return to the twin moons of Urras and Anarres to see if capitalism and ownership have poisoned our interpersonal and societal relationships (spoiler alert: yes).

But there’s still kind of a happy ending??? Based. 10/10.

Owning Things Is Fake (The Dispossessed - Part 1/2)

September 11th, 2023  |  1 hr 20 mins

book, comedy, criticism, discussion, geek, review, sci-fi

If you want to have constant thoughts about the horrors of our capitalist and governmental systems, then this book is for you. And if you already do that, well…here’s more of that.

Danylo and Mc read Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic sci-fi book, The Dispossessed, and have to resist the urge to tell everyone they know that money, laws, and owning things is fake actually.

Mistborn Is a Christian Allegory (Mistborn - The Hero of Ages - Part 2/2)

August 28th, 2023  |  1 hr 51 mins

book, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review

Danylo and Mc finally finish the Mistborn Trilogy and crawl out from under the debris of the Sanderlanche™. They give their thoughts on the book and the trilogy as a whole and, oh boy, do they have a lot of thoughts.

They also “read” the novella Mistborn: A Secret History as a special “treat”.

Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic (Mistborn - The Hero of Ages - Part 1/2)

August 14th, 2023  |  1 hr 44 mins

Danylo and Mc are almost at the end of a fantasy trilogy and still nothing important is happening. Your Favorite Mistborn Characters™ do nothing but walk from place to place, gather information, and sit around. Isn’t the world supposed to be ending?

Punching Even More Dogs (Mistborn - The Well of Ascension - Part 2/2)

July 31st, 2023  |  1 hr 56 mins

book, comedy, criticism, discussion, fantasy, geek, review

Danylo and Mc lose their minds a little bit in this episode. They vent about how insane Brandon Sanderson’s writing choices are, and how his Mormonism seems to seep into every aspect of his writing.
We’re sorry it’s so long. We hope it makes sense.