Shoulda Books

Stephen LaConte is the managing editor of Clickhole and the author of the advice column Stephen, Please. He's also the boyfriend of hyper-realistic cake creator Jonny Cakes, who refers to him (respectfully) as Cake Twink. Stephen shares 2 memoirs and a play that will make you laugh, cry, and question whether children should ever be actors.
 
sign up for Stephen's advice column: https://stephen.substack.com/
follow Stephen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenlc/
 
for the ad-free, extended version of this episode, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks
 
books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.
 
Bossypants by Tina Fey https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780316056878
 
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781982185831
 
Our Town by Thornton Wilder https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780063003996



join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw
 
this month, we're reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400078776



follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/
follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks
 
follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en
 
Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

Sam Bakas (editor, The Try Guys) returns to discuss 3 books that helped him find meaning in a cold, indifferent universe.
 
follow Sam on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheShmoopy
follow Sam on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshmoopy/



for the ad-free, extended version of this episode, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks



books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.
 
"The House of the Spirits" by Isabell Allende https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781501117015
 
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781594631931
 
"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780553375404
 
"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalinithi https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780812988406
 
"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781631495311
 
"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400078776
 
join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw




follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/
follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks
 
follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en
 
Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

The Left Behind series traumatized me as a tween, and I know I'm not the only one. Join me for a loose, rambling episode exploring this cursed series and how it shaped the American Evangelical mind and, consequently, maybe even current US foreign policy?
 
NOTE: I recorded this episode on the afternoon of April 7th, 2026, before the temporary ceasefire was announced
 
Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran-war-christian-rhetoric#:~:text=war%20on%20Iran-,US%20troops%20were%20told%20war%20on%20Iran%20was%20%27all%20part,Christian%20rhetoric%20to%20justify%20war



for the ad-free, extended version of this episode, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks



join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw



follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/
follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks
 
follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en
 
Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

Merle Shane O'Neal shares 2 books that mean a great deal to me, and one that I know absolutely nothing about. So it goes.
 
follow Merle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merleeshay/
 
follow Merle on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MerleONeal
 
for the ad-free, extended version of this episode, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks
 
books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.
 
"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780143129257
 
"The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780060786502
 
"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780440180296
 
"The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780142407332
 
"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400078776



join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw



follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/
follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks
 
follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en
 
Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg

this week, we're rumbling through S.E. Hinton's 1967 classic The Outsiders, the book that apparently taught the publishing industry that teenagers read books
 
for the ad-free, extended version of this episode, sign up for the Shoulda Books Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ShouldaBooks
 
books discussed below. these are affiliate links for bookshop.org. by purchasing books through these links, you support local bookstores, and I earn a (very small) commission.
 
"The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9780142407332
 
"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro https://bookshop.org/a/120498/9781400078776
 
 
join the Shoulda Book Club on Fable: https://fable.co/club/the-shoulda-book-club-with-shoulda-books-225140024638?brid=yapSJjJ6zqETOwu3XngDDw

 
follow Shoulda Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shouldabooks/
 
follow Shoulda Books on TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@shouldabooks
 
follow Jonathan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jf.kirk/?hl=en
 
Shoulda Books theme song by Skyler Klingenberg