In addition to working a full-time job, Jay might as well also be a full-time MC. And when he's not releasing another mixtape under the name Satellite High, he's doing things like helping me out by recording a diss track of World Net Daily birther rappers "Wolverines" or tag-teaming a fatuous American Enterprise Institute list of the "21 Greatest Conservative Rap Songs" for a piece in The New Republic.So, with all that on his plate, naturally Jay started a podcast about books. Fantastically bad books. Because of course he did. And I'm pleased to say that I was the inaugural guest on I Don't Even Own A Television.
In a previous life, I wrote reviews of current events and public affairs books for Barnes & Noble's website. (Under yet another pseudonym.) And while neither those nor my reviews on this website prepared me for the kind of texts that Jay had in mind, it's nice to know that the critical reading skills honed in that job and during the long slog through my history thesis haven't completely atrophied. Basically, I brought a thoroughly misguided level of critical analysis to a discussion of a Harlequin Intrigue title named Pregnesia.
The subject of "pregnesia" and the reading of Pregnesia are exactly what you would expect. Pregnesia is to literature just what Gymkata is to film, and at $3.44 cents, I can't recommend buying it enough. This is a book that spoils itself on its own "dramatis personae" page, giving away the plot twist while listing the vast number of characters you can count on a hand and one extra finger.
But please don't just take my word for it. Go listen to our discussion (here's another link for those who hate iTunes) and bookmark the podcast, because I know that future guests and books for upcoming episodes of I Don't Even Own A Television are fantastic in their own right.
A few notes: One, apologies if my comments about women's body-image anxieties relating to pregnancy upset anyone. My impressions are taken from what friends have told me during their own pregnancies. Two, sometime soon, I plan to add another link at the top left of the page, beneath the "Contributors" link, cataloguing my guest appearances and hosting gigs on podcasts, so check back.
