Episode Details

Welcome to Episode 2 of my podcast!

In this episode, I "read to glam" (the inverse of "reading to filth") with my friend Matt Root, owner and operator of @mattsbookaday on Instagram and Matt's Books and Music blog.

As we discuss Heated Rivalry the television show (by Jacob Tierney) and Game Changers the book series (by Rachel Reid), we meander through various topics pertaining to the book series's adaptation for screen and issues relating to gay literature and romance (mm/mf), book writing, book reading, and the value of reading.

Topics include: - Why women write romance: women willing the men they want into being. - The value of Scott and Kip's story as an optimistic representation of healthy gay male relationships - The value and importance of empathy and cross-identification in reading books and watching movies. - The window book vs. the mirror book - The paradox of inclusivity and tolerance in a politically and ideologically politicized world. - The importance of books and movies in helping people develop empathy and fighting bigotry. - Scott Hunter's seri@l ki!!er obsession and Kip's resistance to being possess/owned by a wealthy man. - If Heated Rivalry didn't have such a large female fanbase/if women didn't love and support the show, would gay men have shown up to make it the phenomenon that it is?

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Content Breakdown: 0:00 - Introducing Matt 3:00 - The how and why of reviewing books 5:34 - Favourite book(s) - Pride and Prejudice 6:33 - Least favourite book - Wuthering Heights 7:33 - Favourite/least favourite book genres 8:28 - The romance genre and Heated Rivalry/Game Changers book series 10:06 - Angelo shades Matt for disliking Heated Rivalry the book 11:02 - Adapting Heated Rivalry to television 13:05 - Why women write romance novels 15:29 - The bookish world and Romance + / Romance Plus 17:57 - The fujoshi effect / Yaoi / BL and the complexity of authorship and ownership 20:20 - Gays and their gals / gays and women sharing culture and spaces 20:55 - The complexity of inclusivity and problem of not valuing complexity 23:12 - A story doesn't need to be everyone's story / cross-identification 26:15 - Window books versus mirror books / Watching Heated Rivalry with moms 29:20 - The value of books and movies in developing empathy 29:54 - Scott and Kip and the seri@l ki!!er conversation 33:14 - Scott and Kip vs. Shane and Ilya / Kip's working class background in focus 40:35 - Hockey culture, uniformity, and gay visibility as a de facto political statement 44:17 - If you love something, you have to support it: women, fandom and Heated Rivalry 47:14 - Gay men not seeing themselves/seeing themselves too much in Heated Rivalry 49:47 - Queer marginalization even when in the centre/in our own spaces 53:23 - Compelled by Jacob Tierney's brilliance and Heated Rivalry's high quality 54:26 - A new phrase is born: "Reading to Glam" 56:20 - The "fundom" AKA fun fandom and fun memes of Heated Rivalry 1:01:54 - Conclusion - Until Next Time!