No guest this week, as we wanted to do an episode with just the two of us, here at the mid-point of our final season. For our reading, we dive into A Clockwork Orange, which Mike had somehow never read. Meanwhile, not only had Tom read it, he wrote a paper about its ending, back in his undergrad days, which by some miracle (or anal-retentiveness?) he still has a copy of.

Also this week: one final installment of Fan Fiction Corner. How has AI affected the fanfic community? Should politics be part of fanfiction? And can a time-traveling Toby Maguire prevent the Kennedy assassination?

Thanks, as always, for listening. We've got a few more guest episodes this season, then a final episode that'll just be the two of us. We're also continuing to post bonus content on our Patreon, if you need more Book Fight in your life. Just $5 a month gets you access to loads of bonus content from the last several years: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight

We're joined one last time by fan favorite Katherine Hill (A Short Move) to talk about Nora Ephron's 1983 novel Heartburn, a thinly veiled account of the author's divorce from Carl Bernstein. Specifically: Why does it seem like everyone is reading this book right now? And is it somehow the godmother of the recent spate of Millenial divorce books?

Also discussed: humor as a coping mechanism, voice-driven novels, recipes in fiction, and why are people on Goodreads mad at Nora Ephron?

If you're enjoying the show, and would like more of it, check out our Patreon, where we post bonus episodes every two weeks (and where you'll have access to a veritable treasure trove of previous episodes, for a measley $5 a month): https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight

A season of endings, but also beginnings: our first Barbara Pym! The celebrated British novelist had a bit of a career slump; after publishing six novels between 1950 and 1961, she couldn't find a home for her seventh, and didn't publish anything for more than a decade. Then, in 1977, Quartet in Autumn appeared, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A true comeback victory.

We chose this book because it deals with a different kind of ending: retirement. Four aging office workers are on their way out, and each is sad in their own way. The book's kind of a bummer, but also funny? Like a certain podcast you all know and love.

We're joined by frequest guest Dave Housley, author of several sad/funny novels, including one about an office.

If you're a fan of the show, and want more of it in your life, we're still posting new episodes every two weeks to our Patreon. Five bucks a month also gets you access to a pretty deep back catalog, including our Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight