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Last year, for the bonus material in April, Just In Case We Die celebrated National Library Week with a lively discussion about some of the unique things libraries are doing all around the world. The year before that, the cast celebrated International Children’s Book Day by reminiscing about some of their favorite books and authors from when they were kids. What do they have in store for April 2026?

No idea. April is also National Poetry Month and there is no one in the cast with anything interesting (or pleasant) to say about poetry, so it’s time for a deep dive into some literature news items that are making headlines. Hated writers making super-considerate gestures, secret identities revealed, biographies from surprising sources, and the knowledge that a favorite writer of everyone in the cast will soon be within two hours of their homes. It’s also about time that all these books on the veto lists got replaced.

For having nothing to talk about, it sure was easy to fill an hour . . .

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Back in January, the random number generator gave us #1, 167. This number corresponded to a Cuban novel by Guillermo Cabrera Infante entitled Three Trapped Tigers. None of the cast had heard of it.

Research ensued, and the following information was discovered:

1. A paperback in English was going to cost $73.85.
2. The cheapest editions were either in Chinese ($17.85) or on Kindle in Spanish ($9.99) and no one but Rebecca can read Spanish.
3. There is an audiobook version of Three Trapped Tigers on Audible but that doesn’t do anyone any good but Rodney.
4. The book is well-known for its punning, wordplay, and excessive use of Cuban street slang and has often been jokingly referred to as “the Cuban Ulysses.”

All of these things combined led to Rodney vetoing a novel for the very first time. His replacement? A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. This novel and its vision of a unique afterlife– a purgatory fueled by the memories of the living– is one of the first books that Rodney and Aaron can remember discussing back when their friendship first formed. Both of them are very excited for Rebecca to read this novel for the very first time.

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It occurred to the crew here at Just In Case We Die that a vast majority of the broadcast space is devoted to male authors. It would seem that the editors of the original list didn’t have as many women writers that they found to be “essential.” In three full years of episode dropping, with the minor exception of three short stories, there have only been six discussions featuring novels written by female authors--and one of them was written by a woman who had to pretend she was a man!

March is Women’s History Month, so it was decided to center this month’s bonus episode around feminine writers. There’s plenty to discuss: genres that have secretly been hiding excellent female authors amongst their ranks, the favorite female scribes of all three members of the cast, and stereotypes about female writers that need to go away. It’s Just In Case We Die’s first ever episode dedicated to women!

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Watchmen is, without question, the most unique book to be up for discussion on Just In Case We Die. Of all the tomes to ever appear on the curated list, Watchmen is the only comic book. Originally released as twelve individual issues, the final collected volume premiered at the end of 1987 and has subsequently become one of the most consistently-reprinted graphic novels of all time. It also managed to win the Hugo award and find a spot on Time Magazine‘s list of 100 Best Novels as one of the most influential English-language books since 1923. Not bad for a comic book, eh?

Well, not every comic book is superhero nonsense intended for children. Knowing this, Rodney hand-selected this influential work for discussion this month. What exactly is Watchmen? What makes this influential work literary enough to stand amongst the likes of Dickens, Faulkner, and Haruki Murakami? Did Rebecca like this book? Have Aaron and Rodney gotten her to climb aboard the comic book train?

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It is February 2026. This means that this is the first episode of the fourth season. It also means that Rebecca has a pre-arranged prior commitment and cannot join the cast for their bonus discussion.

While the cat’s away . . .

This seemed like a perfect opportunity to bring Rodney’s friend Joe Tavano, former sci-fi podcaster and self-avowed expert on all things J. R. R. Tolkien, in for a discussion about two books that Rodney and Aaron knew that Rebecca would vehemently veto. Those books are The Hobbit and all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (#s 538 and 714, respectively), novels that are very near and dear to the hearts of all three participants in this month’s discussion.

They discuss J. R. R. Tolkien. They discuss his rivalry with contemporary C. S. Lewis. They discuss the myriad differences between science-fiction and fantasy. They discuss their personal experiences with the discovery of this tremendous work of art. They talk shit about a very famous modern fantasy novelist. They also geek out. Big time.

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The final episode of the third season features one of the world’s most successful writers. The author of novels, short story collections, works of nonfiction, children’s books, and comics, Margaret Atwood has been topping bestseller lists and wowing prize jury judges for more than six decades. Few Canadian writers have enjoyed the success that she has made seem easy.

This discussion is an interesting one. Aaron is already a fan of Margaret Atwood. Neither Rodney or Rebecca have read her before. All three enjoyed this novel, but all of them walked away from it with differing opinions on its meaning, impact, and importance. Is this a feminist novel? Is Margaret Atwood even a feminist at all?

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If there is one thing that everyone here at Just In Case We Die can agree on, it’s this: Haruki Murakami is one of the greatest contemporary storytellers. Japan’s best-selling novelist, Haruki Murakami has made an international name for himself with thought-provoking, meaningful narratives that explore loneliness and the nature of love within the warm, surreal embrace of magical realism. He is the author of fifteen novels, five story collections, and five works of varied non-fiction– and that’s just a catalog of the work that has been translated into English!

This month, in the penultimate episode of the current season, Just In Case We Die celebrates this beloved writer’s 77th birthday with a lively discussion, paying tribute to his body of work, cultural impact, and vivid imagination.

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This month’s book up for discussion involves one of the strangest novels to ever be featured on Just In Case We Die. It’s a crass, vulgar, and irreverent commentary on American media wrapped up in a misguided and confounding allegory written by an Australian author who somehow managed to beat Booker Prize-stalwart Margaret Atwood for Britain’s most distinguished literary prize.

Confusion aside, this is a really good novel that made the cast laugh, think, and shake their baffled heads. How did this novel manage to woo the judge panel of the Booker Prize in an almost-unanimous majority? Especially if the judges already knew about DBC Pierre ‘s past. You are simply not going to believe what Aaron’s research uncovered!