Publishing Details
About This Podcast
In 2006, Quintessence Editions Ltd. published a book entitled "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die". Edited by academic Peter Boxall, this list was a curated selection of novels deemed "essential" for literature lovers. Over time, as books were added and removed to accommodate new tastes, the list has continued to grow into subsequent volumes. As of today, there have been 1,316 novels included in the list. Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca will attempt to read and discuss every single one of them. Sort of.
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Recent Episodes
S4E8 #776 "Memoirs of Hadrian" by Marguerite Yourcenar
Send us Fan Mail The critical blurb on the cover of book #776 on our curated list states that The Memoirs of Hadrian is "singularly beautiful", which is a really interesting opinion since the cast of…
S4E7 May 2026 -- Bonus (Knife: The Attempted Assassination of Salman Rushdie)
Send us Fan MailOn Sunday, May 3, 2026, The Davis Theatre in Chicago had a single screening of Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, a new film by Academy-Award-winning director Alex Gibney,…
S4E6 "Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr -- Veto #4
Send us Fan MailOnce upon a time, Aaron recommended a novel he had recently completed to Rebecca, citing it as his favorite novel of 2021. Already familiar with the work of the author, Rebecca jumped…
S4E5 April 2026 -- Bonus Episode (Spring Cleaning)
Send us Fan MailLast 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…
S4E4 "A Brief History of the Dead" by Kevin Brockmeier -- Veto #3
Send us Fan MailBack 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…
S4E3 March 2026 -- Bonus (Women's History Month)
Send us Fan MailIt 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…
S4E2 #1,264 "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Send us Fan MailWatchmen 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…
S4E1 February 2026 -- Bonus Episode (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Send us Fan MailIt 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…
S3E24 #1,123 "Surfacing" by Margaret Atwood
Send us Fan MailThe 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…
S3E23 January 2026 -- Bonus (Haruki Murakami)
Send us Fan MailIf 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…
S3E22 #1,235 "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre
Send us Fan MailThis 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…
S3E21 December 2025 -- Bonus (National Read A New Book Month 2)
Send us Fan MailRemember last December when the crew at Just In Case We Die celebrated the holidays and National Read A New Book Month by combining both into one gift-giving effort? Well, they…
S3E20 #343 "A Dry White Season" by André Brink
Send us Fan MailAndré Brink’s A Dry White Season is a great example of the sort of novel Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca are describing when they classify a book as “essential.”First published in 1979,…
S3E19 November 2025 -- Bonus (Purging of the TBR)
Send us Fan MailAll three cast members of Just In Case We Die are acknowledging that their accumulation of books has gotten out of control. The to-be-read piles get increasingly more problematic.…
S3E18 #577 "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler" by Italo Calvino
Send us Fan MailIt's Aaron's turn to handpick a book from the list, and he selected Italo Calvino's 1979 post-modern masterpiece. This novel is one that he has admired for more than a quarter…
S3E17 October 2025 -- Bonus ("Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir)
Send us Fan MailWhen it turned out that maybe Aaron and Rodney might be able to convince Rebecca that not all science-fiction was a waste of her time, Aaron recommended Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.…
S3E16 #97 "Barabbas" by Pär Lagerkvist
Send us Fan MailPär Lagerkvist, the recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize for Literature, was not a writer that had ever been in the to-be-read piles of any of this podcast’s participants. All three of…
S3E15 September 2025 -- Bonus (Banned Book Trivia/Revision of the List)
Send us Fan MailAll three members of the cast are in different locations this month, so our bonus discussion might seem a little lackluster.There are, though, three excellent reasons to give this one…
S3E14 #1,275 "Where Angels Fear To Tread" by E. M. Forster
Send us Fan MailIt would stand to reason that a writer that has led an interesting life could write an interesting novel.Unless you’re E. M. Forster.If you’re him, you would lead an interesting life…
S3E13 August 2025 -- Bonus Episode ("Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives" by David Eagleman)
Send us Fan MailWhat happens when we die? Do we exist in an ethereal plane that cannot be perceived by human conscience? Are we forced to spend eternity as the background characters in another…
Frequently Asked Questions
Just In Case We Die has published 72 episodes since February 2023, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Just In Case We Die is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 1h 7m.
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