Skylight Books Podcast Series

Better Than the Movie 27: VINELAND / ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER w/ Rene Franco

Ocean waves, ocean waves. One of the best-loved movies of the fall has been Paul Thomas Anderson's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. The Better Than the Movie crew is joined by Rene Franco, the head of Skylight's Rabbit Hole Reading Club, to discuss the flick and also the novel which provided some inspiration, Thomas Pynchon's kooky and kaleidoscopic Vineland. 

Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab, with remote recording via Zencastr. 

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie Halloween Special 2: GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!

Mwahahaha! The Better Than the Movie crew have gathered again to celebrate R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS horror series for young readers. Rather than just talk ABOUT the books, as they did on the last Halloween special, they talk THROUGH a book. Justin reads a GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS title (a kind of CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE sub-series from the late 1990s) while everyone provides color commentary as the BTTM fellas navigate through various DEAD ENDS (mwahahaha) in search of a happy conclusion. 

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Justin Remer, and Tyler Austin.
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at Tyler's house. (Sorry for all the handheld mic rustling.)

"Johnny Graves" commercial taken from HALLOWEEN DREAMS by Creep Tape. Thanks to Matt Meindl for permission to use it.
Selected incidental music by Duck the Piano Wire.
Opening music: "Rumination: If I Should Die (Slowed / Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Marie Lu, RED CITY

In Angel City, alchemy is everything. Red City is the new fantasy novel from Marie Lu (Legend, Stars and Smoke). Bookseller Keila Cone-Uemura talks to Lu about the difference between writing for an adult audience and for a YA audience. During this wide-ranging talk, they discuss the inspiration that Lu pulled from her own life and from the city of Los Angeles. They also touch on the unexpected influence of The Hidden Life of Trees upon the new novel, as well as some favorite video games and video game soundtracks. 

Pick up a copy of Red City from Skylight books or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. 

Hosted by Keila Cone-Uemura. 
Produced by Keila Cone-Uemura and Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie - Friend of the Fest 2025 Special: JOHNNY MNEMONIC

In advance of the screening of Johnny Mnemonic in Black & White that the BTTM crew is hosting for the American Cinematheque's Friend of the Fest 2025, Allan and Justin get together to discuss the film and the William Gibson short story that inspired it.  

If you're going to be in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, why not come to our movie screening at the Los Feliz 3 theater?
Tickets available now on the American Cinematheque website!

Hosted by Allan Traylor and Justin Remer. (Hope that Japan is fun, Tyler!)
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Alisha Mughal, IT CAN'T RAIN ALL THE TIME: THE CROW

Abashed the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is. The Crow (1994) is a one-of-a-kind film, borne out of tragedy and thought to be cursed. Critic and culture writer Alisha Mughal takes a look at the film, its graphic novel origins, its beautiful but doomed star Brandon Lee, and much more in her new book for the Pop Classics series, It Can't Rain All the Time: The Crow. Alisha joins Skylight's Justin Remer for a talk about her book, her hyperfixation on the movie, and the '90s grunge ethos.

For more of Alisha Mughal's recent writing, check out:
*"The Lonely Landscapes of Materialists and The Worst Person in the World" on RogerEbert.com 
*"Let's Rock: The Dialectic of the the Sublime in Twin Peaks" on FilmDaze.net 

For more information on the screening of Johnny Mnemonic hosted by the Skylight Books podcast crew on August 26, 2025, check out: 
*The American Cinematheque's website for Friend of the Fest 2025

For Pop Classics titles on audiobook, check out Libro.FM please! 

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie 26: HOLES w/ Sophia Benoit

Author and comedian Sophia Benoit (Well, This Is Exhausting) joins the Better Than the Movie crew to discuss a modern children's book classic, HOLES by Louis Sachar, and its 2003 live-action Disney adaptation, which was scripted by Sachar himself, directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), and starred an insanely talented ensemble cast headed by Megalopolis co-stars Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voigt. Both the book and movie have held up extremely well in the ensuing years... but which is better?

Check out Sophia Benoit discussing her book with Tyler Austin on this episode from the Skylight Books archive: https://youtu.be/MxvdzJVo51c?si=Cc2Mq7j_o5YNU21Y

Hosted by Tyler Austin, Allan Traylor, and Justin Remer. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.  

SKYLIT: Pete Crighton, THE VINYL DIARIES

Don't drink? Don't smoke? What do you do? THE VINYL DIARIES follows Pete Crighton's journey from a closeted goody two shoes to a blissfully self-possessed lover of queer community, queer joy, and queer sex, while keeping track of the key pop music that resonated along the way. For this episode, Pete Crighton (The B-52s' Cosmic Thing) discusses releasing a memoir as a first-time writer, processing a lifetime of trauma through art, and the role music has played in the whole process. Writer-bookseller Justin Remer asks about the bands and artists that meant a lot (Adam Ant, Fleetwood Mac, Yoko Ono) and those that... well... didn't (Madonna, HAIM). They also talk about how Pete wrote his forthcoming 33 1/3 book on The B-52s in 90 days. 

Pick up a copy of the book from Skylight Books or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm. 

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Veronica Litt, UGH! AS IF! CLUELESS

This is so unexpected, we didn't even have a speech prepared. Author Veronica Litt joins us to talk about her new book in ECW Press's Pop Classics series, Ugh! As If!, on Amy Heckerling's classic film comedy Clueless. This is the 30th Anniversary of Clueless's theatrical release, and the book is both a warm, conversational appreciation and clear-eyed dissection of what the movie gets wonderfully right and what is a bit cringe now.  

Litt talks with bookseller Justin Remer about Clueless and all sorts of tangential topics including Jane Austen, girly art, human potato Channing Tatum, footnotes, audiobooks, and the Fast and Furious franchise.  

Get the book from Skylight and order the audiobook from Libro.FM please!  

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.  

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.  
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.  

Better Than the Movie 25: THE DEAD w/ Conor Holt

The Old Man WAS Still Alive! Film writer and physical media enthusiast Conor Holt returns to Better Than the Movie to discuss a pair of classics: John Huston's film The Dead (1987), adapted from the short story by James Joyce, which first appeared in Dubliners (1914).

Spoiler alert: Everyone loved them both. But between the film and the story, which did they think was better?

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Justin Remer, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Matthew Reed Baker, 1970s JAZZ FUSION (GENRE: A 33 1/3 SERIES)

From BITCHES BREW to "Feels So Good" and beyond, author Matthew Reed Baker delves into the funky, smooth, and transcendent records that resulted from the merging of jazz with R&B, pop, rock, and much much more in the 1970s. Miles Davis, Weather Report, Chuck Mangione, Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, and Steely Dan are just some of the acts that are discussed in 1970s Jazz Fusion, a welcome new installment from 33 1/3's spin-off series on musical genres. Bookseller and writer Justin Remer hosts this discussion of both the book and the music.  

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band

Better Than the Movie 24: WOMAN IN THE DUNES w/ Emily VanKoughnett

Abe is Bae? The wonderful Emily VanKoughnett (Los Angeles Review of Books; LIT ANGELES) returns to Better Than the Movie with a classy pick: Kobo Abe's existential psychological thriller The Woman in the Dunes. The novel, from 1962, was made a few years later into an Oscar-nominated film adapted by Abe and directed by the inimitable Hiroshi Teshigahara. Both are considered top-tier classics... but which is better? 

Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin. 
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.

SKYLIT: Sina Grace, WEST HOLLYWOOD MONSTER SQUAD

Award-winning graphic novelist and illustrator Sina Grace (Superman: The Harvests of Youth) joins host Tyler Austin to discuss his new book, West Hollywood Monster Squad. A ragtag crew must make their way across West Hollywood after some unexpected pink snow begins creating giant monsters in their midst. It's a sweet, funny "turbo gay" story for our time. Sina and Tyler discuss themes of the story, as well as the intricacies of the Pokémon video games, what it's like working at Skylight, and whatever else crosses their minds during this delightful hour-long chat. 

Produced by Tyler Austin & Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 
Hosted by Tyler Austin. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
The "Justin's music is great" music: "Don't Depend on Me (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band. 

Better Than the Movie 23: THE NATURAL w/ Jonah Lipton

Happy Opening Day! Baseball is back, and BTTM is back with another baseball-themed book adaptation. Bookseller and writer Jonah Lipton joins the crew to discuss Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel THE NATURAL, and its 1984 film adaptation starring Robert Redford. Famously the book is downbeat and cynical, reflecting postwar disillusionment, while the movie is upbeat and heroic, reflecting Reagan-era optimism. We know they're different but which one is better??  

Hosted by Tyler Austin, Allan Traylor, and Justin Remer.
Produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" Elastic No-No Band. 

SKYLIT: Marya E. Gates, CINEMA HER WAY

Film journalist and critic Marya E. Gates talks with Justin about her new book, Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors In Their Own Words. The book is a stylishly illustrated collection of interviews with 19 film directors, including Gillian Armstrong, Jane Campion, Mira Nair, Mary Lambert, and Katt Shea. Another great chat for our cinephile listeners!

Hosted and produced by Justin Remer. 
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening Music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing Music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.  

Better Than the Movie 22: HELLRAISER (1987) / THE HELLBOUND HEART w/ Garon Cockrell

Come to... Pod-dy? We're straining for puns over here, but we've got a fun remote-recorded episode today, featuring the return of author and podcaster Garon Cockrell (Demonic and Other Tales). It's a follow-up to last year's Nightbreed episode, in which Tyler voiced his dislike for body horror. For being such a good sport, we reward him with more Clive Barker: the 1987 film Hellraiser, directed by Barker and adapted from his own novella, The Hellbound Heart. There are discussions of the story's psychosexual dynamics and hazy mythology, plus a bit about the sequels and remakes.  

Hosted by Allan Traylor, Tyler Austin, and Justin Remer.

Produced by Justin Remer. (sorry about the mixed-bag sound)
Recorded remotely via Zencastr. 

Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental) by Duck the Piano Wire. 
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.