Michael and Ethan have their first Very Special, a competition in which they try to stump each other with the openings of books. Don’t worry, there are stakes. (But not steaks.)

In this episode:

There are special rules, which Michael and Ethan do manage to break without acknowledging it (4 = 3, apparently)

Some really scintillating discourse about The Lake House starring Keanu Reeves

Believe it or not, and despite jokes made in this episode, the editor DID actually cut out a lot of silences

The article Ethan mentioned, where Gaiman starts off with a signature M&E catchphrase?

The badness of the content at the end is objectively Michael’s fault. That should just be on the record.

Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

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Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.