Cracking the Spine

By Sean CurranArts Books

Cracking the Spine episodes

July 02, 2015 Episode Twenty and Two - Stranger Than Fiction
This week our intrepid trio (that's right, Josh is back!) talk about truth versus fiction. Why pick one over the other? Josh also gives a dramatic reading from a "political text" from a Fox News host. Classic Josh...

Books Discussed:

The Girl With All The Gifts by: M. R. Carey

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by: Milan Kundera

Adios America by: Ann Coulter

Scrapper by: Matt Bell

The Fold by: Peter Clines

The Drafter by: Kim Harrison

The Name of the Wind by: Patrick Rothfuss

A Headful of Ghosts by: Paul Tremblay

Grendel by: John Garnder

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by: Simon Winchester

One Summer: America 1927 by: Bill Bryson

At Home by: Bill Bryson:

Hardcore Zen by: Brad Warner

South: The Endurance Expedition by: Ernest Henry Shackleton

The Good Lord Bird by: James McBride

Quicksilver by: Neal Stephenson

George Washington’s Secret Six by: Brian Kilmeade

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by: Neal Gabler

Jim Henson by: Brian Jay Jones

Mao: The Unknown Story by: Jung Chang

Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You by: Greg Gutfeld
36 min
June 25, 2015 Episode Twenty and One - The Horror... The Horror
Zane and Sean decide to give Josh the week off today (though he may or may not have made an appearance). The duo dig deeply into the horror genre, a personal favorite of each of them. There's also a spooky reading from a *terrifying new novel (* - not a guarantee of terror). Pull the covers up tight and prepare for the nightmares!

Music - Fields on Fire by: Honeychurch

Books discussed:

The Girl With All The Gifts by: M. R. Carey

The Fold by: Peter Clines

Scrapper by: Matt Bell

The Drafter by: Kim Harrison

Grendel by: John Gardner

The Troop by: Nick Cutter

Heart Shaped Box by: Joe Hill

Haunted by: Chuck Palahniuk

Lunar Park by: Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho by: Bret Easton Ellis

It by: Stephen King

Duma Key by: Stephen King

The Amityville Horror by: Jay Anson

We Need To Talk About Kevin by: Lionel Shriver

Gerald’s Game by: Stephen King

The Haunting Of Hill House by: Shirley Jackson

The Martian by: Andy Weir

South: The Endurance Expedition by: Ernest Henry Shackleton

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account Of The Mount Everest Disaster by: Jon Krakauer
39 min
June 18, 2015 Episode Twenty - In Our Younger and More Vulnerable Years...
This week the gang takes a suggestion from a listener and talk about the books that they read when they were younger. From Judy Blume to Stephen King to Gary Paulson and everything in between. Sean also treats us to another dramatic reading from a new American classic. Join us, won't you?

Music - Tennessee Valley by: Honeychurch

Books discussed:

A Head Full Of Ghosts by: Paul Tremblay

The Book Of Five Rings by: Musashi Miyamoto

Armada by: Ernest Cline

The Fold by: Peter Clines

The Girl With All The Gifts by: M. R. Carey

Frog And Toad Are Friends by: Arnold Lobel

Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town by: Richard Scarry

Mr. Happy by: Roger Hargreaves

The Boxcar Children by: Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Adventures Of Ali Baba Bernstein by: Johanna Hurwitz

The Mouse And The Motorcycle by: Beverly Cleary

Hatchet by: Gary Paulson

My Side Of The Mountain by: Jean Craighead George

The Outsiders by: S. E. Hinton

Bridge To Terabithia by: Katherine Paterson

A Wrinkle In Time by: Madeleine L’Engle

The Virgin Suicides by: Jeffrey Eugenides

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky

Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott

The Crystal Cave by: Mary Stewart
40 min
June 11, 2015 Episode Nineteen - So Many Choices, Not All Good
This week's topic - how do you choose what you're going to read, and when is it okay to give up on a book? Also: Josh expresses a fraction of his discontent for a big upcoming release; and Zane provides the world with a dramatic reading from a seminal work of our times.
Music - The Dream is Over by: Honeychurch
Books discussed:
Zer0es by: Chuck Wendig
A Head Full Of Ghosts by: Paul Tremblay
House Of Thieves by: Charles Belfoure
Trust No One: A Thriller by: Paul Cleave
The Time Machine Did It by: John Swartzwelder
Armada by: Ernest Cline
The Girl On The Train by: Paula Hawkins
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved The American Revolution by: Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread by: Chuck Palahniuk
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by: Susanna Clarke
Magic Ponies: A New Friend by: Sue Bentley and Angela Swan

29 min
June 04, 2015 Episode Eighteen - Being Everywhere at Once
This week Josh has a bee in his bonnet regarding the cavalier method modern films have taken with setting. The crew talks over what works about settings in fiction, literary and cinematic, and what doesn't.
Music - The Dinner Song by Honeychurch
Books discussed:
House Of Thieves by: Charles Belfoure
Zer0es by: Chuck Wendig
The Time Machine Did It by: John Swartzwelder
A Headful Of Ghosts by: Paul Tremblay
Armada by: Ernest Cline
Reamde by: Neal Stephenson
Zodiac by: Neal Stephenson
Grendel by: John Gardner
37 min
May 27, 2015 Episode Seventeen - WE'LL DO IT LIVE!
Sean, Zane and Josh attempt to do a live-streaming broadcast, looking to the viewers to answer some questions. Technology may or may not get in the way...

Books mentioned:
I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit by: Aaron Cometbus
Zer0es by: Chuck Wendig
Bridge To Terabithia by: Katherine Paterson
The Natural by: Bernard Malamud
The Mist by: Stephen King
The Count Of Monte Cristo by: Alexandre Dumas
The Aeneid by: Virgil
The Odyssey by: Homer
Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead by: Tom Stoppard
Frankenstein by: Mary Shelley

33 min
May 21, 2015 Episode Sixteen - Ownership of Story
The crew gets into a debate as old as humanity itself: who owns a piece of art, specifically a story? Does it belong to the creator, or to the audience? It gets deep y'all. We also discuss an interesting question posed to us by a listener and one-time guest of the show, the great Duane Swierczynski.

Books discussed:
Sometimes The Wolf by: Urban Waite
I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit by: Aaron Cometbus
Double Duce by: Aaron Cometbus
Y, The Last Man by: Brian K. Vaughan
A Game Of Thrones by: George R. R. Martin
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions And Disturbances by: Neil Gaiman
Seveneves by: Neal Stephenson
Goosebumps: Welcome To Dead House by: R. L. Stine
41 min
May 14, 2015 Episode Fifteen - Un-Required Reading
Zane, Sean and Josh take a trip down memory lane to discuss when reading stopped being a required chore and became a thing to do for fun. Also, Zane gets a present and Josh gets butthurt (who could have seen that coming?)
Books discussed:
Y, The Last Man by: Brian K. Vaughan
Seveneves by: Neal Stephenson
Sometimes The Wolf by: Urban Waite
Hatchet by: Gary Paulson
It by: Stephen King
The Killer Angels by: Michael Shaara
Dante’s Inferno
Great Expectations by: Charles Dickens
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by: Mark Twain
38 min
May 07, 2015 Episode Fourteen - The Butthurtening and the Power of Three
This week we talk about all the various things in this world that chap our asses, irritate our rectums, and hurt our butts. We also welcome a third member to the Cracking the Spine family, new co-host Josh Henderson.
Rag And Bone: A Journey Among The World’s Holy Dead by: Peter Manseau
Invincible Compendium, Volume 1 by: Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley
The Time Machine Did It by: John Swartzwelder Sometimes The Wolf by: Urban Waite
39 min
April 30, 2015 Episode Thirteen - Talking About a Generation
The butthurt parade that is Sean watching the Game of Thrones continues. And based on a listener suggestion, there's a pretty great discussion about how authors' styles evolve over the course of a long career.
Books mentioned:
Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by: Liz Prince
The Maze Runner by: James Dashner
Mr. Mercedes by: Stephen King
11/22/63 by: Stephen King
Nos4a2 by: Joe Hill
Heart-Shaped Box by: Joe Hill
Trainspotting by: Irvine Welsh
The Secret Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins by: Irvine Welsh
Hell’s Angels by: Hunter S. Thompson
7 Against Chaos by: Harlan Ellison, Paul Chadwick
38 min

About Cracking the Spine

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Cracking the Spine is a weekly podcast centered around the world of literature. Topics cover the wide range of issues associated with books, publishing, and the literary world in general. Host Sean…

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Cracking the Spine

Cracking the Spine episodes

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