Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch

They’re still talking about The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. In fact, they can’t stop talking about it, until they solve it and report to the lake by…. Wait, we’re going meta again. How is it that we always get trapped in the books we read? Maybe that’s a commentary on the reality created by our minds, and whether we should allow that to control us or not. Or maybe it’s just fun. Anyway….

In this episode:

Michael starts off in a confusing way.

Ethan threatens to bring Poitin as either the drink or a punishment, or perhaps the book.

Nick tries to segue us. It is not appreciated.

They try really hard to figure out what “7 1/2” means.

Michael points out the color of the cover, and Ethan hates it.

They bring up The Hunger Games AGAIN!

They get super theological in this episode.

Linear time does exist!

They are not debating about sandwiches.

They do the Reading Group Guide!

Ethan concludes: This book doesn’t make any sense.

How does time even work?

The Reading Group Guide scores -11,000,000,007,281.

Nick rates the Scotch: “Smoother than I expected it to be.”

Their next book will be Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

And Special Guest: Nicholas Lilienthal (@PokeRollNick)

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.

“March” by Yakov Golman. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael & Ethan are joined by Michael’s brother, Nick, to discuss The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton.

In this episode:

Michael breaks the Scotch.

Ethan is proven thoroughly wrong by our new Patron, Alexis!

The podcast turns into a hostage situation.

Alexis recommends: Caitlin R. Kiernan.

Ethan gets in a wrestling match over two cups.

They see just a shadow of a shadow of Plato’s cave and its shadows.

Michael fits this novel into the Hunger Games universe.

Ethan recommends LatinDIctionary.net.

Michael gets Schroedinger’s Cat shoehorned in.

Shout-out to the History of Philosophy without any gaps podcast.

Ethan ties it back to Gerald Murnane. Again.

Their next book will be Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

And Special Guest: Nicholas Lilienthal (@PokeRollNick)

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.

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

They finish their analysis of Soulless, by Gail Carriger, and of course are very mature about it. One listener has lovingly said that it is our fault that he read this, the trashiest book he has ever read. We can’t disagree. It’s pretty fantastic.

In this episode:

Michael declares war on Naboo.

They both have glasses on their face.

Ethan brings the discussion back to genre.

He also taunts Michael by talking about Anno Dracula, by Kim Newman.

Michael acknowledges what this book is doing, about vampires and minorities.

We have a “Names with Michael” segment!

Ethan digresses on Oscar Wilde.

This is the Luther that Michael quotes.

If you listen closely, about 28:19 in, Michael loses, but Ethan doesn’t catch it. (I doubt Michael even noticed.)

The hotness of the protagonist makes Michael mad.

Ms. Carriger, you don’t deserve the comparison Ethan makes.

Ethan explains why he read all of Twilight.

Ethan’s favorite Gothic novelist is Charles Robert Maturin.

Everyone is wrong.

Yes, they recorded this in March.

Their next book will be The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton, and rumor has it there will be a guest on! 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

Now Michael & Ethan are talking about Soulless by Gail Carriger, with lots of frills and dresses and other dangerous things. It’s a challenge for Michael especially, because the subtitle of the book is literally against the rules for him to mention. Let’s see how he does.

In this episode:

They almost talk more about The Plains.

They talk about stupid dog faces.

They drink a human person.

They attempt to be relevant.

Apologies abound to Neil Gaiman and Gail Carriger.

Michael & Ethan read themselves their Miranda rights.

A lot of discussion is occupied with a brilliant blend of weird genres and worldbuilding.

Ethan talks a lot to support his own uber theory.

Pretty much this whole episode is them figuring out how to talk about this book.

This is the book Michael mentions.

Ethan makes predictions about the sequel, Changeless.

Ethan spoils Captain Marvel for Michael.

Next time: they stop teasing. They promise.

Their next book will be The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton, and rumor has it there will be a guest on! 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

They will never not be talking about The Plains by Gerald Murnane. That’s because, The Plains is life, which means everything and nothing all at once.

In this episode:

Ethan is not a 14-year-old girl waiting for her date. Well, he’s not one of those things.

They take the “No Girls” sign down from the door.

With Ethan’s wife, they all get very dramatic.

Michael gives Ethan an epiphany about the book’s religion(?)

They talk about The Rules of the Game, which they talked about before.

If we create a revolution, we didn’t mean to. (But seriously, Michael has no qualms with the psychological field.)

Everyone knows how slot machines work. But they digress from slot machines to talk about women.

They delete their 1/2-hour conversation on “Library of Babel.”

Michael doesn’t want to talk about this book anymore.

(The book mentioned at about 52:45 is Other Kingdoms by Richard Matheson.)

(It’s Arthur, not Richard: Arthur Lessac. And yes, Michael knows he modified this exercise.)

Their next book will be Soulless by Gail Carriger. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

“Old Knight” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Check out what Michael & Ethan think of The Plains by Gerald Murnane. There is actually a lot to be said about this book, although to look at its cover, you wouldn’t think so.

In this episode:

Michael pushes a button in the air.

They’ve been writing/performing an absurdist play for the last 3 years.

They get sidetracked by the Strange Planet comic strip.

Ethan starts them off on a very biographical note, but it’s not necessary. Then he asks a very bad question.

Someone needs to play a Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch drinking game.

Ethan discovers how weird the world of homeschooling is.

Michael invents a word, something about the opposite of nihilism.

They talk about the finer points of geometry, in the differences between arcs and slides.

It’s Midwestern, and Downton Abbey, and something else, all rolled together.

Their next book will be Soulless by Gail Carriger. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

They were given a homework assignment by Nathaniel Rhein:

Book/Story/Poem/Essay Assigned: Tobias Wolff’s short story “Smokers”
available online at
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1976/12/smokers/306060/

Homework Assignment: What *really* happens in the story? Is the narrator reliable?
(Context: This is an assignment I was given many years ago in an undergraduate logic/English class. In the ensuing debate, I disagreed with my professor (and his favorite student), and he gave me a poor grade as a result. I want to see if you guys come up with my answer or my professor's answer.)

The guys come up with about 84 different interpretations, but read and let them know what you think! At the end of the episode, they respond to some more listener feedback, also from Nat.

In this episode:

They pretend to know what the Purge is.

Michael’s drink is wrong.

They analyze the professor and assignment before they do the assignment.

Ethan doesn’t read books.

Ethan talks about dogs, from experience.

Michael gives a principle of literary interpretation.

Ethan brings up Schroedinger’s Cat.

As usual, Ethan isn’t willing to be tied down.

Ethan gives us A’s on the homework.

Michael quotes Aladdin.

#GameofThronesCast

Surprise, surprise, Michael & Ethan are basically the same person.

Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

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

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

The pair finishes they’re discussion of Things not Seen by Andrew Clements. Ethan threatans to take his toys and go home, but he can’t quit the podcast, Michael, or you, the gentle listener. So he sticks it out to give you his thoughts on this YA Sci-Fi adventure.

Bonus: at the end, they talk about Jonathan Franzen’s “10 Rules for Novelists.”

In this episode:

Nothing of value is said in the first 5 minutes.

They debate the finer points of interrogatives and declaratives.

There’s also a long debate about the classic dilemma: Invisibility or Flight?

Michael wants to make things as ambiguous as possible.

Spoilers for The Fault in Our Stars.

They have abundant theories about why antiquated internet technologies failed.

They prove they’re as hip as the cool kids….

Michael shows his age.

There is a wife-intrusion, and they don’t talk about MBMBaM.

We learn why it took Ethan so long to read Harry Potter.

Ethan mangles the Bible, and Michael fixes it. Hebrews 11:1.

Look up Sean Patrick Little.

Ignore the 10 Rules for Novelists.

Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Take a break from Things not Seen by Andrew Clements, and listen to Michael & Ethan responding to the responses of the listeners! Thanks for sending your feedback, and as always, you’re encouraged to give more! In this episode:

Michael makes up a word, probably.

They’re not sponsored by The Bitter Truth.

Write-Only Memory

What makes a villain? What makes an anti-hero? What makes a feminist? Ethan knows.

SPOILERS - - - but you don’t know what for….

We all can’t forgive George Lucas.

We could almost spend another hour on Station Eleven.

After Things Not Seen, their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

When you distill meanness down into a glass, what do you get? We’re discussing Things not Seen by Andrew Clements, a classic from Michael’s youth.

Michael tells only some of the listeners to go suck an egg. That’s not you.

Ethan quotes Hezekiah 16:4.

Michael makes an Alzabo Soup transition.

Michael confesses, he hasn’t finished this book.

Ethan whispers secrets, while Michael goes to get books.

How many horrible ways can Ethan mispronounce “Sophocles”?

They talk about a stack of other books.

Ethan offends Andrew Clements.

This is what Ethan was trying to pronounce.

Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. 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.

Donate to our Patreon!

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

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

"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.

“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.