Mid Lit

Come visit The Hotel New Hampshire where you can choose whether you want to stay on the violent radical floor or the floor with the very noisy sex workers. There's something for everyone! Tune in as we talk about this surrealist romp that spans two continents, one Freud (but not that Freud!), and two bears. Irene Papoulis, Principal Lecturer in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric at Trinity College, joins us to talk about what John Irving's post-Garp novel is saying, or isn't saying, or is maybe kind of saying... and what exactly a writer has to do to become part of "the canon." And bears... we'll also talk a lot about bears. 

Whether you love "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and hate "Simon Birch," or you've never read the book but love the movie, or somehow, inexplicably, love both, we've got you covered. Tune in to hear how our resident movie critic, Carolyn Paine, felt about this wild Hallmark meets Chicken Soup for the Soul version of John Irving's beloved novel; learn why Rebecca Lavoie will never (NEVER!) watch this movie; get a deep dive into the merits or lack thereof from our hosts. Also, take a slight detour into The Gilmore Girls, Friday Night Lights, Northern Exposure, and the story of Rebecca's neighbors' attempts to convert her. 

We're kicking off Season 1 by diving into Theresa's favorite book of all time, "A Prayer for Owen Meany." This 1988 John Irving novel also happens to be a favorite for Rebecca Lavoie from Crime Writer's On, so she was gracious enough to stop by and talk to us about Owen, the nature of John Wheelright's love for his diminutive friend, and just what we're supposed to think about the nature of faith by the end of this book. Tune in for a deep dive into Irving's best-selling book of all time.

Mid Lit is part book club and part lit class, but 100% in praise of unpretentious books! Tune in as Rebecca & Theresa of Big Little Podcast fame tell us why they're turning their attention to books, and why they're focusing on popular books that they can't put down instead of the books we're all "supposed to read." And find out which author they are deep diving into first (*Hint: He is really into bears and wrestling!)