Tales In Our Times

Hello, dear listener! Today’s episode is our first Author Highlight episode. We told you we’d be trying new things in the second season, and this is one! The nerds take a dive into the writing of China Miéville and come up with recommendations based on where to start if you’re looking to get into him. We think he’s dope, and we think you will, too! See below for books mentioned.

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton

The Christmas Card Crime And Other Stories by Martin Edwards

A Little History of the World by EH Gombrich

Aliss at the Fire by Jon Fosse

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

Hot House, The Saliva Tree, and The Heliconia series by Brian Aldiss

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Embassytown, The City and The City, Kraken, The Last Days of New Paris, and the Bas Lag Trilogy by China Miéville

FINALLY. WE RISE FROM THE GRAVE. Hey all. Sorry for the wait. One of us had to move house, and it really ballsed up our scheduling. Here’s an episode a day for the rest of the week to make up for it. First on the list is our chat about gift-giving narratives. We both love getting and giving presents, and we thought it was interesting to examine the way that we tell stories about what they mean. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, and Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Aliss at the Fire by Jon Fosse

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Vorrh by B Catling

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson

Orange Is Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Gift of the Magi by O Henry

The nerds are back again with another proper late review of one of the events we went to. We took a moment at the top of the episode to remember the poet Refaat Alareer, killed by the war in Gaza. May he rest in peace. See below for books mentioned.

Books Mentioned:

King Lear by William Shakespeare

A Master of Djinn and Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Dune by Frank Herbert

In this episode, the nerds talk about their expectations leading into the Rare Book Fair in Philadelphia, hosted by the fine folks over at Fine Book Fairs! We’re posting these as a duo, so look forward to our reflections on the event in the next episode. See below for books mentioned, and the socials of the folks mentioned!

On this episode, George and Janet review the fallacies surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday. We give a super late status update on the Booker Prize (congratulations in the present, Mr Lynch!), unpack some of the narratives surrounding Thanksgiving, and take a look at some good alternative options for honest narratives of the history. George does way too much of an uwu voice, and we try our best to wring a laugh or two out of a stunningly depressing topic. Check out the Booker Prize’s YouTube (linked on our website) to hear some actor-narrated sections from the books on their shortlist! See below for books mentioned!

Books Mentioned:

The Sentence Is Death and The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

The Three Dimensions of Freedom by Billy Bragg

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J Silverman

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States and Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse

In their second episode of the second season, George and Janet review another holiday narrative: Bonfire Night. We review the history of the man who sparked the holiday, and some book options to introduce those of us who are unfamiliar. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks

The Feminist Subversion of the Economy: Contributions for a Life Against Capital by Amaia Perez Orozco

Kensington Homestead by Nic Esposito

Numamushi: A Fairy Tale by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

The Firemaster’s Mistress by Christie Dickason

Black Powder by Ally Sherrick

Hovis the Hedgehog: Bonfire Night by Lynda Leigh-Crawford

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, illus. David Lloyd

We’re back from a brief hiatus with our second season! Janet and George change it up for this season, discussing the recipe for a perfect Halloween story. However, they remain consistent with the time delay between current events and their episode topics. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, and Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

The Feminist Subversion of the Economy: Contributions for Life Against Capital by Amaia Pérez Orozco, trans. Liz Mason-Deese

The Last Graduate, A Deadly Education, and Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

For our last episode of what we’re dubbing Season 1, Janet and George take a look back over their favorite bits so far. Mainly, it’s another chance for us to talk about how much we love Carmen Maria Machado. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

The Flight From the Enchanter by Iris Murdoch

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Dracula by Bram Stoker

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In this episode, Janet and George are joined by their second guest ever, a member of their family: Becky! She comes in to chat with us about one of Janet’s most-read genres, Young Adult fiction. We look over the history of YA and reflect on what purpose it serves in the literary canon. Hope you enjoy this one, as we had a very enjoyable (silly) time. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

In this episode, Janet walks us through an art movement that influenced her during her childhood: kitchen sink realism. Join in as we walk through the history of kitchen sink paintings, the inspiration taken from the similar ash can movement in the US, and the ways that people have always spoken up about societies that don’t provide for their needs. This was such an interesting episode to record, and we hope you’ll learn something new. See below for books mentioned!

Intro song Bookmark and audio editing by Quatroizer.

Logo art by Gabriel de Mello.

Books Mentioned:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

Look Back in Anger by John Osborne

Saturday Night or Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe

The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks

A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

A Kind of Loving by Stan Barstow