Teaching My Cat To Read: The “very serious” Book Review Podcast

Show notes

In today’s episode, we read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, and discuss a lot of the heavy themes it covers (see the content warnings below). We recommend you check out a plot summary before listening to our rantings about the failings of the institution of marriage, poor parenting techniques, and which few of the characters in this book we WOULDN’T fight.

Content Warnings
Domestic abuse, substance abuse, addiction, rape, 1840s societal treatment of all of the above

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Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

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Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

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We read a short children's story “My Friend Mr Leakey” written by J. B. S. Haldane, who can only be described as a mad scientist. Join us for a discussion of transmutative justice, English versus Brazilian magic, and post-war fantasy literature.

Content Warnings

1930’s-era British racism, eugenics, colonialism

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

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In this episode, we discuss our myriad issues with the Peter Jackson adaptations, the wider Middle-Earth legendarium, and the possibility of the Arkenstone being a Silmaril. Join us as we wish for the movies to lower our coffins into our graves when we die, so that they can let us down one last time.

Content Warnings
Discussions of antisemitism, racism, race essentialism, mention of Nazism

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
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In this episode, we discuss the Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved book which originated as a bedtime story for his son. Join us for discussion of medievalist tropes, elven culture, and Bilbo’s failed stealth checks.
We had a little issue with M's audio this time, so despite our best editing efforts there is still a bit of crackling, which we apologise for. 

Content Warnings
na

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

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We read “Temeraire: His Majesty's Dragon” by Naomi Novik, the first book in a series of alternative history novels where the Napoleonic Wars are fought with Dragons. The second of a two-parter (we recommend first listening to the previous episode if you haven’t done so already!)

[Note: At around 16 minutes we briefly mix up Captain Catherine Harcourt and Captain Jane Roland. Lawrence meets Harcourt first, and she is the one that he accidentally calls Miss. He meets Caption Roland later, and they get into a relationship.]

Content Warnings
Abuse/neglect of a dragon (dragons are sentient, and the abusive relationship is somewhere between a parent/child or owner/pet situation)

Warfare

Mild Sexism

Additional
We reference JK Rowling’s work in this episode and want to make it clear we support Trans rights - here are a few UK Trans organisations we support and you can too:

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
http://genderedintelligence.co.uk/
https://transgenderni.org.uk/

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
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We read “Temeraire: His Majesty's Dragon” by Naomi Novik, the first book in a series of alternative history novels where the Napoleonic Wars are fought with Dragons. We join Captain Will Laurence as he reluctantly forms a bond with a newly hatched dragon and instantly becomes the “I’ve only had Temeraire for a day and a half but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone on this boat and then myself” meme.

If you like the premise go read it, we’ll wait! (Definitely read it.)

Part one of two. 

Content Warnings
Abuse/neglect of a dragon (dragons are sentient, and the abusive relationship is somewhere between a parent/child or owner/pet situation)

Warfare

Mild Sexism

Additional
We reference JK Rowling’s work in this episode and want to make it clear we support Trans rights - here are a few UK Trans organisations we support and you can too:

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
http://genderedintelligence.co.uk/
https://transgenderni.org.uk/

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
https://forms.gle/TBZUBH4SK8dez8RP9

In today’s episode, we discuss Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, including topics such as: the potentially-fatal consequences of cancel culture, how every modern wants what Benedick and Beatrice have, and the incredible power of staging when it comes to telling a story. Join us to find out where we’d put an F-bomb if we had the chance, and what the cat thinks of it all.

Content Warnings
-

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
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This week we read The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho, a historical romance novella, which in the author’s own words is a “happy fluffy story about a single non-white woman at large in 1920s London”. Learn why you shouldn’t make a decision after reading (most) Brontës, the difficulties of being scrutable and loof, and whether we’ve finally found a cad we don’t want to punch?

This novella is available for free on Kindle or at barnesandnoble.com.

Content Warnings

Discussion of sex, and pregnancy. 

This story is set in 1920’s London with a female Chinese Malaysian British protagonist and so does touch on racism and sexism.

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
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In which Poirot encounters: a  display of truly marvellous project management, some good old-fashioned European Racism (™), and a lot of snow. Join us for a discussion of Agatha Christie’s most famous Poirot story, and find out what the cat will think.

Content Warnings
Discussions of murder, suicide and child death.

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
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One day you’re a pillar of fire doing neat tricks to impress your followers, the next you’re a tortoise hurtling towards the ground at frightening speed. 

Listen to our podcast to find out what happens next. 

Featuring, comparative reading with Ursula K. Le Guin and Neil Gaiman, and theoretical theology.

What will we think, and more importantly what will the cat think?

Please check out friends of the pod Colne Valley Books at https://colnevalleybooks.co.uk/

Content Tags
Discussion of death

Support the show

Recommend us a Book!
If there’s a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we’ll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).

Social Media
Website: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/
Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQ

Listener Survey
https://forms.gle/TBZUBH4SK8dez8RP9