The Book Common Room

In our twenty-first episode, we go back in time to introduce who John Steinbeck was and how East of Eden came to be.

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom


Sources: 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
• https://stanforddaily.com/2012/06/07/steinbeck-at-stanford/
• My Life With John Steinbeck
  
  

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In our twentieth episode, we return to L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables for a second conversation about the beloved novel that has stayed with us long after we first read it.

This time, we share our favorite moments and quotes, revisit the characters and passages that have shaped our love for the book, and reflect on the impact Montgomery’s writing has had on us. From Anne’s irrepressible imagination to her way of finding beauty and possibility in the ordinary things, we explore what makes this story so enduring—and why it continues to feel like coming home.

What makes a book become part of us? And how does a story we love shape the way we see the world? Join us for the second part of our Anne of Green Gables conversation!

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

**In the first half of this episode, our audio had some rough feedback. We did our best to minimize this with what tools we have, and apologize for the echoes! 

In our nineteenth episode, we travel to the magical land of Avonlea to join Anne and her many adventures. Additionally, we introduce the creative mind behind Anne: Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Sources: 

- https://www.parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/activ/maison-house?utm_source=chatgpt.com:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Maud_Montgomery

- The Canadian government page literally lists Maud's history and Anne's background in Green Gables.

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In our eighteenth episode, we turn to Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir about love, loss, and the strange, disorienting landscape of grief.

We explore the ways Didion writes through grief while holding onto love, memory, and the life she shared with her husband, John Gregory Dunne. Together, we consider what it means to make sense of loss when the person you’ve lost remains so present in your thoughts—and why Didion’s precise, searching prose continues to resonate with readers.

What does grief ask us to remember? And what does love look like after loss? Join us in this second-part episode as we dive into Didion's memoir!

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In this episode, we introduce Joan Didion and her amazing memoir, "The Year of Magical Thinking." 

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Didion
https://www.joandidion.org/about-joan-didion

If you'd like to read along, you can find it here:

• https://amzn.to/4cMgNSy
  
  

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In this episode, we further discuss the many reasons why we still love Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, 20 years later. 

If you'd like to read along, you can find it here:

• https://amzn.to/3TOwm5t
  
  

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In this episode, we introduce the many reasons why we still love Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, 20 years later. Additionally, we take a glance into who Rick Riordan is and how he started his writing career. 

If you'd like to read along, you can find them here:

• https://amzn.to/3TOwm5t

References: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Riordan
https://rickriordan.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113255.Big_Red_Tequila

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In this episode, we're back to discuss Part 2 of The Odyssey. We dive into our overall reactions to the epic, compare the Emily Wilson and Robert Fagles translations, and explore why The Odyssey continues to resonate thousands of years after it was first composed.

If you haven't finished The Odyssey yet, consider this your spoiler warning! If you'd like to read along or compare translations, you can find them here:

-Emily Wilson: https://amzn.to/3SGKdKz

-Robert Fagles: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140268863

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music features Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 "American": I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In our thirteenth episode of season two, we dive into the divisive topics of which translation of the Odyssey is the best and who Homer was. For this month, Lauren and I will be reading both the Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson translations. You can find a copy of each of the translations here: 

Wilson: https://amzn.to/3SGKdKz

Fagles: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140268863?tag=136746-thebookcommonroom-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

Sources: 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/who-was-homer 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/homer

https://www.jsusannewilson.com/post/best-odyssey-translation

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/hexameter

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music featured by Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 “American”: I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).

In our twelfth episode of the season, we take a deeper dive into the writings of William and Dorothy Wordsworth. Through poetry, journals, and reflections, we explore themes of stewardship, of nature, of community, and of one another. Join us as we discuss how the Wordsworths invite us to see the natural world with renewed attention and care, and how their writings continue to speak to questions of responsibility and memory. We also feature Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, whose vision of humanity's encounter with the sublime beautifully complements the landscapes and reflections found in the Wordsworths’ work.

Links to the readings discussed in this episode:

William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence ("The Leech-Gatherer" 1807 version) – https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Resolution_and_Independence

OPTIONAL: William Wordsworth, Michael: A Pastoral Poem – https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Michael:_A_Pastoral_Poem

Dorothy Wordsworth, Thoughts on My Sick-bed – https://dorothywordsworth2019.byu.edu/

Dorothy Wordsworth, Grasmere—A Fragment – https://www.textarchiv.com/dorothy-wordsworth/grasmere-a-fragment/

OPTIONAL: Dorothy Wordsworth, An Excursion Up Scawfell Pike – https://romantic-circles.org/editions/wordsworth_dorothy/scawfell

Featured artwork:

Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (c. 1818)

Follow us on Instagram @TheBookCommonRoom. Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube: linktr.ee/TheBookCommonRoom

Introduction music featured by Antonín Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 “American”: I. Allegro ma non troppo (1893), performed by the Cleveland Quartet (Telarc, 1991).