The Bookening

"TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story."

Our first Spooky Minisode covers "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe. Is this the most transgressive Poe story? What makes it feel so icky? Why is it so frequently anthologized? Should people read this thing for fun?

Music: "Signs In The Fields" by Cinematicwaves, licensed by a Creative Commons 3.0 license.

This month, we will be reading five tales of terror (one each Tuesday and Wednesday, until the end of October), and in this mini-sode we introduce them so you can read along, should you so perspire, er, desire.

They include "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe, "The Packerhaus Method" by Gene Wolfe, "The Girl with Hungry Eyes" by Fritz Leiber, "Singing My Sister Down" by Margo Lanagan, and "When the Fleet was in at Mobile" by Patricia Highsmith.

NO HALLOWEEN PUNS ALLOWED!

Music: "Signs In The Fields" by Cinematicwaves, licensed by a Creative Commons 3.0 license.

Want to be able to define structuralism, deconstruction, semiotics, New Criticism, New Historicism, and more?  Than this is the episode for you! We're tracing the modern history of literary theory, and defining the major movies. By the end, you'll know what's good, what's bad, and what's just weird. And you'll hear a quote from Barthes's 'Death of the Author'! Yay! 

How do you make a kid love literature? Are some of them just not cut out for it? What sorts of things should students be looking for in a book or poem or story? How does a teacher guide them toward said things? How do you teach a story or poem about something kids haven't experienced yet? How do you give them an ear for style?

In last week's episode on teaching literature, our heroes gave a more general philosophy of teaching. This week they're tackling the literature aspect of it all. 

SORRY FOR THE AUDIO QUALITY. IT IS EXPLAINED IN THE EPISODE. In this impromptu episode, we talk about what separates a good teacher from a bad one, and how you can control a classroom and impart delicious knowledge to kids and people everywhere. 

In our new mini-series, learn to throw around words like "deconstruction", "post-colonialism", "semiotics", etc. with the best of them. 

Terms like these are easy to mock and equally easy to venerate. They're also easy to be intimidated by. Is there anything good that's come out of academic literary theory? What do all those fancy schmancy words mean anyway? Our heroes begin a journey through the history of literary criticism. By the end of it you will be able to talk about all of this stuff. First up, a brief history of everything leading up to the twentieth century.  

In which we conclude our discussion of The Lord of the Rings by talking about Book 6, the final part of The Return of the King and of the series as a whole. Tolkien manages to not kill off any of the major good guys ... and yet there's a real price to be paid for standing up to the ultimate evil. Our heroes talk a lot about that, and everything that happens after the ring is destroyed, and why it had to happen the way it did. Also they give summary thoughts on the series, on favorite characters, favorite books, things like that. Yay! 

Is book 5 of Lord of the Rings actually the worst of the lot (on a gradation of greatness, obviously)? Our heroes argue about that, and revise some of their previous opinions on Eowyn, and talk about what makes a great inspiring speech when you're leading men into battle, and why Aragorn's speech in the movie version was stupid. AND MORE. 

Our heroes dig into one of the great novels of the 21st century. Or is it? Listen to find out. 

Are you ready for Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguru, one of the novels that appears on everyone's list of the best of the 21st century (usually in 1st place, or at least in the top 10)? Our heroes dive in, providing much needed context on Ishiguru and the type of fiction that this is. Trying not to say too much here, spoilers definitely included in the episode.