The Bookening

Yes, it's the one where we really get into Sense and Sensibility. Is this one of Jane Austen's less mature works? Does it show any signs of being a first novel? Or is it completely perfect? How does it rank in the Austen oeuvre? How did
Austen grow as a writer in her later novels? These are just SOME of the questions that our heroes answer in this AMAZING podcast. Frailty, thy name is Brandon.

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Just a little check in. We're not going anywhere. Love ya all. 

In this second episode about Sense and Sensibility, our heroes spend some time talking about their various histories with Jane Austen (this is their fifth time doing that but somehow they have a lot of new things to say). Plus they talk abut Jane Austen's style and why it's so compelling. Plus some of the differences between this relatively early Austen work and some of the later ones. (S&S is great, but Austen also got better as she went, and our heroes talk about some of the days that is true. Plus they repeatedly play a clip from the Sense and Sensibility movie that bears on the character of one of the three podcasters. 

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But you know that Sense and Sensibility was not originally published under Jane Austen's name? The title page just said "By a Lady."

She was indeed a lady. And also a good novelist. And this is The Bookening's first episode on her first novel Sense and Sensibility. Brandon provides much needed context. Nathan attempts to rush through the intro. Jake sings Goo Goo Dolls. Listen today! 

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Oh boy, our heroes had to record this one late at night, after recording another episode, and their brains were fried. So if you like that kind of Bookening, this is The Bookening for you. But we got in some good talk about Mirkwood, the power of forests and woods, Smaug the dragon, how to make a good villain, and other Hobbity things. Next week, we'll finally get to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

By the way, Nathan says something confusing about episode order at the end of the episode. What he means is not that Sense and Sensibility Part 2 is coming up next (skipping Part 1). But that we recorded out of order, so Part 2 will contain more compliments. If that makes sense. 

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Well, friends, here in another episode of The Bookening on The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. In this one we get a suprsing amount of discussion out of a simple question: was Tolkien a racist? Yes, kind of, but how should that affect your enjoyment of the story?

Also, why recount every riddle in the dark? What is the power of the cave section? That's what our heroes talk about in this episode! Yay! The Hobbit Part 3 next week!

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This is a very simple episode on the notion of how we approach genre, which may have ramifications for how we think through our year of Tolkien. The question is, do you approach a genre piece (like Lord of the Rings) as a work of fiction, holding it to all the standards thereby supposed? Or do you approach it as a genre piece? Do some people do one and some people do the other? Who is right? What does it all mean? Has the way people approach the fantasy genre changed?

Brandon couldn't make it to this recording session which was sad, and hopefully very unusual. But this is what we worked through. Enjoy.

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Here is our first full real Tolkien podcast where we are actually talking about a book. Bilbo Baggins! Gandalf! Thorin Oakenshield! Tolkien poetry!

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If you like The Bookening, you should like this episode of The Bookening. And it does contain some of the promised discussion of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. But the fact is that we got off-topic a little bit and talked about literary style and talent, so we decided to save our more meaty discussion of The Hobbit for next week. But you should still listen to this episode. Love,

Us.

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Thanks, Patrons! We have unlocked the year of J. R. R. Tolkien, and this episode begins it all with our heroes discussing the baggage that they bring to Tolkien, and Brandon providing some much-needed context to Tolkien's life and work (if you can imagine that). You'll hear about Tolkien's wife dancing for him in a forest, the difference between philology and linguistics, Tolkien's experience of World War I, and so much, much more. And The Hobbit is coming next week. Enjoy!

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