The Bookening

Fear is the mind-killer. Or is it this novel? One of our fearless trio might want to argue that. But two of us really liked it. WHO CAN THAT BE? AND WHAT EVIDENCE WILL THEY BRING? Like it or lump it, there's a reason why Dune is one of the seminal works of twentieth century sc-fi myth-making. And our heroes are figuring out why. Will Jake tie it to Star Wars? Will Nathan describe the plots of 109580580 Dune sequels? Will Brandon be ready-player-done with the whole thing? LISTEN TO FIND OUT!!!

This Giving Tuesday support great works of awesomeness like the Bookening RIGHT HERE!

BRANDON IS AN IRISH POET. Happy Thanksgiving. In today's minisode, Nathan discusses Thanksgiving with newly published Irish poet, Brandon. 

Is it true that women make the best party members? What did Orwell get wrong about sexual politics and the politics of sex? Is the character of Julia plausible? Is this book sexist? Is it good in general? Obviously, it's a good bit of political prophecy, but is it a good, y'know, novel? 

Was George Orwell a great prophet, or even a good one? Did he see the future of society accurately, or not so much? Those are the very issues that The Bookening is figuring out in this very episode, our second in a series on 1984. Our heroes talk about historical revisionism, doublespeak, all that good stuff. Fun times, fun times. 

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen..."

This is the episode in which we provide much needed context for George Orwell's 1984, a novel that may or may not have been prophetic about some things, maybe. Not gonna lie, this episode went a little crazy, as long time listeners will know does occur from time to time on our show. But we had fun and learned a few things about the life, times, and work of George Orwell (not his real name), and we hope you can, too. 

Patricia Highsmith was "the queen of unease," a Hitchcockian writer not of horror, but suspense and disquietude. Our heroes round out Spooktober discussing her best short story,  "When the Fleet was in at Mobile." Happy Halloween! 

Today we're talking about a bizarre piece of weird fiction, one of the most popular ones from the last twenty years. Not gory, not grisly exactly, but strange and unsettling-- "Singing My Sister Down", by Margo Lanagan. 

"All right, I’ll tell you why the Girl gives me the creeps. Why I can’t stand to go downtown and see the

mob slavering up at her on the tower, with that pop bottle or pack of cigarettes or whatever it is beside

her. Why I hate to look at magazines any more because I know she’ll turn up somewhere in a brassiere

or a bubble bath. Why I don’t like to think of millions of Americans drinking in that poisonous halfsmile.

It’s quite a story—more story than you’re expecting."

Nathan makes a noble attempt to defend a story that Brandon doesn't care about at all, as our heroes continue their October Halloween story series, discussing 'The Girl with the Hungry Eyes' by Fritz Leiber, the inventor of sword and sorcery.

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

'"Perhaps you've heard of the Packerhaus Method," she said. "Perhaps you've heard of it?"'

Spooktober continues with a discussion of a very weird short story "The Packerhaus Method" and its author, Gene Wolfe, the Herman Melville, or James Joyce, of fantastic fiction. The best author you've never heard of.

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