The Paperback Show

Ep 31 of the Paperback Show podcasts covers the remarkable series of horror paperbacks published from 1991 to 1995 by Dell called "The Abyss" line. Special guest is Ben Rubin, archivist at the Horror Special Collections section of the Unversity of Pittsburgh. Full notes with links and a list of the books published can be found at PaperbackShow.com

Ep 30 is another in our series of podcasts on Book to Movie adaptations. Special guest: Matt Kelland. In this podcast, Matt and I discuss the book Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton (2022) and its subsequent movie adaptation by Korean director Bong Joon Ho (2025). We look at story and character changes, tone, acting, visuals and then, finally, choose which version we like the best.

You can find full show notes at our website Paperbackshow.com

Note: Music for this episode is: Soulja Unit - Broken Tune 08 by SouljaUnit -- https://freesound.org/s/859823/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

In this episode, Matt Kelland and I reflect on the B. Traven novel, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, originally published in German in 1927. It was translated into English and published by Hill & Wang in 1935. John Huston was enamored with the story and wanted to adapt it late in the 1930s, but the Second World War interrupted his plans. However, after the war, Huston used his success with The Maltese Falcon to secure the green light to direct the film version of the novel. He both adapted the novel and directed the film on location in Mexico (one of the first Hollywood productions to do so). 

The story (in both novel and film) is set in the decade just after the First World War in Mexico. It follows the story of three men who come together to make their fortune in prospecting for gold at a secret mine. B. Traven, whose background and biography are vague, used the main adventure story as the spine of his novel and used it to comment on Capitolism, Religion, Mexican culture, the poor, and the Mexican government, often telling stories within stories. 

The film, on the other hand, was stripped of most of the commentary and focused on the adventure story as Hollywood was of the “if you have a message, use Western Union” frame of mind. 

The film starred Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston, John Huston’s father. It was a huge hit and has become a classic film treasured by famous filmmakers and audiences all over the world. John won two Academy Awards (adaptation and directing), and his father, Walther, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. 

Full show notes and links can be found at my main podcast site: Paperbackshow.com

Special Guest, Matt Kelland, and I discuss our favorite books read in 2025. Full links to books in our Show notes at paperbackshow.com. Note: Music for his episode is from Free Music Archive, a creative commons 4.0. Artist: Loopkerjoe. Track: Be Bop Behind. https://freemusicarchive.org/music/john-lopker/lopkerjo-sensual-bebop-jazz

Ep 28 is about the difference between the book, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, and the movie version directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow (1968). My co-host, author Matt Kelland, and I look at the adaptation, the acting/actors, the music and, most importantly, the penultimate scene where Rosemary finally sees her baby.

More extensive notes with links can be found at Paperbackshow.com. Note: music for the episode is Enigmatic Piano with a Mystical Atmosphere by Universfield -- https://freesound.org/s/750850/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

First of a series of podcasts with couples and their private libraries. When did they start collecting? What books do they collect? How do they organize their books? These are only a few of the questions I'll be asking. In this episode, we talk with City Garage Theatre founders, Charles Duncombe and Frederique Michel.

Background Music by Migfus20 -- https://freesound.org/s/609562/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Full notes on this episode can be found at Paperbackshow.com

Music by Dances with Wolves (The Frailty and Anxiety). Archive.org. Note that full show notes are available at the PaperbackShow.com

The Coldest City is a 2012 graphic novel by Antony Johnston with artwork by Sam Hart. It was made into a movie in 2017, starring Charlize Theron. In this episode, Matt Kelland and I discuss the adaption and the differences between the noir style black and white comic vs the full color, punk style of the movie version, Atomic Blonde. 

Full show notes can be found at paperbackshow.com.

Ep 23 continues our Book to Movie series with guest Matt Kelland. In this episode we examine the action/thriller First Blood by David Morrell (1972) and its adaptation into the 1982 movie starring Sylvester Stallone. Full show notes can be found at paperbackshow.com. Note music for this episode is by lolamoore (Intense Action Sequence" and is from the site Freesound.org.

Ep 22 is the second in our Book to Movie podcasts with writer Matt Kelland. Annihilation, both book and movie, is discussed. Jeff Van Der Meer wrote the highly-acclaimed novel in 2014 which Director Alex Garland then adapted into the 2018 movie starring Natalie Portman. We discuss the background of the book/movie and the translation process from Book to Film. More complete notes can be found at paperbackshow.com