Thumbing Through Yesterday

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, launches our 6th year of podcasting. A favorite of Tom's since childhood, Tony hasn't revisited this adventure in decades. How will it hold up? Join us as we follow Buck's adventured (and misadventures) as circumstance and evolution put him back where he belongs, in the wild.
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Douglas Adams' The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul wraps up our 5th year of podcasts. Tony's choice, but beloved by both of us, we revisit Dirk Gently as he pits himself against ancient gods, amoral lawyers, a very annoyed eagle, and his cleaning lady. This is Adams at his peak! Join us as we revisit this cherished favorite.
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American Gods by Neil Gaiman didn't just win awards... When it dropped, it completely dominated the speculative fiction world by sweeping the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Bram Stoker Awards. A favorite of Tom's, Tony maintains that it's far from Gaiman's best. How does this genre-bending scifi/fantasy/horror champion hold up? Let's find out!

Stranger in a Strange Land is perhaps R.A. Heinlein's most iconic novel. It's the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human baby born on Mars, raised by Martians, and returned to Earth as a young man. Possessed of superhuman abilities and a completely alien worldview, Smith struggles to understand our bizarre customs. Revisiting this after so many years was quite an experience for both Tony and Tom.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a classic of science fiction. What happens when Charlie Gordon, a man with an intellectual disability, receives experimental surgery that grants him extraordinary intelligence? And what happens if it doesn't last? Flowers for Algernon exists in two forms, the original short story and an expanded novel. We cover both versions, exploring what each version gains and loses. If you've never read Flowers before, get ready for a real gut punch of a story!

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Contact is the only science fiction novel by Pulitzer Prize winner and renowned science communicator Carl Sagan. Through Ellie Arroway, a radio astronomer who discovers a radio signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence, Sagan draws us into humanity’s effort to decipher a message that could change everything. How does Sagan's scientific background translate into science fiction? Join us and see!

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Redshirts by John Scalzi is Tom's pick this time around. Although we both agree that Scalzi has written better, this is a fun book, more than a parody, that tickles Tom's sense of nostalgia. What happens when the red shirts became self-aware of their role? Can they find a way to fight back? Scalzi explores this with a depth and meta-awareness that really transcends simple satire. Every die-hard Trekkie should read this book!
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Tony has repeatedly claimed that Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is "the best collection of single-author shorts ever." We decided to put that claim to the test! Chiang has an amazing collection here, replete with Big Ideas, each of which gets explored in depth. All eight stories are remarkable, and neither of us could decide on a single favorite. Maybe you can help us choose?
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The Adolescence of P-1 by Thomas J. Ryan is Tom's pick. This was a hard book to find! It's a fantastic early look at the idea of a sentient AI, and the first ever written at a time when such a thing was plausible. Ryan effectively invents the idea of a computer virus years before the term was ever used, and his exploration of the costs and consequences of sharing our world with an emergent intelligence is insightful and thorough. Plus, if you learned computing on a mainframe computer, the nostalgia factor is through the roof!
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A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori is Tony's choice this time, and our first venture into manga. We read the first two volumes, and to say the artwork is breathtaking is an understatement. The story is delightful, the characters are charming, and the whole experience is something special. Join us as we journey into this remarkable tale.
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