Ep 093 - Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Usually books try to make you root for the protagonist. Even if he or she is flawed in some crucial way, most stories try to make you feel something for the person whose mind you're inhabiting. That is not the case in Vladmir Nabokov's Lolita.

This week we share with you an uncomfortable discussion about how it feels to read a book told from the perspective of an unrepentant pedophile—how do you feel about him? How do we feel about him? How does he feel about him? The difficult subject matter is just one of the things that has earned Lolita its place in the literary canon.

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Ep 092: A Kidnapped Santa Claus/Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

What're the holidays without children's stories? Every year, families gather around their yule rocks and Festivus poles to hear their favorite tales of holidays past -- which means it's rare that anyone discovers a new seasonal story.

Enter L. Frank Baum's A Kidnapped Santa Claus and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel and Trina Schart Hyman. One's a fairy tale about saving Christmas from a bunch of Daemons, the other's about saving Hanukkah from a bunch of Goblins. So...similarities.

Save the holidays with us as we discuss Banta Claus, trolling goblins, and hilarious Hershel of Ostropol.

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Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
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A Kidnapped Santa Claus
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Ep 091 - In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

Truman Capote's Capote's "non-fiction novel" In Cold Blood chronicles the mass murder of a family in rural Kansas by two runaway parolees. inspired by a 300-word newspaper article, it basically created the "true crime" genre, making it the grandpappy to the zeitgeist-conquering podcast Serial. 

Often times chilling, moving, and morbidly fascinating, In Cold Blood dances back and forth over the line between being a compelling narrative and being exploitative. It seems worth asking what it means to "enjoy" a story like this. And what role does the author play in its telling?

Also covered on this episode: Pop-pops, teens, Quebec separatism, and child-proof locks.

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Ep 090 - Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

We hope you like awesome horses and sobbing cowboys, because this week special guest host Casey Johnston is walking us through Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.

It's a kind-of-subversive western that blends cowboy archetypes with some Grapes of Wrath-ish wandering. We also talk about the freelancing life, and what happens when you read books because you saw them in your dad's car.

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Ep 089 - The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

For the second week in a row, we've decided to read a book about a dystopian society—Animal Farm was about the oppressed overthrowing and then becoming the oppressors, but The Handmaid's Tale is about an already oppressed group getting even more oppressed.

Margaret Atwood has a lot to say about women and feminism in this book, and we've got a lot of things to say about pie and misunderstand about Canada. Also on the docket: sexy John Adams, the LongPen, and analogies about Lost.

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Ep 088 - Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Old Man Stalin Had A Farm...E-I-E-I-O....

What happens when you mix the Russian Revolution with a bunch of farm animals and (more than a dash) of dystopian bummers? 

George Orwell's Animal Farm! 

Come listen to us learn the joys of rewriting history, selling your friends for whisky money, and holding whips in your trotters.

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Ep 087 - Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Have you read Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, or seen the major motion picture currently in theaters? Because if not, you probably should turn back: we're in full-on spoiler mode this week, and this story hinges on its twists. 

Also on the show this week: Christmas Creep, the writing process, and our brand-new Tickle Me Mario doll.

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Ep 086 - Summerland, by Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon is no stranger to genre fiction. He has a Lovecraftesque alter ego. He's written essays decrying navel-gazing trends in the short story world. His Pulitzer Prize-winning The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay tackled its larger themes through the lens of two comic book writers.

So it should come as no surprise that in the early 2000s, Chabon took a stab at young adult fantasy with Summerland, a sprawling tale that mixes American folklore, Norse myth, and baseball.

Listen on as Craig attempts to convey his enthusiasm for the book, Andrew attempts to name baseball heroes, and both of us attempt to (mis)pronounce Michael Chabon's name.

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Ep 085 - Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, by Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is a giant of contemporary literature, particularly in his native Japan. However, his books are often rife with references to Western culture - in fact, one of his breakout novels was named after the Beatles song Norwegian Wood. His first-person style marries the fantastic with the private, the epic with the intimate, and his latest novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki... is no exception.

At least that's what our friend Chris says. Andrew's out this week, so we invited Chris on the show, and he brought with him Murakami's most recent novel. We don't normally cover books this new, but Murakami's been on our list for a while so we decided to tackle it anyway. 

Little did we know that asking Chris to talk about Murakami meant learning a lot more about the Wu-Tang Clan than we ever expected on Overdue.

Caveat Lictor: Chris reveals a substantial spoiler around the 37 minute mark. Nothing you won't discover a third of the way through the novel, but we thought you might want to know.

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Ep 084 - You Are A Monster (Choose Your Own Adventure) by Edward Packard

You Are a Monster (Choose Your Own Adventure #84)

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Spooktober comes to a close with yet another Choose Your Own Adventure story: Edward Packard's You Are A Monster. If you missed our previous CYA episode, do check it out. We cover the series' inception, as well as discuss its legacy a bit. This week it's all choices, all the time...or so we hoped.

Caveat lictor: the audio quality's not up to our usual standard this week. Technical difficulties (boo!) and Andrew's wedding (hooray!) meant that we had to publish the show as is lest we leave you all in the lurch.