In Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses surprising humor and sci-fi wit to portray one man's experience of the horrific bombing of Dresden. But don't worry - you needn't have read Slaughterhouse One through Four to keep up with our episode on this classic.
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Here we go! We're closing in on the end, talking about Books 20-23 of Emily Wilson's Odyssey translation.
Odysseus and Penelope pray before the Suitor Bowl. Athena eggs on the suitors. Telemachus yells at his mom. Everyone competes in an archery contest. Then it's time to kill some suitors! Our Heroes' utter lack of mercy doesn't play especially well in Wilson's translation, but that's by design.
This week's book takes us up to space, where the human race fights sentient lizards and hamsters and befriends a fast-talking all-powerful AI. It's sometimes as fun as it sounds! Sometimes not.
It may not be that classic Audrey Hepburn joint, but Truman Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's quite the fun, poignant portrait of a young socialite named Holiday Golightly.
Join us for a morning feast of names, symbolism, and crimes - the three food groups!
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Our SECRET SURPRISE BOOK this week is related to a SECRET SURPRISE LIFE EVENT for one of your co-hosts! Which one? You'll have to listen to find out!!
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Nnedi Okorafor's magical teen story Akata Witch centers on a young woman named Sunny who discovers that she has magical powers. She then enlists in an after-school magic club with the rest of her coven and sets off to play soccer and save the world. Join us for a discussion of buckeyes, magic schools, and more -- all with the help of a very rowdy patron chat.
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What if kids could live in a world where it was Christmas every day? What if the only way to get there was in a creepy car driven by a deathless vampire man? Joe Hill's NOS4A2 asks these questions and more! It's also the first of his books to engage more directly with the work of his father, a little guy named Stephen King.
Other talking points include The Post 2 (spoilers), beard secrets, and Andrew's spine-tingling take on Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
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This is a book all about empathy, which is occasionally odd given that its author has had Some Issues extending empathy to certain people over the years. Andrew also has some trouble reading a book made of paper.
You want to be popular? You want your ideas to be heard? You want to get a great job? Then Dale Carnegie has the tips for you! His best-selling self-help volume How to Win Friends and Influence People has been helping business men for decades, so we decided to sit down and go over a few of the particulars.
PS We've also got a hot tip for anyone looking to get more chips at their office cafeteria.
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Richard Wright's Native Son has been called a "pamphlet" or "protest novel" by writers like James Baldwin, and while there are sections of the book that justify the label, Bigger Thomas and his deeds and motivations defy easy summation.
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