Ep 653 - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce

To celebrate Bloomsday (however inadvertently), we decided to make our first foray in the work of James Joyce. His debut novel riffs on themes and characters that feature prominently in the rest of his canon, so join us for a discussion of modernist novel structure, semi-autobiographical lyricism, and what you should run off to smell if you find yourself crying in front of your family.

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Ep 653 - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

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Ep 652 - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers

Sometimes you read a book from 1940 and you get a little upset about how relevant its characters and themes remain more than 80 years later. Sometimes! McCullers' debut novel explores capitalism, alienation, and poverty in the American South at the tail end of the Great Depression.

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Ep 652 - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

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Ep 651 - The House of Bernarda Alba, by Federico García Lorca

Often grouped with the other plays in García Lorca's unfinished "rural trilogy," The House of Bernarda Alba is a claustrophobic drama about control, conformity, and one mother's intimidating cane. Which daughter will get Pepe? Will that horse stop kicking the wall? Will grandma ever be free?? These questions and more on this week's episode.

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Ep 651 - The House of Bernarda Alba

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Ep 650 - The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and friends are back for the penultimate entry in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This installment in Rick Riordan's mythological mash-up benefits from additional emotional complexity and deepened character relationships.

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Ep 650 - The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4)

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Stop! Homer Time: The Iliad - Episodes 5 and 6 (Books 10-14)

For our latest show-within-a-show, we'll revisit Ancient Greece through Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Iliad. We'll be reading it a few books at a time and having a more in-depth chat about it than we do about most books. These two episodes cover Books 10-14.

Episode 5: It's time for a three-fer! This little triptych of books explores the combat of the Iliad from a few different perspectives:

Stealth (Book 10): Diomedes and Odysseus engaging in feats of derring-do. Non-lethal Damage (Book 11): Greeks and Trojans alike suffer setbacks but most of the Dramatis Personae survive. Siege (Book 12): Did you know the Greeks ALSO have a wall? And that the Trojans are besieging THEM?!

Episode 6: We're past the halfway point, and the fighting continues, with the Trojans managing to make it behind the Greek walls to cause some trouble (not that we're ever really allowed to believe they might win). Poseidon aids the Greeks. Hera suits up and bones Zeus to sleep so that some other gods can get in on the action.

Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.

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Stop! Homer Time: The Iliad - Episodes 5 and 6 (Books 10-14)

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Ep 649 - Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward

This week we travel back to Bois Sauvage to revisit the work of acclaimed author Jesmyn Ward. Sing, Unburied, Sing introduces us to a family on hard times, preparing to welcome back a member from prison while also grappling with the ghosts that demand their attention. For more discussion of Jesmyn Ward, head to Ep 283 - Salvage the Bones.

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Ep 648 - Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill and Rosa Lee Beeland

We're learning how to THINK AND GROW RICH with our good frenemy Napoleon Hill!

This bonus episode was recorded live with an audience of our Patreon supporters. Find out how to join us for future bonus recordings at patreon.com/overduepod.

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Ep 648 - Think and Grow Rich

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Ep 647 - I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov's short story collection-turned-novel has very little to do with the mid-2000s Will Smith movie adaptation, which is a good thing. It's a lot less about robots rising up and killing their creators, and more about the law of unintended consequences.

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Ep 647 - I, Robot

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Ep 646 - A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond

"We just found this bear at the train station and he seems cool? Like he's good at shopping and staring at people. Let's bring him home! Don't mind all the mess he makes." That's probably what the Browns said to themselves upon first spying a charming little bear at Paddington Station. Celebrate Children's Book Week with us by diving into the first appearance of this marmalade-loving lil scamp.

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Ep 646 - A Bear Called Paddington

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Ep 645 - Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn

Did you know that before Gillian Flynn brought us the book Gone Girl, the movie Gone Girl, and the concept of "Gone Girl-ing" someone, she wrote a murder mystery about a different kind of unhealthy family dynamic! 

This episode briefly discusses self-harm.

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Ep 645 - Sharp Objects

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