It's alternate universes, murderous plots, and ghostwritten novels all the way down this week—1Q84 is Andrew's first Haruki Murakami novel, and there's a lot of good stuff here even if the book could stand to shed a couple hundred pages.
Come for the book talk, stick around for references to Highlights For Children, the Tostitos Bowl, and the usual nonsens ... Show More
Jan 12
Ep 737 - The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple #1), by Agatha Christie
The public domain comes for us all and today it's come for Miss Marple, the elderly busybody and amateur sleuth that Agatha Christie created in the 1920s. In her first proper novel, Marple assists a vicar in uncovering the truth behind a murder that occurred in his own home (also ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 5
Ep 736 - Consider the Consequences!, by Doris Webster and Mary Alden Hopkins
We’ve been known to choose an adventure for ourselves every now and again, but rarely have we delved into the history of the “gamebook” genre. Until now! Join us for an abbreviated run through Consider the Consequences, in which players can quickly ruin the lives of three young a ... Show More
1h 36m
Dec 29
Ep 735 - American Girl: Meet Samantha, by Susan S. Adler & Meet Addy, by Connie Porter
It's time to meet Samantha and Addy, two American Girls from the toy brand of the same name. Their time periods and journeys are rather different, but they are united by one thing: American Girl founder Pleasant Rowland's quest to inspire girls to learn AND to accessorize.Our the ... Show More
1h 10m
Nov 2017
The Brilliant Firefly: Recoil Part 1
Book 2 of the Brilliant Firefly! We see the new normal after Jill's adventure in the armor, and the Scarlet King makes a move. If you haven't listened to Book 1, definitely do that first! This may be for a slightly older audience than other stories, typical of superhero comic boo ... Show More
21m 21s
Aug 2019
Ep 195: Wanted: book enthusiast at large
Today’s guest Mary Laura Philpott is an essayist, bookseller, and a big fan of memoirs of people living “everyday lives”. She certainly has experience with an interesting “everyday life” as a Book Enthusiast at Large—yes, that is her job title—for Parnassus Books in Nashville. An ... Show More
53m 16s
Mar 2021
Ep 276: Exquisite, evocative novels
Podcast producer and PhD student Sara Aeder always finds time for reading, thanks to audiobooks and a passion for turning the pages. She has a special fondness for books that explore the “exquisite pain of a teenage crush” and let her live vicariously through fictional drama, but ... Show More
48m 29s
Nov 2019
Ep 208: The underappreciated art of literary forgery
Charlie Lovett joins Anne to discuss the enduring power of not only stories but the books themselves, how books connect people of all ages, and of all times, how we can preserve literature for future generations, the joy of a book as a physical object, the art of literary forgery ... Show More
50m 4s