"37." "In a row?"
For the most recent episode of the Bookrageous podcast, Jenn, Rebecca and I decided to turn things over to our listeners. What did you want to hear us talk about? Lots of stuff, actually. We cove long books, short books, prolific authors, reclusive authors, DRM, self-published books, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a hell of a lot of fun to jump from topic to topic, and it ended up creating a pretty entertaining episode.
Of course, we also cover what we’re reading right now, and manage to earn our “explicit” tag on iTunes pretty quickly.
Enjoy, subscribe, and let us know what you’d like to see in future episodes.
Show notes (including all books discussed) and an embedded player are below.
—–
Intro Music; Summertime — DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
What We’re Reading
Rebecca
[1:15] Jazz, Toni Morrison
[3:01] Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, Florence Williams
[5:45] Wait, nutcases??
[6:27] House of Holes, Nicholson Baker
[7:00] Getting Things Done, David Allen
[10:32] Better Book Titles: Write Shit Down
Josh
[11:00] Sorry Please Thank You, Charles Yu, July 24 2012
[13:22] Magic Hours, Tom Bissell
[15:16] The Gun, CJ Chivers
Jenn
[17:25] The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller and Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin
[20:39] The Killing Moon, NK Jemisin (The Shadowed Sun, June 1 2012)
[21:20] The Likeness, Tana French
[22:04] Aurorarama, Jean-Christophe Valtat (Luminous Chaos, October 2 2012)
Rebecca
[23:00] The Storytelling Animal, Jonathan Gottschall
Jenn
[26:00] The Blind Giant, Nick Harkaway, May 15 2012
[27:09] Edie Investigates, Nick Harkaway
—
Intermission; Youth Without Youth — Metric
—
Listener Questions
[28:15] Jon Page: Book prizes? Too many, not enough, which ones, biases?
[30:31] We particularly heart The Morning News’ Tournament of Books
[33:20] The Orange Prize & gender in prizes
[34:18] Edmund: Revisiting books/rereadability?
[35:10] Rebecca rereads: The Sparrow, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Sula
[35:52] Jenn is rereading: Jacqueline Carey
[36:49] Josh rereads: graphic novels & comics
[37:25] Paul Montgomery: Short & sweet books vs. epic flails?
[37:56] Episode 25: Great Big Not Very Short Huge Epic Big Big Books
[38:05] We the Animals, Justin Torres
[39:06] Small Books with a Big Punch on Brews & Books
[39:27] How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu
[39:40] Clandestine in Chile, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
[40:50] Paul Montgomery: Favorite one-hit wonder authors? e.g., Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird; authors we wish would write another book? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bookrageous, Books, podcast
ANGRY ORCHARD CIDERS
Crisp Apple, Traditional Dry, and Apple Ginger
Jake: Are you a cider fan?
Travis: Love me some apple juice, ever since I was a young buck. Now, all adult like, the fact that it’s also an adult beverage is nothing short of fantastic. I’ve tried some here in the states, like Woodchuck, but I really sank my teeth into the style on a trip to England. It’s an American misconception that cider has to be sweet and overtly juice-like in character. This is just in poor taste — or, ahem, the “common tongue.” Cider, or cidre, has a long traditional history in Europe, and you can find an extremely eclectic selection of flavors, brewers (or are they “pressers?”) and styles within this category. When I slip back a cider, I want the snap of breaking an apple’s skin, the mouth-watering acidity, the sweet cloaked by tart that feels good. Feels healthy. You need that bite at the end.
Jake: What do you think of the name “Angry Orchard?”
Travis: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Some classic television right there. But knowing it’s a brewery, it brings back the bite I mentioned earlier — these apples ain’t playin’ around. They bad. They mean. If the Angry Orchard were a professional sports team, what sport would it be?
Jake: I’m seeing Angry Orchard as a National Basketball Association team, because I would like to know more about how their game works but at the same time am not really putting in the time. Don’t get me wrong, once I’m watching a game I like what’s going on, and I can thoroughly enjoy myself, but it’s turning the game on that’s the problem. I guess what I’m trying to do here is relate my relationship with cider to my relationship with basketball: I don’t know much about either. Was that clear? Was I laying it on a little thick?
Travis: How would they play?
Jake: Angry Orchard would play ferociously. They’d play in a way that would make their rivals want to say they play dirty, but they wouldn’t actually break any rules. Just toeing that line. Their mascot would be an angry foam tree on rollerskates.
Travis: Are you, or have you ever, been guilty of cider abuse in the state of Maine?
Jake: The last time I bought cider it was from from Trader Joe’s, unpasteurized. This was the regular, non-alcoholic cider in the plastic jug. I put it in my fridge and immediately forgot all about it. When I finally looked at it a few weeks later, the plastic jug was swelled up like a balloon. Science had been happening in there. It now had a distinct kick to it, and I realized that I wouldn’t have to buy any alcohol right away. Did I abuse that cider? If I did, I hope it didn’t mind. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: angry orchard, angry orchard apple ginger, angry orchard crisp apple, angry orchard traditional dry, cider, Guest Post, jake christie, Review, travis curran
Ever wanted to host a beer tasting, but have no idea where to start? Jeff Alworth’s Beer Tasting Tool Kit, recently released by Chronicle Books, gives you everything you need for a tasting except the beer. Brews and Books will have a look at my experience using the box o’ beer gear posted very soon.
This week, I’m giving you a chance to win a free kit!
Here’s a description of Alworth’s Beer Tasting Tool Kit, straight from the publisher;
Ambers, porters, lambics, lagers… what are these and what do they taste like? Does Belgian Witbier have a stronger flavor than pale ail? What is the purpose of adding hops? What is a session beer? Invite a few friends over, start tasting, and find out!
If you’re a beer lover who enjoys lively and enlightening get-togethers, our Beer Tasting Tool Kit is the perfect pastime for you and your friends! If you’re interested in trying new beers or discovering the qualities of your favorites, our kit will guide you through the various flavors, aromas and unique notes! Soon you’ll be tasting and evaluating everything from abbey ales to wheat beers like a brewer. Learn how to organize a tasting party, pair beer with food, and match up beers for themed tastings.
So, go and grab a few beers, cover them with a paper cover and taste away!
Includes:
- 48-page booklet
- 4 100-page notepads
- quick reference card
- 18 paper covers
- Twine for concealing bottles for blind tastings
- A 3-fold beer cheat sheet.
All enclosed in a great looking gift box! You will have so much fun exploring and distinguishing the different tastes!
The slick box set retails for $24.95, but here’s your chance to win it FOR FREE! Everyone loves free stuff, right?
One lucky winner will win:
- A shrink-wrapped copy of Jeff Alworth’s Beer Tasting Tool Kit
How to enter:
- Leave a comment on this post with your favorite beer.
- Tweet “ I entered to win a free copy of THE BEER TASTING TOOL KIT from @jchristie’s Brews and Books! http://bit.ly/IB84R9”
You’ll get one entry if you do one, and two entries if you do both. Tweet and comment more than that if you’d like, but you’ll still only get two entries. The giveaway closes at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, May 6th.
So, what’s your favorite beer?
Boring contest boilerplate; This contest is open to US residents only. The brand-spankin’-new, unopened copy of Mr. Alworth’s book was provided by Chronicle Books. Please use a legitimate email address in your comment - it won’t be publicly visible - so I have a way to contact you if you win. Winner is selected randomly.
Tags: beer tasting tool kit, chronicle books, contest, jeff alworth
Kate is a retail nerd with a longtime book addiction. When not reading or listening to NPR, she can be found on Twitter.
Let me preface this by saying: I LOVED The Gone-Away World, Nick Harkaway’s debut novel. It was quite possibly my favorite book of 2011. Since finding out many moons ago that Mr. Harkaway had a second novel in the works, Angelmaker has been tops of my never diminishing To Be Read pile. When your debut novel is so wildly successful, I imagine the pressure to release an equally incredible sophomore book would be immense. Without qualification, Nick Harkaway succeeded.
Joe Spork (yes, Spork – what a great name) is a watch-maker trying his damnedest to live under the radar. The last thing he wants, or could imagine wanting, is the kind of attention that eventually rains down on him from every single quadrant imaginable. The good guys are out for his blood. The bad guys are out for his blood. He doesn’t know who the good or the bad guys are, nor why exactly they want his blood. This is when our journey begins. Travelling back generations and decades, we gradually learn who, what, why and where. We meet people we love, people we hate, people we love to hate and people we hate to love. But throughout it all is Joe. Lovable, affable, everyman Joe.
The story is intense. There are mobsters, corrupt government employees, reformed government employees, brilliant scientists and twisted villains. There’s torture, love, redemption, friendship, hatred. I ran the full emotional gamut while I was reading. One of the highest compliments I can give a book is that I forgot where I was while I was reading it. I would sit at the bar in my coffee shop, casually reading and find myself perking up, slouching down, and muttering quiet expletives as I fervently turned one page after another.
We’ll start with the not-so-good. There were a few moments when I could guess what would come down the pike. That was, frankly, a little disappointing. Especially when it turned out I was partially right. However, foreshadowing by Nick Harkaway is never just foreshadowing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, and know how it’s going to end, things change again.
A bigger obstacle for me was that, for maybe the first 25% of the book, I was in desperate need of a character map. Harkaway would drop names with no preface and no explanation, but with a familiarity that indicated I should know who he was talking about. Equally frustrating is that like The Gone-Away World, there was a lot of chronological skipping around which I often found confusing. There’s not a lot of warning when he switches geological and temporal location. These were all things that, once I got re-acclimated to Harkaway’s writing style and finally grew more familiar with the characters, I found easy to get over.
Now on to the good – nay, great! In 25 years of reading, Shem Shem Tsien is quite possibly the most delicious villain I have ever come across. I have never been so excited to hate someone so much as I hate Shem Shem. Harkaway has Tsien travel the path from run of the mill, cracked despot straight to unadulterated insanity leaving in his wake of destruction twists and turns that are so “ohmygoshwut?!” I was left breathless. You may be wondering how any level of predictability isn’t a deal breaker for me. The reason is simple. In writing Angelmaker, Harkaway seems to have a sixth sense for when the reader may be resting on their laurels and he doesn’t hesitate to knock the reader clear off said laurels. Even though you think you have it figured out – and you may be partially right - Harkaway is brilliant at taking it just that extra bit further in a direction you never anticipate. The last hundred pages or so is a roller coaster of fist-pumping, cheer out loud glee.
The Gone-Away World is the only other 500 page book I’ve been able to read with so much success. Something about twists and turns, unexpectedly lovable and equally detestable characters. The world Harkaway is able to build for us, whether in The Gone-Away World’s future or Angelmaker’s more contemporary London, is crystal. You are along for a ride, one that won’t let you off without an emotional scar or two, but one that when you close the book for the last time you find yourself saying, “I can’t wait to ride it again.”
Tags: angelmaker, Book, Book Review, nick harkaway, Review
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