The Book XChange Podcast

The Book XChange Podcast celebrates short stories in general - and, the release of co-host Jude Joseph Lovell's brand new story collection, "Door in the Air" - in this special episode. Jude has been writing and releasing short stories off and on for over 20 years, with two previous short story collections to his credit... and now, he's just published his "New and Selected Stories, 1999-2020." John...

NOTE: In this episode, after we completed recording, we experienced a problem with the audio that we were not aware of during recording. It appears the timing of our responses is compressed or shifted, so that in many cases our voices overlap by a few seconds. You can still follow the conversation, but in several situations our voices seem to be talking over each other. We apologize for the inconv...

To close out our first year in podcasting, your Book XChange hosts offer a two-part series of episodes highlighting our favorite non-fiction and fiction titles of 2020. As always with our show, titles are not limited to those released in 2020 - they could be from any era, as long as they were read by one of us this year. Part 1 covers non-fiction: we each choose one book that stood out during our...

So you thought Thanksgiving 2020 was over?? Not so fast... at the Book XChange podcast, we extend the gratitude and feasting for at least another week, as Jude and John list some of the writers they are most thankful for. This episode goes off in all kinds of different directions and was a lot of fun to record... so pull up a chair and dig in: you're definitely invited to the banquet, and there's...

The bibliophile brothers return with an in-depth discussion/review of Native American writer Tommy Orange's debut novel, 'There There.' Our second episode in an occasional series, in which your twin hosts will dedicate an entire episode to one book, digging into what makes it important, unique, special, noteworthy, odd, or otherwise worth reading - or not! (Warning: important plot points and story...

In this "return to form" Book XChange episode, your identical hosts recommend some of our recommended picks for first-time novels. There are so many instances of famous writers hitting home runs in their first trip to the plate - think Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" or Stephen King's "Carrie" - but there are also many great examples of debut novels that fascinatingly reveal the developing ta...

Two weeks before their 50th birthday, the Book XChange brothers/co-hosts had the ultra-rare opportunity to get together in an isolated location, celebrate that we've somehow made it through a half-century, and talk books and reading face to face. The result was this one-time only, special episode of the podcast: a free-form, no holds barred, personal discussion about our lives as readers, how grea...

Each year in early October, the Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. For the BXC podcast brothers, this event sparks an annual "Xchange" of reactions and thoughts over who won it, how familiar we are with the writer and whether we think it was warranted. It also reminds us of the work of other Nobel laureates we cherish, read and re-read, and want to recomme...

Here comes a fun "crossover" episode, in which your Book XChange co-hosts go multimedia and talk about some of their favorite (and maybe not-so-favorite) book-to-movie adaptations. The brothers discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with adapting a well-known or beloved book for the screen, and kick around a broad assortment of choices - some very famous, others a little more obscure....

Introducing "Dealer's Choice," an occasional series in which your Book XChange podcast hosts decide to feature a particular writer whose work we feel deserves in-depth discussion and recommendation. In the inaugural installment, we dive into the work of one of America's finest writers, Jim Shepard. "Who is Jim Shepard, and why should I be reading him?" is exactly what we aim to address, and we hop...

There are many classic trilogies of books known and loved the world over, and some that are lesser known but well worth diving into. In this episode, Jude and John recommend some of their favorite Trilogies and discuss why they are worth the investment of your time and energies. Ranging from epic fantasy quests to existential mysteries to poetic elegies of a fading time and culture, this discussio...

"No man is an island," wrote John Donne... but many of us feel like we've been stranded on one in recent months. One potential remedy for this condition? Reading! For our tenth episode, the BXC brothers take on "isolation" as a literary theme. Books that explore, describe or portray subjects dealing with some form of isolation or solitude - how it challenges us, helps us to grow or forces us to co...

This time out, your fraternal co-hosts will take down some beloved classics, and/or more contemporary acclaimed or popular books, that they for whatever reason just didn't "get." We all have books we greatly anticipate or come to with high expectations, only to come away disappointed, or at least confused over what all the fuss was about. We had a good time sharing some of our picks. What are your...

Muster up your courage, listeners, because in Episode 8 of the Book XChange podcast, your twin co-hosts take on "tales of terror" - books and/or stories (even a few movies are mentioned!) that scare, provoke, disturb, unnerve or simply get under your skin. The twins are often asked by friends and family alike, "Why do you bother reading books that disturb or scare you?" We take a deep dive into ho...

On the 244th birthday of the United States of America, the BXC brothers tackle some of their favorite biographies (excluding autobiographies, that's an episode for another day). Also discussed: what makes a compelling biography and how favorite biographies usually align with personal interests. BOOKS DISCUSSED/MENTIONED/RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE: From John Current read: 'The Devil's Highway: A T...

Here's our first episode dedicated to a single book: in this case, Richard Powers' 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Overstory." On occasion this show will take a deep dive into a popular and/or intriguing book that the twin co-hosts think merits in-depth examination. This ambitious, fascinating novel about trees and their relationships to human beings on this planet made for a great discussi...

America's favorite bibliotwins are back (hah!) with another freewheeling episode of the Book XChange 'cast, in which we share some of our favorite all-time writers who happen to be female. This was a fun discussion covering 19th century British fiction, a smattering of poetry, medieval epics from Norway, contemporary genre fiction and more. Looking forward to hearing some of your voices as we cont...

In this wide-ranging and fun episode, John and Jude share books with some of the most wild, weird and original premises they've come across. Mind-bending dystopian epics, imaginative speculations on the nature of time and mortality, harebrained schemes hatched in the jungle and picaresque novels featuring murderous mutants - it's all here in this bizarre bouillabaisse of a show! Bon áppetit!! BOOK...

In this installment, co-hosts Jude and John Lovell discuss some of their favorite funny books and writers, from classics of world literature to more contemporary American titles. Short stories, novels, satires and books that defy classification - the common theme here is that one way or another, these are books that will not fail to entertain... or even inspire! BOOKS DISCUSSED/MENTIONED/RECOMMEND...

In part 2 of the inaugural pair of shows, the twins/co-hosts choose and discuss three non-fiction titles that were fundamental to their lives as readers/writers. They also briefly cover books they are reading now, and tease what's coming up for Episode 3.

In this inaugural episode of the Book XChange Podcast, lifelong readers and twin brothers Jude and John Lovell choose and discuss 3 fiction books each that have been particularly important in their reading lives (and why!). Coming up in Episode 2: their non-fiction choices.