Two Chairs Talking

Season 2, Episode 1: David and Perry discuss the books they read during 2024 and give lists of their best five in each category. Plus their most disappointing read of the year.

In this special episode, Perry hosts a discussion panel at Conflux, a science fiction convention held in Canberra in October 2023. The topic was "Fanzines: the State of the Art". Introduction (01:10) Panel discussion (59:21) Windup (00:20)

In this special episode, David and Perry give a talk at the Nova Mob about the SF novels of the 1960s. To decide on the best, we treat the exercise as a draft, each of us picking a title in turn in order to try to get the best "team". Who will win? Meeting starts (00:45) Introduction to the draft (01:53) Why the 1960s? (02:02) Perry's first pick (02:45) David's first pick (02:24) Perry's second pi...

Perry and David celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast by discussing the best books they read during 2023. And bid you all a fond farewell. Introduction (00:12) Our 100th Episode! (04:14) Let's talk about Books (02:10) 2023: Highlights of our reading (01:11:53) Best Science Fiction read in 2023 (David) (04:24) Best Science Fiction read in 2023 (Perry) (03:41) Best Fantasy read in 2023 (David)...

Perry and David discuss their recent reading, including several crime or crime-adjacent books, a middle-school fantasy, and an excellent piece of historical fiction. Intro (03:20) General News (03:33) Goodreads Readers Choice Awards (03:32) What we've been reading (58:11) Winds of Evil by Arthur Upfield (10:43) Dorothy L. Sayers Novels (07:00) A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (09:31) The D...

Perry and David discuss recent book awards and go on to discuss their recent reading, some of which evoke strong emotions and others which have kept us on the edge of our seats. Intro (04:07) General News (14:02) Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023 (03:21) The Hugo Awards 2023 (03:41) World Fantasy Awards 2023 (00:35) Le Guin Prize for Imaginative Fiction 2023 (01:17) Death of Michael Bishop (01...

David and Perry talk about their recent reading, ranging from a confronting story of racism and murder in America, through a pleasant coming-of-age novel, a comedy TV series and an engaging piece of historical non-fiction. Introduction (02:35) Conflux: National Science Fiction Convention (05:40) General News (16:13) U.S. National Book Awards (03:05) Ditmar Awards (02:15) Nobel Prize for Literature...

Perry and David talk about their latest reading, listening and watching in the crime genre, from a classic PI novel to the latest best-seller. Introduction (05:56) General News (11:06) Ned Kelly Awards 2023 (02:13) Dragon Awards 2023 (07:00) Queensland Literary Awards 2023 (01:43) What we've been reading and watching (55:24) In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty (11:43) No Plan B by Lee Ch...

David and Perry discuss a wide range of reading and movie watching, ranging from Restoration period historical fiction through a contemporary true story to the fantastic and not-so-fantastic futures of science fiction. Introduction (04:40) General News (08:31) Hugo Voting Package 2023 (02:59) Worldcon Site Selection 2023 (01:36) Ditmar Awards Ballot 2023 (02:29) Other Awards (01:22) What we've bee...

Perry and David discuss audiobooks, cover a swag of awards and recent news, and then go on to talk about what they've read (or listened to) recently. And Perry talks about a great TV series he recommends. Introduction (01:40) Listening to audiobooks (11:57) General News (13:42) Hugo Ballot 2023 (06:20) World Fantasy Awards 2023 (01:32) Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award 2023 (00:37) Miles Franklin...

David and Perry take the Hugo Time Machine back to 1970, the year that The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin won the Best Novel Hugo. David has a bone to pick, and Perry discusses the latest Indiana Jones movie. Introduction (03:46) General News (10:01) Hugo Voting ballot (04:53) Locus Awards 2023 (03:49) Death of Cormac McCarthy (01:13) Hugo Time Machine 1970 (01:13:46) Heicon '70 Conven...

Perry and David discuss the volunteer work they've been doing recently, then go on to talk about their recent reading and watching. Intro (02:13) What we've been doing recently (08:05) Standard Ebooks productions (02:05) Wikipedia editing (05:54) General News (08:45) Australian Book Design Awards (02:25) Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist (01:39) Aurealis Awards 2023 (00:51) Hugo Ballot 2023 still c...

David and Perry discuss Perry's recent overseas trip, and then talk about their recent reading, including several books which take existing stories and look at them from a different viewpoint. Introduction (06:51) Perry's trip to Morrocco (04:06) David's news (02:28) General News (16:29) Death of Martin Amis (06:08) Nebula Award Winners (04:12) Miles Franklin Award Longlist. (03:06) New South Wale...

Perry and David talk about their recent reading and watching, in particular discussing a novel they have both nominated for this year's Hugo Awards, The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. Introduction (01:04) General News (12:44) Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards (02:13) Australian Book Industry Awards (02:07) Australian Book Design Awards (00:58) Death of Lee Harding (00:45) Other News? (06...

David and Perry discuss a number of books dealing with alternate or parallel streams of time, and analyse in depth the novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, and the BBC television series based on it. Introduction (01:50) General News (06:03) Phillip K. Dick Award Winner 2023 (01:18)-- City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky BSFA Awards 2023 (03:13)-- The Extractionist by Kimberly Unger Chengd...

Perry and David discuss their recent reading of crime novels, or were they merely crime-adjacent novels? You can choose! Introduction (02:09) Loss of three good friends (01:49) Charles Taylor Valma Brown Eve Harvey ChatGPT - new developments (07:10) General News (08:37) Nebula Awards (02:18) Hugo Awards (01:00) BSFA Awards (01:06) Aurealis Awards (01:56) Nominating for the Hugo Awards (01:44) Crim...

David and Perry spend a while discussing the problems with "generative A.I." and then go on to talk about their recent reading. Perry interviews W.H.Chong about his best reading and watching of 2022. Introduction (03:50) General News (02:23) Chengdu World SF Convention (02:19) Discussion on Generative AI (21:32) Ezra Klein podcast on AI What we've been reading lately (54:38) Monash's Masterpiece b...

Perry talks about the best movies and television he watched during 2022. David discusses his work for Standard Ebooks. Perry interviews Lucy Sussex about the best books she read last year. Introduction (03:40) General News (13:50) Victorian Premier's Literary Awards (03:45) Locus Recommended Reading List (06:19) Worldcon 2023 (03:37) Perry's Best Movies and TV of 2023 (32:09) Subtitles (01:33) Ove...

David and Perry discuss their reading during 2022 and list their selections of the best books in a range of categories, and end up agreeing on the best book of the year. Introduction (03:03) General News (05:52) 2022 Prime Minister's Literary Awards (01:49) 2022 Phillip K. Dick Award (01:23) Susie McKee Charnas (02:32) Best Books of 2022 (58:36) Science Fiction (06:14) Perry (03:00) David (03:10)...

Perry and David wind up the year by talking about the books they've read recently, including some neglected works and one being celebrated thirty years after it was first published. Introduction (02:36) General News (09:44) 2022 Best of the Year articles (04:59) 2022 Patrick White Award (01:20) Prime Minister's Literary Award (03:12) What we've been reading (53:17) How do you choose what to read n...

David and Perry discuss Day's End and Limberlost, two new titles from Text Publishing, and then go on to talk with W. H. Chong, who designed the covers of both books. (Apologies for the occasional poor audio quality in this episode). Introduction (00:42) General News (03:06) Death of Greg Bear (02:08) What we've been reading (22:50) Day's End by Garry Disher (09:17) Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (13...

Perry and David discuss some recent awards and general news and then take off in the Hugo Time Machine to visit the year 1969, when Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner won the Best Novel award. Introduction (02:34) General News (08:39) 2022 Ursula K. Le Guin prize (01:13) 2022 Booker Prize winner (01:15) 2022 Shirley Jackson awards (01:10) 2022 Arthur C Clarke Award (00:44) Death of Frank Drake (04:...

David and Perry talk about Perry's recent overseas trip and attendance at the World SF Convention in Chicago, and then go on to talk about their recent reading, which was almost all in the crime genre. Introduction (01:48) Perry's experience of Chicon (13:38) 2022 Hugo Awards (06:00) General News (05:22) Hilary Mantel (01:17) Peter Straub (02:22) Maureen Kincaid Speller (01:37) What We've Been Rea...

With co-host Perry still overseas, David discusses some recent awards and goes on to interview Rob Gerrand about writing and publishing in Australia, and then Murray MacLachlan about growing up in New Zealand and discovering science fiction and fantasy. Introduction (00:21) General News (03:31) 2022 Hugo Award Winners (01:05) David's Thoughts on the 2022 Hugos (00:44) 2022 Astounding Award (00:31)...

David and Perry discuss crime fiction, both in books and on television, ranging from a fascinating non-fiction book about the making of 'The Godfather' to some TV shows which combine comedy and crime. Introduction (00:21) General News (00:33) Alexei Panshin dies at age 82 (00:31) Awards in the Crime Genre (02:47) Ned Kelly Awards winners (01:03) Davitt Awards Shortlist (01:40) Perry's Overseas Tri...