Ear Read This

S2E26 Today Adam takes on the Lizard King (twice), assisted by his old friend Mungo, limited back flips and some reptile trivia. Guiding intrepid Adam through the hell of Fire Island is his very own Virgil, Ash. If you'd like to play along at home, the book is Island of the Lizard King by Ian Livingstone.  "I am the Lizard King" Lyrics:  I am the Lizard King, I am the Lizard King.  What will the L...

S2E25 A Foul Papers full of adventure and action! Yippee yippee! Haggis McTouristboard, Adam squares up to the lizard king, Simon Armitage tells us about his tin-based youth, a quiz about slagging off Edinburgh and some books on film chat. Yippee yippee!  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops.  

S2E24 Today we have a guided tour around Edinburgh, courtesy of Robert Louis Stevenson. His Picturesque Notes were published in 1878, and contain the author's sometimes bracing observations of his home city, snippets of stories and legends originating from it and some of his own backstory and inspirations.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Mus...

S2E23 A month late, but hey ho. Here's an episode on a poem written by W. H. Auden. 'September 1, 1939' was begun on the opening day of WWII and is a hinge-poem in Auden's long, swinging career.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops.  

S2E22 A quick update on Ear Read This business. Thank you to everyone who has listened to us chew your ear off with our one-year old talk. We are now potty-trained, upright, and showing flashes of cunning.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops.  

S2E21 What better way to celebrate the Edinburgh Fringe kicking off than with some awful poetry? William McGonagall (1825-1902) has gone down in history as the worst poet of all time. Deserved? You be the judge. This week, Ash is joined by special guest Bella to appraise the life and work of this local cult poet.  Howking, incidentally, means digging.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.c...

S2E20 We were somewhere around Stockbridge on the edge of the fringe when the books began to take hold. Today on Ear Read This, Ash and Adam discuss Hunter S. Thompson's riotously enjoyable Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Expect pure gonzo podcasting, alter-egos and crucified gorillas.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops. "Twisted" by Ke...

S2E19 Continuing our exploration of metamorphoses, today Ash talks about Will Self's Cock and Bull. A hermaphroditic interest makes it only right that we get two stories for the price of one. First comes Cock, the story of a bored housewife who grows a penis, then Bull, the story of a rugby player who grows a vagina on the back of his knee.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadt...

S2E18 A new kind of episode today as Ash discusses a single 12-line poem, 'De puero balbutiente' ('The stuttering child') by the Reverend Thomas Bastard. If you enjoy this new format and would like a particular poem or short story treated in a similar fashion, get in touch with your suggestions using the contact links below.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not...

S2E17 The contents of these Foul Papers include a sign off from the Ruff Squad, some whistling, a Goodreads update, a reaction to Simon Armitage as our new Poet Laureate, a rap battle between Mr. Toad and Captain Nemo, and hot topics such as horror films, hooks for hands and Brazil.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops.  

S2E16 Today Adam and Ash are messing about in boats, eating excessive luncheon hampers, losing an otter and finding God, scrooging out of burrows and poop-pooping through the woods.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops.  

S2E15 A Foul Papers we recorded a while ago which unfortunately is blighted by a series of interruptions from the Ruff Squad - a gang of elite British writers including Carol Ann Duffy, Ian Rankin and Joe Wicks the Fitness Tit. Don't worry, we still find time to check in with the Goodreads League, watch a rap battle between Mr. Pickwick and Ebenezer Scrooge, discuss books on film and have a game o...

S2E14 Continuing our exploration of literary metamorphoses, this week we look at David Alan Kepesh, a literature professor inexplicably transformed into a woman's breast in this 1972 novella by Philip Roth. Unlike Gregor Samsa, Kepesh is aware of the literary heritage of metamorphoses, making this transformation painfully self-conscious. Is the novel a sly dig at Roth's critics? Is the work, as Ma...

S2E13 Ash and Adam discuss the colourful life of Arthur Conan Doyle, on the 160th anniversary of his birth. A life too full of adventure to be briefly described, but we had a go anyway. Tune in for stories of WWI, cocaine, Houdini, ghosts, crocodile hunting and a little bit of writing too.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops  

S2E12 The Golden Ass is the only surviving complete Latin novel from the Classical period. Also known as The Metamorphoses, it straddles more than one running theme on Ear Read This, as well as being filthy, funny and full of history. Grab your toga and get your ass over here. Time for a Roman literary feast.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Jo...

S2E11 In the second part of this week's Pickwick bonanza, Stephen Jarvis joins us again to tell us about his first novel, Death and Mr. Pickwick.  Discover the true story behind the origin of Mr. Pickwick and the real life story of Pickwick's first illustrator, Robert Seymour.  You can find more about Stephen here: www.deathandmrpickwick.com   or by searching “Death and Mr Pickwick” on Facebook. ...

S2E10 This week, Ash and Adam are joined by Stephen Jarvis (author of Death and Mr. Pickwick) to discuss The Pickwick Papers, the first novel by Charles Dickens. As well as exploring its unique publication history, they also cover the astonishing popularity of the novel, how Dickens transformed as a writer during its serial run and ask why most books are just books, but not Pickwick... And if, lik...

S2E9 When Gregor Samsa awoke on morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a... What? In today's episode, Ash investigates the cause of this Metamorphosis. The punishment of a young man living dully sluggardized at home? Or something else?  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops,  "Giant Wyrm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)...

S2E8 A trip to Cornwall with Richard Woof, a Booker bid, a Shakespeare character rap battle, a personal poem and some Amazon review quiz type stuff.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops

S2E7 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is one of Jules Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires, originally published serially in the mid 19th Century. Join Ash and Adam as they swap touring the Hebrides for touring the open sea, and encountering electric narwhals, anemone marmalade, the prince of harpooners and underwater fundamentalists.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Mu...

S2E6 Join Adam and Ash as they scholarly examine the history of the Bad Sex in Writing award, which has been run by the Literary Review for several decades. Even by our standards, the language is pretty foul.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops

S2E5 Romeo and Juliet is arguably Shakespeare's most recognisable play. Today on Ear Read This, Ash discusses how the play deals with its fame, whether or not the lovers are damned, and what commentary Shakespeare is providing on his own developing language.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops

S2E4 Round II of the Goodreads League, a report from Birmingham courtesy of Richard Woof, a Burns Night quiz, a trilogy of haikus that are NOT personal, Ash shares his view of modern Scotland from an immigrant's perspective and a NSFW trailer for James Patterson's Haunted.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops, "Hot Pursuit" by Kevin MacLe...

S2E3 Join Adam and Ash for their first trip to the 18th century, as they discuss the delightful accounts Johnson and Boswell made of their 1773 tour of Scotland. Come for the Highland history, and stay for the heavy breakfasts and winning friendship these two men of letters enjoyed.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops

S2E2 Announcing the launch of the Foul Papers Goodreads league! There's a literary character rap battle, a new addition to the Ear Read This team, a promised poem, a condemnation of some crafty bastards, and King Lear gets upstaged by a drone.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis Music: "Not Drunk" by the Joy Drops