Elton Reads A Book A Week

As a little break in the booky-book episodes I thought I'd kick out something different. Here's a preview of a series I'll be putting on Patreon. It's a limited series about The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse meeting every Saturday to end the world as, you find out, they've been doing for millennia...and still haven't done it. This is the first of a lot of Jovial Horsemen...

Content Warning: Suicide This episode discusses suicide and may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, seek help from a mental health professional or a helpline in your country, which can be reached by dialing 988 if you're in the United States or if you're online via https://988lifeline.org/ You are not alone, and support is available. Listener discre...

Jean Shepherd is a man with a famous past in the largely "Who the f*ck is he?" present. Yet, you've probably heard the gruff timbre of his voice every year since you were a kid and enjoyed his work for decades, literally. Born on an unspecified date, in a town that might be in Illinois or Indiana, Jean Shepherd made up a world that people actually believed was real. Created a story that may have c...

When I say the word “ocean”, what do you think about? For me, it's a mix of fascination and abject terror. I'd chock that up to my innate ability to sink in almost any body of water and/or liquid...and my fear of dying in it. That and if I go in too far and can’t feel the bottom, I freak out a little. It’s because I picture all the giant man eating monsters that definitely are swimming all...

Elton navigates the action packed weirdness that is "The Devil's Black Rock." It's a story so insane it defies logic. When you start in rural Arizona desert with a prospector trying to make ends meet, and end with selling nuclear bomb material to Nazis, there's bound to be a lot of wholesale killing in between. If Doc Savage is involved, it's practically guaranteed. Join...

Batman, Superman, and The Avengers have the same bronze daddy or great-grandpa. One of those. The first episode of a new year and this one is a doozy. Doc Savage, a character that fueled the 1930s and 40s pulp craze, is beyond belief, which is understandable. He was created to be just that. Prolific author Lester Dent made Doc to be the greatest human being on Earth, almost Christ like. If only he...

Join Elton in the exciting conclusion to Hitler's Holy Relics in which we find our hero, Walter Horn and his silent, but deadly sidekick Eugene "Stone Blood, Death Comes For Us All" Dollar, as they hunt down the perpetrators of Crown Jewel thievery! Intense interrogation action, while busting Nazis high and low--ALL while screaming, "WHERE ARE THE JEWELS!?" Will there be deceit? Yes.  Will th...

A secret bunker, a cultural treasure, and a special sharp stick that poked Jesus that could help you rule the world?!! Who else but Hitler would be responsible for that odd grouping of nonsense? Who else would be stupid enough to lose it? Join Elton as he recounts the tale of Walter Horn and his hunt for a priceless national treasure stolen by Hitler, but post World War II, became lost to the worl...

Enter the realm of what it is to be perfect or close to it anyway. Join Elton as he explores one of the only ways a person can attain perfection. It's not as easy as you think.  APOLOGIES SECTION: Elton would like to apologize to the following people, places, and things: Major League Baseball, James Buckley Jr., Medical professionals from the 1800s, Ty Cobb, New Yorkers and their infants, sta...

"What If?" by Robert Cowley is one of the greatest books you've never heard of. It's not fiction or science fiction but, could probably inspire both. A collection of essays written by historians that were asked "What if the outcome of one historical military event changed? What would happen?"  What if everything you've ever known could be undone with one change? Imagine how unpredictable real...

In this episode-- Bill Gates, King of Microsoft, and one of the most odd, controversial, and insanely wealthy people on Earth. A planet could probably buy, lets be honest. Did you know he wrote a book of predictions about the internet BEFORE it existed (well, the one we know today, anyway)? Being one of a small group of insiders who helped shape the way the internet was, and is, used by the world,...

What happens when a man with a hood over his head drives a car into a small town? A mountain of dead people and a prison sentence, right? WRONG! Find out why common sense never made the final edit. Along the way, are witch trials, blue boars, electrified swords, carnies, movie stars, oh, and hand jobs from relatives.  There's that too. Join Elton on a journey through the life of Ray Bradbury...

Freddie Mercury led a life so big he couldn't fit into one episode (and it STILL not enough)! In this second half: cocaine dwarves, smoking vaginas, The Sex Pistols, Bohemian Rhapsody, David Bowie, possibly the Queen of England, and more. Join Elton's continued ride through "Somebody to Love: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Freddie Mercury", a book that's long on information and short on needless f...

Freddie Mercury considered one of the greatest frontmen of all was the living embodiment of excess. He lived his life moving at the speed of light, but the world, a disease, and fate would bring it to a tragic end. Join Elton as he tries to lighten the mood using one of rock & roll history's greatest and unfortunate son's lives.   From Freddie's birth to Queen's birth, part 1 of the wild...

It's the end of the world as the 80s knew it and they feel...apocalyptic! Listen as Elton gets to know "Mister Touch" and his rough band of New Yorkers as they battle a pandemic. Plus, survival tips! GET THE BOOK HERE! https://amzn.to/3DsgYkr Contribute here: https://anchor.fm/elton-reads-a-book-a-week and here: https://www.patreon.com/eltonreadsabookaweek Samba Isobel by Kevin MacLeod Link: https...

Steve Martin, The New York art world, Ice Cube, and 90s gangsta rap Pokemon; what do they have in common? This episode is what! "An Object of Beauty" may just be the single greatest book in the history of books that aren't listed as great books. Is that a confusing exaggeration? Yes, maybe, you tell me. In this episode, you'll get the low down on Steve Martin, his novel, and how Jesus felt about h...

Using "So, THAT Happened: A Memoir by Jon Cryer", we'll get into Jon Cryer's life and various pseudo feuds with other celebrities in this surprisingly sexually euphemism-filled episode of Elton Reads A Book A Week. Join Elton as he explores the inner workings of Jon Cryer, the famous Hollywood actor extraordinaire. He leaves no page unturned in the pursuit of understanding Jon Cryer's one-sided ce...

Take a trip through the strange world of male sexuality with Elton as he tries to navigate why men defer to their genitals, sex cults for old people, and why men think they're the best sex-ed teachers. Plus, a wasp loving doctor makes it all possible? In this episode, Elton slips down the sexy, sweaty spine of "American Sexual Behavior and the Kinsey Report, a rundown of the most famous sex study...

An actor that was so great people were afraid he might inspire Al Capone to murder and turn Americans into communists; Edward G. Robinson. In this episode, we'll learn what it takes to make it as an actor in a world that screams "Hell no, ugly!", that some old movies have sketchy titles and the importance of Edward's "third leg". [And a "mummer" is an actor in a traditional masked mime, especially...

Elton finds out a little bit more about the how's and why's of his travels in time (hey, that rhymed...and that did too!) Plus, Dean Koontz's time travel rules are right (well, some of them).  Part 2 of the "Lightning" by Dean Koontz episode. After talking about the book Elton converses with the stranger that appeared before him in part one. As it happens, he knows a lot about somethings, som...

What if your life was, literally, supposed to be different? What if you had a "guardian angel" that was real...and never aged? Dean Koontz can answer those questions and in this two-part episode, Elton gets into the life of Dean Koontz and his book "Lightning" to find those answers...and also find out why he's been jumping around in time himself. This is part one of, what turned out to be, a two-p...

"UFOs The Public Deceived" by Philip J. Klass, a book hell-bent on ripping UFOlogists a new a**hole, takes apart UFO claims, but is that all?  Elton's journey into thrift books takes him into the rollercoaster world of debunking UFOs. Venture into the world of UFOlogists, the book, the aliens, the opportunists, and lies. Plus, there's an alien at the end of this boo--...podcast!  Thanks...

Time Traveling Elton (Titty) arrives in time to play substitute on the episode for "Successful Living", a book (that's not a book) produced by an accredited college funded by a radio televangelist apocalypse prophet,  to help improve lives...1970s style. It's best to not dwell on it...or you could get cancer while having a heart attack. If you enjoy this episode, please share, rate and/or rev...

Sorry, I didn't think the audio in the last version was good enough. I messed with it and hopefully, it's better. Sorry about that, folks. Elton talks about "Living History" by Hillary Rodham Clinton while trying to remain apolitical, gets help from the Angel of Death, and uses a future recording from space to get an episode.  Poor Ensign Swift. Rate & Review this podcast whe...

What's wrong with marrying a time traveler? Elton breaks down Audrey Niffenegger's legendary debut while also confronting a time-traveling version of himself. Get ready for some 80s era stripper talk, literal self-loathing, and what may or may not be a "hoot" in this self-aware episode of Elton Reads A Book A Week. If you like "Elton Reads A Book A Week" be sure to tell a friend and/or review it w...