The Binge Reading Bookclub

This month we take a deep dive into the epic speculative sci-fi novel I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. Released in 1995, this novel follows the story of 'The Child' who has only ever known life locked un in a cage underground with 40 other women. Upon their escape, they discover a desolate landscape and slowly realize they may be the only survivors of an apocalyptic even...

Once again we branch out into hitherto un-explored realms of media as we discuss the 2011 YouTube viral sensation Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared. We chat about the marvels of early 2010s internet humor (Burn't Face Man, The Mighty Boosh, Salad Fingers to name but a few), why absurdist and comedic novels are hard to write and sell, and we take Nicholas on a therapeutic journey into his cre...

In our most heated episode yet, that many are calling 'truly a podcast that has appeared online', best selling author Nicholas Binge (Extremity, Ascension, Professor Everywhere) and Hugo Powell (Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Flies, Lord of War) invite the best selling crime author Tariq Ashkanani to tell them about one of his favourite novels Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica....

In todays edifying episode of Speed Binges, the D-sides of the Binge Reading Bookclub, best selling author Nicholas Binge and Hugo Powell chat about the fantastic album Palm Mall Mars by 猫 シ Corp. (Cat System Corp) - a flourish of 90s vaporwave nostalgia that plunges the listener into the dreamy world of the first shopping mall built on mars.  Vaporwave is a genre born online in the early 2010s,...

Best selling author Nicholas Binge and literary newbie Hugo Powell are joined today by the marvelous author Shauna Lawless! Shauna mixes historical fiction with classic fantasy in her novels by placing (or replacing as she argues), the magic that was lost from traditional Irish texts due to modern readings and interpretations of 11th century Irish literature. She helps understand why studying hist...

In this months Speed Binges we are joined by extra special guest Crystal Riley form the Based on a Book Podcast! We decided to do a little spin on their format by reading a book based on a movie. Now it is a technicality but the novel was based on the screenplay of Kubrik's film and was released after the release of the movie so we are counting it. We take full advantage of having Crystal in...

Best selling author Nicholas Binge and literary newbie Hugo Powell are joined today by equally bestselling (USA Today and New York Times bestselling) author L.R. Lam! L, author of such wonderful works of fantasy such as the weird-queer novel Dragonscale or the Mycah Grey trilogy, shares with us her favorite novel The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow. Not only does The Everlasting deal with some pretty...

In our new Binge Reading Bookclub Podcast spin off series we watched The Chair Company. A surrealist dark comedy written, produced and starring internet star Tim Robinson. The story follows Ron, a middle manager at a mall construction company who has a horrible chair based mishap that leads him to uncover a grand conspiracy of embezzlement and smuggling.  we talk about what the show is trying to a...

In this episode we are talking about Excession by Iain M Banks - A sprawling sci-fi epic that explores a distant, post-scarcity future, where an interplanetary civilisation called The Culture faces the physics defying titular event the Excession.  Today we are delighted to welcome very special guest David Goodman - Author of The Reluctant Spy (winner of the debut awards at Bloody Scotland and Harr...

Introducing the brand new show - Speed Binges - where your roguish and lovable hosts Nicholas Binge and Hugo Powell will talk about a wide variety of their favorite media, from films to shows, books to albums, nothing is off limits. For this first episode we read Extremity by our very own Nicholas Binge. A procedural crime drama turned Sci-fi thriller, Extremity explores the impact of late stage c...

In this Episode of the Binge Reading Bookclub, Nicholas Binge and Hugo Powell discuss The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Rather than simply referring to the obviously well written 'unreliable narrator' that is Stephens, Nicholas breaks down how Ishiguro permeates the realities of cognitive dissonance into his character development. Nicholas also breaks down what impact this has on...

In this Episode of the Binge Reading Bookclub, Nicholas Binge and Hugo Powell discuss The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. A second wolrd fantasy that focuses on the trials and tribulations of Syenite, a member of the ostracized 'Orogene' people, cursed with the power to cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Of all the books read so far, this is the first one that 'Bounced' of...

In this Episode of the Binge Reading Bookclub, Nicholas Binge and Hugo Powell discuss Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho. A delightful romance novel that delves deep into the myriad pitfalls that face young women in the contemporary workspace. The challenge Hugo set for Nick last month was to choose a book where no one died, and he succeeded! So how do you develope drama, character, and conflict with...

In this episode we dive deep into the lore of Warhammer 40K with Xenos by Dan Abnett, the first in the Eisenhorn trilogy from the Black Library.  While we had fairly low expectations, this book really captured our attentions and demonstrated masterfully how to blend a variety of genres - in this case Sci fi, Horror and Noire. Nicholas Binge also shares with us how he comes up with names for his ch...

This week Nicholas and Hugo delve deep into literary fiction, a term so deeply confusing that they only just make heads or tails of it. Kamila Shamsie weaves a delicate, beautiful, and heart-wrenching tale of identity and nationalism that sits in conversation with the ancient greek play 'Antigone' and what it means to be British and muslim in the 21st century.  Nick and Hugo also discuss...

We are overjoyed to be joined by the marvelous Sunyi Dean, multiple award losing author of The Book Eaters (her words not ours). She chose the Novel Leech by Hiron Ennes for its excellent use of changing and dynamic perspective, as the titular leech slowly loses contact with its hive mind. The story is graphic, gory and gothing representation of a post-post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has...

Today we chat about  Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel , a story told through very unconventional epistoral technique of the discovery of a giant alien robot on planet earth. A collection of interviews performed by a mysterious government spook, we discover the various pitfalls of keeping a giant robot as a pet and the geopolitical repercussions. Nick and Hugo also chat Worldcon and Bloody Scotlan...

Today we chat about  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, a story of the Count Rostov and his various encounters while under house arrest the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. We talk voice, narrative tone, and why Hugo feels more compassion for The Bishop than he does for The Count himself. If you want to read what we have so far of our novel, follow the link to our website below. The next episode of th...

Today we chat about Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, a tense and heartbreaking horror that investigates the repercussions of 'Soul Splitting' in the wake of agricultural poisoning in the Argentinian countryside. We talk tension in writing and how to guide readers through a story without even needing chapters, how to navigate the world of social media and publishing, and our novel takes...

Today we chat about Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, a fantasy novel the follows the story of orphan Lazlo Strange and Godspawn Sarai. Nick breaks down how Laini writes vivid and imaginative prose that reflects the world in which the story is set. We also discuss the implications of if this novel was set in the same universe as Inception, the release of Nick's latest novel Dissolution, an...

Today we chat about Planetfall by Emma Newman, Sci-fi set 20 years after humanity sets foot on a new planet in search of God's City. Nicholas helps us understand how Newman shifts the readers perspective to distrust the main character Renata Ghali's (not Renata Bliss) perspective on the story playing out. We also chat about our favourite cross-over universe headcannon, invented ailments,...

This month we read We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker, a crime/thriller set in a small Californian town in the late 1990s but not all is as it seems. Nicholas helps us understand how Christ Whitaker builds up rich characters by delivering information in small bites from secondary parties, the show-not-tell approach I suppose. We also chat about inner monologues, books that feel like sequels but...

Let's get to know each other! In this episode we talk ghost writing a YA novel, our favourite creative outputs, and we write the first sentence of our novel. According to Nick starting a novel with 'Once upon a time...' is a pastiche that he hates but I think it could go somewhere.  The first proper episode of the BRBC will come out on the 27th February. Follow the link below for mo...