The Bookening

Hello. It's us. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Memory. Identity. Barbra Streisand. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We haven't got our actual podcast recorded yet but here's a taste of why you should read along. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

An ordinary (kind of) man caught in extraordinary circumstances! A race against time to expose a dangerous spy ring! Long walks through Scotland! It's John Buchan's immortal (?), classic (?):  The 39 Steps. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Mysterious intelligent rats??? Please don't refer to our podcasters like that! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Tolstoy is a great writer. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novella about a middle-aged man named Ivan Ilyich. Yep, he dies. It's sad, moving, thoughtful, ironic, true to life, etc. And unlike some other Tolstoy books we could name, it's short. Worth your time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Check out the Kickstarter for our friend's non-woke children's book, The Rainbow Knight. The Bookening talks about a charming kid's book by the quirky children's author (and longtime New Yorker illustrator) William Steig. We talk about some of his early books of "symbolic pictures" too—too dark to be kid's stuff. You have been forewarned! You can check out The Agony in the Kindergarten here , or A...

"Emma" by Jane Austen is considered a great novel due to its sharp wit, complex characters, and insightful commentary on societal norms and human nature. Austen's writing is known for its irony, subtle humor, and ability to draw readers into the world of her characters. The novel also explores themes of class, romance, self-delusion, and the dangers of interfering in the lives of others. Additiona...

A salesman who shared his liquor and steered while sleeping... A Cherokee filled with bourbon. A VW no more than a bubble of hashish fumes, captained by a college student. And a family from Marshalltown who head-onned and killed forever a man driving west out of Bethany, Missouri.. ..I rose up sopping wet from sleeping under the pouring rain, and something less than conscious, thanks to the first...

Ho ho ho! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

All the pretty horses ... where do they all come from? All the pretty horses? Where do they all belong? Did you know Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode Island? He had to work to sort of figure out how to become a southern western gothic writer, or whatever he is. Anyway, The Bookening talks about All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

For some reason this is our Spooky October episode. Love is ... frightening? Or we dumbly mixed up the Stephen King episode and this one in release order? Who can tell? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The Green Mile by Stephen King. It’s a book we review.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it, for I am the only...

Nathan checks in with an update on when you can expect the next full episode and a very interesting story about trying to schedule with Brandon. But believe me, if you don't like episodes that aren't just about books, this is NOT the episode for you. You have been warned.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Revenge, madness, whale blubber, etc. The Bookening discusses one of the best books they've ever discussed. And probably the great American novel. Herman Melville's Moby Dick. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

"If it had not borne Mr. Dickens's name, it would in all probability have hardly met with a single reader; and if it has any popularity at all, it must derive it from the circumstance that it stands in the same relation to his other books as salad dressing stands in towards a complete salad. It is a bottle of the sauce in which Pickwick and Nicholas Nickleby were dressed, and to which they owed mu...

The senselessness of life. The meaninglessness of death. Those moments where you murder someone in cold blood for no particular reason. Hope you like existential stuff. Because Ernest Heminway and Albert Camus sure do, as we talk about in this mega-stuft episode of none other than ..... THE BOOKENING.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The Bookening is divided over one of the great (?) Russian novels! Here's a link to that great piece on Tolstoy and Turgenev's relationship. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Two children's books that we had STRONG feelings about! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Happy Valentine's Day! It's been six years. Can you believe it? Time for The Bookening to return to the book that started it all. Will our opinions have changed? Will we argue our former selves into the dust? Will we now HATE Pride and Prejudice ???? Find out in this mega stuffed episode. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How is the Bookening moving forward after a 2021 that wasn't what we wanted? What are we reading in 2022? Was Ender's Game a good novel? The answers to all these questions and more in the mega-long super spectacular new episode! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Next week (Lord willing) Jake and Brandon will face off in the epic trial of Ender's Game. This week Jake prepares. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Ender's Game on, Bro! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. Will our heroes decide this book is romantic wish fulfillment? Or just really good?  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★