The Bookening

In 1941, the Pulitzer Board convened to decide what work they were going to honor with their prestigious prize for fiction—and it didn’t take long for the entire group to come to an enthusiastic decision for Ernest Hemingway’s bestseller _For Whom The Bell Tolls. _ But by the time the meeting came to its bitter end, the Pulitzer Prize for fiction was going to … nobody. What happened? Apparently, N...

The Pelican huh? War and what?  The Immortal who of Stratford upon what? This is part 2, the nerdier part, of our series wherein our heroes recount their Top Five Childhood Books. Except really we're coming out of childhood now, as we finish our discussion of the books that played a formative part in molding and shaping our heroes.  Yeah. Not much more to say about it then that. Listen to it if yo...

The Little House stories ... Narnia ... Goosebumps?!?!  What do these three things have to do with each other? Well, they are clearly all series of books. That's for sure. Also, they are all books that may or may not appear on Nathan, Jake, or Brandon's respective lists of their Top Five Favorite Books from Childhood. That's right, our heroes are taking us on an autobiographical journey through th...

In this thrill-a-minute episode of The Bookening, our heroes wipe the East-of-Eden tears from their eyes,_ _and plunge into the murky depths Rudyard Kipling's  The Jungle Book. Initially, they can't think of all that much to say about it, which leads Nathan to introduce a dangerous piece of podcasting contraband into the proceedings. When said device proves to be more dangerous than they could pos...

“Mr. Steinbeck has written the precise equivalent of those nineteenth century melodramas in which the villains could always be recognized because they waxed their mustaches …” —Anthony West in a _New Yorker _review of East of Eden entitled “California Moonshine.” From it’s publication in 1952, John Steinbeck’s _East of Eden _has always been more of a popular than a critical favorite. As another gr...

Our heroes dig into East of Eden and particularly the Hamilton family in this spoiler-filled episode.  First they discuss their extreme admiration for prophet/poet/closet-drunk/all-around-good-guy Samuel Hamilton—and for Steinbeck for creating and sustaining him. Then they find that they all have a lot of affection for Liza Hamilton too, fearsome though she be. They talk about what type of home th...

**SPOILER FREE EPISODE** (You can listen to this podcast even if you haven't read _East of Eden.) (_And hopefully it will make you want to read East of Eden.) (Because you should read it.) Our matchless heroes cast one last lingering look at Jane Austen, along with a withering glare at some Austen spin-offs, knock-offs, and sequelizations.  Then it's on to John Steinbeck and his magnum opus _East...

In the final episode re: _Pride and Prejudice, _our heroes wax poetic on why Charlotte Collins (nee Lucas) may NOT have made such a lousy choice of husband after all. Brandon compares P&P to Shakespeare, Jake compares Darcy to Boaz, and Nathan hopes to toss the old pigskin with Jane Austen one day. Then everybody hates on that awful Keira Knightley movie, which they all correctly and sensibly...

Our heroes continue their discussion of P&P. First, they return to the issue of who is better feminine role model—Jane or Elizabeth Bennett? Then they pile disgust on Mr. Bennett until they feel like maybe they've gone too far. And that leads to them wondering whether J.A. in fact went too far in her disgust with Mrs. B.  Then they look at Lydia and Wickham—and the Lydia and Wickham that exist...

In which Nathan Alberson, Brandon Chasteen, and Pastor Jake Mentzel introduce themselves to the world of podcasting. Brandon provides a rootin’ tootin’ Texas introduction to the world of Jane Austen. Jake talks about how he first experienced_Pride and Prejudice_ in its most obnoxious and Keira-Knightleyian form. Nathan could not be less enthusiastic about Chiclits chewing gum. Then Brandon and Jak...