The Bookening

Steven Millhauser is one of the coolest, most uncanny, weird, beautiful, mysterious writer's writers that a lot of people haven't heard of, kind of a cross between Borges and Poe and Leave it to Beaver. And today The Bookening is talking about one of his best story collections, Dangerous Laughter .  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Is Gandalf a Christ figure? Is it even good to look for Christ figures in literature? Or is there a point at which a wizard fighting a Balrog is just that ... a wizard fighting a Balrog? Brandon and Nathan (Jake was away on Important Pastor Business) discuss all this and also HELM'S DEEP, YES! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our Lord of the Rings reviews continue, as our heroes talk The Two Towers. Ents, men, and Tolkien the Environmentalist are all subjects of discussion. Plus we get into an extended conversation about Tolkien's style and the tricksy way it morphs as the novel continues.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It's our 200th episode. To """""celebrate""""", we watched Cats. This does give Brandon an excuse to talk about T.S. Eliot though. Yay!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In our fourth (been a while since we've done that many) episode on Harper Lee's immortal  To Kill a Mockingbird,  our heroes discuss the characters. Is Atticus intended as a flawed human being? Is he one whether he was intended that way or not? Is this Jem's story or Scout's? Other intriguing questions you should listen etc. we love you.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

So it has come to this. Our heroes continue to address criticisms of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, using words like critical race theory, representation, and privilege. Was Harper Lee a coward for writing the novel the way she did? Did Tom Robinson deserve more book time? Listen on! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It's Part 2 of our discussion on To Kill a Mockingbird by the great Harper Lee. Our heroes provide some baggage, discuss whether this is THE great American novel, and handle some criticisms, including one by Flannery O'Connor.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Oh boy oh boy. We're discussing one of the great American novels, starting today, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Brandon provides some much needed context on this work, managing to work in thoughts on the Civil Rights movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and where conservatives western canon types  get it wrong. Plus the drama surrounding Go Set a Watchman. And whether or not Truman Capote actu...

Moria! Moria! Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria Moria! In this episode our heroes continue their discussion of Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien and talk about .......... Lothlorian! An...

Oh brother. In this Dadaesque episode of The Bookening our heroes discuss Waiting for Godot by Samuel Becket. At least it is arguable that they do this, but it sounds like some sort of gas was released into the room. Or something. Anyway, along the way, they talk a lot about existentialism, Brandon makes a date with the Knight of Infinite Resignation, and a beloved new catchphrase is born based on...

Yessir, we're talking about The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham, that classic touchstone that everybody loves and has definitely heard of. Actually this is an interesting book, and Brandon gives an interesting context, discussing the idea of the artist as cultural high-priest, negative capability, and all kinds of fun stuff. Give it a listen. Would you be reading this if you were not goin...

Um, what a weird book. The Bookening wraps their head around  The Trumpet of the Swan  by E. B. White. Or tries to. As usual (it seems) when we come to children's literature, we're a little unsure of what to say. What a weird book.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We tried to get far in this episode. In fact, we got all the way from Tom Bombadil to the Council of Elrond. But there's still plenty of Fellowship of the Ring left to talk about, and we are not sad about this, as it is an awesome book! Yay! WHAT'S WITH THE BARROW WIGHTS? How did we like dem elves? What about the introduction of Strider? SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT! SUPPORT US HERE! SIGN UP FOR OUR EVAN...

The Bookening is talkin' Lord of the Rings, namely The Fellowship of the Ring (Book 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien, a book that, in their opinion, holds up quite well. Subjects include: that fey, suggestive feeling Tolkien is able to inspire, the condescension or lack thereof with which Tolkien approaches the hobbits, whether the story takes too long to get going, the potency of the ring as a literary conce...

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes . A book that every parent or teacher assigns and no kid likes. Well, The Bookening decided to actually read it as adults, and it turns out it may not be half bad. At least one of us is prepared to argue pretty staunchly for it. That's the topic of today's episode. LISTEN TO IT AND YOU WILL BENEFIT GREATLY. Next week, more Tolkien. Support us here! ★ Support this po...

Yes, it's the one where we really get into Sense and Sensibility. Is this one of Jane Austen's less mature works? Does it show any signs of being a first novel? Or is it completely perfect? How does it rank in the Austen oeuvre? How did Austen grow as a writer in her later novels? These are just SOME of the questions that our heroes answer in this AMAZING podcast. Frailty, thy name is Brandon. Sup...

Just a little check in. We're not going anywhere. Love ya all.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this second episode about Sense and Sensibility , our heroes spend some time talking about their various histories with Jane Austen (this is their fifth time doing that but somehow they have a lot of new things to say). Plus they talk abut Jane Austen's style and why it's so compelling. Plus some of the differences between this relatively early Austen work and some of the later ones. ( S&S...

But you know that Sense and Sensibility was not originally published under Jane Austen's name? The title page just said "By a Lady." She was indeed a lady. And also a good novelist. And this is The Bookening's first episode on her first novel Sense and Sensibility. Brandon provides much needed context. Nathan attempts to rush through the intro. Jake sings Goo Goo Dolls. Listen today!  Support us h...

Oh boy, our heroes had to record this one late at night, after recording another episode, and their brains were fried. So if you like that kind of Bookening, this is The Bookening for you. But we got in some good talk about Mirkwood, the power of forests and woods, Smaug the dragon, how to make a good villain, and other Hobbity things. Next week, we'll finally get to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensib...

Well, friends, here in another episode of The Bookening on The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. In this one we get a suprsing amount of discussion out of a simple question: was Tolkien a racist? Yes, kind of, but how should that affect your enjoyment of the story? Also, why recount every riddle in the dark? What is the power of the cave section? That's what our heroes talk about in this episode! Yay! T...

This is a very simple episode on the notion of how we approach genre, which may have ramifications for how we think through our year of Tolkien. The question is, do you approach a genre piece (like Lord of the Rings) as a work of fiction, holding it to all the standards thereby supposed? Or do you approach it as a genre piece? Do some people do one and some people do the other? Who is right? What...

Here is our first full real Tolkien podcast where we are actually talking about a book. Bilbo Baggins! Gandalf! Thorin Oakenshield! Tolkien poetry! Support us here! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

If you like The Bookening, you should like this episode of The Bookening. And it does contain some of the promised discussion of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. But the fact is that we got off-topic a little bit and talked about literary style and talent, so we decided to save our more meaty discussion of The Hobbit for next week. But you should still listen to this episode. Love, Us. Support us h...

Thanks, Patrons! We have unlocked the year of J. R. R. Tolkien, and this episode begins it all with our heroes discussing the baggage that they bring to Tolkien, and Brandon providing some much-needed context to Tolkien's life and work (if you can imagine that). You'll hear about Tolkien's wife dancing for him in a forest, the difference between philology and linguistics, Tolkien's experience of W...