The CodeX Cantina

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! "The Queen of Spade" by Alexander Pushkin is extolled as one of Russia's greatest short stories of all time. It was a no brainer to throw it into our January quest to find the greatest short story of all time. With themes of fate, chance, and greed, let's talk about what makes this such an engaging text. Our...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we're looking at an introspection fiction masterpiece, "The Story of an Hour" (Originally published as "The Dream of an Hour") by Kate Chopin. With a marriage that wears on the main character, this was a very aggressive statement for the women of 1894. What was the cause of her death? Let's talk about i...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's talk about the novella/short story "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima today. A horrific and haunting look at the Japanese tradition of Seppuku that oddly foreshadowed Mishima's real life.  Yukio Mishima Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYfDDHRa-2M&list=PLHg_kbfrA7YBHtR8RY2E5al0B5VcBTBfu Sub...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we are looking at one of Brazil's greatest short stories, "The Imitation of the Rose," by Clarice Lispector from the Family Ties collection of short stories. With duality, gender divide, and more, let's talk about what makes this story so special! Our copy was translated by Ben Moser.  Subscribe: h...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we are looking at Edgar Allen Poe's classic "The Cask of Amontillado." Let's talk about irony, madness, and narration with today's story. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Do you have a Short Story or Novel you'd think we'd like or would want to see u...

We dedicate January to the search for the greatest short story of all time. We compile these from various sources. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Novels:   100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Tr: Greg Rabassa) Short Stories:  The Cask of AMONTILLADO by Edgar Allen Poe  The Imitation of the Rose by Clarice Lisp...

We'd like to know if you're down for reading any of the books mentioned. Some key things we'd love to hear from you on is do you have any interest in reading these with us? * 100 Years of Solitude * Their Eyes were Watching God * Brothers Karamazov * The Idiot * Dead Souls * East of Eden * Wise Blood * Anna Karenina   - Near to the Wild Heart   - Aqua Viva   - The Hou...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's wrap up our month of A Very Foreign Christmas: Russia along with the novels that we finished reading this month as well. Novels:  Battlegrounds  Wolves of the Calla  Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Ben Moser   Manga:  Full Metal Alchemist  With: BooksWV:...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! We look at "A Christmas Tree and a Wedding" by Fyodor Dostoevsky today. Be sure to check the trigger warnings as we talk about Class Divide. Read for Free: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36034 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Do you have a Short Story or...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we're talking about "Vanka" one of Anton Chekhov's most famous stories. We are specifically looking this through the lens of the Christmas celebration we're doing with A Very Russian Christmas. Our version was translated by Constance Garnett. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmi...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we cover the strangest Ukrainian writer, Nikolai Gogol, and his masterpiece "The Night Before Christmas" (Also translated to "Christmas Eve"). What a great tale about vanity and taking a swipe perhaps at people and their hypocrisy. Co-Host Christy Luis's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5vxlV9...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we look at "The Little Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree" (also translated to "The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree") by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We're very happy to have Christy Luis on board with us today. Let's talk about Social Darwinism, Social Divide, and an interpretation where the world is suffering...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we look at "The Young Tsar's Dream" by Leo Tolstoy. We slowly come to a conclusion about Nicholas the II as we talk about this piece. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Do you have a Short Story or Novel you'd think we'd like or would want to see us co...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! We are looking into "At Christmastide" (Sometimes called "At Christmastime") by Anton Chekhov today. With themes of communication and reconnection, we could easily see how this fit into a Christmas theme. Read for Free: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1944 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKp...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! We're kicking off the A Very Foreign Christmas series with Russian this year! Let's talk about "The New Year's Tree" by Mikhail Zoshchenko and the era of Christianity and Atheism in Russia/USSR. Our story was translated by Ross Ufberg. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_co...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! This week we talk about "The Lifeless Beast" (also called "The Lifeless Animal") by Teffi (Nadezhda Buchinskaya née Lokhvitskaya.). Lots of discussion of a loss of innocence and even magic from a young narrator's point of view. Read for Free: https://www.nereview.com/files/2014/01/NER-Teffi.pdf Subscribe: htt...

Make sure to check out the "Before You Read" video on Crime and Punishment. We are going into detail on this book by Fyodor Dostoevsky today!

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Is "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky the best Book Classic to begin with? What is the point of this? Utilitarianism, Social Critique, Nihilism, and more to talk about in this novel, so let's pick out some things to be thinking about before starting this highly lauded novel. We'll follow up with more...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's talk about capital punishment with Anton Chekhov today in "The Bet." Written in 1889, this is a great two-part piece assigned frequently in schools today. What was your favorite part of the story? Translated by Constance Garnett. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_co...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's chat about "The Pedestrian" which has skyrocketed in being assigned in class lately. This is incredibly topical and a great resource to talk about freedoms vs desires, technology, central conflicts, and figurative language. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirma...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's talk about "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty today. One of the most popular and influential American Short Stories of all time. Lots of talking points here with time, generational challenges, racial inequality, and fighting for the next generation. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCX...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! "Wisdom of Children" (also translated as Little Girls Wiser than Men) is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1885. With themes of forgiving and humility, let's talk about Matthew Chapter 18 and "The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven" story.  Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's talk about relationships and how we change based on who we are around. We touch on feminism and gender commentary as well. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Do you have a Short Story or Novel you'd think we'd like or would want to see us cover? Submit...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's talk about Nikolai Gogol's most bizarre story, "The Nose." Filled with masculinity references that may lead you to think the nose means something else. Let's talk about dreams/fantasies and a bit of disembodiment in today's chat. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_co...

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Let's take a look at some lookism themes, failed religious duties in Buddhism, and ... oh why not... let's talk about some trees and their meanings in today's story "The Nose" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzdqkkUKpfRIbCXmiFvqxIw?sub_confirmation=1 Do you have a Short Sto...