For episode nine of Come Read With Me, my friend Jess joined me to discuss Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz’ Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine. As usual, there were plenty of tangents including a five-minute tangent (you’re welcome, I edited it from 20) about Jane Austen fan fiction. Maybe I should just turn this into a Come Read Jane Austen with me podcast! (Don’t worry, I won’t.)
I was apparently super fidgety during the recording so I’m super sorry about all the background noise!
Download it here: CRWM #09 (Right Click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!
For episode eight of Come Read With Me my friend Peter joined me to discuss Sylvia Path’s only novel The Bell Jar. Although his reasons for wanting to read it were questionable, it was an interesting read. Peter does tweet @peteantonellis, but be forewarned it is all politics and The Simpsons.
Aside from Peter’s ridiculous knowledge when it comes to British Naval Fiction, we discuss the reading list of Daria Morgendorffer; blurring the lines between fiction, memoir and autobiography; mental health and institutionalization; New York City and Boston; WTF are bell jars and diving bells?; modern adaptations of classics; manga vs. anime; and a plethora of other random subjects. You know how it works with these podcasts tangents pretty much are the podcast.  I’m embarrassed I couldn’t remember the name Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I mistakenly called it Dr Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Download it here: CRWM #08 (Right Click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!
For episode seven of Come Read With Me, I was joined by my friend Dalton. He chose The Adventures of Captain Underpants (link to my review) and I am glad he did. This isn’t a book I would have gone out of my way, but it’s one of those books that is as much a part of pop culture as any cartoon show I grew up watching! Make sure to check out his Tumblr The Whet Whitch Whistler and follow him on Twitter @barleypoop.
I think we kept it PG-13 enough, not to warrant an explicit label, but suffice to say we discussed whether or not Dav Pilkey was a bit of a pervert, whether The Adventures of Captain Underpants could be Fifty Shades of Grey for nine-year-olds, AND whether or not Dalton writes fan-fiction or erotica. (Inquiring mines want to know!) To make it even more exciting, I may have even compared Dalton and his sister, Hayley, to the Brontës. Now that is praise from me for sure!
Download it here: CRWM #07 (Right Click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!
My friend Emily joined me to talk about Maya Angelou’s most famous work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. And I’m not sure how I did it, but even with my two weeks in Spain and being part of a wedding this past weekend, I managed to get this edited and online for June! I’m mostly glad that I was able to incorporate my “real” transitions and sound effects this time!
This was a very interesting book to talk about, especially with the current climate surrounding race relations, police brutality and institutionalized racism. We were very upfront about the fact that we were two white kids hanging out in a nicer “suburb” of Boston and that we’d each grown up in specific neighborhoods.
Download it here: CRWM #06 (Right click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!
In the longest episode yet I talk with one of my roommates, Mike, about two VERY long books Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, the first two novels of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons.
I’m sad I had to cut out as much as I did (including a great aside about Doctor Who), but I think you’ll enjoy this one. We talk about science fiction and religion, technology and the fear of Artificial intelligence and even delve briefly into religion and philosophy, and what all of these mean for the future of society. (We’re so smart!)
I did use this episode as a weird transition episode. You’ll start to see hints of what I’m working into the next episode from my “podcast class,” but  because this was recorded well before I did that class there are no actual transitions, I hadn’t recorded actual transitions yet, just the page turning sounds.
Download it here: CRWM #05 (Right click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!
Other books we talked about:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
I was able to do a lot more editing wise so hopefully the sound quality is a bit better than usual! I’m also mulling over a few more changes, like starting with the guest reading as the intro and then going into the discussion, but I’m not sure.
As usual, if you have any thoughts or ideas feel free to comment or email me at podcast@geoffwhaley.com!