Episodes
Inferno
The great Harry Poddercast Extravaganza continues with… Oh, it’s over? Right. In that case, Novel Ideas is back with a non-Potter podcast for the first time in several weeks with Inferno by Dan Brown, a thriller that involves Dante and lots of obscure art knowledge. This episode also launches a new theme month, Bestseller Month, where we examine books that have sold well and recently. We would like to offer a legitimate spoiler alert for this episode, as the book has several plot twists, and even we would be less interested in the story if we had known those twists in advance. If you’ve already read it, or aren’t planning on reading it soon, tune in (Like on a dial? Maybe I don’t understand the internet yet…) to hear us discuss the aforementioned plot twists, infodumps, overpopulation, and feminism. We also talk about unlikely character pairings, victorious villains, the existence of gay people, and the consequences of monologuing. In a very special turn, we also get to experience a couple of minutes of Gabs rage. Hooray!
The music bump is from Franz Liszt’s “Dante Symphony,” which is being performed during much of the climactic scene of this book.
Recommendations:
Gabs: 5/10 If you like thrillers, read it. If you like the stuff we like, skip it.
Ben: 4/10 Pretty dull for a thriller.
Plug Alert!
Check out Epic One, a collaborative fiction project involving Gabs Roman, half of Novel Ideas. The link will take you to the first chapter of an ongoing online e-book.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The portion of the Harry Poddercast Extravaganza that involves specific volumes of the series draws to a close with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. In this episode, we discuss why anyone listening would need a spoiler alert, love, redemption, hubris, character flaws, and realism within a fantastical world. We also discuss Neville’s giant brass balls, love again, the Ron-Hermione shiptease, the stupidity of Death Eaters, and name issues. We’re not quite through yet, there will be one more massive episode where we sit around a table with some friends and break down the entire series. It has been recorded already, and it is exactly what we thought it was going to be. Long, mostly.
The music bump is a departure from the Potter related music of the previous six episodes, but is thematically appropriate. It is “Love Has the Power” by Toto, though I’m reasonably certain they weren’t referring to magic.
Recommendations:
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Harry Poddercast Extravaganza continues with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I keep expecting someone else to pop in and write a guest novel, but so far, I have been wrong. Very, very wrong. However, Novel Ideas did have a special guest this week. Jessica joined us to talk about Dumbledore as a criminal profiler and Harry as Spiderman. We also talked about war politics, horcruxes, spoilers, and fandom’s misunderstanding of the word “slut.” Not to mention Slytherins who aren’t dicks, how to say “fuck you” politely, Dubledore and Gandalf’s budding friendship, and Draco… not being a dick? Next week, the Harry Poddercast Extravaganza comes to a close, but there’s still time to squeeze yourself into our roundtable wrap up discussion if you contact us immediately.
The music bump is the Potter Puppet Pals in “The Mysterious Ticking Noise.”
Recommendations:
Possibly the best book in the series! Though I can’t imagine that you would be listening to this episode without having read/listened to the previous five…
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Novel Ideas Harry Poddercast Extravaganza continues with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. (Turns out all of them are by J.K. Rowling, go figure.) In this episode, we discuss the longest (thus far) book in the series, covering some topics we’ve already visited, such as wizard racism, and some topics that you would assume we’ve covered, such as feminism. Not to mention editing errors, elaborate villain schemes, the importance of world building, and whether 700 pages is too long. And that’s before we get into Draco’s secret pain, shaving mishaps, face punching, and whether Voldemort would be even creepier with a weird mustache. We hope you enjoy!
The music bump is Mike Relm’s “Harry Potter Remix of Death,” one of many Harry Potter remixes floating around the internet.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Recommendations:
I probably don’t even have to mention that we highly recommend this book, but just in case, we highly recommend this book.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Here comes the second book of the Novel Ideas Harry Poddercast Extravaganza, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling. In this episode we discuss the invisibility cloak and how we managed to overlook it in the first episode, the right and wrong ways to deal with celebrity, wizard racial slurs, and the level of heroism one can reasonably expect from a 12 year old child. We also discuss the horrible house of dicks, what Harry Potter would look like if it was written by GRRM, feral cars, and keeping giant monsters as pets. We also take a quick break for hammer time. We hope you enjoy it!
If you want to get in on the fun, let us know as soon as possible. We haven’t recorded for book three just yet, but I (Ben) am almost 200 pages into the fourth book, so time is running short.
The music bump is “The Chamber of Secrets” from John Williams’s excellent score to the not-so-excellent movie of the same name.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 80’s Movie Bully Evil
Recommendations:
Probably better than you remember! Read it!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The first of July is here; it’s time to kick off the Novel Ideas Harry Potter Extravaganza. We open, of course, with the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. In this episode we discuss child abuse, friendship, and standard juvenile/YA themes. We also cover untagonists, wizard racism, and possible benefits of having sly people on your side. Fan geeking is relatively low this week, though we do delve into reasons why Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff probably should be more competitive for the house cup and Ben’s irritation with the rule of quidditch.
The music bump is “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” from A Very Potter Musical. The music and lyrics are by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Recommendations:
Read it! If you’ve managed to somehow avoid it this long, check it out. It will read a little kid-ish, but it’s fun and easy to read.
Novel Ideas 