bullying
Ender’s Game
Novel Ideas returns from a work related pseudo vacation hiatus with Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. If you use any form of media that is connected to the outside world, you’ve probably seen some trailers for the recently released movie. This book has actually been our list for a long time, but we’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to discuss it. Join us this week as we discuss, with the help of Special Guest Star Kevin Smith, this old favorite. In the the episode we talk about the Orson Scott Card controversy, spoilerific plot twists, master manipulators, and whether the ends justify the means. We also touch on how six year olds act most of the time, Yakety Sax, Independence Day, and creative ways of using the word “fart.”
The music bump is “Head Games” by Foreigner. I almost went with “Yakety Sax,” but decided that “Head Games” is actually hilarious if you imagine that Ender is singing it to either Colonel Graff or the Hive Queen, depending on the verse.
Ender’s Game – A Gold Plated Fart
Recommendations:
One of the best science fiction novels ever written with special sentimental value to all three of us. Definitely read it before you see the movie, which will undoubtedly not live up to this book.
Gabs: 9/10 Not quite as pants-peeingly good as reading it as a kid, but still very, very good.
Ben/Kevin: 11/10 OMFG
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged A Trip to Epcot Center, abridged fantasy series, acceptance, basketball connections, bugger biology, bullying, censorship, child revolution, controversy, diagramming space battles, diversity, DO NOT SHIP, dystopia, economical writing, empathy, Ender's Game, ends justify the means, fart reviews, feminism, forgiveness, Hollywood, ID4 references, layers, master manipulators, movies of books, oops lol, Orson Scott Card, penis farts, plot twists, power of love, pressure, psychopathy, questions, six year olds, social conditioning, special guest, symbolism, the internet, Valentine's strength, Yakety Sax.
Harry Poddercast Roundtable Part 2
And at long last, we reach the actual end of the Harry Poddercast Extravaganza with part 2 of our roundtable discussion. In this episode we discuss the portrayal of women, bullying, continuity, and the movie adaptations. We also cover Game of Thrones (again), Star Wars, and the Lensman series, possibly as a sign of Harry Potter fatigue. We also talk about revising the Hogwarts curriculum, twin stuff, sex questions that could only apply in the HP universe, and the face punch test for determining which house you should be sorted into. It’s been a lot of fun doing this, even if it has been fairly exhausting getting three and a half hours of raw audio edited in one day. We hope to see you again next week when we talk about… something other than Harry Potter.
The music bump is “Too Much Time On My Hands” by Styx, because that is surely what you think about my situation by now.
Recommendations:
Cast a memory charm on yourself and read/listen to the whole series again!
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged ...and society, academic fundamentals, bullying, child abuse, continuity, do wizards homeschool?, face punch test, favorite HP book, Fudge sucks, gender transition via potion, George's future ear-reverence, hard chairs, Hogwarts houses, hooray for Hufflepuffs redux, HP movies, illustrations, Jesus allegory, Lensman parallels, love magic, more Game of Thrones, on screen pacing, portrayal of women, revised Hogwarts curriculum, Sarah Potter?, sense of magic, sex questions, sexism in publishing, snake questions, Star Wars parallels, THE invisibility cloak, twin stuff, unbalanced character list, whiny dog is whiny, wizard dating, wizard-muggle relations, wtf is a "boys" or "girls" book?, Zorro-something.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Harry Poddercast Extravaganza is back with an extra long episode for the longest book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. Holy cow, everything happens in this book. We talk about abuse of authority, thoroughly hateable characters, bullying, feminism, education, and standing up for the truth. We also discuss awkward teenage dating, the wizarding constitution, Neville’s transformation from bumbler into badass, and WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ARCH!? And many, many other things. I feel like I’ve edited two episodes, I can’t even remember how this one started. Our guest star for this episode was recorded over Skype, so there are occasional echoes in the audio, but I think I managed to get enough of it out to not be distracting.
The music bump is Umbridge’s theme from the movie, composed by Nicholas Hooper.
Recommendations:
On a scale of “treacle tart” to “puking pastile,” we give this book a canary cream.
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged abuse of authority, arch to oblivion, awkward teenage dating, bad teachers, badass Neville, being 15, bullying, communication, cultural context, Department of Mysteries, echoes, education, emo or trauma Harry?, facism, father figure fatality, feisty Ginny, femininity is bad, guest star, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, hated characters, Hermione the terrifying, in all seriousness what is up with that arch, J.K. Rowling, magical mechanics, Neville's the tank, O.W.L.S, prophecy, right v. legal, sad girl is sad, school isn't for everyone, SHOUTY CAPITALS, teenagers are idiots, thestrals, this book is long, umbrage with Umbridge, weirdly charming, what hit Sirius?, WHAT IS THAT ARCH!?, where are the Lady Death Eaters?, wizard constitution, wizard racism, wizard telly, wizards are crappy journalists.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Welcome back to Draco Malfoy Talk, a podcast devoted to analyzing Draco Malfoy and his hilarious antics. Or maybe it’s just starting to feel that way. This week on Novel Ideas, we discuss Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, the third book in the Harry Potter series. In this episode we don’t just talk a whole bunch about Draco and his continued status as a dick, we also talk about good teachers, possible metaphors for discrimination, overcoming fear, and holy crap plot twists. We also discuss the logic of divination, alternate universe Snape, ideas for improving the Hogwarts curriculum, and the plight of those poor flobberworms.
The music bump this week is “Seven Potters” by the Remus Lupins, a Harry Potter tribute band. They are nerdy as hell and probably more enthusiastic than talented, but I can appreciate the principle behind them.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Recommendations:
Best of the series so far! Also, if you’ve gotten this far and you’re still not convinced that you like this series, it probably isn’t for you…
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged alternate Snape, bad guy fake out, bullying, chocolate as a restorative, complexity, cowardice, debt, Dementors may be unreliable, Dementors suck (souls) for serious (Sirius), discrimination, Draco Malfoy Talk, friendship, good teachers, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hogwarts curriculum, J.K. Rowling, Lupin the laid back, no nonsense, overcoming fear, paradox, persecution of the innocent, poor flobberworms, revenge, Scabbers is... a rat!?, Sirius ethical challenges, Sirius/Lupin?, the logic of divination, werewolf metaphors, werewolves.
Novel Ideas 
2017 Hugo Noms
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We interrupt this irregularly scheduled podcast with a special, albeit belated, episode. We decided to sit down and discuss the 2017 Hugo Award Nominees for Best Novel. Extra heavy spoiler alert on this episode, as every book we talk about was published in 2016 at the earliest. In addition to touching on every nominated book, we also discuss diversity, writing styles, identity, and the proliferation of series in the SF/Fantasy world. We also talk about scenes that make you feel, writers who have never met a woman before, the future corporate age of exploration, and the cool factor of space wizards wielding laser swords.
The music bump is “Robots” by Flight of the Conchords because, as discussed in this episode of the podcast, all science fiction is about robots.
113 – 2017 Hugo Noms – Diversity of Ideas
This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged A Closed and Common Orbit, Ada Palmer, All the Birds in the Sky, Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie, awards, Becky Chambers, bullying, character drive story, Charlie Jane Anders, Cixin Liu, Claire S., colonialism, corporate age of exploration, cultural differences, Death's End, diversity, diversity of ideas, emotions, Enlightenment Era, friendless loners, genres, Hella spoilers, identity, manners and civility, math magic, meta, N.K. Jemisin, Ninefox Gambit, posting schedule, pretentious, series, social commentary, space wizards, spoilers, strangeness, style shifts, The Obelisk Gate, This American Life, Too Like the Lightning, trans allegory, writers who have never met a woman, Yoon Ha Lee.