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The Turn of the Screw

Posted on October 23, 2017

Time for a spoooooky Halloween double feature from Novel Ideas! This week we discussed The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, a classic ghost novel from the turn of the (20th) century. In this episode, we talk about 19th century framing devices, horror tropes, class, and classic versus modern audience expectations. We also cover literary conspiracy theories, strange employment conditions, modern misinterpretations of Victorian prose, and why Miles is kind of a dick.

The music bump is “Conspiracy Theory” by Mike Tomaro, as performed by the Capitol Bones.

Join us next time for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

115 – The Turn of the Screw – Do You Have Anything to Say About Flora

Our recommendation:

We didn’t find this book to be scary. Or arguably all that entertaining. It will probably work best for you if you are into the history of the horror/ghost/haunting genre or a huge Henry James fan.

Ben: 4/10. I didn’t find it to be so bad that it was upsetting, I just didn’t really enjoy any part of reading it.

Gabs: 5/10. But only if you read into it more malevolently.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged (not) haunted homes, 19th century framing devices, 3rd hand retellings, annoying literary boy children, atmosphere, class, classic v. modern horror, conspiracy, creepy children trope, dick in attitude, Dracula, expelled from school, extreme reactions, Frankenstein, ghosts in broad daylight, HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, haunted (blank) stories, Henry James, horror tropes, Jane Eyre, madness, meaningful deaths, modern misunderstandings of Victorian prose, murderous governess, nameless protagonist, not scary enough, other classic horror, pedophile theory, Peter Quint is (not?) a monster, possession, potty mouths, scary not scary, strange employment conditions, strange leaps of logic, superior interpretations, The Mezzotint, The Secret Garden, The Turn of the Screw, unreliable narrator, WE GET POLITICAL.

Me Before You

Posted on September 28, 2016

Novel Ideas makes its return after too long away. This episode is about Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, a story about a quirky quirkster and a sad sack in a wheelchair. In this one we discuss ableism, depression, class, and assisted suicide, subjects which may cause you to feel icky. We also talk about our obscure theories (this book is secretly an eff you to rich people, this book is an anti-athlete author tract), what constitutes “a thing” (the internet, disabled people, therapy), why career counselors probably shouldn’t push you towards stripping, and that brief moment where Ben gets super judge-y.

The music bump is “The Queen Bee” by Sammy Nestico as performed by the Count Basie band.

107 – Me Before You – Feels Kinda Icky

Our recommendation: Reads easily enough, but you’ll feel icky if you think too hard about it.

Ben: 5/10 on the initial read, 3/10 by the time Gabs and I were done talking about it.

Gabs: 3/10 after we talked about it.

Holy crap, one of us did some research for this episode! Here are a couple of links that Gabs referenced:

Video:

http://youtu.be/Z9bkWJtm-mU

Articles:

http://cdrnys.org/blog/advocacy/hollywood-lies-i-prefer-my-disabled-girlfriend-alive/

http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.ca/2016/05/boycott-me-before-you-disability-death.html?m=1

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged ableism, annoying tropes, anti-athlete author tract, assisted suicide, Ben gets judge-y, bestseller?, buying a girl, class, depression, disabled people exist, discrimination litmus test, entitlement, failed self-promotion, free spirit, hate reading?, holy crap research, icky-ness, immaturity, Jojo Moyes, Me Before You, naivete, obligatory marriage, person first language, questionable narration change, rape backstory, rich guy motivations, rom-com bad relationship checklist, romance, single mom, spoiler alert, stripping and tourism based economy, the internet is a thing, therapy is a thing, underrepresentation, WHAT IS HAPPENING.

The Secret Garden

Posted on March 16, 2016

Welcome to the March edition of Novel Ideas, featuring The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In this episode we talk about the genre of the children’s novel, colonialism, subversions, and–need I say it?–feminism. We also discuss why Colin is kind of a dick, plot related illnesses, failed attempts at comic relief, and children’s dialogue. Gabs even did some research about the background of this novel. I know, try not to lose faith in us. We hope by the time you get to the end of this one, you’ve learned the secret behind the magic.

The music bump is Don Byron’s version of “The Royal Garden Blues.”

103 – The Secret Garden – Dickon Around the Garden

Our ratings:

An easy classic and an early entry in the non-religious children’s book canon, it’s probably worth your time.

Ben: 7/10. Isn’t bad, definitely won’t change your life. Another classic that is easy to discuss.

Gabs: 8/10. Minus 2 points for Colin.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged "girls book", a salty retelling, children's dialogue, children's novel, christian science, class, Colin is the patriarchy, colonialism, Dickon around the garden, disagreeable children, failed comic relief, feminism, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Gothic subversion, heavy breathing, magical negro trope, plot illness, race, romanticism, sad stupid hunchback, straight talk, the moors, the robin is the best, The Secret Garden, touch of research, Weatherstaff the Green, white people are the worst, wry narration.

And Then There Were None

Posted on April 28, 2014

We’re back! We have returned from our own fake murder to finish doing justice to evildoers and to record this podcast about Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. This is a whodunnit about mystery, murder, and politically correct modifications of the title. Okay, the book isn’t actually about that last part, but there is a bit of a history there. Fair warning, before you click this first link, you may want to make sure no one will wander by and see it out of context. Borderline NSFW. Anyhoo, the book was first published as this, then this, and for the US edition, this. In the episode, we discuss the mystery genre, vigilante justice, anti-semitism, and class issues. We also talk about 1930’s futurism, bad qualities in a judge, PC modifications, and what the Stephen King version of this story might look like.

The music bump is the “Ten Little Indians” rhyme that the book uses as scaffolding for murder. Which probably should have been the title, but I didn’t think of the phrase until just now. Oh well.

And Then There Were None – People Who Only Kill Dillholes

Recommendations:

Kind of lukewarm. We may have a subtle and inherent bias against mystery novels.

Gabs: 6.5/10 Tightly plotted and readable but without the extra oomph I need for a mystery to stand out.

Ben: 6/10 Probably originated many of the obvious tropes within, so I won’t hold that against it. Too easy to read to recommend against it.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, anti-semitism, bad legal qualities, can you force someone to suicide, class, definition of murder, Dexter, do we need resolution, everybody dies, feminism, formulas, futurism, historical perspective, mystery, notagonist, paranoia, PC modifications, regular old justice, remorse, setting the moral bar low, Stephen King version, sticking the landing, tight plotting, very British, vigilante justice.

Catching Fire

Posted on November 25, 2013

Novel Ideas returns with Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy. Not to mention the second movie, which you may have heard, was released recently. We apologize for missing last week, illness and a new work schedule have been conspiring against us. In this episode, we discuss masculine and feminine character traits, PTSD, overly silent conspiracies, and inaction in the face of evil. We also talk about classic dick moves, Peeta as a potential creeper, whether President Snow is a vampire, and many, many prequel possibilities.

Ben’s holiday work schedule is fairly likely to result in more delays with editing and posting episodes, so the schedule may look a little jagged through the end of the year. Posts are most likely to occur on Mondays rather than Tuesdays for the duration. We’ll try not to miss any more weeks without putting it on the schedule in advance, but bear with us.

The music bump this week is “Fire in the Hole” by Steely Dan.

Catching Fire – Scalene Love Triangle

Recommendations:

A very good read, as long as it isn’t the first book you ever read, with markedly more sophistication than the first book.

Gabs: 8.5/10 with the extra half point awarded for going beyond typical YA fare.

Ben: 9/10 I think I may have liked this one better than the first one, mainly due to the added political elements.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged aftermath of adventure, ballsy bluffs, Catching Fire, class, classic dick moves, coming on too strong, false fronts, gender balance, Hunger Games prequels, inaction against evil, marketing, masculine and feminine characteristics, mockingjay, moral ambiguity, movies of books, oversenstitive despots, pacing and plotting, Panem geography, Peeta the creeper, PeetaSD, PTSD, rebels, scalene love triangle, sick Gabs, silent conspiracy, slave district, Snow's a vampire, Suzanne Collins, To Kill A Mockingjay, YA sexuality.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Posted on May 28, 2013

Welcome back for a very special episode of Novel Ideas. This week we’re departing slightly from our norm and discussing a play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh. And we’re doing it with a special guest, our cousin Sara, who is studying playwrighting? playwriting? One of those. This play is a very black comedy/psychological drama about insane people who hate each other, featuring mental illness, unreliable/untrustworthy characters, manipulative behavior, and murder. We also discuss whether “Irish” is a genre, the tendency of little brothers to ruin everything, and how podcasts, unlike plays, are not a visual medium.

The music bump is Delia Murphy’s “The Spinning Wheel,” for Mag on the occasion of her seventy-first birthday.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged "Irish" is also not a genre, "play" is not a genre, 40 year old virgins, breaking points, class, complan, everybody be crazy, feminism, i(rish)tunes, imperialism, interdependence, Irish as a minority, little brothers ruin everything, manipulation, mental illness, poverty, racism, setting as psychology, the Irish are probably literate, untrustworthy characters, visual media, we are not Irish, what is reality?.