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Mockingjay

Posted on February 26, 2015 Updated on February 26, 2015

Novel Ideas is back! At least for this week. The plan had been to get this episode up around the time the movie was released, so expect a lot of hedging on estimates of when new episodes will be released. Adding context makes comments about having more content up by the end of the year more understandable, more amusing, and a bit more shameful. At any rate, here is Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, perhaps you’ve heard of it? If you listen, you will hear discussions about PTSD, the morality of war, weaknesses of characterization, and-dare I say it?-feminism. Not to mention messing with the shippers, different varieties of tridents, the curative power of babies in fiction, and why Gale is the worst.

If the audio quality seems off, we recorded and mixed this on a new rig. So Gabs is present via the power of the internet rather than the power of sitting at a table and may sound like she is present via the power of two tin cans linked by a string. Our apologies. Expect more of it. Eventually.

The music bump is “Back on the Streets Again” by the always timely Tower of Power.

93 – Mockingjay – The Bad Guys Would Eat Its Meat

Our ratings:

Ben: 8/10. A more mature story than the first two with less action, but more interesting discussion points.

Gabs: 7.5/10 Peetas. (And zero Gales because he is terrible.) The book has some issues, but damn it, it’s trying.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged babies fix everything, characterization, death, epilogues are silly, ethics of war, feminism, Gale is the worst, heroic psychology, hiatus, internet Gabs, love, magnificent bastards, messing with the fangirls, mockingjay, PTSD, revenge, Suzanne Collins, timely references, war is hell, wrong trident.

Angels in America

Posted on May 15, 2014

Our drama push continues this week on Novel Ideas with Angels in America by Tony Kushner, a very long two part play about… AIDS, maybe? This is a massive work, resulting in a longer than average episode where we mostly thrash about and try to figure out what various fantastical occurrences actually mean. In this episode, we discuss change, reluctant prophets, conservatism, and homosexuality. We also talk about why Tony Kushner won’t be appearing on the podcast, stupid alternate titles, chewing down a tree, and try to figure out what’s up with Joe. In the angelic realm alone, we examine the sexual habits of angels (always banging), the genitalia of angels (many and varied), and how angels maintain creation (mostly via jizz, as it turns out).

The music bump is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” not merely as yet another one of Ben’s terrible attempts at humor, but also because it actually appears in the play, though perhaps not in a traditional context.

Angels in America – Angels Be Crazy

Recommendations:

A very lengthy play (actually two plays) that is rather confusing to read at times because it’s supposed to be staged. Still has some power and effect though.

Gabs: 7/8 angelic vaginas.

Ben: 8/10 bouquets of phalli.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged 50 Shades of Gay, abandonment, AIDS, alliteration, angel spooj, angels are always banging, angels be crazy, Angels in America, blurred reality, buddy, censorship, change, chewing down a tree, clarity, conservatism, contradictory characters, demographics, dramagical realism, effect, feminism, Fun Home, genre?, Hollywood comedy gay man, homosexuality, it's all about the penis, Jews, love, McCarthyism, more Mormons, Mormon reputation, Mormons, not appearing on the podcast, patriarchy, politics, race, reluctant prophet, repression, Tony Kushner, what's up with Joe?, windbags.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Posted on February 25, 2014

We apologize for the lengthy interregnum, it was so long that we had to look up a new word just to describe it. Or possibly we just have trouble getting our act together sometimes. At any rate, Novel Ideas is back with Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, a story of a woman’s personal journey to self-realization. Listen to the episode to hear our conversation about dialect, ambition, feminism, and race. We also talk about white history professors, bees, how rabies works, and kickass deathbed scenes.

Quick scheduling note: We’re trying to post an episode for John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War next week, followed by our year in review episode for “Season 2” of Novel Ideas. There is likely to be a couple more missed weeks after that as Gabs gets married and goes on her honeymoon. Or maybe Ben will post something highly self-indulgent while we’re waiting. We’ll have to see.

If you have any comments or questions about anything we’ve talked about in the past year, please let us know! Also, if there’s anything you were hoping we might talk about outside those books, also let us know. We’d like to find some interesting and slightly different content for the end of the year episode if we can.

The music bump this week is “Janie Runaway” by Steely Dan, after our plucky protagonist.

Their Eyes Were Watching God – Too Dignified for a Mule Funeral

Recommendations:

A 20th century classic that is commonly assigned in school with a lot of conversation worthy content. A little tough to read due mainly to the use of dialect, but also rather short.

Gabs: 7/10 for literary value, 5/10 for ease of reading.

Ben: 5.5/10 because I liked it more than I didn’t, but just barely. This one felt kind of like assigned reading.

This entry was posted in Admin, Episodes and tagged 30 acres and a mule, ambition, assigned reading, childless female protagonist, coming of age, death by rabies, deathbed confrontation, dialect, domestic violence, feminism, go to the doctor, life, listener suggestion, love, marriage, mixed race, mule funeral, nicknames, personal story, punctuality, puppy story, racism, research standards, science standards, self-actualization, self-importance, social lenses, the bees, Their Eyes Were Watching God, white history professor, Zora Neale Hurston.

Codename Verity

Posted on January 6, 2014

Novel Ideas returns with Codename Verity by Elizabeth Wein. This episode was recorded several months ago to buy us some breathing room if we ever needed it. As it turns out, my time issues effect editing more than reading and recording, so I believe having this episode available has prevented zero missed podcast weeks. Good intentions and all, right? At any rate, listen to the episode to hear us talk about World War 2 tropes, friendship, homosexual undertones, and torture. We also discuss improv skills, Handsy McHandsfuck, shipper distractions, and experience our own brief distraction.

The music bump is “Beautiful Friendship” as performed by the Hanna-Fontana band. It has nothing to do with the thing the name sounds very similar to…

Codename Verity – What Do You Call A Female Bromance

Recommendations:

It has been several months since we read this one, so we’re forgoing numerical ratings this week, but I can sum things up thusly:

Gabs: Thought it was good. Actually features several strong female characters in a setting where women usually aren’t featured.

Ben: If it’s about spies, I like it; if it’s about friendship, I don’t like it. Except I might like it anyway.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged Battlestar Galactica, Codename Verity, cotagonists, Elizabeth Wein, girl power, Handsy McHandsfuck, homosexual undertones, honeypot trope, improv skills, lies, love, Nazis are bad, podcaster distractions, rape, sexism, shipper distraction, shooting your best friend, spycraft, SS archetype, strength of character, torture, war is bad, World War 2.

Beloved

Posted on October 3, 2013

Novel Ideas wraps up Banned Book Month with Beloved by Toni Morrison, a story of escaping the past against the background of slavery. This book is a rather difficult read, as it written non-traditionally, shifting points of view and tenses and using some modern literary techniques that don’t get used often in popular fiction. In this episode we talk about some of those challenges, as well as gender and publishing, slavery, the context of infanticide, and the difficulty of escaping the past. We also discuss “enlightened” slave owners, weird sex, whitepeople, and our need of a professor to help us decipher the text. This book was a rich topic for discussion, we hope you find this episode interesting.

The music bump is “Freedom” by Charles Mingus.

Beloved – Not A Dead White Guy

Recommendations:

Gabs: 6/10 as an enjoyable book, 8/10 as something you should read.

Ben: I might not go as high as 6/10 for enjoyability, but it was a pretty powerful book. I’m also going to say 8/10 as something you should read.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged "enlightened" slave owners, 2 year olds' desires, banned books, book banners are dopes, confederate flags, context, crazy assigned readings, difficult read, emotional scars, extended intro, filler episodes, freedom, gender and publishing, genre?, justified infanticide, love, no-traditional writing style, Reconstruction, red, sexual choice, slave owning theorists, slavery again, slavery as an institution, slavery is bad, supernatural elements, Sweet Home Alabama, the horror of slavery, Thomas Jefferson, tied to the past, we need a professor, weird sex, well written, what is a man?, whitepeople are the devil.

Harry Poddercast Roundtable Part 1

Posted on August 8, 2013

Welcome to the concluding episode of the Harry Poddercast Extravaganza, our roundtable discussion of the entire series. Or perhaps Harry Potter is just too huge to be disposed of so easily. Turns out, we can’t end it in a reasonable length of time. This is Part 1 of our roundtable, with Part 2 going up later today, or possibly tomorrow morning. In this episode, we primarily discuss characters and issues related to characterization. We talk about love, choice, angst, imperfection, redemption, and some of favorite/least favorite characters. We also discuss Game of Thrones, Parks and Rec, why you shouldn’t mess with old ladies, and Neville being Neville. There’s also a noticeable, but hopefully not too distracting, amount of whiny dog in the background from time to time. Sorry about that, he just wanted in on the action.

The music bump is “One Last Time” by Dream Theater, because I like to make them look like liars. Filthy, filthy liars.

Recommendations:

The books are already read, so if you’re listening to this, we hope you know exactly what you’re getting into!

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged A Very Potter Musical, acceptably angsty, ASP?, banging, big ol' ball of love, choice, don't mess with old ladies, Dumbledore's management style, everyone loves Hermione, favorite characters, favorite Weasley, Ginny's growth, GoT spoiler, Harry Poddercast Roundtable, Hermione is super...brave, HIPPO!, Hottie Parry, how good is Dumbledore?, how heroic is Harry?, imperfection, least favorite characters, lost opportunities, love, needs more face time, NEVILLE!, Neville: most improved, Parks and Rec parallel, Percy's a prat, post-Potter options, Roman twins, Ron is overshadowed, Snape pathos, Snape's redemption, Snape/Trelawney, special guests, Spock is a Ravenclaw, strength as a weakness, too much face time, trollfaces, Weasleys rule, wizard cryptozoology, worst deaths.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Posted on August 5, 2013

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

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged arrogance and hubris, choice, complex motivations, Death Eaters are dumb, Dudley's karmic revenge, flawed heroes, Harry's love ball, love, love gain, love love love love, more love, name issues, Neville the badass, off camera deaths, OMG LOVE, pacing, predictable Harry, protaganists' underrated badass, realism in fantasy, redemption arcs, Ron-Hermione shiptease, Sanpe's secrets, sequel proofing, strong climax, thematic resolution, unlikely spoilers, wizard racism, wizard-goblin relations.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Posted on July 31, 2013

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…

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged appearance of action, cat cat cat cat, choice, Draco is... not a dick?, Dumbledore the profiler, editing and pacing, family, Gandalf and Dumbledore are BFF's, Harry is Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, horcrux, J.K. Rowling, love, manipulating racism, Maurice references, networking!, paranoia and fear, polite fuck yous, potions theory, rare POV switch, Ron/Hermione shipteasing, sibling dynamics, slut shaming, Slytherins who aren't dicks, spoiler book, Tonks is lame, villains with motivation, Voldemort's hubris.

The Road

Posted on June 11, 2013

Prepare for a long, cold slog through a world devoid of life, filled only with ashes. In other words, get ready for a new episode of Novel Ideas. This week, we read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize winning post-apocalyptic novel about… love? Join us as we discuss post-apocalyptic morality, cannibalism, isolation, and finding a purpose for living. We also talk about the potential benefits of joining a bloodcult, doomsday devices, and fonts (both apocalyptic and otherwise).

The music bump is “Lips of Ashes” by Porcupine Tree. I didn’t mean to go back to that well so quickly, but the song title was just too close to home. Also, Jackson Browne’s “The Road” didn’t quite fit the tone of novel. Additionally, there’s a little bit of Patton Oswalt at the end of the podcast. If you get that far, you’ll know why.

Ratings and Recommendations:

Ben: 7/10 miles trudged, only for what purpose?

Gabs: 5/10 on enjoyment.

Consensus is that this is a work of literature rather than entertainment. It is well written, but you may not find it very fun reading.

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged ashes, blackface ban, bloodcults, cannibals, Cormac McCarthy, counting bullets, doomsday device, family, feminism, fonts, human extinction, isolation, love, minimalist writing, morality, okay, Oprah Book Club, post-apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic morality, power structures, Pulitzer Prize, purpose for living, rape statistics, scientists will end the world, soft spoken interns, survival, The Road, the road is dangerous.

Love in the Time of Cholera

Posted on July 17, 2012

After a week off, your favorite intrepid, book-loving, podcasting siblings have returned. This time to examine Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This book is an examination of love, Colombian style. Probably. The author won’t really tell anyone for certain. In our discussion we cover the difficulties of translating literature, magical realism, love, honor, sex, and strong women. And cholera, though not nearly as much as you would expect from the title. Not to mention the fact that every character in this novel is crazy.

We also made a major update to our schedule yesterday, filling it up through the end of August. We’re going on a bestsellers kick, so most of what is on the schedule has been on the NY Times bestseller list for several weeks. Be sure to check it out if you want to read along with us.

This week’s music bump is Toto’s “Hold the Line,” because… Toto. Oh yeah, and it kind of describes Florentino Ariza to an almost uncanny degree.

17 – Love in the Time of Cholera – Extreme Personalities

This entry was posted in Episodes and tagged 622 affairs, extreme personalities, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, honor, lots of being Catholic, love, Love in the Time of Cholera, magical realism, misusing the metric system, parody, psychoanalyzing America, race, sex, strong women, translated works.