The Big Book Club Podcast from Arlington Public Library: Recent Episodes
Arlington, VA Public Library
Want to join a book club but don't have time? Did you just finish a book you loved, but you don't have anyone to talk with? Wish you knew more about the books everyone is talking about? The Big Book Club Podcast is for you! Our librarian-bibliophile hosts share their insights and reactions to popular books, books in the news, classics worth a second look, and titles coming to a theater near you - the books Arlington readers are talking about - and will be talking about.
Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel "Beloved" takes place in Cincinnati after the Civil War and is loosely based on the life of Margaret Garner, an enslaved woman who escaped Kentucky in 1856 with her extended family. Subject to capture under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Garner was so determined to protect her children from being returned to slavery that she killed her youngest daughter – and was attempting to kill her remaining children – when US Marshalls broke into the Ohio cabin where the family was sheltering, awaiting further passage north.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Episode Links
This episode:
- “Driven toward madness: the fugitive slave Margaret Garner and tragedy on the Ohio” by Nikki Taylor.
- “The Black Book" 1974, edited by Toni Morrison
- "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
- Tulsa Race Massacre
- 1873 Colfax Massacre
We're Reading and Watching
- Jennie – “Spy X Family” by Tatsuta Endo and “Legends and Lattes” by Travis Baldree
- Pete – “Chain Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and “Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls” by Ann Martin
Upcoming book:
- "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
“Johnny Got His Gun” is an anti-war novel written in 1938 by American novelist Dalton Trumbo and published in September 1939. There have been radio, stage and screen adaptations of the novel, including Trumbo’s own 1971 film, and Metallica recorded a song – titled One – based on the book. In March of 1940, the book was serialized in the Daily Worker, which was published by the Communist Party USA - to which Trumbo belonged. For people on the political left, including the American Communist Party, the book became a rallying point in their opposition to involvement in World War II. But when Hitler invaded the USSR in 1941, Trumbo and his publishers decided to suspend reprinting the book until the end of the war – so long as the US stayed allied with the Soviet Union.
Episode Links
- This episode - Gatsby musical in production at A.R.T. ; "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo ; “Wasteland: the Great War and the origins of modern horror” by W. Scott Poole
- Upcoming books - "Beloved" by Toni Morrison ; "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our Facebook group, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag. If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
We're Reading and Watching
- Jennie – ““We Don’t Know Ourselves” by Fintan O’Toole
- Pete – “Clue” on DVD
For this episode we read the 1958 novel by debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The novel became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series in the UK, starting in 1962. “Things Fall Apart” is the first book in Achebe’s trilogy about African history, and has been read by high schoolers for generations as the archetypal modern African novel in English. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa, is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world, and continues to be listed on included on “most important books” lists whenever they’re published.
Episode Links
- This episode's book - "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
- Next episode's book - "Johny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo; "Beloved" by Toni Morrison; "As I Lay Dying" by Willaim Faulkner
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag. If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
We're Reading
- Jennie – “Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America” by Michael Benson
- Pete – “The Sirens of Titan” by Kurt Vonnegut
For season four we're going back to school with books we read - or didn't read - in high school. We started with "Pride & Prejudice," by Jane Austen. Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the text first and come back later.
Episode Links
- This episode's book - "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
- Next episode's book - "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
- Upcoming books: "Johny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo; "Beloved" by Toni Morrison; "As I Lay Dying" by Willaim Faulkner
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag. If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
We're Reading
- Jennie – “The Art of Losing” by Alice Zeniter
- Pete – “A Childhood” by Harry Crews and “Moon Witch, Spider King” by Marlon James
For this episode we read three Holmes stories. The first is Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 original “A Study in Scarlet,” the first Sherlock Holmes work. The second is is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse’s 2015 “Mycroft Holmes,” and the third is “A Study in Scarlet Women,” by Sherry Thomas.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the texts first and come back later.
Episode Links
- “A Study in Scarlet,” by Arthur Conan Doyle
- “A Study in Scarlet Women” by Sherry Thomas
- “Mycroft Holmes” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Reading
- Jennie – “Boyfriend Material” by Alexis Hall and “The Final Revival of Opal and Nev” by Dawnie Walton
- Pete – “The Nineties” by Chuck Klosterman
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
This is the final episode of Season 3. We're going to take a short break, and come back to you with the reading list for Season 4.
Happy Reading!
For this episode we read both Maria Headley’s translation of the Old English epic poem "Beowulf" and “The Mere Wife,” Headley's 2015 retelling of Beowulf, which is set in present-day New York.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the texts first and come back later.
Episode Links
- "Beowulf: a New Translation” by Maria Headley
- “The Mere Wife” by Maria Headley
- Beowulf wikipedia page
- Some of the many translations of Beowulf in the Library catalog
Reading
- Jennie – “Amongst Our Weapons” by Ben Aaronovitch and “In a New York Minute,” by Kate Spencer
- Pete – “How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius” by Nick Greene
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Up Next
- “A Study in Scarlet,” by Arthur Conan Doyle
- “A Study in Scarlet Women” by Sherry Thomas
- “Mycroft Holmes” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
For this episode we read both the play "King Lear," written by William Shakespeare, and the 2009 book “Fool,” by Christopher Moore. King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays, and is based on a legendary 8th Century BCE king of Britain (which would have been around the founding of Rome), as recounted in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain. “Fool,” on the other hand, is a comedy. Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the books first and come back later.
Episode Links
- “Fool” by Christopher Moore
- “King Lear” by William Shakespeare
- Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast
Reading
- Jennie – “Collective” Documentary on DVD
- Pete – “Dead Mountaineer’s Inn” by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Up Next
"Beowulf: a New Translation” by Maria Headley and “The Mere Wife” by Maria Headley
For this episode we read both the 1908 novel “A Room with a View,” by E.M. Forster, and Kevin Kwan’s 2020 novel “Sex and Vanity.” As foundational texts go, "A Room with a View" is an Edwardian era novel – there are trains, and horses and carriages – setting it later than our recent foundational texts. Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later. Episode Links
- “Sex and Vanity” by Kevin Kwan
- “Room with a View” by E.M. Forester
- Vague reference made to the steampunk WWI YA novel "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld
Reading
- Jennie – “The Eighth Life (for Brilka)” by Nino Haratischvili
- Pete – “Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers” by James Miller and “Final Girl Support Group” by Grady Hendrix
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Up Next*
“Fool” by Christopher Moore and “King Lear” by William Shakespeare
*Note: this is a change from the original schedule; "Beowolf" and "The Merewife" will be next.
The Eyre Affair, by English author Jasper Fforde, was first published in 2001. It takes place in an alternative 1985, where literary detective Thursday Next pursues a master criminal through the world of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre. Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
- “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
- “The Eyre Affair” by Jaspar Fforde
- “Charge of the Light Brigade” poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- “The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit” by Charles Dickens
- “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" poem by WIlliam Wordsworth
- The Cranberries - Daffodil Lament (Lyric Video)
Reading
- Jennie – “Love, Comment, Subscribe,” by Cathy Yardley
- Pete – “Young Bucks: Killing the Business” by Matt and Nick Jackson
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Up Next
“Sex and Vanity” by Kevin Kwan and “Room with a View” by E.M. Forester
For December we read the 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre.” Originally published under the pen name Currer Bell, as “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography,” the novel follows the experiences of the eponymous heroine, including her growth into adulthood and love for the brooding Mr. Rochester.
In January, we're reading “The Eyre Affair” by Jasper Fforde, the first Thursday Next novel.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
“The Eyre Affair” by Jaspar Fforde
"Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys
Reading
- Jennie – “Cyborg Detective: Poems” by Jillian Marie Weise
- Pete – “Paperback Crush” by Gabrielle Moss
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
This month we read Nghi Vo’s “The Chosen and the Beautiful,” a retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic, “The Great Gatsby,” told from the perspective of Jordan Baker, a side character in Fitzgerald’s novel. The Jazz Age Nghi Vo creates is both brighter and darker – it's magical and queer, and Jay Gatsby has literally sold his soul to the devil. So, truly a Great Gatsby for our era.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
“Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Chosen and the Beautiful” by Nghi Vo
Reading
- Jennie – “Enchanted Warrior” by Sharon Ashwood
- Pete – “Hip Hop and Other Things” by Shea Serrano
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Books:
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë - December
“The Eyre Affair” by Jaspar Fforde - January
Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude . . . Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids . . .
Victor LaValle’s 2016 fantasy-horror novella “The Ballad of Black Tom,” which revisits H.P. Lovecraft’s 1925 short story “The Horror at Red Hook,” is an excellent example of an author not only building upon but surpassing the foundations of a literary genre.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
"The Ballad of Black Tom" by Victor LaValle and "The Horror at Red Hook" by H.P. Lovecraft
Kintsugi, or golden joinery, also known as "golden repair (kintsukuroi) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Wikipedia entry.
Reading
- Pete – "Beetlejuice" and "The Thing"
- Jennie - “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Megan – “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Books:
“Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Chosen and the Beautiful” by Nghi Vo
Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how. Nghi Vo’s debut novel, "The Chosen and the Beautiful," reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.
This is the first episode of our third season, and “The Anatomy of Desire” is the perfect book to introduce our fall reading theme and schedule. In season two we tackled a variety of western classics and foundational texts. With this book we’re beginning to explore the work built on those foundations. Published in May, 2021, “The Anatomy of Desire” is a modern reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s classic crime drama, “An American Tragedy,” which we read earlier this year.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
"Anatomy of Desire" by L.R. Dorn
Reading
Pete – ”A Lush and Seething Hell” by John Hornor Jacobs
Jennie - “Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating" by Adiba Jaigirdar and “To Sir, with Love” by Lauren Layne
Megan – “Empire of Pain: the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Radden Keefe and “Bombshell” by Sarah MacLean
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Books:
"The Ballad of Black Tom" by Victor LaValle and "The Horror at Red Hook" by H.P. Lovecraft
"The Balled of Black Tom" has been described as "a novella of sorcery and skullduggery in Jazz Age New York."
From the publisher: People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there. Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?
This week on the podcast we’re talking about the “The Wee Free Men,” a 2003 fantasy novel that takes places in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld universe. "The Wee Free Men” is the first Discworld book that features Tiffany Aching, and the first truly YA book in the series.
Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the book first and come back later.
Episode Links
“The Wee Free Men,”by Terry Pratchet
Soccer Scottish Hooligans Weekly from Saturday Night Live
Reading
Pete – “House/Hausu"
Jennie - "Born Into This" by Adam Thompson
Megan – "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Book:
"Anatomy of Desire" by L.R. Dorn
Claire Griffith has it all, a thriving career, a gorgeous boyfriend, glamorous friends. She always knew she was destined for more than the life her conservative parents preached to her. Arriving in Los Angeles flat broke, she has risen to become a popular fitness coach and social media influencer. Having rebranded herself as Cleo Ray, she stands at the threshold of realizing her biggest dreams. One summer day, Cleo and a woman named Beck Alden set off in a canoe on a serene mountain lake. An hour later, Beck is found dead in the water and Cleo is missing. Authorities suspect foul play, and news of Cleo's involvement goes viral. Who was Beck? An infatuated follower? Were she and Cleo friends or lovers? Was Beck's death an accident . . . or murder?
Told in the form of an immersive investigative docuseries, L. R. Dorn's brilliant reimagining of Theodore Dreiser's classic crime drama, "An American Tragedy," captures the urgency and poignance of the original and rekindles it as a very contemporary and utterly mesmerizing page-turner.
This week we break down the roots of the hard boiled detective novel with Raymond Chandler's iconic 1939 crime novel, "The Big Sleep."
Episode Links
“The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler
Reading
Pete – “Shock Value” by Jason Zinoman
Jennie - “Antonio” by Beatriz Bracher
Megan – “One by One” by Ruth Ware, “Crying in H Mart: A Memoir” by Michelle Zauner and “The Pull of the Stars” by Emma Donoghue
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Summer Books:
Our final book of Season 1 will be Terry Pratchet’s “The Wee Free Men,” coming in August.
On the Facebook group, reader Kristen said, “One sign of a good book to me is how much I remember and still think about months later, and this [An American Tragedy] was one of those books.” So we took a deep dive into that question on this week's episode....
Episode Links
“An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser
Reading
- Pete - “Blindsight” by Peter Watts
- Jennie - “Winter’s Orbit” by Everina Maxwell
- Megan – “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab and “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega” by Chrystal Maldonado
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Summer Books:
Our July 19 book will be “The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler, followed by Terry Pratchet’s “The Wee Free Men” for August 2.
How to Try to Get Away with Murder
This episode comes with a content warning!
This section of “An American Tragedy” (and our podcast discussion) deals with unprotected sex and the search for abortion after unplanned pregnancy in the 1920s. There is also discussion of a pre-planned murder. So if that isn’t something that would be healthy for you to listen to, I suggest skipping this episode – and probably this book.
Episode Links
“An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser
Reading
- Pete - DVDs “Logan” and “Blackcoat’s Daughter”
- Jennie - “She Who Became the Sun” by Shelley Parker-Chan
- Megan – “The wicked king: Folk of the Air Series, Book 2” by Holly Black and “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Summer Books:
Our July 19 book will be “The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler, followed by Terry Pratchet’s “The Wee Free Men” for August 2.
This week on the podcast we’re reading part 1 of “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser. Originally published in 1925, Dreiser based his novel on a notorious murder of a young woman named Grace Brown, and the subsequent trial of her boyfriend. The novel has just been republished in a new edition. The next two episodes will cover parts two and three.
Episode Links
“An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser
Reading
- Pete - "Cuyahoga” by Pete Beatty
- Jennie - “One of Us is Next" by Karen M. McManus, the sequel to One of Us Is Lying
- Megan – “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World” by Laura Spinney and “Eat a Peach: A Memoir” by David Chang
Tell us what YOU think about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our GoodReads or Facebook groups, or talk to us on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.
If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page on the Arlington Public Library website.
Upcoming Summer Books:
Our July 19 book will be “The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler, followed by Terry Pratchet’s “The Wee Free Men” for August 2.
Neither Pete or Megan have actually read any of Agatha Christie's murder mysteries, so we took a deep dive into her 1939 best selling, endlessly genre-shaping, "And Then There Were None." We weren't surprised by both the overt and casual racism and sexism in the book, but we were surprised to discover that Christie's psychological thriller writing feels as adept today as it did when the book was published.
Links
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
For our next book, we’re going back to our roots and reading a literal big book that was recommended by listener Kim. “An American Tragedy,” by Theodore Dreiser, over 3 episodes spaced 3 weeks apart – May 24, June 14 and July 5.
Our July 19 book will be “The Big Sleep,” by Raymond Chandler, followed by Terry Pratchet’s “The Wee Free Men” for August 2.
If you would like to make a suggestion for future reading you can send your recommendations to us on the library website.
Also reading:
- Pete - “The king of confidence: a tale of utopian dreamers, frontier schemers, true believers, false prophets, and the murder of an American monarch” by Miles Harvey
- Jennie - “The Betel Nut Tree Mystery” by Ovidia Yu
- Megan – “When No One Is Watching” by Allysa Cole; “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and “A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik
Much to everyone's surprise, Jennie Megan and Pete all loved "True Grit."
We’re taking April off to catch our collective breathe. We’ll be back May 3 with Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," and will announce the rest of the spring schedule soon. If you would like to make a suggestion for future reading you can share your recommendations using this form on the library website.
Links:
"True Grit" by Charles Portis
Colt Dragoon Revolver
- Pete – “Dog of the South” by Charles Portis / “Norwood” by Charles Portis
- Megan - “Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas, “Good and Mad” by Rebecca Traister; Rebecca Traister interview with Library Director Diane Kresh; "The Son" by Philip Meyer
- Jennie - “Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels” by India Holton, Monty Python’s Crimson Permanent Assurance
We had very different reactions to the final volume of this book, but none of us got what we were expecting when we set out to read "The Once and Future King."
Links
"The Candle in the Wind: Book 4 of The Once and Future King" by T.H. White
King Arthur Book List - https://libcat.arlingtonva.us/MyAccount/MyList/29971
- Pete – Recommends Digital Magazines, free with your library card
- Megan - "Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism" by Seyward Darby, "The Cruel Prince: Folk of the Air Series, Book 1" by Holly Black and the audiobook of "Dolly Parton: My Life in Lyrics" by Dolly Parton
- Jennie - "The Liar’s Dictionary" by Eley Williams and "Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Love and Longing" by Anya Von Bremzen
Upcoming Books - Our next book is the classic western “True Grit,” by Charles Portis. If you would like to make a suggestion for future reading, use the form on the library website.
In volume 3 we get Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. We get Arthur and Guinevere, and Lancelot and the love triangle. In this episode Jennie, Megan and Pete talk about pride and sin, and where to find Arthurian retellings in modern literature.
Links
"The Ill Made Knight: Book 3 of The Once and Future King" by T.H. White
- Pete – “Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-hour News” by Lisa Napoli
- Jennie – “Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop” by Roselle Lim
- Megan – “What we don’t talk about when talk about fat” by Aubrey Gordon, “Secrets of a Summer Night” by Lisa Kleypas, “Midnight in Chernobyl” by Adam Higginbotham
- Alex - “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn
Make a reading suggestion for future episodes.
This section introduced new characters, and established important plot points, but it’s only about 100 pages long, and Jenny describes it as “whipplashy” because it jumps around from place to place. Is this the result of White's radical rewriting and editing between the original version in “The Witch in the Wood” and the omnibus version? If there are any T.H. White scholars out there, please let us know!
Links:
"The Queen of Air and Darkness: Book 2 of The Once and Future King" by T.H. White
- Megan – “House of Earth and Blood” by Sarah J. Mass
- Pete - “An Agent of Utopia” by Andy Duncan
- Jennie – "When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain" by Nghi Vo
Jennie takes us on a tour of medieval English history, as seen through T.H. White's creation of King Arthur's childhood, with many spoilers.
Links:
- Megan - Audiobook of “A Promised Land” by Barak Obama
- Pete – "Tanking to the Top" by Yaron Weitzman
- Jennie – "A Criminal Magic" by Lee Kelly and "The Forgotten Kingdom" By Signe Pike
Jennie, Pete, Megan and Alex explore what makes this classic of gothic horror so horrible. Standard warning for many spoilers and some bad puns.
Links:
- Jennie – “The Twisted Ones” by T. Kingfisher
- Megan – “Me: Elton John Official Autobiography” - audiobook ready by Taron Egerton and “First Comes Like” by Alisha Rai
- Pete – Twin Peaks 2017
We wrap up the final part of Frank Herbert's "Dune," find out who is reading "Dune Messiah," and discuss the David Lynch film (because you really have to).
Links:
- Megan is reading “Song of Wraiths and Ruins” by Roseanne A Brown and “I’ll Be the One” by Lyla Lee
- Jennie recommends attending the Library's Escapism Book Club, and is reading "Dune Messiah"
- Pete recommends David Lynch's memoir, “Room to Dream” and “The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones
This week Jennie, Megan and Pete travel across the sands of Dune, and explore Paul's version of the Hero's Journey.
Links:
- Jennie - Listening to the Dirt Cheap podcast.
- Megan - Reading "Normal People" by Sally Rooney
- Pete - Reading Rural Noir by authors like Donald Ray Pollock, including "Devil all the Time," and "Winter's Bone"by Daniel Woodrell
Welcome back! Over the next six weeks, or three episodes of the podcast, we’ll be reading - and librarianing the heck out of - the first book in Frank Herbert’s epic Sci-Fi series, Dune. We chose Dune in part because it’s getting a lot of buzz, first-reads, and rereads this year, due to the new feature film coming out in 2021.
In part one of Dune, Megan can't pronounce any of the made-up names, Pete reminisces about his dad reading Dune when he was a kid, and Jenny muses on Cold War politics.
What have we been reading?
Megan
- "Spoiler Alert" - Olivia Dade
- The Ravenels series - Lisa Kleypas
Pete
- "The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood" - Sam Wasson
Jenny
- "Priest of Bones" - Peter McLean
As you might have noticed, the podcast has been on hiatus for a while. Not only have we been busy running a library during a pandemic, but we ran into a lot of technology problems trying to produce a podcast while teleworking. But we worked through those issues, and now we’re ready to bring you the return of the Big Book Club Podcast! We’ve made changes to our original planned reading schedule, and to the episode format, but our goals are still to read and talk about books, and to be a book club for people who don’t have time to join a book club.
What have we been reading over the past 9 months? A lot of series...
Jennie –
- Ben Aaronovich - Rivers of London series
- "The Women in Black" - Madeline St. John
Pete –
- Discworld series by Terry Pratchet, including "Moving Pictures" and "Carpe Jugulum"
- The Witcher Saga series of books by Andrej Sapkowski
- Dresden Files series of books by Jim Butcher
Megan –
- '"Lost Girls: an Unsolved American Mystery" – Robert Kolker
- Once Upon a Con series - "Bookish and the Beast" – Ashley Poston
What is the Big Book Club Podcast? What makes a Big Book? How is this version of the Big Book Club different from the previous one? Jennie, Megan and Pete are here to explain!
Upcoming books:
- February - “Ayiti,” by Roxane Gay
- March - “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley
- April - "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi
- May - "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier
- June - Romance 101
- July - "Milkman" by Anna Burns
- August - "Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
- September - "Leviathan Wakes" by James A. Corey
- October - Horror 101
- November - "There, There" by Tommy Orange
- December - Book to Movie Adaptations
Charlotte and Megan sit down with Pete to talk about Roxane Gay's first volume of short stories, originally published in 2011 and rereleased in 2018.
Want to join the conversation about "Ayiti"?
We have a Big Book Club Podcast Facebook group and a Goodreads group. Hang out on twitter? Share your thoughts with the hashtag #BigBookPodcast.
Mentioned in this episode - Booklist - Ayiti: Suggested further reading.
Next month: "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelley
What we're reading next:
- Charlotte - "Haiti: The Aftershocks of History," by Laurent Dubois; "Gods of Jade and Shadow," by Silvia Moreno-Garcia; "Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries, Book 2" by Martha Wells
- Megan - "The Bromance Book Club" by Lyssa Kay Adams; "Circe" by Madeline Miller
In this episode, Jennie and Megan talk with Pete about how Colson Whitehead uses metaphor throughout his novel to to create a jolting, yet beautiful, story of America.
Want to join the discussion about "The Underground Railroad"?
We have a Big Book Club Podcast Facebook group and a Goodreads group. Hang out on twitter? Share your thoughts with the hashtag #BigBookPodcast.
Further reading:
- The Underground Railroad Read-alikes
- More Speculative History
What we're reading next:
- Jennie - "The Ghost Bride" by Yangsze Choo
- Megan - "Palaces for the people: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life" by Eric Klinenberg, and "These Witches Don't Burn" by Isabel Sterling
Deborah and Megan talk with Pete about their personal experience of reading "Little Women," the history of its publication, and why this book is still worth talking about.
Want to join the conversation about "Little Women"?
We have a Big Book Club Podcast Facebook group and a Goodreads group. Hang out on twitter? Share your thoughts with the hashtag #BigBookPodcast.
Mentioned in this episode:
- "Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel" by Rey Terciero
- "Little Women" film adaptation, 1994
Little Women: Suggested further reading.
What we're reading next:
- Deborah - "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
- Megan - Flannery O'Conner's "The Complete Stories" and "Crazy Cupid Love" by Amanda Heger
Welcome to the Big Book Club, from Arlington Public Library in Arlington, Virginia! Each month on the podcast our librarian-bibliophile hosts will share their insights and reactions to a buzz-worthy book. We'll feature popular books, books in the news, classics worth a second look, and titles coming to a theater near you.
This month librarians Jennie and Megan talk to Pete about why we read romance, and how Casey McQuiston's "Red White & Royal Blue" captured so much of the current zeitgeist.
Want to join the conversation about "Red, White & Royal Blue"?
We have a Big Book Club Podcast Facebook group and a Goodreads group. Hang out on twitter? Share your thoughts with the hashtag #BigBookPodcast.
Mentioned in this episode:
- "The Crown," on Netflix; the Library has Season 1 and Season 2 on DVD
Red, White & Royal Blue: Suggested further reading.
What we're reading next:
- Jennie - "Come Tumbling Down" by Seanan McGuire
- Megan - "Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love" and "The Cartiers: the Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire" by Francesca Cartier Brickell