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10-16-09: Marta Acosta Reads at SF in SF vs Litquake : 'Shadow Girl of Birch Grove'

I couldn't help but like Marta Acosta from the moment she first spoke at SF in SF on Saturday October, 10, 2009. "I just like getting the paycheck," she told us about writing. "OK, I know it's gauche..."

Oh, but it isn’t gauche, not at all, not when you’re as charming as Acosta, who wrote one Casa Dracula novel and then found herself sucked into becoming a deadly serial writer. Now she's branching off in all sorts of interesting directions, from an upcoming social satire and romantic comedy ('Nancy's Theory of Style') to another Casa Dracula novel to the new work she read from on Saturday ... 'Shadow Girl of Birch Grove.' I really liked Acosta's style and the romantic comedy, of all things intrigues me a great deal. She mentioned a new Simon & Schuster imprint, Gallery Books, and the venue for the rom-com. You can hear just why I'd be intrigued if you follows this link to the MP3 file.



10-15-09: : Jewell Gomez Reads at SF in SF vs Litquake : Octavia Butler and 'The Gina Stories'

The thing about these SF in SF events is that you just met writers you really like. And I really liked all the writers I met at SF in SF / Litquake last Saturday. Take for example, Jewell Gomez, who is so smart and so interesting and such a great reader, not only of her own writing — but that of Octavia Butler as well.

I can hardly wait to podcast the interview I did with Jewell Gomez; I ran it on the show I did last night. But in the interim, you can hear why I was so keen to interview her at the show; that is, her reading, which I really enjoyed. Gomez just has that sort of star presence, an ego-less confidence that she radiates and that comes through in her reading. At the SF in SF / Litquake event last Saturday, she was clearly both having lots of fun, and working from a writerly passion as well. You can hear her read both Octavia Butler and her own work by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



10-14-09: Claire Light Reads at SF in SF vs Litquake : Carl Brandon and "Pigs in Space"

Readers will recall that last year's Litquake edition of SF in SF — Steampunk — was a wild success. That being true, it was certain they'd fire it up again this year, and I'd say the program was just as entertaining. This year the theme was "Color Me SF: The Science Fiction Worlds of Octavia Butler and Carl Brandon" and the guests were Jewelle Gomez, Claire Light and Marta Acosta, moderated as ever by Terry Bisson.

Readers will recall that last year's Litquake edition of SF in SF — Steampunk — was a wild success. That being true, it was certain they'd fire it up again this year, and I'd say the program was just as entertaining. This year the theme was "Color Me SF: The Science Fiction Worlds of Octavia Butler and Carl Brandon" and the guests were Jewelle Gomez, Claire Light and Marta Acosta, moderated as ever by Terry Bisson.Claire Light is on the board of the Carl Brandon Society, an official non-profit with a mission to (and I quote from their website: "...increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction." Laudable to be sure, and they give out scholarships to Clarion, offer prizes — but I'll let Claire tell you all about it, and let her read from her story, "Pigs in Space," when you follow this link to the MP3 audio file.



10-13-09: Three Books With Alan Cheuse:

William Styron
'The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps'

Brian Kiteley, 'The River Gods'

Margaret Atwood, 'The Year of the Flood'


The esteemed Alan Cheuse returns to The Agony Column this week, with a look at three very different and very interesting books; William Styron ' The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps,' Brian Kiteley, 'The River Gods,' and Margaret Atwood, 'The Year of the Flood.' And in our conversation about these books, we have some entertaining banter in store for listeners.

Alan and I generally tend to agree in our estimation of books, but that's not always the case and it isn’t this time. I'll let listeners discover where we disagree, but the range here is pretty entertaining in itself.
William Styron's 'The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps', (Random House ; October 6, 2009 ; $24) offers five essays/character sketches/short stories (you pick your favorite description), all centering on his service during World War II and the Korean War, since he was "lucky" enough to be drafted twice.

Brian Kiteley's novel 'The River Gods' (FC2 ; August 9, 2009 ; $16.95) comes from FC2 (Fiction Collective Two) () is an experimental work that describes life in Northampton, Massachusetts from the eleventh century to the 1990's. If ou enjoy mosaic novels, this one's well worth your time.

Ad finally, we discuss
Margaret Atwood's sequel to 'Oryx & Crake, 'The Year of the Flood'. Nor surprisingly, she provides a great platform from which to discuss her work and the world within which it lives. You can hear our conversation about these books by following the link to this MP3 audio file.


10-12-09: A 2009 Interview with Margaret Atwood : Space Squids and Talking Cabbages

I was seriously conflicted as I signed up to interview Margaret Atwood. She came highly recommended; Alan Cheuse told me he'd liked 'Oryx and Crake,' and he's a literary critic with a good knowledge of science fiction. On the other hand, in the latest Ansible David Langford offers this quote from Ursula Leguin: "... Margaret Atwood did not say she did not write science fiction because she did not write about talking squids, but said that she did not write science fiction because she did not write about talking cabbages." Where was the truth? Who was Margaret Atwood and why did she write what I, at least, thought was "science fiction"? If I interviewed her, I'd have to ask some hard questions.

First I had to read the for the interview;
'Oryx and Crake' then, 'The Year of the Flood.' I thought there was a very good chance I might be bored to tears, but happily, that proved not to be the case. I'll update with my reviews later this week, but suffice it to say at the moment that I enjoyed them both. Atwood has a vivid imagination and is an amazing writer when it comes to revealing her plot and using science fiction's tropes to drive that plot. So, I liked the books — but that might not translate to a writer who dismissed the science fiction genre as being books about "talking cabbages." (She comes close to having verbal vegetables in 'The Year of the Flood'!)

And here again, at KQED, I was destined for a happy surprise. Atwood proved to be immensely charming and, what's more something of a scholar of science fiction. She wrote a paper on turn-of-the-last-century SF, and was tossing about 'The Purple Cloud' and even more obscure titles as we talked. I did ask her directly about science fiction, speculative fiction, space squids and talking cabbages. The bottom line is that Atwood is something of a science fiction fan and actually, kind of an SF geek, in that she knows all sorts of things about the genre that most folks can't spout off at the tip of a hat. The dry sense of humor you'll find in her books (you need the right sensibility to do so) is ever more apparent when she speaks. I had an absolute blast talking to her; and I think when you give the interview a listen, it should once and for all crush the idea that she's a literary elitist who sees herself above the genre. It's actually rather the opposite, because she clearly respects the knowledge of science required to write what is generally termed as "hard science fiction." To have your head turned round with regard to the delightful Margaret Atwood, just follow this link to the MP3 audio file of our conversation.



New to the Agony Column

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Erik Larson : " "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

03-01-15: Commentary : William Ury on Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents : To the BATNA, Robin!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William Ury : ...he proceeded to shout at me for approximately 30 minutes..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 198: William Ury : Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents

02-22-15: Commentary : Jennifer Senior Experiences 'All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood' : Reading Fun for the Whole Fambly!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jennifer Senior : "...it becomes a source of enormous tension once a baby comes along..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 197: Jennifer Senior : All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

02-09-15: Commentary : Stewart O'Nan Looks 'West of Sunset' : Twilight of the Great

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Stewart O'Nan : "...we see him as a tragedian because is life is a tragedy..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 196: Stewart O'Nan : West of Sunset

02-04-15: Commentary : Armistead Maupin Maps 'The Days of Anna Madrigal' : Swiftly Flow the Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Armistead Maupin : "I could see what silliness was going on while it was happening..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 195: Armistead Maupin : The Days of Anna Madrigal

01-31-15: Commentary : Christine Carter's Path to 'The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work' : Neurohabits

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Christine Carter, Ph.D. : "...a real tipping point..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 194: Christine Carter, Ph.D. : The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work

01-23-15: Commentary : Jake Halpern Pushes 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld' : Non-Fiction 21st Century Noir

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jake Halpern : "...he goes to Las Vegas to this debt-buyers' convention..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 193: Jake Halpern : Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld

01-19-15: Commentary : David Shields and Caleb Powell Assert 'I Think You're Totally Wrong' : The Power to Bicker

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with David Shields and Caleb Powell : "I read no book reviews any more; the level of discussion is really pedestrian." David Shields "I'm just saying it's a conflict of interest!" Caleb Powell

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell : I Think You're Totally Wrong

01-17-15: Commentary : Charles Todd Expects 'A Fine Summer's Day' : We Interrupt This Program...

Commentary : Charles Todd Engages In 'A Test of Wills' : The Politics of Passion and Policing

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Charles and Caroline Todd : "...let them be themselves and sort it out..." Caroline Todd "...it's more on a personal level..." Charles Todd

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 191: Charles Todd : A Fine Summer's Day

01-13-15: Commentary : Rosalie Parker Unearths 'The Old Knowledge' : The New Old World

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker : "I thought I'd write something for fun.." Ray Russell "..there was a side of me of that was interested in the strangeness..." Ros Parker

01-12-15: Commentary : Richard Ford 'Let Me Be Frank with You' : The Default Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Richard Ford : "...most of our politicians are morons..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 190: Richard Ford : Let Me Be Frank with You

01-06-15: Commentary : Bessel van der Kolk 'The Body Keeps the Score' : Human Trauma

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Bessel van der Kolk : "...being able to see what happens in the brain really helps us to understand certain things..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 189: Bessel van der Kolk : The Body Keeps the Score

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