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10-26-14 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 180: Brian J. Showers, 'Dreams of Shadow and Smoke: Stories for J.S. Le Fanu'

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Here's the one-hundred eightyth episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. Hitting the two-year mark, I'm going to make an effort to stay ahead, so that podcast listeners can get the same sort of "sneak preview" effect that radio listeners get each Friday morning. This week, I seem to be on top opf the game, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to stay back up and stumbling.

Stumbling is obviously the key word here, but I am trying to keep up with projects in the future as well as catch up with projects in the past. My apologies to Brian and the other Europe interviews that are taking so long to edit and get posted. I'm trying folks!

The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The one-hundred eightyth episode is a look at Brian J. Showers and 'Old Albert: An Epilogue.' His latest book, co-edited with Jim Rockhill is, 'Dreams of Shadow and Smoke: Stories for J.S. Le Fanu'.

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Time to Read, Episode 180: Brian J. Showers, 'Old Albert: An Epilogue'.




10-22-14: A 2014 Phone Interview with Azar Nafisi

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"..trying to create a reality which had not existed before..."

—Azar Nafisi

I took a few minutes today to speak with Azar Nafisi about her remarkable book, 'Republic of the Imagination: America in Three Books,' in advance of her arrival here next week to speak at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

This is a truly wonderful book for readers. It seems that this is the season of re-reading, and in this case, a rabble-rousing call to arms for readers. It does not matter what genre you think you do o0r do not read, this book gets right to the point about reading, and any reader cannot help but find it heartening and invigorating.

Readers who want to hear just why they should run and not walk to make sure and see Azar when she is where ever they may be need but follow this link to the MP3 audio file of our phone call.




10-20-14: A 2014 Interview with William T. Vollmann

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"...that's the choice we make with death..."
—William T. Vollmann

I had about 40 pounds of thick, award-winning books with me when I went to speak to William T. Vollmann. I must admit to being nervous. He was a man who pulled prestigious honors from the air, and I was here to talk to him about 'Last Stories and Other Stories,' a collection of work that could only be described as macabre fiction.

| Of course, he actually name-checks Lovecraft not once, but twice in the collection, so I might have had a clue that he and I were more on the same page than I expected. Then he answered a question I asked with a description of a Lord Dunsany story. What? Lord Dunsany? National Book Awarx Winner knows Lord Dunsany?

Here's where the interview took a turn for strange. I'm not used, and not really comfortable being asked questions by an interviewee, but Vollman put me on the spot and asked my favorite fantasy author. To be honest, I was stumped. I don't like "fantasy," and I know it's a big deal now with the motion picture and TV adaptations. I've seen enough medieval alternates. I thought about it a bit and finally choked out "Clark Ashton Smith." (And eventually Edward R. Whittemore.) But the latter led us down a path of no return.

I was in the presence of another who had been irrevocably changed by an early exposure to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy paperback line of the 1970's.

From then on, Vollmann and I had more and more fun as he talked about his love for David Lindsay ('A Voyage to Arcturus') and William Hope Hodgson, and how those works informed his work in this collection. "Being irrelevant is actually a great thing," he told me. "Then you can sort of float around, no one pays any attention to you, and you can watch the workings-out of life."

Far from being nervous as I left, I was ready to hoist a glass of Paulaner Premium beer with Vollmann and settle down for a long chat about the life after life. You can hear our conversation, sadly sans Premium, by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



New to the Agony Column

09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

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

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 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 2015 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

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