Episode 434: Occasionally Enlightening – Three Stars

Jonathan and Gary are back with a socially-distanced full-hour podcast. Since last time, Jonathan actually went and read the reviews for the podcast on the iTunes Podcast app where one listener described the Coode Street as being occasionally enlightening, saying when:

“the two hosts are left to their own devices (which is most of the time) they testily chew over a handful of pet topics, usually debating who should win each year’s awards and then whether or not awards mean anything”.

and rated the podcast Three stars.

Perfectly fair. Today’s episode was recorded during the Nebula Awards presentation and days after the announcement of the Locus Awards shortlists. Both feature briefly, but our main topic was not awards. Rather we turned to more fundamental questions involving reasons to be optimistic about science fiction, the role of entertainment in reading SFF, what each of us values most in what we read, and, almost accidentally, some brief previews of exciting novels coming up later this year.

Hopefully the sound on today’s episode is a bit better, the testiness is toned down, and you all enjoy!

Episode 433: Ten Minutes with Jack Dann

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking with the Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning ‘Hermit of Binghampton”, Jack Dann, who checks in from his home in coastal Victoria to talk about life, art, books, and more.

Books mentioned include:

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Episode 432: Ten Minutes with John Berlyne

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

This is the point where, at least for Jonathan, it all went off the rails and the ‘ten minutes with” became a purely aspirational thing, losing any connection with chronological reality. In a fascinating, sprawling conversation Jonathan spends half an hour or so talking to agent, editor, bibliographer, and reluctant shut-in, John Berlyne of the Zeno Literary Agency, about reading, books, agenting and how to get an agent, how the current situation may affect publishing, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

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Episode 431: Ten Minutes with Cat Sparks

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Scholar, photographer, editor, artist, author, and winner of many Ditmar and Aurealis Awards Cat Sparks joins Gary to discuss the comparative experience of Australia vs the US in the current crisis, her own doctoral research in SF and climate fiction, missing out on ICFA this year, the attractions of comfort-reading mysteries, the virtues of Paul J. McAuley, and her forthcoming collection of stories.

Books mentioned include:

Photography mentioned:

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Episode 430: Ten Minutes with Karen Burnham

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

This time out, Gary talks with fellow Locus reviewer Karen Burnham, also the author of Greg Egan in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series, and occasional pieces for The Cascadia Subduction Zone. We touch upon having kids at home during the lockdown, finding time to do our own reading in between reading for reviews, and favorite literary comfort foods such as Terry Pratchett and Gail Carriger.

Books mentioned include:

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