There are snowstorms blowing where Gary is and Jonathan can see rain falling outside in Perth’s midsummer, but the Motel Six has been safely relocated and the Gershwin Room is open once again.

Conversation starts off, perhaps incoherently, with dystopias and dystopian fiction, segues to Travis Baldree and the somewhat misdescribed notion of cozy fiction, and then wanders here and there before Jonathan has to head off for a family event. Nothing was resolved, but almost no conversational gambits were harmed during recording.

As always, we hope you enjoy the ramble, and will be back with more before you know it!

Jonathan and Gary kick off 2026 with no guests, but with the sort of wide-ranging ramble that some listeners seem to enjoy, and that others probably gave up on years ago. We talk about some books due in the new year, especially story collections by Samantha Mills, Amal El-Mohtar and others, how story collections can contribute to an author’s career, and whether it’s necessary to read the stories in the order in which the author presented them. But we also get discuss re-reading old favorites, whether Australian or UK authors get a fair shake in the US these days, and what our listeners would like to hear about in the new year. Feel free to offer ideas, comments, and suggestions at Coodestreet (@) gmail.com.