Jonathan and Gary are back with their usual laser-like focus on a single important topic–or maybe not. Starting at the recent release of the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune, which has many of us looking back at Frank Herbert’s classic novel, they touch upon re-reading old favourites, books that are genuinely sui generis and whether they have a lasting influence, other books that caused us to rethink the possibilities of SFF, “classics” or classic ideas that really don’t hold up that well, and of course what they’ve been reading lately and might be thinking about for the Locus recommended reading list, which we’ll both need to start working on in next month.
Episode 530: Ten Minutes with Julie Phillips
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.
Award-winning critic and biographer Julie Phillips talks about listening to audiobooks while biking in Amsterdam, enjoying Martha Wells’s Murderbot series, reviewing classic American books newly translated into Dutch, her own fondness for Willa Cather, and her current biographical work on women authors as mothers (including Doris Lessing) and her biography-in-progress of Ursula K. Le Guin.
Books mentioned include:
- James Tiptree, Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips
- The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Underground Railway by Colson Whitehead
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Episode 529: Ten Minutes with Ruoxi Chen
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 calls up Tordotcom Publishing editor Ruoxi Chen to chat about revisiting all-time favourites and how re-reading can help keep editors in touch with the readers they need to be, the therapeutic values of disaster nonfiction, dipping into audiobooks, the state of speculative fiction and why there’s a lot to be optimistic about, and a lot more.
Books mentioned include:
- The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (forthcoming, June 2021)
- The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
- We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
- The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Episode 528: Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future
Coode Street has a long history of talking to Kim Stanley Robinson about the world and his work, starting back in 2011, continuing in our 200th episode in London, and on the publication of 2312, Aurora, and New York 2140, so we couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to him now.
In what is easily the longest episode of Coode Street for this strange pandemic year, Gary, Jonathan, and Stan discuss his brand new novel, The Ministry for the Future, the value and purpose of science fiction, Stan’s important working relationship with editor Tim Holman, experimenting with form, what comes next, and more.
As always, we’d like to thank Stan for making the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode.
Episode 527: Ten Minutes with Madeleine E. Robins
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.
Madeleine E. Robins, author of the Sarah Tolerance historical mysteries, SF and fantasy, and historical novels, talks about starting her career with Regency novels influenced by Georgette Heyer, how “fluffy bunny” reading doesn’t necessarily mean fluffy, making masks and researching mask laws from a century ago (and the “mask riots” in San Francisco then), and her own recent work and work-in-progress.
Books mentioned include:
- Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins
- “Omunculus” by Madeleine E. Robins
- Whitehall by Liz Duffy Adams, Mary Robinette Kowal, Madeleine E. Robins, Barbara Samuel & Delia Sherman
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Lord Peter Wimsey Series by Dorothy L. Sayers
- The Complete Novels by Jane Austen
- R.U.R. by Karel ?apek
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
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