Join us this month as we talk about Good Night, Irene: A Novel, Luis Alberto Urrea’s fictionalized account of his mother’s WWII service with the American Red Cross. It is clear Urrea is a poet at heart and his rich descriptions help anchor the reader into Irene and Dorothy’s world and what it takes toContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 14”
Tag Archives: novel fiction
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 12
This month we talk about Brave New World, the classic dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley. We talk about our reactions to the book’s grumpy stylistics as well as its essential ideas and spot-on premonitions. We ramble about connections to Shakespeare and Browning, John Paul reads a few “one star” Goodreads write-ups, and we sum upContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 12”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 10
For Febuary’s podcast, no, wait, March’s podcast, John Paul discusses On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Deborah discusses On the Road The Original Scroll by Jack Kerouac. They both discuss Toad from The Wind in the Willows and the importance of long and rambling novels. They also have some fun reading one-star reviews fromContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 10”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 9
For January’s podcast, we talk about George Eliot’s 800 page masterpiece in 19th century realism, Middlemarch. We talk about its scope, impact, and Deborah gets mad at John Paul for spoilers while he says, “Spoilers? It was published in 1872!” We also have some fun reading one-star reviews from Goodreads. –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. inContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 9”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 7
In November’s podcast, we discuss Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. We talk about pantheism and God-searching in the woods. We also have some fun and read one star reviews from Goodreads. –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. in English Studies and reviews books for Choice and The Lion and the Unicorn and her essays, fiction, and scholarly work haveContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 7”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 6
In this month’s Halloween Spooktacular, we talk about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: the 1818 Text. We discuss science fiction, horror, and organic chemistry as well as Percy Shelley’s gifted heart. –Deborah Brothers holds a Ph.D. in English Studies and reviews books for Choice and The Lion and the Unicorn and her essays, fiction, and scholarly work have appeared in severalContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 6”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 5
Radiant Child is a 2016 picture book by author/illustrator Javaka Steptoe. It is a biography of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) whose work first appeared in NYC in the late 1970s. In this month’s discussion, we talk about picturebooks as a form and the lives and work of both Basquiat and Steptoe, which overlap in several ways. Continue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers and john paul jaramillo episode 5”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers & john Paul jaramillo episode 4
Reading Books Together: A Podcast with Deborah Brothers & John Paul Jaramillo Music “Viv” by Joel Styzens from Relax Your Ears John Paul Jaramillo and Deborah Brothers sit for a 40 minute discussion of 2022’s novel Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. The August “Reading Books Together” podcast discusses young people and reading, historical fiction and ColoradoContinue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers & john Paul jaramillo episode 4”
reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers & john paul jaramillo–episode 1 may 2022
Reading Books Together: A Podcast with Deborah Brothers & John Paul Jaramillo Music “Viv” by Joel Styzens from Relax Your Ears For their first foray into book review podcasts, Deborah Brothers and John Paul Jaramillo feature the 2021 novel by Canadian-American author Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness. They discuss aspects of postmodernism metafiction, Buddhism, and bildungsroman.Continue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers & john paul jaramillo–episode 1 may 2022”
a visual history of chicano/a/x literature site
So pleased to be included in A VISUAL HISTORY OF CHICANO/A/X LITERATURE site https://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mmart…/index_files/vh2017.htm
when a writer loses the way
Over the last year or so I am finding I have more and more unread or half finished books on my desk and shelf. I think that has to do with an issue of focus and depression. And I have revision tasks I’ve put off and off for far too long as well. My MonteContinue reading “when a writer loses the way”
quick thought on the man with the golden arm
Finished reading through Algren’s The Man with the Golden Arm and I’ve enjoyed the story of self-destruction. I can see why this book is such a classic. Does feel a bit overwritten at times but Algren’s Chicago is a gritty and dirty place–very naturalistic. I most enjoyed the sweeping third person narration.
a book and a labyrinth
Rereading Borges’ The Garden of Forking Paths this morning. And the idea of a chaotic novel or a novel with confounding paths of time consoles me as I’ve been thinking Semi-Orphaned is a mess of vignettes and scene/organization that spirals. Hopeful that I have found a plan for the chaos. “No one realized that the bookContinue reading “a book and a labyrinth”
quick review: luis alberto urrea’s the hummingbird’s daughter and queen of america
I first read the short fiction of Luis Alberto Urrea in graduate school. The discovery of a prolific Latino author whose work moves so adeptly from English to Spanish was important to my development as a writer. I enjoyed his collection of short stories Six Kinds of Sky and the keen worlds and characters drawn,Continue reading “quick review: luis alberto urrea’s the hummingbird’s daughter and queen of america”
gardner’s fat city
Spending time today rereading Fat City by Leonard Gardner. Hope I can find the detail and the nuance in my Huerfanos/Semi-orphaned novel project: “Yeah, I was in a bar yesterday, this guy’s calling everybody a son-of-a-bitch. So I go out and wait for him. He come out and I ask did that include me. Says yeah.Continue reading “gardner’s fat city”