Biblioclast Podcast: Fighting Book Snobbery Ten Mi

Final Thoughts & Handmaid’s Tale Wormhole Radio We’ve arrived at the end. Hear J.P. and Rebecca give parting thoughts on the relevance of the Handmaid’s Tale, as well as a discussion of the books within the book. Avoid the boiling frog What if June and Luke had gotten out while the getting was good? We’ll let that reality play out in front of your very eyes…er, ears in the Handmaid’s Tale Wormhole Radio. Which Fred is the right Fred? A brand new series has an answer to that. Don’t miss out on our review of the Hulu…choice to pick Frederick Waterson over Frederick Judd in the upcoming adaptation. Rebecca Romney and JP Romney’s book Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History is available from HarperCollins at all the usual places, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Image credits: Cassette image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.6 Handmaid’s Tale Wormhole appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Handmaid’s Tale Names & Fates We made it to the last narrative episode. Even after a faux academic conference, we still have questions. What happened to Offred? We agree on what Offred’s real name is, but we disagree about what happened to her. The Caduceus Gileadeans held onto this odd mistake from the U.S. Army medical corps. Rebecca Romney and JP Romney’s book Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History is available from HarperCollins at all the usual places, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Image credits: Moon image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.5: Handmaid’s Tale Names appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Handmaid’s Tale Women In which we discuss aunts, Jezebels, and the dehumanization of the sexes. This promises to be…dark. Handmaid’s Tale Holidays In keeping with our theme of the darkly absurd, we go over the various dystopian holidays. Which is your favorite? Rebecca Romney and JP Romney’s book Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History is available from HarperCollins at all the usual places, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Image credits: Fireworks image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.4: Handmaid’s Tale Women appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Dystopian Games: Handmaid’s Tale Scrabble In world where reading is against the law, the Handmaid’s Tale Scrabble game is flirting with a death sentence. “Quick, eat those words.” Listen to our second episode (third overall) discussing the narrative of The Handmaid’s Tale. There are more Trump jokes (#sorrynotsorry), but also clever Biblical puns! And because we’re shameless self-promoters, we mention our own book Printer’s Error at every logical opportunity. (Have you purchased a copy yet?) Rebecca Romney and JP Romney’s book Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History is available from HarperCollins at all the usual places, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Image credits: Scrabble image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.3: Handmaid’s Tale Scrabble appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

The Handmaid’s Tale Symbolism In this episode of our podcast on Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale symbolism keeps cropping up every time we talk about the story. It’s our first episode discussing the narrative and we can’t help but notice how the main character keeps bringing up a riff on the frog in boiling water… Warning or Prophecy? There are layers and layers here, people. The Handmaid’s Tale offers warnings and prophecies, yes. But there is also plenty of commentary on “today” – the early 1980s, when Atwood wrote it – as well as today (2017).   Image credits: Red poison dart frog via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.2: Handmaid’s Tale Symbolism and Prophecy appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood This is our first episode discussing The Handmaid’s Tale. As usual, we will talk about the origins of the book’s title, though, admittedly…we soon digress. Collecting The Handmaid’s Tale We discuss first edition copies of the novel, as well as tricky problems with Atwood’s signature, and the iconic dust jacket art that is not actually from the first edition. Oh, and… We dive deep into puns. Deep. Image credits: Detail of 1611 King James Bible via the digitzed copy at University of Manitoba. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL6.1: The Handmaid’s Tale Title Episode appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Frankenstein Book Worm Hole It’s time for our final thoughts on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. JP gives his typical random rating; Rebecca gives her typical meandering explanation of the book’s literary influences. Then it’s on to the Frankenstein Book Worm Hole: How could this book have avoided all the conflict, and just skipped to the end? Well, there are a couple of choices… Image credits: Pig engraving via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.8: Frankenstein Book Worm Hole appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

The Bride of Frankenstein This is our last episode discussing the narrative of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The monster has one teensy request: companionship. The bride of Frankenstein is a bit different in the movies than in the book. Meanwhile, Victor Frankenstein faints. Again. And again. Image credits: Wedding rings image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.7: The Bride of Frankenstein appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Mary Shelley Biography In this episode we discuss Mary Shelley’s life. Her first publication when she was eleven years old. Her teenage crush-turned elopement. And many, many people dying. Image credits: 1810 painting of Lake Geneva by J.M.W. Turner via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.6: Mary Shelley Biography appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Frankenstein and Murder This episode is our second discussion of the narrative. We delve into Frankenstein and murder: the monster’s first kill, and the thickening of the plot. Other topics of discussion include racist courts, monster parkour, and super stealth.   Image credits: Forest via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.5: Frankenstein and Murder appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Frankenstein Historical Context: Absurd Stories from 1818 JP claims nothing interesting happened in 1818, so Rebecca issues a challenge. Somehow we end up talking about death by volcano (again) and hipsters. Listen to our episode to hear about the Frankenstein historical context.   Image credits: Satellite image of Mount Tambora via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.4: Frankenstein Historical Context – Absurd Stories from 1818 appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Frankenstein’s Monster is Alive! Welcome to the first episode discussing the narrative of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. We talk alchemy. We talk about the ideal woman. We talk about electricity. Sparks are flying, people. Frankenstein’s monster: how many of his parts are from pigs?   Image credits: Lightning image  via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.3: Frankenstein’s Monster is Alive! appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Frankenstein Summary – A Race through the Plot in Two Minutes JP is back with his “summary” – more like nerd-comic monologue – of this month’s book, Frankenstein. Those searching for an actual Frankenstein summary may want to look elsewhere. But if you want to hear about psychopaths and literature, this summary may just be for you. Image credits: Iceberg image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.2: Frankenstein Summary – In Two Minutes appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Collecting Frankenstein We’re back with a new book to biblioclast. And since we both love Halloween, we couldn’t resist a scary story. This particular story, in fact, grew out of contest to write a ghost story one stormy night…in June. In the contest between Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (soon to be Mary Shelley), and John Polidori, Mary definitely won. But we were all winners when a presentation copy of Frankenstein from Mary Shelley to Lord Byron appeared just a few years ago. Listen to the episode to learn more about collecting Frankenstein. Title Dissection This is our first episode so, as usual, we have to bibioclast the title. Who was known as “the modern Prometheus” before Frankenstein? Image credits: Header image is the frontispiece in the 1831 illustrated edition of Frankemstein. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band.  The post BIBCL5.1: Collecting Frankenstein & Title Dissection appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Earthsea Book Worm Hole Radio It’s our final episode discussing A Wizard of Earthsea, so we must fill it with as much campy dialogue and music as possible. Listen to JP’s rating system, Rebecca turning evangelist, and the Earthsea Book Worm Hole Radio.   Image credits: William Fox painting of a South Pacific island via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band..  The post BIBCL4.8: Earthsea Book Worm Hole Radio appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.

Earthsea Dragons, Witches, & Shadows – Our Third Narrative Episode In which there are *SPOILERS* but we encourage you not to care. (Despite any hints on the part of the hosts, you should read the book anyway.) Also, Rebecca makes a pretty compelling argument for training women in magic. Preemptive spoiler: it involves molten lead.   Image credits: Dragon image via Wikimedia Commons. Audio file credits: Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22…tempo di valse, courtesy K&K Verlagsanstalt; Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, courtesy SpokenVerse.; Titus Andronicus, Act 4 Scene 2, courtesy LibriVox, edited by Arielle Lipshaw; brass band Can Can courtesy Desford Colliery Band..  The post BIBCL4.7: Earthsea Dragons, Witches, & Shadows appeared first on Biblioclast Podcast.