06-13-12 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 48: Leonard Mlodinow, 'Subliminal'
Click image for audio link.
Here's the forty-eighth episode of my new series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
The forty-eighth episode is a look at Leonard Mlodinow, 'Subliminal.'
"Every book just has to have some fun parts for the guy who writes it."
— Richard Ford
I spoke with Richard Ford six years ago, in 2006, about his novel 'The Lay of the Land.' That's a long time, but given the quality of his latest novel, 'Canada,' it was clearly worth the wait. As we sat down to talk in the studio at KQED in An Francisco, we realized that we were in the same room where we had spoken so long ago. That sense of familiarity permeated the conversation. It made discussing the book even more pleasurable.
'Canada' is a fascinating example of The Great American Novel. It's a straightforward narrative about an American family that does not deal well with the travails that life puts in their path. The narrator may not thrive, exactly, but he does get on, and make a good life for himself.
Novels of this stature can be difficult to discuss, simply because the process of creation is almost entirely internalized, but Ford and I explored both the themes and the means of making 'Canada.' His research was unexpected, but when you read the book, you'll see precisely how it plays out. It's so interesting to hear him talk about this, because it will inform your reading experience in a manner that will, I trust, provide even greater pleasure as your read.
The interview begins with a reading by Ford; he talks in the interview about reading his work aloud, and one wishes that he would record it for the audio version of the book. For that matter, that particular reading should be recorded for posterity. We have the technology, and it is clear that generations to come will want to hear this voice. Follow this link to hear Richard Ford read from and talk about his latest book, 'Canada.'
New to the Agony Column
05-13-13: Commentary : Mary Roach ... "Gulp." : Open Up and Say "Awe"
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Mary Robinette Kowal Reads "Evil Robot Monkey" at SF in SF on April 20, 2013 : "...not that there's anything remotely Regency about evil robot monkeys..."
05-06-13: Commentary : Glennon Doyle Melton Suggests 'Carry On, Warrior' : Fighting for Life in the Too Much Information Age
05-04-13: Commentary : Reasons Not to Leave the House, Reality Check : The Truth Hurts Edition: 'Down the Up Escalator' by Barbara Garson, 'The Wolf and the Watchman' by Scott C. Johnson,'The Book of Woe' by Gary Greenberg, 'Confessions of a Sociopath' by M. E. Thomas
05-01-13: Commentary : Mario Guslandi Reviews An Emporium of Automata by DP Watt : "...from the bizarre to the grotesque, from the baroque to the uncanny..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report : : Rick Klaw Reads at SF in SF on April 20, 2013 : "...those are the kind of people that don't get work anymore..."
04-29-13: Commentary : Ben Katchor Catalogues 'Hand Drying in America' : Subversive Cities of the Heart
04-27-13: Commentary : Mark Morris Introduces 'Toady' : A New World of Horror
Agony Column Podcast News Report : : Thomas Frank from The Easy Chair and Harper's Magazine: TV's DC Fantasies : "... basically, everyone is corrupt ..."
04-22-13: Commentary : Danielle Trussoni Maps 'Angelopolis' : The Afterlife of Angels
04-17-13: Commentary : How Not to Leave the House : Reach for the Recycling
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Matt Richtel, Sophie Littlefield and Terry Bisson at SF in SF on February 9, 2013 : "You cannot do this all day long." Sophie Littlefield
04-16-13: Commentary : Stephen Kessler 'Scratch Pegasus' : Lens of Language
04-08-13: Commentary : Ruth Ozeki Clocks 'A Tale for the Time Being' : Reading is the Future
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2013 Interview with Ruth Ozeki : "...through the act of writing, she would somehow conjure the reader into being..."
