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05-03-12: The Agony Column Live with S. G. Browne at the Capitola Book Café, April 27, 2012

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"...the pug is going to steal the show..."

—S. G. Browne

No such luck, not when Scott Browne is reading from 'Lucky Bastard,' his latest, and to my mind, best novel. But yes, I did have the pug with me. He tends to get anxious when I leave him at home too long, and dogs are welcome at Capitola Book Café. Not so much as Scott Browne though!

Browne and I go back all the way to 'Breathers,' his first novel, so it's always an easy conversation. Also, to my mind, he is one of the best readers of his own work you can find. I hope that his publisher understands this and begs him to read for the audio version. At this point, I actually hear his voice when I read the books.

As for the pug (his name is Biscuit), he demanded to sit with me early into Scott's first reading; all of which you will hear on the recording. When The Agony Column goes live, we do so with style, though not always with pugs. We had a pretty good crowd at the event; this was Scott's home town and, after all, the setting for 'Breathers.' Scott is a bookstore sort of fellow and even he's talking about ebooks, he keeps the focus on the establishment in which he is standing.

You can hear our conversation, with pug, by following this link to the MP3 audio file.




05-01-12 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 42 T. M. Luhrman 'When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God'

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Here's the forty-second 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-second episode is a look at T. M. Luhrman, 'When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God .

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Time to Read, Episode 42: T. M. Luhrman 'When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God'.




04-30-12: A 2012 Interview with Christopher Moore

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"...it often isn't efficient to tell a story in chronological order..."

— Christopher Moore

Looking both ahead and back, I realize that I've been talking with Christopher Moore for nearly ten years now; we first spoke in 2003 about his novel 'Fluke,' and here we are in 2012 with 'Sacré Bleu.' It's become a tradition, almost, that I ask him to read from his book, and, traditionally, he balks, telling me that he doesn't read. After our first interview he managed to get a very nice essay out of the experience, one that (he tells me) resulted in the return of NPR tote bags. You can see why my member station loves me so.

This time around, we spoke at KQED about Moore's latest novel, 'Sacré Bleu,' a superb look at the lives of the Impressionist gang of Paris in the late 1800's. Having just come from reading 'Van Gogh: The Life,' and spoken with Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith about their incredible project, I must admit that I approached Moore's work with some trepidation.

But to my mind, he really captures the feel of the biography and his use of elements of the fantastic gives him the chance to externalize all sorts of matters that one can't really presume in a work of non-fiction. The two are perfect complements to one another.

And yes, I did ask Moore to read, and yes, we did have an entertaining go-round about it. But when we talked about the book, we scrupulously avoided spoilers. On my review of 'Fluke' so many years ago, which will be the archive review tomorrow, I originally posted a warning that Booklist's review of that book revealed major spoilers for the novel.

It turns out that over all these years, not much has changed. Apparently, many of the reviews are giving away some of the bits of the mystery at the core of 'Sacré Bleu.' Avoid those reviews; you won't find that in my review. I don't think you need to give away the plot to discuss the themes of the book or give readers an idea as to whether or not it is worth their valuable reading time — it is!

And thus we manage to talk about all the great stuff behind the book without giving away what happens in the book. You can hear my interview with Christopher Moore by following this link to the MP3 audio file.

If there is enough interest, I'll post the before-(and after!) interview chatter in an amended version.


New to the Agony Column

09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Erik Larson : "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

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