With the help of KQED in San Francisco, I'm happily able to bring listeners even more Ian Shoales this week, in an effort to catch up and keep up with his entertainingly prolific output. I just hope he will be willing to let us run his stuff when he finally gets picked up by 60 Minutes, who clearly need him. 60 Minutes, the nation needs you!
02-17-12:Ryan Boudinot Reads at SF in SF, January 28, 2012
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'Blueprints of the Afterlife'
One of the challenges for a novelist reading from his work for SF in SF is, of course, choosing what to read. The nature of Ryan Boudinot's 'Blueprints of the Afterlife' makes that a bit easier, because no matter where he picks you up, you/re going to get that feeling of the unheimlich. The uncanny. That weird stuff going on? It feels uncomfortably familiar.
Boudinot easily won over his audience with the excerpt he read, setting it up well, but also making sure that it included plenty of words and scenes that I could no more broadcast on the radio than I could fly to the moon. Understand, however that in Boudinot's world, there might well be a character like me who could fly to the moon. But there would be consequences, probably not out of line with what might happen to me were I to broadcast this reading.
But my readers and listeners are in the brave new world of the Internet, and I can podcast all sorts of things that would have the FCC fining me out of house and home were I to play them on KUSP. And trust me readers and listeners. In the event of what we might euphemistically call a "language malfunction," the FCC does not just lightly fine the radio station. Oh no. It's steep and dangerous and every single penny that can be redirected to the offender shall be. Talk about a funhouse mirror; this is an unfunhouse mirror.
Readers who are brave, and who have heeded my warning that this reading contains disturbing scenes and much language generally labeled as "bad" (though to my mind the only bad language is boring language), can immerse themselves in a hyperactive, unreal version of today by following this link to the MP3 audio file.
I cannot say if any Will Ferrels were harmed in the making of this recording.
02-15-12 UPDATE:Ian Shoales: Bible
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In my wanderings through the audio landscape, I've spent a fair amount of time at KQED in San Francisco, where I recently had the privilege of meeting the one and only Ian Shoales.
For this podcast, you can hear a brief introduction to the show from Rina Weisman, who helps run the whole shebang along with Tachyon Publications. Then you can hear SF in SF stalwart Terry Bisson, doing what he does best, moderating and introduction of the guests. Finally, Ayize comes on as the first reader.
Ayize, even without the great music by Fenyang Smith, is a great reader. He read a different excerpt from 'The Liminal People' than the one he read in Capitola, but like that one, it captures the haunting and powerful nature of the novel.
02-14-12 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 31: Eric Weiner, 'Man Seeks God'
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Here's the thirty-first 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 thirtyth episode is a look at Eric Weiner and his new book, 'Man Seeks God'.
02-13-12 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Thomas Frank Reads from AudioBook 'Pity the Billioinaire'
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Pity the podcaster! I can barely keep up with myself. In this case, I nearly forgot that the publisher sent me this 9-minutes-ish excerpt of Thomas Frank reading from his new book 'Pity the Billioinaire,' which is also available as an audiobook. I will say this about Thomas Frank, he's a hell of a good reader.
This is a nicely recorded clip that will give you the unique flavor of his prose, which is spiked with intelligent arguments and laugh-out-loud humor at the absurd situation we currently find ourselves in. It will do you the favor of letting you hear the author tell you the book in his own voice as you read.
It had been a long time since I'd seen Thomas Frank in person. In the interim, we've spoken on the phone with a fair amount of regularity, and it was great to see him at KQED. When we sat down to talk about 'Pity the Billionaire', the energy level shot through the roof. I swear that there was no caffeine involved.
I probably had some sort of plan when I sat down to talk with Frank, but it must have been run over, repeatedly, by the literally breathless conversation that followed. I believe that we hit our highest words-per-minute rate ever as we sliced and diced through the intricacies of his very funny book.
Frank shows up on a lot of TV and radio, but I'm guessing that he doesn't often get dragged into discussions of political rhetoric as alternate history; just as I don't often get told that I should get Newt Gingrich on my show. (Are you listening? Newt, we need you! Send me your alternate history novels so we can talk!) But I can at least claim that I have learned from history; I've had great conversations with Mr. Thomas Frank before, and more are, I hope in store. In the interim, you can hear me trying to keep up with Frank as he discusses the literary merits of Ayn Rand by following this link to the MP3 audio file.
New to the Agony Column
05-16-12: Commentary : Mark Sundeen Pays Out 'The Man Who Quit Money' : Over the Edges
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Mark Sundeen and Daniel Suelo : "What would happen if we actually practiced this stuff?"-Daniel Suelo
05-15-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Clive Barker 'Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War' : Impure Life
05-08-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Clive Barker 'Abarat' : Reading in Color
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Phone Interview with Mark Sundeen : "...over the years, I had heard through my friends that he had stopped using money and was living in a cave..."
04-30-12: Commentary : Christopher Moore Follows 'Sacré Bleu' : A Story in Color
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Christopher Moore : "...it often isn't efficient to tell a story in chronological order..."
04-27-12: Commentary : Lisa Lutz on 'Trail of the Spellmans' : Meta-Fiction is Fun
Agony Column Podcast News Report: SF in SF from February 11, 2012 : Panel Discussion Moderated by Terry Bisson and Interviews with Rudy Rucker, K. W. Jeter, and Jay Lake
04-26-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Emmanuel Carrere 'The Adversary' : The Enemy Within
04-23-12: Commentary : T. M. Luhrman Listens 'When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God' : Science and the Supernaturaly
04-18-12: Commentary : Gregg Jones Stirs Through 'Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines and the Rise and Fall of America's Imperial Dreams' : A Dream Of Today From Yesterday
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Gregg Jones : "The Philippinos would welcome us with open arms and greet us as liberators."
04-17-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Caleb Carr 'The Alienist' : Subterranean History
04-16-12: Commentary : Richard Zacks Visits 'Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York' :The Wild, Wild East
Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Richard Zacks : "Roosevelt and Riis were out looking, and if they did find a cop, he was talking to a streetwalker."
