Literary Roadhouse: A Literary Podcast Community.

Every week we have a rowdy old time discussing diverse literary fiction

Literary Roadhouse

Literary Roadhouse

A Literary Podcast Community

The Heirs | Susan Rieger | Literary Roadhouse Bookclub Ep 16

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Discussion Notes: The Heirs

Next month’s novel: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Rated: Adult Themes

Guest host Susan Pogorzelski

Susan Pogorzelski, YA Author and Editor

In May we read The Heirs by Susan Rieger, a character-driven novel chock full of thrilling plot twists. Gerald and Anais were joined by guest host Susan Pogorzelski (www.susanpogorzelski.com), the author of the Gold in the Days of Summer novella series. She’s a YA author who founded Brown Beagle Books (www.brownbeaglebooks.com) to help emerging writers share their literary vision and develop their writing talents.

 

All three hosts loved the story which Anais and Susan described as a mature, subdued soap opera. Gerald fell in love with Eleanor, Susan loved Sam, and Anais could not stand Jim. Surely characters that elicit such strong responses must be vivid and worth the read.

The hosts also analyzed the novel’s prose and themes.

We’d like to hear from you

Did we miss something? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

Join the Literary Roadhouse Readers FB Group

Join the Literary Roadhouse Readers FB Group

Please leave an iTunes review! It helps us attract a wider audience and keep growing.

We air the first Friday of every month, and discuss the books on Twitter between shows using #LRHBookclub.

Wyatt Thurst | Brendan Bowles | Literary Roadhouse Ep 118

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Discussion Notes: Wyatt Thurst

Find this week’s story here: Wyatt Thurst by Brendan Bowles

Next week’s story: The Kitchen Child by Angela Carter

Rated: Explicit (discussion of sexual content)

The Literary Roadhouse hosts, sans Maya (but she’ll be back next week!) discuss “Wyatt Thurst”, a short story by the winner of the Writers Trust of Canada Award, Brendan Bowles. After this story burst the American hosts’ conceit that cowboys and rodeo are presumed to be American, it offered a lovely discussion on character building, subtlety in writing, and meticulously polished prose. All three hosts enjoyed the story, though for slightly different reasons. Rammy said it reminded him of Jack Kerouac, while Gerald loved the rhythm, and Anais marveled over the prose. Listen to the hosts deep dive into the psyche of the main character, Wyatt. And lastly, “canoe dancing” has its first, and possible only, mention on the show. Listen to find out why.

Have thoughts on this story?

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

Join the Literary Roadhouse Readers FB Group

Join the Literary Roadhouse Readers FB Group

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Marry the Sea | Marie-Helene Bertino | Literary Roadhouse Ep 117

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Discussion Notes: Marry the Sea

Find this week’s story here: Marry the Sea by Marie-Helene Bertino

Next week’s story: Wyatt Thurst by Brendan Bowles

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts discuss a short story recommended by Kristy Lin Biluni, the Sexy Grammarian who appeared on Episode 106. This week’s story “Marry the Sea” by Marie-Helene Bertino was published in Time Out Magazine, and the surreal story left the hosts buzzing, confused, but, for three out of four hosts, happy. The unenthusiastic hold out, Rammy, raised very good points and questions which forced the others to explain why this strange, whimsical, brooding yet light, plot-less story struck the right chord. Even Rammy confesses the story made him feel rebellious, and Gerald and Anais explore the ways in which prose can sometimes resemble modern visual arts.

Stay for a surreal mad lib game at the end of the episode.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

Laughing and Turning Away | Patrick Holloway | Literary Roadhouse Ep 116

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Discussion Notes: Laughing and Turning Away

Find this week’s story here: Laughing and Turning Away by Patrick Holloway

Next week’s story: Marry the Sea by Marie-Helene Bertino

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts, sans Maya, discuss the second place winner of Carve Magazine’s Fall 2017 Raymond Carver Contest, “Laughing and Turning Away” by Patrick Holloway. Gerald loved the story, while Rammy led the podcast with the feint praise ‘competently written.’ Anais grappled with the parts of the story she didn’t like, while highlighting commentary on Brazilian and machismo culture that she found insightful. The hosts discuss whether or not the difference between the protagonist and the author led to the distance between the reader and protagonist as well.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

Once Removed | Colette Sartor | Literary Roadhouse Ep 115

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Discussion Notes: Once Removed

Find this week’s story here: Once Removed by Colette Sartor

Next week’s story: Laughing and Turning Away by Patrick Holloway

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts, sans Maya still, discuss the show’s second Colette Sartor story, “Once Removed.” This episode quickly turned into a love fest with all three hosts loving the story, the characters, the prose. Love, love, love. Though usually this show discusses the meta aspects of a story, the characters in this piece felt so real that our hosts kept discussing them like real people, commenting on their behavior, and making judgments and predictions as to the future of these characters’ lives. Stay for a fun truth-or-dare game around real life super powers. And yes, Rammy won the game but everyone lost track of points. Lucky Gerald, we read his story next week.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders | Literary Roadhouse Bookclub Ep 15

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Discussion Notes: Lincoln in the Bardo

Next month’s novel: The Heirs by Susan Rieger

Rated: Explicit

The bookclub read the 2017 Man Booker Prize winner Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. The hosts are split with Anais vehemently defending a novel she loved that Gerald disliked and Maya found disappointing, even as she saw its merits. While Gerald liked the beginning, it quickly went downhill for him, while Maya felt the experiment didn’t quite pan out. Anais  enjoyed the book so much and found it so funny that she, while reading, yelped with excitement.

And you?

We’d like to hear from you

Did we miss something? Let us know what you think of the novel in the comment section below. Or, if you prefer, leave a voicemail by clicking on the feature to the right. By the way, we may play your voicemail on our next show, so tell us if you would prefer we did not.

Please leave an iTunes review! It helps us attract a wider audience and keep growing.

We air the first Friday of every month, and discuss the books on Twitter between shows using #LRHBookclub.

The Trial for Murder | Charles Dickens | Literary Roadhouse Ep 114

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Discussion Notes: The Trial for Murder

Find this week’s story here: The Trial for Murder by Charles Dickens

Next week’s story: Once Removed by Colette Sartor

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts, sans Maya, discuss Charles Dickens’ short story “The Trial for Murder.” Surprisingly, all three hosts walked away from the story a bit ambivalent, or in Rammy’s case, confused. They discuss the characters, the plot, the themes, and what makes for a good ghost story and how the genre has evolved over the decades. Despite the overall ambivalence, Gerald and Anais pick out gems, moments of levity or wisdom that stayed with them. The show ends with a friendly modern ghost quiz.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

After the Race | James Joyce | Literary Roadhouse Ep 113

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Discussion Notes: After the Race

Find this week’s story here: After the Race by James Joyce

Next week’s story: The Trial for Murder by Charles Dickens

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts, sans Maya, discuss James Joyce’s short story “After the Race.” All three hosts walked away from their first reading the story scratching their heads. However, through discussion they came to appreciate some of its finer points and the political moment in which this story was written and published. Anais’s heavy research helped guide the story’s political themes, while Gerald and Rammy latched on to some of the more universal themes of aspiration and class. When it came to prose, Joyce is, well, Joyce. Love him or hate him.

Wanna feel old? This story is over 100 years old!  ????

Also, Anais keeps calling Villona by the wrong name “Villanova.” D’oh!

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

Insomnia | Hannah Rahimi | Literary Roadhouse Ep 112

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Discussion Notes: Insomnia

Find this week’s story here: Insomnia by Hannah Rahimi

Next week’s story: After the Race by James Joyce

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts discuss another Carve Magazine story “Insomnia” by Hannah Rahimi. Because the story is of a style we’ve come to recognize as Gerald’s favorite, he loved it. Meanwhile, Rammy thought it was decent (damning with faint praise), and he proposed the adjective “creditable,” which both Gerald and Anais thought was too harsh. Anais liked it, but wanted more. This thirst for more leads to a discussion on the trend in modern short stories, and what it does well and what it could use more of.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

Hills Like White Elephants | Ernest Hemingway | Literary Roadhouse Ep 111

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Discussion Notes: Hills Like White Elephants

Find this week’s story here: Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

Next week’s story: Insomnia by Hannah Rahimi

Rated: Clean

The Literary Roadhouse hosts discuss the podcast’s third Hemingway short story, “Hills Like White Elephants.” The story prompted yet another Literary Roadhouse debate about Hemingway, with Gerald as his most vocal champion. The conversation weaves through symbolism, prose, characters, and the history of abortion, of all things. Rammy found the dialogue “refreshing.” As for Maya, this was the first story she enjoyed by Hemingway, whereas Anais still wished he had given her more to chew on. Stay to listen to Gerald ace a Hemingway quiz and be accused of grading on a curve.

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or on our Facebook page.

Also, don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate this story? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail.

Lastly, your reviews on iTunes help us grow. Please search Literary Roadhouse in iTunes and leave reviews for all of our shows.

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