Weekly Short Stories

Each week The Literary Roadhouse podcast hosts deeply read and discuss one short story.

Discussing Us and Them by David Sedaris | Literary Roadhouse Ep 152

Us and Them | David Sedaris | Literary Roadhouse Ep 152

March 6, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:39:26 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Us and Them

This week’s story: Us and Them by David Sedaris

Next week’s story: The Skylight Room by O. Henry

Rated: Clean

This is Rammy’s last episode! He’s off to pursue psychology in grad school. Andy will be filling in as a regular host. Today, Gerald, Anais, Andy and Rammy discuss “Us and Them” by David Sedaris. All four hosts loved the humor and the insightful comments on consumerism and television culture. Come for the literary discussion, stay for the hot debate about the psychology of buying and enjoying candy.

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

(REWIND) Christmas Party | Russell Banks | Literary Roadhouse Ep 131

February 27, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:40:34 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Christmas Party

This week we’re replaying an episode from our archive! We picked this story because it’s one of our favorite discussions to date.

Find this week’s rewind story here:  Christmas Party by Russell Banks

Next week’s story: Us and Them by David Sedaris

Rated: Clean

Baylee Annis, Assistant to the Director at the Adirondack Center for Writing

Baylee Annis, Assistant to the Director at the Adirondack Center for Writing

This week Gerald, Rammy, and Anais are joined by Baylee Annis, Assistant to the Director of the Adirondack Center for Writing.  She is poet, essayist, journalist, and loves talking about words so much she made it her job to pass on her passion to others. She studied at Norwich University in Vermont and was one of a whopping two students who studied english, education, and sociology. An Adirondack native, she hasn’t had electricity or running water for three years in her adorable 128 sq ft house, and would have it no other way.

You can learn more about the Adirondack Center for Writing at adirondackcenterforwriting.org

The show quickly became a love fest! All four hosts gushed over the brilliant characters, prose, and plot of this classic Russell Banks short story. Baylee brought her Adirondack native experience to the conversation, commenting on how the community was one more character in the story. Meanwhile, Rammy and Anais debate why the protagonist briefly contemplated kidnapping a baby.

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing Omakase by Weike Wang | Literary Roadhouse Ep 151

Omakase | Weike Wang | Literary Roadhouse Ep 151

February 13, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:47:49 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Omakase

This week’s story: Omakase by Weike Wang

Next week’s story: Us and Them by David Sedaris

Rated: Clean

Alli Hoff Kosik

Alli Hoff Kosik

This week we welcomed Alli Hoff Kosik as a guest to discuss “Omakase” by Weike Wang. She is a full-time freelance writer. Her work has been published in outlets like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Brit + Co, Medium, The Kitchn, Real Simple, and more. She’s also the host of The SSR Podcast, on which each week she invites a guest to revisit a book from their middle or high school days. Alli lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and her golden retriever pup, Irv.

Twitter: @ahoffkosik // @ssrpod
Instagram: @ahoffkosik // @ssrpod

Gerald, Anais and Alli discuss this brilliant story and explore themes of class, race, romance, and even coin a new phrase “aggressive confidence,” aka swagger.

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing Chaunt by Joy Williams | Literary Roadhouse Ep 150

Chaunt | Joy Williams | Literary Roadhouse Ep 150

February 6, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 00:40:21 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Chaunt

This week’s story: Chaunt by Joy Williams

Next week’s story: Omakase by Weike Wang

Rated: Clean

We’re a week late! We took off last week to catch up with some back log and work over flow. As our regular listeners know, the hosts you hear on each episode are the entire crew. Gerald and Anais spli the sound editing, and Anais does all the we upkeep, publishing, social media, guest sourcing, etc, etc. We could really use your support us in bringing us great content. At the very least, buy as a cup of coffee every month by subscribing on Patreon and pledging just $3 a month – enough for a coffee! It really adds up and goes a long way.

This week Gerald, Andy and Anais discuss “Chaunt” by Joy Williams, an eccentric story about grief, extinctions of various kinds, religion, and despair. Despite the heavy theme, the story is funny, hitting the gallows humor right on every note. We loved this story, giving it perfect marks across the board, and highly recommend you read the story too.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing House Taken Over by Julio Cortazar | Literary Roadhouse Ep 149

House Taken Over | Julio Cortazar | Literary Roadhouse Ep 149

January 23, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:42:56 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: House Taken Over

This week’s story: House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar

Next week’s story: Chaunt by Joy Williams

Rated: Clean

This week we are joined by a guest! Andy Kopczynski, a long time friend of Anais, a hater of literary fiction, and a lover and avid reader of pulpy fantasy and sci-fi. Can we make Andy love literary fiction too?

Find out as Andy, Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss the melancholic ¨House Taken Over¨by Julio Cortázar. A story open to multiple interpretations, and in which the conflict never quite spills over into a proper climax, leaves our regular hosts divided. But what about our reluctant guest?

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry | Literary Roadhouse Ep 148

The Gift of the Magi | O. Henry | Literary Roadhouse Ep 148

January 16, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:27:13 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Gift of the Magi

This week’s story:  The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Next week’s story: House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss the classic parable ¨The Gift of the Magi¨by O. Henry. Our podcast typically doesn’t love parables, which Rammy insists on submitting. However, Gerald appreciated the twist and Anais was won over by a quirky narrative style. Truth be told, it was refreshing to read a wholesome story.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus | Literary Roadhouse Ep 147

The Adulterous Woman | Albert Camus | Literary Roadhouse Ep 147

January 9, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:42:30 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Adulterous Woman

This week’s story:  The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Next week’s story: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Rated: Adult Themes, Clean Language

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss “The Adulterous Woman” by Albert Camus, a stirring story about a woman’s mid-life yearning for freedom from the trappings of a comfortable, unfulfilling life. The story takes place in Algeria before the war of independence from France, and features a French couple moving through the Arab interior. The stark imagery and deep internal musings make the story a satisfying read.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

(REWIND) Year’s End | Jhumpa Lahiri | Literary Roadhouse Ep 47

January 2, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:52:09 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Year’s End

Happy New Year! We’re still off this week and will return next week with a brand new episode. This week we’re replaying an episode from our archive. We picked this story because it’s one of our favorite discussions to date.

Find this week’s rewind story here:  Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Next week’s episode:  The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Rated: Clean

This week we discuss Year’s End, a story about a young Indian-American college student who must once again process the death of his mother after an announcement that his father has re-married several years after his mother’s death. This story sparked some great discussion on pain, clichés and culture in literature. 

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

(REWIND) The Piano Tuner | Peter Meinke | Literary Roadhouse Ep 35

December 26, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:38:39 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Piano Tuner

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays! We’re off this week and next, but we still want to bring you great literary fiction. This week we’re replaying an episode from our archive. We picked this story because it’s one of our favorite discussions to date.

Find this week’s rewind story here:  The Piano Tuner by Peter Meinke

Next episode we will also by replaying an episode:  Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Rated: Explicit

What in the world did Gerald make us read! This story left Rammy feeling blah, and both Anais and Gerald loving it. During the conversation Rammy piped up with an interesting take and then Gerald added to it with information from an interview the author did years ago. That extra information left Maya incensed! Great discussion, tons of laughter and the most NSFW discussion we have ever had and worth every second.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury | Literary Roadhouse Ep 146

A Sound of Thunder | Ray Bradbury | Literary Roadhouse Ep 146

December 19, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:28:55 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: A Sound of Thunder

This week’s story:  A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

Next week’s story: The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury, a brilliantly visual story that sets the pace for an entire genre of plot structures, and explores a theme of man v. nature v. time. Man’s hubris is put to the test with dire, unintended consequences.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>

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About Literary Roadhouse

Literary Roadhouse is a literary podcast where avid readers and aspiring writers read and discuss short and long fiction.
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