Readers talk to other readers. They share information about the books and stories they love. They recommend. It's as natural as breathing. Those recommendations lead to a broader commentary, to lists and canons and all sorts of other things. This week Jonathan and Gary discuss the way we talk about books, the nature of recommending, and much more.

As promised, this episode contains recommendations for books published during 2018 that Jonathan and Gary thought were of interest and might make for rewarding reads for Coode Streeters. As always, these are personal recommendations and not a whole lot more. There's some fine reading on the lists below, which we both hope you'll seek out. Also, let us know what we missed in the comments!

JONATHAN’S LIST

Frankenstein in Baghdad, Saadawi Ahmed
Europe at Dawn, Dave Hutchinson
Pride and Prometheus, John Kessel
Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee
Blackfish City, Sam Miller
Summerland, Hannu Rajaniemi
Elysium Fire, Alastair Reynolds
Space Opera, Catherynne Valente
The Accidental War, Walter Jon Williams

GARY’S LIST

Red Moon, Kim Stanley Robinson
Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman
Ahab's Return, Jeffrey Ford
Annex, Rich Larson
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, Theodora Goss
Summerland, Hannu Rajaniemi
The Smoke, Simon Ings
Space Opera, Catherynne M. Valente
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller
Pride and Prometheus, John Kessel
Unholy Land, Lavie Tidhar

Episode 336: 2018 Novels to Read...