The Coode Street Podcast

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Today Jonathan calls up Tordotcom Publishing editor Ruoxi Chen to chat about revisiting all-time favourites and how re-reading can help keep editors in touch with the readers they need to be, the therapeutic values of disaster nonfiction, dipping into audiobooks, the state of speculative fiction and why there’s a lot to be optimistic about, and a lot more. Books mentioned include: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (forthcoming, June 2021) The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Coode Street has a long history of talking to Kim Stanley Robinson about the world and his work, starting back in 2011, continuing in our 200th episode in London, and on the publication of 2312, Aurora, and New York 2140, so we couldn't pass up the chance to talk to him now. In what is easily the longest episode of Coode Street for this strange pandemic year, Gary, Jonathan, and Stan discuss his brand new novel, The Ministry for the Future, the value and purpose of science fiction, Stan's important working relationship with editor Tim Holman, experimenting with form, what comes next, and more. As always, we'd like to thank Stan for making the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy the episode.  

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Madeleine E. Robins, author of the Sarah Tolerance historical mysteries, SF and fantasy, and historical novels, talks about starting her career with Regency novels influenced by Georgette Heyer, how "fluffy bunny" reading doesn’t necessarily mean fluffy, making masks and researching mask laws from a century ago (and the “mask riots” in San Francisco then), and her own recent work and work-in-progress. Books mentioned include: Sold for Endless Rue by Madeleine E. Robins "Omunculus" by Madeleine E. Robins Whitehall by Liz Duffy Adams, Mary Robinette Kowal, Madeleine E. Robins, Barbara Samuel & Delia Sherman Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Lord Peter Wimsey Series by Dorothy L. Sayers The Complete Novels by Jane Austen R.U.R. by Karel Čapek Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Nebula and Locus award-winning Linda Nagata talks about what life in Maui is like with almost no tourists, how audiobooks have improved in recent years, her experiences in running her own publishing company and establishing her own deadlines, and her timely forthcoming novel Pacific Storm. Books mentioned include: The Red Trilogy by Linda Nagata Edges by Linda Nagata Silver by Linda Nagata Wanderers by Chuck Wendig Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Multiple award-nominee Benjamin Rosenbaum discusses the pandemic as seen from Switzerland, learning to write in his garden when cafes are no longer available, designing board games with his son, the reboot of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, rereading classic SF, and his own recent stories and forthcoming genderless novel. Books mentioned include: The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum (forthcoming) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park Dune by Frank Herbert Startide Rising by David Brin The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Award-winning author, editor, and scholar Delia Sherman talks about reading old French newspapers and memoirs; the rewards of research; listening to audiobooks during long walks (including a lot of Dickens!); the orderly appeal of good murder mysteries from Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and others; missing out on being a teenager; and how political themes are finding their way into her novel in progress. Books mentioned include: The Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman A Quiet Life in the Country by T.E Kinsey Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens The Phryne Fisher Series by Kerry Greenwood

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Writer, professor, and Strange Horizons founder Mary Anne Mohanraj chats with Gary about launching a new cookbook just as everything got locked down, how virtual conventions seem to be improving—and are likely to change the way all cons are conducted in the future, keeping busy sewing masks, serving as a public library board member, and teaching online, why SF doesn’t have enough food in it, South Asian SFF writers, and even how the word serendipity came into the language. Books mentioned include: A Feast of Serendib by Mary Anne Mohanraj A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher Best American Food Writing 2019 edited by Samin Nosrat Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Playwright, professor, director, and Carl Brandon and Otherwise-award winning writer Andrea Hairston talks with Gary about the necessity of reading during hard times, the appeal of hefty nonfiction titles as well as epic fantasy, the odd satisfaction of a virtual book tour, Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurisms, and her new novel Master of Poisons. Books mentioned include: Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older Nine Bar Blues by Sheree Renee Thomas Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. American Book Award winner Lisa Goldstein talks with Gary about her recent novel Ivory Apples, surviving California’s smoky air and a pandemic, trying to read The Decameron, the British comedian Jack Whitehall, comfort to be had from Tana French mysteries and Kage Baker time travel stories, and wrangling the characters in her novel in progress. Books mentioned include: Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French The Company Series by Kage Baker  

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times. Hugo, Astounding, and British Fantasy Award-winning Jeannette Ng joins Gary from northern England, discussing what it’s like to live near stands of ancient trees, learning to "read" the trees, the folklore and symbology of yew, hawthorn, and mistletoe, the advantages of reading manga on e-devices, and the rewards of reading Jasper Fforde and D&D-related manga. Books mentioned include: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History by Rian Thum The Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde The Delicious in Dungeon series by Ryuko Kui