The Coode Street Podcast

Ten minutes with... is a regular series of short podcasts 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. Gary kicks of the second series of Ten Minutes with by spending a few minutes with Hugo and Nebula-nominated K.M. Szpara discussing the appeal of audiobooks, young-adult mysteries and horror stories (and their value in learning about plotting), what it’s like to launch a novel at the very beginning of the lockdown, and his own forthcoming work. Books mentioned include: Docile by K.M. Szpara First, Become Ashes by K.M. Szpara (forthcoming April 2021) Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson In the Hall with a Knife: A Clue Mystery by Diana Peterfreund Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas

Well, without really planning it, we had a bit of a hiatus. It seems like recording over a hundred episodes in a row left us - or at least Jonathan - with the need for a little break, but we're back! We think.   With the Virtual ConZealand not quite over, Gary and Jonathan sit down to talk awards, congratulate the award-winners, talk about inclusiveness and the need for a fresher take on the genre, thank the ConZealand team and shout out to coming conventions, and more. Oh, and thank the World Fantasy Awards for a very unexpected nomination! Thank you!   As always, we hope you enjoy the episode. We should be back soon with more!  

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 spends ten minutes or so chatting with Sarah Monette about living and writing during the pandemic, her alter ego Katherine Addison, the comforts of immersive reading and true crime, and the recurring attraction of the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the world of his famous detective. Books mentioned include: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (forthcoming) The Anatomy Murders by Lisa Rosner Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People by Tim Reiterman The Baby Farmers: A Chilling Tale of Missing Babies, Shameful Secrets and Murder in 19th Century Australia by Annie Cossins      

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 spends ten minutes or so calling up Orange Country, California to talk to World Fantasy and Philip K. Dick Award winner James P. Blaylock about reading and writing during these strange times, the allure of crime novels, what's up with Langdon St Ives, his new novel-in-progress, and a lot more. Books mentioned include: The Gobblin' Society by James P. Blaylock River's Edge by James P. Blaylock Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand Freddy's Book by John Gardner Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman The Easy Rawlins Novels by Walter Mosely The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens City of Fallen Angels by Paul Buchanan      

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. With the Ten Minutes with... series complete as a daily thing, Jonathan fires up the computer and calls Hugo and Shirley Jackson award winner Peter Watts to discuss how this apocalypse is only a tiny taste of the real thing, how he's coping with working and reading right now, Jevon's Paradox, the value of depressive realism, and a lot more. Books mentioned include: Peter Watts is an Angry, Sentient Tumor by Peter Watts "Incorruptible" by Peter Watts  Stealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder Gamechanger by L.X. Beckett        

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. One of England’s finest novelists, M. John Harrison, talks with Gary about the paradoxical insights of the poet Charles Simic, the essays of Olivia Laing, the early John le Carré novels, and his own new novel and forthcoming story collection. Books mentioned include: The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison Settling the World: Selected Stories 1969-2019 by M. John Harrison Things That Never Happen by M. John Harrison The Monster Loves his Labyrinth: Notebooks by Charles Simic Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing The Early George Smiley novels by John le Carré      

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. Legendary Grand Master Jane Yolen shares with Gary some delightful personal news, as well as her advice to aspiring authors on how the lockdown can be seen as a gift to writers, the pleasures of "munchie" writing like Cat Valente or Gregory Maguire, the short stories of Theodora Goss, and Linda Barnes's Carlotta Carlyle mysteries. Books mentioned include: The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen How to Fracture a Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire Carlotta Carlyle series by Linda Barnes      

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. Gary spends a few minutes with Jack Skillingstead and 2021 WorldCon Guest of Honor Nancy Kress talking about reading science; Jane Austen, Star Trek, and the comforts of an orderly world; the appeal of Hollywood biographies; and revisiting old favorites like Philip K. Dick, Robert Bloch, and Roger Zelazny. Books mentioned include: Sea Change by Nancy Kress The Eleventh Gate by Nancy Kress The Chaos Function by Jack Skillingstead Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Mitford The Ragman's Son by Kirk Douglas Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand by William J. Mann      

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, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winner Kij Johnson joins Gary to talk about learning to keep focused during odd times, taking comfort in Defoe, Laurence Sterne, and horror stories, and the perks of doing historical research for a novel-in-progress set in the American Midwest in 1913, and how her "Apartment Dweller’s Guide" series of stories really needs to be a book. Books mentioned include: The River Bank by Kij Johnson A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe Short stories by Clark Ashton Smith The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' by William Hope Hodgson The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne    

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 is Day 97 of ten minutes with ... and as the end approaches Jonathan is spending ten minutes or so talking with Nebula Award winner Alaya Dawn Johnson about reading and working during these strange times, moving to a new environment, the challenges in writing novels at all, and her powerful new novel, Trouble the Saints.  Books mentioned include: Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black The Wicked King by Holly Black The Cruel Prince by Holly Black How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön