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. Scholar, photographer, editor, artist, author, and winner of many Ditmar and Aurealis Awards Cat Sparks joins Gary to discuss the comparative experience of Australia vs the US in the current crisis, her own doctoral research in SF and climate fiction, missing out on ICFA this year, the attractions of comfort-reading mysteries, the virtues of Paul J. McAuley, and her forthcoming collection of stories. Books mentioned include: Dark Harvest by Cat Sparks The Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths The Quantum Magician by Derek Kunsken War of the Maps by Paul McAuley Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna Repo Virtual by Corey J. White The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French Photography mentioned: Cat’s nature photography:  Wall Safari!  

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. This time out, Gary talks with fellow Locus reviewer Karen Burnham, author of Greg Egan in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series, and occasional pieces for The Cascadia Subduction Zone. We touch upon having kids at home during the lockdown, finding time to do our own reading in between reading for reviews, and favorite literary comfort foods such as Terry Pratchett and Gail Carriger. Books mentioned include: Greg Egan by Karen Burnham The Revenger Series by Alastair Reynolds Horizon by Barry Lopez Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez The Lives of a Cell and the Medusa and the Snail by Lewis Thomas Small Gods by Terry Pratchett The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett Soulless by Gail Carriger The Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew        

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 is joined by the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga, the Exo series, and Zeroboxer, Fonda Lee, to chat about life in strange times, adapting how you work in a home suddenly full of family, the joys of reading and writing, and much more. Books mentioned include: Jade City by Fonda Lee Jade War by Fonda Lee Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Black Bolt by Saladin Ahmed The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Riby    

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 with Aurealis Award-nominated debut novelist Corey J. White to discuss moving to Melbourne, reading Ralph Ellison, the Voidwitch Saga, optimism, cyberpunk and the future, and his recently released debut, Repo Virtual.  Books mentioned include: Repo Virtual by Corey J. White The Voidwitch Saga by Corey J. White Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Human People by Timothy Morton The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander      

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 talking with one of the most beloved writers in the history of science fiction and fantasy, Lois McMaster Bujold, about working and writing in these strange times, her semi-retirement and how she came to write and publish the Penric and Desdemona series, and much more. Books mentioned include: The Physicians of Vilnoc (Penric and Desdemona #8) by Lois McMaster Bujold  Penric's Progress by Lois McMaster Bujold Penric's Travels by Lois McMaster Bujold Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher Swordheart by T. Kingfisher Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty    

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 takes ten minutes to talk to the bestselling, critically-acclaimed, and award-winning editor and anthologist Ann VanderMeer about working and reading in these difficult times, the joys of connecting with friends and family through distanced technology, and her own projects, Avatars.Inc and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy. Books mentioned include: Avatars Inc edited by Ann VanderMeer The Big Book of Modern Fantasy edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff VanderMeer My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston    

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 sits down to chat with debut novelist Jeremy Szal to talk about reading, writing, his admiration for Netflix's Tiger King, the fiction of Scott Lynch and Ian M. Banks, his debut novel Stormblood, and more. Books mentioned include: Stormblood by Jeremy Szal The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks Golden Son by Pierce Brown Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie (audiobook)      

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-winning author, editor, teacher, and workshop leader Eileen Gunn talks with Gary about the pleasures of researching old myths, legends, epics, and folktales, the skill of Julius Lester in retelling stories in a new voice originally popularized by Joel Chandler Harris, and how the lockdown can actually help to enhance your social life. Books mentioned include: Questionable Practices: Stories by Eileen Gunn A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales by Julius Lester The Mahābhārata The Golden Bough by James Fraser      

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 Gary is joined by novelist, poet, scholar, and teacher Theodora Goss, whose trilogy The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, one of the more delightful fantasy series of the past few years, concluded last fall with The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl. We touch upon the story behind her narrative poem in The Book of Dragons, narrative poetry in general, the literature of monsters, relearning Hungarian, and the appeal of detective stories, Daphne Du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, Veronica Mars, and nature nonfiction. Books mentioned include: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club by Theodora Goss Snow White Learns Witchcraft by Theodora Goss Medusa's Daughters: Magic and Monstrosity from Women Writers of the Fin-de-Siécle edited by Theodora Goss Abigail by Magda Szabo Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson The Monster Theory Reader edited by Jeffrey Weinstock On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma      

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 sits down to talk with World Fantasy Award-winning writer, poet, and playwright Robert Shearman about the joys and surprises of reading all one hundred and nineteen chapters of The Count of Monte Christo (including the bits with the opera and copious drug-taking); reading Peanuts and especially enjoying the bits before Snoopy becomes a total jerk; dealing with tragedy and grief through fiction; his incredible, quixotic and brilliant new book; and actually surviving in this Great and Terrible Pause. Books mentioned include: We All Hear Stories in the Dark by Robert Shearman The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas The Complete Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann The Complete Saki