Overdue

This week we're joined by friend of the show (and one half of the hit newsletter Two Bossy Dames) Sophie Brookover to talk about Vladimir Nabokov's epic literary troll novel Pale Fire. The author may be dead and the reader is most certainly bad, but that doesn't mean we can't have a great time talking about Vera Nabokov, John Shade stans, and botched assassination attempts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The whole team at Overdue wishes you and yours a very horny Christmas and a sultry New Year with Stefanie London's A Dangerously Sexy Christmas, a book that is equal parts dangerous AND sexy! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's episode is a recording of our live episode from the New England Library Association in Rhode Island in October. We talk about Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, which you may also remember from the Disney movie of the same name. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver successfully melds and renews a whole stack of classical fairytales in a story that is anchored by women and deals with real-world anti-Semitism without ever feeling too heavy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Minecraft, one of the most popular games on the planet, has lots of lessons to teach us! Lessons about persistence, about ingenuity, about punching trees. In this kid-friendly novel, Max Brooks details the "true story" of his own experiences on a Minecraft island, weaving together nuggets of wisdom with the game's particular flavor of discovery. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The boys are back in town! Odysseus and Telemachus make it home to Ithaca in this episode of our show-within-a-show, which covers books 12-15 of Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey. We've got sirens, vaping, swineherds and some god-granted old dude cosplay.Remember, some Patreon supporters get these episodes early every month. Find out more at patreon.com/overduepodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Wheel of Time turns, and we release a new podcast episode. This week, we close out Remember November with a look at the first book in a, um, fourteen book fantasy series with which Andrew is intimately acquainted. The Wheel Of Time has its issues but if you want to talk about extremely detailed magic systems and meticulously crafted fantasy worlds, you’re in the right place! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Travel with us back to the Jazz Age and meet Irene and Clare, two women who practice "passing" to get by in New York City. The tragic characters of Nella Larsen's insightful novel Passing show us how suspicions and social status can conspire to bring about a terrible end between friends. Other talking points include the Harlem Renaissance, Arby's vs. Applebee's, and boy oh boy how we wish Larsen had written more books.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we talk about judging books by the standards of their time, we’re usually dealing with books that have been written many many decades ago, but Lynne Reid Banks’ The Indian In The Cupboard isn’t far removed from our own childhoods. It’s easy to see why the book resonates with kids, but it’s also frustrating to see Banks acknowledging the gap between pop culture depictions and reality even as she feeds into so many stereotypes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember November commences with us revisiting John Knowles' A Separate Peace. This book about a broken leg boy bored Craig to peaces in high school, but it turns out some books resonate more strongly than you might think.Tune in for a conversation about male friendship, stairs and trees, and Kurt Vonnegut's fourth cousin Norb.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.