Good Scribes Only

About the Episode In the main episode this week, Dan and Jeremy discussed John Steinbeck's  East of Eden. While they enjoyed the read, it did not stand up against a few of Steinbeck's other works, and thus pushed Dan and J to discuss the oeuvre of a literary career. How the heck can someone expect to follow up Grapes of Wrath?! We hope you enjoy the always meandering discussion inspired by East of Eden.About the BookSet in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.First published in 1952, East of Eden is the work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence. A masterpiece of Steinbeck's later years, East of Eden is a powerful and vastly ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis. About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.First published in 1952, East of Eden is the work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence. A masterpiece of Steinbeck's later years, East of Eden is a powerful and vastly ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis.Please enjoy our discussion about East of Eden by John SteinbeckAbout the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. Episode Notes0-5 min — Introduction and biblical allusino5-10 min — Initial feelings about the novel10-25 min — Plot and casting the characters25-30 min — On Nature vs nurture30-35 min — Plot continued35-45 min — Inner narratives and Dan’s acting gig45-50 min — Religion in fiction and reality50-55 min — Is free will an illusion?55-60 min — Final thoughts and ratings WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

In the main episode for Native Son by Richard Wright, Dan urged Jeremy to watch the West Wing. In the mini, Jeremy and Daniel stay on point by discussing another theme they have no credibility to discuss: politics. If you haven't already heard enough uninformed political drivel, this mini may just turn you off from political chatter for a good while. If we can do that, it's a job well done — time's better spent reading, or listening to the Good Scribes Only podcast...Enjoy!About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode To honor our watching of Back to the Future for the first time… we went back to 1940s Chicago with Richard Wright’s Native Son which deals with racial and social inequality. It’s a powerful novel and an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America. Wright is one of those exceptionally intelligent writers and it shows. We learned a lot from this book and think it’s an important read for a variety of reasons that you’ll hear about in this episode.Please enjoy our discussion about Native Son by Richard Wright.About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing.Episode Notes0-10 min — Intro and a brief discussion of race10-15 min — Casting the movie15-25 min — Plot first third25-35 min — On Richard Wright and communism35-40 min — Plot second third40-45 min — Chicago in the 1940s45-55 min — Plot final third55-60 min — Conclusion   WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

Set in the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald about the tragic romance of Dick and Nicole Diver and young actress Rosemary Hoyt. Dick is a brilliant young psychiatrist who marries his mentally ill patient, Nicole, who also happens to be an heiress. The novel explores themes of social class, mental illness, sexual abuse, and codependent love and is considered one of the best books of the 20th century. Tender Is the Night was Fitzgerald's fourth and final novel, and was based almost entirely on his relationship with Zelda. Enjoy!About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode Set in the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald about the tragic romance of Dick and Nicole Diver and young actress Rosemary Hoyt. Dick is a brilliant young psychiatrist who marries his mentally ill patient, Nicole, who also happens to be an heiress. The novel explores themes of social class, mental illness, sexual abuse, and codependent love and is considered one of the best books of the 20th century. Tender Is the Night was Fitzgerald's fourth and final novel, and was based almost entirely on his relationship with Zelda. Enjoy!About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing.Episode Notes0-5 min — Introduction5-8 min — Casting8-12 min - Ryan Gosling, Alan Tudick, Hugh Jackman, Charlie Day12-20 min — Plot summary begins20-25 min — Alcoholism and writing25-30 min — How mental illness is portrayed30-35 min — Writing what you know35-40 min — James Joyce vs Scott Fitzgerald40-45 min — Plot continued45-50 min — Wrapping up the story50-55 min — Conclusion and ranking WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode In this 5th episode, you have now entered the 1920s. Well, sorta.For this decade we read Virginia Woolf's Orlando  which has been called 'The longest and most charming love letter in literature.' Orlando is the fictional embodiment of Woolf's close friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, except Orlando (the character) lives for three hundred years, so kinda relevant to this season eh? We meet characters like the Queen of England, James I, and ultimately our main character awakes in Constantinople to find that he is now a woman. The novel indulges in farce and irony to consider the roles of gender in the 18th and 19th centuries and the novel ends in 1928, the year when women’s suffrage became reality.Woolf is the type of literary master we want to read more of and we loved the way she stepped out of her comfort zone with this book, as Dan does every time he attempts to pronounce a name on this show.Please enjoy this window into Orlando by Virginia Woolf. About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode In this 5th episode, you have now entered the 1920s. Well, sorta.For this decade we read Virginia Woolf's Orlando  which has been called 'The longest and most charming love letter in literature.' Orlando is the fictional embodiment of Woolf's close friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, except Orlando (the character) lives for three hundred years, so kinda relevant to this season eh? We meet characters like the Queen of England, James I, and ultimately our main character awakes in Constantinople to find that he is now a woman. The novel indulges in farce and irony to consider the roles of gender in the 18th and 19th centuries and the novel ends in 1928, the year when women’s suffrage became reality.Woolf is the type of literary master we want to read more of and we loved the way she stepped out of her comfort zone with this book, as Dan does every time he attempts to pronounce a name on this show.Please enjoy this window into Orlando by Virginia Woolf. About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing.Episode Notes0-5 min — Introduction and main themes5-10 min — On Virginia Woolf and genre10-15 min — Casting the movie15-20 min — Gender in a modern context20-30 min — Plot summary30-35 min — On Criticism35-45 min — The gap between fact and fiction45-50 min — Chasing fame and notoriety50-55 min — Conclusion55-60 min — Ratings WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode GOAT ALERT 🐐 For the 1910's episode of Season 4, we read Portrait of the Artist as a Man by James JoyceRich in details that offer vital insights into Joyce's art, this masterpiece of semi-autobiographical fiction remains essential reading in any program of study in modern literature. The book follows its main character, Stephen Dedalus, from childhood to adulthood on a  quest to find identity. Through art, Dedalus gradually emancipates himself from family, religious, and claims of Ireland itself. Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves.We hope you enjoy!About the BookRich in details that offer vital insights into Joyce's art, this masterpiece of semi-autobiographical fiction remains essential reading in any program of study in modern literature. The book follows its main character, Stephen Dedalus, from childhood to adulthood on a  quest to find identity. Through art, Dedalus gradually emancipates himself from family, religious, and claims of Ireland itself. Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves.About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing. WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website

About the Episode In this 3rd episode of Season 4, we read Portrait of the Artist as a Man by James JoyceRich in details that offer vital insights into Joyce's art, this masterpiece of semi-autobiographical fiction remains essential reading in any program of study in modern literature. The book follows its main character, Stephen Dedalus, from childhood to adulthood on a  quest to find identity. Through art, Dedalus gradually emancipates himself from family, religious, and claims of Ireland itself. Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves.We hope you enjoy!About the ShowHosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 4 we’re traveling through the 20th century, decade by decade, because Dan really wanted to see what the world was like before plumbing was a common thing.Episode Notes0-5 min — Poor excuse for Irish accents5-10 min — Introduction to James Joyce10-15 min — Plot summary15-20 min — Irish Independence20-25 min — Meaning of the title25-30 min — Genius in art30-40 min — Plot continued40-45 min — On retreats45-50 min — Religion at the time50-55 min — Final thoughts on the book55-60 min — Ratings and conclusion WebsiteTikTokInstagramYouTubeNewsletterJeremy's WebsiteDan's Website