Have you ever written off an unread book, thinking you were just never going to want to read it, and then had something change your mind? This has happened to me quite a few times lately--usually because I heard the book discussed on a podcast--and it's always a startling "Ooo, really?" moment where I feel my understanding of the book in question shifting.
Some books I've shuffled back onto my mental TBR pile after thinking I was done with them include Dune, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Great Gastby, and Unsheltered. I had tried reading Dune and Owen Meany before and given up on them without getting terribly far. Then I heard a small piece of information about each of them that made me say, "What? I didn't know it was about that." In the case of Dune, it was the incorporation in the story of Arabic mythology and culture; for Owen Meany, it was its exploration of the Vietnam War. I imagine that these are not, like, well kept secrets about these books, but I hadn't picked up on them before hearing someone talk about why they enjoyed the stories. The Great Gatsby I have read before--twice--and just do not get. But hearing how much others have loved the book makes me want to try at least one more time. And Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel, simply sounded not my kind of thing... until I heard it discussed on a podcast, and suddenly it sounded compelling and well worth my time.
For every one of these books, the thing that changed my mind about wanting to read them was hearing someone else talk about them--not reading reviews or seeing them on "best of" lists, but getting to hear the enthusiasm in another reader's voice. Some of them were discussed on PBS's The Great American Read; some came up on A Good Read, a BBC podcast featuring guests discussing a favorite read with host Harriet Gilbert; and some of them were a topic of discussion on the bookish podcast From the Front Porch. For inspiring me to read (or reconsider reading!) a book, nothing matches listening to someone who loves it talk about why.
What books have you reconsidered after hearing someone else love on them?
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Laura Recommends...
...a podcast: The Anthropocene Reviewed
This podcast from author and Vlogbrother John Green is basically a series of spoken personal essays about things he finds interesting. He describes it as "reviews [of] facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale." Episodes consist of two "reviews," usually on unrelated topics. They are packed with interesting information about the topics and always consider them carefully. Past reviews have considered the penny, the weather, Hawaiian pizza, and the Lascaux paintings. The Anthropocene Reviewed never fails to make me pause and reflect about an aspect of our world.
...and another: Annotated
Annotated is a monthly Book Riot podcast which presents a radio documentary about a book-adjacent topic. Their tagline is "stories about books, reading, and language." I always learn something listening to Annotated, often about a subject I had never even heard of before. Past episodes have explored Louie Braille, Andrew Carnegie and the American public library, the workings of the New York Times bestseller list, and Truman Capote's short story that ended his career. New episodes come out on the first of the month.
...a TV show: Mars
Mars started its second season this week, and it's a television show unlike any I've ever seen. Part of each episode is a fictionalized story set in the 2030s about a group of scientists trying to establish a permanent research station on Mars. The rest of the program is a present-day documentary about how such a mission could be prepared for an accomplished. It's a unique and effective blend of fact and speculative fiction, the result of which is riveting TV. The first season is available on Blu-ray; the second is currently airing on the National Geographic Channel. The website (linked above) is also well worth checking out. Be warned that the while there's nothing particularly graphic about the show, the fictionalized portions can be intense--there's every reason to believe that life might be lost in such a mission, and the show does not shy away from that fact.
...a documentary: The Most Unknown
A science documentary with an unusual format, The Most Unknown follows nine scientists as they meet fellow scientists working in fields other than their own and learn about those disciplines from their colleagues. The film starts by following one scientist, who then meets and learns from a colleague. Then that colleague meets and learns from someone else, and so on until the chain circles back around to the first scientist. This format allows for a fascinating glimpse into nine different fields--including psychology, marine biology, and particle physics--and showcases learning, science, and curiosity. This is one of the most enjoyable programs I've watched in a long time. The Most Unknown is available on Netflix.
(Podcast links above take you to a web presence for each show, sometimes a website, sometimes a patreon, whevs, something associated directly with that podcast. Invariably, the best way to listen, however, is to subscribe through your podcatcher of choice. If you're looking for a new (or your first) podcatcher, your Googling skills should snag you some good recommendation lists for iphone and Android. I use Podcast Addict. It does the thing.)
This podcast from author and Vlogbrother John Green is basically a series of spoken personal essays about things he finds interesting. He describes it as "reviews [of] facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale." Episodes consist of two "reviews," usually on unrelated topics. They are packed with interesting information about the topics and always consider them carefully. Past reviews have considered the penny, the weather, Hawaiian pizza, and the Lascaux paintings. The Anthropocene Reviewed never fails to make me pause and reflect about an aspect of our world.
...and another: Annotated
Annotated is a monthly Book Riot podcast which presents a radio documentary about a book-adjacent topic. Their tagline is "stories about books, reading, and language." I always learn something listening to Annotated, often about a subject I had never even heard of before. Past episodes have explored Louie Braille, Andrew Carnegie and the American public library, the workings of the New York Times bestseller list, and Truman Capote's short story that ended his career. New episodes come out on the first of the month.
...a TV show: Mars
Mars started its second season this week, and it's a television show unlike any I've ever seen. Part of each episode is a fictionalized story set in the 2030s about a group of scientists trying to establish a permanent research station on Mars. The rest of the program is a present-day documentary about how such a mission could be prepared for an accomplished. It's a unique and effective blend of fact and speculative fiction, the result of which is riveting TV. The first season is available on Blu-ray; the second is currently airing on the National Geographic Channel. The website (linked above) is also well worth checking out. Be warned that the while there's nothing particularly graphic about the show, the fictionalized portions can be intense--there's every reason to believe that life might be lost in such a mission, and the show does not shy away from that fact.
...a documentary: The Most Unknown
A science documentary with an unusual format, The Most Unknown follows nine scientists as they meet fellow scientists working in fields other than their own and learn about those disciplines from their colleagues. The film starts by following one scientist, who then meets and learns from a colleague. Then that colleague meets and learns from someone else, and so on until the chain circles back around to the first scientist. This format allows for a fascinating glimpse into nine different fields--including psychology, marine biology, and particle physics--and showcases learning, science, and curiosity. This is one of the most enjoyable programs I've watched in a long time. The Most Unknown is available on Netflix.
(Podcast links above take you to a web presence for each show, sometimes a website, sometimes a patreon, whevs, something associated directly with that podcast. Invariably, the best way to listen, however, is to subscribe through your podcatcher of choice. If you're looking for a new (or your first) podcatcher, your Googling skills should snag you some good recommendation lists for iphone and Android. I use Podcast Addict. It does the thing.)
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