Overdue is a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. Join Andrew and Craig each week as they tackle a new title from their backlog. Classic literature, obscure plays, goofy childen’s books: they'll read it all, one overdue book at a time.
Join us for the second installment in our four-part journey down to Mordor with J.R.R. Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings series. Craig's sister Jillian remains in the fellowship for a Family Size episode on The Fellowship of the Ring.Talking points include elven paradises, stranger danger, bath time songs, and the difference between dipping and bouncing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic of American literature, and for good reason. The follow-up-slash-first-draft, Go Set a Watchman, doesn't have the same impact, but it's a fascinating look at how books change during the editing process. This show was recorded live in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks to everyone who came out! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
There's a reason why words like "Orwellian" and "thoughtcrime" have stuck in the public consciousness for more than 65 years, and that reason is George Orwell's 1984. A denser, more complex read than Orwell's also-famous Animal Farm, 1984 is a story about systemic government oppression and the dark side of humanity. We lighten up the proceedings a bit with talk about not one but TWO Hank Williams Jr. songs, the wonders of modern technology, and criticism of criticism of criticism.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This is the first entry in our four-part journey down the J.R.R. Tolkien rabbit hole that so many of you wanted us to journey down. Andrew and Craig have both already read The Hobbit, the shorter, lighter prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so Craig's sister Jillian joins us for the ride. Join us for a talk about Tolkien, bedazzled dragons, and one weird trick that giant spiders will HATE. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Robert Penn Warren's 1947 Pulitzer Prize winning novel All the King's Men has been called "uneven as a corduroy road," "sloppy," and "one of American literature's definitive political novels." That all seems accurate when you consider that it's a 600-page melange of detective work, City Hall intrigue, and philosophizing about the fallibility of man. Join us this week for a discussion of headgums and selling out, movie-burping, New Criticism, meat axes, Huey Long, and the bummer that is American politics.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Not all mystery novels are about stolen jewels, secret passageways, and shifty butlers. Sometimes, they're just about a man in a hospital bed who becomes obsessed with Richard III. Joining us this week is special guest Lauren Spohrer of the true crime podcast Criminal, who takes us through Josephine Tey's renowned mystery The Daughter of Time. Other talking points include how winners write history, the dos and don'ts of detective work, the Society of Richard III, and a Very Private Person.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
If you've ever worked in an office, at least a passage or two in Joshua Ferris' Then We Came To The End is going to resonate with you. Few books so accurately capture the extremely important, unimportant minutiae of office life. Join us for our office ruminations, some fall follies, and some email-related observations. It's just as fun as it sounds! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
One of Edith Wharton's few stories set outside the realm of the American upper class, Ethan Frome is a story about a Massachusetts farmer trying to live out his heart-dreams. Join us for a discussion of his totally-not-okay heart dreams, Andrew's cat Newman, ghosts, makeup, Seinfeld, and pickle dishes.(That list makes it sound like we didn't talk about the book, but we totally did. We promise.)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
We go out in the wilderness for this month's bonus episode, living off the land and making friends with animals and playing homemade flutes with our new bestest buddy Bando. We also talk about our secrets, the ways an adult should respond when presented with a 12-year-old who appears to be homeless, and a whole lot more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Coming-of-age novels are a dime a dozen, but Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is one of the best known. It's such a significant work that we invited our pal Margaret H. Willison back to help us through it—she is, obviously, an expert on all things Margaret. This week we talk about our changing bodies, running for no reason, and some truly horrifying bra shopping experiences. Enjoy!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Margaret Edson's rewarding play Wit (sometimes spelled W;t) is not light, boulevard comedy fare. Inspired by Edson's time in a Washington, D.C. research hospital, the play tackles death from a number of angles including cancer treatments and 17th-century poetry. But what makes it such an enduring entry into the modern canon is how Edson handles these subjects with surprising humor and, well, wit. (Sorry.) Discussion points include legacy, favorite teachers from our childhood, and what we lose as we fight to stay alive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Most people familiar with C.S. Lewis' work will have come to him via the Chronicles of Narnia, a series of fantasy books that's defined for better or worse by its heavy-handed Biblical allegory. Till We Have Faces, Lewis' last novel, certainly deals with some of the same themes. But it's also a retelling of the classic Cupid and Psyche myth that originally appeared in Apuleius' The Golden Ass in the late 2nd century. Join us as we talk about the myth retold, Lewis' Christian roots, and what happens when Heaven and Hell host the Olympics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse is a modernist classic. Rich in lyrical prose and unrelenting streams of conciousness, Lighthouse set a standard for peering into characters' heads and hearts and relaying the contents back to the reader. It also closely mirrors portions of Woolf's life - particularly her summers in St. Ives and the devastating loss of her mother at a young age. Discussion points this week include bag shoes, second helpings of soup, and the difficulties of conveying via podcast this book's lasting appeal. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
YOU: An intrepid spaceboy, graduating at the top of your class at Space Academy. YOUR MISSION: Find and destroy the evil space vampire at any cost! Our fourth Choose Your Own Adventure outing takes us into deep space and beyond—join us as we hijack advanced spacecraft, evade arrest, and drift through the vast inky void of space. Will we catch that nefarious SPACE VAMPIRE? There's only one way to find out!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Harlan Ellison is a man whose reputation precedes him. His long and storied career as a sci-fi and speculative fiction writer is peppered with curmudgeonly diatribes and public incidents, many as interesting as the best of the thousand or so stories he churned out across books, television and film. His classic story A Boy and His Dog takes quite a dim view of a post-WW3 apocalypse, so buckle up for another week spent discussing the depth's of humanity's depravity. In an attempt to lighten the mood, we also talk about dog literacy and allow Andrew's cat Newman to make a cameo.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.