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. 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      

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. Jonathan spends ten minutes or so chatting about living, working, and reading during this Great and Terrible Pause with Rebellion/Solaris Commissioning Editor David Thomas Moore (and a special guest who popped into the room for a little while) and they touch on some wonderful books and the challenges of the time. Books mentioned include: Beyond the Empire by K.B. Wagers Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin Beneath The Rising by Premee Mohamed Weave the Lightning by Cory L. Lee Made to Order edited by Jonathan Strahan Special Guest's Bonus Recommendation Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling        

It’s been two weeks since Jonathan and Gary sat down to chat for the podcast. In the interests of social distancing, they’ve had a replica of the Gershwin Room built a socially responsible distance away from the original so they can talk safely. This time out they chat about science fiction, what they're reading, a theoretical fictional clade that encompasses the work of Philip Jose Farmer, Jack Chalker and Lavie Tidhar, and more. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode and would encourage you to consider donating to Locus or supporting Fran Myman's Patreon.

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 talking to the spectacular Kelly Robson who is in the very centre of the centre of the universe in Toronto and they talk about reading and working during these strange times, finding favourites like Octavia Butler a little too intense for the moment, and how the sequel to Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach might be turning into a novel. Books mentioned include: Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson Monkey Work" by Kelly Robson "La Vitesse" by Kelly Robson (in The Book of Dragons) Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything by Robert M Hazen The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker    

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 chats with Saga Press editorial director Joe Monti who has worked with some of the best writers and artists in science fiction and fantasy and has worked as a literary agent and as a book buyer for a major book chain. In a serious mood, they talk about the impact of the Great and Terrible Pause on book publishing, what Joe has been reading, and what he's publishing. Books mentioned include: The Vlad Taltos Series by Steven Brust Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin The Down Days by Ilze Hugo The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Machine by Elizabeth Bear The Residence by Andrew Piper Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse      

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 with Alyx Dellamonica to talk about writing Dealbreaker - the sequel to their L.X Beckett novel Gamechanger - how living through the pandemic sometimes feels like being stuck in Brendan Fraser's 1999 movie Blast from the Past, the wonders of science, and the comfort of fine crime novels. Books mentioned include: Gamechanger by LX Beckett Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French The Aud Series (The Blue Place, Stay, & Always) by Nicola Griffith      

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. The distinguished "literary horror" icon Brian Evenson chats with Gary about his relationship to genre, whether or not it’s a good idea to read catastrophe fiction in a time of catastrophe, the rewards of reading Gene Wolfe and rereading Algernon Blackwood, and his own forthcoming story collection, The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell. Books mentioned include: Last Days by Brian Evenson Catastrophe and Other Stories by Dino Buzzati The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolfe A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe Incredible Adventures by Algernon Blackwood The Willows by Algernon Blackwood      

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. Gary is joined by science fiction's dean of baseball stories Rick Wilber, whose most recent collection is Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination, to discuss the virtues of Kim Stanley Robinson, the appeal of Korean baseball or the minor leagues, and why baseball has such a strong appeal for mainstream literary novelists and writers from the United States. Books mentioned include: Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination by Rick Wilber Three Californias by Kim Stanley Robinson The Resisters by Gish Jen Enemy Rising: The Cursed Chronicles by C.J. Fisher The Night Soldiers novels by Alan Furst      

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. The multi-talented Elizabeth Hand joins Gary for a discussion of writing in different genres and the good fortune of having readers who follow you from one to the other, the pleasures of returning to Tolkien or to classic ghost stories, the delights of the TV series The Detectorists, and her upcoming noir crime novel, The Book of Lamps and Banners. Books mentioned include: The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand "The Owl Count", in Conjunctions 74: Grendel’s Kin Sin Eater by Megan Campisi State of Wonder by Ann Patchett Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" by Stephen King      

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. As the great and terrible pause grinds on Jonathan spends ten minutes or so talking to Joe Abercrombie about reading for research, Shelby Foote, westerns, some books he's reading, and his own new books, A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace. Books mentioned include: A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie Lionheart by Ben Kane Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy by John Julius Norwich The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry      

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. Another quiet afternoon, so Gary spends ten minutes with multiple Hugo-winning Michael Swanwick about Karl Schroeder, Roger Zelazny, Duke Ellington, collaborating with Gardner Dozois, and Michael’s own remarkable trilogy of genre-mixing stand-alone novels. Books mentioned include: The Iron Dragon’s Mother by Michael Swanwick The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus by Michael Swanwick City Under the Stars by Gardner Dozois and Michael Swanwick Stealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny    

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. Gary is joined by the wonderful Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy-nominated E. Lily Yu who chats about staying curious and involved during stressful times, being kind to yourself, her forthcoming novel On Fragile Waves, and, incidentally, setting blenders on fire and reading cookbooks as condensed narratives. Books mentioned include: On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu (forthcoming in December) The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World: The Definitive Guide to Adapting and Succeeding in High-Performance Careers by Neil Irwin A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker Rambunctious by Rick Wilber      

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. Is ten minutes enough? Not when you're talking to multiple award-winning, bestselling, and widely loved duo Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch who join Jonathan to discuss reading during The Great and Terrible Pause, the importance of supporting creators who are not assholes, the many adaptations of The Taking of Pelham 123, and more!  Books mentioned include: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear Machine by Elizabeth Bear Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo The Force by Don Winslow The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey Agency by William Gibson    

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. Jonathan is joined by Newbery Medal and World Fantasy Award-winning author Kelly Barnhill to discuss the joys of listening to audiobooks, the importance of reading gently, and much more. Books mentioned include: Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill The Ogress at the Far End of Town by Kelly Barnhill (coming next year) The Book of Delights by Ross Gay The Changeling by Joy Williams Washington Black by Esi Edugyan Terry Pratchett audiobooks LeVar Burton reads... (podcast ) What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (read by Levar Burton)    

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 chatting with David Pomerico, the Editorial Director at HarperVoyager in the US, who talks about the pleasure of audiobooks, the importance of following your heart when choosing what you're going to read, and mentions some of the exciting new books he has coming out in 2021 and beyond. Books mentioned include: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction The Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers Wanderers by Chuck Wendig Weather by Jenny Offill      

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. The terrific Nnedi Okorafor joins Gary for an epic thirty-minute discussion on the challenges and rewards of having a lot of deadlines, comfort reading during the lockdown, what it’s like to discover that your daughter actually likes your novels, what Africanfuturism means, and various and exciting media projects, some of which must remain unannounced for the time being. Books mentioned include: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor (forthcoming) Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (forthcoming) Noor by Nnedi Okorafor (in progress) Tales From Moominvalley by Tove Jansson The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler      

This week, returning to our customary format of rambling aimlessly for an hour or so, Jonathan and Gary share observations on what we are learning from our series of Ten Minutes With... podcasts, how the current crisis may or may not be reflected in tomorrow’s SF, the increasing relevance of Kim Stanley Robinson and others who have addressed global issues in the Before Times, the question of whether SF serves more as a mirror or a lamp (to borrow and cheerfully misuse a phrase from M.H. Abrams’s classic study of Romantic literary theory), and. of course, what we’ve been reading and hoping to read in the next few months.

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. Gary spends ten minutes or so with Hugo and Nebula-winning James Patrick Kelly, touching upon the challenges of reading during lockdown, the temptation to argue with the page while reading, the appeal of Raymond Chandler, and the virtues of listening to audiobooks and stories, including his own recent King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats  (also available as an audiobook from his website). Books mentioned include: King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats by James Patrick Kelly Mother Go by James Patrick Kelly Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho The True Queen by Zen Cho Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black (John Banville) Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler      

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. Gary is joined by the wonderful Nalo Hopkinson, who took a few minutes away from a busy semester of suddenly teaching online to chat about the pleasures of hydroponic gardening, catching up on TV shows like Supernatural and The Murdoch Mysteries, her own work on The New Decameron and DC Comics Sandman story House of Whispers, and Sharon Lewis’s film Brown Girl Begins, inspired by Nalo’s novel Brown Girl in the Ring. Books mentioned include: Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson House of Whispers (#s 1-22) by Nalo Hopkinson & Dominike Stanton How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin A New Decameron: Stories for a Plague Year edited by Jo Walton, Maya Chhabra, & Lauren Schiller Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy, & John Je

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 one of our most important novelists, Kim Stanley Robinson, joins Gary for a chat that touches upon the challenges of maintaining a consistent narrative voice in longer works, Daniel Defoe and the origins of the historical novel, Stan’s own new monthly column for Bloomberg Green, and his forthcoming novel, The Ministry for the Future. Books mentioned include: Three Californias by Kim Stanley Robinson The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel Daniel Defoe: His Life by Paul R. Backscheider A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe   ]