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 this strange time. Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Alex Irvine, award-winning author of A Scattering of Jades, One King, One Soldier, The Narrows, and Buyout and they discuss the pleasure of re-reading the crime novels of Elmore Leonard and Tristram Shandy, a biography of Blake, Salman Rushdie’s take on Quixote, and Alex's new short novel, Anthropocene Rag. Books mentioned include: Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine The crime novels of Elmore Leonard The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne Blake by Peter Ackroyd Quichotte by Salman Rushdie There There by Tommy Orange

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 this strange time. Jonathan spends time with Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Shirley Jackson Award nominee Tamsyn Muir to discuss the comfort of reading mystery novels, the pleasures of early Georgette Heyer, the delay to Harrow the Ninth and Tamsyn even sneaks in some information on new projects. Books mentioned include: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Simon the Coldheart by Georgette Heyer The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey Beyond the Aquila Rift by Alastair Reynolds

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 this strange time. Today Gary spends ten minutes with multiple award winner Andy Duncan, touching upon vintage stand-up comedy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, classic UFO lore, Sarah Pinsker's prescient yet hopeful novel Song for a New Day, and his own forthcoming story, "The All Go Hungry Hash House". Books mentioned include: An Agent of Utopia by Andy Duncan How to Talk Dirty and Influence People by Lenny Bruce A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker "The All Go Hungry Hash House" by Andy Duncan in Galactic Stew.

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 this strange time. Today Gary spends ten minutes with World Fantasy and Nebula Award-winning author Ellen Klages, who most recently added the New York Historical Society Children's Book Prize and the Ohioana Book Award for Out of Left Field to her resume. It turns out that Jonathan persuaded her to try the first volume of Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series—the same ones he and James Bradley discussed on an earlier episode of Ten Minutes with...  She’s also been getting into locked-room murder mysteries. Books mentioned in this episode include: Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty While the Clock Ticked (The Hardy Boys) by Franklin W. Dixon The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries by Otto Penzler, ed. The Book of Dragons b

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 this strange time. Today Jonathan spends Ten Minutes with Garth Nix, who talked about Hilary Mantel, Oliver Cromwell, and more. Garth's Angel Mage is out now and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is due soon (though not soon enough for one unnamed Coode Streeter). Books mentioned include: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel Thomas Cromwell by Diarmaid MacCulloch Angel Mage by Garth Nix The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan

This week, Jonathan and Gary are back together (with no guests) for the first time in several weeks, and we discuss the inevitable: the current pandemic, and the various ways in which it was and was not anticipated by past science fiction narratives—not only of worldwide plagues but of alien invasion stories and tales of isolation. But we also find time to touch upon the reading we’ve both been up to, including Gene Wolfe’s final novel, Lavie Tidhar’s reinvention of the Arthurian tales By Force Alone and some recent titles edited by Jonathan himself, including Zen Cho’s The Order of the Full Moon Reflected in Water and Alex Irvine’s Anthropocene Rag. We also encourage listeners to check out our newly launched series of short "Ten Minutes With . . ." podcasts, and to support not only their local bookstores, but independent publishers, including our beloved Locus magazine, who like so many people are facing unprecedented stresses in the current economic environment.

Today Gary spends Ten Minutes with Naomi Kritzer, whose wonderful YA novel Catfishing on CatNet is a finalist for this year’s Andre Norton, Edgar, and Minnesota Book Awards, and whose Tor.com story “Little Free Library” is available on April 8. Books mentioned include: The Years that Matter Most How College Makes or Breaks Us by Paul Tough The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen World of the Five Gods series by Lois McMaster Bujold "So Much Cooking," by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld) "Little Free Library," by Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com) A New Decameron: Stories for a Plague Year by Jo Walton ed. (Patreon.com)

And we're doing it! One episode every day, without apology (almost)  Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with the incredible Jeffrey Ford who, despite somewhat terrible audio at his end, is wonderful company as he talks about what he's reading to get through the apocalypse and what you might.   What are you reading right now (and what do you think of it: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel The Blizzard by Vladimir Sorokin The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson What would you recommend people read if they’re shut in (and why) The Summer Book by Tove Jansson Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf The Man Who Watched Trains Go By by Georges Simenon Prosper’s Demon by K.J. Parker   What do you have out in the world right now or coming soon you’d like to mention (optional) The Best of Jeffrey Ford (PS Publishing) Out of Body, Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com)

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes talking to the fabulous Tochi Onyebuchi about reading for pleasure, writing in a time of crisis, what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, and what he's been writing.  As always, our sincere thanks to Tochi for being part of this crazy project. Books mentioned include: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi

Last year saw the publication of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, the enchanting debut novel from Alix E. Harrow.  Today, in our continuing "Ten Minutes with..." series of short podcasts, Jonathan sits down with Alix to talk about the inordinate good fortune of being a writer asked to blurb the most awesome of books, what to read if you're looking for something to challenge you in these dark times, and what to read if you're just looking for a little bit of respite.  Books mentioned in this episode include: Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Broken Earth Trilogy by N K Jemisin The Brother Sinisters series by Courtney Milan The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

And now for something a little different. Jonathan spends ten minutes with James Bradley, author of the fabulous new novel Ghost Species to discuss Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series of crime novels which starts with The Cold, Cold Ground; Lily King's Writers & Lovers, and much more. Books mentioned in this episode include: The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty Writers & Lovers by Lily King Ghost Species by James Bradley The Electric State by Simon Stalenhag Some more things James has read recently that he highly recommends: Bridge 108 by Anne Charnock Greenwood by Michael Christie Agency by William Gibson Zero Bomb by MT Hill The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel Gathering Evidence by Martin MacInnes Circe by Madeleine Miller Weather by Jenny Offill Some books James is looking forward to a lot: Mammoth by Chris Flynn The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel War of the Maps by Paul McAuley The Trespassers by Meg Mundell Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer

Today Gary Wolfe spends ten minutes with Nisi Shawl, who is currently preparing her introduction to the Library of America edition of Octavia Butler's work. They briefly touch upon Cory Doctorow as well as Nisi’s recent mini-collection from PM Press, Talk Like a Man, and the forthcoming sequel to her Nebula-nominated novel Everfair.   Books mentioned in this episode include: Fledgling by Octavia Butler Walkaway by Cory Doctorow Talk Like a Man by Nisi Shawl Everfair by Nisi Shawl

In the second of our all-new "Ten Minutes with..." series, Jonathan spends ten minutes (well, nearly twenty) with critic and reviewer Ian Mond talking about the book he's reading right now and the books he recommends for those with a little time on their hands (some of which he's reviewing for Locus). Books mentioned in this episode include: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Bubblegum by Adam Levin We All Hear Stories in the Dark by Robert Shearman Providence by Max Barry Ghost Species by James Bradley Pew by Catherine Lacey Temporary by Hilary Leichter 

And now for something a little different. With all of us staying indoors, the team at Coode Street thought it might be fun to get in touch with some of our favourite people - writers, artists, and just folk we like to hang out with - and ask them what they're reading at the moment, what they recommend to read if you're currently hanging around indoors a lot, and maybe to let us know what they've been doing to. For the very first of this "Ten Minutes with..." series, Gary calls up Sarah Pinsker to chat with her about her insanely prescient novel, A Song for a New Day, and what she's been reading.  Books discussed in this episode include:

This week Jonathan and Gary have a lively discussion with the wonderful N.K. Jemisin, mostly about her new novel The City We Became (you can read the short story that inspired the novel at Tor.com), but with fascinating side discussions about living in New York and trying to capture and celebrate it in fiction; the vices and virtues of H.P. Lovecraft and his difficulties in dealing with Brooklyn; the comparative challenges of world-building in an invented versus a recognizable world; how her work as a psychologist has informed her fiction; and a couple of side trips about the short stories in her recent short story collection How Long Til Black Future Month?  With most book tours cancelled (including hers), this is a good way to spend some time with one of our most interesting and innovative writers. As always, our thanks to Nora for making time to join us, and we hope you enjoy the episode. See you in two weeks (and stay safe and well!)

This week Gary and Jonathan are joined by a long time friend of the podcast, Ken Liu, to discuss his new short story collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, approaching the end of his epic silkpunk fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, and how having good stories is more important to a society than having good institutions. Along the way, we talk about history, life, evolving art, and much, more more. The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is out now and The Veiled Throne is out early next year.  As always, we'd like to thank Ken for making time to join us and hope that you all enjoy the episode.  See you in two weeks with more!  

As usual on this week’s Coode Street, Jonathan and Gary discuss what they’ve been reading lately, with a particular focus on how apocalyptic fiction has evolved over the decades, and how writers like Kim Stanley Robinson have found ways of finding some sort of hope even in the face of what increasingly seems inevitable. This being the start of awards season, they also spend some time discussing the finalists for the Nebula, Stoker, and Spectrum awards, as well as the new Ray Bradbury Prize from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Mostly, though, they focus on the Nebulas, and the interesting question of whether Nebula nominees which had a lot of buzz years or decades ago still have impact today. We stop short of guessing which of this year’s nominees will have readers in another decade or so. Among current and forthcoming books, Gary sounds pretty enthusiastic about the new Liz Williams novel Comet Season and James Bradley's forthcoming novel, Ghost Species.

In the second (or maybe third) episode in our new bi-weekly schedule, Jonathan and Gary eventually get around to the question of what books to recommend to someone new to science fiction and fantasy or someone who’s been away from the field for years or even decades. The standard answer to this a generation ago—Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke—hardly provides an intro to modern SF, and while names like Le Guin and Butler still seem helpful, the question remains what current authors are good entry points. Along the way, we touch upon N.K. Jemisin’s forthcoming The City We Became, which Octavia Butler novel might be the best to start with, Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels, including the recent reissue of his California trilogy along with Maureen McHugh’s China Mountain Zhang. But first, Gary complains about the overused shorthand of describing a new novel in terms of other novels (“think Novel X meets Novel Y”), and the habit of publicists and even reviewers of describing novels as “for both literary and genre readers

This week, after more or less inadvertently falling into a discussion of Simon Jimenez’s new novel The Vanished Birds (Del Rey) and whether it will successfully gain attention from both SF and mainstream literary readers, Jonathan and Gary mention a few other forthcoming books and eventually circle in on a discussion of fandom—what it means to be a fan, different kinds of fandom, and questions of what happens when you stop being a fan of a particular series or author, what major works you may have missed or over-looked despite considering yourself a fan of the author, and why some fans drift away in the face of too much sameness, while others remain fans because of that sameness.  Characteristically, we fail to adequately answer any of these questions, but at least we raise them.  Next episode We are officially moving from a weekly schedule to a two-weekly schedule, so look for the next episode on the weekend of Febuary 8th, wherever good podcasts are sold.

After last week’s episode where Jonathan and Gary discussed their favourite books from 2019, this time they talk about books they're looking forward to in 2020 (a few of which, in fairness, they’ve already seen or in Jonathan’s case even edited). It’s a pretty varied list, and probably incomplete, so feel free to suggest more titles that we might not have known about. Overall, though, 2020 is starting off as a pretty promising year. Gary's list Susanna Clarke, Piranesi William Gibson, Agency M. John Harrison, The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became Hao Jingfang, Vagabonds Nancy Kress, Eleventh Gate and Sea Change Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant Ken Liu, The Veiled Throne Paul J. McCauley, War of the Maps Tamsin Muir, Harrow the Ninth Tochi Onyebuchi, Riot Baby K.M. Szpara, Docile Lavie Tidhar, By Force Alone Jo Walton, Or What You Will Gene Wolfe, Interlibrary Loan Alexander Irvine, Anthropocene Rag Greg Egan, Dispersion Jeffrey Ford, Out of Body The Best of