Category: Podcasts

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Wednesday Reads/Listens: Catch Up Post

Welcome to Wednesday Reads/Listens!  It’s been a hot moment since I did one of these.   So here you go!

What I’ve Been Reading:

The Only Harmless Great Thing – Brooke Bolander

Everyone read this book. Everyone read this book and then come talk to me about it. Because this is a slim but majestic book that will leave you breathless with the delight of the prose.

The Sumage Solution – by Gail Carriger

Oh this was a delight and I cannot wait for the next one. The worldbuilding is great and the characterization is delightful and I super love the way that she builds her stories

Omega Required – Dessa Lux

The first novel length story from this author and I looove this one. I love her worldbuilding and her shifters and just the amount of sleep I lost over this book cause I couldn’t stop reading it. I really hope there are like 20 sequels to this.

The City Born Great – N.K. Jemisin
A short story but an AMAZING one. Definitely pick this one up. It’s hard to describe, but definitely worth the time.

Emily Wilson’s The Odyssey –

Oh. OH. This translation is everything I wanted and never knew I needed.

A Queen From The North – Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese

This was absolutely delightful – an alternate universe of England where everything is just a little to the left and it’s positively awesome.

The Brightest Fell – Seanan McGuire

It’s okay. I didn’t need my heart. Totally fine.

A whole lot of Ursula K. LeGuin essays and books and stories- but that’s going to have to be a separate post.

And a whole bunch of fanfic and news articles.  Poke me if you want some of those links!

What I’ve Been Listening To (podcasts that make me scream in delight, send shivers down my spine, tickle me because of the sheer meta levels of NERD, and generally give me A Strong Emotion):

Steal The Stars – a wholly interesting audio drama full of twists and turns and some excellent character moments. Protagonist is female and completely kick ass.  This is the inaugural podcast of Tor Labs and it’s weird and quirky and I sort of want to know more and I sort of am happy with where they left it.

Ars Paradoxica – This continues to delight and thrill me and I’m going to be sad when it ends. Featuring an ace female protagonist!!!  Also time travel,  so much weird, small government towns, and a Partridge in a pair tree.

The Bright Sessions – OH this one is so good. SO GOOD and I am sad to see it ending too even if there are more spinoffs planned.  Just SO much emotional connection to these characters and their stories and just OMG.  I remain forever emotionally compromised by this show and I welcome it because it’s brilliant and just so amazing.

Tanis/The Last Movie/The Black Tapes/Rabbits – how much do I love these? Let me count the ways. I love the plotting and the craft and the everything. I love that I am incredibly terrified that one of these days I will actually have to listen to Nic Silver die over the radio because his reporter dumb can’t stop touching the thing. MK is amazing. I have serious qualms about Alex’s ethical boundaries and I super love the messiness of it all.  I feel for Strand.   I adore Carly Parker so hardcore.   I love how they captured the weird spooky feeling you get when you visit some places in the Pacific Northwest.

I’m pretty sure all four are connected and it’s gonna end with them accidentally raising an Elder God ( I could go on, but then we verge into spoiler territory).

Casefile True Crime – this is sincerely the best true crime podcast out there. I love the host, the music, the research they put into everything. It’s amazing.  ESPECIALLY the series about the Night Stalker/East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer.

The FBI Basement – recaps of the X-Files from the beginning with a whole host of hysterical characters. I love the nerdery involved and all the details they mention and just everything.

Why Is This Happening – Chris Hayes’ new podcast and it’s awesome. It’s SO worth it. He covers some amazing topics and it’s great to hear him and the experts he talks to break down the subject matter into easily understandable chunks.

I will stop there for the evening.  But hey, if you’ve read any of these books or listened to any of these podcasts, come chat with me!   I’d love to hear what other people think of any of the above.

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Movie Review: Murder On the Orient Express

So earlier this week, I had the honor of being asked to be on a podcast for the ESO Network who are a large group of amazing geeky people.  I’ve had run-ins with them before at conventions and technically I’ve been on a few podcasts of theirs by virtue of simply being on a panel they were recording, but this was the first formal invitation.   So I got put into the Geek Seat.

Ya’ll.  I have hardly ever giggled or laughed that much in such a short period of time, it was amazing.   So if you want to hear me answer some hysterical questions all about nerdity and geekery and then a panel review with me and several of the other amazing ESO hosts about the latest adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, give this episode a listen.   Click on the picture below to take you to the direct link for the podcast OR  find it where you find all great podcasts.

I really enjoyed the movie itself, though I will freely admit that I walked into it having freshly re-read the book so I could do a better compare and contrast and with having seen several of the other adaptations.   The book is a wonderful character piece and the movie portrays that well.  Kenneth Branagh does a great job with the role of Hercule Poirot, though much like with Doctor Who, he’ll never be my Poirot ( David Suchet, if you wondered, I watched a lot of PBS as a kid).   He did the role justice though and it’s my second favorite adaptation of this book.    The rest of the cast is fabulous and there’s a lot in there to unpack.  The movie isn’t as long as I thought it would be and it drags a little in some odd places.   Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5 (with the .5 attributed to nostalgia because I love Poirot and hope this will inspire fresh interest in Agatha’s works).

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Podcast Recs: TANIS

Because storytelling is storytelling, no matter what form it takes.  There are some truly astounding podcasts out there for whatever you seem to be interested in. One of my favorites is TANIS, produced by the Pacific Radio Alliance and hosted by Nic Silver.  They have other amazing podcasts, but TANIS has a special place in my heart.

Tanis Logo (taken from Tanis Podcast website)

 

 

This podcast blends real life facts and fictional mythologies to give us a genuinely intriguing mystery.  Currently on season three, you’ll easily get swept away by Nic’s narrative as he tries to untangle the mysteries surrounding this maybe mythical, maybe not, place called TANIS.    You’ll meet some really amazing secondary characters and the web of Tanis will slowly but surely suck you in.   Like the website says, “Tanis is an exploration of the nature of truth, conspiracy, and information.”   What happens when the lines between reality and fiction start to blur together and you’re left wondering which side of the line you’re actually on.

Runners Wanted Poster ( taken from Tanis podcast website)

If you are anything like me, at some point, the words “NIC SILVER NO.  DO NOT DO THAT THING” will come out of your mouth at the phone/IThing/computer because there are several of those moments where you get involved in the lives and the shenanigans and you will possibly wonder if maybe, just maybe you are going to hear someone actually die over the radio. 

Anyways, if you enjoy things that are weird, things that are mysterious, the Cthulhu mythos, Jack Parsons, or random disappearances into strange forests, give this podcast a try.

Because after all.  There are wondrous things.  There are magical things. There are dangerous things.  We get what we deserve.

Runners Wanted.

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