Welcome back to a very spoooooky part two of the Novel Ideas Halloween Extravaganza (consisting of two episodes of questionable quality). This episode is about The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is probably best known for her excellent short story, “The Lottery,” which you can read by clicking on the link. In […]

Novel Ideas

The Haunting of Hill House

Time for a spoooooky Halloween double feature from Novel Ideas! This week we discussed The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, a classic ghost novel from the turn of the (20th) century. In this episode, we talk about 19th century framing devices, horror tropes, class, and classic versus modern audience expectations. We also cover literary […]

The Turn of the Screw

Hello, fans, listeners, and non-listening readers of this post. This episode of Novel Ideas is about Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, a sort-of-memoir/sort-of-fictional anthology set in and around the Vietnam War. In this episode we discuss classroom books, ambiguity, character archetypes, and unreliable narrators. We also talk about what we carry, lengthy gaps between recording […]

The Things They Carried

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled podcast with a special, albeit belated, episode. We decided to sit down and discuss the 2017 Hugo Award Nominees for Best Novel. Extra heavy spoiler alert on this episode, as every book we talk about was published in 2016 at the earliest. In addition to touching on every nominated book, […]

2017 Hugo Noms

After a long hiatus, Novel Ideas has returned with an episode about Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Ignore anything we say about timing in this episode as we recorded it back in March. I’d apologize, but by now you’ve been burned so many times by our erratic schedule that you would probably assume that I don’t mean […]

Homegoing

This week on Novel Ideas, we are discussing a listener suggested book, A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner. In this episode, we have a bit of a role reversal at the top of the episode due to an attempted technical workaround that didn’t end up working. Or perhaps it’s better if […]

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend

Novel Ideas, in a completionist turn, brings you Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (but really by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany). In this episode we discuss insane bestselling sales, the nature of long delayed sequels, time travel plots, and how plays differ from novels. We also talk about the influence of cocaine […]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Happy New Year! We’re back with a classic in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, a book that many would call a quintessential American girl’s tale. Do we agree with this assessment? You’ll find out if you listen to this episode. You’ll also discover what we think about feminism in historical context, question certain self-improvements, agree with […]

Little Women

Novel Ideas apologizes for the delay, but we return with a new episode on N.K. Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate. This novel is the sequel to The Fifth Season, the Hugo award winner and a Novel Ideas favorite. We should warn you going in, since this is a recent publication, this episode is chock full of spoilers. In […]

The Obelisk Gate

Novel Ideas makes its return after too long away. This episode is about Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, a story about a quirky quirkster and a sad sack in a wheelchair. In this one we discuss ableism, depression, class, and assisted suicide, subjects which may cause you to feel icky. We also talk about our […]

Me Before You

Novel Ideas returns with Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, the winner of the Nebula award in the novella category this year. In this episode, we discuss empathy, outsider perspectives, colonialism, and forgiveness. We also talk about the lack of snark, kindergarten level thinking, adult hair touching, and not being a hater. The music bump is “All is […]

Binti

Here is the second half of our conversation about the publishing industry, this time focusing on newspapers, magazines, and the internet. In this episode we discuss the possible death of newspapers, why magazines are still doing okay, clickbait, and whether the word “content” is overused. We also talk about how to break into the industry […]

Publishing Extravaganza Part 2

This week, on a very special Novel Ideas, Gabs has an important message for Ben. Is it time for Ben to finally kick his coke habit? No, it’s time to tell him everything she knows about the publishing industry. Well, as much as she can condense two years of school into two hours of podcast. […]

Publishing Extravaganza Part 1

Welcome to the March edition of Novel Ideas, featuring The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In this episode we talk about the genre of the children’s novel, colonialism, subversions, and–need I say it?–feminism. We also discuss why Colin is kind of a dick, plot related illnesses, failed attempts at comic relief, and children’s dialogue. Gabs […]

The Secret Garden

The Novel Ideas roulette wheel landed on a classic this month, so we’re back with The Color Purple by Alice Walker. In this episode we discuss racism, injustice, abuse, and other upsetting things. We also talk about the cold open, black comedy, down home cookin’, and laughably ineffective missionaries. The music bump is Ella Fitzgerald with […]

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