Podcasts

Matthew is a regular contributor to the Simply Syndicated podcast, Books You Should Read – direct links below.  Please note that these podcasts are intended for an older audience.

Dick Lit (December 2011) In which we look at books specifically aimed at male readers, Tom says the c-word a lot, I go off on some alarming tangents and we say goodbye to Zoe.

The books we looked at were: King Solomon’s Mines by H Rider Haggard, The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum and Man and Boy by Tony Parsons.

From Printed Page to Silver Screen For this one we had a look at some well known novels that ended up being turned into well known films. We then had a big argument about which versions worked best. We also tried to pick out just what it is that makes a successful adaptation.

The books that we looked at were: Jaws by Peter Benchley, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

For some reason this is an extra long episode – possibly because we all got carried away by the horror that is the literary version of Jaws.

Dawkins VS Midgley. It’s on! Due to a recent argument in the pub, we ended up looking at the work of Richard Dawkins – high profile science writer and professional atheist – and moral philosopher Mary Midgley – a massively outspoken critic of Dawkins’ oeuvre. It’s a pretty wide-ranging discussion and we don’t really come to any definite conclusions (other than perhaps that there aren’t any to make) but we hope you enjoy the ride.

The books we looked at were: The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and Evolution as Religion by Mary Midgley.

Oh Those Russians In an attempt to be a bit more intellectual, we thought we might have a look at some of the giants of Russian Literature. Only being quite lazy, we tried to avoid anything over 200 pages long. So I guess I guess this one’s about short books by big writers.

The books we looked at were: Little Fool by Svetlana Vasilenko, The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and The Eye by Vladimir Nabokov.

Chick Lit Fiction aimed at women. This was our Christmas episode and discussion was aided by a large amount of ginger wine.  Apologies in advance for Gloria and Tom’s potty mouths.

The books we looked at were: Rachel’s Holiday by Marianne Keyes, The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer, Mills and Boon (Various Titles), Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding.

English Comic Fiction Books that make you laugh out loud on the train. By English people.

The books we looked at were: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and ¾ by Sue Townsend, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin by David Nobbs, Meet Mr Mulliner by P.G. Wodehouse.

Alternatives to Harry Potter Children’s books with a bit of substance. This was our first episode and we were still learning how to use the microphones so sorry if the sound is a little bit dodge.

The books we looked at were: The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley Holland, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo.