Overdue

This isn't an episode of Overdue, it's a Feed Drop! We wanted to share with you an episode of The History of Literature, a podcast about great stories and why we love them.To use host Jacke Wilson's words, the show "takes a fresh look at some of the most compelling examples of creative genius the world has ever known." It's brought to you by the folks at the Podglomerate.You can find more info on The History of Literature here.And don't worry, there'll still be a regularly scheduled episode of Overdue on Monday. But in the meantime, enjoy listening to this discussion of this classic Russian novel!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Clearly it is time we covered Beverly Cleary! In addition to her numerous books starring Ramona Quimby, the late titan of children's fiction penned several novels about a mouse named Ralph who rides a motorcycle. Not quite sure what else you need to know, to be honest. There's a kid named Keith. He and Ralph become friends. Also, we solve the energy crisis thanks to Ralph's motorcycle.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"What if the Axis Powers won World War II?" is one of the most-asked questions in all of speculative fiction, but Jo Walton's Farthing asks "what if Britain didn't exactly LOSE World War II, but ended up sliding into fascism anyway?"Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This isn't an episode of Overdue, it's a Feed Drop! We wanted to share with you an episode of Storybound featuring Tommy Orange reading his short story "Copperopolis" with sound design by Ryan Dann.Storybound is a radio theater program from the folks at Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate. Each episode is a chance to hear a contemporary author read their own work, designed with immersive sound environments.You can find more info on Storybound here, and you can read more about the author and composer here.And don't worry, there'll still be a regularly scheduled episode of Overdue on Monday. But in the meantime, enjoy listening to a professional writer professionally read their own words!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if Cinderella didn't fall for Prince Charming? What if she developed a rich, endearing relationship with the King's Huntress instead? Malinda Lo's retelling of Cinderella blends cultural traditions and remixes key tropes, but also remains true to the folk tale's reverence for love and magic.(Listen, the big boat was floated while we were recording this episode. Our jokes were timely when we made them.)Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to our newest show-within-a-show! We're reading Edith Grossman's translation of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes a few chapters at a time. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption.These episodes cover Chapters 1-14.In Episode 1, we do some table-setting on the author and translation, and then we dive into the first four chapters of the story. In Episode 2, our hero recruits the squire Sancho Panza and goes tilting after some windmills. Also we hear a whole story about a guy who died from lovesickness.Join us as we meet this errant knight-errant!Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if Death was a job, that a guy did? On a Pale Horse has an interesting theology and viewpoint on morality, even if the book's women characters are paper-thin and Piers Anthony is kind of a jabroni.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's time to post at the top of the key and shoot some literary hoops! Pick and roll with us into a poetic novel about brotherhood, family, and passing the rock. Alexander's poetry in The Crossover is eclectic and energetic, which makes for a fun read whether you stan LeBron James or Nikki Giovanni or both!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We don't actually get to the center of the earth this week, but we do TRY to get there, and that has made all the difference. Fans of Craig's French accent get a lot to chew on in this one. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's been a couple of years, so we figured it was time for another listener Q&A! This time we tackle hard-hitting questions like "what kind of books does your baby like" and "what is the best pasta shape." For more information on our bonus episodes, visit patreon.com/overduepod.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the celebrated author of a classic children's novel wanted to write about Adult issues like spinsterhood, pariah-hood, and being told you only have a year to live? L.M. Montgomery asked this question of herself as she sat down to write The Blue Castle. Join us for a discussion of obnoxious families, fairy tales, and botched diagnoses.Check out our previous L.M. Montgomery episode on Anne of Green Gables.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Returning guest Kamille Washington joins us this week to chat about A Promised Land, the first in former President Barack Obama's (planned) two-part presidential autobiography. We talk about the functions these books serve, both for the writer and the reader, and whether this book's recounting of Obama's early presidency squares with our experience with and memory of it a decade later (apologies to our listeners without a working knowledge of US politics, this one might be a little inaccessible). Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

N.K. Jemisin's award-winning Broken Earth trilogy concludes with two powerful magic users trying to harness the moon to bring about an apocalypse to end all apocalypses. We discuss how this book decides to stick its landing, including the impressive detour it takes to do an audacious amount of world-building for a closing entry in a series.Just coming to the series now? Check out our episodes on the previous books: The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gene Wolfe is a sci-fi author's sci-fi author, best known for his descriptive language and a penchant for unreliable narrators. To attempt to discover the REAL meaning of The Ziggurat, we take a break in the middle of this episode to read the story again. It only sort of helps. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're celebrating the fiction-filled and fictional holiday of Short Story Week by sharing two short stories with y'all this week. First up is The Comet, a speculative sci-fi tale by civil rights activist and writer W.E.B. DuBois from his collection Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil. After that is Woeful Tales from Mahigul, a short story collection within a short story collection by Ursula K. Le Guin from her collection Changing Planes. Check out our previous LeGuin episodes on The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas and The Dispossessed.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's time to read a prominent work by a preeminent Canadian (specifically Québécois) author! Join us in Montreal in 1942 and meet a family with lots of problems but lots of heart.Tremblay's known for insightful and whimsical character work, so it's fitting that we spend the bulk of the episode delving into the novel's deep roster of memorable characters. Also Canadian history is pretty interesting!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ancillary Justice is a novel take on sci-fi's "collective consciousness" trope. What if, when cut off from the rest of its collective, an individual member of a collective consciousness just went on existing as an individual? And also what if they were thrust into the center of high-stakes intergalactic political drama? Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The second entry in N.K. Jemisin's award-winning Broken Earth series is centered on a mother/daughter pair of magic users, each learning new ways to use their abilities to heal their shattered world. It is, of course, the second book in a planned trilogy, so we discuss how well it sets up events that will be delivered on in the next book. Just coming to the series now? Check out our episode on the first book: The Fifth Season.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a bit late, but this year we trade a sexy holiday book for a murder mystery holiday book. After a local businessman/pervert turns up dead, it's up to Holly White and her friends in the town of Mistletoe, Maine to figure out who did it and to clear her best friend's name. Find out how to join us for bonus episode recordings at patreon.com/overduepod.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's not referenced as often as George Orwell's 1984, but Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is in some ways a dystopia that's closer to our current reality: a society modeled around a production line, designed to pacify its citizenry while maximizing consumption in whatever way possible. Or maybe that's just our read on it!! Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the finale of Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights). Some Patreon supporters get these episodes early, but we always release them for general consumption later on. In this closing episode, we share stories we've yet to discuss as well as some not included in our edition.Stories covered include: Aladdin, Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves, the Story of the Golden Apples, and more.Programming note: keep an eye on our social feeds for the announcement of our next longread project.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."Maggie O'Farrell's prize-winning novel Hamnet is one of remembrance -- a work of historical fiction about guilt, loss, and the people who live in the margins of a Great Author's biography. Come to marvel at how skillfully O'Farrell shunts William Shakespeare off-stage, stick around for the randy apple storage scene.Thank you all for listening to our show this year!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey dicks and dames, this week we ankle down to the hoosegow to talk about Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. You better hope we can finish talking about it before we get our clocks punched!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our friend Sophie Brookover (co-author of Two Bossy Dames) joins us this week to discuss Never Tell, a romantic thriller written under a nom de plume by prominent politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. It's about a talented criminal psychologist trying to move on from a violent past and the reporter she falls for after that past catches up with her.Learn more about Stacey Abrams and her work in Georgia at fairfight.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're into really focused, plot-driven fantasy, the vague and dreamy world of Palimpsest might not be for you. But if you're into people made out of bees and horny trains that adhere to no schedule but their own, you might just be able to spend a few nights there.Note: this episode bears the Explicit tag because we do talk about some Adult Situations.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another episode of Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights). Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption. In the first half, you'll hear us discuss what misfortunates befall a beloved hunchback and the stories his assailants use to save themselves. In the second, we meet a garrulous barber and his many unfortunate brothers.Stories covered in Nights 102-170 include: The Story of the Hunchback Parts 1 & 2, which include tales from several subjects of the King of China and a barber who won't shut up.Programming note: this is our penultimate episode of Genie Babies. Our next and final installment will be a mix of closing thoughts and stories we didn't have time to cover.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our podcast turns its lonely ears to you. Woo-woo-oooThe Graduate is a story about the ennuied Benjamin Braddock, the provocative Mrs. Robinson, and the affair they embark upon that upends their lives. The iconic 1967 film adaptation is perhaps more famous than Webb's book, but the novel does contain all of the classic lines and moments you remember. Even the wedding and the bus at the end!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Buried Giant is a sort of inversion of a typical fantasy novel - instead of a young person setting out to change the world, we get some aging heroes at the end of the Arthurian era trying to decide how everything is going to wind down.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning play is about two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, and the elaborate con that is their shared history. Tune in for a conversation about Suzan-Lori Parks' place in American theater, some patter from the street game three-card monte, and the open question that haunts your hosts: who is top dog of Overdue?Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is Chrestomanci a type of magic? A government office? A person? Find out in the first of Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci novels. Join us for a discussion of the nine-lived Cat and his sister Gwendolyn, magical pranks, and mystical multiverses.Looking for more DWJ? Check out Ep 201 - Howl's Moving Castle.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Ruff's 2016 novel about two Black families fighting the forces of evil riffs on Lovecraftian fiction by focusing in on the cosmic horror that is America's racist past, present, and future. We dive into each of the interconnected stories and spend some time comparing the overall vibe to that of HBO's recent TV adaptation.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Find our how to join us for bonus episode recordings at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, which means he travels the realm witching. What does that mean exactly? It's a little unclear! But Sapkowksi's protagonist and the world he inhabits have proven popular enough to warrant several novels, videogames, and screen adaptations. Toss a coin to your podcast, why don'tcha?For more on voting in the 2020 election here in the United States, head to votesaveamerica.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you wanted more of your books to be metatextual pseudo-screenplays then Demon Theory is for you! If you do not want your books to be that, however, Demon Theory may not be for you.For more on voting in the 2020 election here in the United States, head to votesaveamerica.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Opera's alive with the sound of music! It's time to dive into the serialized story-slash-novel that spawned one of the most successful musicals of all time. (The one by Andrew Lloyd Webber, maybe you've heard of it?) It's pretty different, it seems? For more on voting in the 2020 election here in the United States, head to votesaveamerica.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we choose to travel to Mother Russia to make jingoistic jokes and hang out with Rasputin, every 90s kid's favorite historical figure! Not sure what's going on with the voices in this one. For more on voting in the 2020 election here in the United States, head to votesaveamerica.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Spooktober 2020! What's scarier than a story about a teenage girl who falls in with a family of vampires? 160 more pages than the original story and it's all from the sad vampire boy's perspective!Meyer's companion novel to the original Twilight reminds us what we did and didn't like about the series, as well as fleshes out a bit of the story from Edward's gleaming eyes. But, really, it's just very long.For more on the Quileute Move to Higher Ground Project, head to mthg.org.For more on voting in the 2020 election here in the United States, head to votesaveamerica.com.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another episode of Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights). Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption. In the first half, you'll hear us discuss the beginning of a "wacky" night with three sisters and their houseguests. In the second, we'll conclude the tales of the dervishes and get to the bottom of some magic mysteries.Stories covered in Nights 28-69 include: The Story of the Porter and the Three Ladies, which includes tales from three dervishes, two ladies, and a nosy caliph.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we answer the question on everyone's minds: why, the last man? This mid-2000s graphic novel imagines a world without men, a specific kind of apocalypse with a different flavor from The Leftovers or other "what if X suddenly disappeared from Earth forever" fiction.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

C Pam Zhang's Booker Prize-listed debut novel focuses on a family of Chinese immigrants working coal mines, panning streams, and laying railroads in the American West. Her characters, myth-making, and lyrical style work to correct the historical record with specificity and humanity.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael Chabon's 2007 alternate history novel is a murder mystery featuring a hard-boiled detective, though neither the detective nor the murder mystery are the most memorable parts of it. The alternate history part, along with Chabon's prose, are enough to make up for whatever other shortcomings the novel might have.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if all we knew about alien culture was their garbage? Or is it their garbage? The Strugatsky brothers' most famous novel is about a world where stalkers crawl through hazardous Zones for precious artifacts. Also it's about hope, bureaucracy, and our relationship to the unknown.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We just couldn't resist another trip to Panem! This origin story for the trilogy's primary villain, Coriolanus Snow, takes us all the way back to the 10th Annual Hunger Games. Things are a little less flashy, but no less deadly. Struggle along with us through the hunger, through the games, and through the limits of fiction told through the antagonist's eyes.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Find our how to join us for bonus episode recordings at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us and our possibly imaginary gigantic anthropomorphic rabbit for a discussion about a play that just HAPPENS to be about a man who is friends with a possibly imaginary gigantic anthropomorphic rabbit. Funny how that works out!Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've all heard that a tree grows in Brooklyn. But what ELSE grows there? A love of reading? A bootstraps narrative? We get to the root of the mystery this week on Overdue.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eggs is a book that has eggs in it, but also adolescent pain and friendship. Eggs! Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lauren Oliver's first novel is about a teenage girl forced to relive the last day of her life over and over again. What can she change? What should she change? And how will she change? Find out the answers to those questions and more (namely, how all time loop fiction is beholden to the 1993 film Groundhog Day) in this week's episode.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Children of Blood and Bone takes familiar fantasy tropes and puts them in a new context, which makes them unexpectedly poignant and powerful. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On our newest show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights). Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consumption. In the first half, you'll hear us discuss the some of the background scholarship as well as the stories that setup the collection. In the second, we'll dive deeper into some nested tales where demons truly thrive. In both halves, we'll grapple with the heaping helpings of misogyny that accompany these wild tales! Stories covered in Nights 1-27 include: The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad, His Visier's Daughter; The Story of the Merchant and the Demon; and The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon, which includes tales about King Yunan, a talking parrot, a She-Ghoul, and a stony prince.Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everything happens for a reason in James McBride's new novel. It's September of 1969 and a doddering Brooklyn deacon just shot the neighborhood's top drug dealer. The events set in motion touch every member of the community - from its 102-year-old founder to the fire ants in the boiler room - and help them build a future as the world changes around them.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can our podcast truly capture the depth of a renowned Brazilian novelist's final work? This question mirrors one asked by the narrator of The Hour of the Star, whose attempts to portray a young woman's pitiable existence are hindered by his fears that he will never do her story justice. Also, Craig talks into a sock.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.