Between 1979 and 1981, at least 28 black children and adults were killed by a serial killer in Atlanta. Tayari Jones grew up in Atlanta in this time period, and two of the murdered children were from her elementary school. Leaving Atlanta is about those experiences–what it’s like to be a black child in a time and place where black children are being snatched and murdered. It is a little bit like being afraid for your life, but it’s much more like going to school and worrying about the distinction between being from near the projects rather than actually from…
14 CommentsReading the End Posts
This week we’re here to talk about the thingness of books–why we like physical books, why we buy ebooks, and BOOKS IN BOXES (well, that part is mostly me), review Marisha Pessl’s wonderful new book Night Film (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository), and play a game of guessing where movies came from. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 6 Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We…
6 Comments(Also, there was never a bad time to read Mary Renault.) Almost the whole of Mary Renault’s oeuvre is being put into e-book format as of next week. !!!!!! As you may know if you have hung around this blog or reviewed Song of Achilles or spoken of Mary Renault at all in any way ever, I am a huge huge HUGE fan of hers. My lovely mother handed me Fire from Heaven when I was thirteen or so, and I have loved Mary Renault ever since then. No author I have ever read before or since has managed to…
28 CommentsI have been burning through PaperbackSwap credits like they aren’t making them anymore, y’all. All of a sudden, everything on my wish list has been coming in at once. Lovely PaperbackSwap. If you are not familiar with them, please let me know and I will send you a referral. I have gotten such wonderful books from PaperbackSwap, including both of Joan Wyndham’s first two books (which are the two I wanted anyway). And earlier this month I got Cuckoo in the Nest, another Michelle Magorian book about British evacuees and their challenges on both ends of the evacuation process. (The…
11 CommentsI am declaring a personal moratorium on books and shows and movies about kidnapped-presumed-raped-and-murdered girls. I don’t care how awesome the shows or books or movies are. I don’t care if they are Twin Peaks, a show I have still not seen in spite of its fanatical popularity in certain circles and now may NEVER SEE because I have absolutely had it with this storyline. This weekend I read Sara Zarr’s Once Was Lost. Once Was Lost is a pretty good book, per usual for Sara Zarr. It speaks thoughtfully about questions of faith and the benefits and drawbacks of belonging…
31 CommentsLate but not forgotten! The demographically similar Jennys belatedly post our podcast! (We really are sorry, we won’t let it happen again.) This week we’re talking about the death of Elizabeth Peters, the new series by the good folks behind The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (a show we absolutely cannot shut up about), summer reading and assigned reading more generally, and David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository). You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 5 Or if you…
21 CommentsWe are slightly delayed in posting this week’s podcast. Whiskey Jenny and I are both extremely sorry. For some time now, Whiskey Jenny’s computer has had a cracked screen that has made ordinary computer activities challenging to impossible. She is having her computer repaired, but in the meantime we could not record Episode 5 of the Reading the End Bookcast. The episode was recorded last night and is being edited at TOP SPEED by our champion producer, Randon; I promise I will post it by the end of this week. We are very sorry about the delay! It will not…
1 Comment