Tag: Podcasts

I Was On a Thing: Let Me Tell You a Story – Episode 140

Let Me Tell You a Story Podcast
Once again, I have Podcasted—I’m still not sure if that’s the right conjugation?—I have Podcast? I have committed Podcast? I have appeared on a podcast, I guess is the way to put it.

A while ago, Friend of the Blog, Becky Lyles who took part in A Q&A About Writing in Idaho earlier this year—and will appear here at least once more this summer, invited me onto the podcast she does with her husband. It’s called Let Me Tell You a Story, and you should check it out. I’ve listened to a dozen or so episodes, and they’re all very pleasant chats. It seemed strange to me to get the invitation—they typically interview authors or people who have done/are doing something interesting with their lives—usually a combination of those. And I…well, am not that.

But whatever, I went for it.

The official description of the episode is:

We often invite authors to talk with us on this podcast, but today we’re speaking with one of the many people authors value the most—readers! H.C. Newton is not only an avid, and I mean avid reader, he hosts a blog and a website called The Irresponsible Reader that’s all about books and their authors.

They had me over to their home and we spent a little less than an hour chatting about my reading habits, the blog, and whatnot. And then (unless it was cut because they wanted something more coherent), I monologued a bit at the end. In that monologue, you can see why I tank most job interviews (I left off about half of my mental outline—outlining while talking is a bad idea).

Regardless, I had a great time doing it and I hope most of their subscribers don’t spend too much time wondering why Steve and Becky inflicted me on their ears. Give it a listen and maybe subscribe to Let Me Tell You a Story. And while you’re at it, give it an extra listen for me, because I just cannot do that.

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone

Two Crime Writers and a MicrophoneA few weeks back I got a notification or two (don’t ask me from where) on Twitter that a new crime fiction podcast was on the horizon from Steve Cavanagh & Luca Veste, who are (apparently) a couple of writers. Sure, I’d never heard of them, but that only means I’m ill-informed (particularly when it comes to crime writers from Liverpool, Belfast, etc.). But I’ve been looking for another crime fiction podcast for a while, so I thought I’d give it a chance when they got around to posting episodes. If nothing else, the title Two Crime Writers and a Microphone was catchy.

I am so, so glad I did — this is probably my favorite podcast of the moment — it’s truly the most laugh-inducing (which says something, since I listen to a few hosted by stand-up comics). Each week they talk a little about the news in publishing (and sometimes outside of it), talk to a book reviewer about a couple of hot titles, interview a crime writer and then leave off with a couple of recommended reads. It’s clear that these two guys are fans of the genre they work in and know what they’re talking about, they enjoy the topic and their guests. Their taste seems fairly impeccable (which roughly translates into at least one of them seems to like the things I like). The guests so far — reviewers and writers alike — have been entertaining and informative.

My one complaint is that I can’t find show notes that list the titles they talk about in each episode — I don’t listen anywhere I can take notes and my short-term memory can’t keep up with the number of books they talk about. I’ve managed to add a couple of titles to by TBR list (including books from the hosts), but I know I’ve missed a few.

The theme and interstitial music was composed and performed by Stuart Neville, a crime writer himself they interviewed a couple of weeks ago. It’s probably the best theme music I’ve heard in ages (TV, movie, or podcast) — probably since that track they use for Bosch. It’s worth trying this podcast just for the music.

It’s available via iTunes or your preferred podcast application. It’s well worth your time and whatever effort you have to put into finding it. I doubt you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as they seem to have making it (I don’t think anyone could), but you’ll come close.

Help The Once and Future Podcast

Family stuff is keeping me from getting anything done here today. The timing works out well because this week, Anton Strout’s podcast had a brief episode that I’d like to talk about.

I don’t know if you guys are listening to this podcast or not — I’ve talked about it more than a few times. If you don’t, you should — Strout (author of the Simon Canderous novels and the Spellmason series) talks to authors, game designers, publishers, artists, etc. — creative people in geeky fields about their work. I’ve found several favorite authors thanks to these episodes.

It’s a lot of fun, pretty informative — and it could use some financial help. Spend 10 minutes listening to Strout talk about how you can help and what his plans for the podcast are. Then go diving through the archives.

Bookish Podcasts

I listen to a lot of podcasts — while driving, shopping, doing chores, etc. Last year, one of my favorites ended, and The Nerdist just dialed back their releases, so I’ve tried to find some new ones with a book/reading focus to round out my listening (and maybe help the blog). I’ve listened to occasional episodes of some over the years when there’s been a guest I’ve wanted to hear, but other than The Once & Future Podcast, nothing’s really stuck for more than an episode or two. O&F has introduced me to more than it’s fair share of authors, so I definitely intend on staying up with it. Even when the author isn’t someone I’m interested in, it’s pretty entertaining.

Penguin Random House’s Beaks & Geeks is a lot of fun. Brief interviews with authors of all genres — I’ve really enjoyed plundering their archives for some of my favorites. The episodes with authors I have no interest in don’t do anything for me, but if it’s an author I’m curious about or already appreciate, these quick podcasts are pretty good.

Since they were nice enough to follow this blog, I’ve listened to a few episodes of Crime Time Podcast. Is an off-the-wall discussion of crime fiction old and new. My 16 year-old son, who isn’t a big crime fiction fan, listened to one episode with me and really enjoyed it, which I figure is a good sign. You really never know what you’re going to get with this one, but it’ll be fun and funny. The most recent episode had a featured a discussion on tension in fiction, in addition to the specific books they talked about (and the amount of human waste on Mt. Everest, too).

I’m trying a couple of others, but will hold off mentioning them until I decide if they’re keepers. In the meantime, I’m looking for suggestions — what kind of book-ish podcasts do you listen to?

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