Overdue is a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. Join Andrew and Craig each week as they tackle a new title from their backlog. Classic literature, obscure plays, goofy childen’s books: they'll read it all, one overdue book at a time.
"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 co...
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/...
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 til...
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://art...
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)...
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 Ler...
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 ...
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 a...
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 a...
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...
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 o...
"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 P...
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...
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://art1...
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 hunchba...
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our podcast turns its lonely ears to you. Woo-woo-ooo The 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 ...
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-i...
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/pri...
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/pri...
