Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Sing, O Muse!, of our forty-first episode, the first twelve books of Homer's The Odyssey (circa 800 BC). Sing, of oil baths and endless sobbing! Sing, of sex and monsters and sex-monsters! Sing, of potty-humour and MILF Manor ! Sing, of two exhausted academics who pinball from Olympus to Hades and all around the Aegean. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode Theme: Γκάιντα Ναούσης 1498 (Wikimedia Commons) . Hosted on Aca...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 41
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our fortieth episode, we make our first foray across la Manche in order to recap Voltaire's satirical picaresque, Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759). In this episode, Daniel trots out his feeble/ faible Franglais, Abby discerns a preoccupation with derrières lying at the bottom of an otherwise highly varied narrative, and both take a moment to lament with Voltaire that most oppressed group of the eighteenth-century w...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In out thirty-ninth episode, our Audience Pick from Season Three, and Queer Con 2023, we recap our first Decadent text, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). In this episode, we throw a hate party for Lord Alfred Douglas, discover that Abby is both already a queer icon AND knows what music is, and see if Oscar Wilde is funny enough to do a Save Me From My Shelf -style recap. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Epis...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Following on from our coverage of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower (1993), we have a bit of a roundtable chat with local hellscape expert, Liam Knight (AKA 'DystopiaJunkie'). In this bonus episode we discuss the differences and interactions between dystopian and postapocalyptic literature, explore these genres' preoccupations and their history, and explain why no budding survivalist should be without a garden gnome. Liam's Youtube page (on which we're making a guest appearance) can be found...
Apr 26, 2023•50 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In out thirty-eighth episode, we recap our first apocalyptic novel, Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower (1994). In this episode, Daniel redefines male fashion (monocles, Keith-core) and Abby traces real-world allegories, and both of them end the text shaking and traumatised under one of those tinfoil blankets. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Stickfigure, 'Spaghetti Western'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In out thirty-seventh episode, we look at a candidate for first-ever English language novel: Daniel Defoe's shipwreck narrative, Robinson Crusoe (1719). In this episode, Daniel creates a TikTok challenge, witness G.O.A.T. husbandry, and learn to see the Face of God (by watching barley grow or getting violent, turtle-induce dysentery). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Eric Coates, 'By the Sleepy Lagoon'. Host...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In out thirty-sixth episode, we journey back to Revolutionary France with Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities (1859). We learn all about the historical novel, but are less certain about gay iconography, what constitutes clinical depression, and precisely what Dr Manette was up to with all those shoes. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Hector Berlioz, 'Symphonie fantastique, op. 14, 4. Marche au supplice'. ...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our Season Four opener, Valentine's Day special, and thirty-fifth episode, we recap D.H. Lawrence's controversial, court case-launching novel full of weird sex and four-letter words, Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928). The episode teaches us many things: the difference between the normal West and exotic East Midlands, the mystery of eggs, the effects of purple prose, and when we finally need to put that 'explicit con...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Yet another sequence of brief clips that have been rescued from oblivion. Thematically we're getting a bit thin on the ground here, and dressing it up as a hodgepodge, salmagundi, macédoine , zibaldone - or any other pompous way of describing a mishmash - would be to everyone's discredit. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: Cliff Carlisle, 'Columbus Stockade Blues' (1930), and Anton Bruckner, Symphony 7 in E Major (1883) performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker. Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Jan 25, 2023•9 min•Season 3Ep. 2
A new, eagerly-awaited installment in the much-loved series of outtakes and bloopers. Bald eagle-eared listeners may have noticed that the co-hosts of Save Me From My Shelf hail from different co(u)ntries, and that this is occasinally the so(u)rce of some acrimony. This bonus program(me) compiles those numero(u)s clips from the cutting room floor in which our transatlantic contretemps came to a head, and we really nailed o(u)r colo(u)rs to the mast. Who wins? Choose your fighter: Grover Clevelan...
Jan 04, 2023•7 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our thirty-fourth episode and Christmas special/end-of-season finale, we recap C.S. Lewis's wintry Christian allegory, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950). Daniel gives us the gift of 'Measuringworth: Biblical Hermeneutics Edition' and Abby renames the Pevensie and Daniel's hypothetical pet beaver. This is also the second episode of the season with surprise cameos by both the Greek gods and Santa Claus. ...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our thirty-third episode, the Pedants' Revolt keeps waging on with a series of rebuking letters. We also discover the villain origin story for villain origin stories in Jean Rhys's postcolonial modernist/postmodernist Jane Eyre -fan fiction masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: 'Liva: biguine', performed by Mlle. Estrella and Orchestre Gudeloupeen A. Kindou. Hosted on Aca...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In Part Two of our thirty-second episode, we keep the bawdy scatological humour up in the second half of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1400). It's all farts, penned-in sex-yards, and apologies to Jesus. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Anonymous, 'Weltliche Musik um 1300', performed by the Studio der frühen Musik Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In Part One of our thirty-second episode, we experience a whole lot of firsts: the first substantial work of English literature, our podcast's first guest spot, and the first time we gave up on an episode halfway through. Brace yourself for a bawdy, boozy, scatological good time with the first half of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1400). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Anonymous, 'Weltliche Musik...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our thirty-first episode and the second of two Halloween specials, we get properly scary with a ghost story full of ambiguous trauma, creepy children, and isolated country mansions: Henry James's The Turn of the Screw (1898). We also investigate the 'obscure hurt' a young Henry James did to his balls, speculate about hasty office sex, and introduce some weird factoids about the Aztecs. Cover art © Catherine Wu. E...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our thirtieth episode and first of two Halloween specials, we cover the world's first (?) Gothic novel, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764). It's got more gigantic sabres, private caves, disembodied ghost parts, and lists of soldiers than you can shake a stick at. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: Mozart, 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusic ("Allegro")', Mozart, 'Requiem ("V. Rex tremendae')'; Orfeo, 'Tocca...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our twenty-ninth episode, we answer the age-old question, 'What if socialism were a cop?' when we look at JB Priestley's 1945 anti-capitalist (Jean-Paul Sartre knock-off) play, An Inspector Calls . Today, we put our PhDs to work like never before, have a go at CSI: Miami stingers, and yearn for sexier content. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: Kurt Weill, 'Violin Concerto, Op. 12' performed by the Gardner...
Sep 28, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 29
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our twenty-eighth episode, we court controversy with Vladimir Nabokov's surreal paedophile road trip, Lolita (1955). It's got more unreliable narration, 1950s consumerism, and untranslated French than you can stomach. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings', covered by Freddy Martin and his Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our twenty-seventh episode, we return to Shakespeare--but with a comedy this time: the classic tale of twins, mistaken identity, and classic cis-direction, Twelfth Night (1601). In it, Daniel gives listeners of a particular SMFMS episode a scolding, Abby has a lot of anger and gender puns, and we make more than one Batman connection. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Tielman Susato, Danserye , Gaillarde, '...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our Season 3 premiere and twenty-sixth episode, we read one of the world's (apparently) Most Boring Classics™ and take our first foray into Russian literature with Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment (1866). Abby gives some train trivia, Daniel reveals a fetish for clerks, and everyone faints forever. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Fëdor Shalyapin, 'Ey, ukhnem!' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...
Aug 17, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 26
More bonus content for the summer hiatus. It's all about animals this time: all the ones Daniel hates, the ones that turn up in dreams, and the ones that our natural enemies (the Devonians) use to mock the Cornish. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Camille Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals , 'Finale'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 02, 2022•5 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Another steaming bowl of bonus material coming your way. This podcast, provisionally named 'Carry on up the Canon', has never shied away from the odd bawdy joke, except when sublimating these into food talk, so please enjoy some of the odder examples compiled into one handy reel. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: 'Sexy' by Benjamin Tissot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 26, 2022•8 min•Season 2Ep. 2
A bit of bonus material to tide you over during the summer hiatus. The archives of Save Me From My Shelf are littered with cultural insights and aperçus which would have felt out of place in any particular episode, but needed to be heard. Here are some of the best compiled into one manageable reel. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 'Overture' to Don Giovanni , performed by the Fulda Symphonic Orchestra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 18, 2022•7 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our twenty-fifth episode, End of Season 2, and End-Of-Year Special, we read George Eliot's 1861 proto-Realist/German Idealist/grudgingly sensational novel, Silas Marner . Come celebrate with us and Friedrich Nietzsche as we finally hear Daniel's real accent, produce a special range of S&M SMFMS whips, and eat some rum-ham. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: Ludwig van Beethoven, 'Allegretto, Symphony N...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our DoublePlusTolerable twenty-fourth episode covers George Orwell's 1949 totalitarian dystopia, 1984 . If you're looking for an UnGood time, tune in for everything reeking of cabbage, adventures in antiquing, and surprisingly erotic sex scenes (the perverts). No need to DoubleThink twice! Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: 'Spliff and Wesson' by Airglow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our twenty-third episode features the Antichrist, an indictment of the £10 note, the King of Himbos, and some snippets from Daniel's erotic fanfiction when we cover Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode themes: Beethoven, 'Egmont Overture Op.84'; Boieldieu, 'Caliph de Bagdad' recorded by Richard Siegel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our twenty-second episode is one extended queer reading--full of dodgy back doors, debauchery-filled strolls, and a vicious debate about if a mirror is weird or not--as we recap Robert Louis Stevenson's science fiction novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Franz Liszt, 'Totentanz'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 25, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our twenty-first episode is full of intrusive THOTS, dawg-named babies, power bottoms, and 'inelegant horseplay' as we recap Tennessee Williams's screwball tragedy, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Gus Arnheim Orchestra, 'How Long Will It Last' (1931). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 11, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our twentieth episode is nothing but potatoes, patriarchy, and proverbs with Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958). Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: 'Udu Sound' on Ibo drum (Wikimedia Commons). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. Our nineteenth episode is all about S-E-X: we cover Daniel Defoe's 1722 raunchy crime-spree confessional, Moll Flanders . Abby gets turned on by a bandito in a cool hat, Daniel gets turned on by an economic value calculator, and Moll gets turned on by pretty much anything. Cover art © Catherine Wu. Episode theme: Christoph Schaffrath, 'Duetto in D-Minor for 2 Violas da Gamba'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 19
