Casual yet stimulating talks about books and media.
Send us a text Part 3 in our series on John Crowley's Little, Big, covering book 3: Old Law Farm. Subscribe to Patreon for the bonus episode where we talk about Alice Munro and her relationship to Crowley's work: www.patreon.com/gettinglit Support the show
Send us a text Gldpny aka Erik joins me for part two of the two-part series on classic military science fiction. This episode is on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, which is a "novel in response" to Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but also very much its own thing. And over on Patreon, we talk about online friendships, the power and downsides of "scenes", more about Erik's celebrity hair styling career, working in the music industry. To listen, go to patreon.com/gettinglit and subscribe! Follow Erik...
Send us a text Part 2 of our read-along of John Crowley's Little, Big. John joins me once again, and we have special guest star Yeerk (from the recent Mr Palomar episode) on the episode as well. Don't be a bitch and read this book about fairies with us! For extra content, including access to Getting Lit Podcast aftershow, Back Matter, head to http://patreon.com/gettinglit Suscribe to Yeerk's pod, Bistro Californium: https://www.patreon.com/BistroCalifornium/ Support the show...
Send us a text This is a cross post from Rare Candy's Gain of Fiction series featuring yours truly as well as former guest Eddy Rathke, hosted by Glen and Psi from RC. We look at Samuel R. Delany's classic and very wild science fiction experimental novel, Dhalgren. To access the full episode as well as Getting Lit Podcast's aftershow, Back Matter, go to patreon.com/gettinglit . Enjoy! Follow Rare Candy: https://rarecandy.substack.com/ And Eddy: https://radicaledward.substack.com/ Support the sho...
Send us a text Gldpny aka Erik joins me once more for a two-part series on classic military science fiction. First up is Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. The next episode, released in a couple of weeks, will be on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. And over on Patreon, we talk about the film Starship Troopers, whether it is a 'failed satire' as claimed in a recent online debate, as well as abstract politics vs skin in the game life-living, and much more. To listen, go to patreon.com/gettinglit ...
Send us a text Ryan Simón, editor-in-chief of American Vulgaria magazine, joins me once more to talk about three films by the occultist homosexual filmmaker, Kenneth Anger. We talk Fireworks (1947), Scorpio Rising (1963), and Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969). You should be able to find all of these on YouTube. And over on the aftershow, Back Matter, we talk shit about J David Osborne, why boob-obsessed Ryan is actually a feminist, some secrets about future events we will be doing together, ...
Send us a text Talking about a recent online discussion about the Starship Troopers film and how people who are into the death of the author concept tend to invoke the author when expedient, as well as how the death of the author concept is used and abused these days. Subscribe to the Patreon for extra content: patreon.com/gettinglit Support the show...
Send us a text Former guest John joins me for the first of a six-part, monthly slow read of John Crowley's Little, Big. This quirky, beautiful novel is sizeable. So over the next six months, we will be meeting and discussing each section of the book. Read along with us. Join our cute little book club dedicated to the greatest American fantasy novel ever. This week, we talk about fantasy vs magical realism, Crowley's marginal position in American letters, genre tourists, and the horniness of the ...
Send us a text This episode, I'm joined by the wonderful Yeerk to chat about Italo Calvino's final novel, Mr Palomar. We talk about Yeerk's battles against people who believe in "misinformation" and "AI art", humanism, encountering the world as it is and describing it, Italo Calvino's work more generally, looking at art and literature texturally, and the sense of the numinous writers like Calvino can bring to everyday existence. And over on Back Matter on Patreon, we will be discussing the Ron F...
Send us a text Australian crime writer Iain Ryan joins me live from a bar in Brunswick East to talk about his new book of Gold Coast noir, The Strip, as well as his major inspiration, James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential. We talk about the crime novel genre, hardboiled style, the difficulties in reading Ellroy, Australian culture and literature and more, until we got kicked out of the bar. This is a free preview of the episode. The full version, including our discussion after we found another bar, c...
Send us a text On this episode, writer and podcaster J David Osborne returns to talk about several short stories by the late science fiction grandmaster, Ursula K Le Guin. We talk about cultural relativism, anthropology, how Ursula's father's work with a lost Indian influenced her, influences in general, whether we would have sex with our clones, writers folding stuff they read into their work instead of not reading, the many different answers to Omelas, girlboss adventures done right, and much ...
Send us a text Three-time guest of the pod and "Australia's Ottessa Moshfegh" Paul Dalla Rosa joins me at my house for bento takeout while we discuss Natsuo Kirino's crime novel, Out. In this book, a woman murders her husband and her workmates at a bento factory become implicated in disposing of the body. From there, an incredibly disturbing story unfurls. It was a great read, suggested by Paul. We talk the drudgery of factory work, precarity, always thinking about money, the gruesome realities ...
Send us a text Recording on location from the smoke-wreathed vista at Siglo in Melbourne, I am joined by writer and researcher Nicolas Hausdorf to discuss German writer Ernst Jünger's post-apocalyptic novel, Eumeswil. We talk about the novel as a metaphor for Europe in the 70s, parapolitics, Jünger's politically awkward position, his aristocratic outlook, his concept of "The Anarch," libertarianism, Victoria's Covid response, and much more. Support the show...
Send us a text Hoodrat noir/cyberpunk writer, Agitator podcast host, and former guest on the show, Kelby Losack, joins me to talk about his collection God is Wearing Black. A lot of writing talk, Texas, writing places, class and the publishing industry, honesty and truth in writing and more in this wide ranging discussion on Kelby's short fiction. And over on the Getting Lit Podcast's new aftershow, Back Matter, I force Kelby to undergo the 'game of connection and vulnerability' known as We're N...
Send us a text Surrounded by vinyl records and cassette tapes, I joined editor of the Rango Tango zine, and former GLP guest Matthew Fresta (in his lounge room!) to talk about the very literary songwriting of British band, The Kinks. With some selections from their discography playing in the background, we talk about the way lead singer Ray Davies writes songs like short stories, the influences on the band, whether rock will ever come back, and more. This was a fun one. Matt also made up a playl...
Send us a text Poet Stephen Zerance joins me to talk about Greek poet C.P. Cavafy and four greco-roman films (Sebastiane, Caligula, Alexander, and 300). We talk about homoeroticism in these kinds of films as well as in Cavafy's verse. Follow Stephen on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/stephnz Substack: https://stephenzerance.substack.com/ Buy his poetry: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07HS2YXW2/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=fcbef3af-3838-432b-8206-fa7de7875958&ref_=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1 We...
Send us a text Jayson Young, writer and co-host of the Mangaroos podcast, joins me to talk about David Mitchell's novel about stories, life, death, perception, rebirth, and reincarnation: Cloud Atlas. We also talk about the 2012 film version by Tom Twyker and the Wachowskis. Jayson's substack: https://jaysonyoung.substack.com/ Listen to Mangaroos: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mangaroos/id1669595294?ign-itscg=30200&ign-itsct=lt_p Support the show...
Send us a text On this episode, Steff joins me to talk about R.F. Kuang's Yellowface, which we've decided is YA posing as literary fiction (probably the marketers fault). Follow Steff on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/moonandmouth Follow Steff on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonandmouth/ Support the show...
Send us a text To round out the Sally Rooney trilogy, I am joined by Sydney-based writer, editor, producer Sheila Ngoc Pham to discuss Sal pal's latest novel, Beautiful World Where Are You? The theme for this episode is "generations" where we will be talking about Rooney as a "millennial" novelist, how she has or will mature, onlineness and the internet in fiction, internet dating, the place of autobiographical elements in these books, and much more. Follow Sheila on X/Twitter: https://twitter.c...
Send us a text Writer E Rathke joins me for the second part of the Sally Rooney series, where we look at Sal's second novel, Normal People. We chat about the internet and writing, commercial fiction, chick lit, Trojan-horsing fucked up shit into normal looking genres, writing craft, and much more. Follow Eddy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radicalydde Subscribe to Eddy's Substack: https://radicaledward.substack.com/ Buy Eddy's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BCDS32BH/allbooks?ingr...
Send us a text Zach returns to kick off the Sally Rooney trilogy over the next few weeks. We will be looking at her books in chronological order with a different guest each week, starting with Conversations with Friends. The theme for this episode is "emotionality." We range over love, romance, sex, generational differences, online culture and more. A superb conversation with pod friends! Follow Zach on X/FKA Twitter: https://twitter.com/asukahomo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/langleychic...
Send us a text This episode, one of my faves and host of the Unpopular podcast, Jacques Peterson, returns to mansplain the Britney Spears memoir "The Woman in Me" (because I'm not going to read it). How did Spears go from a pop sensation to an online meme, dancing scarily in her house with knives and such? I really haven't followed the drama with Britney and the conservatorship, so this was educational for me. Later, we discuss three of her albums: Blackout (2007), Femme Fatale (2011), and Glory...
Send us a text Ryan Simón, editor-in-chief of American Vulgaria magazine returns to the show and I made him read some Aussie literature: Colleen McCullough's Tim, a sexy and heartwarming 1974 novel about a middle-aged spinster falling for her mentally challenged (yet incredibly physically beautiful) gardener. We also talked about the 1979 film adaptation of the same name starring Mel Gibson and Piper Laurie. Buy American Vulgaria here: https://americanvulgaria.com/shop/ Support the show...
Send us a text Cody LaDuke from the Cents of Life podcast joins me for a Halloween special. We're talking ghost stories, specifically Henry James' classic, The Turn of the Screw, the 1961 film version The Innocents, and the 2001 film The Others starring Nicole Kidman. Subscribe to Cents of Life: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cents-of-life/id1701292933 Follow Cody on X (FKA Twitter): https://twitter.com/cladu33 Support the show...
Send us a text Jack Mason, host of The Perfume Nationalist podcast joins me to talk about Jacqueline Susann's 1966 novel of showbiz, sex, and substance abuse, Valley of the Dolls, as well as the 1967 film adaptation directed by Mark Robson and starring Sharon Tate, Patty Duke, and Susan Hayward, and also the 1970 film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by Russ Meyer and written by film critic Roger Ebert! Subscribe to The Perfume Nationalist here: https://www.patreon.com/perfumenationalist...
Send us a text Part 4 of The Book of the New Sun series, looking at Volume IV: The Citadel of the Autarch. We have finally reached the end of our Gene Wolfe series, and we take a look back at the journey, a lot of writing talk, the psychological depth of Severian, Christian symbolism, whether it's a conservative book, why we can't leave genre fiction to the autists and much more. Listen to the Agitator podcast: https://www.patreon.com/agitator/ Buy Kelby's latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Mer...
Send us a text Part 2 of my chat with Max Easton, this time talking about a book he introduced to me, The Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio di Maria. A haunting, unsettling, uneasy book, full of weird implications, surreal and gruesome imagery and a whole lot of dread. Such fun! If you're American and want to buy Max's new book but don't want to pay for exorbitant postage, you can purchase the ebook here: https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Estate-Max-Easton-ebook/dp/B0CHK3XJYQ?ref_=ast_author_dp If y...
Send us a text Joining me for a two part special is novelist and friend of the pod, Max Easton. In part 1, we discuss Max's new book, Paradise Estate, a sequel to his amazing debut The Magpie Wing. In part 2, we will discuss The Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio de Maria. This episode has a lot of writing talk, but we also discuss generational malaise, the horrors and the comedy of sharehousing, political dead ends, collectivism vs individuality, punk politics and aesthetics, why Matt hates anarch...
Send us a text Part 3 of The Book of the New Sun series, looking at Volume III: Sword of the Lictor. "Sword of the Lictor? I don't even know her?" - Kelby A lot of laughs in this one, ranging over Severian's horniness, the sheer amount of pulpy action and monsters, people being naked constantly, stories within stories, our favourite set pieces, and why women need to understand how horny men can get! Listen to the Agitator podcast: https://www.patreon.com/agitator/ Buy Kelby's latest book: https:...
Send us a text Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet, the Portuguese notion of saudade, Pessoa's heteronyms as opposed to pseudonyms, occultism, voice and character in writing. Why this book is one of my favourites and I haven't finished it. The story I published where I tried to express "saudade": https://overland.org.au/2022/12/fiction-quitting/ Support the show...
