The Smidgling and Kirt welcome yet another guest host to the podcast, Rick from Another Book Blog, to discuss King Leary. What do we talk about? What don’t we talk about? The dearth of male book bloggers. Hockey. Humour. Canadian mythology. Fantasy quests. Unreliable narrators. And, Tania uses the word “turd” repeatedly. This episode is a little longer than usual but it is worth the time.
We also announce that our next pick for fantasy month is The Girls Who Saw Everything by Sean Dixon. Look for that podcast on September 8th.
Other books mentioned in this podcast:
- Silver by Andrew Motion
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen
- By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas
- The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
- The Last Broadcast by Andre Sirangelo and Gabriel Iumazark
- Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe
- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
- The Ravine by Paul Quarrington
- Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
writereads 
Big thanks to both of you for having me on! It was so much fun, and it was great to finally meet you guys in person. Lots of laughs 🙂
In retrospect, I’m so glad this was the book we read because if I had simply read it on my own I don’t think I would have gotten nearly as much out of it as I did. This is a book that allows for a very surface level reading if you’re in the mood for that. But if you take the time to give the book some thought you’ll see there’s a heck of a lot going on under the surface. So a big thanks to both of you for helping me go there.
If you’re ever in need of a guest again, I’m always around. Would love to.
Oh, and please, please please continue to refer to Tania as The Smidgling (lovingly, of course).
Aren’t they the most fun ever?
I am saving this for when I finish the book, which will be soon.
I hesitate to speak for The Smidge, but I’m sure that she would agree that we would love to have you back any time you want to (unless we’ve already booked a guest host). The same goes for you, Laura. Both guest host experiences were lots of fun and made for good podcast material (IMHO). I’d even go so far as to suggest a foursome at some point! – Kirt
I want to make a Frog Music-related joke so badly right now (you probably know what I mean)
I wonder if this would happen, in that case: http://www.themoderndaypirates.com/pirates/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/powers.png
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There is no “reply” option on Rick’s comments, which is probably for the best… 🙂 But yeah, it would probably be pretty awesome!
Great podcast, guys. I listened in three parts so will probably forget the earlier stuff…
I agree this would stand up to a reread. I had this English teacher in Jr. High who used to yell SYMBOLISMMMMM during her classes and Ikept thinking of her. Heavy heavy symbolism with the cane, the cross, the nicknames, the hats, and lots more that I’m missing. Maybe even the ginger ale?? There must be something there! 🙂 But I think you could find way more the second time around.
Have any of your read Indian Horse? The main character is a Manny-like character, who also learns hockey from a priest (in a residential school) an descends into alcoholism. MUCH different tone though. More serious and tragic and eventually hopeful. I enjoyed this one more, just because of the writing. I think Quarrington is very skilled, to keep up that “lovable old coot” tone the whole way through and not have it feel cheesy.
I cried at the end (which is usually a good sign) but I felt a little manipulated… like it was just too heavy-handed, with the death and the old man’s last stand… The part that hurt my heart the most was when someone (Blue?) says “there was no newspaper published on Christmas Day” and you realize Leary is finally trying to something right and relieve his son’s guilt. Oh and when he asks Iain to stop drinking. It’s tragic because it’s much too late, of course.
Ooo I think I know who your special guest is…
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Just read this book. I think that if Clay hadn’t shown up one day, everyone’s lives would have turned out so differently. Clay made me so mad. Was it just me?? Definitely a book that should be re-read (even though I probably won’t re-read it).
Your conversation was insightful!
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