Ben, Gemma, and Hillary have a lot of questions about Molly Bloom, and wonder if Leo's famed gift of empathy extends to women at all. Gemma pitches a Bad Gritty Reboot that turns Ulysses into an anthology TV series with each "chapter" written, directed, and produced by an entirely different group of people.

CanonBallz Podcast

Ulysses, Part 3

Ben, Gemma, and Hillary have a lot of questions about ULYSSES. Why does it contain a 200-page play? What is Leo Bloom's greatest gift as a human being and hero, besides being able to turn literally any moment in time into a sexual fantasy? What does "style-for-style's-sake" mean?

Ulysses, Part 2

Ben, Gemma, and Hillary prepare themselves to read ULYSSES. Hillary walks us through the obscenity court cases surrounding it, Ben compares it to "Family Guy," and Gemma finds herself defending the fun of inside jokes.

Ulysses, Part 1

So ... Odysseus has PTSD, right? That's what Ben, Gemma, and Danielle speculate as they finish The Odyssey. Generally, it's considered untoward to murder a bunch of people in your house, even if they have been bad guests. Just ask the blind cyclops from the first episode. But is Homer's entire poem just a lesson in etiquette? Listen to find out.

The Odyssey, Part 2

Ben, Gemma, and special guest Danielle Sheehan tackle the most classic of all classics over the next two episodes -- THE ODYSSEY, by Homer, the foundational text of the Western canon. Is it the story of a complicated man trying to get home, or the story of a dad who went out for cigarettes and came back 20 years later? In Books 1-12, the story we think of as "The Odyssey" is told, but what happens next?

The Odyssey, Part 1

CanonBallz returns with Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, a delirious nightmare of a novel that is a true delight to read. Is Heathcliff an actual demon? Why didn't the Lintons just move? How could anyone read this as a love story? Seriously, stop reading this as a love story. Stop.

Wuthering Heights

Update: CanonBallz is back, and from now on it will update every other Friday. The new schedule begins with THE GREAT GATSBY, a book you may have hated in high school but is pretty short so you might as well read it again as an adult. It is, unsurprisingly, Great, even though it's pretty clear to Ben, Gemma, and Charlie that everyone would have gone Nazi.

The Great Gatsby

Ben and Gemma discuss the bleakest book you ever had to read in high school, Edith Wharton's ETHAN FROME. Is it too sad? Is it as sad as life itself is supposed to be? Ben loves it, Gemma is exhausted by it, and both declare they probably don't need to go sledding any time soon.

Ethan Frome

In honor of Valentine's Day, Ben, Gemma, and Sarah finish up their exploration of everyone's favorite adulterous canon relationship. The real devil might also be involved! Is Arthur Dimmesdale a moral coward? Almost certainly. Does this mean all men are useless? We leave it up to you.

The Scarlet Letter, Part 2

Ben and Gemma welcome Sarah Kuhn to talk about everyone's (least) favorite high school literature classic -- THE SCARLET LETTER. Is it a romance, a huge bummer, or a smug warren of symbolism? Why can't it be all three? Ben pitches a gritty reboot/revenge drama and Gemma and Sarah insist that at least in this world, magic is totally real.

The Scarlet Letter, Part 1

Ben and Gemma are back, joined by special guest Lauryn McCarter. This week, they try to figure out which PRIDE AND PREJUDICE character would be the best wingperson (it's Mrs. Bennet, come on), and compare Mr. Collins to one of your least favorite NYT columnists. They also praise romantic relationships with real growth, and eviscerate some terrible adaptations of the novel. 

Pride and Prejudice, Pt. 2

Ben and Gemma welcome special guest Lauryn McCarter to discuss the classic of all classics -- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Sure, it may start with the most famous first line in literature (and maybe even about marriage?) but is getting hitched really so great? And on the scale of mild trash to just the worst, how awful is Caroline Bingley?

Pride and Prejudice, Pt. 1

Ben and Gemma finish LOLITA, and wonder if Nabakov's assertion that the novel only exists for aesthetic value can ever really be true. Is it really trying to indict all relationships between men and women, or is it, as Nabakov says, just a way to dip into an experience that should never really exist outside of fiction. Yeah, you guessed it -- this one's a little light on jokes.

Lolita, Part 2

Ben and Gemma begin LOLITA this week, diving headfirst into the best-known novel about a creepy vaguely European guy and his extremely upsetting obsession with young girls. Is Humbert Humbert a textbook sociopath, or is there more to him? Does it matter that "Humbert" is a good writer, and does that make us sympathize with him more?Be warned -- content not appropriate for children is discussed in this episode.

Lolita, Part 1

There's no new book this week due to the winter holidays. But there is a mini-episode where Ben and Gemma share the five best books they read in 2017. Let us know what your favorite books of the year were, too!