A run-down mansion decades past its former glory, a headstrong heroine, a creepy family, and mushrooms all come together to form a perfect, spooky storm in this week's episode. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Overdue

Ep 498 - Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Spooktober continues! A narrator wanders rooms in his old house, telling the reader stories about his life. Is he an old man responding to a psychological evaluation? Is he a ghost recounting (and selectively editing) his best and worst memories? Will we ever know peace from the miasma of possibilities? Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 497 - Peace, by Gene Wolfe

Spooktober 2021 kicks off with a book about a jerk who turned himself invisible and then was still a jerk! The titular invisible man is a forerunner to a hundred comic book villains, who all suffered some kind of scientific mishap at their own hands and then took it as an excuse to become Evil.  Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 496 - The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells

Enjoy another episode of 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 43-52 of Part One, and the Prologue and Chapters 1-9 of Part Two. In Episode 7, a few more ancillary characters get their moment in the sun before Don Quixote's companions "enchant" him and bring him home. But Cervantes has heard that Quixote rode again! If only those stories were out there somewhere... In Episode 8, apparently everyone in Don Quixote's world knows about the novel Don Quixote now? And they sure have opinions! Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jagged Little Mill, a Don Quixote miniseries - Episodes 7 & 8

Natasha from the Unspoiled podcast joins us this week to hatch a podcast about Eragon, a book that borrows freely from every other fantasy/sci-fi story that existed as of its creation in the early 2000s.  Find more from Unspoiled here! Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 495 - Eragon

It's time to solve the mystery of the Boxcar Children! (Or is it The Box-Car Children?) Warner's novel about a quartet of self-sufficient kiddos underwent a major revision 20 years after its debut AND it spawned dozens of mystery-focused sequels despite there not really being a mystery in the original. Tune in to hear about our own secret hideouts and to learn about Andrew's favorite new website for author research. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 494 - The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Craig and Andrew said they would record the podcast themselves. This very modern episode about a very modern novel discusses Woolf's signature writing style, the regrets of a postwar British people, and when (or where) you might find yourself Thinking Big. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 493 - Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning is mostly concerned with big historical questions like "what if nationality had nothing to do with geography" and "what if a boy could make toys come to life," but it also deals with things like "what if noticing gender were a fetish" and "what if all the world's leaders were secretly slamming each other."  Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on Overdue See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 492 - Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer

Everybody get up it's time to read now. We got a podcast goin' now. Welcome to the Space Jam! Join us as we talk about a storybook edition of the 1996 cartoon basketball commercial Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 491 - Space Jam, by Nancy E. Krulik (Bonus Episode)

After 488 episodes, we finally return to ol' Johnny Steinbeck. East of Eden mixes autobiography, pastoral fiction, and Biblical allegory -- a cocktail that has dismayed critics and excited audiences for decades. We dig into what works in this sprawling story and what might leave some readers wanting more. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 490 - East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

This book is a work of "faction" (that's "fact" plus "fiction") about Richard Nixon's interactions with the physical manifestation(s) of Uncle Sam in the run-up to the executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. So, uh, a weird one. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 489 - The Public Burning, by Robert Coover

There are small flames all over the place! Well, specifically all over a family's house in Shaker Heights, OH in the late 1990s. Ng's bestselling sophomore effort dives into two different but intertwined families whose lives are flip-turned-upside-down by a conflagration of personal mysteries, teenage desires, and a tense adoption case. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 488 - Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng

Everyone! There's been a MURDER! And the person who committed it is still listening to THIS VERY PODCAST!! While we try to figure this out you should definitely listen to us talk about Hercule Poirot, the unassuming-ish detective who is here to discover your deepest darkest secrets and chew bubblegum and is all out of bubblegum. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 487 - Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Join us for a trip back to Sherlock Holmes Times, as Melody and Erin from the Heaving Bosoms podcast help us talk about Kristen Callihan's Moonglow. The second book in the Darkest London series, Moonglow brings the romance and the supernatural lore in a way that keeps all four of us talking. You can find more from our new friends at the Heaving Bosoms podcast here. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 486 - Moonglow, by Kristen Callihan (w/ Heaving Bosoms)

Enjoy another episode of 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 28-42. In Episode 5, Don Quixote rejoins the party. and everyone decides to shack up in the only inn/castle in all of Spain. Secondary characters step into the spotlight with their own stories, including a novel-within-a-novel called The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious. In Episode 6, Don Quixote takes the backseat for a few more chapters. We have to close the book on Cardenio's Crew, finish the story of the Two Friends, and meet a few more ancillary characters who just love this inn. Find out more about how to get these episodes monthly at patreon.com/overduepod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jagged Little Mill, a Don Quixote miniseries - Episodes 5 & 6

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 murder mysteries: they'll read it all, one overdue book at a time.