Tag: The Book Table

What Harry Potter Taught Me About Satanism

1 Comment

1dd72c74-dd4f-4789-8d3d-694ba1279a47

Rebecca Kordesh, Director
Twitter | Blog

Personal observation: my chosen photo has never been more relevant than it is in this moment.

I went to Catholic school for 16 years. This provided me with a somewhat different school experience than many of my friends, and certainly with myriad stories that friends still love to hear about the different things I learned and the different classes I took than my public school peers. One such class was a morality class I took as a junior in high school, during which we discussed pretty much any topic under the sun, with special emphasis on the Big Ones. You know, the ones that come up in the news all the time.

Like Harry Potter. When I was a junior in high school I was waiting eagerly for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which would come out over the summer before my senior year. The Order of the Phoenix movie was released that same summer.

Continue reading →

Advertisement

TBT 12: The Name of the Wind

Leave a comment

For our twelfth episode, we had a lively discussion of Patrick Rothfuss‘s The Name of the Wind, a book that has quickly become considered an exemplar of the fantasy genre.

(n.b. Spoilers start around 24:00)

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at http://audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

In this episode you heard from:
Rebecca | @rumy91989
Madeleine | @madnbooks | youtube.com/madnbooks
Shelly | @shllybkwrm
Emma |
Christopher |@cmcb
Sara (by proxy) | @fantasticpiggy

The Book Table is a podcast from Backroom Whispering Productions. Our theme music is by Mark Wayne.

If you liked this podcast, rate us on iTunes! Or get in touch with us:
Twitter | @BackroomWhisper
Facebook | facebook.com/BackroomWhispering
Email | BackroomWhispering@gmail.com

TBT 11: How Do You Book?

Leave a comment

In this free-form discussion, several of our whisperers talk about the pros and cons of all the different ways we consume literature — whether it be print (hardback, paperback, mass market), digital (kindle, nook, iBooks), or audio.

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at http://audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

In this episode you heard from:
Akhi | @akhipill
Dorothy | @bwp_dorothy
Madeleine | @madnbooks | youtube.com/madnbooks
Louisa | @otterbewriting
Rebecca | @rumy91989
Sara | @fantasticpiggy
Tanis

The Book Table is a podcast from Backroom Whispering Productions. Our theme music is by Mark Wayne.

If you liked this podcast, rate us on iTunes! Or get in touch with us:
Twitter | @BackroomWhisper
Facebook | facebook.com/BackroomWhispering
Email | BackroomWhispering@gmail.com

TBT 10: Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Leave a comment

Our designated #LOGHSQUAD discusses the recently-released English translation of the first light novel in this acclaimed Japanese science-fiction series, as well as its comparison to the popular anime adaptation.

[Spoilers start at about 48:00]

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at http://audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

In this episode you heard from:
Akhi | @akhipill
Madeleine | @madnbooks | youtube.com/madnbooks
Mike
Robert
Shelly | @shllybkwrm
Stephen

The Book Table is a podcast from Backroom Whispering Productions. Our theme music is by Mark Wayne.

If you liked this podcast, rate us on iTunes! Or get in touch with us:
Twitter | @BackroomWhisper
Facebook | facebook.com/BackroomWhispering
Email | BackroomWhispering@gmail.com

Book Table 09: Non-Western Themes in Fantasy Literature

1 Comment

What about fantasy that doesn’t fit the genre-typical western Medieval European setting? In this episode, some of our whisperers discuss books they’ve read that explore non-western themes and places, as well as a bit about the genre as a whole!

In this episode, you heard from:
Akhi | @akhipill
Dorothy | @bwp_dorothy
Louisa | @otterbewriting
Rebecca | @rumy91989

Books mentioned in this episode include:
The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Stavely
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
Dune by Frank Herbert
Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Harry Potter / Pottermore by J.K. Rowling
The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky

The article about J.K. Rowling’s “Magic in North America” can be found on the Native Appropriations site.

 

The Book Table is a podcast from Backroom Whispering Productions. Our theme music is by Mark Wayne.

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

If you liked this podcast, rate us on iTunes! Or get in touch with us:
Twitter | @BackroomWhisper
Facebook | facebook.com/BackroomWhispering
Email | BackroomWhispering@gmail.com

*Nota bene: All links to books available for purchase through Amazon are affiliate links, which means Backroom Whispering Productions receive a small percentage of the sales made through that link.

New Book Table Episode: Shadowshaper

Leave a comment

In this episode we discussed Shadowshaper, a great urban fantasy YA novel! Our whisperers pretty much loved it overall.

Spoilers start at about 24:12.

22295304This episode will also be available on YouTube.

In this episode you heard from:
Dorothy | @bwp_dorothy
Louisa | @otterbewriting
Sara | @fantasticpiggy
Shelly | @shllybkwrm

Daniel José Older can be found at his website and on Twitter.

You can find his video “Why We Don’t Italicize Spanish” that we mentioned on YouTube.

Don’t forget to check out Louisa’s blog post on The Importance of Being Bennie!

And here is Sara’s Patchwork art!
12894552_10209669452641856_958068187_o.jpg

 

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

The Book Table is a podcast from Backroom Whispering Productions. Our theme music is by Mark Wayne.

If you liked this podcast, rate us on iTunes! Or get in touch with us:
Twitter | @BackroomWhisper
Facebook | facebook.com/BackroomWhispering
Email | BackroomWhispering@gmail.com

 

*Nota bene: All links to books available for purchase through Amazon are affiliate links, which means Backroom Whispering Productions receive a small percentage of the sales made through that link.

The Importance of Being Bennie

1 Comment

10343000_10152429575475979_4472182609485743427_n

Louisa Mitchell
Head Writer, Pycera
Twitter

 

Imagine the typical plot line of a modern YA fantasy.

You’ve got it, right?

Teen discovers they have mystical powers. Teen tries out said mystical powers. Teen is shocked, amazed, maybe a little scared. Teen doesn’t want to go to the adults in their life; they definitely wouldn’t understand. So Teen gathers their courage and decides to tell their best friend what happened — you know, the friend they’ve known forever? The one who casually talks to their parents and knows where all the dishes go at their house? That friend. Teen tells that friend what’s going on, and that friend responds…how?

“You’re crazy.”

“You’re kidding.”

Or maybe, nervously, “Teen, maybe we should get you some help.”

Continue reading →

A Brief History of Modern Fantasy

1 Comment

 552353_3422252960261_735548649_n.jpg

Akhi Pillalamarri
Head Web Content Contributor
Twitter | Website

 

A COMPANION TO TBT 07

Our most recent podcast on the “Evolution of Fantasy” featured a spirited debate about our favorite genre, from how we each defined “fantasy” to what we consider its developmental timeline. One of our biggest points of disagreement was about when what is considered “modern” fantasy started. Despite this, we at least had some general agreement that the publication of The Lord of the Rings‘ first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, in 1954 marked a significant turning point for the marketing and publishing of the fantasy genre.

To bounce off of this initial discussion, I wanted to write a brief history of what happened after 1950s, with some admitted speculation on my part.

Continue reading →

TBT 07: Evolution of Fantasy

3 Comments

How do you define fantasy literature? At what point was there a shift from mythology and fairy tales to what we consider to be fantasy today? Some of our more well-read Whisperers discuss these questions and more in this episode of The Book Table.

For listeners of The Book Table, Audible is offering a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial! Sign up at http://audibletrial.com/TheBookTable.

In this episode you heard from:
Akhi | akhipill
Dorothy | bwp_dorothy
Madeleine | madnbooks | youtube.com/madnbooks
Rebecca | rumy91989

Continue reading →

Tortall, Emelan, and Birth Control (Followup to TBT #06)

6 Comments

headshot

Dorothy McQuaid
Showrunner for Pycera/Social Media for BWP
Twitter | Blog | Email

I have to be honest- I learned a lot about sex and relationships from Tamora Pierce.

Tamora (or Queen Tammy, as fans sometimes affectionately dub her) is the author of numerous YA fantasy series, including Song of the Lioness, Protector of the Small, Immortals, Circle of Magic, and The Circle Opens. In this post, I’ll discuss why her approach to sex and birth control was so eye-opening for me. I’ll try not to get TOO spoiler-heavy, but if “abc learns xyz about birth control and does some kissing” is considered a spoiler, you may want to skip this post! The primary books discussed will be Song of the Lioness, Protector of the Small, and The Will of the Empress (a continuation of the Circle books.)

This post also discusses things like periods, birth control, and sex, so if those are not your cup of tea, this post won’t be either. 

Continue reading →