We Are OPEN!!

By now you've probably noticed that we're really, really bad at updating our Avid blog. But we're pros at updating Facebook and Twitter, and we are doing pretty well at actually running a brick & mortar bookshop.

That's right:  after four years of planning and education and preparation and money-gathering, Avid Bookshop has opened at 493 Prince Ave. in in-town Athens. Please drop by!

This week we are open Sunday from 10:30-5:30 and again Tuesday &Wednesday from 10:30-5:30. We will be closed on Monday, Oct. 17 so that we can run lots and lots of errands to prepare for the grand opening weekend.

On Thursday we have our first-ever poetry reading--local poet Ida Stewart will be here to celebrate the release of her new book, Gloss.

On Friday, 10/21 we'll be open from 10:30 AM until late, because Friday the 21st is our Grand Opening Party Part I!  And on Saturday the 22nd we're having the Grand Opening Part II, which is a kids' party.  Come on down!

We're beyond thrilled to be here at last.  Can't wait to see you.

Storytimes!

Janet Geddis, Avid's owner, conducts monthly storytimes at Full Bloom Pregnancy & Young Parenting Center as well as at Arrow Space for Families.

Full Bloom Storytimes:
Every Wednesday at 4, Full Bloom hosts storytime.  Avid Bookshop helps out the second Wednesday of each month.  Come see us! This storytime is especially geared toward babies & their caregivers, but kids up to 7 will be entertained.

Full Bloom
220 N. Milledge Ave
Athens, GA 30601
http://fullbloomparent.com/

Arrow Storytimes:
The first Wednesday of each month at 11:00 AM, Janet visits Arrow Space for Families (adjacent to Big City Bread Cafe) to read stories with the little ones.  The reading is especially geared toward infants & toddlers, but all kids and their caregivers are welcome.

Arrow
393 N. Finley St., Studio D
Athens, GA 30601
http://www.ourarrow.blogspot.com

My favorite novels by female writers - 2010

A belated happy new year!

The Athens Banner-Herald asked me to create an article featuring my Top 10 Reads of 2010.  I shared this link via Facebook and Beyond the Trestle already, but a few customers told me they hadn't seen it yet. I thought it best to cover all my bases by posting on the bookstore blog!  Here's the link to the ABH article:  http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/010211/liv_764268028.shtml

What books were your favorites of 2010?

I'm still blogging, I promise!

Hello there, avid Avid supporters. At least 30 times in the last couple of months, I've thought, "Eek! I have to update the Avid Blogger.com account so people know I've not fallen off the face of the earth."

And then I promptly forget to update the blog.

Things are still progressing rather swimmingly, if I do say so myself. I have been updating the Facebook fan page and the store's Twitter account frequently, and I've been work-work-working on getting more startup capital, doing bookstore internships, having meetings with folks from Athens-area nonprofits, chatting with local bankers, and more.

I've also been blogging about literature and reading on an Athens website called Beyond the Trestle. So far people have left encouraging and thought-provoking comments.  Check out my weekly entries here:  http://beyondthetrestle.com/blogs/janet-geddis

Of course I'll update you with any and all major developments. For now, rest assured that things are still moving along and we're on track toward opening in a few months' time.  As always, you can email me with any questions or comments. 

Take care, and happy reading!

summer's sweltering heat is here...

...and it's not even summer yet! 

Ah, Georgia.  I love you and your too-cozy, energy-zapping humidity, languid evenings on the porch, and early mornings walking as the sun burns the last of the cool air away.

Things have been busy as usual around here.  That 2-week turnaround time it takes to get one's sales and use tax certificate isn't exactly...um...accurate.  It's been 9 weeks for me, so I'm alternating between pestering the state of Georgia and trying to exercise patience.

I'm honored to be a regular contributor to the popular Athens website Beyond the Trestle.  Today the site published my inaugural post; look for me on Wednesdays to talk about literature and reading. This week's entry is called "A Literary Love Affair."  Please use the comments section to let me know what you think!

Nuci's Space Community Read: focus on depression & suicide

Last night I attended the book club meeting for the Nuci's Space Community Read. (Not familiar with Nuci's Space? You should be--it's an amazing, amazing place.)  Held upstairs at the Globe (where we met for our We Are Athens book club last month!), the meeting was well-attended and lively. 

Why did I resist book clubs for the first 28 years of my life?  Along with some friends I began a book club a couple of years ago, and it's brought me such joy and fulfillment to discuss books with smart people.  Since beginning that personal book club, I've taken part in several others (and even organized one).  I feel hooked! By now you probably realize I'm quite the reader, and for years I thought that I wouldn't want to hash apart a book with others (especially strangers, and especially after having done so in school for four years).  But having begun taking part in book clubs recently, I can't imagine what my old self was thinking!

I'm exposed to so many different points of view, so many interpretations that hadn't occurred to me.  Each reader comes from a background totally separate from everyone else, and that means each reading is unique.  When readers get together to share these perspectives, you can watch the faces of the group as they begin to understand the book and one another in unexpected ways.

The next Avid-hosted book club will meet Thursday, April 29th at 6 PM downtown (specific location TBD). We're reading The Better World Handbook.  Hope you can join even if you don't get a chance to read the book.

Buy Local Book Club

As some of you already know, some of us Athenians are working together to create an Athens Buy Local initiative.  Our Facebook page already has well over one thousand fans, which bodes very well for our city's future. There will be a formal launch of the program this year.  As a new small business owner (and child of parents who've had a small business for over 30 years), it's both invigorating and heartwarming to see so much support for our independent-minded, eclectic community.

Recently I posted a link (on Facebook) to the American Booksellers Association's Indie Local First Reading List, a collection of books about "making and keeping local communities vibrant." I asked fans of Avid Bookshop and fans of Buy Local Athens if they'd be interested in participating in a book club focused on buying and sourcing locally.  The response was immediate and strong, so here I am to share with you a few books for us to choose from.   Vote below in the comments section or via email. (I'm sure there'll be some debate and discussion on the Buy Local Facebook page and the Avid Bookshop Facebook page as well.  Worry not--I'll find a way to combine all this feedback in order to pick the book most people wanted to read.)

We'll plan to meet in mid-March to discuss the book together at some locally-owned, independent business (to be chosen later).

Here are three books to choose from.  Click on the titles for more information, courtesy of Indiebound.org. Let me know which one you're most interested in! Voting deadline is Friday, January 15th.

1. The Better World Handbook (2007 edition) by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson
2. The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper and Benjamin Fried
3. Deep Economy: The Wealth of Economies and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben 

5 of my favorite reads of 2009

I've read a little more than 60 books this year, and there wasn't a truly bad one in the bunch.  (My adoration for Mary Tyler Moore prevents me from talking too negatively about her most recent autobiographical adventure, a book I really wanted to love.)

Despite having liked the vast majority of books I read in 2009, there are a handful that definitely stand out.  Below, in no particular order, are some favorite 2009 reads.  (Note:  just because I read them in '09 doesn't necessarily mean they were published in '09.)  Click on any title for a full synopsis of the book, courtesy of Indiebound.org.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

I found this book profoundly moving and very well-written.  Jordan does an excellent job of showing us how circumstances shape us (and how sometimes we turn into versions of ourselves we'd never, ever suspect). I highly recommend this to anyone 16+.







The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

At this year's Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance trade show, I went to a panel called "Got Us Shaking in Our Boots" to hear a handful of authors speak about their haunting fictional creations.  As someone who reads very little mystery and horror, I thought it important to attend this session--I wanted to become more educated for my own benefit but also to better work with Avid customers who like this genre.  To my pleasant surprise, I was blown away by Carrie Ryan's work.  I recommend it for people 13+ who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and (dare I say it?) Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

Oh!: A Mystery of "Mono No Aware" by Todd Shimoda

While at the Chin Music Press booth at Book Expo America this year, my partner in crime and I had the opportunity to meet the intelligent and amiable Todd Shimoda.  Jim and he got along swimmingly, and before I knew it we both had autographed copies of Shimoda's book in our hands.  And what a beautiful book it is! The people of Chin Music Press pride themselves on high-quality, appealing design.  (Check out their site for more examples of their work.)  The content is as compelling as the book's look.  Shimoda's story is sparse in some places, rich with detail and emotion in others.  I could say I recommend it to those interested in Japanese culture and those moved by the beauty of sadness.  But if I were to say that, I'd sound more than a bit silly and maybe even pretty snobby--but I'd be telling the truth.  This is a book I might never have read had I encountered it in any other way--but I'm so glad I met the author and decided to give it a chance.  I just loved it.


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
I picked this up for a friend while shopping at Bound to Be Read Books and ended up reading it myself first.  (That's excusable, right?  I mean, I don't dog-ear pages or crack the spines open more than two inches!)  Months later, I had the pleasure of sitting in at Bound to Be Read's monthly book club meeting and had a fun time discussing this novel with other readers.  It's very funny in parts, but there exists also a nearly overwhelming sadness to the plotline.  There are hand-drawnsketches throughout the book, and these bring levity to some of the seriousness of the story.  I recommend it for mature kids and adults (14+).




The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walliasper

I picked this up while browsing the shelves at Urban Think! Bookstore in Orlando, Florida earlier this month.  As someone really interested in my own neighborhood's well-being (and as the secretary of Athens's new-ish Buy Local initiative), I thought that this book would make a useful purchase.  To my surprise, I gobbled it up within a day, scribbling feverishly in the margins and underlining ideas that would work well in Athens.  If you're wanting to learn ways to make your neighborhood feel more homey, to make your neighborhood safe, to make your neighborhood more of the place you dream of, this is the book for you.  I've already recommended it to several like-minded friends in town--won't you give it a shot as well?





Many of you already shared your favorite 2009 reads on our Facebook page, but I know there are more of you out there!  Feel free to use the comments section below to tell us what you loved best this year.

it's oh so quiet... (or, a behind-the-scenes glimpse)

Things have been quiet on the blog for the last week or so, I know--here's hoping you've not checked this page and worried about my slacking! Rest assured, my friends: I've been working like crazy on some cool developments.

Here are some things I've been up to:

1. I bought a CueCat. Now I'm able to scan the ISBNs off the used books I have for sale. As we speak, Biblio.com is deciding whether or not I'm worthy of an online "storefront." As soon as they give me the go ahead, I'll be able to send you a link to my 200 or so used books for sale. (I'm trying to generate some capital so I can get a website that will allow me to sell new books to you--books will go directly from the wholesaler's warehouse to your door!)

2. I've been meeting with folks who are interested in learning more about Avid Bookshop, including some who might eventually be formally involved with the store. Good news there!

3. My amazing designer friend Brandi created some logos for Avid! I've sent them out to a few folks and am getting wonderfully constructive feedback on them (and all the feedback is positive--Brandi's gifted, I tell you). Soon I'll get back to Brandi and she will create the final version of our sure-to-be-hip logo. (I promise you'll like it.)

4. Research, research, research.... I've been learning about other successful bookstores' inventive ideas; I've been working on version 542 of my business plan; I've been researching legal structures.

5. I've scheduled appointments to meet with business and accounting experts who will help me make some final decisions about Avid's business structure. I'll be filing for my formal business license with the Secretary of State as soon as next week! (Very exciting.)

6. Avid was mentioned in the Flagpole again (link forthcoming--as of this evening they haven't posted this week's news articles).

7. And of course there are tons of menial tasks I've been up to--adding to the soon-to-exist newsletter mailing list, trying to catch up on email, working with other booksellers, setting up an internship at another indie bookstore, and more, more, more.

8. Last but not least, I spent two days last weekend assuming different personalities.


So that's what's been going on behind the scenes here at Avid headquarters. Of course I've set aside time to read. Right now I'm reading the 1950s classic Betsy and the Great World & Betsy's Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace--delightful! Before that I finished Michael Greenberg's Hurry Down Sunshine, a memoir about his teenaged daughter's mental breakdown.

Cheap books could lead to fewer books - the book price war

If you keep up with big retail news stories (or even book industry news briefs), you probably have heard about the recent price-gauging fight among Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target, and now Sears.  The New York Times had a feature on this battle today.  In an attempt to control bestseller market share and bring more folks to their superstores (where, inevitably, more items will be purchased), these retailers are cutting down prices on books to the point where they're taking a hit.

Perhaps you read bestsellers exclusively and drool at the thought of a new hardback book that's less than half the cost it'd be if you bought it at a brick and mortar store (chain or indie)--but think again before you rush off to Wal-Mart with your $10 bill in hand.  There's something afoot here, and it has nothing to do with the love of books, the love of reading, or the love of you--the customer.

The folks at WORD Brooklyn sent out a link to this piece about this week's price war and what it could mean for readers.  This price-gauging should frighten you and make you think again about where you buy books and the effect of your shopping choices.  Here's a quote from the above-mentioned New York Times article:

It’s a contest “that has no end in sight,” said Michael Norris, a consultant with Simba Information, which provides research and advice to publishers. Mr. Norris said the price war could be particularly damaging to the publishing industry and booksellers because the retailers who were currently slashing prices “don’t need to sell books in order to stay in business” and therefore can sell the books at a loss.

Please do take the time to read up on the issue, and feel free to leave any feedback here on the blog.

Thanks!

more behind the scenes info: getting finances organized with help from a new book

It goes without saying I don't have enough cash in my account to open and fund Avid--I'll be applying for several loans, grants, and investments to add on to the savings I've already accumulated.  But before I could even think about acquiring a loan, I needed to get a better handle on my personal budget.

That's where this book comes in:  I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I don't know that I should be recommending the book just yet, as I'm only done with a couple of chapters and have many pages to go.  But hey--I can at least wholeheartedly recommend the first two chapters, right? 

Let's get this out on the table right away:  I am not someone who's fixated on money or even particularly amazing at managing finances.  Yes, I pay off my credit card every month.  Yes, I have a job with a salary.  Yes, I am good at math. But no, I don't ever look more deeply to find out what my exact credit situation is and how this could affect my personal and professional projects. 

Until today.

I read this book and immediately felt called to action.  This is pretty special for me, as most books I read that are billed as self-help don't make me get up and move.  (I especially like reading about yoga, exercise, and meditation while lying in bed doing none of those three things.)  Something about Sethi's tone (which can be obnoxious but is, in general, encouraging and genuine) drives me to work.  He said I'd feel empowered if I started working on my finances one little bit at a time instead of having the big bulk of them looming over my head forever in one scary thunderhead.  So today I found out my credit score (good), composed a letter to the credit reporting agency asking that some erroneous information be fixed (which will help improve my score), paid off this month's credit card bill, set up some autopay bills (which helps keep your accounts active, something that's very important), and applied for another part-time job.  KAPOW!

My true inspiration for all this movement is my goal of opening Avid Bookshop as soon as possible, first as an online store, then as a book fair operation, and finally as a brick and mortar storefront. 

What have you done in recent months to jump-start your professional or personal life?

(Thanks to someone at Workman Publishing who was kind enough to send me a complimentary copy of this book the moment I mentioned on Twitter that I wanted to read it! Now THAT's service.)

brief book review & GIVEAWAY: Rhodi Hawk's A TWISTED LADDER

This past weekend at SIBA, I listened to author Rhodi Hawk discuss her debut novel, A Twisted Ladder. Of the 40+ books I acquired at SIBA, this is the first one I picked up to read once I got home, and that's mainly because it sounded like nothing I'd read before.  Hawk's 540-page book is by turns mesmerizing and eerie and thought-provoking.  I suspect its haunting, lyrical questions about relationships, identity, and the power of the mind will linger.

Here's the description from the back of the book:

Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that if she could unravel the disease's origins, she could cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou.  When Marc takes his own life, Madeleine embarks on a shocking journey into her family's history--fraught with dark secrets, conjured demons, and a powerful relative who puts Madeleine's own life and property in peril. The only way she can save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.

The imagery in A Twisted Ladder conjures realistic snapshopts of the bayou, both antebellum and prohibition-era Louisiana, and post-Katrina New Orleans.  I'm not an Anne Rice fan, but I hear she's an influence on Hawk's writing (and other reviewers claim that Rice fans will be Hawk fans).

I recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers, well-written scifi, magic realism, and Southern gothicism.  People who are interested in the human brain and its mysterious functioning will also have a great adventure with A Twisted Ladder.

Want to win an autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder?  In the comments field below, tell us about one book you chose to read because it sounded quite different from what you usually read or because you wanted to explore outside your reading boundaries.  How did you experience reading outside your comfort zone? Winner will be randomly chosen and notified Wednesday, October 7.   

UPDATE:  Thanks to the four folks who gave interesting and intricate answers to my question!  I used a random number generator to determine the winner.  Congratulations to Katie B.!  Katie, I'll contact you personally to get your mailing address.  Hope you enjoy this autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder.

(Thanks to Rhodi Hawk and her publishers for giving me a free copy at SIBA two weeks ago.)

New books & new friends at SIBA

This past weekend I ventured to Greenville, SC for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) trade show.  Originally I'd planned on driving up super-early one morning only to return the same day--this would save me from spending hotel money but would also mean having to just pick one of several fun days to attend.  Turns out my fairy godmother (read:  very real biological mother) decided to come with me AND throw in dough for the hotel.  Score!

My mom's love of reading is probably the most predominant factor contributing to my complete and utter bookwormdom.  She has been a voracious reader since she was a young girl, and she holds degrees in English and book club management.  (So I'm inventing a second degree here--but hey, she's deserving of the title if anyone is.)  As I've changed my job plans frequently since graduating from college in 2002, it stands to reason that my parents might not be entirely ready to jump in full-force behind these bookstore plans.  But now that I've been planning Avid for two years and show no signs of slowing, I think they're beginning to understand that this is it.  This is for real.  So having my mom at SIBA with me was pretty great--she got to meet some of my real-life and virtual-life friends and got to pick up lots of ARCs (advanced reading copies), which is a thrill for any reader.

Janet, Mary Carol, & Marsha Wood

Robb Soriano

Among the real-life friends I got to reunite with were Marsha Wood and Robb Soriano from Ingram Book Company; Jef Blocker and Jeff McCord from Bound to Be Read Books; Charley Greiner from Baker & Taylor; and Laura and Anne Devault (sisters from Charlottesville, VA whom I met at the Paz & Associates training). 

There were several people whom I've emailed or tweeted with whose faces I'd never really seen. I'm happy to report that all were just as nice in person as they seem to be online. These folks included writers Laurel Snyder and Donny Seagraves as well as SIBA gurus Nicki Leone, Elton Porter,  and Wanda Jewell.  Of course it was lovely to finally meet online book industry folks in person: Rich Rennicks and Caroline Green of Malaprop's, Michael Hill (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Bob Gray (Shelf Awareness), and more. 

 Robert Jackson Bennett & Rhodi Hawk

 Mary Carol, Janet, & author Batt Humphreys

A few weeks before SIBA, I looked through the day-to-day schedule of the show and recognized very few author names.  Attending two Book Expo America shows taught me a valuable lesson, though:  not having heard of many names on the program is not a bad thing at all.  In fact, it's a thrill to walk into a trade show on a Thursday with a program chock full of strangers' names and leave on Saturday having met (and acquired signed books of) many of those authors.  Now I'm thrilled to have a staggering new collection of books I can't wait to read.  Some books I'm most excited about include those of authors that appeared at two panels I attended:  the "Got Us Shaking in our Boots Author Panel" and the "Writing the South" panel.  I'm not a big thriller/suspense reader, but when I met the gracious and funny Robert Jackson Bennett at a mixer hosted by Fiction Addiction, I decided to support him by attending the panel he'd be taking part in.  And am I glad I did--it turns out I am interested in suspenseful, scary books (at least the ones presented by this collection of authors). 

Jenny and her mom, author Donny Seagraves

chef/author Ted Lee and author Laurel Snyder

Mary Carol with Jeff & Jeff of Bound to Be Read Books

Now if only I could freeze time and spend the next couple of months reading the 40+ books I acquired in the last few weeks.  Sigh.

What new (or new to you) books are you excited about reading?

Book Recommendation: NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm stunned.  This book seemed to slowly envelop me like fog--I began it quickly, really enjoying the story and going through it fast, thinking I liked the concept but didn't really feel invested in the characters.  I soon realized that even my non-book time was dipped in this feeling of foreboding and wonder. Ishiguro was masterful at pulling me in:  by the time I was halfway through, I looked up to realize how emotionally involved I was with the story.  As I got closer to the end, the discomfiting sense of dread grew increasingly powerful, leaving me with a heavy feeling on my chest.  I closed the book just minutes ago and can't think of immediately opening another novel as I usually do.  I've too much thinking to do.


Never Let Me Go  will stay with me for a long time.  It's disturbing and beautiful and thought-provoking.  I highly recommend it.

(For a synopsis of the book and to find a nearby indie bookstore carrying it, go here.)

View all my reviews >>

a great podcast for lovers of literature & storytelling...

I wrote this for my personal blog six months ago but thought it'd be of particular interest to readers of the Avid blog.

Are there any English majors out there? Anyone who wanted to take more English classes but decided to pursue some other interests instead? You might want to keep reading to find out what podcast I'm going to recommend and why. I promise it's good--you should stay tuned.

As someone with an undergraduate degree in English and American literature, I can recall many, many hours of discussion-based literature classes during which pompous classmates dismissed others' theories and claimed their interpretations were the "right" ones. Luckily, far more prevalent are the memories of having one "aha!" moment after another during class discussions, grateful for others' insights that led me to understanding the story, poem, or essay more deeply. Despite my initial discomfort with revealing to others what I saw in the patterns and prose of fiction, I eventually opened up with the knowledge that almost any self-proclaimed theory about literature can be argued as long as you have some evidence and well-picked quotes to support it. Work may be created by the author with one particular goal in mind, but his readers will walk away from the piece with a variety of insights the author may not have intended--and each reader may have a completely unique interpretation.

Other than a few informal meetings of our local fledgling book club, I haven't much talked about literature in a critical sense since I graduated from NYU in 2002. I read voraciously and definitely reflect on my reading, but I don't go out of my way to push myself to understand a novel more deeply or try to see someone else's point of view. I read and reflect alone, then put the book back on the shelf. I hadn't realized I missed the push and pull of roundtable literature discussions, hadn't known that I'd missed the part of myself that could pull all-nighters writing twenty-page papers about my particular take on a poem.

Until now. On a whim, I downloaded a few episodes of The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast. I bundled up for a walk a couple weeks back and pressed play on my iPod and was whisked into a wonderful, beautiful story. I can't remember what episode I listened to that day, but I can remember smiling as I walked down the streets of Athens. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! I feel as if I'm in one of my English classes with a really good teacher and no obnoxious, holier-than-thou classmates!" You see, the show not only features the stories themselves--it comes complete with a brief discussion before and after the story is read. One famous author picks any story he wants that has been published in The New Yorker. The guest author reads this story he admires and then discusses the ins and outs of the work with the magazine's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, who has a really pleasant voice (unlike the voices I've stumbled across on several less-established podcasts). I did a quick Google search for her so I could link to her name and came across a really great article from The New York Times--click on her name and read it, if you'd like. Sounds like a cool woman in the NYT article.

And she sounds like a cool woman in her recorded life on this podcast. She isn't abrasive, judgmental, or dismissive when it comes to guest authors' interpretations of the work they choose to read. She retains the wide-eyed wonder (overused phrase--sorry--but it seems to ring true here) of a girl who's still in love with reading, who's still amazed at all the tricks of language and tone. Deborah and the guest author talk about whatever has moved them in the story, about the author's language and motivation, about his/her diction and use of imagery. I've listened to about ten of the episodes so far, and no one has annoyed me. The stories are always great, and the intimate conversation that follows really does shine light on the story.

Have you never ventured into literary criticism but wanted to know what intellectual bibliophiles had to say about so-called "good" fiction? Did you take one (or twenty) literature classes in college and then go cold turkey, not having another literary discussion after age 22? Are you an avid reader who thinks she immediately knows all there is to know about a piece of writing? Are you curious to know why I love this show so much? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have an answer: this is the podcast for you.

Let me know what you think of it.