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09-15-11: Tad Williams Reading and Interview at SF in SF on August 13, 2011


"The Lord of the Rings, so far as I was concerned, took place in the Sierras."

—Tad Williams

Just try to keep up with Tad Williams — just try. Here's a man who describes himself as lazy while talking at about ten million words a minute, working on three or so different series, trying to re-invent his own publishing world — a man who writes books as thick as your fist.

When he read at SF in SF in August, he sat down, told us he hadn't even so much as looked at 'Caliban's Hour' in years and then proceeded to deliver a truly outstanding Shakespearean reading. It's powerful stuff of the sort that sends me, at least, to my computer to order the ebook even before the reading is done. It's that good.

You'll also hear his wife, Deborah Beale, in the intro, as they chat a bit about the creation of the book; after all, she commissioned it.

In our short interview, Tad and I talked about his work as a musician. He told me that he'd been in a band that was going to open for Edgar Winter back in Winter's Frankenstein heyday, thus completing the circle of monsters. We also talked about the influence of California's landscape on his fantasy fiction.

You can hear the interview we did by following this link to the MP3 audio file.

You can hear the reading from Caliban's hour by following this link to the MP3 Audio file.




09-14-11: Deborah Beale Reads from 'The Dragons of Ordinary Farm' at SF in SF, August 13, 2011; Deborah Beale Interviewed at SF in SF, August 13, 2011


"...it struck me that I had to go to America ..."

—Deborah Beale

I'll be hosting a new Agony Column Live Show, this Saturday at Capitola Book Café, at 6:30 PM, with Deborah Beale and Tad Williams, and to give readers a sense of how much fun they can expect, I'm going to podcast everything we did at the last show for SF in SF, in August. And that was a lot of fun.

I have to admit, I was intimidated, and I didn't know the half of it. I did know that Tad Williams was a huge bestselling writer, and I'd thoroughly enjoyed 'The War of the Flowers.' I have friends here who have read every word more than once — and that's a lot of words! And had I known what I know now about Beale, I would have been properly terrified instead of merely intimidated. Perhaps in some cases, ignorance is indeed strength. Or at least, it can avert self-induced weakness.

All my foreboding was of course groundless, because Williams and Beale as are charming in performance as they are talented on (and behind) the page. In order to give readers and listeners the full measure of what to expect, I'm offering two podcasts today. You can follow this link to the MP3 audio file of Deborah Beale's reading from 'The Dragons of Ordinary Farm.' At the show, as it happens, that was the second reading, so you'll hear Tad Williams provide a brief introduction. Then you can follow this link to the MP3 file to hear my short interview with Deborah Beale.




09-13-11 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 9: Laurie R. King, 'Pirate King'


Here's the ninth episode of my new series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The ninth episode is a look at the work of Laurie R. King and her latest novel, 'Pirate King.'

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Episode 9: Time to Read: Laurie R. King, 'Pirate King.'




09-12-11: A 2011 Interview With George Pelecanos

Click image for audio link.

"...maybe somebody's trying to tell me to write a book about this guy Spero."

—George Pelecanos

I often like to think of what I try to do as a series of successive approximations. I get half way there, then halfway again, and then at least close enough so it seems like I made the journey, if you look at things from the right angle. This approach was definitely in play with interviewing George Pelecanos, one of those opportunities that pop up at the last moment and then require some vectoring to get in place. Fortunately, we ended up in exactly the right place.

The original hop was to run the interview at KQED, but the request came too late and they had no room — which proved to be fortuitous. The next plan was to do the interview in his hotel in San Francisco, which is at the top of a hill, and in a zone where the free parking is as scarce as gold and the paid parking requires a hefty amount of gold. My plan was to arrive about an hour early and circle till I found something free, hoping I wouldn't have to lug my gear too far.

But then the flight was delayed, and the interview was pushed back an hour. Pelcanos' driver called me and was incredibly helpful in this regard, keeping me informed all the way. Along the way, he mentioned that he had to stop by M for Mystery books in San Mateo to do a stock signing, and that was indeed my opportunity to adjust the vector. I proposed doing the interview there, where parking was cheap and plentiful. Not only that, the bookstore is in a pretty quiet part of town.

The folks at M for Mystery were superb and helpful; Pam let me use the perfect office and Ed Kaufman, a man of historic import to the genre (link to audio interivew with Ed Kaufman), was an eminently gentile host. I arrived shortly after Pelecanos and by the time I was set up, he was done signing. We sat down in an office with better acoustics than many studios and set about discussing his latest novel, 'The Cut', his latest work in TV and what's to come.

It's not surprising that Pelecanos is a straight-talking guy. He wastes no words, but he's incredibly informative. He's very smart about his own work and very passionate. But he's also like his prose. You can tell that the man lives his life with a spare efficiency that ensures every word, every action matters. Put on your seat belt, put the car into drive, or pull up a chair and pour yourself a brew, then follow this link to the MP3 audio file of my conversation with George Pelecanos.



New to the Agony Column

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Erik Larson : "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

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