11-15-14 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 183: Azar Nafisi, 'Republic of the Imagination: America in Three Books'
Click image for audio link.
Here's the one-hundred eighty-third episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read, or when I warn the writer in advance, the lightning round. Hitting the who knows-year mark, I'm going to make an effort to stay ahead, so that podcast listeners can get the same sort of "sneak preview" effect that radio listeners get each Friday morning.
This week, I'm way behind, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to get back up and stumbling. I have lots of great books in the hopper to review and lots of great interviews to podcast.
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.
Photo by Miranda Penn Turner
Click image for audio link.
"...an unwise decision on my part..."
Cary Elwes
Speaking with Cary Elwes about 'As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride' was a fascinating exercise in Escher-esque perceptions. It was the literary equivalent of gazing into a microscope that was looking at the image in a telescope pointed at a mirror. My guide was a perfect English gentleman, modest and unassuming.
You can hear this in the interview, in every answer to every question. Elwes was then and still is now clearly quite honored to have been part of something that touched so many hearts. To my mind, the power of the movie derives in large part from William Goldman's novel.
Goldman knew the power of storytelling, and played with it in a manner that drew readers and viewers in. Elwes himself knows the powers of storytelling and takes a back seat to the tales he is telling.
Elwes is still a total matinee idol. He looks untouched by the years. He's also smart enough to know that he was part of something larger than himself. He's a master impersonator, and this is what makes the interview so wonderful. When you listen, you'll hear Bill Cosby, Rob Reiner, and André the Giant there in the room. You can hear them all by following this link to the MP3 audio files.
And this proves much more difficult than you can imagine. The individual recipes are a treat; they are easy, but it's the state of min that Cowin captures in her open9ing passages that really matters. Keep an open mind; pay attention; read the recipes. It seems so basic that it is easy to mess up. But one you get the basics down, you can have a blast with Cowin – I certainly did.
Just put two people who like to cook, but know the pitfalls (having pit-fallen into them) and that's a recipe for a fun conversation. Cowin and I talked about her Brussels Sprouts phase, and my version of garlic stuffed Brussels Sprouts. And it was from her that I gleaned that what i thought was my overly-browned Pear + Brown Sugar Upside-Down Cake was in fact just extra deliciously caramelized.
I had my eternal question about bending pastry sheets answered both in person and in the book. This was one of those chats that I made certain was going to bring back some useful, practical information. And yes, that's the main vibe I get from Cowin. She's practical, down-to-earth, and funny.
The unwritten rule is often "Don't ask questions unless you pretty much know the answers." The idea is, I guess, that the interviewer should control the interview. It's not without merit, but here especially, I was going to ask for all sorts of geeky tips.
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]
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..."
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 : 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
