The Coode Street Podcast

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time. Today Gary spends ten minutes with World Fantasy and Nebula Award-winning author Ellen Klages, who most recently added the New York Historical Society Children's Book Prize and the Ohioana Book Award for Out of Left Field to her resume. It turns out that Jonathan persuaded her to try the first volume of Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series—the same ones he and James Bradley discussed on an earlier episode of Ten Minutes with...  She’s also been getting into locked-room murder mysteries. Books mentioned in this episode include: Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty While the Clock Ticked (The Hardy Boys) by Franklin W. Dixon The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries by Otto Penzler, ed. The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan, ed. Chopped, a TV reality/cooking/game show

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through this strange time. Today Jonathan spends Ten Minutes with Garth Nix, who talked about Hilary Mantel, Oliver Cromwell, and more. Garth's Angel Mage is out now and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is due soon (though not soon enough for one unnamed Coode Streeter). Books mentioned include: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel Thomas Cromwell by Diarmaid MacCulloch Angel Mage by Garth Nix The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan

This week, Jonathan and Gary are back together (with no guests) for the first time in several weeks, and we discuss the inevitable: the current pandemic, and the various ways in which it was and was not anticipated by past science fiction narratives—not only of worldwide plagues but of alien invasion stories and tales of isolation. But we also find time to touch upon the reading we’ve both been up to, including Gene Wolfe’s final novel, Lavie Tidhar’s reinvention of the Arthurian tales By Force Alone and some recent titles edited by Jonathan himself, including Zen Cho’s The Order of the Full Moon Reflected in Water and Alex Irvine’s Anthropocene Rag. We also encourage listeners to check out our newly launched series of short "Ten Minutes With . . ." podcasts, and to support not only their local bookstores, but independent publishers, including our beloved Locus magazine, who like so many people are facing unprecedented stresses in the current economic environment.

Today Gary spends Ten Minutes with Naomi Kritzer, whose wonderful YA novel Catfishing on CatNet is a finalist for this year’s Andre Norton, Edgar, and Minnesota Book Awards, and whose Tor.com story “Little Free Library” is available on April 8. Books mentioned include: The Years that Matter Most How College Makes or Breaks Us by Paul Tough The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen World of the Five Gods series by Lois McMaster Bujold "So Much Cooking," by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld) "Little Free Library," by Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com) A New Decameron: Stories for a Plague Year by Jo Walton ed. (Patreon.com)

And we're doing it! One episode every day, without apology (almost)  Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with the incredible Jeffrey Ford who, despite somewhat terrible audio at his end, is wonderful company as he talks about what he's reading to get through the apocalypse and what you might.   What are you reading right now (and what do you think of it: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel The Blizzard by Vladimir Sorokin The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson What would you recommend people read if they’re shut in (and why) The Summer Book by Tove Jansson Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf The Man Who Watched Trains Go By by Georges Simenon Prosper’s Demon by K.J. Parker   What do you have out in the world right now or coming soon you’d like to mention (optional) The Best of Jeffrey Ford (PS Publishing) Out of Body, Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com)

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes talking to the fabulous Tochi Onyebuchi about reading for pleasure, writing in a time of crisis, what he's been reading, what he'd recommend, and what he's been writing.  As always, our sincere thanks to Tochi for being part of this crazy project. Books mentioned include: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi

Last year saw the publication of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, the enchanting debut novel from Alix E. Harrow.  Today, in our continuing "Ten Minutes with..." series of short podcasts, Jonathan sits down with Alix to talk about the inordinate good fortune of being a writer asked to blurb the most awesome of books, what to read if you're looking for something to challenge you in these dark times, and what to read if you're just looking for a little bit of respite.  Books mentioned in this episode include: Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Broken Earth Trilogy by N K Jemisin The Brother Sinisters series by Courtney Milan The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

And now for something a little different. Jonathan spends ten minutes with James Bradley, author of the fabulous new novel Ghost Species to discuss Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series of crime novels which starts with The Cold, Cold Ground; Lily King's Writers & Lovers, and much more. Books mentioned in this episode include: The Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty Writers & Lovers by Lily King Ghost Species by James Bradley The Electric State by Simon Stalenhag Some more things James has read recently that he highly recommends: Bridge 108 by Anne Charnock Greenwood by Michael Christie Agency by William Gibson Zero Bomb by MT Hill The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel Gathering Evidence by Martin MacInnes Circe by Madeleine Miller Weather by Jenny Offill Some books James is looking forward to a lot: Mammoth by Chris Flynn The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel War of the Maps by Paul McAuley The Trespassers by Meg Mundell Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer

Today Gary Wolfe spends ten minutes with Nisi Shawl, who is currently preparing her introduction to the Library of America edition of Octavia Butler's work. They briefly touch upon Cory Doctorow as well as Nisi’s recent mini-collection from PM Press, Talk Like a Man, and the forthcoming sequel to her Nebula-nominated novel Everfair.   Books mentioned in this episode include: Fledgling by Octavia Butler Walkaway by Cory Doctorow Talk Like a Man by Nisi Shawl Everfair by Nisi Shawl

In the second of our all-new "Ten Minutes with..." series, Jonathan spends ten minutes (well, nearly twenty) with critic and reviewer Ian Mond talking about the book he's reading right now and the books he recommends for those with a little time on their hands (some of which he's reviewing for Locus). Books mentioned in this episode include: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Bubblegum by Adam Levin We All Hear Stories in the Dark by Robert Shearman Providence by Max Barry Ghost Species by James Bradley Pew by Catherine Lacey Temporary by Hilary Leichter