Hello. It's us. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Memory. Identity. Barbra Streisand. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

We haven't got our actual podcast recorded yet but here's a taste of why you should read along. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

An ordinary (kind of) man caught in extraordinary circumstances! A race against time to expose a dangerous spy ring! Long walks through Scotland! It's John Buchan's immortal (?), classic (?): The 39 Steps. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Mysterious intelligent rats??? Please don't refer to our podcasters like that! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Tolstoy is a great writer. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novella about a middle-aged man named Ivan Ilyich. Yep, he dies. It's sad, moving, thoughtful, ironic, true to life, etc. And unlike some other Tolstoy books we could name, it's short. Worth your time. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Check out the Kickstarter for our friend's non-woke children's book, The Rainbow Knight. The Bookening talks about a charming kid's book by the quirky children's author (and longtime New Yorker illustrator) William Steig. We talk about some of his early books of "symbolic pictures" too—too dark to be kid's stuff. You have been forewarned! You can c…

"Emma" by Jane Austen is considered a great novel due to its sharp wit, complex characters, and insightful commentary on societal norms and human nature. Austen's writing is known for its irony, subtle humor, and ability to draw readers into the world of her characters. The novel also explores themes of class, romance, self-delusion, and the danger…

A salesman who shared his liquor and steered while sleeping... A Cherokee filled with bourbon. A VW no more than a bubble of hashish fumes, captained by a college student. And a family from Marshalltown who head-onned and killed forever a man driving west out of Bethany, Missouri.. ..I rose up sopping wet from sleeping under the pouring rain, and s…

Ho ho ho! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

All the pretty horses ... where do they all come from? All the pretty horses? Where do they all belong? Did you know Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode Island? He had to work to sort of figure out how to become a southern western gothic writer, or whatever he is. Anyway, The Bookening talks about All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. ★ Support t…

For some reason this is our Spooky October episode. Love is ... frightening? Or we dumbly mixed up the Stephen King episode and this one in release order? Who can tell? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

The Green Mile by Stephen King. It’s a book we review. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular pr…

Nathan checks in with an update on when you can expect the next full episode and a very interesting story about trying to schedule with Brandon. But believe me, if you don't like episodes that aren't just about books, this is NOT the episode for you. You have been warned. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Revenge, madness, whale blubber, etc. The Bookening discusses one of the best books they've ever discussed. And probably the great American novel. Herman Melville's Moby Dick. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

"If it had not borne Mr. Dickens's name, it would in all probability have hardly met with a single reader; and if it has any popularity at all, it must derive it from the circumstance that it stands in the same relation to his other books as salad dressing stands in towards a complete salad. It is a bottle of the sauce in which Pickwick and Nichola…

The senselessness of life. The meaninglessness of death. Those moments where you murder someone in cold blood for no particular reason. Hope you like existential stuff. Because Ernest Heminway and Albert Camus sure do, as we talk about in this mega-stuft episode of none other than ..... THE BOOKENING. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

The Bookening is divided over one of the great (?) Russian novels! Here's a link to that great piece on Tolstoy and Turgenev's relationship. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Two children's books that we had STRONG feelings about! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Happy Valentine's Day! It's been six years. Can you believe it? Time for The Bookening to return to the book that started it all. Will our opinions have changed? Will we argue our former selves into the dust? Will we now HATE Pride and Prejudice???? Find out in this mega stuffed episode. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

How is the Bookening moving forward after a 2021 that wasn't what we wanted? What are we reading in 2022? Was Ender's Game a good novel? The answers to all these questions and more in the mega-long super spectacular new episode! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Next week (Lord willing) Jake and Brandon will face off in the epic trial of Ender's Game. This week Jake prepares. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Ender's Game on, Bro! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. Will our heroes decide this book is romantic wish fulfillment? Or just really good? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

In which our heroes discuss E. M. Forster, a gay guy who lived his mom until she died at 90. But also wrote some great novels! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

What do a great Russian novel, an iconic horror story, and some classic regency romance all have in common? They all appear on our list of books to buy even the most difficult people for Christmas this year. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

3 fetters that hold back 21st century style. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

ANOTHER EPISODE ABOUT HAMLET! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

You didn't think we'd leave you hanging for Halloween did you? It's one of the most influential supernatural stories of the twentieth century, "The Call of Cthulhu", by H.P. Lovecraft. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Hamlet! We keep discussing it! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

A classic episode of The Bookening in which eventually we talk about Hamlet. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Some much needed context on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Oh the rapture. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

This is one of those books never quite joins the canon, but also will never die. It's the quintessential modern gothic novel, featuring a lot of sexual tension, a protagonist the author seems to not like that much, and all kinds of questions for our heroic podcasters to answer. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Of all the Daphne du Mauriers, Daphne du Maurier was the Daphne du Maurieriest. That's the lesson from today's sterling episode of The Bookening. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Is Walter Wangerin's The Book of the Dun Cow a good book? What does it have to say about sin, depravity, judgement, and the anger that we sometimes feel at God? Should you read it? THE BOOKENING IS ON THE CASE! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Walter Wangerin passed away not too long ago, so what better time to talk about his life and the writing of The Book of the Dun Cow? Answer: THERE IS NO BETTER TIME, LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST! Bonus: our heroes read an all-time classic bad review inspired by their lack of blind devotion to C. S. Lewis. And they read some of Walter Wangerin's poetry. ★…

Our heroes begin to review the first book that was actually written in their current hometown, as Nathan and Jake discuss at length in this episode of THE BOOKENING. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Is Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones one of the great fantasy novels you've never read? Does its wit and consideration of human nature bear comparison with Jane Austen? Is the fantasy stuff just awesome? (A MOVING CASTLE!) ANSWERS TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Move aside, Miyazaki! The Bookening is talking about the awesome Diana Wynne Jones novel that is Howl's Moving Castle. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? Brandon provides some much needed context in this episode. Plus Jake talks all about Harry Potter world. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

It's part 4 of our Watership Down discussion. Yay! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

What makes Watership Down the perfect adventure story? ALL THREE MEMBERS OF THE BOOKENING are finally together to tell you all about it, in this CLASSIC episode of our fine, fine podcast. Enjoy. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

IS THIS THE END OF THE BOOKENING??!??!? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

John Updike, Norman Mailer, David Foster Wallace, Dennis Johnson ... these are the people we talk about today for some reason. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

The Bookening talks anthropomorphic animal stories. Hopefully we'll have all 3 of us to finally LITIGATE Watership Down next week. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

In which a whole bunch of thoughts about Watership Down by Richard Adams are spilled into a microphone. Bonus ep with Nathan and Brandon coming later this week. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

Did we actually like this book? Our first episode on Watership Down by Richard Adams. Context. What else do you need to know? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

In which our heroes come up with a new Patreon motivator that's pretty exciting, talk about King Arthur stuff that happened after Sir Thomas Mallory, and other things. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King

You asked for it! And Brandon's son ran over his internet cable. We have all the luck lately. But Nathan and Jake are talking audiobooks, baby! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By Church of the King