Most Useful Information Podcast

tihmn

A guest suggests a book. We both read it. We talk about it. Easy. mostusefulinfo.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 05/04/2023

    Most Useful Information about Hunger by Knut Hamsun

    Normally on the first Thursday of each month you get a newsletter. Two weeks later on a Tuesday you get a podcast. I had planned a newsletter as normal for May but with a small announcement that over the next three months the Most Useful Information both newsletter and podcast would be less frequent and less scheduled. Instead they’d be so random! The print newsletter would pause all together. In late may things at the Most Useful Information Headquarters were going to get a bit crazy, so promising things at certain times would be foolish. I didn’t want to be a fool. Well, things got crazy a month early. I am a fool! May’s edition of Most Useful Information is half-finished and not going out until it’s finished. I have at least two other groupings of books planned, but only the Lord knows when I’ll read them and type up a newsletter. So instead of a May newsletter here is a podcast I recorded with my friend and fellow substacker Zander Abranowicz. We talk about Hunger by Knut Hamsun. Hunger was one of my favorite books in my late teens/early twenties. He doesn’t mean as much to me now, Hunger least of all (Mysteries and Pan pull me). There’s no denying what Hamsun and Hunger meant to a younger me. Reading him is like catching up with an old friend. Talking with Zander is like catching up with a new friend. Listening to our podcast is like doing both at the same time. You can find Zander at buzzcut.substack.com. Take care and I’ll see you when I see you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mostusefulinfo.substack.com

    1h 16m
  2. 03/14/2023

    Most Useful Information about Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles

    This is the point Another month. Another Tuesday. Another podcast. Clay and I grew up in the deep eastside of Moscow, Idaho. Before I met Clay someone told me about him. My memory tells me the same someone borrowed Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme from me to loan to Clay. I was promised he carried the book around in a plastic zip lock bag for protection. It worked. I still have that copy of Forty Stories. More recently Clay and I read Jane Bowles’s 1943 novel Two Serious Ladies. It’s a re-read for both of us and we find it hard to talk about. The audio quality is less good this month. There’s an echo. I don’t know what I did different. Sorry! The conversation is long. Sorry! When talking to Clay I mention reading The Sheltering Sky and copying a passage about cigarettes into a notebook. I found the notebook. Here is the passage: “I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus. It would get richer & deeper each year. You kept learning more, getting wiser, having more insight, going further into truth” —she hesitated. Port laughed abruptly. “And now you know its not like that. Right? It’s more like smoking a cigarette. The first few puffs it tastes wonderful, & you don’t even think of its ever being used up. Then you begin taking it for granted. Suddenly you realize it’s nearly burned down to the end. And that’s when you’re conscious of the bitter taste.” “But I’m always conscious of the unpleasant taste & of the end approaching,” she said. “Then you should give up smoking.” Enjoy! P.S. Podcasts should now be available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If they aren’t, let me know. Any other podcast provider is a mystery. If you wanna podcast send me an email with a book you wanna read and we’ll do it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mostusefulinfo.substack.com

    1h 20m
  3. 02/14/2023

    Most Useful Podcast about Picnic at Hanging Rock

    This is the point: February 2022 I launched my first hit newsletter. Now, one year later, I am launching my first hit podcast. Call me the charlatan of all media. The premise is easy. A friend suggests a book. We both read the book. We record a conversation about the book. The conversations are casual as if two friends were simply chatting. Hopefully there’s either something funny or insightful in the conversation. If not, sorry! Huge, huge, huge thanks to Em for doing this with me when I clearly have no idea what I’m doing. Also, for having smart things to say when I clearly have none. If you, reader/listener, are at all interested in being on this podcast please, please, please get in touch. There’s no requirement for being well read, or thoughtful, or even liking books. It’s just for fun. I’ll quickly run out of people to talk to if you don’t. Thanks, as always, for your time and your attention. I deeply appreciate it. If you know someone who might like Most Useful Info please pass this along to them. Also, if you ever wonder why I’m putting this out on Valentine’s Day, it’s because Picnic at Hanging Rock takes place on Valentine’s Day, lol. -Tim B. P.S. Maybe at some point I’ll figure out how to put this trash on apple podcasts/spotify but until I do substack is the only place to listen to it. Sorry! Also, if there are any audio oddities, it’s because I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m too lazy to listen back and check for mistakes! Sorry! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mostusefulinfo.substack.com

    1h 2m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

A guest suggests a book. We both read it. We talk about it. Easy. mostusefulinfo.substack.com