Better Read than Dead: Literature from a Left Perspective

I listened to the Mountain Lion episode and enjoyed it. Good discussion of a great book, without being stuffy like so many book pods. However I was disappointed with their analysis of the Ralph character. The book has just two major characters but the hosts could only find time for Molly. The sum of their take on Ralph was, “He’s a wienie.” I find this highly reductive of quite an interesting portrait of pubescent masculinity, especially from a female writer. The prissy California setting and the gritty Colorado setting are obviously gendered, and in both Ralph finds himself stifled by a lack of male role models that can help him make sense of his insides. All through the book he searches for a father figure but finds no one adequate, and his thus misapplied masculinity costs him the feminine good in his life. But I guess it’s easier to dismiss a little boy as a wienie than to think about his perspective. Stafford thankfully did not have this issue.

This is my favorite literature podcast or media by far! The contextualization they bring is really helpful and interesting. I appreciate how they call out messed up stuff and b.s. The three hosts are funny and friendly. They always seem to be having a good time and their laughing and bickering and trash talking authors - it makes me feel so happy

Drawn in by the title I made it through 29minutes of middlemarch part one. Silly chatter and chuckles and little of any discussion of the book. These folks have graduate degrees?

No one reads anymore, so I can only discuss this stuff with my BFFs who suffered Catholic school with me and then took too many lit electives in college. Nerds, Socialist commentary, this pod has it aaallllllllll. We need you! There are tens of us.