5 Star Ratings SUCK & Other Bold Takes

American Footnote: The Propositions

This show will be the first in a series broken out into a different podcast feed. I'm calling it American Footnote. American Footnote is a natural extension of the reading and history work already happening here. You start by reading about the people who lived through a certain moment. Eventually, you start reading about the ideas that created that moment. Before long, you find yourself using both to understand the present better.   Here's the first episode, The Propositions: So much of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence will be about Trump and Trumpism. Discourse will seethe with it, probably noting how poorly the 47th president reflected on the meaning of the Declaration for the men who signed it, and what it means for us today. While Josh might not be qualified to give his two cents, he tries anyway. To him, this is a romantic moment that offers a chance to return to the spiritual bedrock elements of the American Founding: the propositions. Subscribe to the American Footnote feed on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/033CJo2QASxpG2sKHp7Mcy] and Apple [https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/4171583/s/391470/private/4e3d5650-3bba-480f-9752-df707f68e598.rss]

5 Star Ratings SUCK & Other Bold Takes

Chris is here to convince you of two things: Larry McMurtry wrote a lot of great books besides Lonesome Dove, and the 5-star rating phenomenon is a mess. Follow Chris [https://www.instagram.com/chrisreadsbooks_/] Subscribe to the newsletter [https://compendiumshow.substack.com/]

The Life & Career of Denis Johnson with Ted Geltner

Denis Johnson has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Train Dreams blew me away, then I read Angels with you all, and I finished Jesus’ Son about a week ago. I’m nearly done with Tree of Smoke as I post this, too. I knew I wanted to do an episode on Denis Johnson’s career, so there was only one guy to call: Ted Geltner. His biography of Denis Johnson is Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures [https://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/flagrant-self-destructive-gestures] (published last year). Subscribe to the FREE Newsletter [https://compendiumshow.substack.com/]

Can You Become Well-Read? w/ Rebecca Schinsky & Jeff O'Neal

Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky from BookRiot [https://bookriot.com/] join me to talk about books, the different avenues a reading journey can take, their favorite "bridge books", and what they can't wait to read next! Check out Zero to Well Read [https://bookriot.com/listen/shows/zero-to-well-read/]   Timestamps: 1:04 - Can you become well read? 6:15 - How to assess books 17:04 - What is literary fiction? 23:09 - Side quests? 26:14 - What was the book that made you a reader? 31:30 - "Bridge Books" 34:17 - Reading as a muscle 36:04 - Tips for reading better 48:05 - "Finding" great authors 51:04 - The common books that get people into reading 55:01 - Cheat codes for finding new books that you're excited to read 1:00:00 - The books that Rebecca & Jeff want to read, but haven't

19: Don Hollway - The Coolest Viking You've Never Heard of

Don Hollway is back! This time, we're talking about Olaf Tryggvason and his new book: Hammer of the Gods. Grab a copy of Don's book here [https://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Gods-Olafs-Viking-Conquest/dp/1472871588] Support the show on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/JoshReadsBooks] Subscribe to the FREE Newsletter [https://compendiumshow.substack.com/]