Love So Fleeting, Love So Fine - Exploring an Imaginary Romance

A Small Good Thing - Loss and Loneliness

Join Matt Hernandez in discussing A Small Good Thing by Raymond Carver. This is a short moving story about parents dealing with tragedy. Though, in the background of it all is their own approaching loneliness which comes headfirst into the loneliness dealt with by a local baker. In short, Ann goes to a baker to order a cake for her son, Scott's, eighth birthday, though on Scott's birthday he is hit by a car and after some unknown complications dies in the hospital. During this time the baker kept calling them at first to remind them about the cake, but it became trolling from there. Ann mentions the loneliness they will feel and when they confront the baker he apologizes, but also mentions his own loneliness that he deals with. So, though it may not seem like it this story is just as much about loneliness as it is about loss. follow me: matthewlh702@proton.me [matthewlh702@proton.me]  https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T [https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T]  https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed [https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed] https://x.com/BookChatWithYou [https://x.com/BookChatWithYou]  Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t] or here https://www.sevanoland.com/uploads/1/1/8/0/118081022/a-small-good-thing.pdf [https://www.sevanoland.com/uploads/1/1/8/0/118081022/a-small-good-thing.pdf]  Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KwHHfJBC2A [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KwHHfJBC2A]

Rockets Red - Community Far Away

Join me, Matthew Hernandez, in discussing Rocket’s Red: A Lady Astronaut Story By Mary Robinette Kowal. I had to read this for a class I'm taking online. I had to tell myself to give this a fair shot, but it was very easy to like this story. The PDF I had was about 7 pages and the author has this story for free on her website. This story is about Aaron Parkhill and his mother setting up a fireworks display on Mars. The technology featured is mostly from the 1950s so I guess that's like Ray Bradbury? Though, the story all takes place on Mars, that's the setting while all is about an aging mother help her son and her son seeing his mother was right about community all along.  Read here: https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/rockets-red/ [https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/rockets-red/]  buy one of her novels: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-relentless-moon-a-lady-astronaut-novel-mary-robinette-kowal/8ab7132113e433c8?ean=9781250236968&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-relentless-moon-a-lady-astronaut-novel-mary-robinette-kowal/8ab7132113e433c8?ean=9781250236968&next=t]  follow me: matthewlh702@proton.me [matthewlh702@proton.me]  https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T [https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T]  https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed [https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed] https://x.com/BookChatWithYou [https://x.com/BookChatWithYou]

Amazing Spider-Man #539 Back in Black - A Chat

Hello, in this episode I will look at Amazing Spider-Man #539 Back in Black which will lead to Brand New Day. I thought about doing comics before and I have before, but to be 100% one of my few podcasts with any listens / watches in Battle Angel Alita, so I figured on covering Spider-Man up to Brand New Day hoping that I catch a bit of a rush with the upcoming movie. Though, to get why there was a hard a reboot of the series perhaps one could start a bit before that and then cover Brand New Day for a few runs after that.  I haven't read these in a very long time, so it's a bit like reliving my past right before joining the navy and my first two years or so in. In a sense Back in Black doesn't start here. It would start somewhere during Marvel Civil War, but I don't have many of those comics and I certainly don't have them with me in China. Peter's aunt May is shot by a sniper aiming at Peter Parker. Peter Parker unmasked himself during the Civil War, but now regrets that decision. Though, his aunt getting shot and Peter Parker trying to save her leads to Brand New Day which was a hard reboot of the series.  I won't preface further comic discussions with why and such about covering comics, and will try to leave further descriptions simply about the book, story or comic itself.    watch or listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTG3Czu_f2k&t=1050s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTG3Czu_f2k&t=1050s]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0AUth1MCFo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0AUth1MCFo]  Read: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Black-J-Michael-Straczynski/dp/0785129049 [https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Black-J-Michael-Straczynski/dp/0785129049]    follow me: matthewlh702@proton.me [matthewlh702@proton.me]  https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T [https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T]  https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed [https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed] https://x.com/BookChatWithYou [https://x.com/BookChatWithYou]

And Comics Too

Hello all. I was thinking of doing a podcast on comics too. Though the time and money needed to do so is a major deterrent at the moment. I am reading a ton, but I barely have the time to have made the last podcast or this one today. I like comics too and own well over two hundred comics in print, but I understand it's a completely different genre than written stories and notably short stories. I will also admit that part of the update to the format is too listeners. I will still do short stories, but I wonder if comics will build my listenership too. (Usually I let AI help me write these descriptions, but darn did it royally screw this up. I guess after training it for short story descriptions it couldn't do an update podcast episode if it was to save my life.) follow me: matthewlh702@proton.me [matthewlh702@proton.me]  https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T [https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T]  https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed [https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed] https://x.com/BookChatWithYou [https://x.com/BookChatWithYou]

Cathedral - More Beauty than You Can See

Join Matt Hernandez on Book Chat with You as we delve into Raymond Carver’s masterpiece, “Cathedral.” This episode unpacks Carver’s signature style – stark realism, clipped dialogue, and a focus on the unspoken – within this short story that’s captivated readers for decades. Matt guides us through the story’s core tension: a husband’s growing irritation with his wife’s blind friend, Robert, who stays overnight while he's going to visit his deceased wife's family. We dissect the narrator’s anxieties, his attempts to control the situation, and the story’s subtle humor as he navigates a frustrating, almost absurd, encounter. Max explores the story’s central metaphor – the act of drawing a cathedral – and the profound moment of connection it represents. The episode also touches on the story’s relevance to contemporary conversations about empathy, communication, and the challenges of understanding others, especially those with different perspectives. It’s a must-listen for fans of Carver, minimalist fiction. follow me: matthewlh702@proton.me [matthewlh702@proton.me]  https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T [https://discord.gg/36WxYB7T]  https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed [https://locals.com/bookstoread/feed] https://x.com/BookChatWithYou [https://x.com/BookChatWithYou]  Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t [https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t] or http://www.giuliotortello.it/ebook/cathedral.pdf [http://www.giuliotortello.it/ebook/cathedral.pdf]  Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjDZV92jX44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjDZV92jX44]