We are back from a long break with a Recommended Reading / Book Club episode about two books I recently read, William Kennedy’s Ironweed and John Williams’ Stoner. I had been meaning to read Ironweed for probably twenty or more years and finally got around to it in August. As for Stoner, it’s been a hot topic of late – I’ve seen it all over Reddit and on Anthony Jeselnik’s book club. After I saw it constantly get into my feed on the Internet, I gave in and read it. And I’m glad I did it. Stoner is probably the best book I’ve ever read.
While outside the purported scope of this podcast, our guests’ book recommendations don’t always cover topics from Antiquity. Given that, and the fact that I’m the one running the podcast, I figured why not devote an episode to some good books I’ve read? If you enjoy this episode, let me know and I’ll make Recommended Reading a regular part of the podcast catalog.
In addition to discussing Ironweed and Stoner, I run down several books that I’ve read lately that I enjoyed and recommend. Those include Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, Richard Wright’s Uncle Tom’s Children, Sally Rooney’s Normal People and Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar. These books are your reading assignments.
The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram.
And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.
