The Avid Reader Show

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Michael Honig (Michael Hanig) author of The Senility of Vladimir P. Released last month by Pegasus. This thinly veiled, very thinly veiled look at the life, post today, of a despotic and thug-like ruler of modern day Russia reminds us that a country trodden on over centuries, oft-times seemingly points itself in the right direction and then is thoroughly trodden on again. Told through the eyes of Nikolai Sheremetev (Sher Eh May Tev) caretaker and naïf of the now senile and delusional 5 time President and two time Prime Minister of one of the most corrupt countries on earth, we visit first hand the nature and extent of that corruption and the many forms it takes. Along with this incisive and cynical look at Russia we have to deal with, coincidentally, our own election cycle in America and ask are we ready for that same type of leadership the same type of despotic government riddled with vice, ruled by oligarchs presided over by a smug, egomaniacal emperor of sorts. But I digress. Vladimir P. is a masterwork, not only in terms of stripping away the screen that protects a country that even now is annexing the Ukraine, invading Syria and laughing in our faces at our own foolishness. In sum, you will find this book entertaining, comical and absurd as well as scary, not in the sense of monsters although there is one, but in the sense of there but for the grace of God, go we. And it is all true. At least as the reader I feel that way.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Michael Honig (Michael Hanig) author of The Senility of Vladimir P. Released last month by Pegasus. This thinly veiled, very thinly veiled look at the life, post today, of a despotic and thug-like ruler of modern day Russia reminds us that a country trodden on over centuries, oft-times seemingly points itself in the right direction and then is thoroughly trodden on again. Told through the eyes of Nikolai Sheremetev (Sher Eh May Tev) caretaker and naïf of the now senile and delusional 5 time President and two time Prime Minister of one of the most corrupt countries on earth, we visit first hand the nature and extent of that corruption and the many forms it takes. Along with this incisive and cynical look at Russia we have to deal with, coincidentally, our own election cycle in America and ask are we ready for that same type of leadership the same type of despotic government riddled with vice, ruled by oligarchs presided over by a smug, egomaniacal emperor of sorts. But I digress. Vladimir P. is a masterwork, not only in terms of stripping away the screen that protects a country that even now is annexing the Ukraine, invading Syria and laughing in our faces at our own foolishness. In sum, you will find this book entertaining, comical and absurd as well as scary, not in the sense of monsters although there is one, but in the sense of there but for the grace of God, go we. And it is all true. At least as the reader I feel that way.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Michael Honig (Michael Hanig) author of The Senility of Vladimir P. Released last month by Pegasus. This thinly veiled, very thinly veiled look at the life, post today, of a despotic and thug-like ruler of modern day Russia reminds us that a country trodden on over centuries, oft-times seemingly points itself in the right direction and then is thoroughly trodden on again. Told through the eyes of Nikolai Sheremetev (Sher Eh May Tev) caretaker and naïf of the now senile and delusional 5 time President and two time Prime Minister of one of the most corrupt countries on earth, we visit first hand the nature and extent of that corruption and the many forms it takes. Along with this incisive and cynical look at Russia we have to deal with, coincidentally, our own election cycle in America and ask are we ready for that same type of leadership the same type of despotic government riddled with vice, ruled by oligarchs presided over by a smug, egomaniacal emperor of sorts. But I digress. Vladimir P. is a masterwork, not only in terms of stripping away the screen that protects a country that even now is annexing the Ukraine, invading Syria and laughing in our faces at our own foolishness. In sum, you will find this book entertaining, comical and absurd as well as scary, not in the sense of monsters although there is one, but in the sense of there but for the grace of God, go we. And it is all true. At least as the reader I feel that way.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Nathan Hill, author of The Nix just published on the 30th by Knopf. It has so much prepublication publicity that the press kit I received took me an hour to read. And before it was even released, it has been translated into German, Dutch, French, Spanish/Catalan, Danish, Swedish Norwegian (important), Italian, Finnish Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, and Chinese. I mean what the hell is up with that? I can only imagine the feeding frenzy for the movie rights. So Nathan is an Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, from which position he is taking a break in order to pursue his writing (that seems logical to me) His short stories have been published in The Iowa Review, Fugue, The Gettysburg Review and many others, He lives in Naples, Florida but spent most of his life in the Midwest. The NIX is a novel with a roadmap for its epigraph. Which is the story of the blind men and the elephant as originally recounted by the Buddha. What we as individuals take for reality is not that which others do. It may be true for us but so there are many truths. And in a more inductive sense, many of us, undiscerning, unrealizing let one drop of water be our universe when that drop can fall into a bucket and that bucket can be poured into an endless sea. Whether one is lost in a video game, a doppelganger for “real” as opposed to a virtual life, or whether one lives in a past that inhibits growth, that shames or paralyzes future movement, we all live inner lives not necessarily of quiet desperation, but many of the characters in this book sure do. What make the nix different that other novels that deal with mother-son estrangement, or with the political process in America, or with unrequited love, or with dark secrets, too secret to reveal, or with missed opportunities is that it seamlessly weaves all of these themes into a work that exceeds the sum of its parts. In so doing we find ourselves caught up in a web of words and with a story so resonant, so close to home that when we finish, we as readers have the opportunity and yes the responsibility of reexamining our own lives, sometimes painfully and provide us the Pandora like opportunity to discover our own Nixes.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Nathan Hill, author of The Nix just published on the 30th by Knopf. It has so much prepublication publicity that the press kit I received took me an hour to read. And before it was even released, it has been translated into German, Dutch, French, Spanish/Catalan, Danish, Swedish Norwegian (important), Italian, Finnish Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, and Chinese. I mean what the hell is up with that? I can only imagine the feeding frenzy for the movie rights. So Nathan is an Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, from which position he is taking a break in order to pursue his writing (that seems logical to me) His short stories have been published in The Iowa Review, Fugue, The Gettysburg Review and many others, He lives in Naples, Florida but spent most of his life in the Midwest. The NIX is a novel with a roadmap for its epigraph. Which is the story of the blind men and the elephant as originally recounted by the Buddha. What we as individuals take for reality is not that which others do. It may be true for us but so there are many truths. And in a more inductive sense, many of us, undiscerning, unrealizing let one drop of water be our universe when that drop can fall into a bucket and that bucket can be poured into an endless sea. Whether one is lost in a video game, a doppelganger for “real” as opposed to a virtual life, or whether one lives in a past that inhibits growth, that shames or paralyzes future movement, we all live inner lives not necessarily of quiet desperation, but many of the characters in this book sure do. What make the nix different that other novels that deal with mother-son estrangement, or with the political process in America, or with unrequited love, or with dark secrets, too secret to reveal, or with missed opportunities is that it seamlessly weaves all of these themes into a work that exceeds the sum of its parts. In so doing we find ourselves caught up in a web of words and with a story so resonant, so close to home that when we finish, we as readers have the opportunity and yes the responsibility of reexamining our own lives, sometimes painfully and provide us the Pandora like opportunity to discover our own Nixes.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Nathan Hill, author of The Nix just published on the 30th by Knopf. It has so much prepublication publicity that the press kit I received took me an hour to read. And before it was even released, it has been translated into German, Dutch, French, Spanish/Catalan, Danish, Swedish Norwegian (important), Italian, Finnish Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, and Chinese. I mean what the hell is up with that? I can only imagine the feeding frenzy for the movie rights. So Nathan is an Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, from which position he is taking a break in order to pursue his writing (that seems logical to me) His short stories have been published in The Iowa Review, Fugue, The Gettysburg Review and many others, He lives in Naples, Florida but spent most of his life in the Midwest. The NIX is a novel with a roadmap for its epigraph. Which is the story of the blind men and the elephant as originally recounted by the Buddha. What we as individuals take for reality is not that which others do. It may be true for us but so there are many truths. And in a more inductive sense, many of us, undiscerning, unrealizing let one drop of water be our universe when that drop can fall into a bucket and that bucket can be poured into an endless sea. Whether one is lost in a video game, a doppelganger for “real” as opposed to a virtual life, or whether one lives in a past that inhibits growth, that shames or paralyzes future movement, we all live inner lives not necessarily of quiet desperation, but many of the characters in this book sure do. What make the nix different that other novels that deal with mother-son estrangement, or with the political process in America, or with unrequited love, or with dark secrets, too secret to reveal, or with missed opportunities is that it seamlessly weaves all of these themes into a work that exceeds the sum of its parts. In so doing we find ourselves caught up in a web of words and with a story so resonant, so close to home that when we finish, we as readers have the opportunity and yes the responsibility of reexamining our own lives, sometimes painfully and provide us the Pandora like opportunity to discover our own Nixes.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Nathan Hill, author of The Nix just published on the 30th by Knopf. It has so much prepublication publicity that the press kit I received took me an hour to read. And before it was even released, it has been translated into German, Dutch, French, Spanish/Catalan, Danish, Swedish Norwegian (important), Italian, Finnish Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, and Chinese. I mean what the hell is up with that? I can only imagine the feeding frenzy for the movie rights. So Nathan is an Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, from which position he is taking a break in order to pursue his writing (that seems logical to me) His short stories have been published in The Iowa Review, Fugue, The Gettysburg Review and many others, He lives in Naples, Florida but spent most of his life in the Midwest. The NIX is a novel with a roadmap for its epigraph. Which is the story of the blind men and the elephant as originally recounted by the Buddha. What we as individuals take for reality is not that which others do. It may be true for us but so there are many truths. And in a more inductive sense, many of us, undiscerning, unrealizing let one drop of water be our universe when that drop can fall into a bucket and that bucket can be poured into an endless sea. Whether one is lost in a video game, a doppelganger for “real” as opposed to a virtual life, or whether one lives in a past that inhibits growth, that shames or paralyzes future movement, we all live inner lives not necessarily of quiet desperation, but many of the characters in this book sure do. What make the nix different that other novels that deal with mother-son estrangement, or with the political process in America, or with unrequited love, or with dark secrets, too secret to reveal, or with missed opportunities is that it seamlessly weaves all of these themes into a work that exceeds the sum of its parts. In so doing we find ourselves caught up in a web of words and with a story so resonant, so close to home that when we finish, we as readers have the opportunity and yes the responsibility of reexamining our own lives, sometimes painfully and provide us the Pandora like opportunity to discover our own Nixes.

Liz talks about Alan Turing

Liz talks about Alan Turing

The making of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, the outsize personalities who inspired it, and the vast changes it wrought on the literary world In the summer of 1925, Ernest Hemingway and a clique of raucous companions traveled to Pamplona, Spain, for the town’s infamous running of the bulls. Then, over the next six weeks, he channeled that trip’s maelstrom of drunken brawls, sexual rivalry, midnight betrayals, and midday hangovers into his groundbreaking novel The Sun Also Rises. This revolutionary work redefined modern literature as much as it did his peers, who would forever after be called the Lost Generation. But the full story of Hemingway’s legendary rise has remained untold until now. - Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs on Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com

The making of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, the outsize personalities who inspired it, and the vast changes it wrought on the literary world In the summer of 1925, Ernest Hemingway and a clique of raucous companions traveled to Pamplona, Spain, for the town’s infamous running of the bulls. Then, over the next six weeks, he channeled that trip’s maelstrom of drunken brawls, sexual rivalry, midnight betrayals, and midday hangovers into his groundbreaking novel The Sun Also Rises. This revolutionary work redefined modern literature as much as it did his peers, who would forever after be called the Lost Generation. But the full story of Hemingway’s legendary rise has remained untold until now. - Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs on Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com

#1 bestselling author and Dagger Award winner Arturo Pérez-Reverte delivers an epic historical tale following the dangerous and passionate love affair between a beautiful high society woman and an elegant thief. A story of romance, adventure, and espionage, this novel solidifies Pérez-Reverte as an international literary giant. - Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs on Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com

#1 bestselling author and Dagger Award winner Arturo Pérez-Reverte delivers an epic historical tale following the dangerous and passionate love affair between a beautiful high society woman and an elegant thief. A story of romance, adventure, and espionage, this novel solidifies Pérez-Reverte as an international literary giant. - Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs on Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com

Valerie Torrey took her son, Alex, and fled Los Angeles six years ago—leaving both her role on a cult sci-fi TV show and her costar husband after a tragedy blew their small family apart. Now Val must reunite nine-year-old Alex with his estranged father, so they set out on a road trip from New York, Val making appearances at comic book conventions along the way. -Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com

Valerie Torrey took her son, Alex, and fled Los Angeles six years ago—leaving both her role on a cult sci-fi TV show and her costar husband after a tragedy blew their small family apart. Now Val must reunite nine-year-old Alex with his estranged father, so they set out on a road trip from New York, Val making appearances at comic book conventions along the way. -Amazon The Avid Reader Show is sponsored and produced by Wellington Square Bookshop in Chester County, PA. The Show airs Mondays at 5PM on WCHE AM 1520. Please visit our website at www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com