Total Number of Ratings: 7
Murmur - Episode #18 - Vancouver Winter Olympics and The Magicians
First Published: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 5:53 PM
Last Saved: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 5:57 PM
Paul, Mike, and Ali gush about the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Who's got curling fever and who thinks it's just shuffleboard air hockey? Even so, everyone can agree Bob Costas is totally lame. Later on, Paul and Josh Christie sit down to talk about our extremely popular and totally polarizing Book Club Pick, The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Is magic all it's cracked up to be in this crass and complex story about a group of disaffected teens enrolled in a college for witchcraft and wizardry? Josh also paired this one with a beer. Does The Dogfish Head Red&White have us under its spell?
Listen to the Podcast:
selections from The Fantastic Mr. Fox score
by Alexandre Desplat
Great podcast guys. While I didn't like the story of Magicians, I did really enjoy Grossman's writing. There was something engaging about it that kept me reading well beyond where I couldn't stand Quention anymore. (So page 7. ;-) ) I am really looking forward to Z, and should hopefully be able to track down the Red&White this week.
(That was a great podcast.)
I loved the book club discussion; I felt engaged without having read the book, and got a sense of whether or not I would like it without feeling it had been spoiled in any meaningful way. That's how that's done.
You guys disappoint me. It sounds like i ski more often than you and I live in Australia. If i lived in America i would be throwing myself down though slopes like a crazy person. And trust me, even though i live here, i have some skills
P.S. We smoked america in the woman's snowboard half pipe
Probably bad that I live in the same state as the Pocono mountains and have never put on a pair of skis in my life, huh?
that makes me and all my bozo friends, that go crazy over some slushy grayish crap we call snow, very sad
Love the podcast! I haven't been watching much Olympics myself for whatever reason -- I still have, and wear my Lilliehammer 1994 sweatshirt (purchased at a K-Mart in Virginia, not in Norway, but still), but for some reason during the last couple games' I've only tuned in for a couple marquee events. This time it's been men's figure skating, which certainly has as much drama as you could ask for.
I enjoyed hearing a couple new perspectives on 'The Magicians' as well. I also loved the Antarctica section best, I think -- I didn't know a sequel was in the works but that explains the ending. I'm not going to be in a big hurry to get this, I don't think (unless Alice comes back as the Dark Phoenix -- what?) Josh's mention of Bret Easton Ellis reminded me of another book I thought of during reading but didn't mention in discussion -- Donna Tartt's "The Secret History", which has its roots in the weird elitist world of Bennington College, as does a lot of Ellis's fiction. There's definitely a similar feel to the kids in 'The Magicians' as the ones in 'The Secret History,' and the protagonists have things in common. I liked Tartt's main character better because he was a well-done first person narrator, though the book overall doesn't have the fantastic elements that are in 'The Magicians' -- for better or worse. I don't know if I can actually recommend 'The Secret History' (I love it but kind of feel like I shouldn't), but it does feel like something that should come up in the discussion.
Thanks for the kind words - I'm still definitely getting my podcasting feet under me, so I'm glad the conversation had some enjoyable bits for you. I think the Tartt comparison is right on, as the Magicians is really a college debauchery story that happens to have magic.
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I haven't watched any of the Olympics or read The Magicians, but I was still very much entertained by the podcast. Good show!