Welcome to This Book I Read…: a podcast from Beyond Cataclysm where we interview an author about their own work, and about a book that has stuck with them, for good – or bad – reasons…
Each episode explores the ups and downs of a particular book or author’s work, highlighting the great bits, and critiquing the bad stuff.
Get inside the minds of other writers and the works that inspire them!
This month CM Lowry is talking to CJ Eggett, writer and game designer, about number9dream by David Mitchell in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: The common confusion between David Mitchell the author and David Mitchell the comedian of Peep Show fame! Mitchell’s use of modern magical realism to sort of lull the reader …
This month CM Lowry is talking to Chris Durston, author of Chronicles from the World of Guilt, about The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Being old enough to remember the internet before Wikipedia existed, writing stories on early PCs and reading the Yellow Pages Re-reading …
This month CM Lowry is talking to Baron von Michael, author of Professor Elemental Roleplaying Games, about The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Bruce Chatwin’s use of flippant anecdotes, quotes and stories to explore deeper themes The broken nature of this book and how the small pieces make up …
This month CM Lowry is talking to his childhood hero Elizabeth Laird – globetrotter, adventurer and author. They talk all about her life and how it has influenced the many books she has written in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Elizabeth’s 1989 children’s book, Crackers, and the important role in played in CM …
This month CM Lowry is talking to Jacob Wood, creator of Accessible Games Quarterly, about Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: The challenge of looking at a book so well known – and misrepresented – in popular culture. The Beast within; making monsters vs. being a monsters. Chat-GPT and the …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author and games historian James Wallis about A Void by Georges Perec in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: The excitement of creating stories within the worlds that others have designed. Constrained creativity, and the Oulipo literary movement. How games and role-play create wonderful narrative and encourage creativity. …
This episode CM Lowry is talking with author and RPG designer Jay Dragon about The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Kat Valente in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Having a 50% success rate when using Stranger Things to help explain to your parents the kind of work …
This episode CM Lowry is talking with author Allen Stroud about House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Holiday reads: getting through more challenging material. Control of print format and process, colours, typefaces and orientation. Fictional videotape commentary of recordings that don’t even exist! Breaking the rules in writing, …
This episode CM Lowry is talking with author Rachel A Rosen about Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson in ‘This Book I Read…’ Topics covered include: Post-apocalyptic Toronto & Ontario. ‘White Flight’, inner city decline, ‘Donut cities’ and gentrification. The Afro-Caribbean diaspora, The Jab Jab & Roti Shops. The challenges of predicting the …
This episode CM Lowry is talking with author Adrian Tchaikovsky about The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake, in the second episode of our Beyond Cataclysm podcast – ‘This Book I Read…’ Why this classic 1950s fantasy trilogy absolutely deserves a read. A discussion of the role of ruin in narrative. Tolkien vs Peake Anti-heroes; when …
