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Books on the Nightstand published our final episode in July 2016. This is a place for listeners to find old episodes. 

I'm sorry that we don't have show notes for all of the episodes, and that the episodes do not have consistent filenames. Still, we hope you find that the content is valuable enough to overlook those annoyances.

Thank you to all who have listened to BOTNS over the years and for those who are just discovering the podcast. 

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  2. BOTNS Books Podcast #97: Burning Questions and Evolving Genres

BOTNS Books Podcast #97: Burning Questions and Evolving Genres

Oct 5, 2010

We answer a few questions submitted via our recent survey, something we'll do from time to time. Next, we discuss fiction genres that are recent editions to bookstore shelves. In Two Books, Ann reminds you of a favorite of hers, that's now in paperback, and I tell you about a book that partially takes place on a nightstand.

Burning Questions

How can it be BOTNS when Nightstand is one word? Apparently, this really bugs at least one of you, so there must be more of you who hate that errant "s." The short version of the long story is that Ann and I never really liked the way BOTN looked or sounded, so we added the "s," knowing that it was wrong. It has stuck (at least for us!), and we hope it's not a deal-breaker for any of you!

How do I listen to earlier episodes of BOTNS? The uploading service we use only allows the 35 most recent podcasts to be available on iTunes, so if you want to hear anything before #60 or so, go to the Podcasts tab here on the site. You can access any individual podcast, or download them in 10 episode chunks.

Evolving Genres (6:06)

In this segment, we discuss genres that have grown out of other book categories. We regularly get asked for a steampunk episode, and we do hope to bring you one someday! In the meantime, Ann defines steampunk, mentions a local house being sold as a steampunk house. The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman are two examples of steampunk.

Paranormal romance is a genre that seems to have begun its modern run with Sweet Starfire by Jayne Anne Krentz (at least according to Wikipedia). Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series features time travel, so that fits perfectly here as well.

Urban fantasies, not surprisingly, are fantasy books set in cities. John Twelve Hawks' The Traveler series is a recent example, as are The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the first of which Ann finally picked up thanks to the urging of Jenn from Bookrageous. While researching urban fantasy, Ann came upon Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. It's about a group of young women being trained to hunt killer unicorns and it has rocketed to the top of Ann's to-be-read pile!

Call or write in with your steampunk, paranormal romance or urban fantasy recommendations. We'd love to create future shows on these genres!

 

Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (17:28)

Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk, one of Ann's favorite books from last year, is now in paperback, so there's no excuse for you not to pick up this tale of a modern day mental patient who believes he's Christopher Columbus. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating chronicles author Elizabeth Tova Bailey's convalescence from a mysterious ailment. A friend's unexpected gift of violets with a snail in the flowerpot sends her on a quest for understanding of this creature, and led to a quirky and informative book that I couldn't stop reading.