This week on Required Reading, we all called our brothers and fathers. We read A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean, one of the greatest American parables ever written. Make your brothers, fathers, husbands, etc read it, also while you are at it, whoever you are, READ IT. Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Mike Carroll. Book summary from University of Chicago Press: "When Norman Maclean sent the manuscript of A River Runs through It and Other Stories to New York publishers, he received a slew of rejections. One editor, so the story goes, replied, “it has trees in it.” Forty years later, the title novella is recognized as one of the great American tales of the twentieth century, and Maclean as one of the most beloved writers of our time. The finely distilled product of a long life of often surprising rapture—for fly-fishing, for the woods, for the interlocked beauty of life and art—A River Runs through It has established itself as a classic of the American West. This new edition will introduce a fresh audience to Maclean’s beautiful prose and understated emotional insights. Elegantly redesigned, A River Runs through It includes a new foreword by Robert Redford, director of the Academy Award-winning 1992 film adaptation of River. Based on Maclean’s own experiences as a young man, the book’s two novellas and short story are set in the small towns and mountains of western Montana. It is a world populated with drunks, loggers, card sharks, and whores, but also one rich in the pleasures of fly-fishing, logging, cribbage, and family. By turns raunchy and elegiac, these superb tales express, in Maclean’s own words, “a little of the love I have for the earth as it goes by.”

This week, Mike Carroll raps poetic about the role a mouse book played in his literary life. We talked about Redwall by Brian Jacques, volume 1 of 22; them mice sure get up to mischief! How does Redwall by Brian Jacques hold up? Co-hosted: Nic Hoffmann and Mike Carroll   "One of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time   The book that inspired a legend—the first novel in the beloved, bestselling Redwall saga. Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well…until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming—Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde—Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice—a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back…and become a legend himself.   Perfect for fans of T. A. Barron’s Merlin saga, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. “The medieval world of Redwall Abbey—where gallant mouse warriors triumph over evil invaders—has truly become the stuff of legend.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer" - From the Firebird Publishing book summary

We are back, baby! Sorry about the delay, life got in the way, but we are back with a graphic novel, this time the Franco-Belgian super star Tintin with Tintin and the Blue Lotus by Hergé. The world's most famous boy(?) detective helps predict World War II and is highly critical of the Europeans in Asia. Also, comedy! Join us next episode for Redwall by Brian Jacques Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-Host: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll From the Amazon page: "Picking up where he left off in the Egyptian adventure Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin travels to China in The Blue Lotus, a tale which is generally considered Herge's first masterpiece. It's also Tintin's only foray into actual history, specifically the Sino-Japanese conflicts of the early 1930s. The political tensions combined with the chilling threats of drugs give the story an especially high and realistic sense of danger. Herge's interest in China was spurred by a friendship with a young Chinese student named Chang Chong-chen, a relationship that Tintin mirrors with a Chinese boy also named Chang Chong-chen. Herge paints a vivid picture of China and takes the opportunity to denounce ethnic prejudices (though ironically his artistic depiction of the Japanese businessman Mitsuhirato is quite grotesque). Years later, Tintin's relationship with Chang would become the basis of Tintin in Tibet. --David Horiuchi"

This week we complete the saga and talk The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien. Since the first season, we have had a guest episode with the great Robert von Hagen, but now, in season four we have completed the Tolkien series. "What about the Silmarillion?" You may asked. "WE HAVE COMPLETED THE SERIES." I reply. Enjoy this indepth thematic episode as we crown a king, liberate the Shire, and mourn some hobbits.  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-Host: Mike Carroll Panel: Robert von Hagen From the Del Rey back cover: "The awesome conclusion to The Lord of the Rings—the greatest fantasy epic of all time—which began in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarms out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the One Ring, ruler of the accursed Rings of Power, must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring, he begins finally to despair."

This week on Required Reading, we talk race, mental illness, and the Incredible Hulk. We read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, but just want to talk about the rabbits.  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-hosts: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll From the Penguin Classics back cover: "They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him."

This week we return to the universe of the Hitchhiker’s Guide as we discuss the sequel The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.   Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Panel: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll "Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy," “Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.”—The Washington Post Book World Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat, as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability. Among Arthur’s motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who’s gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally). Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that The Hitchhiker’s Guide deleted the term “Future Perfect” from its pages, since it was discovered not to be! “What’s such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams’s sardonically silly eyes.”—Detroit Free Press" - From the Del Rey back cover.

This week, for our 50th episode, we talk memoirs, the art scene of the 1970s, the late Robert Mapplethorpe, and the incomparable Patti Smith. We talked Just Kids by Patti Smith.  "WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD “Reading rocker Smith’s account of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, it’s hard not to believe in fate. How else to explain the chance encounter that threw them together, allowing both to blossom? Quirky and spellbinding.” -- People It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-Second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max’s Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous, the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years. Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame."  From the back cover from Ecco.  “[Just Kids] reminds us that innocence, utopian ideals, beauty and revolt are enlightenment’s guiding stars in the human journey. Her book recalls, without blinking or faltering, a collective memory ― one that guides us through the present and into the future.” — Michael Stipe, Time magazine

This week we deal with an airborne plague that kills everyone to get our mind off of current events. We read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.    Back of the book from Vintage:  "NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST • Set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. • Now an original series on HBO Max. • Over one million copies sold! Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end. Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed."   Host: Nic Co-host: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll Panel: Katherine Carroll

This week we get alllll spooky and cinematic! We talk Zombie apocalypse with World War Z by Max Brooks (also, this one has an incredible audiobook)! Thanks for reading along with us! Our next book will be Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, because we just can't get optimistic. Host: Nic Co-host: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll "We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the pandemic.   The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years." From the Three Rivers Press back cover.

We start this season in earnest with a classic Cold War espionage thriller, but I can't remember which one. We read The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.  From the Bantam summary: "His memory is a blank. His bullet-ridden body was fished from the Mediterranean Sea. His face has been altered by plastic surgery. A frame of microfilm has been surgically implanted in his hip. Even his name is a mystery. Marked for death, he is racing for survival through a bizarre world of murderous conspirators—led by Carlos, the world’s most dangerous assassin. Who is Jason Bourne? The answer may kill him. “[Robert] Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined.”—The New York Times"" Host: Nic Panel: Michael Carroll and Michael Burns

Hey readers! This summer has been a mess and I promise we will soon return with a regular episode. In the meantime, here is a short story, soon to be published, by panelist Mike Carroll. A Wrong Cruelly Done. Enjoy, Nic

This month in Required Reading we talk about Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. The book that coined the term 'snowflake,' gave us the rules, and made you question fancy soap.  From a philosophical work that came out before 9/11, clearly, join us as we meet Tyler Durden.  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-Hosted: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll From the W. W. Norton book description: " The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club. In his debut novel, Chuck Palahniuk showed himself to be his generation's most visionary satirist. Fight Club's estranged narrator leaves his lackluster job when he comes under the thrall of Tyler Durden, an enigmatic young man who holds secret boxing matches in the basement of bars. There two men fight "as long as they have to." A gloriously original work that exposes what is at the core of our modern world."

This week we revisit 2020, I mean the Vichy/Nazi occupation of the south of France. We were infected with The Plague, Camus' longer, somehow, more depressing work.  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Panel: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll  "The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation, and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr. Rieux, resist the terror." From the new Vintage Translation by Laura Marris.

This month we start with Mike Burns' choice for the high school book he hated, the not subtly homoerotic Billy Budd by Herman Melville.  "Billy Budd, Sailor has been called the best short novel ever written. In his brilliantly condensed prose, Herman Melville fashions a legal parable in which reason and intellect prove incapable of preserving innocence in the face of evil. For all those who feel themselves threatened by a hostile and inflexible environment, there is special significance in this haunting story of a handsome sailor who becomes a victim of man’s intransigence." From the back cover of the Enriched Classics Edition.  How will Billy Budd hold up? Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-Host: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll

This week we revisit the Gothic Horror, Bildungsroman, potential black comedy, Victorian Middle Class novel that is Jane Eyre. This was Nic's selection for the book he read in high school and hated, but will a reread make it better? It certainly won't make it shorter!  From the back of the Penguin Classics Edition (where the cover art comes from as well): "A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre has dazzled generations of readers with its depiction of a woman's quest for freedom. Having grown up an orphan in the home of her cruel aunt and at a harsh charity school, Jane Eyre becomes an independent and spirited survivor-qualities that serve her well as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice. Should she stay with him whatever the consequences or follow her convictions, even if it means leaving her beloved?" How will Jane Eyre hold up? Host: Nic Co-Host: Mike and Mike

This week on Required Reading we revisit dental trauma as we talk Smile by Raina Telgemeier.  From the jacket: "Raina Telgemeier's #1 New York Times bestselling, Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir based on her childhood! Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly." Find it here! We would also like to thank our guest panelist Rebecca Michaud, local graphic novelist and illustrator. Find Michael Carroll here! Next Episode tune in for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë as we enter "Books we HATED in High School" Programming.  Thanks, Nic

This episode of Required Reading, we dive into the haunting masterpiece Beloved by Toni Morrison. This complex narrative is an incredible piece of American Fiction, African American literature, and magical realism; truly a remarkable novel.  Host: Nic Hoffmann Co-host: Mike Burns Panel: Chase Thompson

This episode of Required Reading we talk about the western classic, Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. This classic of the 1920s is an American novel highlighting the creation of a southwestern diocese, involving interesting characters, good discussions and a crisis of faith. Also, a book we almost couldn't record on we struggled so much with, until we had a great discussion on it.  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Michael Carroll. Panel: Betsy Holcomb Also, this book was selected by an auction winner. If you are interested in getting a book on the show, consider bidding on our auction, on February 25th.

This week on Required Reading we talk about A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, so gird your valves and stay out of the French Quarter! Thanks for indulging in our little Holiday Break! We are back with two episodes a month for the foreseeable future! Thanks for all you do to make us the success we are! Host: Nic Hoffmann Co-host: Mike Carroll Panel: Betsy Holcomb

This week we read the Christmas Classic that you have been expecting since the beginning, we talk A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The traditional Christmas tale made famous by the likes of Michael Caine, Bill Murray, Patrick Stewart, Alistair Slim, and Mr. Magoo. We talk the ins and outs of poultry factory farming, hauntings, and Nic resists the urge to do a bad Michael Caine impression; though Kermit may escape.  Please note: we did kind of a rolling start, but after a few minutes, I inserted the theme and the episode starts in earnest.  Next time will be an unusual episode, but in January we return with A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole and Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.  Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year from all of us at Required Reading, you are the reason we still do this!  Host: Dr. Nic Hoffmann Co-Host: Mike Burns and Mike Carroll.  Guest: Mark Craddock