Where is the reading schedule now? I usually get it off of Insta but you guys posted there that it would be posted here. Why is it so hard to find this year? Help please! :)
Which schedule? You can always find the most current schedule pinned to the homepage here on CRHQ. Here's the most recent one, which includes Station Eleven.
Such a great episode! Heidi and Sean, you touched on all the things I was hoping you would (especially your comments about how the novel connects with King Lear and A Midsummer Night's Dream). On a side note, I'm just waiting for the day when Heidi will say to another host, "That's a terrible question. I wish you wouldn't have asked that."
One other interesting thing: the book whose name Heidi couldn't remember, Sea of Tranquility, is the only other Emily St John Mandel book I've read. Sea of Tranquility was Mandel's Covid novel. The one she wrote during the pandemic. . I appreciate the self referential layers so much. One of the characters in that novel is a novelist who wrote a book about a pandemic years before a pandemic hit. There's a scene where she's being interviewed about what that's like.
I’m not generally a fan of science fiction, but Sea of Tranquility was one of the best books I read last year. It’s the main reason I’m actually excited to read Station Eleven.
I read Station 11 for the first time during the pandemic, but when I picked it up I didn’t know it was about a pandemic. I try to avoid book spoilers, so all I knew was it was a post apocalyptic book about a Shakespearean acting troop. I downloaded it so I would have a new book to read for a flight…. On a plane during Covid was a surreal time to experience the story.
I skipped several last books on the show but decided to read Station Eleven. I'm so glad I did. I really like the book so far. Looking forward to the next episode.
I read Station Eleven previously, but it was well before 2020. I did not take it off the shelf to read during covid-- that felt just a little bit too much for me. But I am appreciating how it reads differently now. Part 1 has a different resonance having gone through a pandemic.
It's funny, though. Now that I think about it, during the very beginning of the pandemic, one of the most frequent recurring thoughts I had was something along the lines of: So THIS is what it feels like to be living through a pandemic. It was a kind of sense of recognition even though I was living through it for the first time. But I wonder how much of that eerie sense was a kind of echo of Station Eleven and other plague books like The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. Needless to say, I am VERY glad our pandemic turned out to be so much less deadly and civilization-ending. I do not think I would be cut out to be a traveling player doing Shakespeare on the road while fending off all the dangers of the road.
I'm also finding the comparison/contrast between this novel and Cormac McCarthy's The Road very interesting as well. I had not read The Road last time I read Station Eleven. And I find myself asking: to what extent are the members of the Symphony carrying the fire?
I'm ridiculously excited about this! I have such little time for "fun" reading nowadays, but I started Station 11 a while back in hopes that I would get to join everyone for this podcast. I've missed ya'll!!!!!!!
Where is the reading schedule now? I usually get it off of Insta but you guys posted there that it would be posted here. Why is it so hard to find this year? Help please! :)
Ohhhhh! Ok! Thanks! I’m still learning my way around Substack. lol!
Which schedule? You can always find the most current schedule pinned to the homepage here on CRHQ. Here's the most recent one, which includes Station Eleven.
https://closereads.substack.com/p/a-programming-update-for-late-september
Such a great episode! Heidi and Sean, you touched on all the things I was hoping you would (especially your comments about how the novel connects with King Lear and A Midsummer Night's Dream). On a side note, I'm just waiting for the day when Heidi will say to another host, "That's a terrible question. I wish you wouldn't have asked that."
One other interesting thing: the book whose name Heidi couldn't remember, Sea of Tranquility, is the only other Emily St John Mandel book I've read. Sea of Tranquility was Mandel's Covid novel. The one she wrote during the pandemic. . I appreciate the self referential layers so much. One of the characters in that novel is a novelist who wrote a book about a pandemic years before a pandemic hit. There's a scene where she's being interviewed about what that's like.
I’m not generally a fan of science fiction, but Sea of Tranquility was one of the best books I read last year. It’s the main reason I’m actually excited to read Station Eleven.
I read Station 11 for the first time during the pandemic, but when I picked it up I didn’t know it was about a pandemic. I try to avoid book spoilers, so all I knew was it was a post apocalyptic book about a Shakespearean acting troop. I downloaded it so I would have a new book to read for a flight…. On a plane during Covid was a surreal time to experience the story.
I skipped several last books on the show but decided to read Station Eleven. I'm so glad I did. I really like the book so far. Looking forward to the next episode.
Good for you. Sometimes a book is not right for you at that time, and the fact that you skipped it is awesome. Welcome back
I read Station Eleven previously, but it was well before 2020. I did not take it off the shelf to read during covid-- that felt just a little bit too much for me. But I am appreciating how it reads differently now. Part 1 has a different resonance having gone through a pandemic.
It's funny, though. Now that I think about it, during the very beginning of the pandemic, one of the most frequent recurring thoughts I had was something along the lines of: So THIS is what it feels like to be living through a pandemic. It was a kind of sense of recognition even though I was living through it for the first time. But I wonder how much of that eerie sense was a kind of echo of Station Eleven and other plague books like The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. Needless to say, I am VERY glad our pandemic turned out to be so much less deadly and civilization-ending. I do not think I would be cut out to be a traveling player doing Shakespeare on the road while fending off all the dangers of the road.
I'm also finding the comparison/contrast between this novel and Cormac McCarthy's The Road very interesting as well. I had not read The Road last time I read Station Eleven. And I find myself asking: to what extent are the members of the Symphony carrying the fire?
So interesting you mentioned The Road, Mandel has said in several interviews it is one of her favorite books!
Oh interesting!
I'm one of those who've continued to work at home since COVID. I'll be teaching in person, on-site for the first time since on Nov 15!! I can relate.
I'm ridiculously excited about this! I have such little time for "fun" reading nowadays, but I started Station 11 a while back in hopes that I would get to join everyone for this podcast. I've missed ya'll!!!!!!!