Literary Guise: A Book Club for Modern Men

We talk about our favorite reads in 2023 and the conversations they inspired. We discuss changes (Gordon in NYC, Zac in lawful marriage) and brainstorm tentative plans for the future of the podcast. We speculate why no one listened to our Death Wish episode (an episode no one asked for and certainly no one wanted), congratulate ourselves on some truly stellar book choices and some well received readings, and inevitably go off on tangents about Hitchcock, Steven Seagal being an absolute joke of a man, and ABC's 1991 sitcom "Dinosaurs." See if you can also catch our subtle tribute to the film, "Clue."
We'll be taking a hiatus while we discuss the future and hope you'll stick with us down the road.

...Literary Guise Will Return!

25+ years of friendship, 3 years of co-hosting a podcast, and we finally reached the pinnacle of the craft when it comes to literary conversation: that is to say, talking about a book without really talking much about the book. We close out our third season with one of the Great American Novels-- and true to Fitzgerald's artistic vision, we use the boozy shenanigans of Jay, Nick, Daisy, Tom, Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, et al as a jumping off point for  conversations about the human condition and the state of the American dream. At least that's how we hope it turned out... there were many martinis involved. Or to put it another way: our boats were against the current, but we beat on, born back ceaselessly into gin-fueled talents. 

As a man, how often do you think about... The Civil War? Well, if you've joined us on this season three book club, the answer is likely often. Join us as we discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic from author Michael Shaara, about the generals of Gettysburg and the brooding, emo moods that define them

A dramatic reading of a Halloween classic from the father of the short story, the inventory of horror, and the progenitor of the modern mystery! He also married his cousin and  died wearing another man's clothes for some mysterious reason... Edgar Allan Poe did it all

The Maltese Falcon! The Thin Man! Nick and Nora Charles, Sam Spade, The Continental Op... even Noir as a genre... so much greatness to come out of one author with such a small, but refined, body of work. Join us as we fanboy more than usual over one of our shared favorite authors. Pour your favorite style of martini into a Nick and Nora glass, and read along with us as we cover Red Harvest, Maltese Falcon, Glass Key, and The Thin Man... along with drunken asides about 1970s "Trop Rock" legend Bertie Higgins who we recently became obsessed with after watching him chain-smoke his way through all his videos. What does he have in common with the architect of the modern mystery? Perhaps that's the greatest mystery of them all (spoiler: it's just lots of drinking.)

We've caved under our own pressure for content and a few too many boozy Manhattans... here's our contribution to the ubiquitous world of ranked lists on the internet: the literary men we admire most. (It's only 10 because we'd be hard pressed to even name 15... virtue, integrity, and general self-awareness typically don't make for interesting characters). But these 10 are awesome and interesting in their own way! Enjoy!

How much can we pack into one episode? Southern race relations? Gender identity? Paragons of masculine virtue? Great literary drinking buddies? *A bonus 90 second rant on "Go Set a Watchman" WITH cursing* This episode is crammed with some of our favorite topics, suitable for our Back to School special as we both revisit this icon of American Literature. 

Wherein we discuss Death Wishes 1-5, the remake, Death Hunt, and everyone's favorite  Bronson movie, made 15 years after his passing, Death Kiss. What do these dreary, nihilistic films have to say about the role and capacity of violence in the modern man? Whatever the answer, they forgot it halfway through the plot of the original and it only went downhill from there. Join us on this love/hate exploration of 70s grit and 80s excess through everyone's favorite deadpan mustache: Charles Bronson

Another listener suggestion, giving us the chance to talk about one of the great South American writers, and indeed, one of the great writers of all-time. Why did he choose to write a Lolita clone as his swan song? Why do men struggle so much with aging? What is the best cream for rear-end itching? These questions will all be talked in one of our more challenging episodes to date. 

Our second graphic novel exploration, taking a hard pivot from the action genre by delving into the world of LGBTQIA+ high school romance. What does Alice Oseman get right about the story of two young men falling in love? What has this work meant to the queer community? And why is paving the way for more work like this is so important? Also, Nellie the dog.... come on! When is she going to get her own MCU spin-off series?!

We take a chance on one of the few non-problematic works by Kipling as we read his short poem, "If," and discuss the various "masculine" virtues it extolls. 
*Disclaimer: this episode was recorded during 50% off scotch night at The Stardust Lounge, so we do go off track... from Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes to Hunter S. Thompson's daily drinking schedule... how does it all relate to Kipling's poem? Your guess is as good as ours!

Get to the chopaaaaah!!! We return to the 'roid-biceped, greased-gun, day-glo fantasia of violence that was our 1980s action movie childhood... specifically this memoir about how the movie Predator has affected one American man, and in turn, so many of us. Join us for a discussion that includes gay poets, gay rock n' roll singers, and totally straight, nothing-to-see-here, bros who just like admiring each other's strength while getting sweaty in the jungle. **Our apologies to Lee Marvin for being misidentified as Lee Majors in this episode. Literary Guise: apologizing to character actors who have been dead for 36 years after misidentifying them for character actors who haven't worked in 36 years! Follow us @literaryguise for a continued discussion on the movies that made us. 

We're drinking Aperol Spritzes out of comically oversized wine glasses by the beach club for this second episode on Mike White's HBO series. Join us for an examination of father-son dynamics, toxic male friendships, and whether or not the gay mafia really is trying to murder Jennifer Coolidge. And we finally answer the question: is Quentin really Tom Ripley from the Patricia Highsmith-verse? (Yes.)

Join us for a special episode recorded in Hawai'i! We'll be discussing one of the best novels of the  decade, learning from its perspective on native Hawaiian culture, and exploring its unique relationship to "The Big Island." 
Did we take this opportunity to record from  white sand beaches over-looking clear-turquoise bays where sea turtles glide and dolphins play? Of course not! Instead we take a tour of some of Hilo's finest dive bars where the windows are shaded and the pu-pus are served on paper plates. Our thinking was-- hey, didn't one of the novel's characters get kicked out of the same bar where a problematic DC-universe actor was recently arrested? Let's go drinking there!

Love him or... more than likely hate him, it cannot be denied that Charles Bukowski has left this mark on the literary landscape with his singular approach to masculinity. We present a dramatic reading of one of his best known prose poems, a surprisingly sensitive and nuanced piece, and discuss it in the context of his greater oeuvre.It's a podcast sure to upset diehard Bukowski fans and we just know he'd love that. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our read of this recent, Pulitzer-prize winning novel celebrating the ennui and folly of an American abroad. Join us table-side at the Stardust Lounge as we talk about Arthur Less: a man of many facets, all of them semi-tragic. 

The Guys are binge-watching The White Lotus season 1 while getting Tiki drunk (if only to honor the season's themes of colonization and appropriation). We'll be sharing our thoughts on Armond's best dinner service ever, debating whether or not Shane did, in fact, book the Pineapple Suite; and sharing what we learned from Quinn once he stopped viewing the world through a screen.

So, join us, Jennifer Coolidge-style (aka tipsy chic), at the piano bar and lets talk about this modern touchstone of a series.  

Season 3* kicks off with full book episodes released on the first Monday of every month. First up, we return to the cocaine novels of the 1980s and one of the literary brat pack's brightest works. This novel has everything: Cocaine, Bolivian Marching Powder, Peruvian Pink (and also some really salient things to say about masculinity within the meat grinder of 1980s publishing.) You could watch the Michael J. Fox movie adaptation, but then you'd miss out on a rare novel told in the 2nd person POV.

*Our Season 3 format will feature new episode on the first and third Monday of the month, with longer, full novel discussions on the first followed by special readings, road trips, interviews, and general pop culture discussions on the third. As always, you can join the discussion on Instagram: @litguise

Announcing the line-up for Literary Guise: Season 3, returning March 6th.  We  also preview our new format. All our monthly novels will be tackled in one long-form episode on the 1st Monday of the month. The third Monday of the month we will reserve for dramatic readings/discussions of classic short stories, literary field trips, and general tom-foolery.