and other stories

The first episode of the new season of the Two Month Review—covering Alexis Wright's Praiseworthy (New Directions, And Other Stories, Giramondo)—start off with Chad crapping on golf, then rolls on into book design and books as objects, the pacing and rhythms of Wright's work, its humor, its orality, what ancillary information is beneficial, and how the introduction of the two children really snap the first section into place as a reading experience.

This week's music is "Sham System (The Limiñanas Rework)" by Al-Qasar.

You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 68-133.

Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

The large image of the Carpentaria Gulf Coast associated with this post is copyrighted by Sentinel Hub.

NIGHTRIPPER!!!!!!!!!

This week's music is "Dirty Boots" by Sonic Youth.

You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

NIGHTRIPPPER!!!!!!!!!!

This week's music is "Dirty Boots" by Sonic Youth.

You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Kaija Straumanis filled in for a domestically distressed Brian, and Chad went all psych0-philosophical on this week's episode, talking about schizoid personality splits, R. D. Laing, reading the various parts of Passages simultaneously, postulating wild hot takes, and saying "fuck off" to a wide swath of bad actors. (Looking at you, Kanye.)

This week's music is "Outlook for the Future" by Inventions.

You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Kaija Straumanis filled in for a domestically distressed Brian, and Chad went all psych0-philosophical on this week's episode, talking about schizoid personality splits, R. D. Laing, reading the various parts of Passages simultaneously, postulating wild hot takes, and saying "fuck off" to a wide swath of bad actors. (Looking at you, Kanye.) 

This week's music is "Outlook for the Future" by Inventions.

You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Kaija Straumanis joins Chad and Brian this week to talk about orchids, hot takes (did S. sleep with L.?? how exactly did she die?), creepy British dudes, symmetry in Three, Ann Quin's statement on threesomes, the ambiguity of the text, and much more.

This week's music is "What Went Down" by Foals.

You can watch next week's discussion of Passage live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Thursday, December 1. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Kaija Straumanis joins Chad and Brian this week to talk about orchids, hot takes (did S. sleep with L.?? how exactly did she die?), creepy British dudes, symmetry in Three, Ann Quin's statement on threesomes, the ambiguity of the text, and much more. 

This week's music is "What Went Down" by Foals.

You can watch next week's discussion of Passage live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Thursday, December 1. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And visit Kaija's website for info on her translations, photography, and more!

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Chad and Bria dive into Three, discussing the humor of the dialogue, the poetic-cinematic techniques Quin employs, monogamy and marriage, whether or not L was a collaborationist or worse, the importance of the number three, the play-like elements of the books, anti-mimetic writing, and much more. It's a fun episode complete with dog barks, laughs, unanswered questions, and a decent amount of insight into Three for anyone feeling lost.

This week's music is "Lost Heads" by Moon Duo.

You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Chad and Bria dive into Three, discussing the humor of the dialogue, the poetic-cinematic techniques Quin employs, monogamy and marriage, whether or not L was a collaborationist or worse, the importance of the number three, the play-like elements of the books, anti-mimetic writing, and much more. It's a fun episode complete with dog barks, laughs, unanswered questions, and a decent amount of insight into Three for anyone feeling lost.

This week's music is "Lost Heads" by Moon Duo.

You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Dead dummies, drowned tramps, resolving the Oedipal complex, the forever incompleteness of the number "3," sex, the sea, slapstick comedy, irony, competing desires of domesticity versus the desire to escape, the beautiful ending and the reverse coda, and much more is discussed on this episode covering the whole of Ann Quin's Berg. 

Now Chad and Brian move on to Quin's second novel, Three, which came out in 1969 and, in a way, begins right where we left off, opening  "with the disappearance at sea, possibly suicide, of a young woman, identified only as S." You can get the book via And Other Stories, Bookshop, your local indie, or Amazon. This is the book that got Chad completely hooked on Quin, so read along and tune in!

This week's music is "City of the Dead" by Superchunk.

You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

Dead dummies, drowned tramps, resolving the Oedipal complex, the forever incompleteness of the number "3," sex, the sea, slapstick comedy, irony, competing desires of domesticity versus the desire to escape, the beautiful ending and the reverse coda, and much more is discussed on this episode covering the whole of Ann Quin's Berg. 

Now Chad and Brian move on to Quin's second novel, Three, which came out in 1969 and, in a way, begins right where we left off, opening  "with the disappearance at sea, possibly suicide, of a young woman, identified only as S." You can get the book via And Other Stories, Bookshop, your local indie, or Amazon. This is the book that got Chad completely hooked on Quin, so read along and tune in!

This week's music is "City of the Dead" by Superchunk.

You can watch next week's discussion of Three live on YouTube at 4pm ET on Wednesday, November 9th. (Reading schedule can be found here.) And you can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel.

And you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

All of Ann Quin's books are available through Bookshop.org, or at better bookstores everywhere. Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.