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Brandon Chasteen

Brandon Chasteen has most of a PhD (ABD) in English literature, although now he works in land and oil. He’s a down-home-Texas boy-made-good who just happens to know everything about literature and literary history and literary theory. He podcasts for The Bookening.

Recent Posts >>

Vive Le Bookening

It’s an update! With atrocious audio! Basic message: “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive!” SUPPORT US HERE! Subscribe to the podcast here! Listen to... read more

Jane Austen’s Emma (Redux)

“Emma” by Jane Austen is considered a great novel due to its sharp wit, complex characters, and insightful commentary on societal norms and human nature. Austen’s writing is known for its irony, subtle humor, and ability to draw readers into the... read more

The Passenger

Ho ho ho! SUPPORT US HERE! Subscribe to the podcast here! Listen to the episode at a separate link here! read more

Tolkien’s Christmas Book + Booklist 2023

Our heroes talk about Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien, asking such questions as “did you know there was a Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien?” They also announce their booklist for 2023, baby! SUPPORT US HERE! Subscribe to... read more

All the Pretty Horses

The Bookening talks about All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

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Romeo and Juliet

For some reason this is our Spooky October episode. Love is … frightening? Or we dumbly mixed up the Stephen King episode and this one in release order? Who can tell? Anyway, it’s Romeo and Juliet! SUPPORT US HERE! Subscribe to the podcast here! Listen to... read more

The Green Mile

The Green Mile by Stephen King. It’s a book we review. SUPPORT US HERE! Subscribe to the podcast here! Listen to the episode at a separate link here! read more

Sherlock Holmes

“My mind,” he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull... read more

Moby Dick

“This is an ill-compounded mixture of romance and matter-of-fact. The idea of a connected and collected story has obviously visited and abandoned its writer again and again in the course of composition. The style of his tale is in places disfigured by mad (rather than... read more

A Tale of Two Cities

The Bookening talks about A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

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