779. Woodworm by Layla Martinez — Reading Rangers
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-779-woodworm/SandF_779_Woodworm.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSGenerational terror, walldads, and haunted homes, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser join forces to discuss Layla Martinez’s Woodworm (out now from Two Lines Press). Together, they explore the novel’s themes of generational trauma, class warfare, the horrors of growing up, and even what it’s like living in a cursed home. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: Alphaland by Cristina Jurado, translated by James Womack
The minute you dive into Alphaland, you’re transported to a surreal world swirling with mystery, terror, and the inexplicable. Dead fathers come back to haunt their tortured daughters; prostitutes turn out to be horrifying, human-devouring alien intelligences; spaceships function as nurturing mothers. Basically, when Cristina Jurado is telling you a story, you should really listen.
Month of Joy: La Alegría del Lenguaje by Cassandra Rose Clarke
A year ago, I decided to embark on a not-exactly-new endeavor: teaching myself Spanish. I say not-exactly-new because I had attempted it before with a dubiously-acquired copy of Rosetta Stone, which I used for about a month in 2013 before giving up. My failures with Rosetta Stone hadn’t killed my desire to learn Spanish, though. Spanish is a language I grew up around without ever actually learning—I’m from South Texas and now live in Houston, so it’s been a part of the sonic and cultural landscape my entire life. However, I went a Classics route with my formal language learning in high school and college (Latin and Ancient Greek, respectively) and so Spanish was firmly lodged in a strange space of being both familiar and unknown. This frustrated me. How could I see and hear a language almost every day and not understand it?
