William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION

Not necessarily literature but a larger discussion about the nature of the universe. Whether it's open or closed. These Meditations are from a book by a anonymous author and are basic discussions for the understanding of Christian Hermeticism. Just pop your head into the bookstore and see if anything peaks your interest. We had fun. Western Thought on Patreon for backlisted episodes.

We are joined by a cool painter in a Canadian tuxedo named Sydney who plays the good sport. This one is rambling and reaching with a lot of laughter and Will tells me in the second half we get very un-PC. Jonah remembers a certain amount of belligerence ... but that's usually the most fun one can have with a podcast. So come sit in the bookstore and try to figure out what's the deal with William Faulkner. www.patreon.com/westernthought

Warning: this episode contains irony. (To ruin the fun: It's actually about Henry Miller. Wait ... is that technically irony? It's not what I mean, and it's intended for comedic affect - I think it counts. Wallace was more concerned with Irony on a large scale cultural level which is obviously what this podcast will never have - so we get to have fun with the irony instead of wringing our hands.) Come sit in the bookstore for a while. www.patreon.com/westernthought

Capote's MUSIC for CHAMELEONS and Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces" are discussed. Jonah discovers after the fact that he is wrong about much of Toole's biography. This well written article is probably worth more than his words. https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/the-uneasy-afterlife-of-a-confederacy-of-dunces Yet the virtue of the medium allows for the display of ignorance-par-excellance.  Pretty breezy discussion with perhaps a touch too many personal stories, but hey, we're not getting paid. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.

This episode's discussion begins with a reading from Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. I cannot stress this enough - if you go out and get one of Kundera's middle period novels (and you should, right now) you need to get the Aaron Asher translations. He worked closely with Kundera in the 90's and they really are superior in every way. We get pretty french this week.

Will and Jonah are on their game for this one. Unfortunately for you we shut off the recorder and talked for another two hours, but I like to think that it's burying peat, fertilizing the soil for future episodes.

We are joined by the subtle wit of sir Thomas Strah. Painter, writer, narrator of Jonah's audiobook The Town of Books. What isn't to like about Nabokov. Hopefully this will urge you to pick him up again.