The air date has been (tentatively) scheduled for Sunday, June 29 at 8PM (central) / 9PM (eastern).

Please listen live as we discuss this show.  I am hoping to be able to handle callers. The blog talk radio interface has added a new feature that does not require you to install software.  It allows you to use a microphone to “call” over the internet while we are on air.  Someone needs to test it for us!  You can also chat with us on the show page if  you wish to add to the discussion that way.

Well, I decided to bring my all-time favorite to the party for June. Yes, I’m offering up my beloved 1984:  the masterpiece of George Orwell, and one of the finest English novels ever.

1984 is the story of Winston Smith, a copy editor in war-torn Airstrip One—the former United Kingdom, and part of the larger state of Oceania.  He is a citizen of an unfathomably cruel totalitarian regime, in which everyone is under constant audio and video surveillance.  (Big Brother is watching you.)

Naturally, many things bother Winston about his life.  Foremost among them is that so few seem to remember a different time.  The novel is the story of what happens when he pursues relationships with those few he suspects do remember a different time.

I love that 1984 works as satire, as science fiction, as a mystery, and as a love story.  Most of all, I love Orwell’s terrifying depiction of the death of words entailing the death of their definitions.

If you’ve not read it, please join us—particularly if you’re a lover of language, freedom, or both.  If you have read it, please read it again.  It’s good like that.  (This is reading 20 or so for me.)

Stay tuned for show time and date.

For this morning’s show, we were back in our element with a working phone (except for the part where my line dropped out for about 10 minutes as I searched for a replacement that worked).

Enchantment is a fantasy re-telling of the legend of Sleeping Beauty. In it, our hero Ivan, a scholar of ancient Russian/Slavic languages, finds an enchanted glade in the Ukraine with a sleeping woman.  He finds his way to the woman, awakens her, and is transported back to the 9th century.

“Happily Ever After” does not arrive with the kiss that awakens the princess.  First, Ivan must prove to the king and the villagers that he is worthy.  They expected a great warrior to awaken Katarina and save them from the imminent invasion of their lands by the Evil Witch, Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga is just that. Evil.   As we discusssed the robust characters of the story, it was generally agreed that Baba Yaga did what Baba Yaga wanted to do, without remorse.

Ivan desperately tries to learn to be the warrior that the people need; but, he fails.  Katarina and he must flee for their lives, back to Ivan’s family in the 20th century.   As Katarina and Ivan spend time together, their love and respect for each other grows as they recognize the hidden talents each possess.

This is a fun, whimsical tale about listening to your gut feelings, using your talents, and striving to do the right things.    There is also some fascinating interweaving of the traditions of many faiths including early Christianity, paganism, mulit-god worship, as well as modern and orthodox Judaism.  The questions of faith, and what we take from it, add an extra layer to the plot.

If you are looking for a light, entertaining novel for this summer’s vacation reading, perhaps Enchantment is the book for you.  (But, not if you don’t groove on fantasy and magic…)

If you’ve read Enchantment, take some time to listen to the show. You can click on the player in the sidebar, or visit the radio show homepage at Blog Talk Radio.

We forgot our report card from last month’s selection. Bo so kindly reminded me that he wants to see that F report card!