Better off Read

Beyond a Joke! Better of Read’s New Home at Substack.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been recording and editing the first episodes of the new series Beyond a Joke. In this series, I’m asking guests to bring an object that has made them laugh. Using this object we discuss what makes us laugh, what arts practice can learn about the structures of humor and jokes and so far, quite a lot about where the ‘serious’ and the ‘ridiculous’ overlap and intersect. So far, I’ve had two amazing conversations with Anna Jackson about Snoopy and Jonny Potts about ‘Нос Nos | The Nose’ by Nikolai Gogol. Both of these episodes will be available in the next few weeks. Episodes for this series come out every two weeks.

In other news, Better off Read is shifting to a new home at Substack.

My main aim in moving to Substack is to build a bit of community around the podcast.

You will still be able to listen Better off Read for free but you are also now able to contribute financially if you’re able. I would love to make the podcast sustainable financially on an ongoing basis. An important principle of the podcast is that I pay all guests. Your money makes it possible for me to make the podcast for everyone.

Subscribe to Better off Read’s Substack

Thanks as always for listening and I look forward to being in touch.

Ep 109: Andy Southall : Time, Love, Memory session from Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts

Due to Covid the session I was chairing with Andy Southall and Bridget van der Zijpp for the 2022 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts was cancelled. I'm really grateful that Andy and Bridget agreed to record a session where we talk about their books under the session theme of Time, Love, Memory.

Andy Southall speaks about his new novel Both Feet in Paradise (The Cuba Press)

Ep 108: Bridget van der Zijpp: Time, Love, Memory session from Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts

Due to Covid the session I was chairing with Andy Southall and Bridget van der Zijpp for the 2022 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts was cancelled. I'm really grateful that Andy and Bridget agreed to record a session where we talk about their books under the session theme of Time, Love, Memory.

Bridget van der Zijpp speaks about her new novel I Laugh Me Broken (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Ep 107: Elements 21 – Character. Tatyana Kulida talks to Pip Adam about Henry Miller’s ‘To Paint is to Love Again’.

In the third episode in the Character season of Elements, I talk to Tatyana Kulida about character and how it relates to her work. We use Henry Miller’s book ‘To Paint is to Love Again’ as a starting point for this discussion.

Here is a link to Tatyana’s website

Ep 106: Elements 20 - Character. Tara Black talks to Pip Adam about René Magritte‘s ‘The Treachery of Images‘.

In the second episode in the Character season of Elements, I talk to Tara Black about character and how it relates to her work. We use René Magritte's 'The Treachery of Images' as a starting point for this discussion.

Some of the things we talk about are:

Here is a link to Tara's website

We talk about the books of Scott McCloud Understanding Comics, Making Comics, Reinventing Comics. Here is a link to Scott McCloud's website

Ep 105: Elements 19 - Character. Rachel O‘Neill talks to Pip Adam about Andrea Arnold‘s film Milk.

In the first episode in the Person/Character season of Elements, I talk to Rachel O'Neill about character and how it relates to their writing. We use Andrea Arnold's film Milk as a starting point for this discussion.

CW: Please be aware that Milk contains the death of a baby and deals with the grief resulting from this. Here's a link where you can watch Andrea Arnold's film Milk

Here's a link to Rachel's blog

Here's a link to Rachel's Instagram

Ep 104: Elements 18 – Point. Kirsten McDougall talks to Pip Adam about first-person perspective.

In the fourth episode in the Point season of Elements, I talk to Kirsten McDougall about point of view and how it relates to her writing. We use as starting point for this discussion first-person perspective.

Some of the things we talk about are:

Here’s a link to Kirsten’s new book She’s a Killer

Here’s a link to Maggie Shipstead’s book Great Circle

Here’s a link to Olga Ravn’s book The Employees

Exercise:

Think of three people who you saw yesterday. Now write three first-person perspectives of yesterday. What does each person choose to tell you about their day?

Ep 103: Elements 17 - Point. Ebony Lamb talks to Pip Adam about a self-portrait photographed by Ebony Lamb.

In the third episode in the Point season of Elements, I talk to Ebony Lamb about point of view and how it relates to her work as a photographer and song-writer. We use as starting point for this discussion Ebony's portrait below.

Which you can see here: https://better-read.com/2021/09/08/ep-103-elements-17/

 

Ep 102: Elements 16 - Point. Cassie Hart talks to Pip Adam about Butcherbird by Cassie Hart.

Some of the things we talk about are:

Here's a link to Cassie's website which includes information about all of Cassie's work

Exercise:

Cassie and I talk about using existing structures. Maybe you could think of a 'type' of story - a romance, a whodunit, a first contact novel. Now spend 30 seconds writing everything about that type of story that you know. Now take another type of story and write it in using your list. So, you might end up writing a romance using the rules of a murder mystery, or a first contact novel as a noire detective story.

Here's a link to Pip's article 'The story of a take-down'

Ep 101: Elements 15 - Point. Emma Hislop talks to Pip Adam about Daisy Johnson's short story 'The Hunt'.

In the second episode in the Point season of Elements, I talk to Emma Hislop about point of view and what it is to write it. We use as starting point for this discussion Daisy Johnson's short story 'The Hunt' which is part of 'The Scattering: a story in three parts' and is published in Johnson's amazing collection Fen. Here's a link to more information about Fen

Some of the things we talk about are:

Here's a link to Emma Hislop's short story 'The Game'

Here's a link to Sarah Hall's short story 'Mrs Fox'

Here's a link to Karen Russel's short story 'Orange World'

Here's a link to Emma's Instagram

Here's a link to Emma on Twitter

Exercise:

Emma's story 'The Game' does an amazing job of limiting what the point of view character knows. Think of an object. Name three facts about this object. Now get three people in the room with this object and give each of them one of the facts about the object but not the other two. Each of them wants the object. Now write the dialogue.