Here are the show notes from the original airing:

Aside from talking about how we’re all about five days away from becoming Howard Hughes, Chad, Brian, and special guest Derek Maine talk about dreams vs. rationality, Nabokov and Bob Dylan, dream lovers and MTV videos,ÌýTwin PeaksÌýand fantasy baseball. (OK, not the last one.) It’s a fun podcast, a minor distraction that hopefully adds a bit of joy into the world. So enjoy!

If you’d prefer toÌýwatchÌýthe conversation, you can find it onÌýÌýalong withÌý. You can watch April 1st episode (covering pages 112-155)Ìý. And you can discuss this book at the reactivated GoodreadsÌý.

You can purchase each of the books in the trilogy separately (,Ìý,Ìý, OR, if you don’t have them and are ready for the reading event of 2023, then getÌýÌýfor $40—approximately 30% off.

You can find all previous seasons of TMR on ourÌýÌýaaand you can support us atÌýÌýand get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please rate us—wherever you get your podcasts!

¹ó´Ç±ô±ô´Ç·ÉÌýÌý,ÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýÌýfor random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on along with . You can , ask questions, make comments, and correct inaccurate statements. Here’s where you can find the complete reading schedule.

This week’s music is “Eat the Rich” by Motörhead.

Follow and for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

Be sure to order Brian’s book, , which is available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

You can also support this podcast andÌýallÌýof Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the .

This week’s music is “” by L7.

If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on along with . You can and ask questions, make comments, or correct inaccurate statements. Here’s where you can find the complete reading schedule.

Follow and for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

Be sure to order Brian’s book, , which is now officially available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions.

You can also support this podcast andÌýallÌýof Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the .

The associated with this post is copyrighted by .

From the provocative writer and filmmaker Virginie Despentes comes volume one of her acclaimed trilogy of novels,ÌýVernon Subutex—short-listed for the Man Booker International Prize. But who is Vernon Subutex?

Vernon Subutex was once the proprietor of Revolver, an infamous music shop in Paris, where his name was legend throughout Paris. By the 2000s, however, with the arrival of the internet and the decline in CD and vinyl sales, his shop is struggling, like so many others. When it closes, Subutex finds himself with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Before long, his savings are gone, and when the mysterious rock star who had been covering his rent suddenly drops dead of a drug overdose, Subutex finds himself launched on an epic saga of couch-surfing, boozing, and coke-snorting before finally winding up homeless. Just as he resigns himself to life as a panhandler, a throwaway comment he once made on Facebook takes the internet by storm.

The word is out: Subutex is lugging around a bunch of VHS tapes shot by that same dead rock musician—his last recordings on this earth. Soon a crowd of wild characters, from screen writers to social media groupies, from porn stars to failed musicians to random misfits, are hot on Vernon’s trail . . . but Vernon is none the wiser.

We will be doing all three books back-to-back-to-back over the course of fifteen episodes. Volumes 1 & 2 are available now, and Volume 3 comes out on May 11.

There’s going to be a ton to talk about this season, especially given Despentes’s background, her earlier books (a new translation ofÌýKing Kong Theory is coming out in May as well), and the unflinching descriptions of her characters. If you’re not familiar with Despentes already, here’s a brief bio:

Virginie DespentesÌýis a writer and filmmaker. She worked in an independent record store in the early ’90s, was a sex worker, and published her first novel,ÌýBaise Moi, when she was twenty-three. She adapted the novel for the screen in 2000, codirecting with the porn star Coralie Trinh Thi. Upon release, it became the first film to be banned in France in twenty-eight years. Despentes is the author of more than fifteen other works, includingÌýApocalypse Baby,ÌýBye Bye Blondie,ÌýPretty Things, and the essay collectionÌýKing Kong Theory.

As I mentioned above, we’re going to read straight through the trilogy, and, when possible, we’ll be bringing back guests three times each so that they can track their progress and thoughts across all three volumes. Here’s the official reading schedule:

April 8: Volume 1, 1-83

April 15: Volume 1, 84-146

April 22: Volume 1, 147-215

April 29: Volume 1, 216-271

May 6: Volume 1, 272-340

May 13: Volume 2, 1-70

May 20: Volume 2, 71-155

May 27: Volume 2, 156-219

June 3: Volume 2, 220-283

June 10: Volume 2, 284-352

June 17: Volume 3, 1-79

June 24: Volume 3, 80-154

July 1: Volume 3, 155-229

July 8: Volume 3, 230-300

July 15: Volume 3, 301-370

As in seasons past, we’ll on Thursdays, with the dropping on Friday morning. Subscribe to both—and rate and leave a comment!—and to see me, Brian Wood, andÌý Derek Maine get the ball rolling . . .

This week’s musical “4×4” reference is from Florida Georgia Line, because of course it is.

If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on along with . (And seriously, this week’s opening is worth watching.) The next broadcast will be on . We’ll be talking about pages 156-222) of Four by Four, which is available in everywhere. (And as an audiobook via !)

Follow and for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.

Be sure to order Brian’s book, , which is now officially available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And you can get 20% off by using the code 2MONTH at checkout. (Offer only good in the U.S., since we can’t ship overseas, but to be honest, we can’t ship right now! Order it from .)

You can also support this podcast andÌýallÌýof Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the .

The associated with this post is copyrighted by .

If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on along with . You can watch April 1st episode (covering pages 112-155) . And you can discuss this book at the reactivated Goodreads .

Follow and for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And watch ‘s YouTube channel, !

Be sure to order Brian’s book, , which is now officially available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions. And you can get 20% offÌýÌýby using the code 2MONTH at checkout.

You can also support this podcast andÌýallÌýof Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the .

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.