When Books Were Fun

When Books Were Fun Episode 028: Mostly Martian

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 17:00:21 +0000

In which we discuss a few of the works of Ray Bradbury, focusing mostly on his collection The Martian Chronicles, and consider that both his strengths and weaknesses stem from the fact that he was primarily a short story writer.

whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 027: Reading the Bible

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:00:01 +0000

In which we discuss reading the Bible, and skipping over issues of faith and belief, consider which books of the Bible might be the most interesting to new readers, which are best to read in order, and which might be left for a later more compete reading of the Bible.

whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 026: Poetry: Snarks and Garden Verses

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:00:27 +0000

In which we discuss The Hunting of the Snark (1876) by Lewis Carrol and A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885 ) by Robert Louis Stevenson, and consider that rhyming poetry is an ideal way to give children a love of words and language and that you don’t always have to understand everything to enjoy it. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 025: Two by Twain

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:30 +0000

In which we discuss Roughing It (1872) Tom Sawyer (1876) both by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, and consider the humor of Twain’s self-deprecating narrator in a fictionalized memoir and the humor of the fictional Tom Sawyer outwitting the adults around him. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 024: Girls’ Choices

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:00:47 +0000

In which we discuss Vanity Fair (1847/48) by William Thackery and The Tombs of Atuan (1971) by Ursula Leguin, and consider girls’ choices and their consequences, whether the girls be characters in a realistic 19^th century novel or a priestess-in-training in a fantasy novel. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 023: War: Spanish and Fantasy

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:00:35 +0000

In which we discuss For Whom the Bells Toll (1940) by Ernest Hemingway and The Well of the Unicorn (1948) by Fletcher Pratt, and consider Hemingway’s gritty tale of conflicting wartime loyalties in the Spanish civil war and a gritty high fantasy tale of conflicting wartime loyalties, published several years before Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings defined the fantasy genre. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 022: Pride, Prejudice, and Elfland

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 16:00:08 +0000

In which we discuss Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen and The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924) by Lord Dunsany, and consider the psychological and social insights of Austen’s beloved classic as compared to a fairy tale of love between moral and immortal, beyond the fields we know. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 021: 19th Century New York, 30th Century America

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:00:26 +0000

In which we discuss The Age of Innocence (1920) by Edith Wharton and City of Illusions (1967) by Ursula LeGuin, and consider how a novel of high society New Yorkers and moral problems related to love and marriage parallels a novel of a not quite human man navigating problems on an alien dominated future Earth. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 020: Slavery and the Civil War

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:00:58 +0000

In which we discuss Twelve Years a Slave (1853) by Solomon Northrup and This Hallowed Ground (1956) by Bruce Catton, non-fiction accounts of slavery and the civil war it engendered, and consider their ongoing relevance in the 21^st century. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 019: Church Warfare

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 16:00:05 +0000

In which we discuss Barchester Towers (1857) by Anthony Trollope and consider how a comedy regarding situations unfamiliar to modern readers (in this case, 19^th century Anglican Church politics) can nonetheless be funny and fun to read for its handling of timeless aspects of human nature and social interactions. Relevant to anyone ever affected by office politics. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 018: Boys in Trouble

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:00:25 +0000

In which we discuss Nicholas Nickleby (1838-39) by Charles Dickens and Just William (1922) by Richmal Crompton and consider the comedy of suffering dire circumstances and dire characters versus normal 11 year-old suffering. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 017: Shipwrecked

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:00:54 +0000

In which we discuss The Coral Island (1857) by R M. Ballantyne and The Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding and consider the differing worldviews of authors and critics regarding boys shipwrecked on tropical islands. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 016: Mice, Men, and more Penrod

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:00:01 +0000

In which we discuss Of Mice and Men (1937) by John Steinbeck and take a return visit to Penrod by Booth Tarkington (1914) and consider how changing social mores affect the reading of realistic novels from the past. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 015: Murder and Spies

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:00:57 +0000

In which we discuss And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) (1939) by Agatha Christie and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by John le Carre and consider another Christie mystery as well as the roles of mystery and betrayal in spy novels. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 014: Death in the North Atlantic

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:00:35 +0000

In which we discuss A Night to Remember (1955) by Walter Lord, a non-fiction account of the Titanic disaster, and The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Monsarrat, a novel by about British convoys in the North Atlantic during World War II, and reflect on icebergs, U-boats, and hypothermia. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 013: Murder - Gritty and Genteel

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:00:21 +0000

In which we discuss Farewell My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler and The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1916) by Agatha Chrisie and contrast the sub-genres of gritty urban mystery and genteel English country house mystery. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 012: Tarzan

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:00:24 +0000

In which we discuss the Tarzan stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, particularly Tarzan of the Apes (1912), The Return of Tarzan (1913), The Son of Tarzan (1915), and Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919). whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 011: Comedy - Jeeves and Grand Fenwick

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:00:35 +0000

In which we discuss The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (1923) and The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley (1955) and contrast the faux Edwardian humor of the Jeeves stories with Wibberley’s social satire regarding power politics and nuclear weapons. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 010: Comedy - Ernest and Crichton

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:00:05 +0000

In which we discuss The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895) and The Admirable Crichton (1902) by J. M. Barrie, noting the humor of the trivial, and the relevance of these two plays to modern society. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 009: Reading Shakespeare

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:00:20 +0000

In which we discuss the plays of William Shakespeare and why reading these plays can often be more entertaining and instructive than seeing them performed. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 008: Comedy - Tom Jones and Flashman

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:00:52 +0000

In which we discuss The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749) and Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser (1969) and discuss how tales of adultery and misbehavior might actually be moralistic, most definitely so in Tom Jones, and somewhat indirectly in Flashman and its sequels. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 007: Childhood - Before World War I

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:00:53 +0000

In which we discuss novels about childhood, Penrod by Booth Tarkington (1914) and The Golden Age and Dream Days by Kenneth Grahame (1895 and 1898) and ponder what aspects of childhood are determined by historical time and place, and what aspects are eternal.

whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 006: The English Riverside

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:00:22 +0000

In which we discuss Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (1889) and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908) and contrast a (somewhat) factual account of three men (and a dog) boating on the Thames with a child’s fantasy of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Mr. Toad, and their adventures along a river and the English countryside.

whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun Episode 005: Homer’s Odyssey

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:00:59 +0000

In which we discuss Homer’s Odyssey and why reading a poem that’s several thousand years old might be more entertaining that watching its movie adaption.

whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun 004: Freddy the Pig

Mon, 25 May 2026 16:00:43 +0000

In which we discuss some of the Freddy the Pig books of Walter R. Brooks and their depiction of the Bean farm and a traditional 20^th century America, Freddy’s vocation as a detective, and his relationships with the other animals, not to mention Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun 003: Dr. Seuss and More

Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:26 +0000

In which we discuss children’s picture books in general, focusing mostly on the works of Dr. Seuss, and emphasize the importance of reading to children. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun 002: Sherlock Holmes

Mon, 11 May 2026 16:00:23 +0000

In which we discuss the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, focusing mostly on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892). whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

When Books Were Fun 001: Introduction

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:00:28 +0000

In which two cranky old men attempt to convince you the listener that popular fiction used to be fun before publishing, libraries, and education became politicized and that traditionalists, homeschooling families, and anyone looking for a good read should consider the popular works discussed here. whenbookswerefun@gmail.com Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.