Fan's Notes

We’re Adam Price and Jesse Paddock, and this is our podcast Fan’s Notes. Basically, it’s us yakking about two of our favorite things: books and basketball. Each episode will feature us discussing one of our favorite books, and then segue into some aspect of basketball (usually NBA-related but not exclusively.) We’re hopeful that the two will resonate in some thematic or aesthetic ways, but if not the conversation should still be lively.

Episode 101: Iris Murdoch 10/27/2022

Episode 101: Iris Murdoch The day has come. After a very long hiatus, we are back, with a brand new episode in tow. Isaac Butler joins us (at the 35 minute mark) to discuss Murdoch's style, her debt to Shakespeare, and the confounding-but-brilliant way she handled structure and perspective in her novels. An hour later, we switch over to the NBA, with a look at whether any of the early-season trends will have staying power this year. We are deeply grateful to Isaac for coming on the pod—, people!—to help us kick off this new era of the pod. We're not sure exactly when we'll return with episode 102, or what we'll be reading when we do, but stay tuned! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/24826641

Episode 100: MOBY. EFFING. DICK. 05/24/2021

Episode 100: MOBY. EFFING. DICK. It is time, on this the 100th and final Fans Notes, to talk about THE GOAT, by which we mean of course THE WHALE. That's right, folks; we decided to enter the belly of the leviathan alongside Ahab, Melville, Queequeg and his husband Ishmael, and all the other presences--mortal, demonic or spermacetaceous-- that may be stowed away on board the Pequod. It's a wild ride. Then, at the 1:25 mark, we called upon our old friends Charles Chace and Lynwood Robinson one last time for an exhaustive and divagating preview of the various playoff series that will lead us, inexorably, to the 2021 NBA Finals. It should come as no surprise that, after only a single weekend of playoff basketball, our predictions have already begun to be proven dumb and wrong. Some things never change! Lastly, we'd like to sincerely thank everyone who enjoyed (or at least listened to) the podcast over the past five years. We especially appreciate all those people who suggested books for us to discuss or who appeared on the pod to talk about them with us, or who supported our Patreon. We could not have done this without you, and we look forward to talking books and basketball with you all again someday down the line. As ever: See'ya! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/19209902

Episode 99: Charles Portis 04/13/2021

Episode 99: Charles Portis In our penultimate episode (for now, at least!), we celebrate the work of this master of American comic voice who died early last year. Here's an hour of us giggling and gasping and quoting at length from the five novels he published in his life, and I think it's fair to say that listeners will find the experience to be either joyful or tedious, and perhaps each in turn. As mentioned above, our next episode--number 100--will be our last. The podcast is going on hiatus. To send you off right, we'll be delivering a final mega-pod on that literary leviathan itself: MOBY-DICK. You won't want to miss it! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/18708941

Episode 98: THE GO-BETWEEN 02/27/2021

Episode 98: THE GO-BETWEEN In this (formerly) subscribers-only episode, we discuss LP Hartley's great... maybe not great, but pretty darn good 1953 novel, The Go-Between. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/18115382

Episode 97: Jane Bowles' TWO SERIOUS LADIES 02/21/2021

Episode 97: Jane Bowles' TWO SERIOUS LADIES We're delighted to welcome Elisa Gabbert back to the pod, and grateful that she was willing to come on and talk with us about this odd, hilarious and unforgettable book. Around the one hour mark, we discuss the current state of the NBA MVP race. Join us next time, when we take a look at L.P. Hartley's THE GO-BETWEEN. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/18028058

Episode 96: Our Least Favorite Books 01/26/2021

Episode 96: Our Least Favorite Books On this hateful, hate-fueled pod, we discuss novels and authors that occupy a special place in our personal circles of book hell. And after that, a discussion of James Harden to the now very hateable Brooklyn Nets! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/17690696

Episode 95: Denis Johnson's TRAIN DREAMS 01/09/2021

Episode 95: Denis Johnson's TRAIN DREAMS We regret to inform you that, in the course of our discussion of TRAIN DREAMS, we got waylaid in a STONER-shaped ditch. We spend a good deal of time fruitlessly comparing the two books, while trying to pin down what exactly Johnson is up to in this novella. At the 40 minute mark, we praise the Hawks and Suns for choosing a direction for their respective franchises and sailing toward it, regardless of draft whiffs and failed playoffs run they may have left in their wake. Next time, we hope to have Elisa Gabbert back on to discuss Jane Bowles' TWO SERIOUS LADIES with us. And while you're at it, why not , where you'll get instant access to additional episodes. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/17481545

Episode 94: Pod Le Carre 12/24/2020

Episode 94: Pod Le Carre We discuss John Le Carre's CALL FOR THE DEAD, the first of the Smiley books. Why is George Smiley such an indelible character, and what was it about the Cold War and East Germany that played to Le Carre's strengths? Then a brief discussion of the Giannis supermax, James Harden, and coolness as a cultural value. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/17323493

Episode 93: John Williams' STONER 12/13/2020

Episode 93: John Williams' STONER Our mileage varies on STONER, which is either movingly muted or grayly inert, depending on which of us you ask. We interrogate the book's tone for clues as to whether it valorizes or deplores its main character's incurable passivity. At the 50 minute mark, we debrief on the distressed asset trade the Rockets and Wizards made, swapping Russell Westbrook and John Wall, and whether it actually changes the landscape of the NBA at all. Next up, a return to the work of Denis Johnson, with a look at his 2011 novella TRAIN DREAMS. Join us! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/17166803

Episode 92: The Accountability Pod 12/01/2020

Episode 92: The Accountability Pod On this (possibly not) long-awaited pod, we sift back through five years of NBA Draft episodes. What did we get right, what did we get not so right, and how might we adjust our draft philosophy in the future? And, most importantly, who picked Zhou Qi as a top-five prospect? Join us on a special trip down Hot Take lane! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/17019752

Episode 91: James Hamilton-Paterson's COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA / 2020 Draft Big Boards! 11/18/2020

Episode 91: James Hamilton-Paterson's COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA / 2020 Draft Big Boards! It's feast and famine on today's pod, beginning with the peculiar delicacy that is James Hamilton-Paterson's acridly farcical 2004 novel COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA. Whether it adds up to anything more than a collection of delectable jokes is not clear, but it sure tastes good on the way down. Alas, at the 28 minute mark, we turn our attention to the upcoming NBA Draft, as bereft of top-end talent as any since 2013. It's also our most divergent list ever, with disagreements at the top and precious little overlap among our choices. (That said: set aside some time to get know Serbian phenom , who landed smack in the 7th slot on both our draft boards.) And if you find yourself wanting more of our bad draft opinions, look no further than our . On the upcoming installment, we'll be holding ourselves accountable, at long last, for all our whiffs from the first four years of Fan's Notes draft prognostications. Next time, on the pod proper, we'll take on John Williams' STONER, which has been sitting in our to-read pile for far too long. Join us! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16865567

Episode 90: Formative Books 11/11/2020

Episode 90: Formative Books On this episode, we discuss the books and authors that have shaped us as writers and readers. Never before, probably, have Roald Dahl, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, and Elmore Leonard (and many others) been featured in the same conversation! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16769330

Episode 89: Jan Morris' HAV 10/23/2020

Episode 89: Jan Morris' HAV In this episode, we discuss Jan Morris's delightful imaginary travelogue HAV, as well as the fact that with the election looming, we may not quite be in the mood for delightful imaginary travelogues. After that, we recap an NBA Playoffs that, unlike most things in 2020, was not soul-destroyingly awful. Next up James Hamilton-Paterson's COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16520708

Episode 88: The Woman in the Window 10/05/2020

Episode 88: The Woman in the Window In this formerly subscribers-only episode, we discuss AJ Finn/Dan Mallory's execrable/nefariously brilliant 2018 thriller THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, which has since been turned into a splashy and terrible Netflix movie. What do we look for in commercial thrillers? And how does this very bad book succeed where better-written versions fail? /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16275392

Episode 87: The Papa Pod 09/28/2020

Episode 87: The Papa Pod It's time to discuss Ernest Hemingway. How did he become online enemy number one? Is he underrated at this point? And have we actually read any of his books? Plus: a preview of the Lakers-Heat NBA Finals! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16179080

Episode 86: Elisa Gabbert's THE UNREALITY OF MEMORY 09/15/2020

Episode 86: Elisa Gabbert's THE UNREALITY OF MEMORY We're delighted to welcome Elisa Gabbert onto the pod to talk about her brilliant essay collection The Unreality of Memory, which was published in August. (! It is certain to be one of the best books you read this year.) Elisa also joined us for a discussion of Heinrich von Kleist's the supremely odd and wonderful nineteenth century novella Michael Kohlhaas. A hearty thank you goes out to Sebastian Castillo for requesting it. At the hour mark, we turn our attention to the NBA playoffs, with a look back at the first two rounds and a look ahead at what could be in store for the conference finals and finals. Lastly, we have decided to dip our toes into the placid waters of Patreon. If you wish to hear more book and basketball blather from us with even less preparation, do consider signing up. Subscribers will receive an additional episode each month. (Sorry, early adopters, but we haven't recorded our first one yet!) Pester Adam on Twitter for more details. Next time, on the pod proper, we'll read and discuss . Grab a copy and join us! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/16024004

Episode 85: Sandra Newman and the return of the NBA 08/20/2020

Episode 85: Sandra Newman and the return of the NBA We're extremely grateful to Sandra Newman for taking the time to talk about her 2019 novel THE HEAVENS with us. It's a moving and wondrous book, and one that we highly recommend . After our conversation with Sandra, at about the fifty minute mark, we turn our attention to the NBA restart. We marvel at the remarkable success of the bubble to date and the high quality of play, and we preview most of the playoff matchups. (Sorry, fans of Miami and Indiana, we somehow forgot about that series.) Next time, we'll get into Heinrich von Kleist's early nineteenth century oddity MICHAEL KOHLHAAS with the brilliant Elisa Gabbert, whose stunning collection of essays THE MEMORY OF UNREALITY is out now! Literally stop whatever it is you're doing at this moment and ! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15688079

Episode 84: Ben Lerner's The Topeka School 07/03/2020

Episode 84: Ben Lerner's The Topeka School We spent so much time arguing (productively!) about whether or not the ending of this book is any good that we almost didn't leave ourselves time to discuss the rest of the book, which we agree is exceptionally good! /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616835

Episode 83: Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends 06/12/2020

Episode 83: Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends In this episode we discuss Sally Rooney's debut novel, with frequent tootling interruptions from a nearby Carolina wren. Next up: THE TOPEKA SCHOOL by Ben Lerner, whose first novel, LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION, we discussed way back in episode 23. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616856

Episode 82: Franzen-pod 05/10/2020

Episode 82: Franzen-pod Maybe quarantine wasn't the best time to hunker down inside a 600-page book called Freedom that tracks the hill-of-beans problems of three unhappy midlifers across the Bush era. Nevertheless, we persisted. The result is a mandatorily spaced pod recorded en plein air on Adam's front porch, with shimmering wind and truck noise as accompaniment. Enjoy! Next up: Sally Rooney's much-discussed debut Conversations with Friends. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616877

Episode 81: Joseph O'Neill's Netherland 03/18/2020

Episode 81: Joseph O'Neill's Netherland In what may be the last pod we record face-to-face for a while, we dig into Joseph O'Neill's wonderful 2008 novel about marriage, cricket, and 9/11. Its portrait of a man flailing about for a proper response to a world in crisis chimed eerily with the vibe in America at the moment, as we enter the first full week of social distancing to combat coronavirus. At least Hans, the book's narrator, can fall back on the comforts and rhythms of cricket, a luxury not afforded to us in this time of across-the-board ca /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616904

Episode 80: The Great Secret History Debate 02/28/2020

Episode 80: The Great Secret History Debate No basketball talk today, the better to make room for a friendly sparring contest over Donna Tartt's 1992 debut novel. It's a book dear to Adam's heart across multiple readings; it's also one that Jesse, reading it for the first time, thoroughly disliked. Our discussion is repetitive and seemingly endless (very much like the book in question jkjk.) In honor of the large volume of scotch the characters drink in this book, here's a drinking game: take a shot every time we use the words "bucolic" or "fiefdom. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616937

Episode 79: The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake 02/14/2020

Episode 79: The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake We'd like to thank our listeners Matthew Ballou and Jason Ahuja, who suggested this week's book. The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake was first published in 1983, a few years after Pancake committed suicide at the age of 26. We discuss the way Pancake writes about his home state of West Virginia, and our sadness that he didn't live to extend the promise of these early stories. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616982

Episode 78: Toni Morrison's Sula 01/15/2020

Episode 78: Toni Morrison's Sula Today we discuss Sula, Toni Morrison's 1973 follow-up to her debut novel The Bluest Eye, before pivoting at the 50 minute mark to talk about some of the things we've found most surprising about this NBA season, including the shockingly fun Oklahoma City Thunder, the frisky Memphis Grizzlies, and the better-than-expected Los Angeles Lakers. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15616988

Episode 77: Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association 12/20/2019

Episode 77: Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association We'd like to extend a big thanks to listener Jeff Schroeck, who suggested we pick up Coover's 1968 fantasy-baseball fantasia as our selection from the 1960s. It was weird and smart and provoked a wide array of thoughts about postmodernism (both as a literary movement and as an operating condition of the second half of the twentieth century and beyond), which we tried to explore and examine in this episode. (Book suggestions are always welcome, by the way. If you too would like to hear us fundamentally misun /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617024

Episode 76: Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House 11/28/2019

Episode 76: Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House We tarry cheerfully in the obscure and creepy corridors of Shirley Jackson's late novels, sites of psychic ambiguity and authorial (and architectural!) precision. Then, at the 46 minute mark, we assess the credibility of various trends of the young NBA season, as well as use the phrase "round into form" countless times. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617054

Episode 75: The Barring Injury edition 11/04/2019

Episode 75: The Barring Injury edition Here at long last is the second half of our recent podstravaganza, featuring Charles Chace and all of our misguided pre-season predictions. Feast your ears on all the things we were wrong about! Thanks to Charles for coming in (and bringing his fancy microphone and shock mount to boot.) We hope to have him back in later on in the season when we can further revel in our collective wrongness. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617057

Episode 74: Under the Volcano 10/24/2019

Episode 74: Under the Volcano Recorded as part of a three-hour podstravaganza earlier this week, here's our discussion of Malcolm Lowry's daunting, forbidding, and rewarding 1947 novel. The rest of the podcast, in which we preview the newborn NBA season with our friend Charles Chace, is still being edited and will be released soon. Going forward on the books side, we have finally made it past the shoals of Modernism! Next up is the 1950s, and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617102

Episode 73: Modernist poetry with Emma Catherine Perry 10/11/2019

Episode 73: Modernist poetry with Emma Catherine Perry For our 1930s episode, situated as it is between Mrs. Dalloway in the 1920s and Under the Volcano in the 40s, we decided to linger in the shadow of Modernism awhile longer. But rather than read an emblematic novel from the decade, we wanted instead to think about Modernism's impact on poetry. Where did it come from, in what ways did it break with traditional poetic forms, and to what extent can its effects still be felt on poetry today? We were lucky to be joined by the poet and academic Emma Catherine Perr /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617105

Episode 72: Mrs. Dalloway and David Shields 09/16/2019

Episode 72: Mrs. Dalloway and David Shields On today's show, we mostly take turns reading passages that moved us from Virginia Woolf's tremendous novel about London in the wake of the great war, since there's nothing we could say that the book doesn't convey more artfully. At the 33 minute mark, we are joined by David Shields, author of Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, to talk about his newest project, MARSHAWN LYNCH: A HISTORY, a documentary film that explores the significance of Marshawn Lynch's refusal to talk to the media. The film, assembled from hu /episode/index/show/fansnotes/id/15617111

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