Podcast Group: Julia, Afi, Ashton, Genero. Kakutani, Michiko. “Why '1984' Is a 2017 Must-Read.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/books/why-1984-is-a-2017-must-read.html This source works for our next club meeting because it directly links the themes of 1984 with "Trump's America." The New Historist lens was a clear choice for a discussion because this book is all about the control and effects of government. In the article, the author compares the government of 1984 with our government today saying, "A world of endless war, where fear and hate are drummed up against foreigners, and movies show boatloads of refugees dying at sea. A world in which the government insists that reality is not 'something objective, external, existing in its own right' — but rather, 'whatever the Party holds to be the truth is truth.'" As I was reading this section I had trouble deciding which world he was talking about. This is alarming since 1984 is supposed to be a totalitarian dystopia; unlike the democratic republic, we have here in the US. The article continues to speak of alternative facts, being watched, and the government's ability to control what people see and believe.

This podcast is about a summary of Chapters 11 to 14 in "Dracula". We explored the New Historicist Lens and how Bram Stoker wrote stories of Gothic novels. Today's Goth is quite different than today's view on Goth. Stories have evolved over time but we get to take a look at how Goth is viewed in the Victorian Era. Majd's Article Stoker, Dacre, and J.D. Barker. “The Real History That Went Into Bram Stoker's Dracula.” Time, Time, 2 Oct. 2018, time.com/5411826/bram-stoker-dracula-history/. Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of author Bram Stoker, revealed some of the historic events that influenced the writing of Dracula. In a meeting with the Royal Coast Guard, Bram Stoker learned about the wreck of the Dmitri, a ship that departed from Varna with a load of earth and washed up on shore with a few dead crewmembers, and a dog that ran up to Saint Mary’s Church. Combining this with the common Victorian folklore of Romania, Stoker created “Dracula”, a novel about a man who unknowingly visits a vampire to conduct business. Ben’s Article “The Origins of the Gothic.” The British Library, The British Library, 26 Feb. 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-origins-of-the-gothic. The article was about the historical culture of gothic in the UK. Today, we see that gothic culture is usually seen as wearing black and having a malevolent vibe. The article goes into detail about how the idea of goth is more about having a thrill for supernatural events or characters. Some may tie romance into it. Some novels are mentioned to reference and how some have similar themes. "The Gothic is mainstream of Victorian Fiction" is a title that stood out. As it is a time period that the fiction of horror and thrill for stories of that nature. Sean’s Article Adrian Tanasa, Iasi, Romania. "Interview with Bram Stoker About Dracula." Dracula, dracula.cc/literature/bram_stoker_interview_dracula/. This article that I analyzed expresses author Bram Stokers ideals and what has been expressed throughout the novel, 'Dracula.' Stoker talks about his initial ideas when writing this novel and what made him change his decisions. I believe that it is important for an author to have a good foundation even when writing a fictional story. Although it's something I expected when looking at this novel. In this interview, Stoker was asked, "Is there any historical basis for the legend." When asked this question, Stoker gave a lengthy response, Stoker shows how his basis for the idea is in relation to misconceptions about death.

The Club of Eden has made a strong come back with their second podcast episode! This weeks topic is looking at the text through the feminist lens. We defined the "two female protagonists" and "the sensitive male character" and how all of their interactions relate back to feminism. In the next podcasts, we will uncover more of the novel and expand our knowledge on the themes mentioned and raise more questions which we will answer as we go! Because this link is on soundcloud and that is blocked on the wifi, to listen, you have to listen on your phone!

In this podcast we discuss, the dystopian world of George Orwell's imagination of the future in which he wrote almost 40 years before the actual year. The book raises many topics in this podcast dealing many topics such as; individuality, the importance of literature, societal/government brainwashing, war, peace, privacy, technology, and Trump. Hope you enjoy!

In Giggling and Gabbing's first podcast, we discuss the first 80 pages of "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Though we lacked one member of our book club this week, we were still able to have a thoughtful conversation about the relationship between mother's and daughters, father's and son as well as the symbolism used to describe both Lola's and Oscar's adolescence. We decided Lola was the loser this week and Oscar was the winner. We decided this because Oscar has made progress to learn who he is and wants to be while Lola has begun to spiral out of control. Hope you giggle while we gab about Oscar Wao. Link to podcast below