Episode Notes – Page 8 of 8 – Florida Book Club

Larry Perez’s “Snake in the Grass” – Season 2, Episode 2

By Christopher Nank April 7, 2021Season 2

Will monstrous invasive pythons soon be roaming the streets of suburban Florida? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean they don’t represent a pressing ecological crisis. Larry Perez, a long-time ranger…

Vicki Hendricks’ “Florida Gothic Stories” – Season 2, Episode 1

By Christopher Nank March 31, 2021Season 2

“Grotesque, Florida Man-type stories” is how my guest today, Florida College English Association president Christina Connor, describes Vicki Hendricks’ 2010 collection Florida Gothic Stories. Does that appeal to you?

Shelley Katz’s “Alligator” – Season 1, Episode 8

By Christopher Nank January 6, 2021Episode Notes, Season 1

"Alligator" looks like the cheapest kind of pulp horror novel upon first glance. The cover, the summary, the title – they all do it no favors in terms of perception.…

Shane Hinton’s “Radio Dark” – Season 1, Episode 7

By Christopher Nank December 30, 2020Episode Notes, Season 1

Shane Hinton’s 2019 novel "Radio Dark" doesn’t seem like the kind of book one would want to read in 2020. It’s about a plague that effectively ends society, it uses…

“The Letters of George Long Brown” – Season 1, Episode 6

By Christopher Nank December 23, 2020Episode Notes, Season 12 Comments

George Long Brown was no Harriet Beecher Stowe. I mean, he bought slaves when he settled in Florida after emigrating from New England, and Stowe was a fervent abolitionist. But…

George McCowan’s “Frogs” – Season 1, Episode 5

By Christopher Nank December 16, 2020Episode Notes, Season 1

Frogs aren’t really scary. Well, unless they’re telepathically controlling lizards, alligators, snakes, and other reptiles and commanding them to attack humans. I mean, these are humans with lots of hubris…

“Florida Reimagined” – Season 1, Episode 4

By Christopher Nank December 9, 2020Episode Notes, Season 1

Walt Disney World, it could be argued, has not had a net positive effect on Central Florida, environmentally speaking at least. University of Central Florida professor of art history Keri…

“Condoms and Hot Tubs Don’t Mix” – Season 1, Episode 3

By Christopher Nank December 2, 2020Episode Notes, Season 1

There is a book out there filled with sexual anecdotes and stories that in some cases are so embarrassing, frightening, or... well, ordinary, that they make for pretty entertaining reading.…

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Palmetto Leaves” – Season 1, Episode 2

By Christopher Nank November 25, 2020Episode Notes, Season 1

Florida before air-conditioning was still somehow considered paradise by a lot of people, including "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote a book on it! Join me as…

Ernest Hemingway’s “The Strange Country” – Season 1, Episode 1

By Christopher Nank November 18, 2020Episode Notes, Season 17 Comments

Ernest Hemingway's association with Florida is most commonly defined by his time spent in Key West during the 1930s. However, in "The Strange Country," published posthumously as part of "The…