The Re-Enchantment Book Club

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan take some time to respond to listeners’ questions. They discuss the story of their own friendship, book recommendations for younger readers, the power of annotation, discerning helpful vs. harmful content in literature, whether Christian fiction is obligated to overtly evangelize, book vs. film adaptations, and whether you should make yourself read that super-long classic novel. 
 
What We’re Reading:
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 
Red Harvest by Dashiel Hammett 
Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
No Man is an Island by Thomas Merton 
Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
 
Young Reader Recommendations:
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park 
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger 
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt 
The Little Prince by Antoine de Sainte-Exupery
The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
 
Jordan & Brendan’s nostalgic middle grade books:
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling 
Holes by Louis Sachar 
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli 
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG by Roald Dahl 
A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osbourne 
Goosebumps series by RL Stein 
Animorphs series by KA Applegate
Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reenchantmentbookclub  
Have a question or comment? Send us an email at: REBCpodcast@gmail.com
 
 

In this special 25th episode, Jordan and Brendan go head-to-head in a fantasy draft to assemble an elite team of titles from all of their previous episodes, selecting for categories that include best Narrator, Character, Setting, Style/Form, ‘Beach Read,’ ‘Desert Island Book,’ Most Enchanting, Most Light, and Most Heat. Feel free to vote for who assembled the better “team” via DMs on Instagram or through our official gmail!
 
Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reenchantmentbookclub  
Send us an email with a question/comment for our upcoming Mailbag Episode: REBCpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan foray into the world of Russian lit to discuss the danger of categories, Death as the great equalizer, evaluation by the world’s economy, living & dying well, the paradoxical complexity of Tolstoy’s work, and whether stew is better on the second day.
 
What We’re Reading:
 
The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Phantastes by George Macdonald
Custodians of Wonder by Eliot Stein
 
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan go through the wardrobe to discuss the deep magic of sacrificial love, the awakening of the imagination, Lewis’s iconic imagery, resurrection beauty, the renewing power of awe, the questionable allure of Turkish Delight, and their favorite “goosebump” moments.
What We’re Reading:
The Odyssey by HomerCrossing to Safety by Wallace StegnerThe Haunting of Hill House by Shirley JacksonThe Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard F. Lovelace
 
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss Great American novels, the desire for immutable justice, the inconsistency of moral judgment, the need for our immediate worlds to be put right, and the fact that on a map, small places add up to a big place.
 
What We’re Reading:
The Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite
This is Happiness by Niall Williams
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the power of music, the problem of pain, where we go to deal with suffering, the communal experience of lament, the cisterns we choose over the fountains of living water, showing up for the ones we love, and whether beer is in fact meant to be served cold.
 
What We’re Reading:
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 
 
Other Mentions:
Jeremiah 2:13
REBC Episode 9 “The Gilded Six Bits”
REBC Episode 2 “A Lesson Before Dying”

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss an abundance of rabbits, the power of myth, how the telling of stories shapes us, the value of ennobling tales, whether this book is actually for children, and an unfortunate excess of rollicking.
 
What We’re Reading:
The Divided Soul by Heidi White
The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion by Beth Brower
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
 
Other Mentions:
Psalm 104
 
Next episode we will be discussing Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. We hope you join us!
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this special New Year episode, Jordan and Brendan examine the poems “Alive Together” by Liesel Mueller and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. They discuss what it means to marvel, the power of providence, the possibility of “missing out”, struggling to be who we are called to be, the paradox of oneness with Christ, the lilting magic of sprung rhythm, and the playfulness of God.
 
What We’re Reading:
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Time of the Child by Niall Williams
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Rise & Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman
 
Other Mentions:
Poetry 180 by Billy Collins
Jordan’s poets: Mary Oliver, Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser, Li Young Lee, Denise Levertov, Jim Harrison
Brendan’s poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur
George Macdonald - “The New Name” (from Unspoken Sermons)

 
In this episode, Jordan and Brendan board the Hogwarts Express to discuss the deep magic of God, worldbuilding, finding our place in a larger story, British sweets, and whether Americans find the word “Philosopher” archaic. All topped off with an irresponsible number of references to Stephen King for an episode about a children’s book.
 
What We’re Reading:
For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann 
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
 
Other Mentions:
John Calvin’s sensus divinitatis
 
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan take up residence in Port William and discuss Membership, steadfast Love, what it means to live and die in the same place, visions of the Good Life, and the power of particular Fidelity. All of which is catfish optional. 
 
What We’re Reading:
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Boone: A Biography by Robert Morgan
The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson
 
Next episode we will be discussing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. We hope you join us!
Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry
Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra