(SPECIAL) Episode 15: ”50 Years of Reading”

Two weeks before their 50th birthday, the Book XChange brothers/co-hosts had the ultra-rare opportunity to get together in an isolated location, celebrate that we've somehow made it through a half-century, and talk books and reading face to face. The result was this one-time only, special episode of the podcast: a free-form, no holds barred, personal discussion about our lives as readers, how great books and writers have changed and challenged us across various stages in our lives, and the ultimate value and utility of reading. We won't often get so personal and self-reflective as in this show, but for this special occasion, we thought it would be appropriate to celebrate all that the Book XChange has meant to our lives, going back literally decades before the internet and podcasting enabled us to expand the conversation across the globe! We hope you will indulge us for this unique episode and give it a chance - it may even get you thinking about your own journey as a reader, and where it might be headed. As ever, thank you one and all for listening! BOOKS DISCUSSED/MENTIONED/RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE: literally too many to mention, considering we are covering a combined 100 years of reading (!)... but trust us, a LOT of interesting ground is covered! What Jude is currently reading/plans to read next: 'Mosquitoes,' William Faulkner; 'Love in the Time of Cholera,' Gabriel Garcia Marquez; What John is currently reading/plans to read next: 'Budding Prospects: A Pastoral,' T. C. Boyle; 'The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,' Stephen Greenblatt Planned next episode of the Book XChange podcast: Favorite and notable Debut Novels