Loading summary
Transcript180 lines
- [00:02]
Annie Jones
Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South.
- [00:24]
Hunter McClendon
In short, our our gentleman became so.
- [00:27]
Annie Jones
Caught up in reading that he spent.
- [00:29]
Hunter McClendon
His nights reading from dusk till dawn and his days reading from sunrise to sunset. And so, with too little sleep and too much reading, his brains dried up, causing him to lose his mind. Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, and this week I'm talking about our 2025 Conquer a Classic series for Patre. Before we get started, a thank you to everyone who's left reviews for from the Front Porch. Itunes, reviews and ratings continue to be how new listeners can best find out about from the Front Porch and as a result, about our indie bookstore too. Here's a recent review. I'm hooked. I was looking for an independent bookstore in South Georgia and found this store and podcast. Love it. Great conversation and episode themes and what a brilliant idea for supplemental content. I hope to check out the physical store someday. I hope you get to come see us in Thomasville very soon. Thank you so much for this review. And if you haven't left a review, all you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone. Look for from the Front Porch, scroll down until you see, write a review, and then you can tell us what you think. Your reviews help us spread the word about the podcast and about our small brick and mortar business too. Now back to the show. Every few episodes during our call to action, I remind listeners about our from the Front Porch Patreon program. For those who might not be familiar, Patreon exists as a way to support creators, writers, artists in their work, and.
- [02:10]
Annie Jones
It'S used by a lot of podcasts.
- [02:11]
Hunter McClendon
As a way to generate some additional income. Your monthly Patreon support means I no longer edit and produce from the Front Porch, a gift I am extremely grateful for every month with when I sit down to record, and particularly this year as I launch a book and a.
- [02:26]
Annie Jones
Literal baby into the world.
- [02:29]
Hunter McClendon
So Patreon enables From the Front Porch to not only exist as a marketing tool for our indie bookstore, but to also generate a small amount of profit for our store as well. And it allows me to delegate other work, which is really wonderful. So, as you probably already know, through Patreon, friend of the show hunter McClendon and I are conquering the classic novel Don Quixote. Together with over 1000 doll listeners across the country. We release recap episodes of our readings every month. $5 a month. Patrons receive access to those conversations as well as our monthly porch visits, which are live Zoom Q&As where we talk about everything from pop culture to nail polish to what books you should take on your next vacation. Those are actually some of my favorite things I get to do. It's just such a fun way to connect with a small group of listeners. There are, I don't know, there are about a hundred of us who do that every month, so it's a small percentage of our Patreon supporters. But it's recorded. It pops up in your Patreon feed. You can watch the recording later, you can listen to it later, but about a hundred folks attend live and it is such a fun time. It's like having a focus group for the bookshelf and for from the front porch. You always ask the best questions. We have the best conversations.
- [03:47]
Annie Jones
It's just a lot of fun.
- [03:48]
Hunter McClendon
So that is also happening over on Patreon. But what you hear me talk about the most and what I I think is probably our most popular Patreon program and the reason people join us there is our Conquer A Classic program. Don Quixote is proving to be a challenging read more on par with the classics we've conquered in years past. I'm thinking of Anna Karenina, Middlemarch, and the Count of Monte Cristo rather than what we did last year, which was the more modern classic Lonesome Dove. That being said, reading in community is great accountability and when this year is over, I will be so glad and grateful to have read this work together. My discussions with Hunter and with fellow readers are often a highlight of my month, and that is not an exaggeration. If you've been on the fence about joining us, I wanted you to know it's not too late. Believe it or not, Don Quixote is more challenging than Lonesome Dove, but it would be very, very easy to catch up just by nature of the format of the book. So I wanted to give a glimpse into what those bonus podcast episodes are like each month. Here is a sneak peek. You can listen in as Hunter and I discuss the first few chapters of Don Quixote and set the stage for this year's Conquer A Classic program.
- [05:02]
Annie Jones
If you like what you hear, you.
- [05:04]
Hunter McClendon
Can join us on patreon at the $5 a month level. Just visit patreon.com from the FrontPorch. There's a link in the show notes as well.
- [05:19]
Annie Jones
Welcome to this bonus episode of from the Front Porch in which we conquer the classic Don Quixote. Today we are discussing chapters nine through 14, and I am joined, as always, by my literary cohort and co presenter, Hunter McClendon. Hi, Hunter.
- [05:42]
Hunter McClendon
Hello. Hi.
- [05:44]
Annie Jones
I don't know how to. You know, with Lonesome Dove, there were so many fun ways to introduce you and Don Quixote. I'm struggling a little bit. I don't have Girl, you could have.
- [05:53]
Hunter McClendon
Been like my very own man from La Mancha.
- [05:56]
Annie Jones
Dang it. You should start these episodes. You should introduce us from now on.
- [06:03]
Hunter McClendon
There we go.
- [06:03]
Annie Jones
How are you?
- [06:04]
Hunter McClendon
Good. I do have to. Okay. This is not related to the book, but I have to tell you, I should have told you up air, but I think everyone maybe, hopefully will enjoy it. I'm working on edits for my book right now that no one's reading, but there's a party scene, and you know who. Zsa Zsa Gabor and Eva Gabor and all them. Okay. So I started writing a bit of dialogue. This woman, she's, like, carrying her husband's little petite bulldog around, and at one point, she's telling her guests, she's like, she's my husband's dog. If it had been mine, I'd have named her Ava, who is obviously the superior sister Gabor's sister. But, you know, man, they can't help themselves. And I thought that was so hilarious. And then I showed it to other people, and they were like, who are those people?
- [06:48]
Annie Jones
Oh, they didn't even laugh.
- [06:49]
Hunter McClendon
No. No.
- [06:51]
Annie Jones
Does that hurt you?
- [06:52]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [06:53]
Annie Jones
Because doesn't it make you feel like sometimes when I'm in conversation with people or maybe I've written something and I say something that I think is so witty or, like, so pop. Culturally relevant, and then, like, Jordan doesn't always care about that stuff. And so, like, sometimes, like, his reaction will be like, now who's that? And on the one hand, I love guiding Jordan through pop culture. It's one of the pro privileges of my life. And on the other hand, sometimes I'm like, man, I am funny. And you don't even appreciate.
- [07:23]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, the other day, somebody was showing me pictures of them with famous people.
- [07:26]
Annie Jones
Oh.
- [07:27]
Hunter McClendon
And I said. I said, you know, every time that I. Somebody shows me these, I always look for Oprah, which I thought was funny. And then they were just. And they just didn't, like. It was obviously just a joke, but they didn't laugh.
- [07:39]
Annie Jones
And they thought you were ser. They were like, well, sorry, I don't have a picture with Oprah.
- [07:42]
Hunter McClendon
Literally. Yeah, that's fine.
- [07:45]
Annie Jones
I get you.
- [07:46]
Hunter McClendon
Thank you.
- [07:46]
Annie Jones
I get your references. Okay, so we are here today to talk about chapters nine through 14 of Don Quixote. This is our second installment in our 2025 A Classic series. We've got almost 2,000 people joining us on Patreon. It'll be interesting to see how that stays throughout this year. I can't tell if we've got Lonesome Dove vibes or Bleak House vibes so far based on the comments, but as usual, you can follow along on instagram ookshelftville, elfbyshelf, andybjones05 don't forget that.05 somebody didn't claim her name fast enough. I don't think hashtags are super popular anymore, but we do use the hashtag conqueraclassic if you want to tag us in your reading. So, Hunter, we're in part two, kind of, sort of. It was a short reading this month because it's a short month. But I am curious when you picked up the book. I just would love to know your initial thoughts. Like, how are you feeling upon reentering this world in February?
- [08:56]
Hunter McClendon
I was like, I'm intrigued by part one or the first part we read. But then I was like, what do I think? I don't know yet. And as I read it, I was like, okay, yeah, I'm invested. And then I will tell you, there is a moment where someone is describing what's Marcella is that. And it's describing her. And it says something about, like, it's just how beautiful she is in all the ways. And then it basically just describes and all of the parts of her that you cannot see, you know, like, whatever. Made me laugh so hard for some reason that I was like, okay, I'm on board now.
- [09:31]
Annie Jones
Listen, I started this section and I wasn't invested is what I will say. And I do think we bring so much of ourselves to the liter. We're reading and life has been hectic. Life has been full. The world feels a little bit on metaphorical and literal fire. And I wondered, like, am I too grouchy for this?
- [10:00]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, yeah.
- [10:01]
Annie Jones
Am I too grouchy for this right now? And I felt like I couldn't get into the rhythm of it. Like, I felt like we took a break. You know, I, you know, finished January's reading, took a little breather. Now we're back. And I couldn't get back into it.
- [10:13]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [10:14]
Annie Jones
And then to me, the Marcella storyline and the Marcella monologue is really what I was like, oh, okay.
- [10:22]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [10:22]
Annie Jones
Oh, okay. We're Back. I'm. I'm back. I'm invested. Because I did have a moment where I did wonder if this is like, too episodic for me, which is something a lot of Patreon supporters and listeners said. And I. I think at first I was. I was a little dismissive of that critique. And now I'm like, oh, no, do I feel that way, too?
- [10:42]
Hunter McClendon
It's so funny you say that, because I kept thinking to myself, I was like, wow. I was like, this book does feel very of an oral tradition. It has this, like.
- [10:50]
Annie Jones
Yes, right. Almost, dare I say, biblical.
- [10:55]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah. Right. Okay. Yes. So it's very, like, very biblical. Very, like very Homer. Yes, it has that kind of vibe, which is interesting, but also does have a weird, like, detached feeling at times.
- [11:09]
Annie Jones
Yes. It's hard to be attached. And listen, part of this is the reading rhythm of coming off of Lonesome Dove, where I think it was very easy to be attached to those cowboys. Now, I don't want to look back with rose colored glasses. Like, I do think it took me a minute because there were so many characters, but I fell in love with those men and women. And then now I'm not sure Don Quixote is somebody you fall in love with. We're going to discuss him a lot, obviously, but I'm not totally sold on him. You know, he's no Gus, he's no call. And so I think part of it is just coming off of Lonesome Dove, whereas if I had been coming off of Bleak House or Count of Monte Cristo, I'm not sure I would have the same trouble. But I do feel a little bit detached. And I just remember at least one Patreon listener, but maybe more, commenting last month how she had already tired of the episodic, you know, the way this story is being told. And I didn't feel that way in the first section, but this. I did start to feel a little bit of fatigue. But I'm going to give Miguel de Cervantes credit because by the end of the section, I was back and invested again. Yeah, I will go ahead and put in a plug. A lot of folks on Patreon are trying to help each other out because I think some readers are very invested and some are not. And one comment that came up a lot on Patreon was that multiple Patreon supporters have suggested the audiobook format.
- [12:41]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [12:41]
Annie Jones
And there's our translation, which is. The translation by Edith Grossman is narrated by George Godall Hunter. Are you listening to this at all? Some people do a Little bit. Is that the translation you're listening to?
- [12:53]
Hunter McClendon
Yes, I am.
- [12:54]
Annie Jones
Do you like it? Okay.
- [12:56]
Hunter McClendon
At first I was like, it's so funny because I did, actually, I started last month just for, like, the. Towards the end, just to be like, oh, I wonder what this is gonna sound like? And at first I didn't like it, which is why I didn't mention it. But I did listen to it for about half of my reading. I, like, read endless at the same time just to kind of, like, hear more of it. And I was like, oh. I was like, actually, like, I do think it's good performance. I think that when you're feeling detached from the story, it's harder to like. So, like, I would recommend, like, listening and reading while you're, like, still trying to work, to get invested, but especially once. Once, like, Marcello kind of was, like, introduced, I could listen with ease without having to feel like I was, like, drifting.
- [13:35]
Annie Jones
Have you found. We talked about this a lot with previous books we've read. Have you found a rhythm of reading yet? Meaning this month's selection was so short, and it was short intentionally. Meaning based on. I tried to keep each month's readings to around 150 pages. This month wasn't that much at all, but it was because I didn't want to leave us in the middle of a section. So it has a lot to do with how the book is already broken up. And February was short. So I was like, this is fine. But because this section was so short, it was relatively easy to read in one sitting. And I actually think it was better for me to binge it in that way because it takes a minute to get. I don't think this is as pickup able and put down able. I think I need to read these sections in one setting. And it's partly because you're adjusting to the old world kind of language.
- [14:31]
Hunter McClendon
I think it's funny because while I say that I thought that the description I thought was intentionally very funny in that one line about Marcella, I also am still mixed on the overall humor here.
- [14:44]
Annie Jones
You're not alone. I think there are a lot of listeners who agree with you.
- [14:48]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah, because here's the problem. I think a lot. Listen, if you think you're a funny person and then somebody else is trying to be funny and you feel like you're funnier than them, it's really hard to listen. And I think of myself as a very funny person. And so there are times where I'm like, I would have told the joke this way, but you know, it's like, listen, this precedes me by a few years, so I get it.
- [15:13]
Annie Jones
Well, and I think our modern sensibility isn't quite sure what to make of Don Quixote. Yeah, I think we can't decide. Oh, is he, like, cute, quirky, fun, delusional, or is he, like, a madman, delusional? Because. And I. And listen, I think we bring our. Not only our worldviews to the books that we read, but I think we bring the time period in which we are residing. I'd like to talk about this a little bit more as we progress, but I don't think you're alone in trying to figure out what is the humor here, which does. I am going to go ahead and address, or I'd like us to talk a little bit about Chris's question. Chris says, I'm wondering if we know what Cervantes aim was for this book. Satire, cautionary tale, social commentary, adventure story. Knowing more about his goal might help me settle in my approach to reading it. So, as with all of these classics that we've been conquering together, Hunter and I do kind of go in blind to a lot of this. And so what you're going to hear us talk about now is our own thoughts and opinions, not necessarily thoughts and opinions that we've researched, because maybe this is naive for a book written in what, like, the 16th century, but I don't want to be spoiled. And so I am trying to avoid knowing what might happen in this book. So I have not done research on Cervantes ultimate goal for Don Quixote, but my understanding is that this is very much a satire of the chivalrous literature that was popular at that time. That is my understanding. How I am approaching it is a little bit Chris of all of the above. And here's what I mean. Hunter, I think you'll appreciate this, ignoring the Just and Baldoni of it all. Does this at all remind you of Jane the Virgin?
- [17:03]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [17:04]
Annie Jones
Where I think the creators of Jane the Virgin were trying to give an homage to the telenovela, but also to create an homage, but also poking fun at it, like occasionally critiquing it, showing how ridiculous it could be. And so if I put on my, like, Jane the Virgin hat, that is kind of how I'm approaching Don Quixote, where it is an adventure story. It does feel like an epic. It feels a little bit like a road trip, you know, a quest story. Right. But also, I don't think Don Quixote is somebody we're supposed to revere we can discuss that later. It feels like he is somebody that we're supposed to be slightly annoyed by. Like, I think it. I think it's satire.
- [17:51]
Hunter McClendon
Let me tell honestly, like, it. Like, at one point, whenever he was just being himself, I was just like, okay, girl, you know, good for you. And then I thought to myself, I was like, okay, I need to. Like, I need to imagine that we're laughing at him intentionally, or else I'm gonna get really frustrated.
- [18:10]
Annie Jones
I think he's supposed to be ridiculous. Yeah, I don't think he's supposed to be now. I don't know. I reserve the right to change my mind as the book progresses, but I don't think he's supposed to be a hero. And we'll talk about whether or not we've turned him into one. But my reading of this so far is, yeah, he's a little delusional. And we kind of are supposed to roll our eyes at him, which I think. I think even Sancho Panza is rolling his eyes at him a little bit.
- [18:41]
Hunter McClendon
I also just have to say that reading this book and knowing the people who I'm friends with, so the people I know who love Monty Python, I'm like, I do get why y' all were bullied in high school. Because.
- [18:59]
Annie Jones
Like, listen, I. I cannot. I can't even watch five minutes of Monty Python. I can't do it.
- [19:04]
Hunter McClendon
Like, it gets on my nerves.
- [19:06]
Annie Jones
Like, can't do it. It's not my. It's not my sense of humor, which is interesting to me, because some Patreon listeners, I think, are big Monty Python people and are not liking Don Quixote. And then I don't really like Monty Python at all, but I don't mind Don Quixote thus far. Now I think his shtick is gonna wear thin. Like, I do think even here I am in Part two, and I'm a little bit like, okay, buddy, we get it.
- [19:32]
Hunter McClendon
This is not related. But speaking of sense of humor, I'd have to ask you, do you know what Michael Jackson's pronouns were?
- [19:39]
Annie Jones
No. Is this a joke? Am I. Am.
- [19:46]
Hunter McClendon
I?
- [19:46]
Annie Jones
Was like, am I gonna get canceled for this? This is behind a paywall. Where'd you learn that one? How's that doing on the streets of Philly?
- [19:57]
Hunter McClendon
A drag queen said it, and I have been laughing at that so hard for, like, three days.
- [20:06]
Annie Jones
Thank you so much for sharing your joy with me.
- [20:08]
Hunter McClendon
Anyway, back to the man of the mantra.
- [20:11]
Annie Jones
Okay, so we're gonna go through. Here's what I'd like to do. Not a ton happens in this section. So we're gonna just briefly hit the highlights of chapters nine through 14, and then we're gonna address people's questions kind of throughout and at. Because a lot of our listeners did have really good questions as far as the first chapter. What was interesting to me about chapter nine was it felt like a reintroduction of the story. And basically, Cervantes is not only the actual author of the book we're reading, but he's claiming to be the new narrator and translator of this work that he has discovered. And it did make me think. I think I even wrote in the margins of my book. Do you remember years ago when I read Rebecca for the first time? And loathed it, as I recall. But what I was struck by when I read Rebecca, and this is going to sound naive now, but when I read it, I was like, oh, my gosh, like, every book that's ever been written is based on Rebecca. I had this moment where I just thought, oh, all these modern unreliable narrators, these domestic thrillers, they're all rooted in Rebecca. And I was reading this chapter, and it almost felt like one of those book within a book concepts. And I didn't finish this book, but I started the Three Lives of KK this month. And, I mean, I feel like you could name a million different books in this realm. But part of what I do, like reading about the classics, is coming across this work that was published hundreds of years ago and realizing, oh, there's nothing new under the sun. Like this idea of a narrator looking at the camera and talking to us, or claiming that this is a translation. Like this book within a book idea which feels either on trend or modern. Instead, you can trace back to Don Quixote. And I did like that. I don't know that I needed a new introduction so soon after the first introduction, but I was immediately struck by, oh, there aren't really any new original ideas. Everything's kind of been done. Okay. Did you think we needed this introduction? Like, do you think we needed chapter nine after we got an introduction?
- [22:27]
Hunter McClendon
No. I was like, honestly, it just felt. I don't want to say it felt like, pick me, but I wanted to be like, girl, we know. Like, simmer.
- [22:39]
Annie Jones
You already told us. Yeah, we already know that you're the narrator. I do want to direct our attention. So Christy had actually the same question I had. So there's a passage. I think I'm going to try to read it in our translation. It's on the bottom of page 60. Eight, top of page 69. And basically, Cervantes is talking. De Cervantes is talking about history and the writing of this particular work. If any objection can be raised regarding the truth of this one, it can only be that its author was Arabic, since the people of that nation are very prone to telling falsehoods. But because they are such great enemies of ours, it can be assumed that he has given us too little rather than too much. So it appears to me. For when he could and should have wielded his pen to praise the virtues of so good a knight, it seems he intentionally passes over them in silence. This is something badly done and poorly thought out, since historians must and ought to be exact, truthful, and absolutely free of passions. For neither interest, fear, rancor, nor affection should make them deviate from the path of truth. Whose mother is history, the rival of time, repository of great deeds, witness to the past, example and adviser to the present and forewarning to the future. In this account, I know there will be found everything that could be rightly desired in the most pleasant history. And if something of value is missing from it, in my opinion, the fault lies with the dog who was its author, rather than with any defect in its subject. In short, its second part, according to the translation, began in this manner. Okay, so Kristy's question is actually mine, which is, was this a dig at the Arabic population, the Muslim population, Or is this to contextualize the next part of the story as possibly not to be believed? Or was it a commentary on history being a reflection of who does the telling? Do you have thoughts and opinions on this? I have thought about this because this was. I've literally marked this in my book.
- [24:32]
Hunter McClendon
I want to hear yours first.
- [24:34]
Annie Jones
Okay, so I read this, and at first, of course, in the 2025 lens, doesn't this happen to all of us when you run across, like, a cultural or racial dig where. In a book where you're like, a little bit taken aback, like, it feels a little disruptive to the reading. And so at first I thought, oh, that's a little aggressive. And then I kept reading, and my. Again, this is my personal worldview. And. Or this is the time that I'm reading this book, I immediately thought, oh, what a great little insight into history being a reflection of who does the telling. That was where I landed where I just thought, oh, this is all about who tells the story is important. Who tells the story is relevant. No, history is perfect. You know, I think about the modern conversation around what's included in our textbooks. Why or why not? What did I learn in school? Why or why not? And that is kind of the lens with which I saw that section. I will say I did do some slight research, if you can count Cliff's notes as research. And I was so careful to avoid spoilers. I. But I did want to tell Christy I thought this was interesting. CliffsNotes said to ensure the objectivity of the storyteller. The author is a Moor. For an infidel would try very hard to understate, to understate the achievements of a Spaniard. This is meant to assure the reader that the history of Don Quixote is true and unexaggerated. Meaning Miguel de Cervantes does not have any respect for an Arabic translator or an Arabic author. And so he is saying, if someone like that wrote this story, we can know it's reliable because he would have underplayed all the feats of Don Quixote. And so I did think that was interesting, but my personal reading of it, and again, probably because of when I'm reading it, I felt more like, oh, what an interesting little snippet and insight into history and who tells it.
- [26:36]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah. Also, this is probably very revealing that somehow that just did not stand.
- [26:42]
Annie Jones
I was like, listen, that's okay, because there's gonna be a question from a reader later where I had to read her question. I think I don't have her name in front of me. I think it's Kim. We're gonna get to her question. But I had to read her question three times, and I literally said out loud, kim, are you an English major? So some of this stuff I do immediately pick up on, and then others of it, I think, because you're either lost in the story or you're glossing over certain parts. But I think because this started with this, again, pretty aggressive racial moment where I was like, ooh, that feels intense. I think it did catch my attention and made me read that section. And then I did love. It's idealistic, but I did love the idea of history. This description of history as the rival of time, repository of great deeds, witness to the past, example and advisor to the present and forewarning to the future. I did really like that.
- [27:36]
Hunter McClendon
That's good.
- [27:37]
Annie Jones
There's good writing here.
- [27:38]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [27:40]
Annie Jones
Okay, moving on to chapter 10. Chapter 10 kind of gets us more into the story itself. So we've moved beyond this re introduction to the story. We do get more insight into Sancho Panza here. Don Quixote has been wounded in battle, so Sancho Panza has to tend to him. Okay, there's a moment where Don Quixote has promised Sancho Panza, like, his own island to govern, which was reminiscent of, I feel like, political promises being made.
- [28:06]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [28:07]
Annie Jones
Right now. Right now. I just was like, oh, this is prescient. But do we think. First of all, do you think Sancho Panza is going to get anything Don Quixote has promised him?
- [28:16]
Hunter McClendon
No, I do not. But also, Can I just. Does that dynamic not make you think of in Beauty and the Beast, Gaston and.
- [28:27]
Annie Jones
The short one? Yeah, I don't even know his name.
- [28:30]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [28:31]
That's literally.
- [28:33]
Annie Jones
Okay, so here was my question for you. Okay, so first of all, I wanted to know if you thought he gets anything Don Quixote promised. I would agree with you. I think not. Do you think he is as naive and as misguided or mad as Don Quixote is?
- [28:46]
Hunter McClendon
No, I think he's probably the same as Gaston's henchmen, which is that he's like, he's maybe not powerful enough or not doesn't have enough leverage or enough social currency maybe to get where he wants to be. But he might be kind of like. He may not be sharp, but I'm sure that he's probably worldly enough to have an idea of how to.
- [29:10]
Annie Jones
Well, because there are moments in this chapter and the next where he does gently push back on Don Quixote. I think there's a point where Don Quixote asks. Asks him to sit down instead of stand, and Sancho Panza like, explains why he prefers standing. And then eventually, like, Don Quixote just pulls him down. But I thought, oh, like, he clearly has his own mind. I think he. I think he is aware that Don Quixote is delusional. Which brings me to, okay, I do like the Gaston comparison. That is not one that I had thought of, but we see a lot of heroes with subpar sidekicks. So I immediately. No offense to Robin, but I immediately thought of Batman and Robin. But in this case, it feels like Sancho Panza is actually, in some ways more practical and more with it than Don Quixote is. Which made me wonder, like, is he the Watson to his Sherlock? Like, you know, Sherlock is a genius, but, like, a little bit delusional, kind of.
- [30:10]
Hunter McClendon
I always think about this screenwriting YouTube video that talks about subplots and uses Gone Girl as the example, and how one of the subplots is how one of the men who dated Amy was accused of sexually assaulting her and how the reason why it's a good Subplot is because it's a reflection of what Nick's future could be, but they also have the opposite things happening to them or whatever. But anyway. But it said something about how the subplot is meant to serve as a reflection of the greater story, but also contrast in some way. And I wonder if Sancho is meant to, in some ways, operate like that. Weird. I don't know, just to create that tension, but also. You know what I mean?
- [30:54]
Annie Jones
Yes. Well. And thank goodness for him a little bit, because he does offer. I don't know fully that he's meant to be the audience, but he does offer, like, a different side to Don Quixote. Gillian had asked about Sancho Panza. Carolyn had also said, I've noticed that Sancho Panza will try to point out a problem with something Don Quixote is trying to do. And Don Quixote will tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to adventures. And she made the comment, we probably all, from time to time do that when it comes to situations where we are or think we are the resident expert. And have you ever. I feel like I've either read books or read commentary or heard people's thoughts on, like, do you want to be the smartest people in the smartest person in the room? Or do you want to surround yourself with the smartest people in the room? And I think Don Quixote thinks he's the smartest person in any room. And I think that's one of his tragic flaws, is he is unwilling to listen to somebody like Sancho Panza, who, you're right, may have a lower social currency. Even his name, Sancho Panza, and, like, what it means and who we picture in our head implies that he is the weaker partner. And yet Don Quixote is the one who's delusional and maybe a little bit crazy.
- [32:15]
Hunter McClendon
Let me tell you something. I can tell you that Sancho is probably ugly, and ugly people have a different awareness than people who have pretty privilege. And I bet that in his time, the man of La Mancha probably had, like, his version of pretty privilege. This is all speculation, but as a person who was once in seventh grade described as Quasimodo, I can tell you that, like, when you are. When you are, like, sidelined, you do have a greater awareness because you're able. Because you're kind of, like, invisible to people, and you can kind of, like, make deeper observations than if you're, like, in the thick of it.
- [32:48]
Annie Jones
Yeah, well. And don't you think part of the reason. I think that's a great assumption that Don Quixote might actually be handsome because what people are willing to put up with from him, you know, he has to be handsome.
- [32:59]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, yeah.
- [33:00]
Annie Jones
Oh, he definitely likes people to be able to put up with it.
- [33:02]
Hunter McClendon
The more I think about it, the more I'm like, oh, no, he is Gaston. Because Gaston is delusional. And he is like, watch. Oh, my gosh. You just know. And he's like, he's pursuant. See, I'm telling you now. I know. I'm convinced. This is the comparison.
- [33:15]
Annie Jones
If you were an English paper, that would be your. Or if you were an English major, that would be your paper.
- [33:19]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [33:19]
Annie Jones
Chapter 11 is really nothing more than Don Quixote launching into a soliloquy, of which it feels like there could be more throughout this novel. But I loved the descriptor of. He took more time speaking than it took to finish supper. And I was like, is that not the most. Haven't you ever had dinner at somebody's house where you're like, oh, my gosh, they're never gonna shut up. And like, as irritated as we're getting with Don Quixote, perhaps it would help the population and the listener to understand. Pick your person in your life who is Don Quixote? Because you probably have one.
- [33:51]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah. I also have to say I've never questioned if Don Quixote is. I know he's straight. I know he's straight. And this is the first time that I've like, Like, because most of the time we read these books and I'm like, maybe. I don't know.
- [34:03]
Annie Jones
Right. Yeah. No, this. No, there's no question here. I'd agree with that. Because you. You had. You definitely won me over to your side recently regarding the count. That wasn't that hard to do now that I look back. But no, this one, there's no. You're right.
- [34:19]
Hunter McClendon
He's just.
- [34:19]
Annie Jones
He's just a straight man. Chapter 12 is when, to me, things finally get a little bit more interesting and perhaps a little more plot driven. Although one could argue there's not a ton of plot in this book thus far. But we get the story of the death of the shepherd Chrysostomo is how I'm going to pronounce his name, which everyone claims was from a broken heart after he was rejected by this beautiful woman, Marcela, the shepherdess. She's a young orphan, lives with her uncle, the priest. He's left it up to her, which I thought was quite Modern. Whether she marries, and instead she chooses to live as a shepherdess in the fields, she rebuffs all love interests, including this very persistent Grazostimo. This is where we did. And actually, Deborah is a local listener, and she was talking to me about this at Sidewalk Sale a couple weekends ago. But Deborah pointed out the wordplay in chapter 12, where we get, like, Methuselah versus mouth sores, Eclipse versus Clipse, Beren versus Bern. And so she pointed out how interesting it was that these were English translations. And what I want to put out into the Patreon world is I know we have some Patreon listeners who are reading this in Spanish. And what I would be curious is, in the Spanish, are these direct English translations, or has Edith Grossman chosen what she thinks the best equivalents are for what the Spanish would have been? Because I don't know, I'm not reading it in Spanish. So if you are a listener who's reading it in Spanish in chapter 12, that's when this wordplay kind of happens. And I had not thought about it a ton until Deborah mentioned it, but then when I came across it, I thought, oh, that is interesting. And I don't know. This is a knock on me as a reader. I don't read a ton of translated lit. When I do, I'm always in awe because somebody has had to not only recreate, it's not just like they plugged it into ChatGPT and wrote a translation, they had to mirror and match the spirit of the work itself. But I'm curious with something like this how Edith Grossman chose these words to play with and how they. How they compare to the Spanish edition of this book. So that was just something Deborah pointed out. And I thought I'd point it. I thought I'd put it to the Patreon supporters, particularly those of you who are reading in Spanish. Okay, chapter 13. Don Quixote joins the goatherds and the shepherds for the burial of Grazostimo. Here is what I want to talk about. We've talked about whether Don Quixote is mad, delusional. And someone in our first section talked a lot about Don Quixote's wealth, which was not an aspect I had thought too much about. But much like we're speculating Don Quixote might be handsome, I do think there is some evidence in the text that Don Quixote is wealthy. And it reminds me of. We talked about this last episode, wealthy men building rockets, wealthy men wanting to colonize Mars. I thought, oh, this I rewatch a lot of friends, which I know. I know what that says about me. I get it. But in Friends, Monica briefly dates Jon Favreau. Do you remember this?
- [37:36]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [37:37]
Annie Jones
And Jon Favreau is like, this tech bro, and she thinks he's gonna propose, and instead it turns out he wants to become the Ultimate Fighting Champion. And again, I understand the reader and listener's frustration with Don Quixote, like, and how. I think a lot of readers were like, he isn't funny. Like, he's not funny. Okay, I get that. So instead of trying to read him as funny, like, if you don't think this is funny, I think that's totally fair. You don't have to think it's funny. Do you think it's accurate to. For how a really wealthy person might be surrounded by people who let him live out his delusion? Like. Like, don't you think there were people in Jon Favreau's life, not the real Jon Favreau, but who he was playing on, friends who were like, yeah, man, be the Ultimate Fighter. And it's like, well, that's insane.
- [38:25]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah. Yeah. It is wild to think these people have existed forever. Forever.
- [38:33]
Annie Jones
Forever. There's this great quote from page 87 that says, Tranquility, luxury, and repose were invented for pampered courtiers, but travail, tribulation, and arms were invented and created only for those whom the world calls knights errant. That's Don Quixote talking. And it made me think, hunter, I don't know if this will resonate with you at all, but when I was in late high school, early college, a book that made the rounds in evangelical Christian culture was this book called Wild at Heart. And John Eldredge was the author. And he basically wrote this book that said men need. It was about manhood. I hesitate to even discuss this, but basically he said men need a damsel to save and a. Basically, like a quest to conquer. And he was arguing that the decline in what he perceived to be masculinity was because men don't have these things. And I could not help. I don't know if anyone here will understand that Wild at heart reference, but I read this, and I thought, oh, my gosh. Like, this is somebody. Don Quixote is your basic, prone to toxic masculinity man, because he thinks peace and tranquility are not meant for him. He needs to have a damsel to save and an adventure to live. And I'm currently reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk. And again, I'm not trying to necessarily be political on this podcast, but, like, wherever you stand on the political spectrum, there's no denying that Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. And he really does have this quest that humanity survives. And one of his ways to do that is through colonizing Mars or going to space or whatever. And it reminds me a little bit of Don Quixote. Don Quixote might not have the knowledge to back it up. I don't know yet. But to me, if you're getting irritated with Don Quixote because he's not funny to you, instead of trying to read him as funny, what if you read him as a. What if you read him as a delusional wealthy man?
- [40:42]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [40:44]
Annie Jones
Yeah. So anyway, that's what that section reminded me of. It reminded me of Wild at Heart, and it reminded me of. And you could insert Jeff Bezos's name here. Like, if the Elon Musk name is hard for you right now, like Jeff Bezos wanting to go to space or whatever.
- [41:00]
Hunter McClendon
Let me tell you something. I. Sometimes I love nothing more than to hate something with a passion and do it safely. And when you're. When you find a fictional character that you find annoying, like, hate that. Like, like, like embrace your hate. Like, relish it. Because who's gonna judge you for, like, hating a character that doesn't exist in real life?
- [41:22]
Annie Jones
Right? You're allowed to hate Don Quixote. You don't have to like him.
- [41:25]
Hunter McClendon
Like, relish that.
- [41:26]
Annie Jones
You see him as funny.
- [41:27]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [41:28]
Annie Jones
You don't have to like him.
- [41:29]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [41:29]
Annie Jones
Okay. In chapter 14, we get Grassostomo's song and his perspective on his love story, which is interesting to then compare because then. And I did think this was quite modern. Then we get Myrcella's, which I think is where you and I both maybe finally fully grasped this. This section. So Chris had the comment. It brought me up short to read the last chapter in this section and hear all the blame heaped upon Myrcella simply for not reciprocating Grassostomo's feelings. He sounds a like 16th century incel. I was proud of Don Quixote for defending her right to live on her own. I'm always astounded when I read about a current problem or social issue in a classic work, but people have been people forever. Perhaps classics endure because these human foibles are rendered so well in them. Chris, Chef's kiss. Yes, absolutely. Jeannie made this comment, and I know we just got done talking about Don Quixote as A rather nefarious character. But she was struck by. In chapter 14, he has the restraint to leave Myrcella alone.
- [42:32]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [42:33]
Annie Jones
Which made Jeannie. Jeannie asks, does he possess some shreds of wisdom after all? I would say yes, because I would argue nobody's holy villain.
- [42:43]
Hunter McClendon
Right.
- [42:45]
Annie Jones
Like, I would argue he might be delusional, he might be some wealthy guy who's just out to be a knight errant. But I think even he might have moments of clarity and moments of. And I did think that was really telling, that Miguel de Cervantes could have made it so that it would have totally made sense for Don Quixote to go rescue the damsel in distress, who is Myrcella. And I thought it was a pretty refreshing choice that he didn't.
- [43:12]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [43:13]
Annie Jones
Julie said, Myrcella is my favorite character so far. Another strong female that was reminiscent of the Lonesome Dove lady here for it.
- [43:20]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah, I could see that.
- [43:23]
Annie Jones
What did you think of? I thought of you because you are always drawn to complicated women in lit. We obviously don't get a ton about Myrcella, but we do get. We had a Don Quixote soliloquy and now we get a Marcella one. What did you think of her? Really? Kind of explaining why she wants to be a shepherdess forever and she doesn't want to marry. That feels pretty modern for 16th century.
- [43:47]
Hunter McClendon
It's one of those things. It's so funny. There's part of me that's like, oh, I wish you were a little bit mean. But, however, I do think that she is. I love that. I do think she's very nuanced in her depiction so far already. She's not an Esther. Like, she's like. She's, like, good. I think she seems really like a good person, but, like, she doesn't seem like a Pollyanna.
- [44:08]
Annie Jones
Yes. She seems a little more spunky than Esther from Middlemarch.
- [44:11]
Hunter McClendon
Like. Yeah, no, not Middlemarch.
- [44:13]
Right.
- [44:13]
Bleak House.
- [44:14]
Annie Jones
Where is this Bleak House? I was like, which. Yes. Esther from Bleak House. Who's the woman from Middlemarch?
- [44:20]
Hunter McClendon
Dorothea.
- [44:20]
Annie Jones
Who does become nuanced.
- [44:22]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [44:23]
Annie Jones
Yes, Dorothea. I think that's right. No, Poor Esther and her smallpox hashtag neverforget, because I won't. Yes, you're exactly right. Like, Marcella, we only get a glimpse at her, but she does feel like, oh, she's a little spunkier. And I thought it was refreshing and refreshing that her uncle, the priest, we get some pretty negative depiction. Like, we got a pretty negative depiction of a priest previously. And so it was kind of refreshing that, like, oh, like this priest has said, yeah, she's got her own money. Like, if she wants to go live as a weird shepherdess out in the fields, good for her. And I appreciated that. Okay, so we've got some questions to answer. That was the end of this section. I'm going to skip ahead to a question from Gillian and then Jill, because as we leave Myrcella, Gillian says, with all the different characters we are meeting, do you predict that, like, in the Count of Monte Cristo, the characters will show up later in the story, or are these just separate characters to be a vehicle for Signor Q's adventures? And Jill said the same thing. Do you think these interactions Don Quixote has are all separate vignettes, or will they play a bigger part in an overall plot? What do you think? What's your prediction?
- [45:40]
Hunter McClendon
Honestly, I don't know. But this does not feel quite as mystery, where everything converges. To me, it feels more like Herculean. Like the Heracles story, where it's just like, these different things that kind of go on.
- [45:53]
Annie Jones
Yes. If I had to predict, I don't think these characters are going. In fact, I'd be pleasantly surprised if these characters all come back. Like, my assumption is kind of, okay, we're done with Myrcella. Like, we may never see her again. I'm fully prepared to never see her again. It feels like Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and who's the damsel in distress? Dulcinea. It feels like those are the only characters we might see again. I'm not under the impression this is a connected love actually situation. I would be pleasantly surprised if they were. But right now it feels like everybody's a vehicle for Don Quixote's story.
- [46:36]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah, that's what I'm getting, too.
- [46:37]
Annie Jones
Okay, we've already talked about this a little bit, but Jess. I did want to address Jess's question because she's not the only one, and I don't want her to feel alone. Jess says, is anyone else finding this not at all funny? I just don't get it. He is either mentally ill or just plain annoying. I'm having a hard time getting invested in this story. Hunter, are you with Jess? A little bit, yeah.
- [46:55]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah. Like, I mean, I don't. I don't, like, I'm, like, kind of eye rolly about it. Like I said, like, the only thing that I've, like, I've actually laughed. Well, that's not true. I've laughed at a couple things, but overall I'm like, this is not my humor.
- [47:07]
Annie Jones
Well, and again, I think you've made a good point. I think your advice is like, hate Don Quixote. Who cares? You're allowed to hate him. I think my advice is, yeah, see him as kind of a delusional wealthy man and identify him with someone in your life. Because I do feel like we've all been to dinner parties where somebody waxes air quotes eloquent and we just have to sit there like we all know a Don Quixote, do we not? I think we do. And so maybe, Jess, that'll help you in your reading. I'm going to include two comments from listeners that I did think were helpful. So Melissa said, this has been a bit hard for me to get through, but I started telling my co workers what I'm reading. Yes, I'm giving them unsolicited book reports and that's helping. I'm able to laugh out loud about the ridiculousness. So if anyone else is also struggling, I highly recommend this method. That's Melissa. You've described exactly Maya and Hunter's relationship and why this podcast works. Like we are essentially giving each other book reports. Yeah, every month. And it does hold you a little bit accountable. And also you're able to relish in. I still do think there are parts of. I mean, I. I'm literally writing next to every funny line I find. Haha. Like I'm still finding it funny. But this was a chapter where I. Or just this was a section where I was a little bit fatigued and I thought, oh, I see where people are coming from. But I think if you are retelling it to somebody, somebody else said that they've been reading it, they've been reading it at home and they'll laugh and their kids will be like, what's Don Quixote up to? Which I thought was cute. I also will go ahead and put this comment from Katherine, which I did think was also helpful. She said, I don't have a question yet, but I had to share a bit of serendipity. I recently finished the Adventures of Huckleberry Fenn and now have James in hand. And I just started reading all the Colors of the Dark. It is so fascinating to encounter three different characters across the centuries, Don Quixote, Tom Sawyer, and Patch, that have the tendencies of madness or delusions of grandeur. I know I've encountered other characters like these, but it was fascinating for me to have these three appear in a span of a few weeks. I did Appreciate this from Catherine, because I feel like we're all treating Don Quixote like he's some outlier. But again, the Count is no less delusional. I mean, isn't he Count of Monte Cristo esque to you?
- [49:22]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, absolutely.
- [49:23]
Annie Jones
Like, we read about these characters all the time. And I do think this book is supposed to be funny. I do think it's supposed to be satirical, but also delusional. We talked, I think, last month I mentioned Anne Shirley. Like, there are characters whose imaginations and delusions we read about constantly.
- [49:40]
Hunter McClendon
If we had been conditioned to have a 1950s mentality on manhood, we probably would love him.
- [49:49]
Annie Jones
Yes. Because I do think, again, wild at heart. Like, I do think there are some people who might read Don Quixote and think he's the hero.
- [50:01]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah, listen, I know some people who would read this and be like, oh, I want to marry him.
- [50:08]
Annie Jones
So this is fascinating. I mean, I do think again. I think it depends on when you're reading it and you're bringing your worldview. Now, I don't know. I've not seen man of La Mancha in its entirety, but I have people in my life who adore the man of La Mancha. Now, I don't know how the man of La Mancha portrays Don Quixote versus how he is portrayed in the two chapters we've read so far, but it is interesting to me that I think there are some people for whom Don Quixote is a heroic figure, and most of us are reading it and finding him either at best hilarious and at worst nefarious and annoying. You know, I'm probably somewhere in the middle right now. And again, the Tom Sawyers, the patches, like the Count of Monte Cristos, the Anne Shirleys. I think there are lots of these people in literature, and you could probably plot them out on a scale. A scale of delusion, if you will. So I don't think he's the only character like this, and I appreciate Catherine pointing that out. Krista had a book recommendation. Jordan has read this book, but I have not. I was curious under if you had. Krista said, have either of you read a book, Confederacy of Dunces? This book is very funny and about an absurd character who thinks he's more intelligent and impressive than he actually is. I read that on audio and loved it. If you haven't read that, you might enjoy it. Have you ever read that?
- [51:23]
Hunter McClendon
No, but it's a Pulitzer Prize winner. And also the book was published posthumously because I believe that the author died by Suicide.
- [51:31]
Annie Jones
Oh, interesting. Yeah, very likely. I did not know that. But Jordan's Book Club read that. Remember Sterling at the bookshelf?
- [51:38]
Hunter McClendon
Yes.
- [51:39]
Annie Jones
I think Sterling liked Confederacy of Dunces, as I recall. So, Christa, that's a great recommendation, and I will. I think Jordan liked that book. I do think Jordan's Book club was a little flummoxed by that book because, again, I think these characters to our modern sensibilities, we don't quite know what to do with them. Like, we don't know if we're supposed to treat them with kid gloves. We don't know if we're supposed to laugh at them or we don't know if we're supposed to hate them. And I think it could be some of all of the above. Okay. Oh, well. Mandy asks, does this feel like the Count of Monte Cristo to you two? Do you think there will be a bigger purpose or will this epic journey end randomly with some sort of wait and hope statement?
- [52:17]
Hunter McClendon
I don't think it'll be waiting. I don't know. What do I think it'll be? What do you think it'll be?
- [52:20]
Annie Jones
I hope because of how long it has stood the test of time, there will be more to it.
- [52:27]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [52:28]
Annie Jones
Toward the end. But I'm also not convinced. I mean, it could just be an epic adventure story, and we just get bits of wisdom throughout.
- [52:38]
Hunter McClendon
I think. I think that he is gonna strive and at the end, he's gonna be like, okay. And then I do think he's gonna, like, he's not gonna get anything he wants.
- [52:46]
Annie Jones
No, I don't think he'll get. I agree. I don't think. Do you think. Do you think anybody's gonna die, girl?
- [52:53]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, wait, you know what? I actually don't know tonally. Like, not right now, but maybe in the second. What if the second half. Oh, my gosh. What if the second half is, like a big tonal change?
- [53:02]
Annie Jones
I would love that.
- [53:02]
Hunter McClendon
Very interesting.
- [53:03]
Annie Jones
I would love that. I think that would. Well, yeah, I think I might really like that. But I don't know if that's. I don't know if that's coming or not. Okay. Kim. Kim is who. Okay, Kristen, may we joke? Is our resident. I always use her first and last name. Sorry, Kristen. I hope that's okay. Kristen is. We joke, our resident English major here on Patreon. But I. Kim, if you're listening, I want to know, are you also an English major or an English teacher or an English professor? Because Kim has the most thoughtful questions that I honestly have. To read three times before I can grapple with what she's saying. So Kim said, this piqued my interest how both reason and truth are being explored so far. So in part one, it gives the reader a lot to think about in regards to reason, the reason for the unreason, the reason for the madness which assails my reason, reasons for the priest to get rid of Don Quixote's books. Then in part two, and I did pick up on this, Kim, I would agree with this, Truth comes up a lot. I was circling how many times I think this will carry through. Because Don Quixote's truth and reason are subjective, defined by the ways he interprets the world via his time of chivalric reading, his imagined truth versus reality. There's a lot of idealism in his truth that he doesn't just imagine, but actually sees. Kim, I loved this thought because I do think it relates. Noel had a comment. Noel said, I thought a lot about your youth group culture. New convert comments in the episode on part one, and I can totally see that in part two, I. I felt like I got echoes of toxic purity culture rhetoric. You did. Am I imagining that? No. Is Don Quixote really just a template for 90s American youth groups? So what I'll say about Noel and Kim's comments is I do think this idealistic way of viewing the world is very youth groupy. And I say that as someone who grew up pretty involved in youth group culture or I didn't join youth group till much later. I was a late bloomer, but certainly was familiar with youth group culture. The idealism of it is part of what makes adult faith, I think, so challenging because there is a simplicity to the idealism and there's a world in which Don Quixote's way of viewing the world is simpler. And Don Quixote's way of viewing masculinity is simpler. His desire for just there to be an adventure to be had is simpler than the reality of our world. Kim, I do think that idea about truth and reality, those are gonna be interesting things to keep watching as we read. And then I did think, oh, Noel. Yes. I think for those of us who are super familiar with youth group culture or just an idealistic way of viewing the world. Hunter, you mentioned, like, Pollyanna, like it is. And I love Pollyanna. She's a little bit delusional and I love her, which is why I say I think there's a scale. There's a scale of delusion we could probably map out because on the one hand, delusion and idealism can be helpful. We do want some ideal. Jordan and I talk about this all the time in terms of Myers, Briggs and personality stuff. We do want some idealistic people in this world because they help move us forward. They're the people with ideas, with that earnestness that propels them forward. I occasionally want to channel Pollyanna. There are probably times in my life, particularly when I'm facing a hardship, who I might. When I might actually want to channel Don Quixote. And I might want to think, how can I make this feel like an adventure?
- [56:28]
Hunter McClendon
Yeah.
- [56:28]
Annie Jones
When instead, it just feels super daunting. So, yeah. Anyway, I thought Kim and Noel's comments weirdly corresponded to one another. And I wanted to shout out Kim for being perhaps our new resident English major. Okay. Jeannie's comment. It's eerie reading Don Quixote's description of a knight errant like himself. Quote, ministers of God on earth, the arms by which his justice is put into effect on earth. That's from chapter 13. Don Quixote has gone mad simply because of the content he consumed. How much more relevant can we get?
- [57:01]
Hunter McClendon
Mm.
- [57:02]
Annie Jones
Oh, Jeannie, it's so true. And you can apply that to whatever you want. You can apply it to different news outlets. You can apply it to different readings. We talked. I think we talked last week, but about people like me who were raised on, like, 90s Rom coms and 2000s era Rom coms. And what we thought, you know, not just how romance should look, but how women should look. I was at the nail salon the other day. In my nail salon. I say my nail salon. I go there once every quarter. But they play a rom com every day, like, a different one. And they were playing how to Lose a guy in 10 days. And I thought, listen, that movie is ridiculous and silly. It's fun. I love it. But there are still things to this day that I assume are relationship killers or things you don't say in front of men. Like, almost like that cool girl aspect that Amy Dunne talks about. So, like, in my own way, I also was raised to be a little bit delusional. It just depends on, like, which brand of delusion you were raised on.
- [58:03]
Hunter McClendon
Oh, let me tell you, I still think that I should dress well and know how to decorate my house, because that's what they say the homosexuals do.
- [58:13]
Annie Jones
Yes. We all are products of what we consume. And it's a matter of, I think, if we're aware of it or not. So I liked that comment from Jeannie. I thought it was apt. Okay. Any final comments on the reading?
- [58:26]
Hunter McClendon
Even if I'm like mixed on the book, I think that it is exciting to talk about and that's got me looking forward to continuing on.
- [58:34]
Annie Jones
And this, this stretch, I'd agree with that. Because even if you think, oh, this is ridiculous and Don Quixote isn't funny or oh, this is just like Monty Python, well, here we are. We had no trouble. Nothing really happened in this section and we had no trouble talking about it for an hour. Yeah, because I do think there is a lot to unpack, which is part of the reason I like reading books like this and I like reading them together.
- [58:58]
Hunter McClendon
My heart.
- [58:59]
Annie Jones
Thank you. Thank you, Hunter. And thank you to our Patreon listeners. You can leave comments on today's episode. Again, if you are reading this in the Spanish, we would love to hear your thoughts on some of the wordplay and we'd like to hear your thoughts on maybe the scale of delusion or maybe different ways we can interpret Don Quixote's behavior. Whether we think it's hilarious or think it's annoying or think it's nefarious, I think there's a few different places we can land. So, Hunter, we will see you next month. We're Gonna read chapters 15 to 27. It is a longer section. I just am letting everyone know this month we're was short, so it is a longer section. But I still think it's pretty doable. Again, I think it clocks in at about 150 pages or something like that, so should be pretty doable. But that is chapters 15 to 27. Thanks, Hunter.
- [59:48]
Hunter McClendon
Bye.
- [59:50]
This week I'm reading Sleep by Honor Jones.
- [59:54]
Annie Jones
From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow the Bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram ookshelftville and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website, bookshelf thomasville.com a full transcript of today's podcast episode can be found at. From the frontporchpodcast.com Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of from the Front Porch and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and.
- [60:27]
Hunter McClendon
Friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
- [60:30]
Annie Jones
Our executive producers of today's episode are Kami Tidwell, Chantal Carle, Kate o' Connell, Kristin May, Linda Lee Drost, Jean Queens, Amanda Wickham, Martha Stacy Lau, Chance Combs, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Farrell, Nicole Marcy, Wendy Jenk. Thank you all for your support of from the Front Porch if you'd like to support from the Front Porch, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the show even better and helps us reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone. Look for from the Front Porch. Scroll down until you see, write a review and tell us what you think. Or if you're so inclined, support Support Us over on Patreon, where we have.
- [61:19]
Hunter McClendon
Three levels of support. Each level has an amazing number of.
- [61:22]
Annie Jones
Benefits, like bonus content, access to live events, discounts, and giveaways. Just go to patreon.com from the front porch we're so grateful for you and we look forward to meeting back here next week.
- [61:43]
Hunter McClendon
SA.