#78 - Bungo Stray Dogs, Coffee, and Cats | A Japanese Literature Discussion (with Saba)

Explicit content warning

11/05/22 • 99 min

1 Listener

Tune in as previous guest Saba comes back to the show for her second episode, where she and Arthur open up a discussion on the works of Japanese literature they’ve collectively read. Limited time travel, familial angst, and bleakly written self-insert characters are just a few of the topics that get coverage here.

Japanese literature read by Arthur and Saba:

• No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

Japanese literature read by Arthur:

• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Japanese literature read by Saba:

• Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

• The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai

TW: rape, death, suicide, suicide attempt, addiction, pregnancy, miscarriage, terminal illness, animal cruelty, possible incest(?), misgendering, pedophilia

Spoilers start at 28:50

Good Word:

• Saba: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

• Arthur: Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

Japanese literature read by Arthur and Saba:

• No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

Japanese literature read by Arthur:

• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Japanese literature read by Saba:

• Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

• The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai

TW: rape, death, suicide, suicide attempt, addiction, pregnancy, miscarriage, terminal illness, animal cruelty, possible incest(?), misgendering, pedophilia

Spoilers start at 28:50

Good Word:

• Saba: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

• Arthur: Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

Previous Episode

#77 - Kung Fu Panda | Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson (with Joey DiCarlo of So Wizard Podcast)

2 Recommendations

Tune in as Joey DiCarlo of So Wizard Podcast hangs out with Arthur to break down Kung Fu Panda, the 2008 DreamWorks Animation movie that follows an enthusiastic and bumbling panda named Po as he goes on an unlikely-hero’s journey to become the Dragon Warrior. On top of discussing one of Arthur’s favorite animated movies of all time, the two hosts also touch on subjects like the recent teaser trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the animation industry’s habit of filling their casts with big stars, and James Hong’s extensive filmography.

Directed by Mark Osborne (The Little Prince) and John Stevenson (Sherlock Gnomes), Kung Fu Panda stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Ian McShane, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Wayne Knight.

Spoilers start at 17:50

Good Word:

• Joey: Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines

• Arthur: Last Night in Solo

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

Next Episode

#79 - The Deal by Elle Kennedy (with Dawn Marie of Opinionated Lushes)

4 Recommendations

Tune in as Dawn Marie (Opinionated Lushes) stops by the program to break down The Deal, the New Adult contemporary romance by Elle Kennedy (Briar U, Avalon Bay). As the first entry in her Off-Campus series, it follows the banter, the tutoring, the sparks, and the vulnerability between music major Hannah Wells and hockey captain Garrett Graham at Briar University. Breaking Bad, the importance of consent, and using overly cruel words to dump your partner are just a few of the topics that Arthur and Dawn touch on throughout the episode.

TW: discussion of rape, domestic abuse, child abuse, parental death, and cancer; there’s also quite a bit of sexual content, specifically in the second half of the book.

Spoilers start at 21:10

Good Word:

• Dawn: Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

• Arthur: Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell