Podcast Portal: Reading Aloud

Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar). 

SHOW: Reading Aloud
HOSTS: Nate Corddry 
NETWORK: Wolfpop Network
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: "Aimee Mann, Brian Stack, Steven Weber"

*Note: For the next week (or until completion), I will be covering every single NEW podcast on the Wolfpop Network. I will not be covering older shows such as U Talkin' U2 to Me or How Did This Get Made. 

As we reach the end of the Wolfpop Network coverage, I am surprised to see that there's actually a show that is promoting a book club. I am aware that the network was all about exploring all of the entertainment media formats possible, but I felt that it was going to be an overwhelming amount of movies with a few pinches of music spread throughout. For the most part, it is a rather predictable line-up that only benefits from having an impressive roster of hosts. To say the least, Reading Aloud stands out because of this, and that may be its overall most successful point.

The show serves as a variety of topics. In the premiere, or pilot as Nate Corddry calls it, he wants to give a diverse collection of examples of what to expect. There's comedic narratives, interviews and a really sad Ken Kesey story to close things off. He also announces a monthly book club that will be put into effect at the end of the month. It already sounds like a well structured show and for those that are into hearing literature read aloud, then this may be a great opportunity for you. It's supposedly going to be interactive and has a lot of potential to be something unique.

I will admit right here that I am not all that familiar with literary podcasts. Despite being a reader of many fine books, I don't go to podcasts to listen to them being discussed. It could be that I am more sporadic with my selections, but I also think that books implicitly make me want to read dissections as opposed to listen. I get the value of shows like these, but I want to state that I likely wouldn't have listened to it if it wasn't for this Podcast Portal series. I think that overall I get a strong impression of the series being valuable to those who enjoy reading more frequently than I. In fact, I already like the variety aspect and was even moved by the pieces.

Still, it is hard for me to properly gauge this in relation to the other literary podcasts out there. I haven't listened to them. I don't know how this holds up to the best of them. However, my only real issue is that the one segment that doesn't work is the one that I was looking the most forward to. In an interview with Aimee Mann, they discuss literature. It is the only one that doesn't involve reading a passage. It drags on and isn't really that interesting, which is unfortunate. I like the concept and maybe it was just a bad interview, but it did lull, especially since I felt like it was the centerpiece of the episode. Even then, I like the show's goals as a whole, which gives them some edge.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

WORTH A SECOND GO?: If you are into reading and performing in this style, there is plenty to get out of this show. I personally don't find myself as invested in it as I should be to get something out of it, but it rarely got boring. Also, that Ken Kesey story that closes out the show is rather phenomenal and makes me reconsider if I should actually be listening to these shows. We'll see.