It's alternate universes, murderous plots, and ghostwritten novels all the way down this week—1Q84 is Andrew's first Haruki Murakami novel, and there's a lot of good stuff here even if the book could stand to shed a couple hundred pages.
Come for the book talk, stick around for references to Highlights For Children, the Tostitos Bowl, and the usual nonsens ... Show More
Nov 24
Ep 730 - An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
<p>What starts as a dismaying story about a wrongful conviction turns into a deep meditation on loyalty, marriage, and independence. Given the subject matter, you might expect a mystery or a courtroom drama. Instead, Jones offers up a moving account of a couple just trying to fin ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 22
Sit Me Baby One More Time Ep 05 - Dawn and the Impossible Three (The Baby-Sitters Club #5)
<p>Our newest BSC member, Dawn, has a lot to juggle in her debut as a series protagonist. Her mom is dating Mary-Anne's dad. She's low-key feuding with Kristy, the BSC President. And she's been hired by a mother of three who just does NOT have her life together. What a trial by f ... Show More
54m 11s
Nov 17
Ep 729 - I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
<p>A story about a young woman trapped in an underground prison with 39 other women <em>sounds</em> like it could be a stone cold bummer, and it isn’t <em>not</em> that. But this translated French novel from 1995 also hits some affirming, human notes, and it’s those aspects of it ... Show More
1h 13m
Nov 2017
The Brilliant Firefly: Recoil Part 1
Book 2 of the Brilliant Firefly! We see the new normal after Jill's adventure in the armor, and the Scarlet King makes a move. If you haven't listened to Book 1, definitely do that first! This may be for a slightly older audience than other stories, typical of superhero comic boo ... Show More
21m 21s
Aug 2019
Ep 195: Wanted: book enthusiast at large
Today’s guest Mary Laura Philpott is an essayist, bookseller, and a big fan of memoirs of people living “everyday lives”. She certainly has experience with an interesting “everyday life” as a Book Enthusiast at Large—yes, that is her job title—for Parnassus Books in Nashville. An ... Show More
53m 16s
Mar 2021
Ep 276: Exquisite, evocative novels
Podcast producer and PhD student Sara Aeder always finds time for reading, thanks to audiobooks and a passion for turning the pages. She has a special fondness for books that explore the “exquisite pain of a teenage crush” and let her live vicariously through fictional drama, but ... Show More
48m 29s
Nov 2019
Ep 208: The underappreciated art of literary forgery
Charlie Lovett joins Anne to discuss the enduring power of not only stories but the books themselves, how books connect people of all ages, and of all times, how we can preserve literature for future generations, the joy of a book as a physical object, the art of literary forgery ... Show More
50m 4s