Two historical novels with elements of fantasy and folklore will bring readers from the battlefields of World War One to the last years of the Qing Dynasty in China.   Katherine Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts shows the terrors of war and the unsettling and fantastical things that can appear in its shadow. Arden joins us to talk about her extensive research, classical allusions in her writing and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo bridges the mystical and the familiar with an expansive story featuring a detective and mysterious and sly (yet alluring) fox spirits. Choo talked with us about writing in this setting, cultural influences on her work, connections to nature and more with host, Miwa Messer.  We end this episode with a TBR Topoff from booksellers, Marc and Mary.   Featured Books (Episode):  The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden   The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo  The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden   All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque  Paradise Lost by John Milton  The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov  The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo  The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo  The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng  Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern  The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu  

“I describe this as a love story steeped in loss.”  How We Named the Stars by Andrés N. Ordorica is a heartbreaking yet hopeful debut novel of first love, first loss and how we become ourselves. Ordorica joined us live at B&N Upper West Side to talk about growing into your identity, writing community legacy, his literary influences and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode):   How We Named the Stars by Andrés N. Ordorica  Diaries of a Terrorist by Christopher Soto  Small Bodies of Water by Nina Mingya Powles  Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett  The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 

“To have freedom you have to give something up, to have love — to experience love as an action — there has to be something that you're willing to sacrifice…”  Ours is the epic and lyrical debut novel by poet Phillip B. Williams, featuring unforgettable characters woven together with folklore and humanity’s search for freedom. Williams joined us to talk about how his characters shaped the story, the influences of poetry on his prose, including myths and legends and more with Miwa Messer, the host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): Ours by Phillip B. Williams  Mutiny by Phillip B. Williams  Blindness by José Saramago  One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez  Cannibal by Safiya Sinclair 

“The peril actually comes from us — our prejudice, our biases, and our conceived threats, not from artificial intelligence, so we need to reconsider what is human and how we're treating other human beings…” Unsettling and chilling, Bora Chung’s Your Utopia is a story collection featuring robot vehicles, sentient elevators and futures both hopeful and terrifying. Chung joins us to talk about the dangers of human influenced A.I., caring for our future robot overlords, adding humor to horror and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode): Your Utopia by Bora Chung Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung R.U.R. by Karel Čapek

“You can write all the books you want — they are going to be very pretty, but if they don't tell the truth, comprehensively, it's just not worth the effort.”  Lucy Sante’s memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition, is deeply personal and features expertly crafted prose that tells the author’s journey to authenticity and freedom in her identity. Sante joins us to talk about the small steps that lead to a change in perspective, creating community, incorporating visual arts and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): I Heard Her Call My Name by Lucy Sante  Low Life by Lucy Sante  The Factory of Facts by Lucy Sante 

“If you write about a person, you're writing about that person because they're special.” The Book of Love by Kelly Link combines fantastical elements, varieties of love and a supernatural bargain — all set in a picturesque seaside town. Link joins us to talk about what led her from short stories to her first novel, how she created her magic system, the influence of music on her writing and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by guest host Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode): The Book of Love by Kelly Link White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub Your Utopia by Bora Chung The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

“I am of the mind that a novel should not leave you with a thesis … I think a novel should reflect the deep parts of human behavior in such an accurate way that a wormhole forms…”  With themes of race and class in a college town, Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It balances characters you can’t get enough of with a nonstop plot. Reid joins us to talk about money and marriage, power dynamics in academia, creating her crackling dialogue and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Come and Get It by Kiley Reid  Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid  Paying for the Party by Elizabeth A. Armstrong & Laura T. Hamilton  Monoculture by F.S. Michaels  The Hours by Michael Cunningham  

“I'm interested in the limitations of the mind — like that your brain really does only go down so many paths, and then there's a million paths that for some reason, it never goes down…”  Sheila Heti’s Alphabetical Diaries is a memoir in a form all its own. Told in order, sentence by sentence from A to Z, to tell a story of identity and change in a lyrically constructed way. Heti joins us to talk about the inception and writing of this book, intense and purposeful editing, creative process and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode):  Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti Pure Colour by Sheila Heti How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti Ticknor by Sheila Heti 

“I feel like these poems tell stories in and of themselves. And perhaps as an entire collection, they tell a greater story. … We're human beings — people laugh, love, hope, dream, dance, smile, live, die, just like everybody else. And Black people need to be reminded of that, and everybody else needs to be reminded of that.”   This Is the Honey is the new poetry collection edited by Kwame Alexander featuring carefully curated poems from contemporary Black poets. Alexander joins us on the show to talk about compiling a collection of pieces, his own connections to this work and themes of identity and community with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.               New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  This Is the Honey edited by Kwame Alexander  Why Fathers Cry at Night by Kwame Alexander  The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 

What can we do when our storybook romance ends? Good Material lets us laugh our way through the thick of heartbreak with sharp wit, the warmth of friendships and all too relatable moments from the throes of a breakup. Alderton joins us to talk about writing from the male perspective, the things we all do when our hearts get broken, the unspoken grief when relationships don’t work and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Mary.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.           Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode):  Good Material by Dolly Alderton  Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton  Ghosts by Dolly Alderton  Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors  Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren  

“My writing is always trying to open that up and to say — you can start here; you can start now.”  Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin reminds us that our imaginations already know what a better world looks like. From education to challenging our systems of oppression and more, this insightful work shows a new place for us all to start from. Benjamin joins us to talk about the split between imagination and technology, changing our narratives to tell new stories, the importance of community and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin  Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin 

Filterworld by Kyle Chayka investigates one of our most prevalent yet often unnoticed influences — the algorithms that shape our online experiences from social media to shopping and more. Chayka joins us to talk about his own internet evolution, the concept of passive consumption and what we lose when the algorithms take over our feeds with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode): Filterworld by Kyle Chayka   The Longing for Less by Kyle Chayka  

“I really wanted to find connection with these creatures that I'll never meet…”  Sabrina Imbler’s How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures is as unique and intriguing as the animals it explores. This book combines personal themes of race, gender, and family with reflections from the natural world in an unforgettable series of essays. Imbler joins us to talk about how they started writing about nature, the incredible and interesting creatures featured in their work, the connection between science and memoir and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode): How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler  The Underworld by Susan Casey  Bitch by Lucy Cooke  Vagina Obscura by Rachel E. Gross  The Women’s House of Detention by Hugh Ryan 

“I hope that when there is laughter, it's laughter made wise by having known real grief — and when there is grief, it is made wise by having known real joy.”  Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is the story of a young Iranian American man searching for meaning through art, addiction, and connection. Akbar joins us to talk about writing both poetry and prose, collaboration with other novelists, creating compassion through writing and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar  Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar  Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar  Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange  The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff  Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe 

Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland gives insight into the human experience through the eyes of a young woman (who may or may not be an extraterrestrial) and reflects the joys and heartaches of life in way that will resonate with all readers. Bertino joins us to talk about her unforgettable character, looking at the world from an outsider’s perspective, the mysticism of a fax machine and more.    Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky starts with a childhood game ending in the unimaginable and sets off on a journey of grief, acceptance and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Oshetsky joins us to talk about the inception of the novel, the themes of healing and connection, and writing in the natural world.   Listen in as these authors speak separately with guest host, Jenna Seery.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode): Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawn Walton Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz Chouette by Claire Oshetsky The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes 

How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill is edited by Jericho Brown and contains diverse and expansive essays and other works on the craft of writing from acclaimed Black authors like Nikki Giovanni, Barry Jenkins, Jacqueline Woodson and more. Brown joins us to talk about identity and language, the necessity of treating yourself like a writer, creating a new form of poetry and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode):   How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill by Jericho Brown  Black on Black by Daniel Black   The Tradition by Jericho Brown  The New Testament by Jericho Brown 

Vintage Contemporaries by Dan Kois is a fiction debut that blends a coming-of-age story with the themes of lasting friendship and what it takes to be an artist. Kois joins us to talk about the publisher that inspired the novel’s title, some of the important influences on his work, what he does in his day jobs and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode):  Vintage Contemporaries by Dan Kois  Asa, as I Knew Him by Susanna Kaysen  Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill   Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin  Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin   I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore  Angels in America by Tony Kushner  The World Only Spins Forward by Isaac Butler & Dan Kois  Eat Your Mind by Jason McBride  The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis  The Fraud by Zadie Smith  The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 

Bonnie Jo Campbell’s The Waters follows the interwoven and often complicated lives of a family of women inhabiting an island in a Michigan swamp. Campbell joins us to talk about the challenges in crafting this novel, matching her unique characters with an equally intriguing setting, small-town storytelling and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell   Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell  American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell  King Lear by William Shakespeare  The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute  Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

“I think it is a moment where we are thinking a lot about our relationship to the places and the societies that we have … wanting to create deeper connections.”   My Friends by Hisham Matar reflects family and friendships in the shadow of revolution as a man navigates life in exile. Matar joins us to talk about his journey to telling this story, the importance of time in a novel, exploring themes of political strife and identity and more with host, Miwa Messer.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books:   My Friends by Hisham Matar  The Return by Hisham Matar  Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson 

The Fetishist by Katherine Min is a darkly humorous and provocative novel of love, revenge, and identity published after her death in 2019. Min’s daughter, Kayla Min Andrews, joins us to talk about her mother’s work, taking on the task of finishing and publishing this novel, creating and continuing a legacy and more with host, Miwa Messer.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                  New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): The Fetishist by Katherine Min  Secondhand World by Katherine Min  Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert  Another Country by James Baldwin  Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie  All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg  Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney 

Julie Myerson’s newest novel Nonfiction is intricate and raw, featuring themes of motherhood, addiction and what it means to write. Myerson joins us to talk about her approaches to writing a novel, her interwoven and often personal themes, how she picks her titles and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                 Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).          Featured Books (Episode):   Nonfiction by Julie Myerson  Something Might Happen by Julie Myerson  Cheri by Jo Ann Beard  Trust by Domenico Starnone  The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey  The Guest by Emma Cline 

"People always asked 'what made you want to write fiction?' And I'm like, this isn't a departure. I feel like this is me going back to how it actually started..."   All Good People Here, our January Mystery & Thriller Pick, has everything you want in a crime thriller — a cold case, an intrepid journalist and more twists and turns than you could count, all told from the host of the hit podcast Crime Junkie. Author Ashley Flowers and her co-writer Alex Kiester joined us to talk about their collaboration process, writing suspenseful moments, creating their small-town backdrop and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).         Featured Books (Episode): All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers & Alex Kiester  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai  Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll  The Only One Left by Riley Sager 

“Our ancestors, our grandparents, love us by not speaking…”    The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan follows one family in 1945 Malaya as they face the realities of a life shaped by war and colonization. Chan joined us to talk about her family connection to her novel, her unique journey to becoming an author, the things about writing that surprised her and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                 New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.              Featured Books (Episode):  The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan  Sea Change by Gina Chung  The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng  The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett   The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade  In Memoriam by Alice Winn 

“New York is a character in the book, and I hate it when people are like ‘the city's almost a character’”  One of our favorites of 2023, Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto is a crime novel and so much more with unforgettable characters and a gritty portrait of New York in the 70s. Whitehead joined us to talk about his portrayal of the city he grew up in, creating a code of honor for criminals, important movie references and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.             Featured Books (Episode):  Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead  Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead  The World According to Fannie Davis by Bridgett Davis  The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead  

“I think it's actually good for discussion, because you want to see a range of variety of books on these top 10 lists.”  It’s been a great year for books! With best-of-the-year lists rolling out, Gilbert Cruz, Books Editor at the New York Times, sat down with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over, to discuss some favorites of the year, how the top lists are compiled, the joys of recommending books and more.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.               New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode):  Lone Women by Victor LaValle  Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton  North Woods by Daniel Mason  The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride  Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel  Fire Weather by John Vaillant  Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo  The Wager by David Grann  Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park  Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond  A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung  The Bee Sting by Paul Murray  The Fraud by Zadie Smith  The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis  A Man of Two Faces by Viet Thanh Nguyen  Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang  Loot by Tania James  Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead  Whalefall by Daniel Kraus  This Other Eden by Paul Harding 

Winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction, The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk puts Indigenous history at the center to create a fuller and more accurate depiction of America’s past and future. Blackhawk joins us to talk about the erasure of Indigenous peoples from American history, retelling narratives from new perspectives, the surprises he found in his research and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.               New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk 

Fashion Killa by Sowmya Krishnamurthy offers an in-depth look at the significant cultural intersection between hip-hop music and the world of fashion. Krishnamurthy joins us to talk about her career leading up to writing this book, the research she did, gender roles in hip-hop and fashion and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.               New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode):  Fashion Killa by Sowmya Krishnamurthy  

Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter is a raw and visceral novel that explores primal desires, shocking secrets and the effects they have on those that uncover them. Hunter is joined by her publisher, Roxane Gay, a prolific author in her own right including her new collection, Opinions. The two join us to discuss collaboration and revision, writing the gritty details of life, advice for writers and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.              New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode):   Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter  Opinions by Roxane Gay  O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker  Empty Theatre by Jac Jemc  The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure   Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh  The Need by Helen Phillips 

Emily Wilson’s new translation of The Iliad brings to life this divine tale of conflict, love and honor in a way that feels fresh and compulsively readable. Wilson joins us to talk about the universality of Homer’s work, working with gods and epic themes, translating for modern audiences and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).          Featured Books (Episode):  The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson  The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson  

“It’s important for us to examine those inherited perspectives that … guide the way that we think and feel and imagine with regard to other life forms on the planet.”   Entangled Life: The Illustrated Edition brings readers back to the wondrous realm of fungi, now with stunning photographs that illuminate this mysterious piece of our world in a new way. Sheldrake joins us to talk about adding a new medium to his work, the influences of fungi on culture, important conservation efforts and more with guest host, Chris Gillespie.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Chris Gillespie and mixed by Harry Liang.                Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).         Featured Books (Episode):   Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake  Entangled Life: Illustrated Edition by Merlin Sheldrake 

Ed Park’s Same Bed Different Dreams blends history, technology and pop culture in a novel that spans time and reality in an unforgettable way. Park joins us to talk about the long gap between his books, writing and identity, media connections in his work and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.              New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park  Personal Days by Ed Park  Big Bang by David Bowman  The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf 

With recent reprints of The Children’s Bach and This House of Grief, Helen Garner’s voice returns in two of her best works — a novel featuring the intricacies of complicated family life and a nonfiction account of one of Australia’s most shocking criminal cases. Garner joins us to talk about how she came to write each of these stories, keeping diaries, the complexities of human character and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.             New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.        Featured Books (Episode): The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner  This House of Grief by Helen Garner   Monkey Grip by Helen Garner  

In Jeff Tweedy’s newest book World Within a Song, the accomplished musician shares fifty influential songs that have shaped his life and career and shows us how music can create connection for all. Tweedy joins us to talk about the impact of music on identity, the shared qualities between his different mediums, his thoughts on authenticity and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.               Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).          Featured Books (Episode):  World Within a Song by Jeff Tweedy How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) by Jeff Tweedy This Is Not a Novel by David Markson The Tunnel by William H. Gass The World Within the World by William H. Gass

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith’s To Free the Captives combines the beauty of a memoir with a grander look at America’s history and future. Smith joins us to talk about family and cultural identity, race and belonging, the importance of poetry and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode): To Free the Captives by Tracy K. Smith Such Color Tracy K. Smith Life on Mars Tracy K. Smith Wade in the Water Tracy K. Smith

“My favorite parts of this book are when you have two characters … talking about what they want from the world and how they can achieve it.”    The New Naturals by Gabriel Bump showcases a cast of relatable and deeply human characters as they attempt to create a perfect society in an imperfect world. Bump joins us to talk about his writing process, creating characters that feel messy and real, grief and hope and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.             New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.            Featured Books (Episode):  The New Naturals by Gabriel Bump  Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy  Finnegans Wake James Joyce  The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro  Divine Days by Leon Forrest 

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez reflects our complicated and constantly changing world, featuring unlikely connections and even a parrot named Eureka. Nunez joins us to talk about the autobiographical details in her works, her unique writing process, incorporating humor into her novels and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.             New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode): The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez  The Friend by Sigrid Nunez  What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez  A Feather on the Breath of God by Sigrid Nunez  Sempre Susan by Sigrid Nunez  Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick  My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley  First Love by Gwendoline Riley  Seven Steeples by Sarah Baume 

Set on one day in April in three different years, Day by Michael Cunningham is an intimate analysis of family love and connection. Cunningham joins us to talk about translating his writing from thoughts to words, writing a pandemic novel that isn’t really a pandemic novel, using literature as a connection to the world and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.        Featured Books (Episode):  Day by Michael Cunningham  Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton  The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot  Death in Venice by Thomas Mann The Hours by Michael Cunningham  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf  Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham 

“Shift in perception is a miracle”   Death Valley by Melissa Broder is part desert survival story, part examination of grief — mixing the absurd with the profoundly human in a feat of imagination. Broder joins us to talk about the realities of anticipatory grief, incorporating fantastical elements into the real world, including humor in her work and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.               Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).         Featured Books (Episode):  Death Valley by Melissa Broder  The Pisces by Melissa Broder  Milk Fed by Melissa Broder  The Babysitter at Rest by Jen George  Open Throat by Henry Hoke  Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls  Leave Society by Tao Lin  The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector  Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey  Correction by Thomas Bernhard  Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton 

“I think the bigger stuff isn't going to happen if we can't change the fact that we're not really seeing each other.”   Class by Stephanie Land is a portrait of motherhood, the institutions of education, and the realities of life for those under the poverty line, full of heart, compassion and wit. Land joins us to talk about her hopes for the book, her experiences with secondary education and motherhood, her identity as a writer and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.               Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode):  Class by Stephanie Land Maid by Stephanie Land 

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s new memoir, A Man of Two Faces, is an unconventional and impeccable personal narrative that tackles the author’s own life alongside larger themes of culture and colonization. Nguyen joined us live at The Grove to talk about understanding his own story through writing, his interpretations of memory and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.           New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.       Featured Books (Episode):  A Man of Two Faces by Viet Thanh Nguyen  The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen  The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen  The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston  

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a haunted house story for those of us who love books, creepy fairy tales and Southern Gothic themes. Harrow joins us to talk about her personal connections to the novel, the ties to children’s literature, the differences in writing novels vs. short stories and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode):  Starling House by Alix E. Harrow    The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow    The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow     A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow    A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow    Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak    She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan    He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan    Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

"It does come down to that moment, when as a reader or as a writer entering into a story we say — it's not about me, it's about you."    Alice McDermott’s Absolution shines a light on the dynamic lives of American women as they navigate the tumultuous era of the Vietnam War. McDermott joins us to talk about the untold pieces of American history, the evolution of her career as a writer, the power and impact of language in fiction and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (episode):  Absolution by Alice McDermott    The Quiet American by Graham Greene    The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott    A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone    Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard    Family Meal by Bryan Washington    The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 

“There's nothing truer than fiction, because you can always find yourself in the work.” The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters is the story of a Mi’kmaq girl who goes missing and the grief, turmoil and hope that they find as they move forward. Peters joins us to talk about her personal connections to the novel, crafting her characters, connection through storytelling and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.             Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).         Featured Books (Episode):  The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart The Circle by Katherena Vermette If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga  

Organ Meats by K-Ming Chang connects lyrical, dreamy prose and visceral reality in the story of two girls who navigate their complicated friendship in a world they build with feral dogs and otherworldly connection. Chang joins us to talk about writing in a nonlinear way, creating personal and cultural mythologies and finding connection through literature. Anbara Salam’s Hazardous Spirits explores the mystical, opulent and sometimes dangerous world of Spiritualism in 1920s Scotland. Salam joins us to talk about writing the time period after a crisis and its connection to today, the specificity of her research and creating stories that may not wrap up neatly.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode): Organ Meats by K-Ming Chang  Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam  Bestiary by K-Ming Chang  Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang  Belladonna by Anbara Salam  Affinity by Sarah Waters  Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward  The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters 

In Roman Stories Jhumpa Lahiri translates her own writing from Italian in a feat of language and a love and connection to Rome itself. Lahiri joins us to talk about the role of a translator in literature, language and identity, exophonic authors and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode): Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri  The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri  Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri  Trick by Domenico Starnone   Metamorphoses by Ovid  

"I think that messy, sort of evolving spiritual element of Black Americans' lives ... has allowed us to survive, and not only to survive, but also to thrive." Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward balances grief and injustice with joy and reclamation in a sweeping, lyrical novel that brings often overlooked history into the light. Ward joins us to talk about exploring historical fiction, writing beyond the world we can explain, and finding the connections between literature, grief, connection and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.        Featured Books (Episode):   Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward  Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward  Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Beloved by Toni Morrison  Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson 

Percy Jackson returns at long last in The Chalice of the Gods. Rick Riordan brings back the characters that started it all in a new adventure as they face down one of their toughest challenges yet — getting into college. Riordan joins us to talk about the return to his beloved series, collaborating with incredible authors in his publishing imprint, adapting his work for the screen and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.        Featured Books (Episode):  The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan  The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan  The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro  Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi  Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Choksi 

Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery with illustrations by Matt Patterson brings these wondrous creatures to the forefront as we learn about their personalities, complex ecosystems and their connections to humanity in a variety of ways. Montgomery and Patterson join us to talk about their love of turtles, the importance of local conservation and rescues, what we can learn from turtles and nature in general and more.  Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year is a literary devotional featuring beautiful artwork that follows the natural world week by week through the splendor of a year. Renkl joins us to talk about the importance of slowing down to appreciate the world around us, connecting to the plants and animals in our surroundings, the impacts of changing climate and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery with illustrations by Matt Patterson The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl  Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl  Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl  The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery  How To Be A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery 

“I expect my reader to meet me halfway with their own experiences and fill in the white space, fill in what's left unsaid.” Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson brings the reader to Brooklyn in the 70s to examine memory and acceptance through the eyes of one girl from her childhood and beyond. Woodson joins us to talk about writing for young people, the themes of childhood and nostalgia, creating identity through literature and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.       New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.       Featured Books (Episode):  Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson  Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson  Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward  The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis  Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson 

Family Meal by Bryan Washington features the importance of food, friends and connection with a cast of characters working through the transitions in life. Washington joins us to talk about the identity of place, how he writes the messiness of life, staying truthful to characters and their struggles and more. Curtis Chin’s Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant follows the author’s life as he grew up in and around his family’s restaurant where he came to better understand himself and those around him. Chin joins us to talk about the perils of writing about your relatives, the nuances of cultural identity, a very particular Detroit meal and more.    Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode):  Family Meal by Bryan Washington  Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin  Memorial by Bryan Washington  Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson  Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto  Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park  100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell  Mott Street by Ava Chin  The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang 

“I want people to read it with joy, just for the story. But I do hope that they'll pick up something else along the way about … deeper things.” The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok finds two women on incredibly different paths in life in collision as they grapple with issues of culture, class and motherhood. Kwok joins us to talk about how she started a career in writing, the importance and language and cultural identity, how books open doors to learning and growth and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Mary.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.       Featured Books (Episode):  The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok  Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok  Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok  Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok  Happiness Falls by Angie Kim  The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni  Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Greek Lessons by Han Kang  The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan 

"I wanted it to feel like stepping off the world..." Blackouts by Justin Torres explores love, loss and the stories we leave behind with inventive and transformative form and prose. Torres joins us to talk about the source material for this novel, the importance of telling queer stories, navigating legacy, loneliness and identity and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode): Blackouts by Justin Torres We the Animals by Justin Torres Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis City of God by Gil Cuadros Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe Punks by John Keene In Case of Emergency by Mahsa Mohebali

Our October Discover Pick is The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi, featuring musical prose and interwoven stories that cross generations and countries to explore what it means to be an immigrant and the resiliency of the human spirit. Toutonghi joins us to talk about his family connection to the novel, using fiction to connect to the human experience, the long process of writing this book and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode):  The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi  The Overstory by Richard Powers  All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr  Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 

“Language doesn't just exist on the page … It's about how you embody it.”  How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair is a poetic memoir about growing up as a Rastafari woman in Jamaica and how words and writing empowered her voice. Sinclair joins us to talk about the literary connections in her poetry, shedding light on the reality of her upbringing, and the identity that comes with writing and reading with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.       Featured Books (Episode):  How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair  Cannibal by Safiya Sinclair  The Tempest by William Shakespeare  Educated by Tara Westover  The Star-Apple Kingdom by Derek Walcott 

Jonathan Lethem’s Brooklyn Crime Novel brings readers to New York in the 70s and the cast of characters it contains. Lethem joins us to talk about creating something different than he’d done before, writing memory and nostalgia, the joy of bookselling and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut defies genre with an examination and exploration of science and humanity from the Manhattan Project to the advent of A.I. Labatut joins us to talk about the dark art of writing, the mystery and mythology of existence, the importance of story and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Marc.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode):  Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem  The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut  The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem  Desperate Characters by Paula Fox  Another Country by James Baldwin  Steelwork by Gilbert Sorrentino   Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.  When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Underworld by Don DeLillo  The New Life by Tom Crewe 

"My biggest goal was to convert people who said they don't like fantasy." V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series has enchanted us with wit, wonder and a world not unlike our own, filled with heroes and intrigue. Her newest addition, The Fragile Threads of Power, brings our favorite characters on a new adventure. Schwab joins us to talk about returning to her magical version of London, the role of social media for authors and readers, vampire novels and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Marc.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab  A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab  The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab  The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell  You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith  Painted Devils by Margaret Owen    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri  Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey 

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis follows a family through generations from small town Alabama to Philadelphia in the 80s as they struggle, succeed and learn to care for each other. Mathis joins us to talk about how long it took her to write this book, keeping joy in hard stories, how real events and culture shape her characters and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode):  The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis  The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis  Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe  American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  Gilead by Marilynne Robinson  Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman  A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel  

“It really illuminates these questions of privilege and pleasure, and what kind of joy we can look forward to in the human experience as things continue to get worse.” In a world facing food scarcity and limited resources, a young chef enters a world of allure, privilege, abundance (and their consequences) in Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang. Zhang joins us to talk about the mythology of the worlds she creates, the secret to great food writing, the politics of privilege and pleasure and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode):  Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang  How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang  The Lover by Marguerite Duras  Provence, 1970 by Luke Barr  Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché  H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald 

“This book is the most personal because it is what I feel about the world itself.” The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff is a beautiful and propulsive survival story that brings new life to wilderness fiction. Groff joins us to talk about her extensive drafting process, her varied influences, getting language right in historical fiction and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.  New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books:  The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff  Arcadia by Lauren Groff  Matrix by Lauren Groff  Middlemarch by George Eliot  Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe  The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan   The Road by Cormac McCarthy  Anagrams by Lorrie Moore   A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel  

Daniel Mason’s North Woods follows one house in the woods of New England as it passes through families (with inhabitants both human and not) and endures natural and human history. Mason joins us to talk about how he connected with his setting, writing a novel covering a large timespan, playing with form and more.  The Bee Sting by Paul Murray chronicles the saga of a family in a post-economic-collapse Ireland. Murray joins us to talk about the cultural background of his novel, writing a dysfunctional family, the influences of Joyce and Faulkner and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).            Featured Books (Episode):  North Woods by Daniel Mason  The Bee Sting by Paul Murray  The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason  The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason  Walden by Henry David Thoreau   Skippy Dies by Paul Murray  Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett  Ulysses by James Joyce  Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon  The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen  Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 

Wellness by Nathan Hill follows a marriage over decades through a variety of successes, challenges and surprises. Hill joins us to talk about how long it took him to write his novel, describing a realistic marriage, the power of algorithms and more. Ben Fountain’s Devil Makes Three brings readers to Haiti in 1991 with a cast of characters ranging from divers looking for shipwrecked treasure to CIA agents navigating a country in the midst of political unrest. Fountain joins us to talk about his connection to Haiti and the research he has done, the unique historical events that provide the backdrop for the novel, his influences and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).           Featured Books (Episode):  Wellness by Nathan Hill  Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain  The Nix by Nathan Hill   A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders  Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme  Forty Stories by Donald Barthelme  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf  Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain  Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain  Beautiful Country Burn Again by Ben Fountain  The Immaculate Invasion by Bob Shacochis 

“I feel like I could actually follow you through this journey and come out of it changed rather than abused by my ignorance.”  The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland blends memoir, history and culture in a study of the experience of blindness and how it effects both the individual and society as a whole. Leland joins us to talk about the connection between blindness and literacy, the language around disability, the long process he took to write this book and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                 New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland  Paradise Lost by John Milton  Finnegans Wake by James Joyce 

Claudia Dey’s novel Daughter is a stark and beautiful portrait of the complicated dynamic between a young artist and her father. Dey joins us to talk about creating the distinct voice of the novel, complicated family relationships, writing a novel that’s true and more.    I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel is a visceral look at one young woman’s descent into the world of social media obsession with a sharp look at today’s internet culture and what it means to exist online. Patel joins us to talk about the absurdity of internet fame, unlikable female characters, combining memes with literature and more.    Listen in as these authors speak separately with guest host Jenna Seery.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.           Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode): Daughter by Claudia Dey  I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel  Heartbreaker by Claudia Dey  Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel  I Love Dick by Chris Kraus  Motherhood by Sheila Heti  Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong  Life with Picasso by Françoise Gilot  Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi 

“… this was a book about beauty, and I wanted it to be very honest.”  In Mona Awad’s Rouge, gothic family-drama meets fairy tale (with a hint of horror) as a young woman navigates the world of youth and beauty in the aftermath of her mother’s death.   Awad joins us to talk about how her obsession with skincare led to writing this book, creating a mother and daughter dynamic, the importance of writing with a distinct voice and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.      This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  Rouge by Mona Awad  Bunny by Mona Awad  13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad  American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis  Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys  Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys  Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Maeve Fly by CJ Leede  Siren Queen by Nghi Vo 

“My specialty is digging up obscure stories where there are just enough facts to really stimulate the imagination.”  Emma Donoghue’s newest novel, Learned by Heart, tells the story of young, enigmatic Anne Lister and her first love, an orphaned heiress born in India. Donoghue joins us to talk about the role Anne Lister has played in her life, crowdsourcing research, the importance of historical fiction and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Mary.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode):  Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue  Room by Emma Donoghue  The Wonder by Emma Donoghue  Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue  Haven by Emma Donoghue  Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue  Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Matrix by Lauren Groff  Fingersmith by Sarah Waters   

Maria Bamford’s hilarious memoir Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and a Quest to Belong Anywhere blends the honesty and compassion of a memoir about mental health with her unique brand of absurd, laugh-out-loud humor. Bamford joins us to talk about the realities of writing a book, the importance of honesty around tough subjects, some of the books she loves and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford  The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Sacks  Madness by Marya Hornbacher  Marbles by Ellen Forney  Rock Steady by Ellen Forney  Hogbook and Lazer Eyes by Maria Bamford and Scott Marvel Cassidy    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Sleepwalk With Me by Mike Birbiglia  The World’s Worst Assistant by Sona Movsesian 

"There's no higher version of historical fiction to me than that, the feeling of being transported." Zadie Smith’s The Fraud brings all the excitement of a Victorian novel with a cast of characters that will be familiar (Charles Dickens, anyone?) and a wild web of plots that combine the best of historical fiction with themes that still resonate. Smith joins us to talk about the different process she used while writing, the importance of knowing and understanding history, freedom, resistance and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode):  The Fraud by Zadie Smith  NW by Zadie Smith  Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel  The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald  The New Life by Tom Crewe  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf   Great Expectations by Charles Dickens    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys  The Book of Salt by Monique Truong 

“I think that she would have given — to anyone who had been lucky enough to spend time with her — was just this thirst for curiosity.”  Surreal Spaces is Joanna Moorhead’s in-depth and personal biography of her own long-lost cousin, Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. Moorhead joins us to talk about uncovering the truth about her famous relative, Carrington’s eventful life and career, the importance of highlighting women artists and more with guest host, Allie Ludlow. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel 

“I've been asked, why do you blend genres so much? And the simple answer is that it's what I want to read.” Horror meets romance meets historical fiction in Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. This genre-bending novel will have something for any reader — whether they’re looking for spooky, spicy or something in between. Cañas joins us to talk about her research process, the connection between this book and her own family, the importance of genre fiction and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Mary.       This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas  The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas  Dracula by Bram Stoker  Lone Women by Victor LaValle  Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia  A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine  Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa  The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro  Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda  Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison 

Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls is a family drama with an unconventional cast of characters centered around a missing persons case. Kim joins us to talk about disability awareness in fiction, how she started writing, getting into her narrator’s head and more. Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias is a rich novel of secrets, loss and a government coverup set in Costa Rica. Arias joins us to talk about his own family’s connection to the novel, the effects of colonial intervention in Central America, how long it took him to write the book and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Marc.      This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).          Featured Books (Episode):  Happiness Falls by Angie Kim  Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias  Miracle Creek by Angie Kim  True Biz by Sara Nović  Mystic River by Dennis Lehane  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng  The Art of Death by Edwidge Danticat  The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan  The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy  The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat  La Familia de Pascual Duarte by Camilo Jose Cela  How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz   The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng  The Apartment by Ana Menéndez 

“I wrote this very simply to stay alive.”  Alice Carrière’s beautiful and intense memoir of her unconventional childhood, her mental health journey through the failings of the psychiatric system and more that eventually led her to a life of reconciliation and reconstruction. Carrière joins us to talk about why she wrote the book now, the connectivity of writing and reading, her love of audiobooks and more with guest host Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode):  Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey  The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis  Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor  The Giver by Lois Lowry  Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre  The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector  Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler 

“Having that store of memories that history can be, if done well, is a really tremendous form of solace.” Jill Lepore, historian and author of These Truths, returns with The Deadline, a collection of essays ranging from the personal to the political. Lepore joins us to talk about how she came to compile this collection, her connection to Mary Shelley, and the progress to be made in what constitutes the historical record (and who gets to tell it) with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.         New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode): The Deadline by Jill Lepore  These Truths by Jill Lepore  This America by Jill Lepore  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley  The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones  A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn 

“My book is really an attempt to change that conversation and begin to dismantle some of these pressures so that we don't have to be upheld to these standards.” Prachi Gupta’s memoir, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us, combines meticulous research with the challenging and emotional story of her own family to reveal the truth of the model minority myth and those it affects. Gupta joins us to talk about why she wrote this book, the myth of American Exceptionalism, how it feels to put this kind of work out into the world and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.        Featured Books (Episode):   They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta 

The Detective Up Late is the newest installment in the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty following a detective solving his final case in Northern Ireland in the 90s. This former B&N bookseller joins us to talk about the experience of living through The Troubles, the difference between writing mystery and thriller, the war between vinyl and CDs and more with guest host, Chris Gillespie.   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Chris Gillespie and mixed by Harry Liang.         New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode): The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty  The Chain by Adrian McKinty  The Island by Adrian McKinty  Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby  Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby 

“Dr. Oppenheimer, Dr. Oppenheimer. I've been waiting decades to meet you!” The inspiration for the new movie Oppenheimer, Kai Bird’s incredible biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, follows the complicated and consequential life of one of the most influential scientists in human history. Bird joins us to talk about the film, the amount of time it took to write the book, the fluidity of history and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.       New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode):  American Prometheus by Kai Bird 

What happens to reality when nostalgia and memory become weaponized? Part speculative thriller, part queer romance, all page-turning excitement and intrigue, Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché has something for every reader. The authors join us to talk about how they came to coauthor the novel, writing fun, vibrant and infuriating characters, combining genres and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode): Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché  H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald  Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald 

Las Madres follows a group of mothers and daughters between Puerto Rico and the U.S. as they face challenges of health, natural disaster and family secrets with rich, warm prose and characters. Esmeralda Santiago joins us to talk about her personal connection to her characters, the challenge of writing real events, representing Puerto Rican history and culture and more. Elizabeth Acevedo’s Family Lore brings the secrets of a generational saga and the surprises of magical realism together in her adult debut. Acevedo joins us to talk about writing prose and poetry, the importance of silence and power, the danger women face in the world and more. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Mary and Marc.     Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.         Featured Books (Episode): Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw Afterlife by Julia Alvarez   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani 

"People who love books, we're the last line of reason and discourse…" National Book Award winner James McBride’s newest novel, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store showcases the complicated and compassionate lives of the inhabitants of a small Pennsylvania town. McBride joins us to discuss the research he does, his personal connections to the book, telling stories that need to be told and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   Featured Books (Episode): The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride The Good Lord Bird by James McBride Deacon King Kong by James McBride Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani is the story of a young Iranian American boy growing up in the San Fernando Valley with his brothers. With basketball, his family and the influences around him, he begins to understand his identity. Khabushani joins us to talk about the different realities within L.A., the rewriting process, what he learned as a teacher and more.  With ten rich and beautifully crafted stories, Jamel Brinkley’s collection Witness shows a glimpse of life for people in pivotal times against the backdrop of New York City. Brinkley joins us to talk about the importance of short stories as an art form, his writing process, ghost stories and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.           Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani   Witness by Jamel Brinkley   Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe  Stay True by Hua Hsu  A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley  I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin 

"My overarching goal is to enchant people the way I am enchanted." Explore the ocean and its wonders in Susan Casey’s The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean. With an eclectic cast of scientists and enthusiasts along with the author’s firsthand experience diving into the unknown of the deep, this is a one of a kind look at one of the most important features of our planet. Casey joins us to talk about the fascinating geography and animal life she’s seen, the importance of connecting with nature, the threats that face the ocean and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.      Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode): The Underworld by Susan Casey  The Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey  The Wave by Susan Casey 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a rich, multidimensional story of family, love and summer stock theater. Patchett joins us to talk about the wealth of influences that inspired this novel, wanting to write a happy book, being an author and a bookseller and more.  Jimin Han’s The Apology follows a surprising and funny 105-year-old woman as she fends off an intergenerational curse. Han joins us to talk about the humor in her characters, claiming space as a writer, what she’s learned while teaching and more. Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Marc.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).         Featured Books (Episode): Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  Our Town by Thornton Wilder  Fool for Love by Sam Shepard  The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  Commonwealth by Ann Patchett  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver  Such Kindness by Andre Dubus III  The Color of Water by James McBride   Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead  Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch  Loot by Tania James  Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson  Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal  The Apology by Jimin Han  The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee  Trust by Hernan Diaz     Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson   The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova 

"There's always this thing that makes you kind of gravitate towards an idea… that you just feel this kind of throb or this pulse that's there within it.” Colin Walsh’s debut novel, Kala, bridges the literary and the thrilling with a group of friends confronting their teenage years as the unraveling of a mystery from their past throws one small Irish town into turmoil. Walsh joins us to talk about creating his characters’ voices, weaving together multiple timelines, the challenges and nostalgia of teenage friendships and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Marc.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.        Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode): Kala by Colin Walsh  Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese  My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain  Devil House by John Darnielle  

"The fantastical worlds, the science fiction worlds offer a place where they can explore..." Light Bringer, the 6th installment in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series, will bring fans back to beloved worlds and characters as the space opera saga hurtles forward. Brown joins us to talk about what other works inspired these books, how this genre can offer space for the outsiders, working toward the conclusion of the series and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Marc.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang.        Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Light Bringer by Pierce Brown  Red Rising by Pierce Brown  Antigone by Sophocles  The Republic by Plato  Dune by Frank Herbert  The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield  Open Throat by Henry Hoke    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Nevernight by Jay Kristoff  Hyperion by Dan Simmons 

“If you're going to go to dark places… then you better go armed with humor.”  Pulitzer Prize Winner Richard Russo returns to upstate New York with Somebody’s Fool, which reunites readers with beloved characters as they continue their lives in North Bath. Russo joins us to talk about the idea of a regional writer, getting the atmosphere of small towns, writing humor and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode): Somebody’s Fool by Richard Russo  Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo  Everybody’s Fool by Richard Russo  Heartland by Sarah Smarsh 

Writing duo Christine Pride and Jo Piazza return with You Were Always Mine, a timely, tender and thought-provoking novel about race, motherhood and family ties. They joined us to talk about the challenges and surprises of cowriting, how they balance responsibilities and deadlines, the responses of their families to the book and more, live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode): You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza 

“I feel this book is really about America.”  David Lipsky’s The Parrot and the Igloo is not the climate change story you might expect — with a distinct and even humorous narrative voice and a wild story you’ll need to read to believe, this book will change the way we look at one of our most pressing issues. Lipsky joins us to talk about why he decided to approach the topic in this way, the importance of balancing levity with a serious subject, his favorite literary influences and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.        Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode):  The Parrot and the Igloo by David Lipsky Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld  Birds of America by Lorrie Moore 

“And I'm grateful for the times I got to ask questions. I got to be curious, I got to say, Hey, this looks different over there.”  A Renaissance of Our Own is both memoir and manifesto; a rallying cry to reimagine how we exist and interact with the world and each other. Author and activist Rachel Cargle joined us to talk about ambition and curiosity, imposed expectations, grief and joy, her work with the Loveland Foundation, finding what we value most and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.    Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books: A Renaissance of Our Own by Rachel Cargle The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

“Every reader can have a different opinion at the end between admiration and disgust and nobody's wrong.” The Art Thief by Michael Finkel is the stranger-than-fiction true story of Stéphane Breitweiser’s infamous and incredible career as — you guessed it, one of the world’s most notorious art thieves. Finkel joined us to talk about his own interactions with Breitweiser, the notion of obsession, how we should start viewing art and more with guest host, Allie Ludlow.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang.     Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  The Art Thief by Michael Finkel  The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel 

“That to me is part of the joy … of memoir, which is — it is all about looking back.” Beth Nguyen’s Owner of a Lonely Heart is a memoir about motherhood, loss and coming-of-age while navigating the refugee experience, told with a vivid and powerful voice. Nguyen joins us to talk about the feeling of writing nonfiction, the importance of names, generational impacts on the way we view life and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Marc.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.    Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode): Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen Heavy by Kiese Laymon The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh  When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka  The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka  Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen The Committed by Viet Thang Nguyen  Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson is a novel of family and freedom as one young man navigates coming of age as a Londoner born to Ghanian parents. Nelson joins us to talk about the change and growth in his second book, visiting Ghana while writing, the importance of place and more.  In her short story collection, Temple Folk, Aaliyah Bilal examines and illuminates some of the realities of the Black Muslim experience through her stunning prose and deep characters. Bilal talks with us on how she came to short stories, the impact of community, the influences that shape her as an author and more.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode):  Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson  Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal  Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson  NW by Zadie Smith  Lot by Bryan Washington  Family Meal by Bryan Washington  Jazz by Toni Morrison  Corregidora by Gayl Jones  Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy  The Sword and the Shield by Peniel Joseph 

“... what is it like to live your life through the books you read?"  The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt is a warm, introspective novel about a retired librarian who lives his life surrounded by books, and the impact he has on those around him. DeWitt joins us to talk about finding the story’s voice, balancing humor and melancholy, writing in different genres and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Mary.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).        Featured Books (Episode): The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt French Exit by Patrick deWitt Ablutions by Patrick deWitt Stoner by John Williams Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller  Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Fifth Business by Robertson Davies The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson 

“What part of yourself is actually in each character?”  Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur is a family drama set on the shores of Cape Cod, full of complicated relationships, secrets and revelations. Brodeur joined us to talk about creating her detailed characters, writing intuitively, her career in the literary world and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.       New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode):  Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur  Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy  The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese  Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Great Offshore Grounds by Vanessa Veselka Seven Steeples by Sara Baume 

Whether it’s to 18th century Prague or present-day Los Angeles, you’ll find yourself transported with these fast paced and thrilling reads and their complicated characters and dynamic plots. The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni is thriller unlike any other with its intricate web of enigmas and ancient mysteries that will keep you guessing until the very end. Trussoni joins us to talk about how she developed her characters and plots, the immense amount of research she did before writing, why we’re scared of lifelike dolls and more with guest host, Chris Gillespie.  Ivy Pochoda returns with her newest novel, Sing Her Down, which follows the charged and often violent journey of two women released from prison in the height of COVID lockdown. Pochoda joins us to talk about female rage, writing during quarantine, the personality of LA and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Chris Gillespie and Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode):   The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown These Women by Ivy Pochoda Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Angels by Denis Johnson Mecca by Susan Straight Pity the Beast by Robin McLean 

“This whole life experience is just a ride, and occasionally we get to steer it.”  Jason Mraz’s new album Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride combines elements from his previous music with all new influences for this journey through sound. Mraz joins us to talk about writing new songs, his time on Broadway, his take on concert etiquette and more with Poured Over guest host, Allyson Gavaletz. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.            Featured Titles (Episode): Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride by Jason Mraz The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

“I didn't want to get sick of my work … let's write something that I'm going to enjoy.” Open Throat by Henry Hoke is a novel unlike any other. This propulsive and vulnerable story reflects humanity from the perspective of a queer mountain lion living under the Hollywood sign. Hoke and his editor, Jackson Howard, join to talk about the process of writing this book, the canon of queer literature, the setting of LA and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode): Open Throat by Henry Hoke  100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell  Let the Record Show by Sarah Schulman  Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters  Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis  

“God, I was an idiot, but I had good legs.” Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident is a witty and emotional journey through friendships, first loves and all the challenges that come with being in your early 20s. O’Donoghue joins us to talk about her incredibly relatable characters, realistic love interests, writing for adults and YA and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Mary.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode): The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Elysha Chang’s debut, A Quitter’s Paradise, is the story of one woman’s journey through family secrets, grief and love told with humor and heart. Chang and her publisher, Sarah Jessica Parker, join us live at Barnes & Noble Union Square to talk about the challenges of writing this novel, what they look for in books, getting into the publishing industry and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode):  A Quitter’s Paradise by Elysha Chang  A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza  The Dinner by Herman Koch   A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra  Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters by J.D. Salinger 

“I found in nature that kind of the same appeal that I find in books which is: … they're both filled with these rich particularities and they're also … mysteriously universal.” Jennifer Ackerman’s What an Owl Knows is a compelling and vivid investigation into one of our world’s most beloved and mysterious animals. Ackerman talks with us about her journey to the world of birds, the incredible researchers she worked with on the book, the roles nature plays in daily life and more with guest host Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Mary.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.            Featured Books (Episode): What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman  The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman  An Immense World by Ed Yong  Sounds Wild and Broken by David Haskell  Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan Slaght  A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy  The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht 

“Does one ever move on from someone they love dying?” Lorrie Moore’s I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home is a story of love, family, life and death, written with the unmistakable wit and humor her readers cherish. Moore talks with us about her distinct authorial voice, balancing humor and grief, the difference in reviewing television and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.           Featured Books (Episode):  I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore  Arcadia by Tom Stoppard  As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner  Birds of America by Lorrie Moore  The Hours by Michael Cunningham   A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore    Feature Books (TBR Topoff):  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill   Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo 

Two authors take on historical fiction with these novels featuring queer love, heartbreak, coming of age and agency with rich settings and vibrant casts, from 17th century France to the wild, wild American West.  Celia Bell’s The Disenchantment finds Paris amidst political and social upheaval, while one noblewoman balances her unhappy marriage and her female lover in the tenuous world of high society intrigue. Bell joins us to talk about this particularly interesting time period, how a fairy tale inspired the novel, incorporating real people from history and more. Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens is a nonstop Western following a scrappy and resilient young woman who faces hardship head-on by taking a job at a brothel where she finds strength, friendship and maybe even love with an alluring gunfighter. Cravens talks with us about creating a tactile world, telling queer stories, writing hot mess characters and more.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Featured Books (Episode): The Disenchantment by Celia Bell  Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens  Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue   Regeneration by Pat Barker  The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters  Lone Women by Victor LaValle  Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry   The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin  Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi  

These two new novels ask a crucial question: who gets to tell our stories?  Keziah Weir’s The Mythmakers follows one young journalist as she seeks answers within the unpublished manuscript of a recently dead author while her own life starts to crumble. Weir joins us to talk about likeable female characters, what makes the literary canon, AI storytelling and more. My Murder by Katie Williams is a fast-paced, inventive mystery where the victims of a serial killer are brought back to life to solve the case. Williams talks with us about how she came to write her book, including technology in her fiction, what she learns from teaching and more. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode):   The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir  My Murder by Katie Williams  The Guest by Emma Cline  The Idiot by Elif Batuman  American Pastoral by Philip Roth  Beowulf translated by Maria Dahvana Headley  The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson  The Wife by Meg Wolitzer   Delicious Foods by James Hannaham   Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams     Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   The Muse by Jessie Burton  The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes 

These two novels transport readers into rich, vivid historical settings — whether it’s a journey from colonial India to Europe, or through the canals of 18th century Venice.   Loot by Tania James follows one young artist from his homeland across the world to retrieve a stolen wooden tiger in an engrossing adventure. James joins us in conversation about the choice to write historical fiction, the vast web of colonization and empire (including stolen art), how she came to the voice of the novel and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. Obsession meets ambition in Julia Fine’s Maddalena and the Dark, with two teenage girls set to bargain for their futures — whatever the price. Fine joins us to talk about the particular politics of Venice, the distinct nature of teen girl friendship, highlighting contemporary issues through the past and more with guest host Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.       Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode): Loot by Tania James  Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas  Beloved by Toni Morrison   Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel   The Passion by Jeanette Winterson 

Powerful women, families of all kinds, fantastical adventures and so much more unite these two spellbinding tales. Juno Dawson’s The Shadow Cabinet is the second installment in her series of witches, intrigue and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. Dawson joins us to talk about the importance of complex female characters, the response to This Book is Gay, the strength her characters find together and more with Poured Over guest host, Marie Hendry.  Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs finds two estranged sisters tasked with protecting the most important thing of all: the books in a magical library. Törzs talks about the challenging dynamics of writing about family, fairy tale tropes, her favorite things about writing fantasy and more with Poured Over guest host, Kat Sarfas.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Marie Hendry and Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson  Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs  Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson  This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson  How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran  You Need to Chill by Juno Dawson  The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri  Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez  The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner  Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine 

Either/Or, Elif Batuman’s sequel to Pulitzer Prize finalist The Idiot, is the humorous and relatable ongoing story of a Turkish American surviving college in the 90s. Batuman joins us to talk about her approach to writing fiction, how her own life influences her work, analyzing literature and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).  Featured Books (Episode): The Idiot by Elif Batuman  Either/Or by Elif Batuman  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy   Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin  Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert  The Possessed by Elif Batuman  In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust 

“This is the place; this is the right place for me, it’s home.” Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize-winning return to Appalachia, is the story of a young boy growing into adulthood amid the struggle and beauty of this oft-overlooked corner of America. Kingsolver joins us to talk about the truth of Appalachian culture, how journalism made her the novelist she is today, the politics of art and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.           Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode): Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver Dopesick by Beth Macy Raising Lazarus by Beth Macy Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe Dreamland by Sam Quinones Cannery Row by John Steinbeck  The Leavers by Lisa Ko Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks 

“What if we could do anything? Should we do it? What are the consequences?” Ramona Ausubel’s new novel The Last Animal asks big questions about motherhood, grief and our responsibility to the planet. And there’s a woolly mammoth. Ausubel joins us to talk about the realities of working in male dominated fields, the differences in writing novels and short stories, the power of storytelling and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)   Featured Books (Episode):  The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel A Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel Pastoralia by George Saunders Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler 

These two authors tackle important subjects with new research and keen insight. Héctor Tobar’s Our Migrant Souls delves into the “Latino” identity with thorough analysis of history, culture and extensive interviews. Tobar joins us to talk about the concepts of ethnicity and race, hearing stories from people across the country and more.  King: A Life is the comprehensive new biography of Martin Luther King Jr. compiling new information with in-depth research to create a definitive portrait of this brilliant and complicated figure. Jonathan Eig joins us to talk about new declassified documents that aided his work, what surprised him about this project and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Our Migrant Souls by Héctor Tobar  King: A Life by Jonathan Eig  The Barbarian Nurseries by Héctor Tobar  Bearing the Cross by David Garrow  G-Man by Beverly Gage  The Sword and the Shield by Peniel Joseph    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Dead are Arising by Les Payne  Women in the Picture by Catherine McCormack 

Starring strong female characters in rich, captivating, historical settings, we can’t wait for you to dive into these two new novels we love. Our June B&N Book Club Pick is Good Night, Irene by Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea. Inspired by the life of his mother, this is the story of the bravery of women on the frontlines of WWII. Urrea joins us to discuss connecting his writing to his own family, what surprised him as he wrote and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig is our June Discover Pick, full of pirates, adventure and intrigue as one woman becomes a queen of the high seas in early 19th century China. Chang-Eppig talks with us about erasure of female stories, morally grey characters, and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.         New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode): Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry   Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez Piranesi by Susanna Clarke    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 

Tom Hanks (yes, that Tom Hanks) returns to the world of fiction with The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece — a loving look at what (and who) it takes to make a movie, told through the lens of America’s changing history. Hanks joins us to talk about why he writes, how he finds his voice and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman 

“I've become increasingly cynical about the industry's ability to change itself and how it deals with representation and marginalization.” R.F. Kuang’s new novel, Yellowface, tackles cultural appropriation, the challenges of the world of publishing and what it means to be a writer with a wit all her own. Kuang joins us to talk about what lead her to writing this novel, who gets to tell our stories, publishing her first literary fiction novel and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Babel by R.F. Kuang The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu Jade City by Fonda Lee

“I am a firm believer in consequences.” Brandon Taylor’s new novel, The Late Americans, finds a group of young people at a crossroads and follows as they face uncertainty and confront decisions that will affect the trajectory of their lives. Taylor joins us to discuss connections between his previous works, his love of revision and rewriting, starting a new career journey and more with Poured Over host Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.        Follow us here for New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode): The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor Real Life by Brandon Taylor The American by Henry James Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld     Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Ohio by Stephen Markley All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews 

“In 1649, Artemisia Gentileschi wrote, ‘I'll show you what a woman can do.’”  In The Story of Art Without Men, Katy Hessel recounts the legacy of the women that have shaped the history of art — largely without recognition. Hessel joins us to talk about how she started this massive project, what surprised her while writing, some of the women that inspire her and more with guest host Allie Ludlow. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.      This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.         Featured Books (Episode):  The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel  The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich     Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  How To Suppress Women’s Writing by Joanna Russ   Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? By Linda Nochlin 

Few people are as funny as Samantha Irby, and her new collection of essays, Quietly Hostile, proves it. Irby joins us to talk about representation in media, the importance of paperback books, writing for television and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.       New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode): Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby  Meaty by Samantha Irby  Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Dear Girls by Ali Wong  Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan 

Emma Cline, author of the The Girls, returns with her propulsive new novel, The Guest. This is the story of a singular young woman — a con artist drifting through Long Island’s high society in the heat of summer. Cline joins us to talk about trauma math, reasons to write complicated characters, how this book was influenced by John Cheever and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode):  The Guest by Emma Cline  The Girls by Emma Cline  Daddy by Emma Cline  The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller  The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith 

Mary Beth Keane’s new novel, The Half Moon, follows a small-town couple navigating the uncertainties of marriage and starting a family. Keane joins us to talk about how she creates her characters, why she chose to tackle tough themes, writing during the pandemic and more with guest host, Allyson Gavaletz. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.      Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode):  The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  Opened Ground by Seamus Heaney   Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Trespasses by Louise Kennedy  Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee 

“When I was working forensics, I always thought, we do this work for the people who need us to do this work — it's not always the easiest thing.”  Ramona Emerson’s Shutter is not your typical procedural — join an unforgettable crime scene photographer with the ability to speak to the dead in a mystery that will keep you guessing. Emerson joined us to talk about her own career in forensics, the importance of Native American representation in fiction and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.       Featured Books (Episode):  Shutter by Ramona Emerson    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo  She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran 

“I have to transport myself, and only then I can transport my reader.” Brinda Charry’s novel, The East Indian, transports readers to Colonial Virginia to follow the life and adventures of a young Indian boy coming of age in the New World. Charry joins us to talk about her intensive research process, the effects of colonialism on the story, her love of world literature and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode): The East Indian by Brinda Charry A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): David Copperfield by Charles Dickens She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

“It's more than responsibility. It's fear of just sucking — I don't want to write some garbage that people are going to dismiss.” John Wray’s new novel Gone to the Wolves brings the world of heavy metal to the masses, following a group of young people on a nonstop ride from teenage angst to the dark recesses of doomsday cults. Wray joins us to talk about the responsibility of writing about subcultures, his vibrant characters, music you can listen to while you write and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode):   Gone to the Wolves by John Wray  Godsend by John Wray  Lowboy by John Wray  The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Y/N by Esther Yi  Louder than Hell by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman 

"I loved that sense of the slow evolution of a community and watching it happen under your eyes." Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, returns with a long-awaited novel — The Covenant of Water, an inter-generational tale through the lives of a family in Southern India. Verghese joins us to talk about the long gap between his works, his career as a doctor, themes of finding home and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.      New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.      Featured Books (Episode): The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese  My Own Country by Abraham Verghese  The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese  The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy    Featured Books (TBR):   The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates  The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See 

“…A big part of the journey with this book is realizing that people's humanity shouldn't be negotiable.”  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s debut novel Chain-Gang All-Stars tells an explosive, unrelenting and ultimately compassionate story about a not-so-unbelievable future in which incarcerated people become gladiators fighting their way to freedom at any cost. Adjei-Brenyah joins us to talk about the underlying love in his dystopian setting, creating his characters through voice, the realities that led him to his plot and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode): Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Solitary by Alfred Woodfox    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Battle Royale by Koushun Takami 

These riveting works of nonfiction by two incredible women have powerful narratives on family, race, and the way we get to tell our stories. Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe compiles art and short vignettes into a beautiful work that explores the Black experience through a wide variety of themes. Sharpe joined us to talk about how these notes came to be, the wealth of literary influences on the project and more. Ava Chin’s Mott Street follows one Chinese American family through generations of struggle and resiliency as they work to build their lives. Chin joined us to talk about uncovering her family’s past, researching an intergenerational story and more. Listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.  And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode): Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe Mott Street by Ava Chin In the Wake by Christina Sharpe Counternarratives by John Keene Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham Obasan by Joy Kogawa Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark Wayward Lives by Saidiya Hartman Lose Your Mother by Saidiya Hartman Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

“We all shape our stories in some way, we all try to emerge as the hero of them…” Author of Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann, takes on mutiny and shipwreck in the shocking true story of The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. Grann joined us on the show to talk about wading through archival research, his adventure to the sites from the book, seeing his works become films and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   Featured Books (Episode): The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann The Lost City of Z by David Grann Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Unknown Shore by Patrick O’Brian Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Dennis Lehane, prolific author for both the page and the screen, returns with Small Mercies, a thriller set against the time of desegregation of public schools in Boston that balances one family’s struggle with the turmoil of the era. Lehane talked about his personal connection to the history of the novel, writing challenging and complex characters, creating his tv show “Blackbird” and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.    Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). Featured Books (Episode) Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane Featured Episode (TBR Topoff) Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins

“I leave that book feeling less alone, because I've been welcomed into somebody else's humanity, and I feel like they've shared part of themselves with me and that feels communal…”  Maggie Smith’s bestselling You Could Make This Place Beautiful transcends traditional memoir in a staggering take on divorce, motherhood and what it means to be a writer in a way only the poet could deliver. Smith speaks about the vulnerability of sharing your life through words, the freedom of nontraditional literary devices, healing through art and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode): You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith Good Bones by Maggie Smith Goldenrod by Maggie Smith Keep Moving by Maggie Smith    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy Broken Reverie by Elle Madison 

"All of them, in my mind… were wrestling with the same question, which is — what do I do with either the burden of family or what do I do with the found family that I've made?" Victor LaValle’s Lone Women takes supernatural suspense to early 1900s Montana as one young woman sets out to leave her past and family secrets behind. LaValle talks about the history that inspired this novel, the connection between this story and one of his previous books, the upcoming streaming adaptation of The Changeling and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.     Featured Books (Episode):  Lone Women by Victor LaValle The Changeling by Victor LaValle Big Machine by Victor LaValle The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann  

“You get to learn a bit about the social issue of Native women and girls going missing and that's really what I hope a lot of people will take away from this, having more awareness…” Nick Medina’s debut novel Sisters of the Lost Nation defies genre — mixing mystery, horror and family drama into the story of one teen girl as she searches for the women who’ve gone missing on her tribe’s reservation, including her own sister. Medina joined us to discuss the unusual way his ideas came to him, preserving culture through legends and stories, his research and the resources he used and more with guest host, Marie Cummings. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   Featured Books (Episode):  Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis     Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV White Horse by Erika T. Wurth 

“I can even still have my festively neurotic characters, but they can be working their way toward a happy ending, instead of working their way towards crushing disappointment.”  Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy is a playful, smart and fizzy look at love and pop culture through the eyes of a charming and relatable late-night TV writer. Sittenfeld joins us to talk about how a good novel feels like eavesdropping, what makes a character likable, surprising literary influences and more with Poured Over host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode):  Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld  Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld  Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld  The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore  XOXO by Axie Oh 

“I never start a book out with ideas. I always start a book out with people in places, and what could happen here.” Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, brings readers to the Great Depression-era American West with impeccably researched history in his new novel, The Trackers, featuring a vivid cast holding secrets and ambitions that transcend the past. Frazier talks about the photograph that inspired the characters, the excitement and drama of book tours, taking his time to get the language right and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   Featured Books (Episode): The Trackers by Charles Frazier Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Ava’s Man by Rick Bragg

“It was going to be a story about American instability, and precarity, and what happens when we aren't able to access the things that we need — and yet still have to try to care for each other anyway.” Nicole Chung’s newest memoir, A Living Remedy, reflects on the tragic inequality of access to the American healthcare system and the way it directly affected her family. Chung talks with us about privilege and class, how writing this memoir changed her, her literary influences and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode): A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow 

“Loneliness is such a universal experience for so many of us — and I do hope that the book is a balm for that and helps make readers feel less alone…” Gina Chung’s debut novel Sea Change explores family ties, grief and growing up through a complicated protagonist that readers will love to root for — and yes, there really is an octopus. Chung joins us to talk about sad girl characters, allowing women to feel anger, how we never stop “coming of age” and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode):  Sea Change by Gina Chung  Chemistry by Weike Wang  Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier  Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong  All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews  If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery  Nuclear Family by Joseph Han  Please Report Your Bug Here by Josh Riedel    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin  More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera  

“We all want the same thing; we want respect and security and to be loved — and that's what storytelling does, it connects the similarities that we have.” Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, returns with Hang the Moon, a novel that follows feisty Sallie Kincaid as she comes into her own in the upheaval of Prohibition-era Virginia. Walls talks with us about the language of historical fiction, the differences between writing a memoir and a novel, the impact of telling your story and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.    This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Chris Gillespie.  New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    Featured Books (Episode):  Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls   Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls 

“I live on art. I'm an art vampire, that’s how I sustain myself.”  Jacqueline Holland’s debut novel The God of Endings weaves together themes of motherhood, mortality and the human condition in a vampire novel unlike any we’ve seen before. Holland joins us to discuss vampire lore, the power of art, how her novel grew out of a grad school novella, why you should always read the book rather than watch the movie and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. We end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode): The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link The Shining by Stephen King   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu The Lovely War by Julie Berry

“As a kid, you don't know any of that. You're just like, wow, this sounds magical, like, how could this be the sea? How could this be land? How can that just happen? And I think that speaks to a particular quality of life in Singapore, and growing up in Singapore, and all of the changes that you see happening before your eyes…” Rachel Heng’s new novel, The Great Reclamation, is an epic story of love and power and family (with a magical twist) set in mid-century Singapore. She joins us on the show to talk about the legacy of colonialism, rewriting (with an assist from Post-It notes and index cards), Elizabeth McCracken and the Michener Center, the histories that get told (and the ones that don’t), Crazy Rich Asians, and much more with host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode): The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng Suicide Club by Rachel Heng The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi The Known World by Edward P. Jones Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

“I'm so interested in the moment when the reader takes over … I wanted it to be a book that feels like I'm walking alongside the reader, learning as they learn.” Katherine May’s first book, Wintering, was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble 2020 Book of the Year, and we’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for her follow-up, Enchantment. Katherine joins us on the show to talk about the importance of humor, holding space for joy and curiosity and wonder in her work, journaling (and the scrappy beginnings of all her books), hierophany, the memoirist’s terror, her admiration for the work of Joan Didion and much more in a charming, laughter-filled conversation with Jenna Seery, Associate Producer of Poured Over. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode) Enchantment by Katherine May Wintering by Katherine May Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke Featured Books (TBR Topoff) And Yet by Kate Baer The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise by Pico Iyer This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“Look at all the advances we've made in the last 50 years, look at the way that culture and medicine and technology and science have advanced since the Beatles broke up, since we were involved in Vietnam, but the poverty rate has been incredibly stubbornly persistent and I think it's rather shameful for the richest country in the history of the world.” Reading Matthew Desmond’s books will make you smarter­, break your heart, make you mad, and push you to think differently about poverty — all in the same moment. Poverty, by America is his follow-up to his landmark book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Desmond joins us on the show to talk about going where the data takes him, the human cost of poverty, the gig economy, writing in community, what a post-poverty would could look like, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Who gets to tell our stories? Two debut authors use their powerful voices to show strong female characters navigating family, race and colonialism with unfailing humor and heart. Claire Jiménez’s What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez follows a family in the wake of a tragedy as they attempt to move on — and up. Jiménez talks with us about finding the voice in her work, telling Puerto Rican stories, how she uses perspective and humor and more. In Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou we find a young Taiwanese American woman mired in the world of academia and all the challenges that privilege and power can bring. Chou joins us to talk about Asian American identity, how she changed while writing the book, what she’s working on next and more. Listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.  And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Madyson.     Featured Books (Episode): Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita Another Country by James Baldwin Dear Miss Metropolitan by Carolyn Ferrell Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez War Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson A. Denis Velorio by Xavier Navarro Aquino   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

From the trenches of WWI to the coast of Australia, these two debut novels depict the ubiquity of coming of age, even when the circumstances are drastically different.  In Alice Winn’s In Memoriam, two young men find love and tragedy on the fields of battle. Winn talked with us about how the story came into being, the extensive research required to create her characters and their world, her literary influences and more. Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas follows a young woman through a newfound relationship that alters her perspective on life and the future. Lucas joins us in conversation about location as a character, other novels and writers that weave their way into her work, the music she listens to when writing and more.   Listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.  And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.    Featured Books (Episode): In Memoriam by Alice Winn Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain Regeneration by Pat Barker Vladimir by Julia May Jonas Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin Catch-22 by Joseph Heller The Lover by Marguerite Duras Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys The Friend by Sigrid Nunez   Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Family dynamics, for better or worse, are front and center in these two novels from two striking voices in fiction. Jenny Jackson’s debut, Pineapple Street, brings us to an upper-class suburb in New York City — an old-money family, new romance, heartbreak and the kinds of drama only the one-percent can deliver. Jackson joins us to talk about publishing as an author rather than an editor, the intrigue of Brooklyn Heights, how to write humor and more. In Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano follows four sisters as they navigate their lives from the 80s to early 2000s through tragedy, love and what happens when our futures don’t go as we’ve planned. We talked with Napolitano about her emotional journey while writing this, incorporating obsessions into your work, how to know when a story sounds right and more.  Listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.  And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    Featured Books (Episode):  Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson  Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano  Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding  Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny  Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  Commonwealth by Ann Patchett    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo  How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"I'm also trying to make use of how innate I think curiosity is for people, because curiosity is kind of a way towards hope… it's in that direction." Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing, asks readers to look at the concept of time, how it relates to the structure of our society and how it can change the way we live our lives. Odell joins us to talk about commodifying time and leisure, the language we use to describe time, the authors and artists that have influenced her and more with Poured Over host Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.      Featured Books (Episode):  Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell  How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell  Grapefruit by Yoko Ono     Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee  Still Pictures by Janet Malcolm    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I'm interested in how deceptions can make you feel more of yourself or can unlock something in you that you didn't know you had.” Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize-winning author of The Luminaries, is back with Birnam Wood — part eco-thriller, part social and political satire, wholly insightful. This propulsive novel is prescient, timely, and all-too relatable in our present day. Catton joins us in conversation about creating her characters, Shakespeare’s use of prophecy and power, how the story was influenced by Jane Austen’s Emma and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.     Featured Books (Episode):  Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton  The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton  Macbeth by William Shakespeare  We are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins  Emma by Jane Austen   Memento Mori by Muriel Spark   On Writing by Stephen King    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Appeal by Janice Hallett  Wilder Girls by Rory Power    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)

“How do you spot a ‘we should not be friends’ friendship? It's when someone shows you who they are, and you like it.” Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club, tells us how an unexpected friendship with a polar-opposite grew into a lifelong journey through love, losses and triumphs. Schwalbe and Chris Maxey, former Navy SEAL and founder of the Island School, join us to talk about Schwalbe's new book, We Should Not Be Friends: A Story of a Friendship, meeting through a Yale secret society, the importance of vulnerability, what they learned about themselves and each other through telling this story and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.     Featured Books (episode):  We Should Not Be Friends by Will Schwalbe  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe  The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone  The Rediscovery of North America by Barry Lopez    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"Each time I wrote a story that belonged in this book… It held some pain. It held some love. It held some hope, some longing..."  Eloghosa Osunde’s debut novel Vagabonds! is an inventive, mythic whirlwind through the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Told through interconnected short stories, this raw, painful, and ultimately hopeful work sheds light on an often-unseen world and its diverse inhabitants. Osunde talks with us about the significance and spark of inspiration behind the title, writing a novel in an uncommon format, the feelings she wants to leave her readers with and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery.    Featured Books (Episode):  Vagabonds! By Eloghosa Osunde  The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy  The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi   A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I feel like we're in a real golden age of fantasy that's exploring diversity from lots of different perspectives, and telling lots of stories that need to be heard at the moment — I feel really honored to be working within that space.” A Day of Fallen Night has what readers want in high fantasy: strong women, masterful worldbuilding and, of course, dragons. Samantha Shannon’s prequel to her highly acclaimed The Priory of the Orange Tree, is a welcome return to the lands and skies of this mystical world. Shannon joins us to talk about reframing myths, equality in the fantasy genre, how her books get their stunning covers, authors she recommends and more with Poured Over guest host, Kat Sarfas.  Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.    Featured Books (Episode): A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri The Unbroken by C.L. Clark Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao Eragon by Christopher Paolini   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)

“When you've been disappointed for that long in your life — what kind of people are you? What do you become?” A Country You Can Leave, the debut novel from author Asale Angel-Ajani, is an unconventional family story following a Russian mother and Black, biracial daughter as they navigate class, trauma and relationships in California’s desert. Angel-Ajani joins us in conversation about discovering her characters, the portrayal of motherhood, her literary influences, and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.     Featured Books (Episode):  A Country You Can Leave by Asale Angel-Ajani  Strange Trade by Asale Angel-Ajani  The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector  The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker  Another Country by James Baldwin    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart  On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I'm one of those writers that … I think I know the story I want to write when I'm going in with a novel … but by the time I get into the middle of it, it's like I've discovered a totally different story.” Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s A Spell of Good Things explores class, love, and family ties with interwoven narratives of struggle, heartbreak and hope in Nigeria. She joins us to talk about her cast of unforgettable characters, how misogyny permeates life and literature, what surprised her while writing this novel, her literary influences and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.     Featured Books (Episode):  A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ  Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ  Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta  Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri  What It Means when a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah  Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré  Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham     Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays here and on your favorite podcast app.     

“It's a literary, feminist, boarding school murder mystery — everyone's favorite genre.”  I Have Some Questions for You is the thrilling and inventive new novel from Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Part murder mystery, part timely take on issues that readers will connect with, this novel will keep you intrigued from cover to cover. Makkai joins us to talk about unreliable narrators, living on a boarding school campus, what keeps a reader turning the pages and more with host Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.     Featured Books (Episode):  I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai   The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin  Trust by Hernan Diaz  The Keep by Jennifer Egan  The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka  The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka   Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Vladimir by Julia May Jonas   Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“No one in this cast believes that they have a home — they have houses, but they don't have homes. They were born into this country, they were born into these places, but they don't feel like their homes.” Within the rich setting of 1940s Trinidad, Kevin Jared Hosein’s sweeping novel Hungry Ghosts brings readers into the world of two families connected by class, power and mystery. A distinctive new voice in Caribbean literature, Hosein has crafted a story that is gothic, propulsive and will resonate with readers from the first page. He speaks with us on learning the true history of Trinidad firsthand, how the title came to be, his literary influences and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.    Featured Books (Episode):  Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein  Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul  A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul  No Pain Like This Body by Harold Sonny Ladoo  The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki  The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin  Silent Spring by Rachel Carson  Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell   Sula by Toni Morrison     Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays here and on your favorite podcast app.    

“I wouldn't have written the book if I were not hopeful. I mean, the act of writing this book was a prayer for our country — it's making the case that there's another way of looking more deeply under the surface of our country, a way of seeing it that can enlighten us…”    From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson, Caste combines history, social commentary and individual narratives into a work that is wholly original, stunningly written and impressively researched. Wilkerson joins us to talk about arriving at the concept of caste in America, The Warmth of Other Suns, the personal stories that connect readers to Caste, her hope for the future and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Stick around after the interview for TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    Featured Books (Episode):   Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson  Caste (Adapted for Young Adults) by Isabel Wilkerson    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):    Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert  Let’s Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

“Maureen’s journey is about going to the dark — and when you go right into the dark, you then find the light and the kind of renewal — and of all of them, this book felt to me a book about rebirth, which felt the right place to end.” Following The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce’s Maureen completes her series of novels revolving around a cast of characters that you can’t help but connect with. Whether you’ve read them all or are ready to meet Maureen for the first time, you’ll find something to love. Joyce talks with us about the evolution of the world of her incredibly popular series, her writing process, the authors who have shaped her, what she’s working on next and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    Featured Books (Episode):  Maureen by Rachel Joyce  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce  The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce  Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and wherever you listen to podcasts. 

“For us, horror stories are a long, dark, scary tunnel. You hear sounds you don't want to hear; you see things that are going to stick in your head. But if you keep putting one foot after the other, that speck of light at the end is going to grow a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger and one day you step out into daylight.”   Stephen Graham Jones’ second installment in the Indian Lake Trilogy, Don’t Fear the Reaper, is a big-hearted, blood-soaked romp that rivals the very best slasher films. Jones joins us to talk about creating his fierce and funny characters, the importance of setting, Native American authors in horror, his favorite scary movies and frightening books and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery.    Featured Books (Episode):  Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones  My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones  The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones  The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle  The Shining by Stephen King  Books of Blood by Clive Barker  Experimental Film by Gemma Files  Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven  A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay  My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix  Road of Bones by Christopher Golden  Maeve Fly by CJ Leede    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Carrie by Stephen King   Bad Cree by Jessica Johns    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and wherever you listen to podcasts.   

“That was only three years ago, where I read a protagonist I could relate to on a deeper level, for the first time. Subconsciously, it gave me the idea of, oh, maybe you can write how you want to write… it was kind of that seed of — there is space for stories like this, I can use my own voice to tell a story.”  Jessica George’s debut novel Maame is a coming-of-age story that reminds us that where there is sadness and loss we can find laughter, growth and love. Readers will go on a journey of discovery alongside a main character that is warm, full of heart and surprisingly relatable. George joins us for a sentimental and laughter-filled conversation on how she found her character’s voice, processing grief, what she’s working on next and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    Featured Books (Episode):  Maame by Jessica George  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Writers and Lovers by Lily King  If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).  

These two novels explore the gulf between expectation and reality, ambition and opportunity, and what happens when life veers off from your carefully planned path. Kashana Cauley and Matthew Salesses each give us indelible casts of characters to follow as they face career upheaval, challenges to their identities and find new love in unexpected ways. Listen to this Double Shot episode with both authors in conversation separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    Matthew Salesses combines professional basketball, K-dramas, and young love in his novel The Sense of Wonder. Salesses joins us to talk about the effect of Jeremy Lin, the structure of a novel vs. a K-drama, his teaching career and what he’s reading now.     In Kashana Cauley’s The Survivalists, a young Black lawyer meets a man who thoroughly changes her life through love, coffee and doomsday prepping. Cauley talks with us about how she developed her characters, social class and real estate in New York City, the authors who influenced her and more.     Featured Books (Episode):  The Sense of Wonder by Matthew Salesses  The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley  Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston  No-No Boy by John Okada  American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang  Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart     Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu   The Sellout by Paul Beatty    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.  

“I love finishing reading a book and thinking, I feel privileged to have read that, I feel dignified. I feel like that book sort of thought of me as sacred… I want to write the kind of books that I most love to read.”  From Paul Harding, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Tinkers, comes This Other Eden — an intricate novel inspired by the fascinating true story of Malaga, an island in Maine that held one of the first integrated communities after the Civil War. Harding joins us to talk about his vibrant cast of characters, studying with Marilynne Robinson, the authors who have influenced him and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   Featured Books (Episode):  This Other Eden by Paul Harding  Tinkers by Paul Harding  Enon by Paul Harding  The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett  Moby Dick by Herman Melville  The Tempest by William Shakespeare    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn  Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).  

“At any given time, there's a choir of ideas and nagging voices in my head — chatter that I had to contend with I guess — in the end it ends up with this model of working and living in which everything is happening simultaneously.”   Aleksandar Hemon, author of National Book Award Finalist The Lazarus Project, has no shortage of accomplishments, including screenwriting credits on Sense8 and The Matrix: Revolutions. He’s back with The World and All That it Holds, an epic love story spanning decades, countries, and political boundaries. Hemon joins us to talk about his multitudinous (and simultaneous) projects, his music career as Cielo Hemon, being a romantic (or not) and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   Featured Books:  The World and All That It Holds by Aleksandar Hemon  The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   The Passion by Jeanette Winterson  This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.  

This Double Shot episode features two authors, one familiar and one who soon will be, each tackling similar themes. Through fiction and essays these authors explore social politics and sexual freedom — listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. A Guest at the Feast is a collection of essays by Colm Tóibín on topics ranging from his own cancer diagnosis, how reading the diaries of Thomas Mann led to the creation of The Magician (out in paperback now), the works of Marilynne Robinson and more. Tóibín joins us to talk about making private stories public, the lives of Popes and what he’s working on next.   Tom Crewe’s debut novel, The New Life, shows us two marriages and two affairs that buck tradition and showcases the struggles of lives deemed unconventional in 19th century London. Crewe talks with us about the reality of being gay in the 1800s, social class in Victorian England and the authors that have influenced him.     Featured Books (Episode):  A Guest at the Feast by Colm Tóibín  The Magician by Colm Tóibín   Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín  Washington Square by Henry James  Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann  The New Life by Tom Crewe    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Homo Irrealis by André Aciman   The Collected Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. 

“I wanted to spend time with a family and haunted house books are always about families.” Grady Hendrix’s bone-chilling novels The Final Girl Support Group and Horrorstör will have fans knocking at the door for his newest book, How to Sell a Haunted House. This new take on a classic horror story forces readers to confront one of the most frightening things there is: family. Hendrix joins us to talk about what makes a home into a haunted house, the horrifying history of puppets and dolls, the differences in writing a novel and writing for the screen, what he’s been reading lately and more with Poured Over guest host, Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   Featured Books:  How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix  The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix  Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix  When Darkness Loves Us by Elizabeth Engstrom  The Elementals by Michael McDowell    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  The Grip of It by Jac Jemc  The Rook by Daniel O’Malley   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Two witty novels, two funny women, and two engaging interviews await you in this Double Shot episode of Poured Over. This pair of authors and their stories of relationships and what happens when they end fit so well together - if you’re a fan of one, you’re sure to love the other. Listen in as both authors talk separately with host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Madyson. Schitt’s Creek writer Monica Heisey’s debut novel REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLY gets at the heart of the Millennial struggle as one twenty-something puts her life together again after divorce. Heisey joins us to talk about how we cope when relationships end, what happens when characters spend their lives online, how to find a voice as a comedic writer and more.   SMALL WORLD by Laura Zigman is a different kind of post-divorce novel that focuses on family in the wake of change. Zigman talks about how we get to know our families as adults, the many manifestations of grief, how to work through writer’s block and what she’s reading now.     Featured Books (Episode): Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey Small World by Laura Zigman Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman The Idiot by Elif Batuman Bunny by Mona Awad   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.  

“That's one of those epiphanies - I realized if I wanted to be taken seriously, I needed representation. And who better than to do it than a man who doesn't exist, who's really me? Yeah, it was the perfect decoy.”    You’ve heard her plucking guitar strings & heartstrings – now Margo Price sits down with guest host Allyson Gavaletz to talk about her new album Strays, songcraft, exorcising demons, trading jokes with Willie Nelson and being honest with herself on this episode of Poured Over.    Featured Media    Strays [B&N Exclusive, Baby Pink Vinyl]  Maybe We’ll Make It: A Memoir    This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. 

“I remember being in an English class in high school (12th grade actually). We were reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and I announced to the teacher that I could have written a better ending … And I remember the look of shock on the teacher's face because she probably thought I was so arrogant and presumptuous. I don't know how I would have ended it. But I remember thinking that I could have I could have come up with a better ending.”  Who among us hasn’t been tempted to rewrite a classic? The very funny and smart debut novelist Oindrila Mukherjee joins us on the show to talk about The Dream Builders, the looming influence of American pop culture in India, building a fictional city from scratch, tossing out her entire first draft and starting over, her unconventional path to publication via an open submission call from her publisher Tin House, her writing advice, her love of literature in translation and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Book: The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“And I always tend to start a book with a very popcorn sensibility, like, oh, well, this’ll be fun, we're gonna have a little romp. And then to tell the story, honestly, you tend — especially when you're talking about things like institutional power and social influence and economic influence — you're going to bump up against some pretty heavy themes. And that certainly happened with Ninth House and again with Hell Bent.” No one does magic and mayhem and unforgettable characters like Leigh Bardugo. She takes readers behind the scenes of Hell Bent, her latest novel and the long-awaited follow-up to Ninth House, riffing on setting the series at Yale University, what she learned from writing movie trailers, the advice Holly Black gave her about screen adaptations, reading The Princess Bride, magic as a metaphor for power (and what happens to the metaphor when the power is real), how Louise Erdrich shifted the way Leigh felt about fiction, writing morally gray characters, vampires, what she’s been reading, what’s next for her (hint: character-driven standalone) and much more in a laughter-filled conversation with guest host Kat Sarfas.   Featured Books: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo The Princess Bride by William Goldman That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“But now, with the rise of new money, it's like there's this moment in India, when new money was eclipsing old money. And that's the moment that I basically find really interesting because I happen to be right there observing, and just talking to people and listening and picking up stories.” You might have missed Deepti Kapoor’s debut, A Bad Character, in 2014; you absolutely do not want to miss Age of Vice, her fast-paced, epic novel of crime and corruption (and the first of three volumes in a series featuring a cast of characters you won’t be able to shake). Deepti joins us on the show to talk about the inspiration behind her pulse-pounding new novel, the trio of characters at its center, the transformation of Delhi, her writing process, her literary influences (ranging from Dostoyevsky to Patricia Highsmith), and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor A Bad Character by Deepti Kapoor 2666 by Roberto Bolaño   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. 

Our January Discover and B&N Book Club picks have lots in common: both are debut novels with indelible characters and an unforgettable story, both are graduates of UT’s Michener Center for Writers — think of this episode as an audio boxed set, as both authors sit down separately with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Tracey Rose Peyton knew she was taking on a major challenge with a narrative about enslaved women in 1850’s Texas — and even tossed an entire early draft — but she knew she had what she needed when she landed on the hypnotic first person plural voice for our January Discover pick, Night Wherever We Go. Tracey talks about her literary influences (including Toni Morrison, Marilynne Robinson, Julie Otsuka and Alice Walker), love of short novels, making sure to include moments of real joy in terrible times, and more.   Our January B&N Book Club pick, The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, is a dark comedy set in modern-day India that started as a short story — one that she put in a drawer for ten or so years. Parini talks about how she got from a short story to her novel about second chances and women breaking free of society’s constraints, her favorite writers (including Zadie Smith and James McBride), the real-life inspiration behind her book’s title, writing women’s friendships, and more. (Join us for the B&N Book Club event in February if you’re looking for spoilers on this one.)   Featured Books (Tracey Rose Peyton): Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka The Color Purple by Alice Walker   Featured Books (Parini Shroff): Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff White Teeth by Zadie Smith   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. 

We're closing out 2022 with something new: A Poured Over Double Shot with host Miwa Messer.  Cormac McCarthy doesn’t really do interviews — If you want to know about the work, it’s on the page, he says. Jenny Jackson and Chip Kidd are part of the team that publish McCarthy; Jenny’s been his editor for the last eight years, and Chip has designed McCarthy’s hardcover jackets from 1992’s All the Pretty Horses all the way up to this fall’s The Passenger and Stella Maris, along with the recent reissues of McCarthy’s backlist including Suttree, Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men. They join us to talk about McCarthy’s surprising new books — his first since Pulitzer Prize winner The Road (2006), getting the jackets right and more in the first half of this Poured Over Double Shot episode. When a pal asked Cheryl Strayed to take over writing the “Dear Sugar” column in The Rumpus, her first thought was, “Who am I to give people advice? I'd never taken a class in psychology or gone to therapy or any of that stuff. But also, I was afraid specifically to write an advice column on the internet, because it was the age of snark…” Cheryl's open-hearted, non-judgmental letters to readers redefined the medium — and inspired two podcasts, Dear Sugars and Sugar Calling. Some of that work is collected in Tiny Beautiful Things, which was adapted into an acclaimed stage play by Nia Vardalos and is coming to Hulu next year as a series starring Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision). Cheryl joins us to talk about trust and empathy, finding freedom by writing letters to strangers, what she’s working on now and more in the second half of this episode. Featured Books: The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy Torch by Cheryl Strayed Wild by Cheryl Strayed Tiny Beautiful Things (10th Anniversary Edition) by Cheryl Strayed   Poured Over is Produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. We’re taking a break until 1/3/23, but we’ll be back with new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) then.

“They have traveled for most of the day using what little daylight the season offers leaving Ferrara Dawn and riding out to what he had told her was a hunting lodge, far in the northwest of the province. 'But this is no hunting lodge' is what Lucrezia had wanted to say when they reach their destination, a high walled edifice of dark stone flanked on one side by dense forest and on the other by a twisting meander of the Po River. She would have liked to turn in her saddle and ask, 'Why have you brought me here?'”  That’s Maggie O’Farrell, reading from her brilliant new novel The Marriage Portrait, a finalist for our 2022 Book of the Year. In front of a live audience at the Barnes & Noble in Eastchester, New York, Maggie takes us to Renaissance Florence and behind the scenes of her page-turning historical novel and its untamable heroine, the writers who inspired her (from Robert Browning and Wilkie Collins to Daphne DuMaurier and Patricia Highsmith), her writing process (including Post-It notes and pinboards), what’s next for her and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker Matrix by Lauren Groff   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“It is an amazing, amazing translation experience….But it took a long time to get to the point where the language started moving because you have to start out sort of in English laying down a rock, rocks, and then a rock and a rock, building a wall. It doesn't move, and it's just right, right next to the ground. And because you can't obviously start translating in full sentences really. My whole idea was this to just stick absolutely close to the earth of her syntax and build up. And you build and you build and you build and finally something starts to move. And then you can gain some of the movement that you — but in English — that you have sensed and been thrilled by in reading the French.” Alison L. Strayer has been reading Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux’s books for 30 years, and has translated the last few, including The Years, nominated for the International Man Booker Prize. Alison and Dan Simon of Seven Stories Press, Annie’s longtime American publisher, join us on the show to talk about working with the iconic French author, the joys of literature in translation, capturing Ernaux’s voice and sensibilities and the emotional truth of her genre-bending prose for English-speaking audiences and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: The Years by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer A Girl’s Story by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“One of my favorite places to take a little walk around is the public cemetery, which is on a little hill that overlooks the bay. And you know, if you ever wanted to be buried somewhere, that's the place to be buried. And right across the street from it, and a little ways down the road is this beautiful canyon you can walk up. The trees are covered with Spanish moss, and there's fog. And so it's perfect place — if you believe in ghosts — to see one.”   A murder mystery set in 1850’s Monterey, California, Jane Smiley’s latest novel, A Dangerous Business, is a bit of a departure for the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. She joins us on the show to take readers behind the scenes of her new book (as well as some of her earlier work) and talk about the books and writers who’ve inspired her along the way (including what she learned from reading Charles Dickens), what she loves about novels and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   Featured Books (Episode): A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley Moo by Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley The Hundred Years Trilogy (Some Luck, Early Warning and Golden Age) by Jane Smiley The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley The Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Banffy (Vol 1) and (Vol 2 + 3) The Kellys and the O’Kelleys: Or, Landlords and Tenants by Anthony Trollope   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Collective by Alison Gaylin News of the World by Paulette Jiles   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“Storytelling can just be you understanding yourself, but it turns into something else when it's a shared piece — so much of anything in life is practice, and just pure showing up…I think that's just important to remember, you're not always going to feel inspired or inspirational, or you're not going to feel you've done your best. And you just have to ignore that voice and keep going.” Lauren Graham (Talking as Fast as I Can) is an absolute delight on the page and on the screen (Gilmore Girls and Parenthood) and she joins us on the show to talk about her new book, Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember, along with Old Lady Jackson, marmalade, rereading and rewatching, her writing process, what’s next for her and more with guest host Marie Cummings. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I loved it more than everybody. And afterwards, I thought for the first time, whatever I do, I've got to get as close to that as I can. Not the noise or the music or being a rock star, but the creativity of it and the energy of it and the way that you affect people, and I knew that my life wouldn't be the same. And it's kind of always been like that.” Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, About a Boy and Juliet, Naked, among others) returns with Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius — a very funny, very "Nick Hornby" look at music, books, fandom and creativity. Nick joins us on the show to talk about how a newly issued deluxe edition of Sign ‘O’ the Times jumpstarted his latest book, why perfectionism is terrible, how an early Springsteen show put Hornby on his path, why Dickens shouldn’t be taught before the age of 18, why test screenings are a good thing and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc, Jamie and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby High Fidelity by Nick Hornby David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin   Featured Album (Episode): Sign ‘O’ the Times [Super Deluxe] by Prince   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Bowie’s Bookshelf by John O’Connell The Lyrics by Paul McCartney The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

“I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood. And you know, nobody was expected to be a novelist — that was not a thing, that was not a choice in my neighborhood. And when I made that choice, it was very strange to people. And it was a really hard thing for people to accept and my father and my grandfather did not understand that at all. And they discouraged me. But then once I succeeded, they really claimed that, and my grandfather would tell everyone…” Matthew Quick (The Silver Linings Playbook) joins guest host Allyson Gavaletz to talk about his new novel, We Are the Light, along with breaking cycles, writer’s block, connecting with people, collective trauma, running, Jungian analysis, the books and writers he loves to teach, his literary influences, what’s next for him and more. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): We Are the Light by Matthew Quick The Ferryman by Justin Cronin Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Siddhartha by Herman Hesse   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"One of the ways you can get into my cast of characters is by leaving a very detailed written record. Because that's what we historians have to work from, you're not allowed to make stuff up like a novelist can… And, of course, it skews, to some extent, the way history is written. Because the rich leave more records than the poor, men leave more records than women, white people leave more records than Black and so on.” Adam Hochschild (King Leopold’s Ghost) joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis. Hochschild connects the dots between our America and an all-too familiar America of a century ago, riffing on power and deception, Woodrow Wilson’s legacy, undercover agents, labor organizers, the Espionage Act of 1917, what’s next for him and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild Rebel Cinderella by Adam Hochschild King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"When I was a kid, I was super, super geeky, it was so nerdy. And all I read was dragon books, or ghost books, or elf books…someone tried to give me a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I just remember thinking, Where are the dragons? And when I went to do my doctorate in creative writing and literature —especially at the time, and even now, they kind of steamroll that out of you, they sort of train you to think that there are two things called literary and genre… if you're a good writer, and smart, you write literary (later on, I came to understand, that just meant realism). And that literary was a series of conventions that had nothing to do with genre. And then I just missed — I really desperately missed [genre] — especially horror, because it's something that's able to marry the darker, more realistic, gritty parts of fiction that I love so much, with kind of the nerdy stuff like ghosts and monsters." An urban Native of Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent, writer Erika T. Wurth joins guest host Allyson Gavaletz to take readers behind the scenes of her fabulous new novel, White Horse, and to talk about her own family’s story, clairvoyance, nostalgia, heavy metal music, finding comfort in reading horror, her favorite contemporary horror writers and much more. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): White Horse by Erika T. Wurth Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot by Jane K. Cleland   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“They're rooted in our culture as well. And because of all that, I think they feel a little bit more real, even though they are fantastical magical realms…and there's also this timeless quality in a way as well….I do think also there is a lot of room for imagination to grow in these stories.” Sue Lynn Tan joins guest host Kat Sarfas on the show to take readers behind the scenes of her latest epic, Heart of the Sun Warrior, the stunning sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess, from world-building, favorite characters, resilience, to celebrating the mid-Autumn festival, what’s next and much more. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Beneath the Moon by Yoshi Yoshitani The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“We are writing our stories to the world, as opposed to just reading the old stories. And somehow, some way accidentally, intentionally, desperately on the case and caught off guard, Art is Life captures this huge sweep and ends about where we are now in the present—which is an epic place as well.” Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jerry Saltz (How to Be An Artist) is consistently one of the smartest, freshest and liveliest voices in art criticism and he joins us on the show to talk about his new book, Art is Life, and his finger-on-the-pulse perspectives of the art world, including: how art history is being rewritten, the problematic intricacies of the art market, the absolute need for museums and galleries to adapt to the current social climate, the evolution of art critique in social media and much more with guest host Allie Ludlow. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   Featured Book (episode): Art is Life by Jerry Saltz   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Secret Lives of Color by Karissa St. Clair Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I'm really driven by poetry. I'm really driven by language. But also, I'm driven by a desire to connect with the people. So I could have been a teacher. I could have been a politician. I could have been anyone that communicates with people verbally because I liked that. I wound up a performer, but it was all rooted in poetry. And as a book person, I have loved books since I was a toddler.” Writer, performer, National Book Award Winner (Just Kids), Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Patti Smith joins us on the show to take us behind the scenes of A Book of Days, connecting with readers, taking the pictures she wants to take (and leaving the rest to others), her love of mathematics, paying attention to marginalia in books, Arianna Grande and Harry Styles, Keanu Reeves (and the John Wick movies), dancing to pop music and much more with Poured Over’s host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and guest bookseller, Grace. Featured Books (Episode)
: A Book of Days by Patti Smith
 Woolgathering by Patti Smith
 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
 2666 by Roberto Bolaño Featured Books (TBR Topoff)
 This Searing Light, The Sun, and Everything Else by Jon Savage
 Morning Glory on the Vine by Joni Mitchell Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“It's hard to be funny, you can't really plan on — you don't know what will land with people…. absurdity just exists constantly in the world that we live in. And to my mind, the humor comes from the way different people traverse absurdity, how they try to normalize it, or how they freak out because they want to build their own weirdness on top of it. And so for me, that's where I get a lot of the humor, just the different ways that people respond to the absurdity around them.” Kevin Wilson (Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang) is one of our very favorite writers and he joins us on the show to riff on Now is Not the Time to Panic, his new novel about family, friendship and art, plus rural spaces, pre-internet life, rewriting, balancing fatherhood and career, his literary influences and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff Book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart Looking for Alaska by John Green   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I had never known what it was like to feel full. And I know that sounds like really odd, but because most people can — I would be with friends and a friend would stop eating. She's like, I'm full. And I'm like, What's wrong with me that I don't know what it feels like to feel full? And I don't know what the answer to that question is, to this day. I don't know if it's a psychological or emotional thing, or if it was an actual physical thing that like my tummy was bottomless. But this feeling of fullness makes me feel like, it's my body, like I'm actually finally having a conversation with my body.” Attorney, advocate, podcaster, and bestselling author (Adnan’s Story) Rabia Chaudry shares her charming, often funny — and always deeply personal story — of her relationship with food in her new memoir with recipes, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family. She joins us on the show to talk about food and family, body image, changing behaviors and a solution that works for her, finding universal truths in a story’s details, her newest podcast (Rabia & Ellen Solve the Case), why pulao beats biriyani and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books (Episode): Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry Adnan’s Story by Rabia Chaudry   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samrin Nostrat Brain on Fire by Susanna Cahalan Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I always feel like as a reader, I always want to go in ready to be changed, ready to be transformed by what I'm reading, ready to be expanded. And that's what I love about books, they work on you kind of like magic.” Madeline Miller’s novels, The Song of Achilles and Circe, keep working their magic on readers everywhere. She joins us on the show to take listeners behind the scenes of her new novella, Galatea, in a very fun conversation that covers voice, subverting stories, Troilus & Cressida, the books and writers Madeline loves (and some she’s added to her TBR pile), and plenty of shared fangirling over Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc, Kelly and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Galatea by Madeline Miller The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Circe by Madeline Miller The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid Babel by R.F. Kuang Trust by Hernan Diaz   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Silence of the Girls by Park Barker The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“More people than we realize are works in progress, are trying to figure out a way to think about the world… As Beyoncé said in her new album, they're contradicted. They're internally contradicted more than we think. We can make the kind of change we seek, we deserve in this country, if we allow the idea that more of us are contradicted, more of us need help sorting through the world, and we have the patience — we can muster that kind of patience and love to help people sort through how they see the world.” Bestselling author Anand Giridharadas (Winners Take All) joins us on the show to talk about his urgent new book, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy, psychological transitions and cognitive dissonance, not giving up and bringing people into community, doing the work that works for you, how writing this book changed him and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“…The idea just kind of spun itself into existence in my head, the world started to form almost immediately — when my creative brain kind of immediately kicks in like that, I've learned to listen to it, because usually, that means something, something good is trying to come out.” N.K. Jemisin — winner of three consecutive Hugo Awards for Best Novel (each of the Broken Earth books) and now a fourth for Best Graphic Story or Comic (Far Sector), and MacArthur “genius grant” recipient — is one of our favorite writers, and we’ll follow her anywhere. She joins us on the show to talk about closing out her Great Cities duology with The World We Make, adapting the Broken Earth series for the screen, the challenges of writing about a city massively in flux, NY pizza, Ozymandias the cat, her literary inspirations, what’s she’s reading and more with guest host Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin Monstress by Sana Takeda and Marjorie Liu Witch King by Martha Wells   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jean Anders Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“…It was at the end of an exhibition called The Art of The Troubles. And that had been a little controversial (as these things very often are in post-conflict societies). Some people felt it had gone too far. Other people felt that it hadn't gone far enough. It just made me think about how maybe art could be used to say things that are really unsayable in a place where people are obsessed with language and obsessed with identity and where languages are so problematic.” Louise Kennedy joins us on the show to talk about her US debut, Trespasses, a story about love, loss and identity that’s so unforgettable, it’s our newest Discover pick. Listen in as Louise riffs on the layers of her debut: coming of age, class, searching for safety, rewriting matinee idols, transgression, mothers and daughters, her literary influences and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book reviews from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Book (Episode): Trespasses by Louise Kennedy   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Wolf Den by Elodi Harper   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"We don't know our parents, I mean, we think we do; you know, all of us have a practice of dealing with contained worlds. And that practice begins with our families, it begins with our parents, because these are individuals that we don't fully understand, but we are completely dependent on for our survival... And so it creates this really interesting situation where, you know, we take them for granted in a certain way, we think we understand them, but we don't. I want to see if I could get that crossed in some small way, by showing these alternate realities…" Marjorie Liu joins Poured Over guest host Kat Sarfas to talk about her latest graphic novel, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night, the first volume in a new series, along with their shared love of comics and graphic novels, how the story evolved for Marjorie, family, inherited trauma, the importance of play, sibling relationships, Dungeons & Dragons, creepy dolls and much more.   Featured Books (Episode): The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda The Monstress series of graphic novels by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Neil Gaiman’s Snow, Glass, Apples by Colleen Doran and Neil Gaiman Bunny by Mona Awad   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I was always writing, and I think it goes back to that Charlotte's Web thing when I had that experience of something taking me out of this world. It was mysterious, and transcendent, and glorious. And I'm still searching for that every day — if I can find a story that will do that to me and just kind of mystify me and leave me a slightly different person than I was before.” Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult joined us on stage at our flagship store on Union Square in New York City to talk about their bestselling novel, Mad Honey, along with keeping bees (and secrets), what they learned from their collaboration, why they write, their literary inspirations and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books (Episode): Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult I’m Looking Through You: A Memoir of Growing Up Haunted by Jennifer Finney Boylan Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White Liberation Day by George Saunders Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“People write medical histories, people write personal case histories, I didn't want to do either. People write memoirs; I wanted to do all of them in the same book. And I wanted to do that without blurring the boundaries between any and all of those… I consider those parts of living history.” Siddhartha Mukherjee is an oncologist, a professor, a bestselling author and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his first book, Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. He joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human, along with gene therapies, balancing the future of science with current patient care, the excitement that comes with scientific discovery, his literary influences and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books (Episode): The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“We were doing all of this for people we did not know and could not imagine. And as is the case, too, like, when you're planting trees, you hope that they're gonna outlive you. And the trees that were planted have outlived some of the people who are deeply involved in that project. Which is, you know…it's both this sorrow and it's a gratitude. We were addressing our needs. And our needs were actually to care for one another, and to join each other, and to love each other and to come to love to love each other, by making this thing for people who we did not know who may or may not be us.” So many of us have found pleasure and solace — and joy — in The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. He’s back with a new variation on that riff, Inciting Joy, and he joins us on the show to talk about variations on gardening, the connection between sorrow and joy, cover songs, football and footnotes, community, the pleasures of not doing anything, what’s he’s been reading and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Inciting Joy by Ross Gay Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay The Bluest Nude by Ama Codjoe Or, On Being the Other Woman by Simone White Under the Sign of Saturn by Susan Sontag Notes on Sontag by Philip Lopate War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): How to Love the World by James Crews Film for Her by Orion Carloto   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“When I came back, I was thinking about how to tell the story. And I wanted to meet people who, in one way or another, resembled the young people who I'd known as a kid and I was talking to various people, and I had some ideas. And then I got a call from a lawyer, whose name is Ken. And he called up and he said, You know, I've heard about what you're doing. And I have a client whose experience, I think, speaks to what you're trying to do…” Writer Nicholas Dawidoff (The Catcher was a Spy) spent eight years immersed in the story at the heart of his new book, The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice and the American City, and he joins us on the show to talk about the evolution of New Haven (and if it’s possible to go home again), inequality and the American Dream, racism and generational poverty, class, justice, his friendship with acclaimed poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and more with Poured Over's host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): The Other Side of Prospect by Nicholas Dawidoff Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude MacKay   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton Monster by Walter Dean Myers   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

“By making a certain voice, then I'm going to force myself to do new things in that story. The voice is for me, very measured and realistic and regular, regular. But it's almost like DNA. Once you do that, then you're committed to continuing to do it, which means you're committed to finding some kind of power, even in that somewhat limited mode, which is great fun.” The only thing better than reading a short story by George Saunders is listening to him talk about how — and why — he does it. Liberation Day is his first collection of stories since The Tenth of December (a finalist for the National Book Award), and George joins us on the show to talk about his love of the short story form, how writing A Swim in a Pond in the Rain changed his work, learning to be comfortable with uncertainty, voice as ethos, keeping his readers from of mind as he writes (and rewrites), what’s next and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff Book Recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Books (Episode): Liberation Day by George Saunders The Tenth of December by George Saunders Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Boys, Beasts, and Men by Sam J. Miller The Cabinet by Kim Un-Su   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“There's kind of an aspect of melancholy that I love as a reader… But I can't write a book that I wouldn't want to read… Although I am interested in just sadness and like a certain beautiful quality…I can't write books that I don't want to live in, and I don't really want to live in just a depressed book. I don't want to just live in a depressed world, there has to be more fire than that.” Lydia Millet — finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize (Love in Infant Monkeys) and the National Book Award (A Children’s Bible) — joins us on the show to talk about her latest, Dinosaurs: A Novel, including how the story morphed while she was writing, illusions of normalcy, literal and figurative dinosaurs, how we talk to each other through books, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.   Featured Book (Episode): Dinosaurs: A Novel by Lydia Millet   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I was always in a play, always in rehearsals. And if I wasn't in a play, I was counting the hours ‘til I could be in a play. Because it was the first time I felt a sense of belonging, a sense of community.” In Making a Scene, actress Constance Wu (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) takes readers backstage in her own life in often hilarious — and always real and relatable — essays. She joins us on the show to talk about authenticity and big emotions, love, her big break (and what happened next), her literary inspirations including Elena Ferrante and Lily King, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): Making a Scene by Constance Wu Writers & Lovers by Lily King Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon All the Women in My Brain by Betty Gilpin   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

"I think the knee-jerk reaction to pandemic literature — that I think a lot of readers might have as well, I don't want to read that because it's going to be triggering, it's going to be about, you know, CDC scientists brushing against the clock — there are actually very few pandemic novels that I can think of that actually operate on that level. They're thinking about Hollywood, probably, and not about literature. Most plague literature that I can think of, or dystopian literature generally, is about hope. It's about relationships, and family and the tiny little movements that occur in the wake of some sort of tragedy, the search for connection." Sequoia Nagamatsu's novel-in-stories, How High We Go in the Dark, is an absolute delight, even when the darkness shows (think Sea of Tranquility or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell). He joins us on the show to talk about hope and love and grief, being a Bad Asian, music (and other soundtracks) connecting characters and story points, what surprised him as he was writing, his literary inspirations (starting with Italo Calvino) and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I want to tell stories. I hate the whole, don't tell, show mantra because it's not true—it has its like moments like, you know, when the reader finishes something of mine, I want them to feel as if it's something they had experienced, as if it's like a memory for them. Because like, for me, that's always been the best stuff. And like that can be so hard to do.” If you haven’t yet read Morgan Talty’s debut linked story collection Night of the Living Rez, you’re in for an exceptional read; think There There by Tommy Orange or Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson or The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. Morgan—who quotes Jane Austen and Audre Lorde in the course of this conversation—joins us on the show to talk about story structure and inspiration, representation and colonialism (in all its forms), the importance of humor, what he’s been reading and recommending, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode) Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty A Calm and Normal Heart by Chelsea T. Hicks Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson The Last Catastrophe by Allegra Hyde The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“He thinks of himself as a character in a fairy tale in a way who's going on a quest. And there's so many stories like that about a character who's going in search of a lost loved one, whether it's a daughter, a mother, a son, there's this sense of I'm going off to find you. And that's really powerful.” Celeste Ng follows her massive hit Little Fires Everywhere with a novel set in a world that “looks like ours, but with the volume kind of turned up to 11” in Our Missing Hearts, an indelible story about family and identity, art and connection. Celeste joins us on the show to talk about the novel she never planned to write, mothers and sons, coming-of-age (for adults and children), Asian American history, pushing against our ideas of hero figures, being a word nerd and her love of Shakespeare, her literary influences and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TNR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Beloved by Toni Morrison The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston Tripmaster Monkey by Maxine Hong Kingston Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“I want to escape into these like incredible, immersive situations, really. But I think I try and balance this kind of creation of a world or this world building with the dialogue. And that's where things like the humor come in. And particularly with this one, because it's quite a gritty subject. But it was really important to have that joy and have that humor. And to my mind that comes very akin with the bravery in the book and the courage in the book, there is this kind of ability, even under these immense pressures, to have these moments of joy…” Jess Kidd’s ghostly and gothic novels — including Things in Jars and now, The Night Ship, our latest B&N Book Club pick — are some of our absolute favorites. She joins us on the show to talk about the true story behind The Night Ship, the places her research took her, connecting her characters, how writing flash fiction and short stories influence her novels, The Epic of Gilgamesh and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books (Episode): The Night Ship by Jess Kidd Mr. Flood’s Last Resort by Jess Kidd Things in Jars by Jess Kidd The Epic of Gilgamesh (Andrew George, translator) Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

“So you know, something that is a big part of my project…is actually this idea that we deserve pleasure. I think that pleasure and care, these are antidotes against various kinds of violence and degradation that we're all beset with. And so for me, when I wrote this novel, I did not write it for a critic at The New York Times, you know. I wrote it for the past version of me. And I wrote for someone who would need to read this, who would be reading this book after work on the subway.”  Sarah's Thankam Mathews is making a terrific debut with All This Could Be Different—longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction and a finalist for our own Discover Prize—and she joins us on the show to talk about channeling her characters, subverting the coming-of-age novel, challenging the expectations of the immigrant experience, queerness, finding our people and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books (Episode):  Normal People by Sally Rooney  Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid  Luster by Raven Leilani  The New Me by Halle Butler  Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“I think I figured a lot of things out literally as I was writing the book. I'm usually an obsessive methodical writer, or I have everything, if not mapped out, I kind of know spatially, what's going to happen in a piece of writing. But with this, I just kind of had to write it to figure out what it was. For years, friends knew that I was working on this — friends who were in the book, actually. But I could never explain what it was nor could they imagine what it might be. You know, I would just say, I'm writing the story of us, I'm writing a story about Ken.” Whether he’s riffing on music or sports or Asian American icons like Maxine Hong Kingston, Hua Hsu’s work in The New Yorker is a joy to read. Now he’s turning inward in his new book, Stay True, a beautifully written story of unexpected friendship, shocking loss, and his own coming of age. Hua joins us on the show to talk about grief and growing up, inside jokes, his literary influences, changing the conversations we’re having about Asian America, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books (Episode) Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu  A Floating Chinaman: Fantasy and Failure across the Pacific by Hua Hsu  The Hanging on Union Square by H. T. Tsiang  Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book by Maxine Hong Kingston    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“I feel like very often when we have stories about womanizing characters, whether we piece those stories out, so we see each woman—individually or not, they don't really have stories. They don't really have lives except as they relate to that main character. So, it was always going to be each woman steps forward, each woman gets a chapter.” Laura Warrell takes us behind the scenes of her smart, sharp and deeply resonant debut novel Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm. She joins us on the show to talk about flipping the script, the women she writes about (and letting her characters be who they are), love and loneliness, her writing process and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.    Featured Books (Episode):  Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell  Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.    A complete transcript of this episode is available here. 

“I did nothing but read the entire time I was writing this….literally every waking moment, I was doing some type of research and a lot of research I did for this book was on joy and celebration and on community. Because, yes, we're going through all of these things, but there's a reason the cover is bright and celebratory, because that's also where the book goes, where the journey goes.” Hafizah Augustus Geter covers an incredible amount of ground in her memoir The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin: past and present, able-bodied and disabled, home and away, grief and love. She joins us on the show to talk about her family’s story, her father’s art (which appears in full color throughout the book), who gets to make history and why, her literary influences and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books:  The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin by Hafizah Augustus Geter  Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib  The Yellow House by Sarah Broom  Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer  Year of The Tiger by Alice Wong  Border and Rule by Harsha Walia     Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here. 

“I think I made a shrewd pick when I chose this character. Because the last thing you want is to be able to say—I understand everything about you—is a character with a lot of ambiguity. And I think some of that is calculated ambiguity. And some of it is probably caused by the fact that the historical record is erased in one way or another. But there’s plenty scope for creative conjecture with Cromwell.” That’s Hilary Mantel from this interview, which originally ran in March 2020 when The Mirror & the Light was published in hardcover. Once the Queen’s head is severed, he walks away. It’s a fabulous opening line, that first line of The Mirror & the Light, the final volume of Hilary Mantel’s stunning Wolf Hall trilogy. Anne Boleyn is dead and Thomas Cromwell, that brilliant self-made man, Lord Privy Seal, fixer and enforcer the man who drove the English reformation continues his ascent. And his fall, when it comes, is brutal. You may have heard at least part of the story behind the story; Hilary Mantel thought about Thomas Cromwell for 30 years before she started work on Wolf Hall in 2005. What she thought would be a single book became to bring up the bodies arrived in 2012, two years earlier than expected, because she realized 400 pages in that she needed a third volume to tell the story of Thomas Cromwell as it needed to be done. Both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies won The Booker—Hilary Mantel is the only woman to have won the prize twice…

“Ever since we left, when I was 13, it's a place that I think about constantly. I think about it in hypothetical terms. It's something that I just sort of lose myself in all the time. I left before things really got complicated. I left when I was 13. What if I had stayed until now? And what if I had left and gone back? You know, the book kind of stemmed from this story that I had been working through in my mind, all of these hypothetical versions of myself. And then it turned into this.” Bobby Finger, writer and co-host of the celebrity and entertainment podcast Who? Weekly, breaks new ground in his debut novel, The Old Place. Inspired by his real-life roots in Texas, Finger explores the consequences of love and loss in this small-town narrative centered around a retired schoolteacher burdened by a decade-old secret. Bobby discusses his journey to writing a novel, his literary influences and creative process—and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.  And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode):  The Old Place by Bobby Finger Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple  Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perotta  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman    Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here. 

“I already had a kind of Don Quixote set up in mind. And so I was like, Wouldn't it be funny if Arthur was the sort of Sancho Panza in this? I'll just barely touch on it and see where it goes. And I thought he needs someone totally full of himself to shake him up…” Readers fell in love with Arthur Less — and Andrew Sean Greer took home a Pulitzer Prize for Less, the novel that introduced us to Arthur. Andrew joins us on the show to talk about his new novel, the not-really-a-sequel, Less Is Lost, turning tragedy into comedy, rewrites, what scares him as a writer, his literary influences, the writing advice that he still relies on and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we finish this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): Less (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) by Andrew Sean Greer The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer  The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer Chéri by Colette Don Quixote by Cervantes A Boy's Own Life by Edmund White Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene Moby Dick by Herman Melville   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood Bucky F*cking Dent by David Duchovny   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“This book feels very much…drawing from the Black Saints: Whitney Houston, Paul Mooney, Little Richard, Luther Vandross, almost my own canon, my own tradition, my own history, to make sense of what's happening now. I’m not going back to Homer, necessarily. I'm kind of trying to create a new lineage, because I feel that we've been betrayed by our presented histories.” Saeed Jones joins us on the show to riff on his incredibly personal and indelible new poetry collection Alive at the End of the World, along with the pervasiveness of grief, how both he and his writing have changed since he published his memoir, what’s up with his new podcast, Vibe Check, and much more with Poured Over’s host Miwa Messer.   Featured Books (episode) Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones Furious Cool by David Henry and Joe Henry   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

"Well, home is a complicated concept....So you've shaken me awake at three o'clock in the morning. Where's home? I’ll say Zanzibar without hesitation. Oh, but then on the other hand, I've been living here and working here for 50 years, my family, my children, and my grandchildren live here. The idea that this is not my home, it's just ridiculous. I just won't have it. You know, this is my home. So home is complicated, both are home, but it means something different." An epic story of life, loss, and love set against an unforgiving landscape of colonial violence, Afterlives is a multi-generational novel set in East Africa that is at once wistful, grounded—and unforgettable. 2021 Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah joins us on the show to discuss his body of work, the legacy of colonialism, what it was like to win the Nobel and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer.   Feature Books (Episode): Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Home by Toni Morrison Dear Life by Alice Munro   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“I'm heading into my mid 70s and I really want to just get into a novel and live inside it. No sense of hurry. No deadline, no sense that anyone's waiting for this. I don’t want to talk to anyone about it, but I just want to inhabit it.” Award-winning author Ian McEwan’s new novel, Lessons, takes readers on an emotional journey through the life of one man and McEwan joins us on the show to talk about aging, writing a novel in lockdown, what kinds of books make us cry and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode): Lessons by Ian McEwan Atonement by Ian McEwan Herzog by Saul Bellow Cocoon by Zhang Yueran Finnegans Wake by James Joyce   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Black Swan Green by David Mitchell Moonglow by Michael Chabon   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“I start with the emotion. I don't know what the story is. I don't know who the characters are necessarily. I'm working on very little like, I'm thinking, ‘oh, well, the way this light looks through a window’, or something — very few details here and there. But I don't know what happens in this story.” Join three amazing authors talking about their three fabulous fall reads: If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery, The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li and Bliss Montage by Ling Ma. The authors speak with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer, about the balance between humor and dread, how they start a project, some of their favorite writers & more.   Featured Books (Episode) If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li Bliss Montage by Ling Ma Severance by Ling Ma How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Moshin Hamid Passing by Nella Larsen Quicksand by Nella Larsen The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty Moby Dick by Herman Mellville Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls The Collected Poems of Frank O’Hara by Frank O’Hara   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin Artist in the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro  St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves by Karen Russell   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“…In this particular book, I think I wanted to combat the feeling that we were already inundated with, and even the feelings that are attached to social justice issues. I wanted to combat the feelings of anger and helplessness and all of that with joy.” Margaret Wilkerson Sexton follows her NAACP Image Award-winning novel The Revisioners with On the Rooftop, a stunning novel about a mother whose dream of stardom for her three daughters clashes with their own desires in a rapidly gentrifying 1950s San Francisco. Margaret joins us on the show to talk about wanting to write a book that sits in conversation with Fiddler on the Roof, how her research led her to the Harlem of the West, writing a love story for an older couple, her literary inspirations and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode) On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton The Yellow House by Sarah M Broom The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat The Candy House by Jennifer Egan Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw All Aunt Hagar’s Children by Edward P. Jones The Known World by Edward P. Jones   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Swing Time by Zadie Smith Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout   A complete transcript of this episode is here.

“That nine-year-old kid still follows me and is with me and is very much a part of me... And this is the hope for the book, not only for non-immigrants, but for immigrants, to really start to have that internal conversation about what we have been through. And I think this book is mostly for them. The book was for me, and then putting it around the world is for everybody. But I hope that non-immigrants can see that we don't want to do this, and that it's difficult, and that we carry this with us every single day.” Solito is the story Javier Zamora has been trying to get out ever since he started writing. Through choppy waters and unforgiving deserts, this intimate, gripping memoir is an immersive look into the consciousness of a young boy seeking to be reunited with his parents. Listen as Javier talks about reliving trauma, growing up undocumented, poetry as a gateway to therapy, and what it was like to give his nine-year-old self back his voice, with the host of Poured Over, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books (Episode) Solito by Javier Zamora Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I think about food constantly, but more so than anyone else it's the people I work with who are inspiring me now.... I'm always inspired by the people I cook with, and the people I work with in the restaurants, and they're, you know, they're the ones who are inspiring me most right now, because they're making it all happen.” Chef and restaurant owner, Mason Hereford’s new cookbook Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans is full of flavorful, fun recipes and beautiful photos that will delight any appetite. Mason talks about cooking with nostalgia, vintage McDonald’s plates, what his day in the restaurants looks like, what’s inspiring him in the kitchen now, and more with Poured Over guest host Kat Sarfas.   Featured Books (episode) Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans by Mason Hereford Without Getting Killed or Caught by Tamara Saviano   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I think it is a conversation I'm having with my younger self, who loved the idea of time travel, who loved the idea that these people perhaps not so different from us, who quite quickly could imagine herself out of her body and into another world against all the laws of physics. And I know I'm not alone in that. I think so many people want to read for a moment in their day or week, of escape, but not mindless escape, but detailed, pleasurable, important escape…” Jessie Burton’s debut novel, The Miniaturist, is a stellar, entertaining work of historical fiction that sold a million copies in its first year and has been translated into 40 languages. Jessie returns to 17th century Amsterdam with an unforgettable cast of characters (including a few familiar faces) in her latest, The House of Fortune. She joins us on the show to talk about writing and rewriting, story points and Post-It notes, revisiting characters, her favorite authors and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Titles (Episode) The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido   Featured Titles (TBR Topoff) The Binding by Bridget Collins The Distant Hours by Kate Morton   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I think they grew out of the setting of this weird island, this odd place, this place of southern stories and ghosts and food and how they are misfits, but they find their tribe, they find where they belong with other people who think they don't belong either. And I think that is a universal truth for us all.” Sarah Addison Allen’s charming new novel, Other Birds, is our September B&N Book Club pick and she joins us on the show to talk about ghosts, unconditional love, mothers and mothering, place as a character, the problem with notebooks, her writing process, and more with guest host Allyson Gavaletz. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen Bittersweet by Susan Cain The Passion by Jeanette Winterson Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here. 

“I think it's really important to remember that poetry has always sort of existed in the moment. It's full of the life that we're living right now. It is a remnant of the life that we're living right now. You know, distilled moments, it's the mess of our life. It's all of those things. And I think we do ourselves a disservice if we think those things don't include joy, that don't include breath and contentedness and moments of peace. And we all have that sometimes, as we struggle.” Ada Limón, our 24th US Poet Laureate and host of the poetry podcast The Slowdown, joins us on the show to take us behind the scenes of her newest book, The Hurting Kind, and talk about the purpose of art, honoring the slipperiness of time, the importance and pleasure of reading out loud, her literary inspirations and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón Lucky Wreck by Ada Limón The Friend by Sigrid Nunez Less by Andrew Sean Greer Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is here.

“We're all constantly translating ourselves to the world—we all are trying to take the inevitable stuff that happens in our psyche, our fears, and hopes and desires and dreams and trying to communicate that with others. And some of us are more successful at it than others.” A group of four friends find themselves at the center of a deadly battle between good and evil at an alternate 1800s Oxford University in Babel, the epic new novel from R.F. Kuang, author of the bestselling Poppy War series. Rebecca joins us on the show to talk about world-building, friendship, colonialism, her literary inspirations (including The Secret History by Donna Tartt), Victorian ideas of masculinity and queerness, how she writes, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from interns Issa and Jenna. Featured Books (episode) Babel by R.F. Kuang The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang The Secret History by Donna Tartt Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation by David L. Eng Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson Legendborn by Tracy Deonn Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“And so, then I thought, Who do I most admire? Who taught me the most, and also, they're doing it for completely selfless reasons, right? And I thought, Oh, that moment and the parking lot. So, I thought, I'm going to start a book in the parking lot of a McDonald's dumpster in a dying town and show you how, in the most unlikely places, magic is happening.” Beth Macy’s 2018 bestseller Dopesick and the Emmy-nominated Hulu streamer it inspired have helped changed our national conversation about Opioids and addiction. Her new book, Raising Lazarus, takes a new approach to our ever-growing crisis, focusing on solutions and the people bringing those solutions to our communities. Beth joins us on the show to talk about harm reduction, meeting people where they are, organizing at a local level, the lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and the behavior of the Sackler family, activism, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) Raising Lazarus by Beth Macy Dopesick by Beth Macy Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe   Featured Books (TBR Topoff)            Undoing Drugs by Maia Szalavitz Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“But I had fun growing up, you know, kids Double Dutch and playing football in the front yard, trash can basketball, running around 40 deep into projects with extended family, cutting the lights off—we really have fun. Of course, you've seen the drug selling, you've seen the dice games. We found a way to become comfortable in an uncomfortable situation.” Keith Corbin’s story is unlike any we’ve heard for a James Beard Award nominated chef, and he holds nothing back in his candid memoir, California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival. Keith joins us on the show to talk about representation, the realities of second chances (and why opportunity without support isn’t enough), fact-checking his memories with members of his community, the start of his friendship with fellow chef Daniel Patterson, unexpected loneliness and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Book: California Soul by Keith Corbin   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“To me, science is the rigorous attempt at understanding the world around you. And most people think that that means you're in a lab wearing a coat, working with test tubes. But I think that that's just a matter of using the scientific method in your everyday life. It's a matter of observing the world around you and being curious enough to ask questions and having the logic skills and some math and science skills to find the answers to those questions. But it goes beyond physics and chemistry. It goes beyond math. It goes beyond psychology and sociology, the social sciences.” Dr. Moiya McTier delivers a very fun and somewhat surprising look at our universe in her debut, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy. Dr. McTier joins us on the show to talk about stepping outside of herself to find our galaxy’s voice, the importance of story (and how it relates to science), growing up in rural Pennsylvania, her hit Exolore podcast, why space isn’t just for billionaires, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we finish this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode) The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moiya McTier House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas   Featured Books (TBR Topoff)        Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku How I Killed Pluto by Mike Brown   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here. 

“This is one of the great differences between journalism and literature, which I practice in. You write journalism in order for everything to be absolutely clear at the first reading … you write fiction in order to reflect the complexity of the world. And that complexity isn't necessarily grasped at first meeting.” Elizabeth Finch is the latest (and deceptively slim) new novel from Julian Barnes, author of the Booker Prize-winning novel The Sense of an Ending. He joins us on the show to talk about cutting to the chase, unreliable narrators, the intersection of time and memory and history, translating Flaubert, his friendships with fellow Booker Prize-winners Anita Brookner and Ian McEwan, electric typewriters and Blackwing pencils, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we finish this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (translated by Frances Steegmuller Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (translated by Lydia Davis)   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here. 

“To me, the thing as a writer that you should always be working towards is like, how can I make this just be delicious for the reader?” Jana Casale has perfected the art of writing about the ordinary lives of women in such a way that fans of Elena Ferrante and Sally Rooney will flock to, and her latest story following the lives of three young women as they navigate love, How to Fall Out of Love Madly, is just out. Jana joins us on the show to talk about the lives and relationships of Millennial women, body image issues, self-love, loneliness, the influence one teacher had on her decision to be a writer, and much more with guest host, Elani Wilson. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) How to Fall Out of Love Madly by Jana Casale Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Next Year, for Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson Real Life by Brandon Taylor   This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Elani Wilson and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“All three of the books that I have written during the pandemic have really been my way of going into another world and finding a place where none of this was happening. And that I could just relax and have fun. And so, I hope that my books are that kind of fun, joyous of maybe slightly salacious time for readers, too, because that's what I enjoyed as I was writing them.” Jasmine Guillory is one of our favorite rom-com authors, with her seventh and eighth books (By the Book and Drunk on Love) releasing this year. Jasmine joins us on the show to talk about writing Black leads in romance, her literary influences, releasing three books during the pandemic and connecting with readers in person again, her love for the Bay Area, the elements that make up a signature Jasmine Guillory novel, and much more with guest host, Elani Wilson. And we end this episode with a TBR Topoff with Marc and Rhys riffing on their favorite Jasmine Guillory novels   Featured Books (episode) Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory By the Book by Jasmine Guillory Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen   This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Elani Wilson and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“To write a young woman who refuses to define herself by anything other than her activism, her mind, her curiosity, that was just a delight, and she wasn't the most predictable character, but she was the one who told me what to do on every page.” How to describe Tess Gunty’s dynamic debut, The Rabbit Hutch? Think Jennifer Egan + Denis Johnson. Think polyphonic novel about climate change and gentrification and coming-of-age in a dying American Dream with an unforgettable 18-year-old as its heart. Tess joins us on the show to talk about loneliness and connection, South Bend and Studebaker automobiles, needing to leave home in order to write about it, how an anxious kid became a writer, mysticism, revision, the poets and writers who inspire her and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan NW by Zadie Smith Great House by Nicole Krauss Middlemarch by George Eliot   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays, with occasional Saturdays.   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“But when I write, that's when I feel I can take part in society, I can contribute to ideas, and to teach and to share, and to say, I love you to society—to maybe talk about some of the difficult things in life, but to affirm that these experiences only serve to make life what it is.” From space aliens and cursed violins to a Queen of Hell with a heart, to found family, coming-of-age and living in your truest self, Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars is our latest Speculative Fiction Monthly Pick and it’s an absolute blast to read. Ryka joins us on the show to talk about world-building, the San Gabriel Valley, writing love stories, the evolution of science fiction, her literary inspirations, donuts and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Book (episode) Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Blackwater Sister by Zen Cho The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays. A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“There's just so much rich material in Hollywood during the 1940s—which is where much of the book is set—there is just sort of an endless rabbit hole you can go down. And of course, one of the problems with writing a book about the movie industry is that sitting around watching movies technically counts as research.” We still think about Anthony Marra’s incredible debut, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, years after first reading. His newest novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, is an epic story of family secrets, love and war, loyalty and reinvention that cuts between Hollywood and Mussolini’s Italy in the 1930s and 40s—and it’s the August B&N Book Club pick. Anthony joins us on the show to talk about mapping stories, the landscape of exile and imprisonment, the importance of humor, research and rewrites and snappy dialogue, his literary inspirations (including Zadie Smith and David Mitchell), and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book reviews from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode): Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels by Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration Rules of Civility by Amor Towles   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): West of Sunset by Stewart O’Nan A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I just had so many questions about adoption and motherhood. And you know, you've read my books, you know that I'm very interested in what makes a family and how does our family influence us. And that's all part of this book, too.” From her sparkling debut, The Weird Sisters, to her latest, Any Other Family, Eleanor Brown writes big-hearted novels with hopeful endings about family and finding ourselves. She joins us on the show to talk about the story behind her latest novel, how questions and character drive her novels, capturing children’s voices on the page, how she approaches the writing process, what she’s been reading and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Titles (episode) Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown The Light in Paris by Eleanor Brown All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian The Foundling by Ann Leary Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley On Writing by Stephen King   Featured Titles (TBR Topoff) Run by Ann Patchett The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“What's really interesting about taste memory is it's not that you're trying to necessarily replicate the dish exactly as it was, I think you're actually just trying to replicate your memory of it, because your memory is always going to be the platonic ideal of it.” Eric Kim has a delightful approach to food, and his debut cookbook is a charming exploration of the Korean American table. He joins us on the show to talk about home cooking and how our family stories connect to food, representation (and how his parents landed in Atlanta), the politics of spam, his pantry must-haves, making kimchi, finding joy in a creative space, testing recipes with his mom, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“One thing I really have learned—or at least for myself about writing—is never to explain why a person is the way they are, just to make a dramatic case for why they are the way they are. So, the moments I have that are backstory, or that go back and forth in time, it's because that backstory or that moment of slippage of time is dramatically relevant to the present moment of the story.” Alice Elliott Dark (In the Gloaming) returns with Fellowship Point, a spectacular novel of friendship and family, love and loss, loyalty and legacy. She joins us on the show to talk about her modern 19th-century novel, where she’s been for the last few years, what we often take for granted when it comes to women’s lives, the craft of writing, her literary influences, what’s next for her and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer, live from our flagship store at Union Square in New York City. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode): Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark In the Gloaming by Alice Elliott Dark The Hours by Michael Cunningham Middlemarch by George Eliott Matrix by Lauren Groff Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Nightwoods by Charles Frazier Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I wish I could tell you that I went to a cabin and wrote it perfectly and got it in on time, and it just flowed out of me. But really, the truth of the matter is, it came in fits and starts. And it was written on notepads and half-filled notebooks and phone apps and bar napkins….I grew up in a time of a lot of white men writing, Oh, my sad childhood stories. And so, my whole thing was I'm not going to do that, I'm not going to do that.” Isaac Fitzgerald walks through the world with an open heart, and luckily for readers, he takes notes. Dirtbag, Massachusetts is his memoir-in-essays, and it covers plenty of ground, from his unconventional childhood and the librarians who helped change the trajectory of his life, to issues of class and code switching and complicated family dynamics, to the craft of writing and his literary inspirations. He joins us on the show to talk about all that and more, including a few things that didn’t make the book’s final draft, with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake  by Andre Dubus III, Breece D'J Pancake   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“The primary intent of these books is to take a break... have something you can just curl up with for an afternoon. This is a book that is not going to hurt you. And I think that that's so vital in this day and age, to be able to just pause for a second. I want the book to feel like a cup of tea as well... But I wanted to give you the option of chewing on some of the stuff in there.” Hugo Award-winning author Becky Chambers is arguably a master of the space opera, with her complex, hopeful characters and her compelling world-building. Sibling Dex and Mosscap return in A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, the latest book in the Monk and Robot series and Becky joins us on the show to talk about creating a story that incorporates the same comfort as watching your favorite TV show for the 10,000th time, how a good cup of tea can make a bad day better, what’s on her TBR list, and much more with guest host, Allyson Gavaletz. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers Spear by Nicola Griffith How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Ayoki   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): I, Robot by Isaac Asimov A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher   This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“When you're writing a children's book, it shares much relation with horror, because it has to be usually very immediate and very visceral and gripping. Because otherwise the kids are gonna get bored. And your window of opportunity to grab the reader is … longer with horror, you can do the slow creeping dread better, but you have to grab the reader, metaphorically, by the throat.” Whether you know her as Ursula Vernon or T. Kingfisher, one thing is for sure—this Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author always pulls us in with her captivating fantasies and chilling thrillers—which remains true of her two new books, Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead, both releasing this year. Ursula joins us on the show to talk about the fine line between writing children’s books and writing horror and her love for gothic stories, the artwork that inspired this stunning cover, mycology, the lesser-known life of Beatrix Potter, what she’s working on next and what games she’s playing, and much more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe The White People and Other Weird Stories by Arthur Machen The Willows by Algernon Blackwood The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard   This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“But there is joy in advocating for changing of the world for the better, for not allowing the world to tell you who you shall be, but rather reimagining a world in which you can be anything.” Award-winning journalist and professor at Northeastern University Caleb Gayle delivers a stunningly original story of America in his first book, We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power. Caleb joins us on the show to talk about growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, the untold stories of marginalized communities, his hopeful outlook for the future of the country, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gayle   Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“I decided to give myself the license to fail, and to write across gender, to write in the voice of a midwife's daughter. And if the book isn't working, fine, we'll write it from the perspective of the midwife's husband, from some other male character. But I loved it. It was so emancipating to not be me, to not be (at the time) this 30-something dude. And I loved it. And I think, my best books, my best characters, whether it's first person or third person, are women.”   Bestselling author and all-around charmer Chris Bohjalian has written 23 books, including our May 2021 B&N Book Club pick Hour of the Witch, The Flight Attendant—now a hit HBO series—and his latest, The Lioness. Chris joins us on the show to talk about his love of bookstores, not writing the same story twice, researching and asking questions and learning stories, letting his characters guide the plot and going back to the first sentence, geography as a character, and so much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with a TBR Topoff with Marc and Becky riffing on their favorite Bohjalian novels.   Featured Books: Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian Midwives by Chris Bohjalian The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“And so, too often, kids are raised to have empathy for people who look like them, or worship like them or act like them. And we're also taught to have empathy for people who deserve it. And I wanted to convey the importance of raising our kids to have empathy for people who don't look like them or don't live near them. And for us to not make our empathy almost like a tip in which it's transactional."   Award-winning, bestselling author and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Ibram X. Kendi returns with How to Raise an Antiracist, a book that parents, caregivers and teachers won't want to miss. Ibram joins us on the show to talk about his own family's experiences, as well as the intersection of ableism and racism, learning from our children, the importance of joy, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: How to Raise an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi Magnolia Flower by Zora Neale Hurston Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“I never thought I would be writing something where there would be a lot of intricate feelings around the game engine. But then if you think about something like say, like Sally Rooney's Normal People, who would think that you could feel so much passion over whether like, they go to that dance together, you know?” Gabrielle Zevin’s delightful new novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is part love story, part coming of age and entirely unforgettable—which is why it’s our July B&N Book Club pick. Gabrielle joins us on the show for a spoiler-free conversation about her latest book, from the parallels between writing novels and video games, to Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, money and class, creativity, friendship and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (episode) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker Ready Player One by Ernest Cline   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“The most important thing is the reader. I tell my students, Look, if you're writing about yourself, it's great that you want to get your feelings out. You want to maybe, you know, have some catharsis. You want to get the earliest things out. But, if you bore the reader, you're done. You know, and it's important to consider the fact that you're telling a story…this is not a therapy session, you know, you're telling a story. And hopefully that story enlightens, or maybe makes the reader think.” Brian Broome’s acclaimed memoir Punch Me Up to the Gods is a stunning story of love and loss, secrets and shame, sorrow and joy. He joins us on the show for a wise and often very funny conversation about spelling bees and ballet, addiction and recovery, how his memoir is in conversation with Gwendolyn Brooks and bell hooks and James Baldwin, what his students have taught him and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books (Episode): Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity by bell hooks   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones Unprotected by Billy Porter   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“For me, and perhaps for both of us, I think that our greatest sort of skill set is audacity. It's so funny the way people sort of negatively connote ego, but I think it's necessary to have some, because one has to have a little bit of, I mean, like, when we were 20 years old, our whole thing was we're gonna rearrange and change the way people think of the book, right?” Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin have been friends for 20 years and that friendship has led to an incredible artistic collaboration in Ain’t Burned All the Bright and the now reissued My Name is Jason, Mine Too. Jason and Jason join us on the show to talk about how their collaboration works, how they make art (and when the medium matters), masculinity, the incredible range of artists and media that inspire them both, why paper and pencil is sometimes all that you need, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin My Name is Jason, Mine Too by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“It's so painful to me to feel as though the very notion of objective truth or that journalism could be a vehicle for expressing a kind of objective truth is under assault today.” Patrick Radden Keefe is one of the best longform journalists working today, and we’d follow his dogged reporting anywhere, from bestselling books like Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, to his work as a staff writer at The New Yorker, some of which is collected in his latest book, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks. Patrick joins us on the show to talk about the art of the write-around and why access is overrated, how one story can lead to the next (or not), writing about morally complicated people (and the stories they tell themselves), the importance of media literacy and getting the facts right, his literary influences and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesday and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

"So much classic fantasy exists in this sort of timeless state where, you know, whatever fantasy world it's set in has kind of always existed....I've always been really interested in kind of disrupting that and kind of setting my books during periods of like, enormous change and upheaval, like, I'm really interested in the idea of a fantasy world that has not always been the same, because that's not how the world works, and kind of taking apart these things that are really taken for granted.”   Ava Reid knows how to do unforgettable fractured fairy tale retellings with fabulous, fierce heroines, hidden magic and family ties based on Hungarian and Jewish folklore. The Wolf and the Woodsman was her debut novel and her latest, Juniper & Thorn, is a gothic horror retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ The Juniper-Tree, and she joins us on the show to talk about world-building by starting from the present and working backwards, diversifying the stereotypical Eastern European fantasy setting, killing off characters for the right reason, designing the cover art, her upcoming YA fantasy debut, what she’s reading right now, and much more with guest host Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson The Juniper-Tree by Brothers Grimm      Matrix by Lauren Groff Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas, and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“I sort of figured that, having been interested in science from as long as I can remember, I would be a PhD student, and make a career for myself and research. And it turned out that the one hitch with that plan was that I am catastrophically bad at doing actual research. I was the world's worst graduate student….So instead, I thought that I would find a different purpose and better joy in talking and writing about science, which is what I did. That nourishes my soul much more; I get to learn about a lot of really cool things.” An Immense World is the delightful new book from The Atlantic staff writer Ed Yong, and he joins us on the show to talk about meeting animals on their own terms, the connection between Jane Austen and mice, peacocks and The Bee Gees; how hearing is also a kind of touch and how deer-like creatures transformed into whales; his pandemic puppy and his literary inspirations (including Mary Roach) and much more, with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: An Immense World by Ed Yong I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler H Is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I wanted to write something that was going to take me away, literally and metaphorically, literally take me away from sitting with my feelings about the present moment and take me to another place and this time where you couldn't travel at all. I barely left the neighborhood to play out some imagined incredible drama … I think escapism has its purpose, you know, and so does fiction in general, if we want to live in the biggest world possible, we need everybody's imagination to be there in the ether so we can grab it and follow it and follow ourselves through this journey beyond what we know.” Acclaimed author Ottessa Moshfegh (Eileen, My Year of Rest and Relaxation) joins us on the show to take us behind the scenes of Lapvona, her unexpected new novel set in a medieval village. Ottessa riffs on putting so much of what disgusts her into this new novel, writing in the third person, faith, the importance of creating a new topography, what’s next for her and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his guest bookseller, Becky.   Featured Books: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“You know, Marlon James said something once, he said, if you're going to write about the enslaved, and you're not going to write about the resilience, and the brilliance, and the incredible ability to make a life in a brutal system, a life full of love and some joy, then he said, he's not interested in reading that book.” Geraldine Brooks, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, March, is known for her moving historical novels. Her latest, Horse, is a stunning new novel that transports readers between 1850s Kentucky and the present day following a legendary thoroughbred racehorse named Lexington. Geraldine joins us on the show to talk about the real-world experiences of her unforgettable characters and why we still talk about slavery, growing up on the mindset that books are food, reading poetry before writing as part of her creative process, her literary influences and so much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.   Featured Books: Horse by Geraldine Brooks March by Geraldine Brooks Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“...A part of the point of the book was to not shy away from what we shy away from in real life. And one of the things we shy away from in real life is admitting for exactly how long we are a mess and don't know what we're doing.” From her classic essay collections, including I Was Told There Would Be Cake through her last bestselling novel, The Clasp, Sloane Crosley keeps us entertained with her trademark wit, voice and gimlet eye. Her latest, the genre-busting new novel, Cult Classic, is gobs of fun and utterly original, and Sloane joins us on the show to talk about love and relationships and finding our sense of self, the fantasy of consistency, aiming through the wood and at the chopping block, having the same editor (or therapist) for 14 years, her literary influences, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.    Featured Books: Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley The Clasp by Sloane Crosley The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark Pitch Dark by Renata Adler The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“And when you give people the option to kind of live inside the head of a different character … if you're doing your job, and you make it a character that they can see themselves in and they can empathize with, and then you kind of throw these things at them. And then it just changes the way that people think about something.”  For the Throne is the stunning conclusion to the Wilderwood duology that invokes familiar fairy tales with sharp prose and epic world-building, and it’s out now. Hannah joins us on the show to talk about what draws readers to retellings, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as a gateway to all fantasy, writing fanfiction and what she does with all those candles, The Foxglove King, her dream cast, what she’s reading and watching right now and much more with guest host Kat Sarfas.    Featured Books: For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten For the Throne by Hannah Whitten The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas, and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“It was the people really, that convinced me that this was a story not just worth telling, but needed to be told, and needed to be told the right way, in a way that would actually be fun to read and engaging, that would reach broader than an academic audience that would reach deep into the community and say, you know, this is a story about ordinary people trying to get justice in a time and place in America where it's pretty hard to do that…” Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial is the true story of an epic battle of power and justice, good and evil, with heroes to remind us that there is virtue in the world. Corban Addison joins us on the show to talk about his nonfiction legal thriller—a book John Grisham says he wished he'd written—centered on the Black and brown residents of eastern North Carolina, two million hogs and the men who run the big business of pork, along with the ways story connects and empowers communities, the hours of personal interviews and research that informed his writing, what next for him, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson City on Fire by Don Winslow   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“I really wanted to depict the ways that young Black girls are made adults by a culture that sees us as that. And I wanted to show the way that that pressure piles on and what it does to teenage Black girls, who are really often forgotten in our culture.”   Nightcrawling is a powerful story of family, grief and justice with an unforgettable teenage narrator (and equally unforgettable author), and it’s out now. Leila Mottley joins us on the show to talk about writing her first novel at 14, sibling dynamics, the importance of published Black authors, the portrayal of young Black girls in the media, gentrification in Oakland, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.    Featured Books: Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy There There by Tommy Orange   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“Tracy never went away. So yes, you can say I'm bringing her back, but the culture kept her in circulation in a way that was really interesting to me, and at times a little alienating. It’s like you create a character and, suddenly, she's played brilliantly by Reese Witherspoon, and in a sense, that becomes the public's image of the character — and I love that performance as much as anybody. But then Tracy got picked up by political journalists and by the internet as a kind of shorthand for an overly ambitious woman… In a sense she became a kind of touchstone and a shorthand and sometimes a bit of a stereotype, caricature, whatever.” Tracy Flick Can’t Win is the first time Tom Perrotta (Election, Little Children, The Leftovers, Mrs. Fletcher) has revisited a character from one of his bestselling novels, and his timing couldn’t be better. Tom joins us on the show to talk about comic (and counterintuitive) openers, why he returned to Tracy’s orbit, how our own stories change over time, mental gymnastics, why he doesn’t see himself as a satirist, adapting his work for the screen and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: Tracy Flick Can’t Win by Tom Perrotta Election by Tom Perrotta   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I missed it so much. And definitely didn't get it or appreciate the specialness of it, or this particular beauty of it … until you have to show up at a party full of strangers. And answer that, where are you from question so many times. I'm not sure I would have written this book, if I didn't have to do that over and over and over again, in so many different places.” That’s Katie Runde, riffing on the Jersey Shore; it’s more than just the setting for her debut novel, The Shore, it’s a character in its own right. Katie joins us on the show to talk about writing a coming-of-age novel for an entire family, homesickness, grief, sisterhood, jump-starting her own writing career with help from Jami Attenberg’s #1000wordsofsummer + a Catapult class + a Tin House workshop, her literary inspirations for this book and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his guest bookseller, Becky.   Featured Books: The Shore by Katie Runde Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong Wild by Cheryl Strayed   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I was very, very unintentionally smart in that I started it as a short story, I genuinely believed it was a short story, which was good, because if I hadn't sat down and said, I'm now going to write my first novel I'd probably still be working on it, but because it was a short story that got longer and became a long story, and then became a novella. And then like, Oh, I'm writing the book that I want in the world, both as a person and as an editor.” David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy is one of the most charming rom-coms we’ve ever read, and David joins us on the show to talk about his development as a writer and editor, the power of story, his creative process, his writing partnerships with Rachel Cohn (Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares) and others, his literary influences, Heartstopper, what he’s learned from his readers and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his guest bookseller, Rhys. Featured Books: Boy Meets Boy (B&N Exclusive Edition) by David Levithan Every Day by David Levithan Answers in the Pages by David Levithan Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.  

“I didn't want it to be just a very overwhelming dark book. I mean, it has so much tragedy that I had to balance that I wanted to make it part of, you know, light and airy and fun and frothy and feminine to contrast with what's going to happen. I think there's power in that contrast ... I felt like it can't all be this very goth all the time, this very gothic world, the kind of fog-on-the-Moors kind of thing…” We were utterly thrilled by Sarai Walker’s debut novel, Dietland—inspired in part by beauty culture and in part by Fight Club (yep, that one)—and we’re delighted by her newest, The Cherry Robbers. Sarai joins us on the show to talk about sisterhood, love, marriage, romance, feminism, her literary inspirations (including Emily Dickinson and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life), and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his bookseller guest, Becky.   Featured Books: The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker Dietland by Sarai Walker Life After Life by Kate Atkinson   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

"And I had to actually give up and say, Okay, maybe I'll go to the grave not having written a novel, and I don't have to carry around shame about that. I can just do the kind of writing that I'm maybe better at or that it is my calling to do, and the moment I stopped putting so much pressure on myself and stopped making it a big ego drama about me, that actually opened up space in my creative life for me to enter the hearts and minds of all these characters who were all keeping secrets from one another.” Steve Almond—bestselling author, co-host of The Dear Sugars podcast, writing teacher—has just published his first novel, All the Secrets of the World, and he joins us on the show to talk about revisiting California in the 80s, keeping empathy for all of his characters, his literary influences (including Kurt Vonnegut, George Saunders and Lorrie Moore), share some great writing advice, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: All the Secrets of the World by Steve Almond William Stoner and the Battle for Inner Life by Steve Almond Stoner by John Williams   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I'm always coming back to Chicasetta, in the same way that Ernest Gaines always comes back to Bayonne parish. And William Faulkner always comes back to that county that I cannot pronounce, your top or whatever it is, right. You know, in the same way that Louise Erdrich returns to the particular reservation, I'm always coming back to these characters.” Finalist for the National Book Award, poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers has conjured an epic and indelible story of an American family with The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois; beautifully written, it’s a story we never wanted to end (and you won’t either). Honorée joins us on the show to talk about love and home and family, the legacy of slavery, colorism, feminism, writing about Black joy, Lucille Clifton, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his bookseller guest, Becky. Featured Book: The Long Songs of W.E.B Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I had a dream about them. I have like these really cinematic dreams. And I woke up from this one. And I was like, this is a fantastic, messy little story, this is a love triangle that I want to read about. I want to—as a reader, as a viewer—I want to see this play out. And the only way I could get it to play out was to you know, write it.” Critically acclaimed author Akwaeke Emezi (Freshwater, The Death of Vivek Oji, and Pet, among other novels) delivers a page-turning modern romance in their fabulous new novel, You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. They join us on the show to talk about their love of romance novels and belief in love at first sight, grief and growing up, celebrity and food, fun and sex, their own work in the visual arts, the writers and artists who inspire them, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Book:  You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“…You have to have so much primary source material that you are drowning, you think you can never get through it all. That's the only way you get dialogue, you get all those details, you know, that really make you feel like you're there and kind of at you just like sinking into the story and forgetting everything else.” We’ll follow bestselling author Candice Millard anywhere at any time—her latest book, River of the Gods, takes us on the epic search for the head of the Nile River with Sir Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke and Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the man who helped them succeed (and stay alive). Candice joins us on the show to talk about the stories and the characters behind “one of the greatest mysteries in this history of human exploration,” her field research and writing process, human nature, disease and disaster, the writers who’ve inspired her and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations featuring Marc and his bookseller guest, Erin.   Featured Books: River of the Gods by Candice Millard The River of Doubt by Candice Millard   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“That was really what I wanted to get at. The relationships that you have with the people who you love so much, and who you're so close with that you don't have to talk to them all the time.” All of Emma Straub’s novels have big beating hearts, no matter who or what or where or when she’s writing about. This Time Tomorrow is her “autobiographical time travel novel” and it’s an absolute delight. Emma joins us on the show to talk about why she writes, giving herself permission to try something new, how she set her rules for time travel (and how she stays grounded), her horrifying teenage diaries, bookselling and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and bookseller guest Becky.   Featured Books: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead Desperate Characters by Paula Fox   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“But then when I read that Raymond Carver said he didn't have the ability to write, you know, a full novel. He was a sprinter and I thought, Oh, maybe I could do it. Is there any such thing as a half a paragraph short story, because that was all I had the focus for. So, it took me a long, long time to write this book.” Actress (Cruel Intentions, Hellboy, Legally Blonde), model, muse to Karl Lagerfeld, mom to a young son, subject of an indelible documentary (Introducing, Selma Blair on discovery+), now author of the memoir Mean Baby, Selma Blair joins us on the show to talk about the title of her book, her relationship with her mother and mentors Ingrid Sischy of Interview Magazine and Carrie Fisher, her love of Joan Didion and C.S. Lewis, the village that came together to help her get her memoir into the world, living with multiple sclerosis and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his bookseller guest Becky.   Featured Books: Mean Baby by Selma Blair The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“For me, part of the fun of coming-of-age novels, both reading and writing, is getting to have that adult perspective on these youthful moments and kind of allow you to make sense of them in a way you couldn't before; it can allow you to forgive yourself for some of the things maybe you did, it can allow you to laugh at some of the things that horrified you, and that can bring peace and joy and resolution.” It’s been a minute since Alison Espach’s debut novel The Adults — she joins us on the show to talk about the inspiration behind her new novel, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, writing love stories, sitting with grief, her obsession with the passage of time in life and in books, Lorrie Moore’s Self-Help, and much more with Poured Over’s Host, Miwa Messer. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach Self-Help by Lorrie Moore   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I was thinking about caretaking. And I was thinking about mothers because I lost my mom last year, but just the places that feel familiar and how they almost become characters in our heads. Like when I think about the house where I grew up, and I can remember it so specifically right down to the way like the closet smelled or when I think about all the time I spent in Cape Cod, the way the sand on the beach feels at low tide or the way the wind sounds when it's late at night.” Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner (Mrs. Everything and That Summer, among others) joins us on the show to take us behind the scenes of her newest novel, The Summer Place, and talk about love and loss, family and home, motherhood, money and much more with B&N’s Marie Cummings. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Book:  The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (and occasional Saturdays)   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

"…It's like if Tim Burton decorated Versailles for Halloween…” Heather Walter’s queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty kicked off with Malice, which we think of as more than just a remix to a familiar story—It's a complex, character-driven story with action, political intrigue, betrayal, and of course, a slow burn romance ... Heather’s closing out her Malice duology with Misrule, and she joins us on the show to talk about good vs. evil, why readers love morally grey characters, the fun she has writing her novels, what she’s reading and recommending now, what’s next (hint: Anne Boleyn) and much more with B&N’s Kat Sarfas. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Misrule by Heather Walter Malice by Heather Walter   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“For me, the novel form is the greatest expression because it has that room, that latitude to really explore for the full complexity of human existence and psychology and diversity, and there's no other single format that I think comes close, even with the amazing ways in which television drama has grown and become more complex and more satisfying, I still think that it's the novel form that did it first, and still does it best.” Monica Ali made a splash with her Booker-nominated debut novel, Brick Lane — and she's back with a new novel, Love Marriage, a story of love and family and manners set in modern-day London. Monica joins us on the show to talk about her unforgettable characters, balancing comedy and tragedy, Jane Austen's influence, what screenwriting taught her about novel writing, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Love Marriage by Monica Ali   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“And the title, of course, has this double meaning, the financial meaning of trust, and let's call it, emotional meaning of trust … To what extent can I trust this voice and the book, to a large extent is questioning the contracts we enter into as readers.” Hernan Diaz follows up his acclaimed debut novel, In the Distance (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), with Trust, a stunning book-about-a-book, an exploration of capital and greed and the making of myths. Hernan joins us on the show to talk about how the stories of Great Men influenced his latest, bringing women back into the story of American business and capital, authenticity, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and other literary influences, why he writes, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the segment with a TBR Topoff segment featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Trust by Hernan Diaz Frankenstein by Mary Shelley                Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I grew up hearing The Ramayana over lunch. My grandma would tell me little bits and pieces to me and my younger sister, she would tell us little bits and pieces every day. And we would ask to hear the same stories over and over again.” If you’re a fan of imaginative retellings like Circe, Ariadne and The Witch’s Heart, you don’t want to miss Vaishnavi Patel’s Kaikeyi. Vaishnavi joins us on the show to talk about the origins of her debut novel, her love of retellings and epic fantasy, what writing her first novel taught her about herself, balancing law school with writing fiction, Season 2 of Bridgerton and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured books: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel The Ramayana The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“And so then, I felt like that's when I had to go back to the beginning of telling my story of sort of rediscovering the young Viola, who definitely may have been traumatized, but was pure.” Multi-award-winning actress Viola Davis has poured herself into the characters she portrays on the big screen and on stage. And, now, in her most deeply personal and inspiring role yet, as author, she has released her memoir, Finding Me — out now. Viola joins us on the show to talk about rediscovering the younger version of herself in order to write this book, the impact of Miss Cicely Tyson and August Wilson, the magic of artistry, the Black best friend role, the freedom and bravery that came with playing Annalise Keating, the connection between joy and peace and trauma, the radical act of forgiveness and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Finding Me by Viola Davis Educated by Tara Westover The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown Native Son by Richard Wright Black Boy by Richard Wright A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry A History of God by Karen Armstrong   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“And I think it's just overall her humanity and her recognition of what other people could accomplish. If you just say the right things, if you create the right chemistry, that really drove me to her. And she does—she has her own chemistry with everyone in the book.” That’s Bonnie Garmus talking about Elizabeth Zott, the unforgettable center of Bonnie’s debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. Bonnie joins us on the show to talk about her spectacular characters, never giving up (and the writing advice that helped her the most when she was stuck), having empathy for all of her characters (even the evil ones), a most extraordinary dog, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, rowing, what she’s reading now, how writing a novel is scarier than open water swimming, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus On Animals by Susan Orlean Rationality by Steven Pinker The Friend by Sigrid Nunez The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro The Secret History by Donna Tartt Moby-Dick by Herman Melville The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I didn't want that more traditional kind of arc of childhood to a certain stance of wisdom or resignation or triumph. I wanted—partly because I felt with Negroland, and very much with this book—that ability to change persona, change my position, to acknowledge that one was performing at times, and that one played many, many roles … I wanted to be able to take in all of that, and a traditional memoir structure wasn't going to allow it.” Margo Jefferson is one of our most astute and elegant cultural critics, full stop. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, she’s also the acclaimed author of several books, including her latest, Constructing a Nervous System. Margo joins us on the show to talk about finding a new language for criticism, engaging with art on her own terms, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald, investigating herself as a critic and a teacher, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with another set of TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Constructing a Nervous System: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson Negroland by Margo Jefferson Song of the Lark by Willa Cather   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“There's an intense pleasure in viewing the flaws of the people around you and saying, I'm not a part of that, even if maybe at the beginning you want to be or even maybe you still do, but you learn to come from where you stand. And that's part of what Jordan is doing. She's very comfortable in her discomfort…” Nghi Vo won the Hugo Award for Debut Novella with The Empress of Salt and Fortune, the first volume of her Singing Hills Cycle. Nghi’s remixed and remastered The Great Gatsby for her new paperback, The Chosen and the Beautiful, and she joins us on the show to talk about re-imagining an American classic with a layer of magic, taking Gatsby out of the male gaze and putting Jordan Baker in the center of everything, the art of Vietnamese paper cutting, interesting arc of her career (starting with the slush pile), her next novel, Siren Queen (based on the life of Anna May Wong) and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo Siren Queen by Nghi Vo Pussy, King of the Pirates by Kathy Acker   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“Leonard Cohen is like my all-time favorite musician … I, all my life, have had this reaction to sad music, of not feeling sad at all when I listened to it. Instead, what I feel is a kind of sense of uplift, and a sense of wonder and awe that a musician could take pain and turn it into beauty. And most of all, a kind of sense of connection with the musician and with all the other people who are listening to it. It's a kind of like beautiful acknowledgement that the state of being human involves loss and involves sorrow.” Susan Cain changed the way we think about introverts with her first bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, and now she’s going to change the way we approach some difficult feelings with Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. Susan joins us on the show to talk about the thinkers and poets who influenced the new book, the veneer of effortless belonging, resolving her own grief, impermanence, collective creativity (and shifting our communal thinking), Susan David’s concept of Emotional Agility, how writing this book changed her and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain Gold by Rumi   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“I knew that after writing this sweeping family portrait that goes over about 40 years in the Bain family's history, that for my next novel, I wanted to write something that was very focused, that was quite propulsive, and quite edited in the scope and the time that we spend with the characters. And so, for me, it was about romance. It's about that love between these two young men.” Douglas Stuart has charmed more than a million and a half readers with his National Booker Award and Booker Prize-winning debut novel, Shuggie Bain. Douglas joins us on the show to talk about his incredible new novel, Young Mungo, optimism, writing about the working class and being gay, masculinity, love, mobility, Margaret Thatcher’s legacy, the importance of having a plan before you sit down to write, the writers who inspire him, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy   Poured Over is hosted and produced by Miwa Messer. This episode was mixed by Chris Gillespie. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   A full transcript of this show is available here.

“You know, beauty is such an interesting term. I think it's really important how vast and complex it is … we call people beautiful, I call my dog beautiful every day. I call food I eat beautiful, I call bitter, bitter coffee, beautiful, I call an idea beautiful. A mathematical concept can be beautiful, a sunset, the natural world, a performance, a song, certainly works of art, but … I've heard myself say, What a beautiful attempt, a failed attempt, but a beautiful or like a beautiful mistake, what a beautiful mistake that was, a beautiful error or a beautiful cutting remark even, so it's such an interesting term, because we can use it in so many ways.” Easy Beauty is Chloé Cooper Jones’ first book, and it’s an incredibly smart and provocative combination of memoir, travel essay and philosophical treatise on beauty and our experience with beauty, and it’s out now. Chloé joins us on the show to talk about what beauty looks and feels like to her, how it feels to live in a body that people stare at (and touch without invitation), how we talk and think about disability, vulnerability and self-acceptance, and so much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer. This episode was mixed by Chris Gillespie. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   A full transcript of the show is available here.

“True Biz is an ASL idiom. It doesn't have one direct translation into English, but a few of the things that it could mean: seriously, literally. Real talk is one that I think gets used a lot. No kidding. Like, if someone says like, No, you made that up, no true biz, you know, and I thought that it was a good title for the book, because it doesn't quite translate directly into English.” We’ve been fans of Sara Nović since her page-turning, coming-of-age debut, Girl at War. Sara’s back with a new novel, True Biz, which she calls both a “coming-of-age and a coming-of-middle-age” story set at a school for the Deaf. She joins us on the show to talk about CODA’s Oscars, Deaf culture and degrees of Deaf experience, punk rock, the fluidity of ASL and how best to represent it on the printed page, giving her Deaf characters agency and the space to be real teenagers, writing joy into her story and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: True Biz by Sara Nović Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer. This episode was mixed by Chris Gillespie. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“I really wrote it for me, I didn't think anything would come about — I wanted something that could bring me a bit of joy, where Asian American characters could live their lives and do something as fun and ridiculous as robbing art museums across the world.” Grace D. Li loves a caper flick, and now she’s written Portrait of a Thief, a caper novel with a very fun Chinese American cast. Grace joins us on the show to talk about the true story that inspired her debut, the Chinese diaspora, calling Texas home, the movies that inspired her fiction, the books she’s reading and recommending now, being a medical student who writes fiction on the side, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li Chemistry by Weike Wang Joan is OKAY by Weike Wang The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok Fault Lines by Emily Itami   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

"In the end, all the good ideas and sort of fancy craft approaches get you absolutely nothing if there's no emotional content. That's what it is. I mean, fiction is about going inside other people's minds and consciousnesses and looking through their eyes and living their lives in a way and that's all about emotions.” Jennifer Egan challenged the way many of us thought about how (but not why) we tell stories in A Visit from the Goon Squad—which went on to win the Pulitzer. She joins us on our 100th episode of the show to talk about her latest, The Candy House, which she describes as a “sibling novel” to Goon Squad, along with truth and time and space and memory and nostalgia, the interplay between tech and story (including finding poetry in elliptical, 140-character tweets), finding inspiration in slightly unexpected places like baseball and Dungeons + Dragons, returning to characters she never really left (including the peripheral ones), and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: The Candy House by Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust The Three Pigs by David Weisner The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, introduction by Jennifer Egan Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

“I love being immersed in the grand project of a novel. When I was a kid, I was drawn to books about secret worlds, like The Secret Garden, or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where you disappear to the back of a wardrobe…” How many times have you re-read Emily St. John Mandel’s genre-blending novels Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel? Emily joins us on the show to talk about her latest novel Sea of Tranquility — our April 2022 Barnes & Noble Book Club pick­ — along with what she loves most about writing, breaking the rules of time + space, how character development makes an imaginary world real, the writers and books who inspire her, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff segment featuring Margie and Marc.   Featured Books: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu The Executioner’s Song by Normal Mailer Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky White Teeth by Zadie Smith   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   A full transcript of this episode is available here.

“…Cynical as he is of the world that he encounters, he's also pretty cynical and critical of himself. And that manifests itself in that sense of humor that you're talking about not a light-hearted sense of humor, but a very cynical and dark sense of humor, a sense of the absurd.” Viet Thanh Nguyen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer and The Committed (now out in paperback), among other books, joins us on the show to riff on the return of his unnamed narrator, why he followed his prize-winning spy thriller with a crime novel set in 1980s Paris, how his novels are in conversation with Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the American canon, his literary inspirations and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee American Spy by Lauren Wilkerson The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré The Land at the End of the World by António Lobo Antunes Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Quiet American by Graham Greene   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us her for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)   A full transcript of the show is available here.

“As you might imagine, over the years, many people heard stories about my family. And they said, Hey, why don't you write a memoir? I really wasn't very interested in writing a memoir as I perceived a memoir to be, so the idea of spending years working on a book about the issues in my immediate family, which I grew up with, and was intimately familiar with, it felt like I would be locked in a closet with that somehow. And then I became sort of interested in looking backward...” Maud Newton used to believe her research into her family’s genealogy was just a distraction from the novel she’d been working on. Not so. Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation is just out, and Maud joins us on the show to talk about where her curiosity took her, DNA sleuthing, facing her family’s legacies (genetic + historical + behavioral), epigenetics, what Harry Crews taught her about writing, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured book: Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation by Maud Newton And a few of the books that Maud mentions in hers: Where I Was From by Joan Didion The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould The Mistress’s Daughter by AM Homes Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love by Dani Shapiro Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora by Emily Raboteau Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Poured Over is produced and hosted Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)  

“They're not all villains and all heroes, I think a lot of people are very morally gray…” The atmospheric and haunting Wild and Wicked Things is a beautifully written tale of queer love in an alternative post-WWI England that invokes the glittering world of Gatsby with a blend of blood magic and gothic mystique. Francesca May joins us on the show to talk about the appeal of The Great Gatsby, the power of community, the thin line between good and wicked, reinventing the ideals of class and privilege, spirit animals and so much more.   Featured in this episode: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan   This episode of Poured Over was hosted and produced by Elani Wilson and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“We should call no future unthinkable and no future unimaginable. We have to be willing to think about the hard things and ready ourselves for them, we also have to free ourselves from the limitations of the present so that we can find refuge in the future that we want.” Futurist and game designer Jane McGonigal wants to help you change your brain with her new book, Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything — Even Things That Seem Impossible Today, and she joins us on the show to talk about when the future starts, Dator’s Law (any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous), normalcy bias, how our future selves are strangers to us, curiosity + empathy, mental time travel, the writers who inspire her, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured in this episode: Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything — Even Things That Seem Impossible Today by Jane McGonigal Rebecca Solnit’s books Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays.)

“The original impulse to write a book for this age was knowing that this is a time of identity formation for me, curiosity about the outside world. And I guess I wanted to make an offering in that space … I just wanted to write a book with an Asian American protagonist. And I thought, how cool it would have been for me at that age to see that at the library.” Actor John Cho (Searching, Better Luck Tomorrow, Star Trek, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) steps into a new role, author, with the publication of Troublemaker, his first book for middle grade readers. John joins us on the show to talk about why he needed to write this book now (it wasn’t what he originally pitched to his editor); the legacy of 4/29 in the Korean American community and the murder of Latasha Harlins; his fondness for the Little House series; the elasticity of the English language (and not using italics to call out Korean words) and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Troublemaker by John Cho The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder IQ by Joe Ide Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha   Poured Over is hosted and produced by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“My book starts in my brain with me telling myself a story. And I choose not to write it down, as I'm thinking about it. Sometimes for months, sometimes even maybe for a couple of years. My feeling is that if I stop thinking about it, or stop daydreaming about the story, then it's died a natural death in my brain and shouldn't make it to the page.” Nine strangers, one determined detective and plenty of devious ways to die; Peter Swanson’s latest whodunnit, Nine Lives, is a creepy, entertaining ride, and he joins us on the show to talk about Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell and his other literary influences, Maine, trading poetry for crime fiction, and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“And within that time, I realized that the story needed to be about regular citizens. But because so much had been written, I found myself needing a new way of telling the story, a story that was very public, that was on everybody's lips.” In 2017, Robert Mugabe was deposed in coup, an act that novelist NoViolet Bulawayo never thought she would see in her lifetime. She joins us on the show to talk about her fantastic new novel, Glory, the distance she needed to write a novel about the fall of a freedom fighter turned dictator and the chaos that followed, George Orwell’s Animal Farm and other literary influences, the power of story and social media, her faith in a new generation and hope for the future, and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo Animal Farm by George Orwell   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“The thing that really sort of blew me away, one of the reasons why we have sort of the type of poetry that we have today and the type of literature that we have today — it bloomed and was, I think, seeded in some ways by Sylvia Plath and her experience.” Lee Kravetz joins us on the show to talk about his unexpected and entertaining debut novel, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., part literary mystery, part portrait of an immensely talented young woman and her impact on the world around her. Lee tells us about re-reading The Bell Jar, what he learned about poetry in order to write his new novel, the connection between confessional poetry of the 1960s and grunge music of the 1990s, the writers who’ve influenced him, and much more.   Featured books: The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. by Lee Kravetz The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Life Studies and For the Union Dead by Robert Lowell The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays).

“The book's title comes from Josephine Baker’s speech at the March on Washington … she was speaking to a crowd that was younger, and maybe did not know her from her heyday of performance. And she compels them to go and ask their parents and grandparents about her and the system, They'll tell you that I was a devil and they'll be right. I was a devil in other countries. And I was a little devil in America, too.” Hanif Abdurraqib ­— MacArthur genius grant recipient, National Book Award finalist and winner of a Carnegie Medal from the American Library Association — joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, which is dedicated to the iconic Josephine Baker and just out in paperback. Hanif riffs on what joy sounds like to him, magician Ellen Armstrong, the line between consumption and affection, what performance means for himself and others, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Books: A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib A Fortune for Your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqib   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays).

“…A big part of this book is to have a more whole picture of our history here. It is the last 30 years, 90s to now, but we do devote a big chunk of the before as well because we want to plant those roots and say This began a long time ago. Let's at least start this conversation where we acknowledge and have a more deep understanding of our history. It doesn't all end with this book either." Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang join us on the show to talk about their fabulous, beautifully illustrated new book, Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now, which covers all things—not just East—Asian American. Jeff, Phil and Philip riff on where we’re really from, things we love, what the words Asian American and representation really mean, Vincent Chin, Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians, Jeff and Phil’s podcast They Call Us Bruce, and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.   Featured Book: Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“If you want to create art, and you want to create art the way you want to, and it's just for you, that's fine. But if you want to have a writing career, then my advice is...” Olivie Blake’s dark academic fantasy debut, The Atlas Six, has a cult following for a reason (believe the hype!) and she joins us on the show to talk about her character-driven epic (and which of her characters appeared first), her writing process and what she’s learned over time, her daydream playlists, what she’s reading and watching, and so much more.   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas, and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays).   Featured Books: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Book of Night (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition) by Holly Black

“I'm writing about group creativity, which is not something we often do … what's interesting to me is what happens in the friction between people's minds through conversations, through discussion, through the exchange of ideas, through debate, through sort of egging one another on … bringing about any idea that's going to sort of undermine the nature of reality as we know it.” Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic joins us on the show to talk about his fascinating new book, The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, including the story behind the Ph.D. he earned in order to write it, how he found the people who drive his narrative from 17th-century France to present-day Minneapolis, how technology helps (or hurts) the exchange of ideas, and so much more.   Featured Books: The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas by Gal Beckerman Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65 by Taylor Branch At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 by Taylor Branch King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

“I sketched out some of these pool scenes a long, long time ago, maybe 15 years ago, but just you know, a few paragraphs. And then I don't know, I put them in a drawer somewhere...” It’s been 20 years since Julie Otsuka’s sublime debut, When the Emperor was Divine, almost 10 since the collective voice of The Buddha in the Attic. Julie’s third novel, The Swimmers, is just out, and she joins us on the show to talk about her elegant, witty and elegiac new book and its “soft beating heart,” the joy (and comedy) she found writing about this community, writing in pencil (and more of her creative process), silence and memory, and more.   Featured books: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway Intimacies by Katie Kitamura   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

“It's a great question. And no one has ever asked me that question. I think it's taught me about how to construct the arc of a narrative.” We’ve learned so much from Debbie Millman and her fabulous interviews on her long-running podcast Design Matters. Since 2005, Debbie’s introduced us to incredible thinkers from a variety of disciplines, and now 55 of the more than 500 interviews she’s done are collected in a beautiful (and provocative) new book, Why Design Matters. Debbie joins us on the show to talk about what design has taught her about interviewing, how she never really planned to be a designer (and what changed), her research process, the stories we tell ourselves about images, what’s next for her, and much more.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   Featured Book: Why Design Matters by Debbie Millman

“Believe me, there probably was not a day that went by where I didn't say to myself, What on earth am I doing? And why did I take this on? Early on in the process, I was talking with a Churchill expert over breakfast in Washington, DC, and he was basically asking me, Why on earth are you doing this? And my answer to him, which stuck throughout the whole project, is that it's all in the telling.” The Splendid and the Vile spent most of 2020 and ‘21 on top of the bestseller charts, and it’s just out in paperback. Erik Larson joins us on the show to talk about the craft of writing, how his background in journalism prepared him for a career writing bestselling books, how he conducts his research, the fiction that inspires him, the surprises he uncovered while writing about one of the world’s most-documented men, and more. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   Featured books:           The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson The Alienist by Caleb Carr

“There's a reason why all our old stories are fantastical and mythological, and why our fairy tales are so old. Because I think there is something in these mythologies and these folklore stories that tell us something about ourselves. And we've always done it, we've always put it into fantastical to explain the real.” Marlon James returns with Moon Witch, Spider King, the second installment of his Dark Star trilogy, and this time, Sogolon the witch is center stage. Marlon joins us on the show to talk about the reality behind fantasy and the fantasy behind reality, false starts, his fascination with court intrigue, WWBD? (What Would Boo Do?), handing the story over to his characters, his playlist and his podcast (Marlon and Jake Read Dead People), and more. Featured books: Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Restoration by Rose Tremain Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo East of Eden by John Steinbeck   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“...It means the world to me to witness any kind of massive scale love of books.” Sarah J. Maas knows how to build worlds that readers never want to leave. The second installment of her fiery (and spicy) Crescent City series, House of Sky and Breath, is just out and Sarah joins us on the show to riff on #booktok, fandom, the screen adaptation she’s working on with Ron Moore, her love of Lord of the Rings and Jane Austen, her playlists, and more.  Featured Books:  House of Sky and Breath and House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen   This episode of Poured Over was produced by Miwa Messer, hosted by Kat Sarfas, and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

“I wrote The Sum of Us in the hopes that people would read it together, that people from all walks of life, different backgrounds, whether they're connected by something, a community, a school, a workplace, would pick it up and find for each person, a way into the story of America's troubled history with racism, and then a way out together.” Trained as a lawyer, and an expert in economic and social policy, Heather McGhee also excels at getting Americans to tell their stories — and look for solutions. Her urgent, important book, The Sum of Us is just out in paperback and she joins us on the show to talk about The Zero-Sum Hierarchy, The American Dream and other stories (and stereotypes) we tell ourselves, where we can go from here, the writers who inspire her, and more. Featured Books: The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with bonus episodes on occasional Saturdays).

“You know, when I wrote the book, I sort of thought it would resonate with a fairly narrow… I was writing it for people who are more or less like me, you know, little girls who grew up in junkyards and didn't go to school, and then going to college and everything changed.” Tara Westover’s memoir was a massive hit with readers everywhere when it was first published; four years later, Educated is out in paperback, and Tara joins us on the show to talk about choices and boundaries, family and home, how excited she is for new readers to come to the book in paperback, what’s next for her and much more. Featured Books: Educated by Tara Westover Second Place by Rachel Cusk Playing and Reality by D.W. Winnicott Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, translated by Lydia Davis. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus eps on Saturdays).  

“The Nineties were the last decade that we're ever going to talk about as a decade…” Chuck Klosterman has been challenging how we think, see and hear since his first book, Fargo Rock City, in 2001 to 2016’s But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. He joins us on the show to talk about his new book, The Nineties, Gen X, the end of monoculture, the rise of independent moviemaking, The New Sincerity, Nevermind + Exile in Guyville and more.   Featured Books: The Nineties, Fargo Rock City and Eating the Dinosaur, all by Chuck Klosterman.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus eps on Saturdays).

“And fiction is all about obstacles. It's all about misapprehension, misunderstanding, lack of information, lack of connection, and the problems that come up, arise out of those things.” Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Chang-rae Lee’s most recent novel, My Year Abroad, is now out in paperback and it's unlike anything he’s written before. Chang-rae joins us on the show to talk about homecomings and hunger, the limitless imagination of a new generation of immigrants, his 20-year-old narrator and the sense of play at the heart of this new book, what’s on the syllabus for his Asian American autobiography class at Stanford, and much more.   Featured books: My Year Abroad, Native Speaker and Aloft, all by Chang-rae Lee.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“But I do feel like I was on a quest as a writer, for my work to get bigger. I just wanted it to contain a larger portion of the world than it started off with… I tried to make it large in its emotional scope, as well as in the amount of action that happens in it.” Lan Samantha Chang did, in fact, have as much fun writing our February 2022 B&N Book Club pick, The Family Chao, as we had reading it. She joins us on the show to talk about her post-immigrant novel, the brothers Chao themselves and the debt they owe to The Brothers Karamazov, wanting to throw away the rules of writing she'd been taught, Philip Roth’s fiction, a dog called Alf, and more. Featured Books: The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“It's about people following their passions, and it's about falling in love for the first time whether that love is romantic, or with a professional industry.” Anatomy: A Love Story is everything Noble Blood’s creator and host Dana Schwartz loves in a story: spooky and fast-paced with a dash of romance, a perfect mix for the BN YA Book Club, and our pick for February ‘22. Dana joins us on the show to talk about her love of story and her creative process, finding her voice, the books that inspire her, explain the delights of reading historical fiction, and more.   Featured books: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood Little by Edward Carey Fingersmith by Sarah Waters   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“If you aren't writing your story in America, your story is being written for you. And if you're not telling your story, your story is being told to you….I was able to create my own superhero origin story when I was 10 years old.” Left-handed, lactose intolerant, wisecracking Wajahat Ali joins us on the show to talk about his first book, Go Back to Where You Came From, growing up brown and Muslim in the Bay Area, his parents’ time in jail, trading his law degree for the writer’s life, becoming a playwright with help from Ishmael Reed (and what Toni Morrison said to him after Ishmael Reed introduced them) and more in this very funny and fast-moving episode. Featured Book: Go Back to Where You Came From by Wajahat Ali. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).   [1:40 PM] Miwa Messer Elani/Chris - just fixed a typo (follow us not follow up)  

“I want my readers to be entertained. And if possible, to take a look at that period of that century that was so fascinating, a time of violence, and change, and great steps forward for humanity…” Isabel Allende’s epic new novel, Violeta, is out now, and she joins us on the show to talk about memory and history and justice, love and freedom and family, her creative process (and what the date January 8th means to her) and much more. Featured books: Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The Soul of a Woman and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

"…I read every day. Reading feels like part of my identity…[it] feels essential as a writer to be reading always.” Imani Perry is the acclaimed author of Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry and Breathe: A Letter to My Sons among other books; her latest, South to America, is an extraordinary blend of personal memoir and American history, and she joins us on the show to talk about her travels around the American South, the people she spoke with and the friendships she made, her own mother’s story, and the writers she holds close, including Kiese Laymon, Jesmyn Ward, Sarah M. Broom, and Richard Wright. Featured Books: South to America by Imani Perry, The Yellow House by Sarah Broome, and Native Son by Richard Wright. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“…Try reading it out loud. That's what I do. I read the whole book out loud, seven or eight times…four or five times… before it ever goes to edit. I believe that writing was made to be heard.” From the age of five, John Darnielle knew he was going to be a storyteller, and he joins us on the show to talk about the structure and the shifting perspectives of his new novel, Devil House, who has standing to tell a story, the difference between touring and performing as an author instead of a musician, the books he loved as a boy, why we should all be reading literature in translation and so much more. Featured Books: Devil House by John Darnielle, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, and No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

“…So much of American media is, As long as we have each other, it doesn't matter what happens, we're going to be fine. I don't always think that's true. Circumstances can really tear families apart. But, you know, I'm not going to write Succession.” Weike Wang follows up her acclaimed debut novel, Chemistry, with the deadpan, darkly comic Joan is Okay. She joins us on the show to talk about how (and why) work becomes home for Joan, family and grief and William Faulkner, the horror of Mickey Rooney’s yellowface performance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and much more.  Featured books: Joan is Okay and Chemistry by Weike Wang, Convenience Store Woman by Sayata Murata, The Stranger by Albert Camus, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, and The Art of Revision by Peter Ho Davies. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“Well, this is the thing about being an overnight success after forty years.” Bernardine Evaristo made history when Girl, Woman, Other won the 2019 Booker Prize, for she is the first Black woman and the first Black British person to have won the coveted prize in its more than fifty-year history. Bernardine joins us on the show to talk about her fabulous memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, “overnight fame” (after decades of work in literature and the theater), her creative process, the writers who’ve inspired her work in the theater and on the page—and she even offers some advice for those who are stuck in their work and see no way through. Featured books: Manifesto: On Never Giving Up and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“I think bookstores are really magical places, and not to be too idealistic about it, I really think that they're so important, they're cornerstones to communities, and they are treasures and we need to keep them alive.” Jami Attenberg, author of St. Mazie and The Middlesteins, among other novels, joins us on the show to talk about her first memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing My Way Home, as well as the difference between loneliness and solitude, managing anxiety, her life as a writer, the books her book club has convinced her to read, her #1000wordsofsummer project, and more. (If writing a book is one of your goals for ’22, you don’t want to miss this episode.) Featured books: I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home, St. Maizie and The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg, Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell, the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Intimacies by Katie Kitamura. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

“This is not just for us to say, ‘How interesting’ now we know three more people, it's for us to say, ‘What can we do now that we know their stories?’" Anna Malaika Tubbs delves into the stories of Alberta King, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin in our January Nonfiction Pick, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. Anna joins us on the show to talk about the importance of reclaiming Black women’s stories, motherhood and the lives women lead before they have children, the moments of joy she found writing this book, and much more. Featured Books: The Three Mothers by Anna Malaika Tubbs, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, and In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens by Alice Walker. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays.

“And when you are lucky enough as a writer to have your book be found, and then have it be a source of someone's passion, someone who is not normally spoken to by the book publishing industry, who then with generosity and real passion, finds a way to tell other people about it, you cannot get luckier than that.” Hanya Yanagihara’s second novel, A Little Life was already a word-of-mouth must read, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award and winner of the Kirkus Prize when #Booktok introduced Jude & Co. to a new set of readers and kicked the book’s sales into the stratosphere. Hanya’s following up her massive hit with To Paradise, a story of love and ambition, loneliness and freedom, that cuts across time and reimagined Americas. Hanya joins us on the show to talk about Hawaii and New York, her admiration for the novels of Kazuo Ishiguro, what paradise means for her characters, the helix of history, and more. Featured Books: To Paradise and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Hours by Michael Cunningham, and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus eps on Saturdays).

“You know, there's something that we don't talk about, which I think is like the underside of success and ambition, which is that for every step that we take towards something, it's a step away from something. And the more that we have these rarefied experiences, the more isolating they can be…” Olga Dies Dreaming is one of 2022’s most anticipated debuts and our January Discover pick; Xochitl Gonzales joins us on the show to talk about her fabulous new novel and unforgettable protagonist, what it means to be part of a community (or leave one behind), heading to the Iowa Writers Workshop and earning an MFA in her forties, the books and writers who inspire her, and more. Featured books: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzales, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The World According to Garp by John Irving, and Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episode Saturdays).   New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus eps on Saturdays) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever you listen to podcasts.

“One thing that I was interested in doing is making literal the surveillance that parents feel every day, because there is the sense that you're being watched and judged and shamed all the time.” Jessamine Chan joins us on the show to talk about her debut novel, The School for Good Mothers (think The Handmaid’s Tale meets Klara and the Sun), writing a Chinese American main character that she wanted to read, making sure her satire is laced with humor, how a self-proclaimed Luddite came to write a book like this one, and more. Featured Books: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, Plainwater by Anne Carson, Karate Chop by Dorothe Nors, Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls, Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell, The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado and How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus eps Saturday).

“I describe it as a fantasy novel about the real world we live in, or a realistic novel about the fantasy world we live in.” Anthem is Noah Hawley’s terrific, page-turning sixth novel, and his first after his Edgar Award-winning bestseller, Before The Fall—it’s also our January 2022 Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. Noah joins us on the show for a wide-ranging, spoiler-free conversation about breaking the fourth wall, the death of satire, how we can use fiction to help us make sense of a nonsensical world (even when our brains are working overtime “to maintain the illusion we believe in.”), writing for the screen vs. writing for the page, and more, including the ways Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings inspired Anthem. Featured books: Anthem by Noah Hawley, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, White Noise by Don DeLillo, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (and occasional bonus eps on Saturdays).

“And so we wouldn't be here without Natalie Portman, which isn't a sentence I was expecting to say this evening. But if you ever watched this, Natalie, thank you. Really thank you.” That’s novelist and screenwriter David Mitchell explaining the genesis of his friendships and working relationships with Lana Wachowski and Aleksandar Hemon—which includes screenplay credits on Sense8 and now, The Matrix Resurrections. David and Aleksandar join us on the show to talk about creativity and collaboration, their writing partnership, how language changes from page to screen, envisioning the future, and much more. Featured books: Cloud Atlas, Utopia Avenue, The Bone Clocks and Black Swan Green by David Mitchell and My Parents: An Introduction/This Does Not Belong to You, Love & Obstacles and The Lazarus Man by Aleksandar Hemon. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. (P.S. We’re taking a little break for the rest of this year and returning with a new episode on 1/4/22.) Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“And imagine what did it feel like to think this was new? Their life, all kinds of different images as time goes on, and people in the Renaissance and later want to recreate for themselves, particularly in painting, but not always in painting….what it is to create a likeness of someone who's been dead for a millennium or more?” Historian and bestselling author Mary Beard (SPQR, Women & Power, Confronting the Classics) joins us on the show to talk about her new book, Twelve Caesars, what it means to make a likeness if you’ve never met your subject, power and representation and propaganda, trying to help us see under-appreciated museum displays (tapestries and coins to start) with fresh eyes, and more. Featured book: Twelve Caesars by Mary Beard. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I went running in Fort Tryon Park in the northern reaches of Manhattan. And it was snowing. And during that run, I had this vision of a hunter lost in the snow…” Beasts of a Little Land is a remarkable debut novel about love and redemption, covering five tumultuous decades of Korean history. Juhea Kim joins us on the show to talk about writing and rewriting an epic novel with a large cast of characters, caring for her antagonists, Anna Karenina and more. Featured books: Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“But at the end of the day, so many people have lost a loved one. This story is about mothers and daughters. It's about parents and children. It's about a different culture and relating to it. It's about food. It's about grief. It's about loss. It's about family.” Two-time GRAMMY nominee Michelle Zauner joins us on the show to talk about her bestselling memoir Crying in H-Mart, one of the finalists for our B&N Book of the Year, as well as her literary influences, what she leaned about her mom (and herself), how rewrites helped her in unexpected ways, and more. Featured books: Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, and Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Making connections with people has often been quite difficult for me, you know, this can be really isolating, but it's so incredible to make this book that so many people are interested in reading and enjoying, and they look at it, and they're like, Oh, this feels really relatable.” More than 5.4 million people follow Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus on Webtoons, and now she’s adapted the first 25 chapters of her retelling of the myth of Persephone into a fabulous book. Rachel joins us on the show to talk about the inspiration behind her relatable story and unforgettable art; her favorite books and writers, including The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; color theory and the joys of brainstorming, and more. (She even shares a little advice for comics creators at the start of their career.) Produces/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"We're going to have to learn to be cartographers in our own lives." Brené Brown is the author of five number one New York Times bestsellers, including Dare to Lead, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong; co-editor with Tarana Burke of You Are Your Best Thing; The host of two podcasts, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. Her Netflix documentary, The Call to Courage, is a huge hit—and her 2010 TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability, the one that launched her career as we know it, it is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world. Brené joins us on the show to talk about her new book, Atlas of the Heart, including how language shapes how we feel, how to become great story stewards for ourselves and others, plus nostalgia, hopefulness, and more. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I'm constantly surprised by the books. Because I think about books a lot before I start writing them, I don't write structure and a formal outline. But I carry a notebook around with me for about a year before I start writing and I write down quotes and thoughts and ideas and snippets of overheard conversations and things from the newspaper…some of them are used later and some just are never used, but eventually a pattern forms and that becomes then the idea for the book…” Who hasn’t thought of moving to Three Pines after reading one of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels? Louise joins us on the show to talk about the story behind the 17th book in the series, The Madness of Crowds, choosing kindness, the evolution of Gamache, Agatha Christie’s relationship to Poirot, and more. Featured book: The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“…And I had arrived at McDowell, with about 200 pages in the summer of 2018…And the great thing about these writing retreats is that they give you a chance to do nothing but just think about your work. And that was a real gift to me, because it was both time and peace and quiet, to just think about this book. And to be really honest with myself about what was doing well and what it wasn't doing well at all….” Jung Yun had our attention from the very first page of her debut novel, Shelter, and we’ve been waiting for her terrific new novel, O Beautiful, set during the North Dakota oil boom. Jung joins us on the show to talk about The American Dream, shame (and hope), when it’s time to scrap a draft that just isn’t working, and more. Featured books: O Beautiful and Shelter by Jun Yung. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I love bookstores, with all of my heart for everything that they've done for me and my stories, but it is the booksellers that are at the front putting these books into the hands of readers, so they do absolutely deserve a majority, if not all of the credit.”  Our booksellers will be the first to tell you that T.J. Klune writes charming, heartfelt must-reads—The House on the Cerulean Sea was one of our favorite Monthly Picks this year—and his newest book, Under the Whispering Door is our Speculative Fiction Book of the Year! T.J. joins us on the show to talk about his extraordinary world-building, being honest about grief, Buddy Holly, and more. Featured Books: The House on Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune and Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Allyson Gavaletz guest hosts this episode, which was produced by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“But we all want to see ourselves in a story of our country. And we call this a new origin story, not the origin story for reason. There are many origin stories; every person wants to feel a part of the narrative of our country.” Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (a.k.a. The Genius Grant), the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and the driving force behind the revelatory, necessary 1619 Project. She joins us on the show to talk about the evolution of The 1619 Project from The New York Times magazine to book form; the book’s extraordinary contributors, a veritable who’s who of historians, poets, novelists, cultural critics, filmmakers, activists, playwrights, academics, and journalists; the conversations we can’t have on Twitter, and more. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I don't remember my dreams a lot. But when I remember them, I stand up and pay attention.” Both of Natashia Deon’s novels, NAACP Image Award nominee Grace, and her latest, The Perishing, started with dreams she couldn’t forget. Natashia joins us on the show to talk about her new novel—think N.K. Jemisin and Octavia Butler—1930s Los Angeles, love and justice, life and death, what it means to truly live in the present moment and more. Featured books: The Perishing and Grace by Natashia Deon. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I'd always wanted to write a ghost story. And I always wanted to write about what it was like to be haunted, because I feel that so many of us are.” Louise Erdrich’s new novel, The Sentence—her first after The Night Watchman, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction—is a funny, big-hearted and profound story of second chances and ghosts, books and bookselling, and the messy love between spouses and parents and children. Louise joins us on the show to talk about hauntings, perfect short novels, the joys of bookselling, the power of names and more. Featured books: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich and Euphoria by Lily King. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“One of the comments that I've often gotten from parents who say, my son read Scythe, or my daughter read, Unwind, and made me read it, because they wanted to talk to me about it. And then we discussed it. And then the parent would say, I never knew my kid thought that deeply. You know, I think when we write things that ask the reader to rise to the level of the writing, and the level of the ideas behind the writing, they will do it, and they will appreciate not being talked down to.” Acclaimed, prize-winning author Neal Shusterman continues to thrill readers of all ages with his series books like Scythe and Unwind, and standalones. He’s co-written his latest novel, Roxy, with his son, Jarrod Shusterman, and they join us on the show to talk about collaborating with family, connecting with their readers through story, creating unforgettable characters and more. Featured book: Roxy by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I wanted to tell my story in a way that made you feel like you were having a beer with me. And…even though I delve into things like identity and politics and family history and things that things that I'm really excited to share with everybody, I want it to be accessible to people who might disagree with me or might not have experience with the things that I have experiences with.” From the Hollywood to the White House, Kal Penn’s careers have been anything but boring; he’s just published a very funny and honest memoir called You Can’t Be Serious, which covers the work and the people he loves and the lessons he’s learned. He joins us on the show to talk about growing up South Asian, stereotyping and that accent, Jhumpa Lahiri’s fiction and more. Featured books: You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn and Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake, both by Jhumpa Lahiri. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I'm here to have a dialogue with a person. And if I'm just gonna sit there and look down at my lap, well, speaking profoundly into my lap. That's not enough for me, I need to speak out--and entertain.” Gary Shteyngart’s new novel, Our Country Friends, is our November B&N Book Club pick, and it’s a charming (and provocative) story of friendship and the family we make. Gary joins us on the show to talk about how friendships evolve (or don’t), societal scorecards and lost paradises, why he wrote a memoir in his late thirties, the writers who’ve influenced him, from Chekhov to Chang-rae Lee, and more. Featured books: Our Country Friends, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan and Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“And so, what was to me a relatively — at least in terms of storytelling — a tidy story of me collapsing and having my wife and my co-workers save my life and be getting up and getting out of the hospital and getting to write again, was a bit more involved than that.” In his new book, The Night the Lights Went Out, Defector columnist Drew Magary delivers a darkly comic and deeply honest story about his recovery from the traumatic brain injury that almost killed him. Drew joins us on the show to talk about what happened the night he almost died, what came later (including his deafness and cochlear implant), why he writes (and what he learned self-publishing a novel), the books and writers he loves to read, and more. Featured book: The Night the Lights Went Out by Drew Magary. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"And I had a great, great professor named Albert Guerard when I was starting out, and he said to me, 'Some people will tell you to write what you know. But I'm going to tell you write what you can imagine.' And that was such a gift." Words are magic (and truth and love and power) in Alice Hoffman's newest novel, The Book of Magic. It's the fourth in a series that started with Practical Magic in 1995, and features three generations of the fabulous (and sometimes prickly) Owens family, as it cuts between Essex, Massachusetts and Essex, England. The Book of Magic delivers a truly satisfying, emotional read about familial love, and Alice Hoffman joins us on the show for a spoiler-free conversation about turning a beloved stand-alone novel into a series, writing about sisters and mothers, her favorite books of all time, Amelia Bassano (and those rumors), and more. Featured books: The Book of Magic, The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, Practical Magic, The Dove Keepers and The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

“I love it, when, as a reader, I am surprised by the way people behave, you know that you're aghast and shocked and standing back a little bit. And I love it even more when I'm writing it, when I have tapped into a sense that I'm not in control of this guy, either.” We’ve been fans of Joshua Ferris since his very funny and acclaimed 2007 debut, Then We Came to the End — and he had us howling with laughter as we read his latest, A Calling for Charlie Barnes. Joshua joins us on the show to talk about second chances and whether or not people can change, family mythology, writing comedy without losing sight of his characters, and more. Featured books: A Calling for Charlie Barnes and Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I'm so interested in people. I have been fascinated by people since I was just my first memory. I just think people are, for me, they are the most interesting things in the world.” No one captures the nuances of complicated lives quite like Elizabeth Strout, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who likes to return to her characters and their communities in sometimes surprising ways, as she does in her new novel, Oh William! Elizabeth joins us on the show to talk about the world of Lucy Barton and her first husband William, writing with her readers in mind and reading with an open heart, William Trevor’s short stories and more. Featured books: Oh William!, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Because for every kid who makes it out, there are thousands more who are just as capable, who don't. And I think we need to shift the conversation away from what was it that helped that one kid make it out to why are all these other kids not?” Andrea Elliott’s Invisible Child belongs on the shelf next to Evicted by Matthew Desmond and Alex Kotlowitz’s books There are No Children Here and An American Summer. She joins us on the show to talk about eleven-year-old Dasani and her family, how systems feed the poverty cycle, why we need to challenge our love of success stories, and more. Featured book: Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“I'm so grateful to be part of the world of books. And that's what makes me work so hard on them because it's possibly the greatest privilege I've been afforded.” Nick Offerman’s fifth book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, is charming, earnest and a little pointed, and, of course, very funny. It opens with Nick gallivanting in Glacier National Park with pals George Saunders and Jeff Tweedy, sees him repairing a stone wall and buying a livestock with his buddy James Rebanks, and roadtripping with his wife, Megan Mullally and her excellent audiobook recommendations. Nick joins us on the show to talk about how the fun’s really an excuse to ask big questions about our place in the wider world, offer some thoughts on where we need to go and some nuanced ideas for how we might get there, and more. Featured titles: Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman, Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawaii Strong Washburn and Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

America’s opioid crisis shows no signs of slowing down, and if you want to know how we got where we are, Beth Macy’s 2018 bestseller Dopesick is coming to Hulu as a limited series on October 13th, produced by Danny Strong (Game Change and Recall), Warren Littlefield (The Handmaid’s Tale), director Barry Levinson, actor Michael Keaton and Beth herself, among others. Beth joins us on the show to talk about the screen adaptation of her powerful book—and what she learned writing for the screen for the first time—how the community she’s covered is responding, and more, including a sneak peak of her next book, Raising Lazarus: Hope and Justice in the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis. Featured books: Dopesick by Beth Macy, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher and Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis by Ryan Hampton. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Suffragettes, but witches.” That was the three-word pitch that Alix E. Harrow used to sell her very fun and very smart second novel, The Once and Future Witches, our newest Monthly Speculative Fiction pick. Alix joins us on the show to talk about portal fantasy, our fascination with fairy tales (and why we keep returning to them), being a messy reader and more. Featured books: The Once and Future Witches, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and A Spindle Splintered, all by Alix Harrow, Ammonite and Spear by Nicola Griffith, and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“One of the ways you make magic work is by believing it’s going to work.” Readers love Naomi Novik’s series set at the mysterious (and deadly) Scholomance. Volume two, The Last Graduate, has just landed, and our favorite prickly heroine Galadriel (El) is back, along with her gang of friends, and, of course, Orion Lake, who El might just hate a little less these days. Naomi Novik joins on the show for a spoiler-free conversation about worldbuilding, El’s evolution, Ursula Leguin’s story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and more. Featured books: The Last Graduate and A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. Produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“You never know what’s going to happen in a bookstore.” Wiley Cash joins us on the show to talk about the story about a too-big aircraft and a too-short runway that inspired his new novel, When Ghosts Come Home; tell us why he had to set the book in the 1980s; and how excited he is by the current rise of the Rural South in literary fiction. He also delivers a couple of reading lists you’ll want to add to your TBR pile now. Featured books: When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash, Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby, Hell of a Book by Jason Mott, Aftershocks by Nadia Owasu, and Writers and Lovers by Lily King. Produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes ever Tuesday and Thursday.

“I was honing my writing voice before anyone knew anything or cared about me as a writer.” Phoebe Robinson’s a force of nature with her standup shows, podcasts, TV shows and books. And now she’s adding publisher to her list of accomplishments with her new imprint, Tiny Reparations Books. Phoebe joins us on the show to talk about her newest book, Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes, her new imprint and the incredible debut authors she’s publishing, black hair, performative allyship and more. Featured books: Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson, What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris, Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li, Queenie by Candace Carty-Williams, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid and Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. Produced/Hosted by Elani Wilson and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“But if you say today, I'm just working on this little monologue by this one character, you can trick yourself into making something bigger…” Anthony Doerr joins us on the show to talk about his epic new novel-about-everything, Cloud Cuckoo Land, his first since his Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See. Featured books: Cloud Cuckoo Land , All the Light We Cannot See, and Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Platero and I by Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Annals of the Formal World by John McPhee. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Ruth Ozeki’s new novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness, is a beautiful story about books and libraries, life and love. Ruth joins us on the show for a lively conversation about hearing voices, the connections between her last bestseller A Tale for the Time Being, and her latest, the relationship between her writing practice and her meditation practice, her very funny debut novel My Year of Meats, and more. Featured books: The Book of Form and Emptiness, A Tale for the Time Being, My Year of Meats, and The Face, all by Ruth Ozeki. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Brendan Kiely’s an award-winning author of YA fiction, including All-American Boys, which he co-wrote with Jason Reynolds. His fifth book is a bit of a departure for him; The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege is a nonfiction book that asks us to consider where we are in the world today and how we start and sustain necessary conversations about race and whiteness with young people and ourselves. Brendan joins us on the show to talk about his own experience growing up white in a Boston suburb, his days as a teacher, and what he’s learned from talking with and listening  to students from middle school through college. Featured books: The Other Talk by Brendan Kiely, All-American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Richard Powers is the author of 13 novels, including The Overstory, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. His new novel, Bewilderment, shortlisted for The Booker Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction, is an intimate story of two lost boys—father and son—and it’s a bit of a departure from his earlier books. Richard joins us on the show for a charming conversation about where the title came from, why he used a first-person narrative for this book, the connection between writing fiction and computer code, writing about grief, and more. Produces/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We've seen what death and dying do to the human body and we've investigated the afterlife thanks to Mary Roach. We've gone to space and to war with her. We've learned more than a little about taste and our digestive tracts, and, well, bonking--all thanks to Mary and her very, very funny books, her seventh book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law has just landed. And as with all of her earlier books, we're pretty sure like us, you're going to feel smarter after you've read it. Mary joins us on the show to talk about her new book and more. Featured books: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Two Pulitzers, a National Book Award, and a MacArthur Genius Grant: Colson Whitehead is one of the greatest novelists working today. From The Intuitionist to The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, his incredible body of work is driven by sharp insight and brilliant sentences. Harlem Shuffle is his newest novel, a character study, a caper flick, and an absolute thrill to read. Colson joins us on the show to talk about his love of 1970s heist flicks, walking aimlessly around Harlem, messy internet searches, and more. Featured Books: Harlem Shuffle and The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, Richard Stark’s Parker novels, and The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Qian Julie Wang’s unforgettable memoir, Beautiful Country, belongs on the shelf next to modern classics like Educated by Tara Westover, When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Qian Julie joins us on the show to talk about capturing the universality of childhood (no matter how difficult the details), facing down shame in order to tell the truth and more. Featured books: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters and Middlemarch by George Elliott. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“My ears were bent for stories.” Poet Warrior is the indelible new memoir by Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States. Joy joins us on the show to talk about her family’s stories, making music, Emily Dickinson’s poetry, how reading work out loud helps with the editing process, and more. Featured Books: Poet Warrior and An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo. Produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Folow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A new book from Lauren Groff is always a hit with us, from her early novels, The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia, to her massive 2015 bestseller, Fates and Furies, and her story collections, Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. We can’t get enough of her gorgeous sentences, evocative details, and the worlds she conjures. We’ll follow Lauren anywhere, and now that includes a 12th Century Abbey; her fabulous new novel, Matrix, is out today, and it’s our September Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. Lauren joins us on the show to talk about how the past and present collide in Matrix, her love of research, the joy of reading, and more. Featured books: Matrix by Lauren Groff, Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen, Middlemarch by George Elliott and Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Featured poets and writers: Emily Dickinson, Anne Carson, James Salter, Dennis Johnson, Grace Paley and Alice Munro. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

We love B.B. Alston and his Supernatural Investigation series—his debut novel for Middle Readers, Amari and the Night Brothers, is the Overall Winner of the Barnes & Noble Children’s and YA Book Awards—and the second book in the series is due in 2022. B.B. joins us on the show to talk about writing for children (and how to bring reluctant readers around to the sheer joy of books and reading); the writers who made him want to be a reader (and a writer); and more. Featured books: Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, and Black Boy Joy, edited by Kwame Mbalia. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and sound mix by Emily Hiott.  Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Love it or hate it (and there really seems to be no middle ground), The Great Gatsby still speaks volumes about us, our society, and the American Dream. Min Jin Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko and Free Food for Millionaires, has a written an introduction for this classic, and she joins us on the show to talk about Fitzgerald’s characters, what the novel means to her, and more. Featured books: The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, with an introduction by Min Jin Lee, and Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer, sound mix by Emily Hiott.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A fun, spoiler-free conversation with Linden Lewis about her fabulous new novel The Second Rebel, the sequel to The First Sister, our first Speculative Fiction Monthly Pick. Linden joins us on the show to talk about Space Opera, world-building, scrapping full first drafts, giving yourself permission to write what you want to write, and more. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Featured Books: The Second Rebel and The First Sister by Linden Lewis, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Grief, trauma and tragedy run through Kat Chow’s family tree, with everything coming together in 1980s Connecticut. Kat joins us on the show to talk about death and grief, ghosts and survival and debt, what it was like to report her own family’s story, taxidermy as metaphor, and more. Featured books: Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow and Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

If you were offered a life-changing do-over, would you take it? That’s the central question at the heart of Miranda Cowley Heller’s stunning debut novel, The Paper Palace. Miranda joins us on the show to talk about impossible choices, her love of Jane Austen, getting out of your own way, what poetry taught her about writing prose, and more. Featured books: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, Light Years by James Salter and 99 Stories of God by Joy Williams. Featured poets: Dorianne Laux, Sharon Olds, James Wright, Walt Whitman and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.   Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We stayed up impossibly late one night because we just had to know how Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Gods of Jade and Shadow ends. (Sleep is overrated when you need to know if a young woman can help the Mayan God of Death reclaim his throne in Jazz-era Mexico). We did it again with the creepy, unsettling Mexican Gothic, one of our favorite books last year, and again with The Beautiful Ones, our May 2021 Speculative Fiction Monthly Pick. Silvia joins us on the show to talk about her new noir, Velvet Was the Night, breaking convention and writing across genres for each of her books, the importance of storytelling, and more. Featured titles: Velvet was the Night and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon. Hosted/Produced by Kat Sarfas and engineered by Harry Liang.   Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Vianne and Isabelle, Leni, Elsa: Millions of readers have fallen head-over-heels for the heroines of Kristin Hannah’s most recent blockbusters, each one an unforgettable literary page-turner combining character, story and emotional payoff. Kristin joins us on the show to take readers behind the scenes of three of her biggest books, her evolution as a writer and more. Featured books: The Four Winds, The Great Alone and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (a B&N Book Club Pick); Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger; The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead; The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; and Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays.   Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Chicago, 1944. Aki Ito and her parents arrive in town, expecting to be met by Rose, their oldest daughter. But tragedy has struck, and now Aki Ito is determined to discover what happened to her sister in this historical thriller. Naomi Hirahara joins us on the show to discuss sisterhood and coming-of-age, Japanese-American Internment and the 100-442nd Infantry Battalion, and the influence Chester Himes, Walter Mosley and Barbara Neely had on her work — and more. Featured Books: Clark and Division and the Mas Arai series by Naomi Hirahara and Japanese Americans in Chicago, Illinois by Alice Kishiye Murata. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Everyone has a secret to protect in a small Scottish Highlands town in Charlotte McConaghy’s new novel, Once There Were Wolves, the follow-up to her hit debut, Migrations (now in paperback). Charlotte joins us on the show to talk about writing literary fiction with crime elements, rewilding places and people, exploring empathy and hope through dark stories, and more. Featured books: Once There Were Wolves and Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy and The Overstory by Richard Powers. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes drop Tuesday and Thursday. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Prepare to have your heart broken in all the best ways by Ash Davidson’s miraculous debut novel, Damnation Spring — our August Discover Pick. She joins us on the show to talk about starting with endings (and making big last-minute story changes); grounding her beautiful prose in real-life stories and first-person research; her love for her characters, and more. Featured Books: Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang, and A Bitter Fog by Carol Von Strum. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays.

If you love reading pulse-pounding stories about fictional spies, you’ll love Ben Macintyre’s thrilling true (and bestselling) stories about real-world spies, like The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, and Operation Mincemeat. His latest yes-this-is-absolutely-a-true-story (Ben has the documentation to prove it) book, Agent Sonya, has the pacing of a great novel and plenty of incredible details as the story cuts from Shanghai and Manchuria in the 1920s and 30s to Switzerland and the UK during WWII and into the Cold War (and beyond). Ben joins us on the show to talk about Ursula Burton — wife, mother and dedicated spy — John le Carré, and the joys of writing about espionage (Hint: It’s all about the hunt). Featured book: Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

James Baldwin died in 1987, but his work still speaks to us — as if it was written last year, or last month, or even last week. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. joins us on the show to discuss leaving the U.S. in order to write about Baldwin (and why Baldwin came back from Paris); why we’re reaching for Baldwin now, more than three decades after his death; what Baldwin has to teach us about the intersection of memory, history, identity and race — and more. Featured books: Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.; No Name in the Street, Nothing Personal and Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin. Produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Poured Over is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This is what we talk about when we talk about voice: Fern, Gwin and Jesenia are the heart of Carolyn Ferrell's acclaimed new novel, Dear Miss Metropolitan, and their voices are unforgettable. Their story is a story of trauma and grief and hope unlike any you've read before, though readers who love The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead won't want to miss this one. Carolyn joins us on the show to talk about her electrifying novel, the inspiration she draws from the work of Edward P. Jones, and more. Featured books: Dear Miss Metropolitan by Carolyn Ferrell, the short stories of Edward P. Jones, Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, and Ill Will by Dan Chaon. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

We've run out of superlatives to describe Helen Macdonald’s memoir, H is For Hawk. She’s followed her acclaimed bestseller — which showed many readers a new way of looking at the natural world — with a delightfully smart collection of essays in Vesper Flights, now out in paperback. Helen joins us on the show to talk about how birds’ nests changed her understanding of home, writing in hotel rooms, and what the natural world can teach us about building community and more. Featured books: Vesper Flights and H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Missionaries by Phil Klay, and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Fox & I, Catherine Raven’s tale of an intentional friendship with a wild red fox and how it changed her, is a kaleidoscopic meld of quiet observation, sharp reflection, wry humor and poetry. She joins us on the show to talk about empathy, what it means to be alone but not lonely, and other brilliant and surprising lessons she learned from her companion. Featured titles: Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship by Catherine Raven, The Little Prince and Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Sam Kean is an eclectic writer with an affinity for scientific subjects and their weird and darker paths, and he has an inimitable knack for transforming this passionate interest into astonishing story, punctuated with humor and rife with the absurd in his books The Disappearing Spoon, The Violinist’s Thumb, Caesar’s Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons and The Bastard Brigade. His latest book, The Icepick Surgeon, is a tale of scientists and doctors gone amok, crossing the line from experiment to crime, often wrong for all well-intentioned reasons, and what these stories reveal about historic times in which they took place. Sam Kean joins us on the show to talk about pirates, mad paleontologists, scientist-spies, and more. Featured books: The Icepick Surgeon by Sam Kean and Evolution Gone Wrong by Alex Bezzerides.   Follow Us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Readers LOVE Matt Haig's charming, full of heart, and genuinely unputdownable novels The Midnight Library and How to Stop Time and made both of them bestsellers. Like many of us, Matt spent much of 2020 feeling a little anxious, a little frazzled--and looking for comfort, the subject of his latest work, The Book of Comfort. He joins us on the show to talk about hope, change and the importance of weird thinking. Featured books: The Comfort Book, The Midnight Library and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig, Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne and the 1812 version of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

We’re huge fans of S.A. Cosby’s pulse-pounding noir novels set in Red Hill County, VA—and we’re not alone: Dennis Lehane, Walter Mosley, Lee Child, Stephen King and Laura Lippman are too. But Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears are more than action-packed thrill rides where the bad guys are very bad and the good guys are doing the best they can with what they have. S.A. Cosby joins us on the show to talk about redemption, family, writers he loves, and making up lies to find the truth. Featured books: Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, and The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollack. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Ayad Akhtar’s plays—Disgraced (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama), The Who and the What, and Junk¬—and his novels, American Dervish and Homeland Elegies, are electrifying, unforgettable works of art that push audiences and readers to think about community and power, money and success, and what it means to be American. He joins us on the show to talk about the inspiration for the outrageous and wildly funny Homeland Elegies (now available in paperback), Shakespeare and more. Featured books: Homeland Elegies, American Dervish, Disgraced and Junk by Ayad Akhtar; Ravelstein and The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow; Hadji Murat by Leo Tolstoy; Henry IV Part One and Part Two and Coriolanus by William Shakespeare; and Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

We’re not the only readers who adore Casey McQuiston’s super-fun, hilarious—and bestselling—love stories. She joins us on the show to talk about using astrology to help with character development (and more), writing rom-coms during the pandemic, the magical power of true love, Tik Tok and more. Featured titles: Red, White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard, How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole, The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo, Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Mary McNamara. Produced/Hosted by Elani Wilson and engineered by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Kiese Laymon — memoirist, essayist, novelist — is one of the most extraordinary and exciting writers working today. Best known for his acclaimed memoir Heavy, he recently bought back the rights to his first two books, the essay collection How to Slowly Kill Yourselves and Others in America and the picaresque coming-of-age novel, Long Division, so he could revise them and send them back into the world as they’re meant to be. He joins us on the show to talk about language and memory, rewriting and rereading. Featured Books: Long Division, How to Slowly Kill Yourselves and Others in America and Heavy by Kiese Laymon, Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deeshaw Philyaw, Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara, and Corregidora by Gayl Jones, Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward and There There by Tommy Orange. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Writer Gerry Allen is trapped at home after a bad fall, isolated in his swank apartment high over Baltimore Harbor — and the strange calls and letters he’s getting won’t stop. Laura Lippman’s killer new novel Dream Girl is a nod to a classic Agatha Christie locked-room mystery with a twisty plot, crackling dialogue, and lots of literary fun. Featured Books: Dream Girl, Lady in the Lake and My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman, Misery by Stephen King, Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth, Circe by Madeline Miller, Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch by Alexandra Jacobs, and What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

We fell head over heels for Mostly Dead Things, Kristen Arnett’s wonderful, darkly comic debut novel about family (and taxidermy) set in central Florida — and we’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for her latest novel, With Teeth, which we tore through as soon as it arrived. Kristen joins us on the show to talk about the family dynamics at the center of With Teeth, queerness on and off the page, nostalgia and more. Featured books: With Teeth by Kristen Arnett, Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden, Edinburgh by Alexander Chee, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, Memorial by Bryan Washington, Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor, and Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

You don't have to be an avid fly fisher to appreciate John Maclean's beautiful new book HOME WATERS, but it will certainly inspire you to spend more time outside. A former Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, with a second career writing books about wildfire, John now splits his time between DC and his family’s cabin on Seeley Lake in Montana. And if you’ve read John’s father’s book, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, you know that cabin, and the Blackfoot River, and John’s Uncle Paul — though you won’t know Uncle Paul’s whole story, until you read HOME WATERS. Featured books: Home Waters by John Maclean, A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean, Ernest Hemingway's short story, The Big Two-Hearted River (included in his collection In Our Time), and a Sherlock Holmes omnibus. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

You might know Danielle Henderson as the creator of the legendary feminist Ryan Gosling meme (which she later turned into a book); or from her most excellent recaps of Scandal and other shows for Vulture; her work as a television writer; or as the co-host of the screamingly funny movie podcast, I SAW WHAT YOU DID. Danielle’s memoir, THE UGLY CRY, is the unforgettable, darkly comic, true story of her unconventional childhood in the 80s — it’s a complex and wry do-I-laugh-or-do-I-cry memoir, and Danielle’s sublime writing is smart and sharp and not to be missed, but just wait until you meet her wise, horror-movie loving grandmother. Featured books: The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris and Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. Hosted and produced by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

HOW THE WORD IS PASSED is one of our most anticipated books for June 2021 — it’s a powerful portrait of America today, built from our history and Clint Smith’s incredible insight. Writer for @TheAtlantic, teacher and Doctor, Clint Smith is also a poet (Counting Descent) and the host of @thecrashcourse Black American History. Our interview with Clint runs a little longer than usual because there’s so much shared ground to cover. Featured books: How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, Long Division by Kiese Laymon, The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. Hosted and produced by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Ashley C. Ford's essays and journalism have run in The Guardian and Buzzfeed; She's profiled Serena Williams and Anne Hathaway for Allure, Stacey Abrams for Marie Claire, and Vice President Kamala Harris for Elle; and her most recent podcast was Lovecraft Country Radio, the official companion to the hit show. No matter the subject or the format, Ashley knows how to tell a story with deep honesty and a lot of style, and now the story she's telling is hers. Glennon Doyle (Untamed) says Ashley's a "writer for the ages," and Oprah Winfrey's featuring Ashley's memoir, SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER on her imprint, An Oprah Book. Featured Books: Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This episode was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Maggie O'Farrell joins us to talk about HAMNET, her dreamy, intoxicating story of grief and love and Shakespeare, now out in paperback. Featured Books: Hamnet, The Vanishing of Esme Lennox and I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell, the stories of Alice Munro (Dear Life is a great place to start) and Mary Oliver's poetry. This episode was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.