Book Fight

We're joined by Stephanie Feldman--author, most recently, of the novel Saturnalia (The Unnammed Press, 2022)--who introduces us to a funny, and surprisingly moving short story about a fictional New Jersey cryptid, Walkdog. The story, by Sofia Samatar, takes the form of a student research paper, but as it progresses we realize it's less about the cryptid in question than about the paper writer's secret relationship with a boy everyone in school makes fun of for being a nerd. You can learn more about Stephanie's novel here: https://www.stephaniefeldman.com/books/saturnalia/ And you can find more about Sofia Samatar, with links to her various books, here: https://www.sofiasamatar.com/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Elizabeth McCracken (author, most recently, of the novel The Hero of This Book, out Oct. 4 from Harper Collins) to discuss Mary Gaitskill's 2005 novel Veronica, a book that until recently Elizabeth was scared to re-read. We talk carnality in fiction, and the sweatiness of early 80s New York City. Plus: we compare notes on our time at the Iowa Writers Workshop, discuss trigger warnings for undergrad classes, and Elizabeth explains why for years she quietly pretended to have read Dostoevsky. You can order Elizabeth's newest book here: https://bookshop.org/books/the-hero-of-this-book/9780062971272 If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Kevin Kearney (author of the forthcoming novel How to Keep Time, and a staff writer for PopMatters) to discuss John McPhee's 1968 book The Pine Barrens, which taught America about the relatively small pocket of New Jersey that seemed to exist outside of time. We also talk to Kevin about his own book, and the process of finding a publisher for it, which can sometimes feel overwhelming or intimidating, especially for books that might not be a fit for one of the big commercial publishing houses. You can find out more about Kevin, and stay up to date on his work, at his website: https://www.kevinmkearney.com/. Also, you can preorder his book, which comes out on November 4: https://www.thirtywestph.com/shop/howtokeeptime If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Adalena Kavanagh (work in Electric Lit, The Believer, lots of other places) to discuss three stories from Best American Short Stories 1985, an anthology that for some reason was lying around her house when she was a kid, prompting her to read some Serious Literary Fiction at a young age. Adalena wanted to revisit the stories to see if they would hold up, or even conform to her memories of them. You can find out more about Adalena, and follow her work, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adalenakavanagh. Or on her website: https://adalenakavanagh.com/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by poet Celeste Doaks, whose most recent book, American Herstory, focuses on the experience of former first lady Michelle Obama's years in the White House, including the art and decor choices she made while living there. So it's fitting that Celeste had us read an essay by art historian Richard Powell about the official Obama portraits, which in many ways broke with established tradition for presidential portraiture. We talk about the relationship between writing and visual art, how to use art in a creative writing classroom, and the gender and racial politics of portraiture, among other subjects. Plus we close out the episode with Celeste reading a poem about lightning, so make sure you stay tuned for that! You can find out more about Celeste--including how to get a hold of her books--at her website: https://doaksgirl.com/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Matthew Vollmer, author of several books (most recently, This House is Not Your Home, 2022) and also our former grad-school classmate. We talk about our experiences at Iowa, and how our writing and teaching have evolved in the years since. Also Clarice Lispector's book The Hour of the Star, which Vollmer loves and Tom finds a little confusing. You can find more about Matthew--and links to his work--at his website, http://matthewvollmer.com/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Catherine Nichols, writer and host of the Lit Century podcast, to discuss Katie Kitamura's novel Intimacies, which Barack Obama loved and at least one of us kinda hated. Plus: what makes an ideal audiobook, why Shakespeare would be useful in a fight, and the subtle joys of a semicolon. You can find Catherine on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/clnichols6. And check out the Lit Century podcast here: https://lithub.com/author/litcentury/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by long-time book reviewer Michael Schaub (NPR, Kirkus, Bookslut, elsewhere) to discuss a book that changed the way he thought about books: Ander Monson's debut, Other Electricities. We talk about what separates experiments in form that feel organic to a story versus those that feel superfluous or inscrutable. Also: the ethics of book reviewing, horse ownership, and is everything actually bigger in Texas? You can find Michael on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/michaelschaub. And see his reviews at NPR here: https://www.npr.org/people/151841337/michael-schaub If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Kristin Keane, author of An Encyclopedia of Bending Time, to discuss A Ghost in the Throat, a genre-crossing memoir by Irish writer Doireann Ní Ghríofa. We talk about strategies for incorporating research into creative nonfiction, what counts as "text" beyond traditional words on a page, and some of the challenges Kristin faced when she decided to structure her own memoir as an encyclopedia. Plus: Quantum Leap, foot massagers, and none of us understands what the metaverse is. You can read an excerpt of Kristin's book here, via the Washington Post. If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

It's our 400th episode! Which, to be honest, we didn't realize when we were recording this, because we're bad at math. But that doesn't make it any less exciting! And we inadvertently planned a pretty special one to mark the milestone: we're joined by Becky Barnard and Dave Housley, Barrelhouse editors and authors of the new YA novel The Greys, to discuss one of the craziest movie novelizations of all time: E.T., The Extraterrestrial, by William Kotzwinkle. It's the adorable little alien character you know and love, except super horny? If you like the show, and would like more of it in your life, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

Two guests this week, as we're joined by the co-hosts of the literary nonfiction podcast I'll Find Myself When I'm Dead. Though Elena and Justin are also quite accomplished nonfiction authors in their own right. Justin St. Germain is the author of the memoir Son of a Gun, and more recently a book-length essay about Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Elena Passarello is the author of the essay collections Let Me Clear My Throat and Animals Strike Curious Poses. The book they chose for us to read is a collection by Donald Hall, former U.S. poet laureate, called Essays After Eighty. We talk about the occasional essay as a form, what makes an essay an essay--as opposed to a random assortment of thoughts--and lots, lots more. If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, you can join our Patreon, where $5 gets you two bonus episodes each month, including our ongoing Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by Michelle Hart, author of the novel We Do What We Do in the Dark and a former editor for Oprah Daily. For our reading this week, Michelle chose a short story by Leopoldine Core, "Hog for Sorrow," about a young sex worker with complicated feelings towards one of her clients and toward one of her coworkers.

Our guest this week is longtime Barrelhouse poetry editor Dan Brady, whose most recent book, Subtexts, uses some interesting constraints to create erasures and layerings of language. His pick for us was another book of poems created through an innovative process: White Bull, by Elizabeth Hughey. The poems in Hughey's book are all assembled from the words of Bull Connor, Birmingham, Alabama's famous segregationist public safety commissioner. If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, you can subscribe to our Patreon--$5 gets you access to our entire catalog of bonus episodes, plus two new bonus episodes every month: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

Our guest this week is Laura McGrath, an assistant professor of English at Temple University, where she teaches literary criticism and contemporary literature--including a class about best sellers. It's in that context that she chose our book, Valley of the Dolls, the 1966 camp classic by Jacqueline Susann. We talk about the book as both a novel and a cultural phenomenon, and what McGrath's students make of it all these years later. If you like the show, and would like more of it in your life, for $5 a month you can get two monthly bonus episodes, including our ongoing Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

Our guest this week is Inga Saffron, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. We talk about Jane Jacobs' groundbreaking work in urban studies, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and how it's weathered the test of time since its publication in the 1960s. We also talk about the past and future of journalism, Inga's work as a foreign correspondent in Russia, and lots of other stuff. You can find Inga's newest book here.  And if you like the show, and want more of it in your life, you can get biweekly bonus episodes by joining our Patreon for just $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

Our guest this week is Danielle Evans (The Office of Historical Corrections), who chose the 1929 Harlem Renaissance novel Plum Bun, in part because she's lately found herself interested in narratives about passing. We talk about how Jessie Redmon Fauset's novel compares to other passing novels, how Danielle's students respond to the book, and the complicated politics of writing about race and gender in the late '20s. 

Our guest this week is Mike Meginnis (Drowning Practice, Fat Man and Little Boy). He joins us to discuss a playful genre-bending novel by Megan Milks, Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body. We also talk about Mike's relationship to genre, the similarities between genre and gender categories, and why he rarely cries. You can find Milks' novel here: https://www.feministpress.org/books-a-m/margaret-and-the-mystery-of-the-missing-body And find out more about Mike and his work here: https://www.mikemeginnis.com/ If you like the show, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

This week we're joined by Dave Housley to talk office novels! Dave's most recent book, The Other Ones, is about an office that wins the lottery--or, more specifically, it's about the people in that office who chose not to play. We also discuss Christian Tebordo's most recent novel, The Apology, which is also set in an office and involves some Clorox-related warfare. If you like the show, and would like to have more of it in your life, you can subscribe to our Patreon for $5 a month and get access to our entire catalog of bonus episodes, including our new Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time, which has forced us to read books by Tucker Max, Danielle Steel, Sean Penn, and--most recently--a kid who claimed that he went to heaven.

This week we're joined by Isaac Butler (author, most recently, of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act) to discuss a play by Annie Baker, The Aliens. Butler has worked as a theater director, as well as an author and podcaster and cultural critic, so we thought he'd be a perfect guest to help us wrap our heads around the world of contemporary theater. We talk about adapting plays for the screen, the Robert Altman version of Tony Kushner's Angels in America that almost existed, and how to figure out the right focus for a work of research-driven nonfiction like Butler's most recent book. If you like the show, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. For just $5, you get two bonus episodes every month, including our ongoing Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

This week we're joined by returning guest Asali Solomon (author of The Days of Afrekete) to discuss Kiese Laymon's award-winning memoir, Heavy. We talk about what people expect from memoir, and why readers are sometimes put off by complicated stories without easy resolutions.