Avsnitt
-
Well, we're here, and it's bittersweet. Plain and simple, these are my favorite books that I happened to read in 2022, spoiler free of course, and ranked in order. Something for everyone, with plenty of honorable mentions to boot. I will miss each and every one of you, and I hope to be back in some capacity in the future. Till then, you can stay in touch with me via instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
As the year (and Your Favorite Book as a whole) winds down, I wanted to bring back a favorite guest of mine and share some laid-back, lighthearted conversation about all things book podcasting. Julie Strauss is my podcast twin and the host of Best Book Ever, and if you don't already listen to her show, I highly recommend it! We chat about our different approaches to podcasting, how running these shows has changed our reading habits, and where I expect life to take me after wrapping up the show.
Follow Julie on instagram @bestbookeverpodcast
Follow the show on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
For this, our last formal interview episode for Your Favorite Book, I'm delving back into nonfiction and into some serious topics. THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS deserves all its accolades, not only for its extensive research on the Great Migration in Jim Crow era America, but on the attention to narrative detail and approachable, readable tone. My guest, Keenan Norris, touches on specific migrations and how the city of Chicago impacted several important Black historical figures, including Barack Obama and Richard Wright. Together, the two of us touch on the surprising results of research, what it means to learn something that should've been taught in schools, and so much more.
Find Keenan at his website: https://www.keenannorris.com/
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
After a couple weeks off, I'm bringing you an episode on one of the most hyped memoirs of the year, and it was an absolute joy to talk about. We're of course talking about I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy, a searing memoir of Hollywood, abuse, eating disorders, and coming into one's own identity. This book is straightforward and not for the faint of heart, but certainly rewarding. My guest is young adult author Deeba Zargarpur, whose YA novel HOUSE OF YESTERDAY combines elements of her Afghan-Uzbek heritage with ghost story elements, complex family dynamics, and a relatable female lead. Deeba and I chat all things families large and small, memoir styles, watching too much TV, and so much more.
Find Deeba at https://www.deebazargarpur.com/
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Our guest this week is Ethan Chatagnier, whose debut novel SINGER DISTANCE effortlessly combines the space age paranoia of the 1960s, theoretical math, and the high stakes of a love unfulfilled. The book challenges the idea of what it would mean to communicate with another planet, presenting an alternate history where this contact has been made and scientists believe they've cracked the latest Martian math challenge set for Earthlings to understand.
Ethan chose a book that also blurs the lines between literary and science fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro's NEVER LET ME GO. This seminal work by the Nobel Laureate defies most summaries, with its slowly unfolding plot and piecemeal storytelling. This is one of few YFB episodes that dives headfirst into spoilers, so for those who have not read NEVER LET ME GO, it's highly recommended before listening, and a highly recommended book in general.
-
We're back with an author who's rapidly becoming one of my twentieth century favorites, Edith Wharton. In this early novel of hers, The House of Mirth, we follow the tragic demise of socialite Lily Bart and how her decline represents the decline of an era itself, and also shows us how precarious it is to be a woman of reputation. Somehow, Sara and I find plenty of laughs. Sara is a YA novelist whose most recent novel, Grave Things Like Love, is a contemporary romance with a ghost hunting twist, and is perfect for the Halloween season.
Buy Sara's book: https://bookshop.org/books/grave-things-like-love-9780593703557/9780593703557
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Our guest this week is Saeed Jones, the acclaimed memoirist and poet, whose recent collection ALIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD takes on both individual and collective grief in the midst of a nation in crisis. Spanning topics from the legacy of Black artists and entertainers to visions of the end of the world as a chaotic rave, Saeed brings every feeling to the forefront and never turns his back to the hard questions.
Saeed chose a book stemming from his adolescence and one that continues to generate deeper meaning for him, Toni Morrison's SULA. This book, hardly two hundred pages in length, delves deep into what it means to be a Black girl, and to be both in and out of a community, and the complicated social dynamics it takes to perpetuate said community. The book is luminous at a prose level and never ceases to shock at every turn. There are some spoilers for this episode, but none that take away from the integrity of the novel.
Together we chat about all things crafting a poetry collection, why the United States struggles with creating a grief culture, the triumphs and pitfalls of high school literary opinions, and so much more.
Books discussed: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel Moniz, Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
Buy Saeed's book: https://bookshop.org/books/alive-at-the-end-of-the-world/9781566896511
Follow the show on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Our guest is Joe Meno, author of eleven books and most recently, BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY TRAGEDIES, a family saga taking place in Chicago's south side. Told by twenty year old Aleks, former musical prodigy turned patriarch of his young family, we are shown the limits of human endurance as the family deals with medical crises, desperate poverty, and one heartbreak after another. At the same time there is a real tenderness and creativity underlining these characters, buoying everything with a sense of hope.
Joe chose Jesmyn Ward's landmark novel SALVAGE THE BONES for his episode. Like his own novel, Ward's book shows a young family in peril and the means they take to survive, but the setting differs entirely. We are taken to rural Mississippi in the days before Hurricane Katrina, as Esch and her brothers live their lives and prepare for the oncoming storm. It's a haunting, brutal read and one that proves unforgettable for us both.
Buy Joe's book: http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/book-of-extraordinary-tragedies/
Follow the show on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Our guest is Adam Levin, author of multiple novels and most recently, the author of MOUNT CHICAGO. This sprawling novel features the city of Chicago in the midst of natural disaster and centers two lives, comedian and writer Solomon Gladman, as well as his biggest fan, Apter Schutz. The book delves into grief, metafiction, publishing, parrots, and so much more that really defies a conventional summary.
Levin chose another book difficult to summarize, J.D. Salinger’s FRANNY AND ZOOEY. Following the youngest siblings of the Glass family, Salinger explores themes of spiritual emptiness, creativity, and social isolation in a novel that feels very much like a stage play in its form and construction. We reflect on how there’s always more to discover in reading and rereading a novel, even generations after its initial publication.
Buy Adam's book: https://bookshop.org/books/mount-chicago/9780385548243
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
We're back for a new season! Our guest this week is Belinda Huijuan Tang, author of the debut novel A Map for the Missing. The novel spans time from the 1970s through the 1990s, in China as well as the United States, and centers family secrets and miscommunication along with the impact of pursuing one's dreams. What does it mean to live a life of knowledge, and how easy is it to achieve that path?
Belinda chose Wang Anyi's The Song of Everlasting Sorrow as her favorite book. Written in 1995 and translated from Chinese, this novel spans four decades in the life of Wang Qiyao, a former beauty queen who lives a life of heartbreak in both old and new Shanghai. The book is dense, complex, but also deliciously petty and joyful in its depictions of Wang Anyi's hometown. As always, no spoilers!
Books discussed: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro
Buy Belinda's book: https://bookshop.org/books/a-map-for-the-missing/9780593300664
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
Welcome to the Season 4 finale! Our guest is Jean Thompson, author of many novels, former National Book Award finalist, and most recently the author of The Poet's House. This book explores the sordid lives and falsehoods of poets in California through the eyes of a young admirer, a woman entrenched in blue-collar life but fascinated by poetry. The book takes on the blurred lines of mentorship, the elitism of poetry, and the differences between loving writing and writers themselves.
Jean chose a book first and foremost for its prose style, so unique and unlike a great deal of contemporary writing. James Agee's A Death in the Family, his posthumous Pulitzer prize winning masterpiece, takes the simple and magnifies it to Biblical proportions. The death of a family patriarch shatters the suburban ideals within, and we witness the internal and external carnage in one way or another.
This is our season finale, but Your Favorite Book will be back in mid-august with more interviews. Stay tuned!
Follow the show on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
Buy Jean's book: https://bookshop.org/books/the-poet-s-house-9798200880980/9781643751566
-
We're indulging in something fun and delightful today, because that's just what we all need. My guest is Natalka Burian, author of the great new speculative novel THE NIGHT SHIFT, which combines the night life of New York City with the portals and intrigue of a time traveling sci-fi novel. It's fast paced and engaging from the very beginning, and an absolutely fun read. Natalka shares her thoughts on working in the service industry, running a nonprofit, and idolizing NYC from her childhood on a farm. We chat all about From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and spoiler, we're both absolutely delighted. Don't worry, no spoilers for the book.
Buy Natalka's book: https://bookshop.org/books/the-night-shift-9780778333043/9780778333043
Natalka's tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@natalkaburian?lang=en
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
My guest this week is Morgan Talty, author of the debut short story collection NIGHT OF THE LIVING REZ. Morgan shares his insights on his low residency MFA program, his approach to book structure and generating ideas, and his approach to writing intergenerational trauma from a Native American perspective. For this episode, Morgan chose the 1991 novel THE LESSER BLESSED by Richard Van Camp, and we dive into what seems to me to be the anti-YA novel. The book is abrasive and tough to read at times, but altogether unique in its craft and the level of nuance each of its young characters has. As always, no spoilers!
Buy Morgan's book: https://bookshop.org/books/night-of-the-living-rez/9781953534187
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
-
In light of recent events, for the first week of airing, my guest and I will be donating a dollar to local abortion funds across several states for every listen this episode gets. You can feel free to spread the word or join me in the fundraising. If you'd like to match a portion of the listens, please reach out to me on instagram or twitter @yfbpodcast
We're chatting about one of the most famous American short stories ever written, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Anna and I chat about how unfortunately timely this story feels, some wonderfully unexpected moments while reading this story, our grievances against long-held American traditions, and so much more. Everything is spoiled, so consider yourself warned! There are also some lighter reading recommendations at the very end, so stay tuned for those.
-
I'm not much of a romance reader, but I always love reading books that challenge my preconceived notions and break down boundaries. It's why I started this podcast in the first place. My guest is Kristina Forest, who writes romance for adults and young people alike, and today we talk about all things writing craft, summer reading experiences, and so much more. Kristina chose a well-loved Sarah Dessen book, THIS LULLABY, for our discussion and it proved to be a great first foray into Dessen's work for me. As always, no spoilers, although I bet many of you have read THIS LULLABY long before I have!
Buy Kristina's book: https://bookshop.org/books/zyla-kai/9780593407240
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
Short Story Book Club for June: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
-
We're back in the wonderful world of YA, and my guest this week is Jesmeen Kaur Deo, author of TJ POWAR HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE, a book that takes on high school pettiness, Eurocentric beauty standards, and high school debate teams. I personally related on so many levels. Jesmeen and I chat about the intricacies of debate, the joys of writing a headstrong character, and how the choice to remove or leave body hair takes on a whole new meaning to South Asians.
We switch gears entirely with Kenneth Oppel's AIRBORN, a childhood favorite of Jesmeen's that hearkens back to the adventure novels of yore, with snappy dialogue and a steampunk aesthetic to boot. We talk about the fun of anachronisms, another headstrong protagonist, and the joys of a wonderful audiobook adaptation, as well as so much more. As always, no spoilers!
Buy Jesmeen's book: https://bookshop.org/books/tj-powar-has-something-to-prove/9780593403396
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
Short Story Book Club for June: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
-
Our guest this week is Joseph Han, the author of debut novel NUCLEAR FAMILY and one of the 2022 5 under 35 National Book Foundation honorees. His novel centers the palpable nature of generational trauma and hope by manifesting it literally, the spirit of an ancestor possessing a descendant, all amongst the backdrop of the longstanding Korean War and a Korean restaurant based in Hawaii.
Joseph chose a book reflecting on similar themes for this episode, THE MAGICAL LANGUAGE OF OTHERS by EJ Koh. This memoir told through the language of translation defies expectation and feels to the reader like a triumph just for its existence. Joseph also shares his thoughts on all things Guy Fieri, what it means to chose the perfect title, and so much more. As always, there are no spoilers for either book in the episode.
Buy Joseph's book: https://bookshop.org/books/nuclear-family-9781640094864/9781640094864
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
Short Story Book Club for June: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
-
We're back in the world of YA literature and we're talking about one of the new greats (if I do say so myself), Mary H.K. Choi. Choi's book YOLK was one of my favorites of the year so far, and EMERGENCY CONTACT, her debut, brings some of the nuanced storytelling, subtlety, and maturity that she showed off in later works. My guest is Grace Shim, whose debut novel THE NOH FAMILY is all kinds of wild, with some of the craziness of Korean dramas and a lot of the cultural critique that can only come from someone intimately familiar. We chat about all things beauty standards, finding the right K drama for you, fangirl moments, and so much more.
Read Grace's Book: https://bookshop.org/books/the-noh-family/9780593462737
Follow Grace on instagram @gkshimwrites
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast
Short Story Book Club for June: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
-
We're at the end of another month, and we're bringing back a familiar voice for this one. Rena Patel was on the show over a year ago to talk about JULIET by Anne Fortier, but now we're taking on something far darker and foreboding, the short story "Inventory" by Carmen Maria Machado, part of her renowned collection HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES. This story is wild, y'all. Beautifully crafted, deeply unsettling, and somehow written before COVID. Yeah. We also chat about the differences between playwriting and prose writing, and there are some spoilers for the movie DON'T LOOK UP. Consider yourself warned.
There are spoilers for this one! Read the short story here: https://lithub.com/inventory/
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter: @yfbpodcast
-
This was an intriguing one, fellas! My guest is Naheed Phiroze Patel, author of the new novel MIRROR MADE OF RAIN, and she and I chat in detail about former YFB podcast guest Brandon Taylor and his debut novel REAL LIFE. Yes, being a podcast guest is Brandon's only claim to fame, how'd you guess? In all seriousness, this book is a masterclass of carefully crafted scenes, excruciatingly awkward moments, and flat-out beautiful prose. I couldn't put it down. Naheed and I also chat about her book, including writing for an audience in different continents, the possibly ingrained sexism of Karva Chauth, the pros and cons of an MFA program, and so much more.
Books discussed this episode: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee, Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk
Buy Naheed's book: https://bookshop.org/books/mirror-made-of-rain/9781951213602
May Short Story Book Club: https://lithub.com/inventory/
Follow the podcast on instagram and twitter @yfbpodcast. Reviews always appreciated!
- Visa fler
