Comedian Hari Kondabolu on Vijay Prashad's The Karma of Brown Folk, being a Queens kid, and reading the right book at just the right time. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out Vijay Prashad's The Karma of Brown Folk and W.E.B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk.

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Author Kevin Kwan on Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem, losing his accent, and discovering he could be funny. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy by Kevin Kwan, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the Adventure Series by Enid Blyton, and A Book of Common Prayer and Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Please fill out our survey at bit.ly/butthatsanothersurvey.

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Academic Brittney Cooper on Rachel Held Evans' Faith Unraveled, church, and the risk of being wrong. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper, The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry and Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans.

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Novelist Louise Penny on E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, fear, and the importance of always having beauty in your life. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, and Still Life by Louise Penny.

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Author Jeff Hobbs on Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here, the art of nonfiction, and a eulogy that got way out of hand. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz and The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs. Please fill out our survey at bit.ly/butthatsanothersurvey.

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Author Julie Buntin on Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run The Frog Hospital, her rebellious youth, and the magnitude of girlhood friendships. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out As Meat Love Salt by Maria McCann, The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, Who Will Run The Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore, and Marlena by Julie Buntin.

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Last Week Tonight writer Josh Gondelman on David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, his comedy career, and the value of goodness over niceness. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, It by Stephen King, and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

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Illustrator Mari Andrew on Maira Kalman’s The Principles of Uncertainty, her new memoir, and the beauty of ordinary things. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman, and Am I There Yet? by Mari Andrew. Please fill out our survey at bit.ly/butthatsanothersurvey.

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NPR host Sam Sanders on Danzy Senna’s New People, the 2016 election, and how people can surprise us — if we let them. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, New People by Danzy Senna, and Animal Farm by George Orwell.

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National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee on George Eliot's Middlemarch, imposter syndrome, and her lifelong obsession with wisdom. To learn more about the books we discussed in this episode, check out Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, War and Peace and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, Middlemarch by George Eliot, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

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