In Episode 21, Mary Laura Philpott (author of I Miss You When I Blink) talks about women’s identity crises, how she pitched her book to publishers, her job at Parnassus Books…and shares “women who get women” book recommendations.

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

• How long it took Mary Laura to record the audio of I Miss You When I Blink.
• What gave Mary Laura the courage to try to publish her memoir.
• How Mary Laura and her agent pitched I Miss You When I Blink to publishers.
• We hatch a business idea based on a Cameron Diaz movie and Mary Laura’s book.
• Why women have trouble openly talking about the kinds of issues Mary Laura discusses in her book.
• How book tour has been for Mary Laura.
• Mary Laura’s job at Parnassus Books in Nashville.
• The classic “women who get women” book that Sarah hasn’t read yet.
• The two beloved classics Mary Laura thought was boring…and Sarah hasn’t even read.
• Sarah reveals the trash she read as a child.

Mary Laura’s Book Recommendations (Mostly Women Who Get Women)

Two OLD Books She Loves

• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion | Buy from Amazon [22:28]
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson | Buy from Amazon [24:10]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• Ask Again, Yesby Mary Beth Keane (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:02]
• Out East by John Glenn (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [29:22]

One Book She Didn’t Love

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | Buy from Amazon [35:13]

Two New Releases She’s Excited About

• Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (Release Date: July 9, 2019) | Buy from Amazon[36:40]
• The Need by Helen Phillips (Release Date: July 9,2019) | Buy from Amazon [38:43]

Other Books Mentioned

• I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott | Buy from Amazon [00:57]
• Penguins With People Problems by Mary Laura Philpott | Buy from Amazon [1:30]
• Educated by Tara Westover (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [3:55]
• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden | Buy from Amazon[10:14]
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed | Buy from Amazon [12:25]
• A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson | Buy from Amazon [26:50]
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [27:18]
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [28:46]
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery | Buy from Amazon [35:49]
• The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips (My Review) |Buy from Amazon[38:53]

Other Links

• Musing (Parnassus Bookstore‘s online magazine)
• The “Women Who Get Women” Club (Sarah’s blog post)
• Mary Laura’s Lit Hub article “Surviving the Ordinary: Why We Need Memoirs of Regular Lives”
• Lit Hub article “On Naming Her Book and Owning Her Story” by T. Kira Madden
• Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN
• Sarah’s 2019 Summer Reading Guide
• Milkweed Editions
• Episode 19: Summer 2019 Book Preview
• Reese’s Book Club – Hello Sunshine
• Belletrist Book Club
• Sarah’s 2019 Reading Tracker

About Mary Laura

Author Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Mary Laura Philpott is an essayist whose writing appears in publications including The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Washington Post, O The Oprah Magazine, and others. Across her work, Mary Laura examines the overlap of the absurd and the profound in life, literature, and culture. 

I Miss You When I Blink is Mary Laura’s debut memoir, written in essays. It was named to the #1 spot on the Indie Next List by booksellers nationwide, and was chosen as a best or most anticipated book of 2019 by Esquire, BuzzFeed, Lit Hub, Southern Living, Bustle, The Millions and the Chicago Review of Books. Real Simple magazine called it “the one book you should read right now.” (Get a short snippet of it in The New York Times, read a review in The Washington Post, or listen to a conversation about it on NPR.)

Mary Laura is also the author and illustrator of the book Penguins with People Problems; the founding editor of MUSING, the digital magazine published by Parnassus Books; and an Emmy-award winning co-host of A Word on Words, a literary interview show on Nashville Public Television. She enjoys traveling around the country to speak with people about creativity, work, the ups and downs of perfectionism, reinvention, reading, and writing. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her family.

 

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