Four Books a Fortnight

This week, Hannah is just back from a super-cool fellowship that sent her to Germany for the Frankfurt Book Fair and she's got some takeaways, inspired by the scale that the publishing industry operates on and talking with people from all around the world. Coincidentally, Sam read some Gertrude Stein set in Paris for this week, along with Lois Lowry's thought-piece on what a world without books might look like. Meanwhile, Hannah had time to read one book in translation from the Italian and another we're describing as a "literary romance." This fortnight, we read:

1. "Brewsie & Willie," by Gertrude Stein
2. "Bad Words," by Rioghnach Robinson
3. "Building 903," by Lois Lowry
4. "Perfection," by Vincenzo Latronico

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Hannah and Sam are doing just a little bit of self-promotion. You'll have to forgive us. Because we really do believe Six Stories a Semester's first issue is incredible, and full of really strong stories, and we'd be remiss if we didn't use this podcast to tell you about it. But we've still got three other great books to talk about, including the newest from madcap-adventure-writer Kate Atkinson (Sam's references are apparently outdated), the newest Reese pick, and a children's classic that Sam has for some reason never read before. But now he has. Also, we've got a little treatise on why you should never write for free. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Our Noble Selves," by Kate Atkinson
2. "The Phantom Tollbooth," by Norman Juster
3. "Sophie, Standing There," by Meg Mason
4. "Six Stories a Semester," by Steve Almond, Celeste Amidon, Emily Franklin, Mia Huerta, Eliana Ketcham, and Jason Rice

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Hannah and Sam have read four books mostly at random, as if to make up for all the best-sellers we've been trotting out lately. We've got one book out of the dump pile, another from the library, and a couple of advance-reader copies that are pretty dang niche. Things we discovered: Hannah is not into grisly death! Sam is not riveted by quilting-based storylines. Sam likes cats! Hannah likes a book that feels like a dance. We needed to move around a little bit. We're proud of ourselves. This fortnight, we read:

1. "That Old Ace in the Hole," by Annie Proulx
2. "Only Good Indians," by Stephen Graham Jones
3. "Abandoning a Cat," by Haruki Murakami
4. "The Four Wives and Five Deaths or Richard Milford," by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Hannah and Sam are reading books for all sorts of reasons, whether because of recommendations or because they were available in the dump box. A book narrated by a dog? We'll let you know if Paul Yoon pulls it off. Another coming-of-age story? You know R. F. Kuang likes a challenge and, well, she's an absolute genius. At least she didn't come of age in the country-club Massachusetts that Lily King relates. Even Sam wasn't ripping smokes at 11 years old. And you know you want to hear what Hannah thinks about Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Etna," by Paul Yoon
2. "Father of the Rain," by Lily King
3. "Atmosphere," by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. "Taipei Story," by R. F. Kuang

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Hannah and Sam have read four books that legitimately kickass. If you're looking for four of the best writers working today, this is your episode. Naomi Alderman? Cool-ass autofiction with a side of magical realism. Emma Cline? Young talent coming into the height of her powers. Emily St. John Mandel? Absolutely crushes it. Téa Obreht? She's crafted a Russian nesting doll of a story. No idea how we fit this all into a tidy 37 minutes. It's genuinely one of our most enthusiastic episodes ever. This fortnight, we read:

1. "The Strangers," by Naomi Alderman
2. "Switzy," by Emma Cline
3. "Exit Party," by Emily St. John Mandel
4. "Sunrise," by Téa Obreht

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Hannah and Sam are reading at camp, the weather is great, and the books are all highly enjoyable. We open with a new historical mystery, move to an old mystery, then revel in the death of many wizards, before finishing up with one of the most-awaited follow-up novels we can remember. Does it deliver? You might have to read it twice to figure it out. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies," by Kate Westbury
2. "The Doorbell Rang," by Rex Stout
3. "Kill All Wizards," by Jedediah Berry
4. "Life out of Order," by Audrey Niffenegger

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Sam has returned to the VERY POPULAR Dungeon Crawler Carl series — does he regret that decision? Not exactly. But not to worry: Hannah read a Booker longlister that asks some really interesting questions to balance things out. Then, we've got a couple of creepy numbers, from an anonymous Japanese YouTuber and a YA author making her "adult" debut, which might be more appropriate for Halloween season. How were they received in the hot light of July? They're not exactly beach reads, but that's not their fault. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Carl's Doomsday Scenario," by Matt Dinniman
2. "Transcription," by Ben Lerner
3. "Strange Pictures," by Uketsu
4. "The Children," by Melissa Albert

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, our sensational title is triggered by our first read, which definitely asks that question and, luckily for men, seems to come to the conclusion that we do, in fact, need men. Your results may vary. Maybe you need men like Raphael Bob-Waksberg, whose short story collection is a hilarious work that often probes the absurdity of relationships. Maybe you need men like Richard Russo, who's gone out of his comfort zone to explore what happens when big-time musicians return to their small-time hometowns. Or maybe you just want a tremendous beach read like what Jenny Jackson's put together, to forget about men altogether. This fortnight, we read:

1. "I Who Have Never Known Men," by Jacqueline Harpman
2. "Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory," by Raphael Bob-Waksberg
3. "The Shampoo Effect," by Jenny Jackson
4. "Under the Falls," by Richard Russo

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, we travel far and wide, from the unpopulated reaches of Siberia to the very deepest parts of the galaxy, and then return to our North Shore roots. Yes, there's another WW2 story in the offing, but, yet again, you haven't read one just like this. And, sure, we're doing the Russian thing again, but there aren't any gentlemen involved this week, we promise. The big question, of course, is: How did Elizabeth Strout do with her depiction of our home turf? This fortnight, we read:

1. "The Sleeping Land," by Ella Alexander
2. "The Things We Never Say," by Elizabeth Strout
3. "Massif," by Garth Nix
4. "Rooms for Vanishing," by Stuart Nadler

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!

This week, Sam is back from Minneapolis, which just so happens to be the home turf for our first author (they didn't meet up, sadly), who never gave up on his dreams and made a hell of a book happen — is he the Ted Lasso of sportswriters?!? Hannah thinks so. Meanwhile, Sam cranked through a couple backlist titles, trying to get further into the Peter Heller and Amor Towles oeuvres and knock off some of the TBR pile. These dudes can write! Finally, "Dolly All the Time" is not about Dolly Parton, but Hannah thinks you should give it a chance regardless, especially if you're a middle-aged woman. This fortnight, we read:

1. "Relegated," by Todd Smith
2. "Celine," by Peter Heller
3. "Dolly All the Time," by Annabel Monaghan
4. "A Gentleman in Moscow," by Amor Towles

What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!