how to win the lottery: a book club podcast

campus season continues with either/or, our second elif batuman novel in a row, and this time, we’re following selin’s sophomore year at harvard. we talk about how selin’s story is an unusual (in a good way!) type of book series and how these novels manage to capture the american experience of late adolescence. we talk about noticeable growth within selin, debate her level of agency in the story, and talk about how much she reads — and how it influences her. we also talk about the novel’s darkness, its “boy crazy” section, and how it seems to divorce kierkegaard from religion. do we live ethical or aesthetic lives? how will selin grow in a third novel?

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

either/or by elif batuman, 6/2

teenager by bud smith, 6/16

surprise! the idiot by elif batuman is no longer our season finale, as she wrote another book about selin that we'll cover next episode: either/or. today, though, we're kicking things off with the (presumed?) start of a series as we discuss autofiction, bob's embrace of "boring" as a theme, and yet another book about language (including, finally, math as a language!). we note the importance of it being set in the 1990s, appreciate yet another narrator native to new jersey, and talk about how terrible ivan is. we admire the book's humor and discuss its feelings of isolation and its near-total lack of politics. bob mentions the book of wall, mankind's great unpublished piece of art. joey confuses the belushi brothers.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

either/or by elif batuman, 6/2

teenager by bud smith, 6/16

in spite of this episode about the instructions by adam levin being our longest episode to date (by far!), it still feels woefully incomplete. how do you sum up more than 1,000 pages? it turns out… it’s very difficult! there are backroom deliberations about a second episode about the instructions, but for now…

we talk about our youngest protagonists so far, yet ones who speak and act and seem like adults. we look at the role the parents play in the novel, ways to read (or interpret) this novel, and the “almost literal magic” that bob finds in the text. we talk about the novel’s humor, violence, villainy, and sadness. we also wonder: is gurion the messiah? does the violence go too far? is this the best book of the 21st century?

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

real life by brandon taylor continues our journey through the campus semester of our podcast and marks our most recent release in this module. after another seamless opening to the podcast, we dive into the “largely autobiographical” novel and discuss how how quickly brandon taylor wrote it (which bob likens to “a guy puking, in the best way”). we compare the novel to the works of bret easton ellis and edward albee and admire taylor’s descriptions of science and tennis. we talk about the novel’s take on racism, homophobia, and misogyny. joey stumbles in recalling an ambrose bierce story (“the coup de grace,” which you can read here). we discuss the classic tv programs “baggage” and “elimidate.” bob describes how he picks books for the show. we take a ride in a time machine to cast an adaptation.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

campus season continues with college novel by blake middleton, and today’s episode includes our first-ever author interview! we welcome in blake at the top of the show, where he immediately roasts bob and sets a great tone for the interview. bob then tries to re-establish his tough guy (and jacksonville) bona fides before we talk about jag lites and florida man. we ask blake about the time and place and era and feeling that the novel takes place in, as well as jeb! and zach braff. blake talks about learning to bartend (and joey suggests he watch cocktail, which bob does not agree to) before blake gives us the “middleton mini module” of books he’d recommend. he also shares his troubles in daytona beach and we all bemoan the death of the cinematic romcom.

after we say goodbye to blake, we talk about the “flat style” of mid-2010s alt-lit, compare it to fleur jaeggy’s sweet days of discipline, and reflect on the variation of campus stories this semester. we talk about movies to pair this episode with, the relatability of the characters, and just how flat-out funny the novel is. bob has an issue coming up with new crimes.

the middleton mini module: everything is totally fine by zac smith, venice by t.j. larkey, hehehehe by g.g. roland, imbibe! by david wondrich.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

campus season continues with sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, our shortest book covered on the podcast so far. after a brief spin-off to “how to score some pottery,” we catch up with shreds and see where reading ranks in his favorite pastimes. we explore some surprising (?) facts about the author and history of the book, talk about goodreads’ description of this as “witchy,” and discuss reading books in translation and whether not the language is “stilted.” bob talks about prose style. we talk about the absence of conflict (and how this plays out in both movies and books), we note an ongoing trend seen throughout this season, and we wonder what we could pair with this for the patreon.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

we’ve got a new release bonus episode coming at you today as we take on the novel devil house by john darnielle. we talk about darnielle’s place in shape and form of our podcast (as well as how his books are of a type), as well as how devil house asks for an uncommon type of empathy. we examine the novel as a takedown of true crime (and rubbernecking?), wonder who the “real” victims are in true crime cases, and explore our collective need for narrative closure. we take true crime filmmakers to task for being irresponsible. joey re-establishes himself as someone who gets everything wrong about nerds.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

the secret history by donna tartt is a seminal campus novel and the subject of today’s episode. it’s a book we’ve both read before, and likely the best book (so far) this season. after a chaotic kitten interlude, we dive into the trouble history of adapting this novel (featuring car accidents both real and imagined) and explore the impact of bennington college’s writers. bob talks through an idea for an elaborate netflix series. we both share our wildly different casting ideas. bob explains how the secret history is “marxism all the way down” and has a foot in genre literature. we pay respect to one of the all-time greats (judy poovey). we relate to richard’s time spent in a freezing warehouse. we make a plea to our patrons, both current and future.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

bob wasn’t available for this episode so joey and “shred” (or “shreds”) do their best in his absence to cover loner by teddy wayne. we discuss following an unlikeable narrator in david federman (and compare him to bruce bennett-jones of the virgins) in a surprise (?) thriller this season. we compare it to the netflix series “you.” we shout out chris christie and talk about lessons learned from american pie. shreds shares a fun fact about reddit, then leads an interlude while joey takes a kitten break. egg outs herself as a nerd in the mailbag segment.

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19

the stadium lights are on this week as we talk about football, warfare, and language in all things in end zone by don delillo. it’s another book we’ve both read, and maybe joey’s favorite book (!). we talk about the narrative’s lack of antagonism and end zone as a “hangout book.” we discuss the mysticism of taft robinson and how discussing the erasure of language makes you wake up to the things that matter. we wonder about the weird ending. bob compares myna to emily ratajkowski and tells stories about infuriating science professors. we also wonder: is this adaptable?

reading list for season two

the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4

prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18

the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2

nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16

the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30

my education by susan choi, 1/13

giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27

end zone by don delillo, 2/10

loner by teddy wayne, 2/24

the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10

sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24

college novel by blake middleton, 4/7

real life by brandon taylor, 4/21

the instructions by adam levin, 5/5

the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19