how to win the lottery: a book club podcast

the fact that we’ve been building to ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann all season long, the fact that it’s more than 1,000 pages long, the fact that this is the end of this poor imitation of the book’s writing style. this episode, we’re talking about the longest book we’re covering in our first season — ducks, newburyport — and how it encompasses nearly every facet of modern life. we discuss the meaning of the cougar, whether or not the ending feels too much “like a novel,” and what the book’s form and style contribute to its meaning. bob talks about the o.c. a lot and the honorable judge matt erdely comes to judge a book by its cover — and hand down his first official ruling.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

every book in the first season of how to win the lottery has dealt with heavy themes, but any man by amber tamblyn may be the heaviest one yet. in this episode, we talk about the target audience for the book, amber tamblyn’s style and background as a writer, and the way she’s able to create empathy for all of the characters, even the unlikeable ones. we welcome a new judge in the chambers in what’s sure to be everyone’s favorite installment of judge a book by its cover with the honorable judge matt erdely, then talk about how we’re going to balance out this season’s themes next season.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

haruki murakami is possibly the most successful and most well-known author we'll cover this season, and our sixth stop on our book club world tour dives into his novel colorless tsukuru tazaki and his years of pilgrimage. we talk about murakami's style, the supernatural elements in the story (and why murakami doesn't take them far enough, and the annoying and frustrating reality of authors making their lead characters boring. we also vent frustrations about the novel's unfair characterizations based on how the story is told, and whether if murakami deliberately undermines himself in colorless tsukuru tazaki and his years of pilgrimage. also, a return to "judge a book by its cover" with the honorable judge matt erdely. this episode starts very silly and ends very heavy.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

we read a prayer for owen meany, so now it's time to watch the semi-adaptation, simon birch. we do the owen voice.

(want more bonus episodes? go to patreon.com/lotterypod for new episodes in every "off" week.)

bob has called a prayer for owen meany by john irving one of the best books of the 1980s, but re-reading it has elevated that praise. (joey, far less educated and far less well read, would agree.) we discuss the novel's exquisite plotting, the idea of determinism, and the mysteries core to the plot. bob threatens to fight john irving based on an interview that joey talks about, then criticizes joey's accent (or, more directly, his obliviousness) before criticizing his own. we also talk about the big mysteries inherent within a prayer for owen meany, as well as the narrative's biggest villains. joey unknowingly quotes a dictator then tries to coin a new phrase, which bob rejects. we also preview our patreon bonus episode, dropping next week, where we cover simon birch: the film adaptation of a prayer for owen meany.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

it’s time to remember back to your childhood (sitting behind your dad, flipping marshmallows into your mouth) because our latest book club entry is memories of my father watching tv by curtis white. in this episode, we disagree about stick figure art, then discuss the ways curtis white dissects 1950s television shows and the 1950s nuclear family (and seems to predict the wave of referential media that would follow the publication of this book). we also talk about the way curtis white blends the surreal, the mundane, and the uncomfortable in both memories of my father watching tv and requiem and why describing work like this as “experimental” may be an unintentional dig. then, bob says “i don’t know” before rattling off the smartest thing either of us says in the episode. stay tuned for the inaugural segment of “judge a book by its cover” featuring the honorable judge matt erdely, a new game, a return to the mailbag, and a virtual walkthrough of our renovated patreon space.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

we’ve got just seven days to travel around the world, give away $32,000, and talk about you shall know our velocity! (previously re-titled as sacrament) by dave eggers. our book club continues on as we discuss the weirdness of the title (and the weirdness of the two very different reading experiences), the book’s powerful depiction of grief, and the wildly subjective nature of the narrative. we also talk about how the book may reflect major parts of dave eggers’ life, the relatability of the two main characters, and why you shall know our velocity! could be read as an allegory of being an unremarkable white dude (and what that means). plus, bob coins a new euphemism and shares his latest crime.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

grab a slice of pepperoni and pickle pizza because it's time to talk about pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier. in our latest book club sesh, we talk about how pizza girl's cover art belies its narrative weight, the narrative's commentary on jobs and paid vs. unpaid labor, and its ties to our previous book, death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh. bob shares an experience with a pizza delivery guy he knew, joey shows his illiteracy, and we discuss the specific difficulties in casting a film adaptation of this book and whether or not the book has a happy ending (and, either way, how it could be happier). plus: new patreon perks and a new crime.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

our podcast book club kicks off with death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, which tells a type of story that’s often ignored and left untold. we discuss the plot, the concept of poststructuralism (and its expression as postmodernism literature), and the novel’s horror elements in atmosphere and descriptions. we also explore ghosts in a way that feels off-base until we pull a pro move and weave it into the narrative, and bob shares more info about alan moore than you may expect when you begin this episode. stay tuned to get some advice about advice and learn the severity of this episode’s crime.

reading list for season one

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, 6/3

pizza girl by jean kyoung frazier, 6/17

you shall know our velocity by dave eggers, 7/1

memories of my father watching tv by curtis white, 7/15

a prayer for owen meany by john irving, 7/29

colorless tsukuru tazaki by haruki murakami, 8/12

any man by amber tamblyn, 8/26

ducks, newburyport by lucy ellmann, 9/9

open city by teju cole, 9/23

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro, 10/7

a book club, like oprah’s if oprah were two suburban guys from new jersey, or reese witherspoon’s if reese were two suburban guys from new jersey, except without the engine of fame that those two huge stars provide. but come on: oprah is not going to answer your emails. (trust us, we know.) every two weeks, a new book microscoped and surgeried by benevolent despot joey lewandowski and disgraced college professor bobby fischer... with your help! here's a guarantee: every episode ends with an arrestable crime. will it be something boring like credit card fraud or something sexy like a casino heist? listen to find out.

first full episode will release on thursday, june 3. new episodes every other thursday after that.

reading list for season one

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email us at [email protected]

(music: dark flashes by shane ivers)