MashReads Podcast

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about David Foster Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest.'

And as always we close the show with recommendations:

Peter recommends Lady Bird. "I don't think it's a perfect movie but I think it's an incredibly beautiful one." 

Brett recommends This is Water, David Foster Wallace's speech about daily life.

Chloe recommends the show Riverdale. I think it's a perfect is a perfect post-modern show and I think David Foster Wallace would love it." (Also check out David Foster Wallace's essay on TV E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction). She also recommends How to A Be A Person In The World by Heather Havrilesky.

This week on The MashReads Podcast, we talk to R.J. Palacio about her novel Wonder, which was just turned into a major motion picture staring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson.

The book follows a year in the life of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy who is starting the 5th grade. Though Auggie is a normal 10-year-old boy, he was born with facial differences resulting in numerous surgeries which have kept him homeschooled and away from his peers until now. Now, entering school for the first time, Auggie and his community must find the courage, kindness, and empathy to accept each other, despite their differences.

"The narrative we’ve come to expect and accept about middle schoolers being mean and middle schoolers being cruel and all of that is one that don’t subscribe to because, [while] kids can be mean, I’ve also experienced tremendous nobility. What I’ve seen in children is they reach out to support each other when they’re down. Kids have an innate nobility that needs to be urged on a little bit an inspired."

Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations:

R.J. recommends City of Thieves by David Benioff. “It was such a great read, it was a perfect airplane read, it was really a lot of fun.” She also recommends the Wonder movie, of course.

MJ recommends Caity Weaver’s GQ profile of Gal Gadot “The Gal Gadot Next Door.” “It’s phenomenal. Once again [Caity Weaver’s] just flexing her writing muscles and showing off.”

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we catch up with actor, producer, and author Neil Patrick Harris to talk about writing, reading, and his new book 'The Magic Misfits.'

Neil has a host of recommends including the podcasts Comedy Bang Bang, The Daily, and Human Brain; the TV shows Survivor; Kelly Clarkson's new album The Meaning of Life and P!nk's new album Beautiful Trauma; and more.

MJ recommends "The Apex of Insanity: A look back on the fifth anniversary of Rihanna's ill-fated '777 Tour,'" an oral history of Rihanna's ill-fated attempt to perform seven shows, in seven countries, in seven days.

Peter recommends the album 'We Can Die Happy' by Tennis.

Neil is also producing a show In & Of Itself, a mix of theater and magic by Derek DelGaudio. ("It's sort of a theatrical existential crisis" DelGaudio explained on The Late Show with Colbert.)

This week on the MashReads Podast, we talk with Andy Weir, author of 'The Martian,' about his new novel 'Artemis.'

The novel follows Jazz Bashara, a space smuggler who has grown up on Artemis, the first city on the moon. When Jazz gets a heist job from one of Artemis' wealthiest citizens, she thinks she's hit the jackpot. However, what Jazz believes to be a tricky but solvable task soon transforms into a mission that not only threatens Jazz's future but also the future of Artemis itself.And as always, we close the show with recommendations:

Andy recommends Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. "RPO just captured. It reached out and grabbed my right by the nostalgia and pulled me in." (And Andy Weir actually wrote a Ready Player One fanfiction titled Lacero.)

MJ recommends this "A Unifying Theory of Bops," a chart someone tweeted that rights pop music on a scale of whether it's a bop or not. "It's this weird chart with all of these great songs ranked." (You can also check out MJ's explainer on bops here.)

Also mentioned on the show: Andy Weir's breakdown of the economics of building a city on the moon.

This week, we talk with Erika L Sánchez about her National Book Award nominated YA novel 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.' The book follows the story of Julia Reyes, a 15-year-old Mexican American girl growing up in Chicago. The novel begins with the death of her sister and as the story unfolds she soon learns that her sister isn't as perfect as everyone imagined. "But it's funny!" Sánchez clarifies. And as always, we close the show with recommendations.

Erika recommends Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith. (You can listen to MashReads' podcast discussion of Don't Call Us Dead here.)

Peter recommends the Comedy Central show Nathan 4 You, especially the show's fourth season finale, where Nathan tries to take a 78-year-old Bill Gates on a trip to find the woman he loves. "It's just exceptionally good. It reaches an emotional level that the show never has before while also being as goofy and as silly as the show always is. Just an incredible thing."

Aliza recommends Avatar: The Last Airbender. "Everybody needs to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's the greatest show ever made. Everybody should watch Avatar: The Last Airbender."

MJ recommends reading "Fiona the hippo's best moments of 2017," a look at the glow up year that Fiona the Hippo has had. "Turns out the the United States is living in a monarchy. We have a queen and her name is Fiona the Hippo. [This post] is what I need to feel light and goodness in the world. I promise, reading this post will make you feel happy."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Stephanie Perkins' novel 'There's Someone Inside Your House,' a YA slasher novel that's a perfect homage to classic horror movies like 'Scream' and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.'  Then, inspired by the vividly rendered gore of the novel, we chat about favorite visceral books including 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, 'Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, 'Room' by Emma Donoghue, 'Wolf in White Van' by John Darnielle and 'The Walking Dead' comics. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations:

Aliza recommends seeing Thor: Ragnarok. "It's not a perfect film. "I thought it was so much fun. It was so funny ... the cast are perfect human beings."

Peter recommends the movie The Killing of a Sacred Deer by director Yorgos Lanthimos. "It's a suspenseful thriller sort of horror movie, but only light on the horror. But it is absolutely terrifying."

MJ recommends seeing the new A24 movie Lady Bird. "It is so infinitely charming."Other things mentioned in the show:

Aliza's interview with Stephanie Perkins about There's Someone Inside Your House here.

Check out Mashable's review of Thor: Ragnarok here.Next week on the podcast, we'll be reading and discussing our MashReads book club book for the month — I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez! Also, if you're in New York City or in the New York City area, we'll be chatting with Sánchez about the book IRL on Monday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. ET. RSVP here and join us!

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel 'The Haunting of Hill House.' Then we chat about our favorite scary books for Halloween.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Jason Reynolds himself about his new book Long Way Down.

The book follows a minute in the life of Will, the day after his brother Shawn is murdered. In a quest for vengence, Will steps onto an elevator with a gun, on his way down to find the man that he thinks is responsible for his brother's death. However, as Will tries to make the long trip down, the elevator keeps stopping floor-by-floor, forcing Will to confront the ghosts of his past. "Every time the door opens, somebody gets on the elevator, and this person who gets on is somebody who [Will] knows. But what he also knows is that that person is deceased, that person is dead, and therein lies the rub."

Or put more succinctly: "It's A Christmas Carol meets Boyz n the Hood," jokes Jason.

Join us this week as we talk with Jason himself about 'Long Way Down."

And as always, we end the show with recommendations:

Jason recommends 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' by Jesmyn Ward. "I personally think [Jesmyn] is the greatest writer in the 21st century."

John Green is back!

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'Turtles All the Way Down,' John Green's first book in 6 years after 'The Fault In Our Stars.' The book follows Aza, a 16-year-old would-be detective living in Indianapolis who is trying to track down a missing billionaire, Russell Pickett, with her friend Daisy, all the while grappingly with her own severe OCD and anxiety.

Then, inspired by 'Turtles All The Way Down,' we chat about our favorite books that explore mental health, including 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger, 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell, 'Our Numbered Days' by Neil Hillborn, 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' by Ken Kesey, and 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green.

And finally, we close the show with recommendations:

Aliza recommends Kesha's album 'Rainbow.' "Something that has gotten me through the heaviness of being a woman on the internet in the past few weeks has been the album 'Rainbow' by Kesha Rose. (Bonus reading: Check out Mashable's Deputy Managing Editor Alex Hazlett's review of a Kesha concert here.)

Proma recommends watching 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.' "It's laugh out funny, but also extremely dark, and so stupidly well made."

Peter recommends 'The Florida Project.' "It is just a marvelous movie. Really wonderful to watch." He also recommends reading Sarah Polley's New York Times op-ed "The Men You Meet When Making Movies."

MJ recommends reading Mashable's Senior Space Reporter Miram Kramer's essay "The discovery that Earth's gold formed in the stars changes the way I see the world."

Other things we mentioned in the episode:

MJ's full review of Turtles All The Way Down.

Proma's essay about why Looking For Alaska is John Green's best novel.

John Green and Hank Green's YouTube channel Vlogbrothers.Next week we're reading Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House. We hope you'll join us. Also, if you're looking to sink your teeth into something longer, we have a new MashReads book club book for the month — 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter' by Erika Sánchez. We'll be chatting with Sánchez about the book IRL on Monday, Nov. 13 at 6:30pm ET. RSVP here and join us! And if you're looking for even more book news, don't forget to follow MashReads on Facebook and Twitter.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'My Absolute Darling' by Gabriel Tallent with Gabriel himself.

The book follows Turtle Alveston, a young girl living in northern Calfornia, as she fights to escape unthinkable abuse from her father.

Then as always, we end the show with recommendations:

Gabriel recommends ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng and 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison.

Aliza recommends Ronan Farrow’s piece in the New Yorker about the Harvey Weinstein allegations "For Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: "Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Tell Their Stories." "It didn’t break the news about the Weinstein abuses but it really delved into what was going on ... My recommendation is to listen to women, especially when they tell you about trauma. And read Ronan's New Yorker piece."

Peter recommends Netflix's new show 'American Vandal.' “Even though I do have faults with the plot as it’s told, it is an extremely well done fictionalized mystery, with some fantastic acting from some very young actors.” Peter also recommends watching the french horror movie 'Raw' in October for Halloween. You can see Peter's full list of Netflix hidden-gem horror movie recommendations here.

MJ recommends reading 'Call Me By Your Name' by André Aciman. “Boy is that a beautifully written novel.” He also recommends all of the Armie Hammer dance club mashups that riff of of the movie 'Call Me By Your Name', especially this one of Armie dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut To The Feeling.”

Next week we're reading John Green's new novel 'Turtles All The Way Down.' We hope you'll join us!