MashReads Podcast

This week, we read and discuss Stephen King's classic wintery psychological thriller The Shining.

Then inspired by the setting and isolation of The Shining, we talk about our favorite books about isolation.And as always we, close the show with recommendations.

MJ finished reading and recommends The Female of The Species by Mindy McGinnis. He also recommends 'Becoming Ugly,' an essay by Madeleine Davies published in Jezebel. "There is a theme of women fighting back in what I read this week that I very much appreciated and I think is so important in this world we live in right now of speaking out, fighting back, and not accepting the violence done unto you."

Aliza recommends Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. "Someone posted a listicle online this week that I really loved and made me nostalgic about how the book Ella Enchanted taught them how to be a feminist. So I am going to recommend Ella Enchanted."

Peter recommends Gilmore Girls. "I've taken a detour; I've driven and decided to stay in Stars Hallow...I'm pretty late to this party but it's wonderful."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Goldfinch. The Goldfinch starts with a boy named Theo as he experiences a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The attack kills his mother, and in the confusing aftermath of the attack, Theo accidentally steals a painting called 'The Goldfinch' from the museum. From there, we follow Theo as he grows up, traveling from New York to Vegas and back to New York, all the while dealing with the grief of his mother's death and the anxiety of possessing a stolen and wanted painting. Join us as we talk about writing about art, the difference between character and caricature and what Donna Tartt got right (and wrong) when writing about relationships in The Goldfinch. Then, inspired by The Goldfinch we talk about our favorite non-YA coming of age stories including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, The Magicians by Lev Grossman and The First Bad Man by Miranda July. And as always, we end the show with recommendations.

Aliza recommends the Netflix adaptation of The Magicians. "Even at the points where I feel complicated about it, I like how it makes me think." She also recommends Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

Peter recommends the Iranian horror movie Under The Shadow. "It was just a very effecting and very moving movie."

MJ recommends Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. "When I finished reading this book, I immediately wanted to go re-read it again."

If you're a book nerd, there's one goal that's always on your list of New Year's resolutions: read more books. But with the hustle and bustle of daily life, the question remains -- how do you set a good reading resolution and actually accomplish it in the year? Luckily, we brought in an pro to give us some advice. This week on the MashReads Podcast, we are joined by Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. The National Book Foundation is non-profit organization dedicated to honoring great American literature, with a plethora of annual programs ranging from the Innovations In Reading Prize to the National Book Awards. In other words, they are experts at discovering and celebrating great books. "It seems to me that so many of the things every community really loves has some relation to books and literature," says Lisa. "Books are one of our most important keepers and disseminators of our ideas." Join us as we chat about celebrating books of all genres, how to set a New Year's reading resolution (that you can actually accomplish), how to discover great new books, how get through a reading funk and more.

In honor of 2016 coming to a close, this week on the MashReads Podcast, we reflect on our favorite books of 2016. Join us as we talk about the best new books from 2016, the favorite things we've read this year, books that surprised us and more.

"Yet, what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?" So asks David Mitchell in his post-modern masterpiece Cloud Atlas. In many ways, it's a fitting question that sums up the book entirely. Cloud Atlas is composed of 6 stories each about bravery and resistance in their own ways. Throughout the book, each story looks at the figures on the cusp a revolution, turning the tide of either personal or far-reaching history. (i.e. the individual drops that form the ocean of revolution) Each story is told in a different style and genre, all nested within each other, creating a larger novel about how seemingly disparate narratives come together to tell a much larger and richer story. (i.e. drops forming an ocean.) See the pattern? This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Join us as we talk about post-modern story telling, why this book failed as a movie and the genius of Cloud Atlas. Then inspired by how immersive Cloud Atlas is, we chat about books with incredible world building.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Kurt Vonnegut's book Cat's Cradle, a novel that defies description partially because of how absurd the plot is. The book follows a journalist John (who at the beginning of the novel requests to be called Jonah) as he investigates the inventor of the atomic bomb. It's this investigation that leads him to discovering Hoenikker's eccentric children, the mysterious substance Ice-nine, the secluded island San Lorenzo, a new religion called Bokononism (whose basic tenant is that everything in the religion is a lie), all of which ultimately lead to the end of the world. Sound crazy? We know! Join us as we talk about Vonnegut's absurd storytelling, how Vonnegut writes bout science vs. religion, whether this is book is satire and the genius of Cat's Cradle.And as always, we close the show with recommendations.

Aliza recommends the new Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone movie La La Land. "It was beautiful and moving and amazing and I loved everything about it."

Peter recommends Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth by New York Times critic A.O. Scott. "It is just a very, very deep, extremely readable and fascinating book. I really recommend it."

MJ recommends GQ's completely bonkers profile of Tom Ford "Tom Ford on Sex, Death, and Penetration." "Talk about absurdism. This profile is crazy...it's just hilarious and phenomenal."Next week we are reading and discussing Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. We hope you'll join us.

We have a long running joke on the MashReads Podcast -- Can our co-host Aliza Weinberger reference to To Kill A Mockingbird, her favorite book, in every episode that we record. Given that joke, we are happy to say, this week on the MashReads Podcast, we finally took the plunge and read Harper Lee's classic. Join us as we discuss To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's portrayal of racism in the south and if Atticus is actually the hero we all say he is. Then, inspired by our revisit of To Kill A Mockingbird, we discuss books that change when you reread them.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we are joined by New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon to talk about her new novel The Sun Is Also A Star. The Sun Is Also A Star follows two strangers -- romantic poet Daniel and science whiz Natasha -- who have very different opinions on love. When Natasha and Daniel run into each other on a fateful day in New York, Daniel believes he has found The One and embarks on a quest to convince Natasha to fall in love with him. The only problem: at the end of the day Natasha is being deported to Jamaica at the end of the day. Join us as we talk with Nicola about YA, writing about race and immigration, love at first sight and The Sun Is Also A Star.

'Tis the season! In honor of Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, this week on the MashReads Podcast we discuss the books we're thankful for and why.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we are joined by author Brit Bennett to discuss her new novel The Mothers.

The novel begins with Nadia, a girl who, after the loss of her mother when she is 17, has a fling with the son of a paster, gets pregnant and decides to terminate the pregnancy. The novel then follows Nadia throughout her life, exploring how the repercussions of that decision effect not only her but also her community and her relationships in the future.

Join us as we talk to Brit about The Mothers, finding success at a young age, writing about uncomfortable themes and wisdom in literature.