So Many Damn Books

Just before winning a Whiting Award, Kaitlyn Greenidge brought her debut novel "We Love You, Charlie Freeman" to the Damn Library. She confesses to hating animals, amongst other deep explications, and then we switch to talking the genre of "sexy-ckens" with Sarah Waters' "Tipping the Velvet," a novel whose filthy title is only the start of the sex within its pages.

15 seconds of a song: Javelin - Nnormal

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Jonathan Lee takes a dip into the Damn Library, talking his novel High Dive over a cocktail named after chlorine that surely doesn't taste like chlorine. The ensuing discussion includes fatherhood, pool water, and political awakenings - particularly those of Antonio Tabucchi's "Pereira Maintains." Or does he declare? Of course, Drew and Christopher take a break to chat about the Tournament of Books.

 

15 seconds of a song: Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys

 

 

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Francine Prose joins C+D in the Damn Library for some lively talk of theater that misses the mark, thwarted ambitions, and following the characters of her newest novel, Mister Monkey. They also get into Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson, and Francine heartily recommends a foreign film that will "change your life." And of course there is a brief Tournament of Books interlude. (Caw!)

15 seconds of a song: TOPS - Way to be Loved

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Drew and Christopher take a break from tournament reading to enjoy some books that break the mold, namely Alejandro Zambra's Multiple Choice and Sarah Manguso's Ongoingness. The merits of breaking the mold is discussed, along with other topics, like the Disney Vault and Arrested Development.

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Other than this sentence, not a single reference to Valentine's Day is in this podcast. Megan Abbott stops by the Damn Library with her newest novel, You Will Know Me. We discuss prodigies and the grit of teenage gymnasts, and then dismount the pommel horse into the quarry of Patricia Highsmith's slow burn suburban thriller, Deep Water. Drinks are consumed, dark jokes abound.

 

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15 seconds of a song: "Wedding in Finistere" - Jens Lekman

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After a long hiatus, Drew and Christopher are back in the Damn Library, explaining what the Tournament of Books is, why they like it, and what seems like the favorite to win this year. 

New logo by Jefferson Wiggins. jeffersonwiggins.com

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15 seconds of a song: Free the Bees - Chicken Payback

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Snowed in, the guys decide to record an episode, because why not?

They discuss L. Frank Baum, and then an unexpected visitor shows up in the form of Uli Beutter Cohen, founder of Subway Book Review and co-creator of the new literary newsletter Eye Level. Drinks are drunk, halls are decked, christmas trees are discussed at length.

Happy Holidays from So Many Damn Books!

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In this one, the guys look to escape their lives for a bit with some epic fantasy, and they do so via a duologetic ticket to Leigh Bardugo's Grisha-verse. After they extoll the book's virtues and consider the difficulties of escapism, they jump into their Top 6 of 2016.

15 seconds of a song: Lou Rawls - "Merry Christmas Baby"

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The indomitable, incomparable Lisa Lutz stops by the Damn Library for a career retrospective. Drew and Christopher very nearly contain their rabid fandom and talk the Spellman Files series, "The Passenger," "Heads You Lose," and "How to Start a Fire," as well as why it might not have been the best choice to read Georges Simenon's "Dirty Snow" right around the election. Also, the cocktail doesn't necessarily need booze in it!

15 seconds of a song: The Boy Least Likely To - "Be Gentle With Me"

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Christopher and Drew are joined by Jade Chang to chat about a road trip, writing what is most challenging, and aliens. Jade likes how cozy it is in the library and the guys love how cozy "The Wangs vs. The World" is as a novel. Then the aliens, because Margaret Wappler's Neon Green is about aliens, sort of. 

15 Seconds of a Song: Ashes of American Flags - Wilco

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