Table of (Mal)Contents

We love our listeners—you are as much a part of this show as we are, with your questions, feedback, and more than a little shade that gets thrown at us. On today's episode, we introduce a new way for you to participate in the show with our illiteracy helpline! With the help of Google Voice, we set up a new number for you to call in with your questions, and asked a few of you to test it out. And boy, did you ask some great questions! Listen in as we discuss:

• How Barnabas' personality lines up with the temperament of a cat
• What book we would wipe out of existence if we could
• Which movie based on a book we think are better than the original book
• How we organize our books
• What books we didn't expect to like but we wound up really enjoying (or vice versa)
• A challenge for you: help us get to 100 reviews on iTunes

As always, thanks to our sponsors:

Lagares Roasters has partnered with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship, which produces resources to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus. Check out gcdiscipleship.com/books and enjoy a special discount on all ebooks by using the coupon MALCONTENT at check out.

And if you have a question for the show, call our illiteracy helpline at 615-538-7473 and leave us a message. Your question may be featured on a future episode.

A few of the books that we discussed today (that we wouldn't wipe out of existence):

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

Barnabas is writing a new book. Dave is helping launch a few key new titles for B&H. I'm in the midst of putting together a new book proposal for something I've wanted to write (and have been poking away at) for four-plus years. So today, we're digging deep and offering some practical advice for aspiring authors, specifically around what makes a good proposal. Listen in as we discuss:

• What are a few of the key ingredients of a good book proposal?
• Why is it helpful to have a literary agent?
• Should platforms and audiences matter when writing?
• Why are there so many how-to books on the market today?
• Would a publisher take a chance on Knowing God today?

As always, thanks to our sponsors:

Lagares Roasters has partnered with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship, which produces resources to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus. Check out gcdiscipleship.com/books and enjoy a special discount on all ebooks by using the coupon MALCONTENT at check out.

A few of the books we discuss on today's episode:

America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction by John Steinbeck

Leaders: Myth and Reality by Stanley McChrystal

Desiring God by John Piper

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

When Helping Hurts by Steven Corbett and Brian Fikkert

The three of us read a lot of books, but even as guys who really like to read, there are too many books that are just way too long. Maybe you feel the same way. So today, we're back in the studio in Nashville to talk about some of our favorite books that are quick reads. Listen in as we discuss:

• How do we define "short" books?
• Are celebrity memoirs actually any good?
• How do we really feel about the books we are "encouraged" to read by our bosses?
• What is the best time of year to be in Nashville?
• Who will take the title of Most-Referenced Author from Leif Enger?
• Who is the most self-promo-y podcaster out there?
• Should we call Conan O'Brien's podcast hotline and invite him on our show?

As always, thanks to our sponsors:

Lagares Roasters has partnered with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship, which produces resources to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus. Check out gcdiscipleship.com/books and enjoy a special discount on all ebooks by using the coupon MALCONTENT at check out.

A few of the books we discussed today:

• The Secret Diary of Hendrick Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old

Shopgirl by Steve Martin

The War of Art, Do the Work, and Nobody Wants to Read Your ****by Stephen Pressfield

I Must Say by Martin Short

Churchill by Paul Johnson

The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

April 1865 by Jay Winik

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Great Divorce and A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis

The Gospel and Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel by Ray Ortlund

Lincoln on Leadership by Donald Phillips

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

The Green Ember series by S. D. Smith

Awaiting a Savior by Aaron Armstrong

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

It Worked for Me by Colin Powell

The Lion's Gate by Stephen Pressfield

All of us live around Nashville, but sometimes it takes traveling to Indianapolis to make magic happen. That's what happens on this episode of Table of (mal)Contents, as Russ Ramsey joins us for a great chat about the art of writing, and that time he wrote a letter to Annie Dillard. Listen in as we discuss:

• The magical time in the mid-90s when all the baseball players were juicing
• Russ' book being endorsed by Leif Enger
• Are we doing readers a disservice by making them easier to read?
• The secret to having a bestselling book among evangelicals
• Why Christians need to be grounded in the rules of narrative in order to understand the Bible
• The social contract between readers and writers
• The origin of the phrase "the world is her oyster"
• Where to start reading Annie Dillard

A few of the books we discussed in this episode:

The Abundance by Annie Dillard

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

The Living by Annie Dillard

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

The Advent of the Lamb, The Passion of the King of Glory, and The Mission of the Body of Christ by Russ Ramsey

Struck by Russ Ramsey

The Story of Christianity by Justo L. Gonzalez

The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Neil Gaiman

The Flash Vol. 9: Reckoning of the Forces by Joshua Williamson

And, as always, thanks to Lagares Roasters for partnering with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

It's a podcast crossover! Ronnie Martin of The Happy Rant joins us in-studio in exotic Indianapolis to talk nostalgia, Christmas and romance novels, and trying to read theology.

And by "in-studio" I mean "in the hallway outside the exhibit hall at TGC."

Listen in as we discuss:

• Why Ronnie enjoys romance and Christmas novels
• What's really nice about writing for kids
• If the name "Joseph" is cult-y
• What are the boundaries of Ronnie's Christmas season?
• Is there a mindlessness to Christian living and theology books?
• Can you reach a saturation point with a type of book?
• Why Ronnie is anti-self-publishing

A few of the books we shared this time around:

The Best Gift Ever Given by Ronnie Martin

The Broken Road by Richard Paul Evans

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Die Hard Christmas by Doogie Horner and JJ Harrison (note: this one's got some content and language)

All That's Good by Hannah Anderson

Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham

And, as always, thanks to Lagares Roasters for partnering with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

Sharing and supporting the show

A couple weeks' back, we travelled to exotic downtown Indianapolis for TGC19. With so many book loving people in one place at the same time, we took the show on the road to chat with a few friends. On this episode, we're joined by Karen Swallow Prior to talk books and British literature, theology, pets, and few other things too. Listen in as we discuss:

• Will Dave's cats join him in the new creation?
• How does reading help us become virtuous?
• What challenges do the current (and forthcoming) generations face when it comes to reading?
• Why is reading classic works so difficult?
• Does anyone actually read Moby Dick?
• Which is more virtuous: using the cliff notes or watching the movie adaptation of a book?
• What do we really wish people understood about Jane Austen's books?

A few of the books we mentioned in this episode:

On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Tess of the D'ubervilles by Thomas Hardy

The Internet taught us something new: We're missing out on some huge opportunities with online book clubs, courses, and whatnot. So we're getting our thinking caps on as we workshop some ideas for the whatnot, and bring Dave's daughter along for the ride.

Listen in as we discuss:

• How does someone become an expert in anything?
• What online course should we each create?
• What books will you pay to be a part of online reading group to read with us?
• What books would be part of a heresy 101-type book club?
• How do you pronounce "against"?

And just for fun, we're going to start a new challenge: We're going to read a Nicholas Sparks book together—The Notebook—and we want you to join us! Hit us up on Twitter at @malcontentspod if you're in.

A few of the non-trash books we mentioned in this episode:

Epic: The Story that Changed the World by Aaron Armstrong & Heath McPherson

Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War by Stephen Pressfield

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry

The Kings of Cool by by Don Winslow

And special thanks to Lagares Roasters for partnering with us to make the new Table of (mal)Contents blend! Pick up a bag (or 12) today.

We all love biographies and memoirs. Well, Dave and I (Aaron) do a lot more than Barnabas. But we all do love to talk about biographies and memoirs! And this week we're joined by Dave's daughter, Madelyn, who helps keep us on track as we discuss what makes a good biography and why we love them; the greatness of the word "bloviating;" what makes a good memoir vs a bad one; and why Christian biographies are so hard to write.

Just like everyone else, we’re still talking about the Enneagram. We had a lot of fun talking with Jenaye in our first episode that we needed to make it a two-parter! Listen in as we discuss:

* The right way to pronounce Ayn Rand’s first name* Which book characters fit with which enneagram type (and shred a list from the Internet)* Book options for every enneagram type

There are a lot of different personality profiles out there. Some folks swear by Myers-Briggs (e.g. INTJ), while others the DiSC profile, StrengthsFinders, or one of the 78,000 other options out there to label ourselves. So on today’s episode, we invited our friend and colleague, Jenaye White to join us on the show to discuss the Enneagram. (Do we need a trigger warning?)

Listen in to the first of a two-part conversation where we discuss: