Erik Jensen was just 20 years old when he met Australian author Kate Jennings for the first time, forging a close relationship that continued until Kate’s death in 2021. This week, Michael chats with The Saturday Paper’s editor in chief about Kate’s life and her underappreciated work and Erik shares why her novel, Snake, is the best Australian book he’s ever read.

Reading list:
Snake, Kate Jennings, 1996
Moral Hazard, Kate Jennings, 2002
Cats, Dogs and Pitchforks, Kate Jennings, 1993

On Kate Jennings, Erik Jensen, 2017
I said the sea was folded: Love poems, Erik Jensen, 2021
Angry at Breakfast, Erik Jensen, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter
Guest: Erik Jensen

Why Kate Jennings Is There in Everything Erik Jensen Writes

Read This is a show about the books we love and the stories behind them, hosted by Michael Williams. Every Thursday, you’ll hear insightful conversations with the smartest, funniest readers and writers we know and in-depth interviews with the best Australian and international authors talking about their lives and their work. You’ll never be left wondering what to read next.

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Writer, artist, and filmmaker Miranda July has a devoted – even rabid – following, through her writing, her work on the screen, and her collaborative art projects. Her debut 2007 collection of short stories No One Belongs Here More Than You was a publishing sensation, and her debut film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, won the Palme D’Or at Cannes Film Festival. This week, she and Michael discuss her new novel, All Fours, which explores desire, intimacy, dance, and an often overlooked part of the ageing process.

Reading list:
Books
No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July, 2007
The First Bad Man, Miranda July, 2019
All Fours, Miranda July, 2024

Short Stories
‘Roy Spivey’, Miranda July, 2009 (The New Yorker)
‘The Metal Bowl’, Miranda July, 2017 (The New Yorker)

‘Women Have Been Misled About Menopause’, Susan Dominus, 2023 (The New York Times)
What Fresh Hell Is This?, Heather Corinna, 2021
Long Island, Colm Tóibín, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter
Guest: Miranda July

Miranda July Wrote the Book She Couldn’t Find

Across half a dozen novels, Andrew O’Hagan has made a name for himself as an author of delicacy and grace, painting the community he comes from, in Scotland’s west, with tenderness and wry, affectionate humour. His latest, Caledonian Road, follows art historian Campbell Flynn. A man who is at a turning point and is about to come up against his own downfall. This week, Michael sits down with Andrew for a conversation about the Dickensian world he has created in his new novel and why he considers it his most optimistic book yet.

Reading list:
Our Fathers, Andrew O’Hagan, 1999
Be Near Me, Andrew O’Hagan, 2006
Mayflies, Andrew O’Hagan, 2020
Caledonian Road, Andrew O’Hagan, 2024

Lives of Girls and Women, Alice Munro, 1971 
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro, 2001
Dear Life, Alice Munro, 2012

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter
Guest: Andrew O’Hagan

Andrew O’Hagan’s Big Dickensian Energy

Winnie Dunn is used to being behind the scenes. As the general manager of Sweatshop Literacy Movement in Western Sydney, she has been instrumental in helping other writers find their voice. But now, the spotlight is on her. This week, Michael sits down with Winnie for a conversation about her debut novel, Dirt Poor Islanders. She reflects on the demonising narratives she had to fight and the piece of writing advice that she’d given to others that resonated for her.

Reading list:
Dirt Poor Islanders, Winnie Dunn, 2024
I Am Lupe, Sela Ahosivi-Atiola, Yani Agustina, 2023
Only the Astronauts, Ceridwen Dovey, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter
Guest: Winnie Dunn

It’s Winnie Dunn’s Turn in the Spotlight

Sloane Crosley is known for her funny and acerbic personal essays, including her New York Times’ best-selling collection I Was Told There’d Be Cake. But in her new memoir she digs much deeper to examine the loss of her best friend. This week, Michael sits down with Sloane to discuss Grief Is For People, and Sloane reveals the challenges of writing an intimate portrait of a singular friendship.

Reading list:
I Was Told There’d Be Cake, Sloane Crosley, 2008
How Did You Get This Number, Sloane Crosley, 2010
Look Alive Out There, Sloane Crosley, 2018
Cult Classic, Sloane Crosley, 2022
Grief Is For People, Sloane Crosley, 2023

Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett, 2004
The Writing Life, Annie Dillard, 1989
Stoner, John Williams, 1965

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter
Guest: Sloane Crosley

Resisting Catharsis with Sloane Crosley

We're off this Thursday, but we'll be back next week.
Email us: readthis@schwartzmedia.com.au
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Why Kate Jennings Is There in Everything Erik Jensen Writes

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