So Many Damn Books

All the way from Iceland, Sjón joins the guys in a Damn Library annex, aka the FSG offices. The conversation ranges from ghosts to unicorns, from golems to Frankensteins, from self-representation to translation, as they discuss the maximalist, fabulist fable Codex:1962. They also talk Christian Kracht's The Dead, the light and the dark, and the wisdom/folly of using historical figures, amongst other subjects. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For their 100th episode extravaganza, Drew and Christopher put together a list of their 100 most beloved/most meaningful/most important books, contributing 50 each. Listen as they go through (some of) them. They also try a couple new segment ideas! Stay tuned through the whole thing for a very exciting announcement... tote: http://www.somanydamnbooks.com/totes/smdb-tote contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drew and Christopher host HarperCollins' senior art director for a chat about book cover design, the hipness of text, trends in design, and more, plus how everyone has a Murakami phase, and some surprising things about the behind the scenes of book making. Also, they discuss The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek, the idiocy of war, and who should play Švejk in a movie.  contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher and Drew hang out with a whiskey+tea cocktail and just give themselves over to the book chat. First: BUY YOURSELF A TOTE! The "My Other Car is a Book" tote is now available for your purchase. Then they get into vacation reading, never reading the books you mean to read, Shakespeare novelizations, professional obligations, and how many narratives one mind can hold. It's real bookish, you'll like it. tote: http://www.somanydamnbooks.com/totes/smdb-tote contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic)     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher and Drew bring back the One Book, One New York episode for another go, this time reading the city's choice of Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach. They talk its pleasures, and diving costumes, and the possibilities of New York, as well as the genre of historical fiction, and their ideal choices for next year. And of course, they recommend a lot of other things to read, as is their wont. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

R.O. Kwon buzzes in with her buzzy book, The Incendiaries, and the guys get to talk to her about stuff like campus novels, North Korea, how likely they would be to join a cult, and also Rachel Khong's Goodbye Vitamin, and how to write lightly about devastation, a re-read for D+C that inspires a chat about seeing it in a new light.  contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Abbott returns to the Damn Library for her new book Give Me Your Hand, and Christopher cooks up a color changing cocktail to celebrate. The guys get into Megan's dual jobs as novelist and tv writer, her thriller philosophy, and how writing people who are smart rather than brawny is a challenge. They also talk Lisa Halliday's Asymmetry, its relation to Phillip Roth, and some of their own desert island discs. And lots more! contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Hodgman joins the gentlemen in the Damn Library to talk about all sorts of things, from a Borges scholar posing for a picture to reading rehab after being a professional literary agent. A blueberry-based beverage is enjoyed. We talk his new book, Vacationland, as well as his performance career, becoming a character, and lots of other things that will delight and surprise. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic - Late to the Station (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher and Drew hang in the Damn Library and talk about the books they've liked so far this year, the books they are going to read next, and some of the books they are excited about that are soon to be in the world. The book titles come fast and furious, TBR piles climbing as high as the temperatures. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic - Easy Life (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Pittard drops back into the Damn Library after writing and editing and publishing an entire new novel called Visible Empire! While drinking a cocktail featuring guava and egg white, she and the guys get way into 1962, how you need to make sure your ex knows where you got your ideas from, and how you should always kill the dog, amongst other topics. They also all discuss Ralph Ellison's classic novel Invisible Man, and how the speeches are excellent, it's devastating, but there's also nice parts.  contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic - Get Raining (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.