

So Many Damn Books
Christopher Hermelin
A blessing, a curse, a podcast, since 2014. Christopher (@cdhermelin) invites folks to the Damn Library to talk about reading, literature, publishing, and trying to make it through the never-dwindling stack of things to read. All with a themed drink in hand. Recorded at the Damn Library in Brooklyn, NY. For show info, book lists, and drink recipes, follow @somanydamnbooks and visit somanydamnbooks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 28, 2021 • 1h 2min
175: Winter Ramble 2021
Drew is saying goodbye and vacating his role as co-host. That means one last episode with all the normal trappings, plus a wander into a chat about how the reading this year went, and if he achieved any goals he wanted to achieve when we started. Join us on this chilly, nostalgic stroll.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 14, 2021 • 1h 9min
174: Eugene Lim (SEARCH HISTORY) & César Aira's CONVERSATIONS
Eugene Lim stops by the Damn Library to discuss his novel Search History, which sends the conversation careening from AI to authenticity to writing theatrically to songwriting to rainy day ideas, and that spiral leads (as it often does) to discussing César Aira and his work, particularly Conversations. Listen up!contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 30, 2021 • 1h 1min
173: Uli Beutter Cohen (BETWEEN THE LINES: STORIES FROM THE UNDERGROUND) & Katherine May's WINTERING
Uli Beutter Cohen, stops into the Damn Library for the third time, but for her first time as an author. She wrote Between the Lines: Stories from the Underground, and she talks about the culmination of her project of interviewing people about the books they're reading underneath the clamoring city, teases her pop-up store underneath Union Square (open until December 12th 2021!), and more. Plus, she brought us Wintering by Katherine May, a book that was sorely needed by all three folks.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 16, 2021 • 1h 4min
172: Gus Moreno (THIS THING BETWEEN US) & Clive Barker's THE HELLBOUND HEART
Gus Moreno joins Christopher and Drew in the Cosmic Horrorspace of the Zoom Damn Library to talk about This Thing Between Us. First they get into how he wrote about what scares him to write through grief. Then it breaks out into writing dogs, and writing every day, and writing about haunted houses leading to writing about haunted smart speakers. Plus, he brought along The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, a classic novella that contains the blueprints for a horror universe.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 2, 2021 • 43min
171: Autumn Ramble 2021
Christopher and Drew hang out and chat about books, which is to be expected. Having just celebrated Halloween, they get into what they did to celebrate the holiday, scary reads, and Drew has an October Country update as well as a life update about new employment. Also, Christopher finds a long lost book title.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 19, 2021 • 1h 9min
170: Ruth Ozeki (THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS) & Walter Benjamin's "UNPACKING MY LIBRARY"
Ruth Ozeki steps on into the Damn Library Hyperverse to shine. We talk about her latest opus, The Book of Form and Emptiness, and how books are magical, and accessing her teenage self, and an unexpected turn of narrative luck with snowglobes, along with many other things. Plus she brings us Walter Benjamin's essay, "Unpacking My Library" and we talk about what book collecting means to all of us.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 5, 2021 • 56min
169: Alexandra Kleeman (SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN) & André Gide's MARSHLANDS
Alexandra Kleeman is back in the Damn Library! For the third time! This visit, she's brought along her new novel, Something New Under the Sun! We are thrilled to discuss the menace of water that doesn't taste right, online forums, and what she'd write if she could add to it, and so much more, including André Gide's Marshlands, which renders a writer's life in relatable terms.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 21, 2021 • 43min
168: Reading Snapshot, Moving Edition
Christopher and Drew talk about getting rid of books, and trying to be more in the present, and the logic of owning a lot of books. Also, a digression into Gary Paulsen's work.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 7, 2021 • 51min
167: McSweeney's Issue 64: The Audio Issue
For this one, we had two producers of the new McSweeney's issue into the Damn Library hyper-verse: Julie Shapiro from Radiotopia and Claire Boyle from McSweeney's. We talk all about this "box of stuff" they produced - from how it feels to curate the 64th edition of this storied literary magazine, to putting audio together, to collaboration, and more. Plus, Christopher and Drew get to talk about some of the stuff they've loved that McSweeney's has done over the years. Y'all oughta listen up and listen good.contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbThis week's sponsor: Right now, we’re offering listeners of this program a free 60-day trial. Go to try.scribd.com/SMDB for your free trial.for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 24, 2021 • 59min
166: Mona Awad (ALL'S WELL) & Sara Gran's COME CLOSER
Mona Awad joins the guys in the zooming Damn Library to talk her new novel, All's Well, which means talk about Shakespeare, and destiny, and magic happening, and chronic pain - all the fun stuff. Then she brought Sara Gran's Come Closer and everyone got to be possessed by the demon that is Sara Gran's writing style. Can you hear that scratching too?contribute! https://patreon.com/smdbfor drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.commusic: Disaster Magic(https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic)This week's sponsor: Right now, we’re offering listeners of this program a free 60-day trial. Go to try.scribd.com/SMDB for your free trial.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


