Mashreads Podcast

This week on a special MashReads Podcast, Aliza talks to former Obama speechwriter David Litt about his new memoir "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years.” Litt shared stories about his White House experience, his advice for young writers, and why his comedic memoir is really a love story. As always, we ended the show with recommendations: David recomments "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean, which Litt reads about twice a year. He also recommends "The Chief Inspector Gamache" series by Louise Penny, of which Litt says “it deals so much with the inner life of people as opposed to just the whodunit. And finally, for budding writers, Litt recommends "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. “That book was kind of the Bible at the speechwriting firm where I worked. It’s about what makes an argument, a story, or a point memorable.”

This week on the MashReads podcast, we discuss Don't Call Us Dead, a poetry collection by Danez Smith, focusing on "Summer, Somewhere," the book's breathtaking 25 page opening poem about the afterlife of black boys murdered by police.   Then, inspired by the depiction of paradise in "Summer, Somewhere," we discuss our favorite portrayals of death and the afterlife in literature including: Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, the Mediator series by Meg Cabot, the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, and No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre. Then, as always we close the show with recommendations: You can see Peter's "u bum" sweatshirt here. Aliza recommends watching the movie Scream this month for Halloween. "It is a meta treatise on slasher films... I would recommend that if you're uneasy but interested in scary movies, then check out Scream." Also, she is embarking on a quest to watch one horror movie each day in October. You can follow along on her 31 day quest here. Peter

This week, we chat with Danzy Senna about her novel 'New People.' And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Danzy recommends A Separation by Katie Kitamura. "It was such a pleasurable read but sort of unsettling in all the ways that I like." Danzy has also been reading through novels by French writer Emmanuel Carrère. "Class Trip is an amazing novel." MJ recommends Release by Patrick Ness. The book is a day in the life of a queer kid in Seattle as he is dealing with a going away party, issues at work, etc. "I've been in this queer YA binge, and this book has been so good. It's been so good." And you can read Danzy's essay about Oreo, "An Overlooked Classic About the Comedy of Race," here.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we talk to Alan Cumming about, well, just about everything. Join us we hang out with Alan and talk about books, writing, the teletubbies, bars, dogs, and Alan's new book 'The Adventures of Honey and Leon.' Peter recommends the new adaptation of It. "It is as good as it could be, which is saying a lot for a Stephen King movie." "There's an attention to detail about the scary parts and the atmosphere they're trying to create. It was very well thought out and very well choreographed and very well storyboarded, I feel." Alan recommends the Billie Jean King biopic Battle Of The Sexes, staring Emma Stone and, well, Alan Cumming himself. "I'm hardly in it so I think it's fair for me to like it ... It's so good!" Aliza recommends "The Sorrow and the Shame of the Accidental Killer," a New Yorker article by Alice Gregory about what happens when you accidentally cause someone else's death. "It's just really interesting and something that none of us wants to think about: how clos

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with YA superstar Marie Lu about her new novel Warcross as well as her upcoming YA adaptation of Batman, Batman: Nightwalkers. Marie recommends Force of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao. "It is a fantastic, East Asian retelling of the Snow White story but from the Queen's perspective. It is so good, and it is dark, and lush and awesome. I can't believe it's a debut." She also recommends Bob's Burgers. "That's my happy show. I always leave that show feeling good." Aliza recommends the TV show Outlander. "It is essence a period soap opera, but it's so much more than that ... the writing on that show is amazing, and the way they portray people dealing with drama is really, really good." MJ recommends Adam Silvera's new novel They Both Die At The End. He also recommends reading the New York Times "Modern Love" essay "Who Is Allowed To Hold Hands." "It's this heartbreaking, impassioned essay about who is allowed to hands and when and where and why."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 300 Arguments by Sarah Manguso.   The book is composed of 300 platitudes, most of them about a sentence or two long. While they seem completely unrelated at first, a storyline soon emerges about Manguso's own life, illness, friendships, etc.   "Think of this as a short book composed entirely of what I hoped would be a long book's quotable passages."   Then, inspired by 300 Arguments, we discuss our favorite short books, including George Orwell's Animal Farm, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, Bluets by Maggie Nelson, and The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon.   And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Foster, Mashable's managing editor who joined the show this week, recommends the The Rolling Stone article "'Silver Springs': Inside Fleetwood Mac's Great Lost Breakup Anthem." "It's such a powerful song and when you find out the story behind it, it one of these things that so deeply increase

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about what we've been up to this summer, what we've been reading (other than what we've discussed on this podcast), what makes a good summer book, and other things (not necessarily books) we've loved this season. Things mentioned in the show: You can check out some photos from our guest, Mashable culture reporter Martha Tesema, here. You can read a collection of New York Times "New Sentences" columns here.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, an investigation into the construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and the serial killer H.H. Holmes that plagued it. Then, inspired by Larson's deep dive, we chat about our favorite books that reveal little known or secret histories.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Max Porter's Grief Is The Thing With Feathers. The book follows three characters after a family's mother dies: Dad, Boys (a combination of the families two children), and Crow (who is the maybe real, maybe imaginary incarnation of grief who resides with the family while they grieve). Through a series of vignettes told from the perspective of each character, Grief explores just what happens when we lose someone and what it means to heal. Join us as we talk about what makes Grief Is The Thing With Feathers different than other grief books and what makes it so perfectly, beautifully, unforgettably heartbreaking. Then, inspired by Grief Is The Thing With Feathers, we chat about our favorite books about grief including The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Enon by Paul Harding, and the poem 'The Gaffe' by C.K. Williams. And, as always we close the show with recommendations: First and foremost, you should listen to Max Porter talk about Grief Is Th

This week on the MashReads Podcast, in time for the new movie adaptation, we read and discuss Stephen King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, the first in King's The Dark Tower series. And then, because of Stephen King's expansive catalogue, we talk about reading Stephen King at large: what are common tropes in his novels, where does the author shine and struggle, what Stephen King books should you read, etc.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, with Yaa herself. Homegoing is a novel that follows the family lineage of two half sisters, Effia who is the wife of a British slaver and Esi who is sold into slavery and eventually sent to America. As the story follows each line's family tree, Homegoing offers a brief yet powerful look at history and family, the forces that seek to disrupt them, and the lengths we will go to hold on to them. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Yaa recommends Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. And she is currently reading Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett. Aliza recommends A Very Potter Musical. Peter recommends Sofia Copala's film The Beguiled. MJ recommends rewatching Legally Blonde, an essay called 'Flying Solo' about relationships and heartbreak in the age of Trump, and the New York Times op-ed 'My Gay Agenda.'

Spider-Man is back! After surprising audiences with his acrobatics and quips in Captain America: Civil War, the famed web swinger is back on the big screen with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Join us this week on the MashReads Podcast, as we discuss Spider-Man, what sets him apart from other superheroes, what Spider-Man: Homecoming got right, and what the movie got wrong. Then we pan out and talk about our other favorite comic book superhero adaptations. And as always, we close the show  Aliza recommends "9 Startling Differences Between Michael Keaton’s Vulture and Vulture, the Website You’re Reading Right Now," a hilarious comparison between, as the title suggests, Vulture (the Spider-Man: Homecoming villain) and Vulture (the website). Peter recommends Mashable's Game of Thrones coverage. "We've been pretty exhaustive about it, for better or for worse. And I think there are a lot of hidden gems of things that might not be recongized, amoung our coverage." He specifical

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Elif Batuman's new novel The Idiot.   The book follows the year in the life of Selin, a Turkish-American freshman at Harvard. As Selin goes throughout her freshman year who is growing up, navigating an infatuation/ relationship with a senior student who is from Hungary, and examining existence and language in the world by studying linguistics.   "It is plotless, it's mundane and quiet and calm, and it's very internal, and it's kind of wonderful," says Peter.   Then, inspired by The Idiot, which follows conventions of Russian literature, we discuss impactful and formative Russian literature that you should read, including The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin.   Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Aliza recommends catching up on Game of Thrones. MJ piggiebacks off of that and also recommends Funny or Die's Game of Thrones recap series "

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Hannah Tinti's novel The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley with author Hannah Tinti herself!  The novel is a father/ daughter story about what it means to be a hero, and the price we pay to protect the people we love the most. The book follows two stories, told in parallel: The history of Samuel Hawley and his "twelve lives" (which are the twelve bullet wounds he's received while working as a criminal smuggler), told side-by-side with the coming of age story of Loo, Samuel's daughter. When Samuel and Loo settle into a small New England seaside town, they quickly learn that the past Hawley's desperately tried to escape is still defining their present. Join us as we talk about father/ daughter stories, the significance of whales in literature, and being an outsider. And if you want to see footage of the greasy pole, a real life tradition that Hannah writes about in The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, you can check out her tweets from the eve

The 'Boy Who Lived' just entered a new decade. Today marks the 20 anniversary since 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' debuted in the UK. To celebrate the occasion, we sat down and reflected on Harry Potter and the impact that it has had over the past 20 years.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss William Golding's classic tale of kids gone mad, The Lord of the Flies. The book follows a group of British school students who crash land on a deserted island, and must struggle to survive, unsure if or when they will be rescued. Then, inspired by The Lord of the Flies, we talk about our favorite books where kids run the show (for better or for worse). And finally, we close the show with recommendations. Peter gives a shout out to Mashable's gaming section and especially their E3 coverage. "They all just did a wonderful job and Mashable has really interesting people working their gaming section. They're really amazing humans who do really great work, and last week was no exception." Aliza recommends The Simpson's parody of The Lord of the Flies, titled Das Bus. "It's hilarious and amazing." She also recommends 'My application to replace Sean Spicer,' a humor piece by Alexandra Petri. "You should read it and every other thing Alexandra Pe

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Lies, from D.C.'s new Rebirth run. Then, inspired by Wonder Woman, we talk about the most incredible, badass women in literature.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, MashReads' Aliza chats with Laini Taylor about her upcoming book Strange The Dreamer.

This week, we read and discuss Paula Hawkins' new mystery novel Into The Water.   The novel follows a small town, Beckford that is reeling after a community member, Nel Abbott, falls from a cliff and drowns in the local river. There are multiple theories about the cause of death — some say she slipped of the cliff, others say she jump, while others say she was pushed. But as the town, and newcomer detective investigates Nel's death, they learn the river holds more secrets than anyone suspected.   Then, inspired by Into The Water, we chat about our favorite mysteries and thrillers, including Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and more.   And, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Inspired by our conversation about mysteries, Aliza recommends watching the movie Clue. "It is one of the funniest movies of all time. The cast is every amazing comedian who has ever lived." She also recommends the TV show Bro

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Garrard Conley about his memoir, Boy Erased, which details Conley's experience in ex-gay conversion therapy. "So much of good memoir suggests to the reader: I'm okay now," explains Conley. Then, in honor of Gay Pride Month in June, we discuss our favorite queer books to celebrate Pride.   And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Garrard recommends the new season of Twin Peaks. "It's like a crime procedural drama but it goes way left field ... it makes no sense is beautiful." MJ recommends "Unexpected video game horses, ranked," a story from Mashable's esports reporter Kellen Beck that ranks all of the weird, random horses that pop up in video games. "It is so weird and so funny ... I was laughing on the subway while reading it."