The Avid Reader Show

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Jade Chang, whose debut novel The Wangs Against The World was released just this month by Houghton Mifflin. Jade has worked with the BBC, Glamour and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She has been the recipient of a Sundance Arts fellowship and currently lives in Los Angeles. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Wangs Against the World is a book about the American dream, the losing of that dream and the attempt through an erratic, hilarious and poignant road trip to regain that dream, or actually an Asian dream. Our protagonists are Charles Wang, an entrepreneur whose cosmetics line was a fabulous success and then not. Or as Ernest Hemingway says in The Sun Also Rises, How did you go bankrupt? “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” He resents what America has done to him, and yearns for what may be an illusory homestead in China. Barbra his second wife, a stoic woman, is forced constantly to be reminded of Charles glamorous first wife, May Lee and her dramatic exit from the story. Andrew, the wealthy student whose life is uprooted as are all the characters by Charles sudden and complete financial meltdown, is an aspiring comic, who stand up routines, up until a moment of epiphany are mediocre at best. Then Grace is a 16 year old, whose social media prowess is side tracked by the financial circumstance that resonate throughout the work. Saina is the one character who at times seems settled, and then not and whose home is the place to which each of these prodigal family members hope to find their peace. Throughout the journey, a portion of which is narrated by a non human protagonist we are caught between laughing out loud, which I did several times and thinking seriously about what it means to be American, to be Asian, to be wealthy, to be poor and to yearn for various things in life things that on the surface may be ephemeral by resonate with each of us.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Jade Chang, whose debut novel The Wangs Against The World was released just this month by Houghton Mifflin. Jade has worked with the BBC, Glamour and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She has been the recipient of a Sundance Arts fellowship and currently lives in Los Angeles. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Wangs Against the World is a book about the American dream, the losing of that dream and the attempt through an erratic, hilarious and poignant road trip to regain that dream, or actually an Asian dream. Our protagonists are Charles Wang, an entrepreneur whose cosmetics line was a fabulous success and then not. Or as Ernest Hemingway says in The Sun Also Rises, How did you go bankrupt? “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” He resents what America has done to him, and yearns for what may be an illusory homestead in China. Barbra his second wife, a stoic woman, is forced constantly to be reminded of Charles glamorous first wife, May Lee and her dramatic exit from the story. Andrew, the wealthy student whose life is uprooted as are all the characters by Charles sudden and complete financial meltdown, is an aspiring comic, who stand up routines, up until a moment of epiphany are mediocre at best. Then Grace is a 16 year old, whose social media prowess is side tracked by the financial circumstance that resonate throughout the work. Saina is the one character who at times seems settled, and then not and whose home is the place to which each of these prodigal family members hope to find their peace. Throughout the journey, a portion of which is narrated by a non human protagonist we are caught between laughing out loud, which I did several times and thinking seriously about what it means to be American, to be Asian, to be wealthy, to be poor and to yearn for various things in life things that on the surface may be ephemeral by resonate with each of us.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Jade Chang, whose debut novel The Wangs Against The World was released just this month by Houghton Mifflin. Jade has worked with the BBC, Glamour and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She has been the recipient of a Sundance Arts fellowship and currently lives in Los Angeles. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Wangs Against the World is a book about the American dream, the losing of that dream and the attempt through an erratic, hilarious and poignant road trip to regain that dream, or actually an Asian dream. Our protagonists are Charles Wang, an entrepreneur whose cosmetics line was a fabulous success and then not. Or as Ernest Hemingway says in The Sun Also Rises, How did you go bankrupt? “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” He resents what America has done to him, and yearns for what may be an illusory homestead in China. Barbra his second wife, a stoic woman, is forced constantly to be reminded of Charles glamorous first wife, May Lee and her dramatic exit from the story. Andrew, the wealthy student whose life is uprooted as are all the characters by Charles sudden and complete financial meltdown, is an aspiring comic, who stand up routines, up until a moment of epiphany are mediocre at best. Then Grace is a 16 year old, whose social media prowess is side tracked by the financial circumstance that resonate throughout the work. Saina is the one character who at times seems settled, and then not and whose home is the place to which each of these prodigal family members hope to find their peace. Throughout the journey, a portion of which is narrated by a non human protagonist we are caught between laughing out loud, which I did several times and thinking seriously about what it means to be American, to be Asian, to be wealthy, to be poor and to yearn for various things in life things that on the surface may be ephemeral by resonate with each of us.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Jade Chang, whose debut novel The Wangs Against The World was released just this month by Houghton Mifflin. Jade has worked with the BBC, Glamour and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She has been the recipient of a Sundance Arts fellowship and currently lives in Los Angeles. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Wangs Against the World is a book about the American dream, the losing of that dream and the attempt through an erratic, hilarious and poignant road trip to regain that dream, or actually an Asian dream. Our protagonists are Charles Wang, an entrepreneur whose cosmetics line was a fabulous success and then not. Or as Ernest Hemingway says in The Sun Also Rises, How did you go bankrupt? “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” He resents what America has done to him, and yearns for what may be an illusory homestead in China. Barbra his second wife, a stoic woman, is forced constantly to be reminded of Charles glamorous first wife, May Lee and her dramatic exit from the story. Andrew, the wealthy student whose life is uprooted as are all the characters by Charles sudden and complete financial meltdown, is an aspiring comic, who stand up routines, up until a moment of epiphany are mediocre at best. Then Grace is a 16 year old, whose social media prowess is side tracked by the financial circumstance that resonate throughout the work. Saina is the one character who at times seems settled, and then not and whose home is the place to which each of these prodigal family members hope to find their peace. Throughout the journey, a portion of which is narrated by a non human protagonist we are caught between laughing out loud, which I did several times and thinking seriously about what it means to be American, to be Asian, to be wealthy, to be poor and to yearn for various things in life things that on the surface may be ephemeral by resonate with each of us.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Liz Moore. Liz has been here before to discuss her second book, Heft after which she did a reading and signing at our store, Wellington Square Bookshop, and she’ll be appearing again to read and sign from her latest work and the one we will be discussing today, The Unseen World, published in July by Norton. (She will be here on Friday October 28th at 7 o’clock) Liz’ first novel was The Words of Every Song, way back in 2007, and Heft in 2012 and now right as clockwork we have The Unseen World. Liz received her MFA in fiction from Hunter and lives in Philly and is an assistant professor of Writing at Holy Family University Her work has appeared in Tin House, The New York Times and Narrative. She spent most of 2014-2015 in Rome (which must have been fun) writing this book. Which, First of all has a great cover and three of the best epigraphs ever. Which would be enough for me right there. So, The Unseen World, seen, kinda, through the eyes of Ada, the precocious and painfully shy (at times) protagonist is a work of mystery, science and the thought of an intelligence, not ours, which may reach beyond what we now consider the limits of a computer’s abilities. In other words A.I. A computer that passes the Turing Test. Ada’s father is an enigma, a riddle, and one, which unravels slowly but deftly. He is at once, a didactic teacher, a, at least in the beginning, the be all and end all of Ada’s young life (she’s 12, when the story begins) although we travel from the twenties to the (almost) present, with various stops along the way. Our second and most unusual protagonist, perhaps our most important, is ELIXIR a constantly evolving computer intelligence, which in many ways drives the plot and the conclusion of The Unseen World (which by the way is much more than just a title! David, Ava’s dad, is winding down cause of Alzheimer’s, while ELIXIR is winding up, and Ada is growing up. And something that David can no longer articulate is passed from him to Ada, and others which is a key to another story, an unseen story and one which answers lots of questions but in so doing asks another more profound one.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Liz Moore. Liz has been here before to discuss her second book, Heft after which she did a reading and signing at our store, Wellington Square Bookshop, and she’ll be appearing again to read and sign from her latest work and the one we will be discussing today, The Unseen World, published in July by Norton. (She will be here on Friday October 28th at 7 o’clock) Liz’ first novel was The Words of Every Song, way back in 2007, and Heft in 2012 and now right as clockwork we have The Unseen World. Liz received her MFA in fiction from Hunter and lives in Philly and is an assistant professor of Writing at Holy Family University Her work has appeared in Tin House, The New York Times and Narrative. She spent most of 2014-2015 in Rome (which must have been fun) writing this book. Which, First of all has a great cover and three of the best epigraphs ever. Which would be enough for me right there. So, The Unseen World, seen, kinda, through the eyes of Ada, the precocious and painfully shy (at times) protagonist is a work of mystery, science and the thought of an intelligence, not ours, which may reach beyond what we now consider the limits of a computer’s abilities. In other words A.I. A computer that passes the Turing Test. Ada’s father is an enigma, a riddle, and one, which unravels slowly but deftly. He is at once, a didactic teacher, a, at least in the beginning, the be all and end all of Ada’s young life (she’s 12, when the story begins) although we travel from the twenties to the (almost) present, with various stops along the way. Our second and most unusual protagonist, perhaps our most important, is ELIXIR a constantly evolving computer intelligence, which in many ways drives the plot and the conclusion of The Unseen World (which by the way is much more than just a title! David, Ava’s dad, is winding down cause of Alzheimer’s, while ELIXIR is winding up, and Ada is growing up. And something that David can no longer articulate is passed from him to Ada, and others which is a key to another story, an unseen story and one which answers lots of questions but in so doing asks another more profound one.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Amor Towles (Toles), author of The Rules of Civility, which has been selling in hardback and paperback in my bookstore for seemingly the last decade or so! Now with his new novel A Gentleman in Moscow (Mosco)I am afraid that he will be taking up too much space in our crowded shop. Suffice it to say that The Rules of Civility was a lovely book, which remains one of our best sellers, in part because we all tell everyone to read it. I have sent at least ten copies to friends. This new book, set in another land and another time is of equal quality and introduces us to another side of an author whose books will one day, after I am gone, be in our classics section. A Gentleman in Moscow explores a world in which a life is lived with pleasure curiosity and purpose although that life is constrained by space and by imprisonment. Characters are drawn to our protagonist through his charm, his kindness and his knowledge. As he gives (as we all should) so he receives and so the book is suffused with love and possibility and helps the reader to remember that what is worthwhile in life is not measured in travels or houses or jewels or automobiles, but in our relationships with those that we love and the corollary relations with those who may not be ladies or gentleman, so with that ladies and gentlemen, welcome Amor and thanks for joining us once again on The Avid Reader.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Amor Towles (Toles), author of The Rules of Civility, which has been selling in hardback and paperback in my bookstore for seemingly the last decade or so! Now with his new novel A Gentleman in Moscow (Mosco)I am afraid that he will be taking up too much space in our crowded shop. Suffice it to say that The Rules of Civility was a lovely book, which remains one of our best sellers, in part because we all tell everyone to read it. I have sent at least ten copies to friends. This new book, set in another land and another time is of equal quality and introduces us to another side of an author whose books will one day, after I am gone, be in our classics section. A Gentleman in Moscow explores a world in which a life is lived with pleasure curiosity and purpose although that life is constrained by space and by imprisonment. Characters are drawn to our protagonist through his charm, his kindness and his knowledge. As he gives (as we all should) so he receives and so the book is suffused with love and possibility and helps the reader to remember that what is worthwhile in life is not measured in travels or houses or jewels or automobiles, but in our relationships with those that we love and the corollary relations with those who may not be ladies or gentleman, so with that ladies and gentlemen, welcome Amor and thanks for joining us once again on The Avid Reader.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Amor Towles, author of The Rules of Civility, which has been selling in hardback and paperback in my bookstore for seemingly the last decade or so! Now with his new novel A Gentleman in Moscow (Mosco)I am afraid that he will be taking up too much space in our crowded shop. Suffice it to say that The Rules of Civility was a lovely book, which remains one of our best sellers, in part because we all tell everyone to read it. I have sent at least ten copies to friends. This new book, set in another land and another time is of equal quality and introduces us to another side of an author whose books will one day, after I am gone, be in our classics section. A Gentleman in Moscow explores a world in which a life is lived with pleasure curiosity and purpose although that life is constrained by space and by imprisonment. Characters are drawn to our protagonist through his charm, his kindness and his knowledge. As he gives (as we all should) so he receives and so the book is suffused with love and possibility and helps the reader to remember that what is worthwhile in life is not measured in travels or houses or jewels or automobiles, but in our relationships with those that we love and the corollary relations with those who may not be ladies or gentleman, so with that ladies and gentlemen, welcome Amor and thanks for joining us once again on The Avid Reader.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Amor Towles, author of The Rules of Civility, which has been selling in hardback and paperback in my bookstore for seemingly the last decade or so! Now with his new novel A Gentleman in Moscow (Mosco)I am afraid that he will be taking up too much space in our crowded shop. Suffice it to say that The Rules of Civility was a lovely book, which remains one of our best sellers, in part because we all tell everyone to read it. I have sent at least ten copies to friends. This new book, set in another land and another time is of equal quality and introduces us to another side of an author whose books will one day, after I am gone, be in our classics section. A Gentleman in Moscow explores a world in which a life is lived with pleasure curiosity and purpose although that life is constrained by space and by imprisonment. Characters are drawn to our protagonist through his charm, his kindness and his knowledge. As he gives (as we all should) so he receives and so the book is suffused with love and possibility and helps the reader to remember that what is worthwhile in life is not measured in travels or houses or jewels or automobiles, but in our relationships with those that we love and the corollary relations with those who may not be ladies or gentleman, so with that ladies and gentlemen, welcome Amor and thanks for joining us once again on The Avid Reader.

Scott give a terse and pithy answer in our 1Q1A feature!

Scott give a terse and pithy answer in our 1Q1A feature!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Scott Stambach author of, his debut novel The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko (Is ay enko). Scott received his bachelor’s degree in Physics and Philosophy from SUNY and his Masters in Physics from UC San Diego. He teaches physics and Astronomy at Grossmont and Mesa Colleges [or San Diego City College and High Tech High]. He also collaborates with Science for Monks. Which is really cool. He has published in several literary Journals including Ecclectica, Stirring and Convergence and Writing Disorder. Especially read The Siren Disappeared in Writing Disorder which is as Gogolish as you can get. Think The Nose or The Overcoat. The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko is a novel about lacking, absence, presence, love, beauty and death. Ivan who is 17 years old is a survivor or a legacy of Chernobyl and is doomed to a life long residency in Mazyr Hospital for Gravelly Ill Children. Not in the sense of Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or a Narnia, but more in the sense of a Gulag or more succinctly Hell. The beauty of the book is that out of despair, death, resignation comes this pure white lotus of hope, beauty and love. The juxtaposition of these is what makes this book something special. Ivan has no legs, one arm, a thumb and two fingers and a drooping face that produce a slur of a voice. But inside, in his own universe, resides an astounding intellect, wit and mischief and a bit of spite and malice. Lost, waiting for something, trying to communicate to someone, other than his loving nurse Natalya, he finds Polina, this beautiful doomed creature who awakens what was a cinder in Ivan into a full blown fire. I don’t want to spoil any aspect of this book and I sure could, as have, unfortunately in opinion other reviewers but suffice it to say that you will have never read another work like this, unless you spend your time reading a lot of dead guys’ stuff, and with that rather rambling introduction, welcome Scott and thanks for joining us today.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Scott Stambach author of, his debut novel The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko (Is ay enko). Scott received his bachelor’s degree in Physics and Philosophy from SUNY and his Masters in Physics from UC San Diego. He teaches physics and Astronomy at Grossmont and Mesa Colleges [or San Diego City College and High Tech High]. He also collaborates with Science for Monks. Which is really cool. He has published in several literary Journals including Ecclectica, Stirring and Convergence and Writing Disorder. Especially read The Siren Disappeared in Writing Disorder which is as Gogolish as you can get. Think The Nose or The Overcoat. The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko is a novel about lacking, absence, presence, love, beauty and death. Ivan who is 17 years old is a survivor or a legacy of Chernobyl and is doomed to a life long residency in Mazyr Hospital for Gravelly Ill Children. Not in the sense of Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or a Narnia, but more in the sense of a Gulag or more succinctly Hell. The beauty of the book is that out of despair, death, resignation comes this pure white lotus of hope, beauty and love. The juxtaposition of these is what makes this book something special. Ivan has no legs, one arm, a thumb and two fingers and a drooping face that produce a slur of a voice. But inside, in his own universe, resides an astounding intellect, wit and mischief and a bit of spite and malice. Lost, waiting for something, trying to communicate to someone, other than his loving nurse Natalya, he finds Polina, this beautiful doomed creature who awakens what was a cinder in Ivan into a full blown fire. I don’t want to spoil any aspect of this book and I sure could, as have, unfortunately in opinion other reviewers but suffice it to say that you will have never read another work like this, unless you spend your time reading a lot of dead guys’ stuff, and with that rather rambling introduction, welcome Scott and thanks for joining us today.

Good Afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Michael Honig (Michael Hanig) author of The Senility of Vladimir P. Released last month by Pegasus. This thinly veiled, very thinly veiled look at the life, post today, of a despotic and thug-like ruler of modern day Russia reminds us that a country trodden on over centuries, oft-times seemingly points itself in the right direction and then is thoroughly trodden on again. Told through the eyes of Nikolai Sheremetev (Sher Eh May Tev) caretaker and naïf of the now senile and delusional 5 time President and two time Prime Minister of one of the most corrupt countries on earth, we visit first hand the nature and extent of that corruption and the many forms it takes. Along with this incisive and cynical look at Russia we have to deal with, coincidentally, our own election cycle in America and ask are we ready for that same type of leadership the same type of despotic government riddled with vice, ruled by oligarchs presided over by a smug, egomaniacal emperor of sorts. But I digress. Vladimir P. is a masterwork, not only in terms of stripping away the screen that protects a country that even now is annexing the Ukraine, invading Syria and laughing in our faces at our own foolishness. In sum, you will find this book entertaining, comical and absurd as well as scary, not in the sense of monsters although there is one, but in the sense of there but for the grace of God, go we. And it is all true. At least as the reader I feel that way.