Literary Disco

On today's episode, Julia, Rider, and Tod discuss Steph Cha's 2019 novel Your House Will Pay, a book set in Los Angeles that follows two families on opposite sides of a racially charged shooting. They ask the question: is this the greatest novel about Los Angeles in the last twenty-five years? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When was the last time you listened to someone, or someone really listened to you? This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod discuss a new nonfiction book from Kate Murphy, You're Not Listening, about the fine art, the inherent power, and the cultural decline of listening in today's world, and question whether either of them are actually great listeners, or just great talkers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this today’s episode, we discuss The Overstory by Richard Powers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning from 2018 that centers trees in a variety of context as the focus of its storytelling. Can a book about trees actually captivate us for hundreds of pages? Today’s episode is sponsored by HelloFresh, America's number one meal kit. Go to HelloFresh.com/literarydisco10 and use code literarydisco10 during HelloFresh’s New Year’s sale for 10 free meals including free shipping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our first episode of 2020, Julia, Rider, and Tod discuss Madeline Miller’s novel Circe, which retells some of the most infamous Greek myths from the point of view of Circe, a witch who most famously appears in The Odyssey who turns Odysseus’s men into pigs. The trio discusses whether we should still care about Greek mythology, and how it stands up to our current state of fantasy in contemporary literature. Today’s episode is sponsored by HelloFresh, America's number one meal kit. Go to HelloFresh.com/literarydisco10 and use code literarydisco10 during HelloFresh’s New Year’s sale for 10 free meals including free shipping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod look back at the last ten years -- seven of which they've been recording this podcast -- from the books they've read on the show to their own personal favorites. Additionally, they discuss the trends they've noticed in publishing over the last decade -- and their favorite shirt from the 2010s as well. Buckle in, because the 2020s are going to be a wild ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, the Literary Disco trio discuss Vladimir Nabokov’s 1962 novel, less popular than Lolita but it is nonetheless complicated, maintains a rabid fan base, and has received a wide variety of interpretations. They also discuss the National Book Awards, which was happening when the episode was recorded. This episode is sponsored by Hingston & Olsen, publishers of the 2019 Short Story Advent Calendar. Don’t wait until December 1. Order your copy today, from shortstoryadventcalendar.com, and enter the promo code LITERARYDISCO at checkout to get 10% off your purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week marks the return of Literary Disco’s classic games! First, Rider presents Judge a Book By Its Cover, where he reads the first lines of a book and Julia and Tod must guess what the book is with no other context. Then, Tod presents Rock Paper Scissors, where Rider and Julia must decide what is a real poem, lyrics from a pop song, lines from a Jim Morrison song, or a poem written by our very own Tod Goldberg. Finally, Julia presents Bookshelf Roulette, where each host must run to his or her bookshelf and choose one book to discuss. Let the games begin! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod read and discuss a number of essays from a new collection, Apple, Tree: Writers On Their Parents, Edited by Lise Funderburg, the collection presents new essay from twenty-five writers, each examining their relationship with one or both of their parents. We discuss the essays by Ann Patchett, Daniel Mendelsohn, Mat Johnson, Kate Carroll de Gutes, and S. Bear Bergman. This week's sponsor is The Short Story Advent Calendar from Hingston and Olsen. Use promo code LITERARYDISCO for 10% off your purchase! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod discuss Kenneth Lonergan’s play, The Waverly Gallery, which was first produced in 1999, was a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize, and in late 2018 had a Broadway revival that resulted in two Tony Award nominations. They also discuss the similarities and differences between playwriting and screenwriting, the legacy of actor William Daniels, who player Mr. Feeny on Boy Meets World, and what it takes to finish writing a book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod read the strange, sometimes funny, but mostly disturbing and always feminist debut of short stories by the author Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body and Other Parties. Discussing the book, the three explore what it means to write a short story collection, how cringe-worthy storytelling can be successful, and clickbait headlines coinciding with the launch of Rider’s first play. Pour yourself a drink, turn on the lights, and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June, the Washington Post published an article titled “Books for the Ages,” a list of book recommendations based on how old you are, going from year one to 100. This week, each host has read the book recommended for their year, and since your Literary Disco hosts are different ages we’ve read three different books. We talk about our selections, as well as the concept of age in general when it comes to reading. Should you read the right book at the right time, or is a good book a good book no matter how old you are? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod go all the way back in time, to the prehistoric days of November 1990 when a man named Michael Crichton published a little book called Jurassic Park. The book launched a franchise that spans two novels, five movies—with a sixth on the way—that has raked in $1.2 billion worldwide, multiple amusement park rides, millions of plastic dinosaur toys, and it ensured we all know the words “velociraptor” and “chaos theory.” But is the book any good? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, we welcome author Anthony McCann, whose new book is called Shadowlands: Fear and Freedom at the Oregon Standoff. It’s an in-depth examination of the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016 and its subsequent trial. In Literary Disco tradition, we also asked Anthony to recommend a book for us to read, and he chose Style by Dolores Dorantes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Literary Disco goes back to high school, or college, to discuss the infamous book that at some point you had to read, were told you should read, or you actually did read — or at least skimmed the Clif Notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a while since Literary Disco discussed magazine journalism. This week, Julia and Rider take into dive into three different articles that have appeared in Outside magazine over the past five years, all chosen from their “The Best Stories We’ve Ever Told” list: “Open Your Mouth and You’re Dead” by James Nestor “John and Ann Bender and Their Quest for Paradise” by Ned Zeman “The Tuber” by Wells Tower Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices