MashReads Podcast

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we discuss our summer reading lists and what exactly qualifies as a beach read before taking a hiatus until the fall. Chloe recommends: “China Rich Girlfriend” by Kevin Kwan “The Third Hotel” by Laura van den Berg “Meet Me in the Bathroom” by Lizzy Goodman   Martha recommends: "The Wedding Date" by Jasmine Guillory "The Female Persuasion" by Meg Wolitzer "Barracoon" by Zora Neal Hurston "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi "To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before" by Jenny Han

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Melissa Broder's novel "The Pisces," a story about a woman who falls in love with a merman. Then, inspired by the book, we talk about other unexpected romances/ surprising couples in literature. And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Chloe recommends Motherboard's internet-themed crossword puzzle "Solve The Internet." "It's really fun and they are a little bit easier than the New York Times crossword puzzles, so if you get stuck on the Wednesday puzzle like I do, turn to this one. It's so fun." Martha recommends the app Wordscapes, a word-based puzzle game. "I'm addicted to it!" MJ recommends "Queer Love In Color" a photo essay that ran in the New York Times for Pride Month that documents black queer couples. "It's just so beautiful. It has a beautiful message to it, the photos are gorgeous, and it's celebrating Pride and love, and you'll look at those photos and feel good."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Lauren Groff, author of 'Fates and Furies,' 'Delicate Edible Birds,' and more, about her new story collection, 'Florida.' "This book is about Florida. But it’s not just the state, it’s about the state of dread and premonition and the desire to push outside the realm of domesticity and how to raise little boys and make them into good people and it’s about snakes and it’s basically everything that you can come up with." Also mentioned in the show: Groff's 'New York Times' By The Book interivew: "My point is: when people in authority mention writers, they confer upon those writers a leg up into the cannon, and the same people get mentioned over and over again and become cannon. If we're not reading outside of the bounds of what we're told to read, if we're not reading outside of white male supremancy as it's been over the past millenia, then we're doing a profound disservice to the present and to the writers of the past who have been overlooked." Then, as always, we close the show with recommenations. Lauren recommends Rachel Cusk's book 'Kudos.' "I just finished 'Kudos' by Rachel Cusk on the train and I am still cogitating over it because it ends with this incredible... wait, maybe I shouldn't what it ends with, I don't want to do a spoiler! Someday if you see me and you've read this book, let's talk about the ending because I don't know what to think about." MJ recommends 'Motherhood' by Sheila Heti. "It's astounding. Sheila Heti is such a phenomenal writer."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Celeste Ng's novel "Little Fires Everywhere." Then, inspired by the book, we talk about our favorite books about the suburbs/ the suburban experience.

This week, we are joined by Whitney Hu, Director of Public Programs at the Natinoal Book Foundation, to talk about "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones. The book tells the story of newly married couple Roy and Celeste, after Roy is falsely convicted of a crime he didn't commit and is incarcerated for 5 years. The story then explores what happens to Roy and Celeste's marriage when the time they thought they'd have together is stolen from them. Then, inspired by "An American Marriage" we talk about our favorite love stories including A Little Life, Tiny Beautiful Things, and They Both Die At The End. And, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Martha recommneds "Bubblin" by Anderson Pack, which she nominates for song of the summer. "It's just such a vibe. I don't know how to explain it. You just have to listen to it, it'll make you feel happy." Whitney recommends 5 songs that she thinks would be on Celestial's music playlist in "An American Marriage": 'Love Me Right' by Amber Mark, 'Holy' by Jamila Woods, 'Distance' by Emily King, 'Focus' by Her, and 'Tender Love' Michelle Ndegeocello. "I think all of those songs, when you listen to them, have this women empowerment/ also 'love is really complicated and I have feelings for you, why do you have to treat me so wrong' vibe." MJ recommends two Twitter videos that'll make you laugh. The first is an interview where Mariah Carey apparently learns that people have to pay bills. The second is a video of the very polite rage expressed by a woman Kim when a customer Ginger won't say whether or not she wants to buy a cheesecake.

This week on the MashReads Podast, we're joined by Aja Gabel, author of "The Ensemble." "It's a book about music, classic music in particular, but put another way, it's really just a book about people who happen to play music." And, as always, we close the show with recommendations: 'The Third Hotel' by Laura van den Berg. "It's one of those books where you're like 'I've never read anything like this.'"

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451. Then, inspired by the novel, we talk about other books about books. And finally, we end the show with recommendations: Martha recommends Spotify music podcast 'Dissect.' Each season of the podcast focuses in on one music album, devoting each episode in the season to dissecting one song. The show just launched their third season which focuses on Frank Ocean's album 'Blonde.' "It's really, really fascinating. the host takes on each song and breaks down, track by track, the lyrics, the production. It's pretty fantastic." Peter also recommends a podcast: 'The Next Picture Show.' The show is a movie discussion podcast that takes a new movie and puts it in conversation with an older movie that it echoes. "The speak about movies with a level of depth and knowledge that I really hope to possess one day. I really love these voices and these people and I think they're some of the best film reviewers in the world and I am glad I get to listen to them every two weeks. MJ recommends two books. First he recommends 'The Power' by Naomi Alderman, a novel that envisions a world where women suddenly have the power to shoot electricity from their hands. The book then explores what happens when women are given this power that men do not have. "Once I started I could not put it down. What I love about the book is that premise is so simple, but I think the idea is so fully realized." He also recommends 'Tin Man' by Sarah Winman, which follows two characters and looks at love, grief, friendships, and more over the course of their lives. "The book is so emotionally rich. It's beautiful, the entire book feels like poetry."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Douglas Adam's classic sci-fi novel 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Then, inspired by the novel, we chat about our favorite sci-fi including 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson, 'Station Eleven' by Emily St. John Mandel, 'The Afterlives' by Thomas Pierce, 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson, Kindred' by Octavia Butler, and 'Annihilation' by Jeff Vandermeer. Then as always, we close the show with recommendations: Martha recommends the movie Kodachrome with Elizabeth Olsen and Jason Sudeikis. Peter recommends Ta-Nehisi Coates' new essay 'I'm Not Black, I'm Kanye.' MJ recommends Slate's new podcast Decoder Ringer, and specifically their episode Laff Box, which is all about the history of the laugh track.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Daniel Mallory Ortberg's new short story collection "Merry Spinster." The book reimagines classic fairy tales but with very dark twists. Then, inspired by "Merry Spinster" we move on to discuss other books inspired by fairy tales that we love. And as always, we close with recommendations: Peter recommends the video game "God of War." "It is just an incredibly well rought game in terms of basically everything. It feels great, it looks great, but I think what's captivated me most about it is how the story itself is such a mature standing for a character that had previously been an incarnation of greedy bloodbaths. I think it's symobolic of a lot of growth in the video game inudstry as a whole." (You can check out Mashable's review of the game here.) Martha recommends the 1997 version of Cinderalla featuring Brandy and Whitney Houston. "These are all legends and it's fantastic. It's the black Cinderella. It's perfect." She also recommends doing facemasks during your flights. "You put your facemask on and so that you wake up wherever you're landing, you feel fantastic and you look fantastic." MJ recommends the New York Times podcast Still Processing's episode about Beychella, Beyonce history-making Coachella performance. "They talk about Beychella in terms of pop culture, pop culture history, race. It's the smartest deconstruction and reading of what this performance is." Next week we are reading "The Rosary," an essay by Alexander Chee from his new collection How To Write An Autobiographical Novel. You can find it online here and we hope you'll join us in reading it.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we pull together a panel of our past guests to chat about books we really love and think you should know about.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we are joined by Bustle's book editor Cristina Arreola to talk about all of the books you should be reading this spring. Join us as we talk about what books we absolutely loved and what upcoming books you should keep an eye out for, including The Recovering by Leslie Jamison, The Feamle Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and How To Write An Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Martha recommends Kali Uchis’ new album Isolation. “I feel like it got lost in the Cardi B/ Drake wave that happened in music. Her music is just this beautiful fusion of a bunch of different genres like jazz, pop, rob, and her voice is wonderful, and the features that are on the album are fantastic. You have everyone from Georgia Smith to Tyler the Creator to Steve Lacey. It’s just a perfect album to anticipate spring and summer with.” Cristina recommends Radiolab’s "Border Trilogy," a three part series on the border U.S./ Mexico border. “If you’re interested at all in the immigration debate, this series a really good primer and delves deep into it.” She also recommends Francisco Cantú's The Line Becomes A River, a memoir about Cantú's experience growing up on the border and working as a border agent. “It’s just really heart breaking and it’s not polemic and it just humanizes the issue in a way that I think is really necessary.” MJ recommends the Twitter account Modern Glee (@Glee_2018), which imagines the television show Glee would look like if it still existed in 2018. “It reaches these ridiculous peeks the show actually did when it was airing.” Cristina also recommends a tweet of a hilarious photo from a maternity photoshoot with Ronnie from Jersey Shore “It’s one of the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.” Also mentioned on the podcast: 'The Rosary,' an essay by Alexander Chee about becoming a rose gardener. And also, be sure to check out more of Cristina's work by checking out Bustle's books coverage.  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Ken Liu's short story The Paper Menagerie, (you can read it online here) and then, inspired by the story, we discuss our favorite stories and books that describe the immigrant experience.

This week, we read and discuss Madeline L'Engle's classic children's book 'A Wrinkle In Time.' Then, inspired by the book (and it's recent big screen adaptation), we talk about books we want to see turned into movies. Next week, we're reading and discussing Ken Lui's short story 'Paper Menagerie.' We hope you'll join us. You can read it online here.

This week we are joined by two guests  — Martha's roommate Zach and MJ's brother Marc — to chat about 'Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda,' A.K.A. the book that inspired the movie 'Love, Simon.'Then, inspired by Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, we talk about books we wish we had growing up, including The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman, and The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky.And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Zach, Martha's roommate, recommends the Netflix show The Words Most Extraordinary Homes. "The show is perfect because one: it is British. There are two British co-hosts and they are just lovely people, because they are absolutely the most genuine. They just go around and look at beautiful homes and talk about the architecture. It's so simple and so perfect." Marc recommends Bravo's reality TV show Vanderpump Rules. "It is pop culture junk food. It's an awful, awful show. But you see yourself in it, in a strange way." He also recommends Scaachi Cole's essay on Buzzfeed “'Vanderpump Rules' Is The Worst Show On TV That You Should Be Watching." "It's super, super funny read, and it's just a super well written essay." Martha recommends Vince Staple's Go Fund Me project "Get Off My D*ck or Fund My Lifestyle," which was a response to critics saying that Vince Staples raps over low quality robot beats. "I love the song first of all and I love him. But it made me think about the larger cultural conversation about people's critiques about black art, and how a lot of people who write online, or talk about hip hop, don't get it." MJ recommends "I wore Adidas tracksuits for week like Armie Hammer," a first person story where Elle writer Estelle Tang, well, wore Adidas tracksuits for a week like Armie Hammer. "The story she wrote is phenomenal, it's so funny. It's just this really great hilarious article about someone doing this ridiculous stunt." Also mentioned on this podcast: our interview with Tomi Adeyemi, author of Children of Blood and Bone and Alim Kheraj's article for GQ "The Bright Future of Queer Literature Is the Young-Adult Novel." And be sure to check out MJ's review of Love, Simon here.Next week, we're reading A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle. We hope you'll join us. If you're looking for more books coverage, be sure to follow MashReads on Facebook and Twitter.

On this week's episode of the MashReads Podcast, we're continuing our lovely streak of books that happened to have been turned into feature films. We discuss the brilliance of Andre Aciman and his stunning 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name.  The premise is simple: Elio, an intelligent 17 year-old, meets and falls for Oliver, the 24-year-old American graduate student staying with the family for six weeks in the summer. Elio and Oliver embark on a friendship and love story set in Italy of the 1980s. The two wrestle with their feelings, take about a million swims in a pool, and ultimately will have you feeling like a love-obsessed teen by proxy.  But because this book is much more than it's detailed descriptions of bodily fluids, inspired by Elio and Oliver's love, we also discussed all our favorite love stories including everything from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien to The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. Martha recommends checking out Spotify's newest podcast "Microphone Check" about all things hip-hop music—and things that fall under the grander ethos of hip-hop. It formerly had a home within NPR Music but the new reiteration of the show can be listened to here. Proma Khosla, who joined us for this episode, recommends the film Thoroughbreds, which is as she describes it, a "great movie for staring." It features the late Alton Yelchin and, according to Proma, the acting—and the sound—is incredible and striking. Watch the trailer here.  Peter read a book and thinks you should too. He recommends Alone by Christophe Chabouté, a graphic novel that is "kind of wonderful" about a lighthouse occupied by a deformed man and his imagination. "The art style is captivating and it's quiet itself," Peter says. You can check it out here.  MJ recommends reading Jo Ann Beard's 1996 New Yorker essay "The Fourth State of Matter." It chronicles the 1991 shootings at The University of Iowa and the death of her co-workers. "What I love about this story is it zigs when you expect it to zag," MJ says. You can read the story, with both zags and the zigs, here. 

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Annihilation, the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. Join us as we talk about the mysterious Area X, VanderMeer's unique approach to suspense, and what makes Annihilation so singular.Then, inspired by Annihilation, we talk about books that make us go "WTF?!" including: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, and Wool by Hugh Howey. And as always we close the show with recommendations: Dustin, Mashable's art director who join us to talk about 'Annihilation,' recommends 'The Power' by Naomi Alderman. "It was a really cool book and also it was a really fast read." Martha recommends 'Black photographers and the civil rights struggle'. "If you get a chance, please look at those photographs. I want every one of them framed and printed in my future home." She also recommends rewatching Season 1 of 'Atlanta.' "It's a fantastic show and it's very trippy." Peter recommends the BBC comedy 'Derry Girls.' "I think it's pretty wonderful... It's this really goofy comedy that is in a really serious setting, and I just really enjoyed it a lot." MJ recommends Mashable's three-part series investigating climate change refugees and the nuclear legacy of the Marshall Islands. (Part I: The Poison and the Tomb: One family's journey to their contaminated home, Part II: On Standby: When you leave the Marshall Islands, you buy a one-way ticket, Part III: A new home, somewhere else.) He also got to go to a screening of 'Love, Simon.' "It makes my heart sing, it's so so charming. You can read his review of the movie here.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with David Levithan, author of 'Boy Meets Boy,' 'Two Boys Kissing,' and 'Every Day' (which was recently adapted into a movie). Join us as we talk about the queer message behind 'Every Day,' writing queer novels, and how YA literature has grown.And as always, we close the show with recommendations. David recommends Julien Baker "I think everybody should listen to her. She is incredible. I have a massive musical crush on her." David also recommends a host of upcoming books including: I Felt a Funeral In My Brain by Will Walton, Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter, and I Lost My Way by Gayle Foreman. MJ recommends the band Thirdstory. "Those guys can saaaang."Next we're reading and discussing Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, just in time for the movie release. We hope you'll join us.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we talk about all things Black Panther. Join us as we talk about Marvel's new 'Black Panther' movie. Then we revisit 'Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet,'  the 2016 Ta-Nehisi Coates 'Black Panther' comic book run. And as always, we close the show with recommendations.  Brian de los Santos, Mashable's assistant editor who joined us this week, recommends hyphy music, especially because of the Black Panther soundtrack. "It was the soundtrack to my high school experience, t was the one moment in which the Bay Area, growing up, had reached the map. Hyphy music has influences on the [Black Panther] soundtrack — E-40, Mac Dre, go ahead and listen to every song they've done. It's very related to this [Black Panther] discussion, and Oakland, and it's just very good music overall." Martha recommends Queer Eye, Netflix's reboot of the early 2000's show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. "It's one of those TV shows where you can go home, and sit on the couch and escape in it, and feel good." Peter recommends The New York Times' podcast Still Processing. "We've talked about it on this podcast, but they've had back to back episodes that have really been wonderful to me. They did a fantastic one this week about Black Panther with Ta-Nehisi Coates. And the week before that they did a show on Three Billboards Outside Of Ebbing, Missouri and they were to succinctly describe my dissatisfaction with that film in a way that I was never able to put together in my head." MJ recommends all of the hilarious writing about Fergie's, um, colorful, national anthem performance, including "Fergie Apologizes for Giving America the National Anthem It Deserves" from The Root" and "A Brief, Fraught Timeline of My Attempt to Watch Fergie’s Whole Rendition of the National Anthem" from The Ringer. "The rendition was not the greatest. The writing about the rendition has been phenomenal." And be sure to check out Brian de los Santos' story "Someone hijacked my Spotify. Here's what happened when I fought back." And if you want to discover more Black Panther, be sure to check out Mashable's comprehensive coverage with 'Black Panther Week' here.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Dave Eggers and Moktar Alkhanshali about Dave Eggers' new biography of Moktar Alkhanshali and the history of coffee, 'The Monk of Mokha."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we talk to Arvin Ahmadi about his debut novel 'Down and Across.' The book follows Scott Ferdowsi, who is on a guest to find his purpose and become gritty. When he runs away from his home in Philadelphia to D.C. for the summer, he meets Fiora, a crossword puzzle enthusiast struggling to define her own life as well. "You hear sometimes, and this is a cliche, that life is like a crossword puzzle. But Fiora’s perspective is a bit different," explains Ahmadi. "[She believes] that life is like constructing a crossword puzzle. Where you’re given the grid, you’re given the constraints of your life, but it’s up to you to actually fill in the squares." Join us as we talk about grit, crossword puzzles, writing diverse characters, and more. And, as always, we close the episode with recommendations: Arvin recommends two books: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. “It’s crazy, it’s this multi-universe story but at the same time, it’s a story full of heart and interpersonal relations." And The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. He also recommends Jordan Peele's Get Out. “You watch it and you think about it every day.” (MJ piggybacked off of that and also recommends reading Wesley Morris’ profile of Jordan Peele for the New York Times Magazine.) Arvin also shouts out Abstract, a design series on Netflix that talks to artists and designers in a variety of creative industries. MJ recommends the New York Times’ copy edit quiz called "Copy Edit This." “It is by far the most complicated relationship I have in my life because you will feel highs and lows of your own competence. It’s hard but it’s fun, and you always learn something new.” He also recommends “Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you’ve never noticed” a TED talk by Roman Mars, host of the design podcast 99% Invisible.

This week, we chat with Neal Shusterman, author of the new Arc of the Scythe series, the 2015 National Book Award-winning young adult novel 'Challenger Deep,' and more. Join us as we chat about utopia vs. dystopia, writing about mental health, and advice for young writers. Neal recommends 'Black Mirror.' "For TV, I just finished the new season of 'Black Mirror' which is my favorite TV show. That series hits me where I live." He also recommends 'Dear Evan Hansen.' "I saw 'Dear Evan Hansen' back in September and I can't stop listening to it." And finally, he recommends the 'Tron: Legacy' soundtrack by for writing. "It really, really sets the mood for any science fiction story." MJ recommends diving into the archives of The Awl, in light of the news that the website is shutting down. He especially suggests you check out the site's "weather reviews" series, which provides literary inspired reviews of the previous days weather. He also recommends Jia Tolentino's ode to The Awl, "The end of The Awl and the vanishing of freedom and fun from the internet."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we catch up with James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner series to chat about the movie adaptation of his novel The Death Cure, dystopian novels vs. post-apocalyptic novels, and what's its like to write blockbuster books. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: James recommends Leonard da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. "It is fantastic. Leonardo da Vinci had a fascinating life, and I really enjoyed [this book]." Peter recommends Reality Is Not What It Seems by Carlo Rovelli. MJ recommends "'Call Me By Your Name' is the rare case where you should watch the movie before reading the book," an essay by Mashable's entertainment editor (and frequent MashReads quest) Proma Khosla. He also recommends "The Self In Self-Help," a 2013 essay by Kathryn Schultz.  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Joe Hill's novella "Snapshot," which choronicles the plight of a boy who discovers a man who steals memories with mysterious polaroid camera. Then, inspired by the book, we chat about books that scared us as kids. Also during the episode, MJ urged people interested in the plot of "Snapshot" to check out the lauded short story by George Saunders "Victory Lap." During the podcast, we also learned of the very sad death of author Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the The Earthsea Trilogy and The Left Hand of Darkness. We discussed her tremendous two-page short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" early last year on this podcast. Her talent will be very missed and we are lucky to have the impactful books she left behind Martha says she's "obsessed" with a new song by Troye Sivan called "My My My!"and has been listening to Tinashe's "No Drama." Her recommendation unfortunately sparked a debate over whether Tinashe can put out "bangers." MJ is unconvinced that she can. You be the judge. Peter recommends a new band that he's discovered and can't think of anyone to recommend it to. Their name is Super Whatevr and they have a new album released last week called Never Nothing. It's really good, but you probably won't listen to it. MJ recommends Ólafur Arnalds' recent Facebook post about the composer's favorite cue from his score for Philip K. Dick's "Electric Dreams." MJ also gushed over Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet's throwback high school rap video about statistics. On top of that, we all continue to recommend that you see Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we celebrate our 100th episode! Join us as we look back on some of our favorite moments, from book discussions we loved to guests we can't believe we got to interview.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, about her new memoir When They Call You A Terrorist. The story documents both Patrisse's own life as well as the founding of Black Lives Matter. "The story of Black Lives Matter starts before Black Lives Matter. The story of Black Lives Matter, for me, starts with my childhood." And as always we close the show with recommendatiosn: Patrisse recommends “Anything by Octavia Butler, especially her last book Fledgling, which is about racist vampires. Amazing.” She also recommends Marge Piercy “She mixes sci-fi and political issues together.” And she also recommends the upcoming books Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittany Cooper, No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America by Darnell Moore, and Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Our Movement by Charlene Carruthers. "It’s the year of Black Lives books." Matt recommends 13th, the Ava Duvernay documentary. “It’s an hour and a half long but it took me three hours to watch because I kept pausing it, and I took 5 pages of notes throughout the entire thing. It’s incredible and if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s not too late.” He also recommends Into Each Room We Enter Without Knowing by Charif Shanahan. Martha recommends drinking water and meal planning. “It’s changed my life in the past two weeks. It’s made me a lot more frugal and that’s my recommendation.” MJ recommends Nic Stone’s YA novel Dear Martin. “It is so good. It broke my heart in so many ways.” He also recommends reading Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter From A Birmingham Jail.”    

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Michael Wolff's new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Peter recommends The Mighty Boosh, a BBC Three comedy. "It's just the weirdest and most surreal show, that's slightly problematic sometimes. All that said, though, it's a delightful show because it has my two favorite comedians: Rich Fulture and Matt Berry. It's fun. It's on Hulu. Heather recommends The Liars Club by Mary Karr. "Mary Karr is perfect, she's never made a mistake much like Michael Wolff. This published this in '96 or '97, and it kicked off the era of memoir writing. This was like the original good memoir." MJ recommends author Matt De La Peña's essay for Time "Why We Shouldn't Shield Children From Darkness." "The essay is just so movign about how we need to support children through darkness and the incredible, heartbreaking moments that he's expereicend when he's gotten to see a child expressing true emotion and grappling with that." He also recommends RnB singer Jessie Reyez. "Her songs just got me all up in my feelings."

The MashReads Podcast is back! This week, we reunite in the New Year and talk about what we read over the holiday and we set some 2018 reading goals. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Martha recommends watching Lovesick, season 3, on Netflix. "It's a beautiful story of friendship and love. And it's just so good. The acting is fantastic. I'm just the biggest fan of this." Martha has also been working on a movie project: "I have been watching every Jake Gyllenhaal movie ever." Peter recommends a bunch of movies including The Square. "It has one of the most intense scenes that I've experienced all year, and that's incredible in a year where mother! came out."  MJ recommends DJ Detweiler's remix of Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball,"  (h/t Mashable's senior editor Foster Kamer). "It takes this song and makes it even more absurd, and it just keeps building. The more you listen to it, the funnier it gets."

2017 is coming to an end! This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about what we read in 2017, including our favorite new book released in 2017, the most unexpected thing we love, books we wished got more attention, most challenging book, and our favorite things we read (new or old) in 2017.  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'Cat Person' by Kristen Roupenian. Then, we move on and discuss books and stories that we extremely related to.And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Chloe recommends 'Difficult Women' by Roxane Gay. "It's great. I assume that if you're listening to this podcast, you'd be into very interior female protagonists. It's full of them. It's great." Nicole recommends 'A Life Apart' by Neel Mukherjee. She also recommends 'Voyeur,' a documentary on Netflix about Gay Talese's 'New Yorker' article "The Voyeur's Motel." "It is fascinating. It made me think about who we are as people and what's okay and what's not okay, and it's very nuanced. And it was also great to see Gay Talese talking about being a writer, and to get a peek into his life as well." Peter recommends 'Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made' by Jason Schreier, a news editor at Kotaku. "It is fascinating to me because it's an industry with no parallel in the world." MJ recommends The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy. "What I love about the book is: she observes the world in such a specific, unique way, and she writes about it so well." He also recommends listening to Into Strangers, a mashup of Ariana Grande's "Into You" with the Stranger Things theme song.Also mentioned on this show: Kristen Roupenian's interview about writing 'Cat Person' with Deborah Treisman for the New Yorker. The Twitter account Men React to Cat Person.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about David Foster Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest.' And as always we close the show with recommendations: Peter recommends Lady Bird. "I don't think it's a perfect movie but I think it's an incredibly beautiful one."  Brett recommends This is Water, David Foster Wallace's speech about daily life. Chloe recommends the show Riverdale. I think it's a perfect is a perfect post-modern show and I think David Foster Wallace would love it." (Also check out David Foster Wallace's essay on TV E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction). She also recommends How to A Be A Person In The World by Heather Havrilesky.

This week on The MashReads Podcast, we talk to R.J. Palacio about her novel Wonder, which was just turned into a major motion picture staring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The book follows a year in the life of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy who is starting the 5th grade. Though Auggie is a normal 10-year-old boy, he was born with facial differences resulting in numerous surgeries which have kept him homeschooled and away from his peers until now. Now, entering school for the first time, Auggie and his community must find the courage, kindness, and empathy to accept each other, despite their differences. "The narrative we’ve come to expect and accept about middle schoolers being mean and middle schoolers being cruel and all of that is one that don’t subscribe to because, [while] kids can be mean, I’ve also experienced tremendous nobility. What I’ve seen in children is they reach out to support each other when they’re down. Kids have an innate nobility that needs to be urged on a little bit an inspired." Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: R.J. recommends City of Thieves by David Benioff. “It was such a great read, it was a perfect airplane read, it was really a lot of fun.” She also recommends the Wonder movie, of course. MJ recommends Caity Weaver’s GQ profile of Gal Gadot “The Gal Gadot Next Door.” “It’s phenomenal. Once again [Caity Weaver’s] just flexing her writing muscles and showing off.”  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we catch up with actor, producer, and author Neil Patrick Harris to talk about writing, reading, and his new book 'The Magic Misfits.' Neil has a host of recommends including the podcasts Comedy Bang Bang, The Daily, and Human Brain; the TV shows Survivor; Kelly Clarkson's new album The Meaning of Life and P!nk's new album Beautiful Trauma; and more. MJ recommends "The Apex of Insanity: A look back on the fifth anniversary of Rihanna's ill-fated '777 Tour,'" an oral history of Rihanna's ill-fated attempt to perform seven shows, in seven countries, in seven days. Peter recommends the album 'We Can Die Happy' by Tennis. Neil is also producing a show In & Of Itself, a mix of theater and magic by Derek DelGaudio. ("It's sort of a theatrical existential crisis" DelGaudio explained on The Late Show with Colbert.)  

This week on the MashReads Podast, we talk with Andy Weir, author of 'The Martian,' about his new novel 'Artemis.' The novel follows Jazz Bashara, a space smuggler who has grown up on Artemis, the first city on the moon. When Jazz gets a heist job from one of Artemis' wealthiest citizens, she thinks she's hit the jackpot. However, what Jazz believes to be a tricky but solvable task soon transforms into a mission that not only threatens Jazz's future but also the future of Artemis itself.And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Andy recommends Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. "RPO just captured. It reached out and grabbed my right by the nostalgia and pulled me in." (And Andy Weir actually wrote a Ready Player One fanfiction titled Lacero.) MJ recommends this "A Unifying Theory of Bops," a chart someone tweeted that rights pop music on a scale of whether it's a bop or not. "It's this weird chart with all of these great songs ranked." (You can also check out MJ's explainer on bops here.) Also mentioned on the show: Andy Weir's breakdown of the economics of building a city on the moon.  

This week, we talk with Erika L Sánchez about her National Book Award nominated YA novel 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.' The book follows the story of Julia Reyes, a 15-year-old Mexican American girl growing up in Chicago. The novel begins with the death of her sister and as the story unfolds she soon learns that her sister isn't as perfect as everyone imagined. "But it's funny!" Sánchez clarifies. And as always, we close the show with recommendations. Erika recommends Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith. (You can listen to MashReads' podcast discussion of Don't Call Us Dead here.) Peter recommends the Comedy Central show Nathan 4 You, especially the show's fourth season finale, where Nathan tries to take a 78-year-old Bill Gates on a trip to find the woman he loves. "It's just exceptionally good. It reaches an emotional level that the show never has before while also being as goofy and as silly as the show always is. Just an incredible thing." Aliza recommends Avatar: The Last Airbender. "Everybody needs to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's the greatest show ever made. Everybody should watch Avatar: The Last Airbender." MJ recommends reading "Fiona the hippo's best moments of 2017," a look at the glow up year that Fiona the Hippo has had. "Turns out the the United States is living in a monarchy. We have a queen and her name is Fiona the Hippo. [This post] is what I need to feel light and goodness in the world. I promise, reading this post will make you feel happy."

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Stephanie Perkins' novel 'There's Someone Inside Your House,' a YA slasher novel that's a perfect homage to classic horror movies like 'Scream' and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.'  Then, inspired by the vividly rendered gore of the novel, we chat about favorite visceral books including 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, 'Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, 'Room' by Emma Donoghue, 'Wolf in White Van' by John Darnielle and 'The Walking Dead' comics. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Aliza recommends seeing Thor: Ragnarok. "It's not a perfect film. "I thought it was so much fun. It was so funny ... the cast are perfect human beings." Peter recommends the movie The Killing of a Sacred Deer by director Yorgos Lanthimos. "It's a suspenseful thriller sort of horror movie, but only light on the horror. But it is absolutely terrifying." MJ recommends seeing the new A24 movie Lady Bird. "It is so infinitely charming."Other things mentioned in the show: Aliza's interview with Stephanie Perkins about There's Someone Inside Your House here. Check out Mashable's review of Thor: Ragnarok here.Next week on the podcast, we'll be reading and discussing our MashReads book club book for the month — I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez! Also, if you're in New York City or in the New York City area, we'll be chatting with Sánchez about the book IRL on Monday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. ET. RSVP here and join us!

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel 'The Haunting of Hill House.' Then we chat about our favorite scary books for Halloween.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Jason Reynolds himself about his new book Long Way Down. The book follows a minute in the life of Will, the day after his brother Shawn is murdered. In a quest for vengence, Will steps onto an elevator with a gun, on his way down to find the man that he thinks is responsible for his brother's death. However, as Will tries to make the long trip down, the elevator keeps stopping floor-by-floor, forcing Will to confront the ghosts of his past. "Every time the door opens, somebody gets on the elevator, and this person who gets on is somebody who [Will] knows. But what he also knows is that that person is deceased, that person is dead, and therein lies the rub." Or put more succinctly: "It's A Christmas Carol meets Boyz n the Hood," jokes Jason. Join us this week as we talk with Jason himself about 'Long Way Down." And as always, we end the show with recommendations: Jason recommends 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' by Jesmyn Ward. "I personally think [Jesmyn] is the greatest writer in the 21st century."

John Green is back! This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'Turtles All the Way Down,' John Green's first book in 6 years after 'The Fault In Our Stars.' The book follows Aza, a 16-year-old would-be detective living in Indianapolis who is trying to track down a missing billionaire, Russell Pickett, with her friend Daisy, all the while grappingly with her own severe OCD and anxiety. Then, inspired by 'Turtles All The Way Down,' we chat about our favorite books that explore mental health, including 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger, 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell, 'Our Numbered Days' by Neil Hillborn, 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' by Ken Kesey, and 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green. And finally, we close the show with recommendations: Aliza recommends Kesha's album 'Rainbow.' "Something that has gotten me through the heaviness of being a woman on the internet in the past few weeks has been the album 'Rainbow' by Kesha Rose. (Bonus reading: Check out Mashable's Deputy Managing Editor Alex Hazlett's review of a Kesha concert here.) Proma recommends watching 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.' "It's laugh out funny, but also extremely dark, and so stupidly well made." Peter recommends 'The Florida Project.' "It is just a marvelous movie. Really wonderful to watch." He also recommends reading Sarah Polley's New York Times op-ed "The Men You Meet When Making Movies." MJ recommends reading Mashable's Senior Space Reporter Miram Kramer's essay "The discovery that Earth's gold formed in the stars changes the way I see the world." Other things we mentioned in the episode: MJ's full review of Turtles All The Way Down. Proma's essay about why Looking For Alaska is John Green's best novel. John Green and Hank Green's YouTube channel Vlogbrothers.Next week we're reading Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House. We hope you'll join us. Also, if you're looking to sink your teeth into something longer, we have a new MashReads book club book for the month — 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter' by Erika Sánchez. We'll be chatting with Sánchez about the book IRL on Monday, Nov. 13 at 6:30pm ET. RSVP here and join us! And if you're looking for even more book news, don't forget to follow MashReads on Facebook and Twitter. 

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'My Absolute Darling' by Gabriel Tallent with Gabriel himself. The book follows Turtle Alveston, a young girl living in northern Calfornia, as she fights to escape unthinkable abuse from her father. Then as always, we end the show with recommendations: Gabriel recommends ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng and 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison. Aliza recommends Ronan Farrow’s piece in the New Yorker about the Harvey Weinstein allegations "For Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: "Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Tell Their Stories." "It didn’t break the news about the Weinstein abuses but it really delved into what was going on ... My recommendation is to listen to women, especially when they tell you about trauma. And read Ronan's New Yorker piece." Peter recommends Netflix's new show 'American Vandal.' “Even though I do have faults with the plot as it’s told, it is an extremely well done fictionalized mystery, with some fantastic acting from some very young actors.” Peter also recommends watching the french horror movie 'Raw' in October for Halloween. You can see Peter's full list of Netflix hidden-gem horror movie recommendations here. MJ recommends reading 'Call Me By Your Name' by André Aciman. “Boy is that a beautifully written novel.” He also recommends all of the Armie Hammer dance club mashups that riff of of the movie 'Call Me By Your Name', especially this one of Armie dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut To The Feeling.” Next week we're reading John Green's new novel 'Turtles All The Way Down.' We hope you'll join us!

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 recommends you watch the horror movie A Dark Song, a hidden gem on Netflix. "It's really quiet and it ratchets up the dread a little bit at a time, and it's really fun, in the way that horror movies are good. It's great and atmospheric." MJ recommends all of the articles celebrating the rise of Cardi B, especially "Bloody Slippers: The Fairy-Tale Come-Up of Cardi B" by Lindsay Zoladz and "Cardi B, the Female Rapper Who Ousted Taylor Swift From the Top of the Charts." "Just shout out to Cardi B and her tremendous achievement. 'Bodak Yellow' is a bop, through and through." He also recommends "Is True Love Real, Y/N," an advice column by JP Brammer for Grindr's digital magazine Into. "I read this essay and I got Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things level chills."

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 close we are, on any given day, to accidentally killing someone." MJ recommends "The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found," an essay by Underground Railroad author (and past MashReads podcast guest) Colson Whitehead about New York, 9/11, the ways we remember cities after they change. "It's this moving tribute to the Twin Towers and also how we inhabit spaces."

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 increases your enjoyment of what's already such an incredibly great thing." MJ recommends Wesley Morris' New York Times article "In Movies and TV, Racism Made Plain" which explores how white supremacy surfaces, not just during the Charlottesville protests, but also in the pop culture we consume every day. "Whenever Wesley Morris writes anything you should just read it. He also recommends Bustle's article "How YA Twitter Is Trying To Dismantle White Supremacy, One Book At A Time" and Karl Ove Knausgaard's letter to his unborn baby about "What makes life worth living." "In [the letter], he is just so in awe with world ... and reading something where someone is just so in love with being on Earth was really uplifting." 

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 The Thing With Feathershere. Matt, Mashable's Social Good editor who joined us for the episode, recommends VS Podcast, a poetry podcast from the Poetry Foundation. "They talk about what its like to talk about what its like to be poets and humans, especially in 2017. And it's honestly just so enjoyable." MJ recommends listening to the Longform Podcast's interview with Maggie Haberman, who covers the White House for the New York Times. "It's just an amazing, thoughtful interview from someone who is at the top of her game is doing incredibly important reporting right now." He also recommends Joan Didion's essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Peter recommends the album A Crow Looked A Me by Mount Eerie. "[The album] is so immaculately beautiful. It is so caring and sweet and soft and sad. There could not have been a better pairing [with Grief Is The Thing With Feathers.]"  

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.'