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In this week's episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss the NEA Big Read for Montana, The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. Topics include the Notorious EGF (Elizabeth Gurley Flynn), warm weasel hands, and the correct way to pronounce Spokane (it's Spo-CAN, Taylor…).This week's drink: Union Club via Difford's GuideINGREDIENTS: 2 oz Bourbon whiskey½ oz maraschino liqueur½ oz Campari1 ½ oz orange juice, freshly squeezedINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice Shake until chilledStrain into a chilled glassCurrent reads, recommendations, and links:Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-GarciaBookworm by Robin YeatmanThe Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths by Brad FoxKillers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David GrannThe Witch's Feast: A Kitchen Grimoire by Melissa Jayne MadaraNEA Big Read Program with Chris La Tray: Stolen: If They Haven't Come for Yours, They WillFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss Coraline by Neil GaimanHere is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!The Other Mother created by Taylor!INGREDIENTS:1.5oz Vodka1/4 oz crème de mûre (or any other dark berry liqueur you have on hand)BlackberriesSpriteINSTRUCTIONS:Muddle a small handful of blackberries in your shaker. Add your vodka, crème de mûre and ice into shaker and shake. Pour into a tall glass and top with sprite.
In this week's episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Emily Brontë's classic 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. Topics include fun sad facts about the Brontës, obsessive love, and literal and metaphorical haunting. Also: farts.This week's drink: Dark ‘n Stormy via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:2 ounces Gosling's Black Seal rum1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezedGinger beer, to top (about 5 ounces)Garnish: lime wheelINSTRUCTIONS:Add rum and lime juice to a tall glass filled with ice.Top with the ginger beer.Garnish with a lime wheel.Current reads, recommendations, and links:The Midnight Library by Matt HaigFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss The Cold Millions by Jess Walter.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!Union Club via Difford's GuideINGREDIENTS: 2 oz Bourbon whiskey½ oz maraschino liqueur½ oz Campari1 ½ oz orange juice, freshly squeezedINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice Shake until chilledStrain into a chilled glass
What makes a place magical? A lot of factors can go into it, but one of them is certainly, as author Jess Walter puts it, when "history connects with the experience you're having." In this case, he's talking about the Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli, the very hotel where we are hosting our magical Roman Adventure this October. (Email us to find out how you can join us!) Today we talk with Jess to discover just what makes this hotel so magical, and why he chose to feature it in an article he wrote about a recent family trip to Rome. Jess Walter is the author of ten books, most recently the short story collection The Angel of Rome. His other books include the national bestseller The Cold Millions; the #1 New York Times bestseller, Beautiful Ruins; The Zero, a finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award. His work has been published in 34 languages and his short fiction has appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
The Chuckanut Radio Hour has a special Whatcom Reads show for you! Tonight's guest author Jess Walter for his book, The Cold Millions. Interviewed by Dave Tucker of the IWW. The Chuckanut Radio Players paint the town green in a new episode of As the Ham Turns. Our musical guest is singer, songwriter Linda Allen … and more than a few of her musical friends.. Our resident poet, Kevin Murphy's travel plans fell through…but hey! he gets to be on the Radio Hour! Announcer Sarah Hutton and hosts Kelly Evert and Paul Hanson. Recorded live at Hotel Leo in Bellingham, Washington, the City of Subdued Excitement.
An interview with Jess Walter to kick off the Whatcom READS 2023 Season. Jess comes to town March 2-4 to talk about his historical novel, The Cold Millions. Find out more at whatcomreads.org
Jess Walter's new short story collection, "The Angel of Rome," explores the little moments in life that spark big change, for better or worse. The bestselling author of "Beautiful Ruins," "The Cold Millions," and seven other books joins Nancy Pearl to discuss his early career as a journalist (in his hometown of Spokane), how he knows when a story should be a short story and not a novel, and what he's working on next.
On today's Local News Hour, host Leslie Thatcher's guests include: (06:46) Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation Executive Director Mike Luers who has an update on the East Canyon expansion project., (21:26) One Book One Community Author Jess Walter of The Cold Millions, Park City Adult Services Librarian Kate Mapp and Summit County Library Director Dan Compton have details about next week's One Book One Community discussion, and (38:40) Park City Board of Realtors CEO Jamie Johnson and Mountainlands Community Housing Executive Director Pat Matheson have details on a fundraiser for affordable housing.
On this episode we are excited to bring you former National Book Award finalist and winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Jess Walter, author of the number one NY times bestseller The Beautiful Ruins, which spent more than a year on the bestseller list, as well as the national bestselling novel Cold Millions, and his latest short story collection The Angel of Rome and Other Stories. Jess is joined by Amor Towles, the NY Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility, A Gentleman From Moscow, and his latest novel, The Lincoln Highway that debuted at number one on the NY Times best seller list and was on the annual book recommendation lists of Bill Gates and Barack Obama. These two friends compare their early story-telling inspirations from Hollywood and music, parse the merits of timely vs timeless writing and examine their yearning to have lived in other eras.
Jess Walter, author of The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins, returns to the show to chat with Daniel Ford about his new short story collection The Angel of Rome. To learn more about Jess Walter, visit his official website, like his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Also listen to our last conversation with the author in Episode 452. Writer's Bone is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and A Mighty Blaze podcast.
Novelist and short story writer Jess Walter joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest collection, The Angel of Rome. Jess is the author of seven novels (including The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins), two collections of short stories, and a non-fiction book. He is the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award (Citizen Vance), and was a finalist for the National Book Award (The Zero).Walter talks about assembling the collection, choosing these 12 thematic stories out of 40 or 50 choices. He discusses effective humor, the difference between sentiment and sentimentality, and how to avoid cliches and stereotypes. He also talks about his ability to access elderly characters, writing a Gen X collection while not identifying completely with Gen X, and so much more.For more information about Jess Walter, upcoming events, and more visit his website here. We also invite you to check out our new Patreon page, where we offer weekly writing tips and prompts, as well as other goodies for our loyal listeners. This week's tip was inspired by this conversation. Thanks for listening!Download audio. (Recorded on June 2, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com
Week of 2/21/22 at the Library - Corey Wagonfield/MLK Coalition - "The Cold Millions" Hosts Dylan Posa and Barb Leitschuh go over upcoming events, talk with Corey Wagonfield about the MLK Coalition book drive, and lastly, return to 'Barb the Bookie' to recommend "The Cold Millions" by Jess Walter.
"All people, except this rich cream, living and scraping and fighting and dying, and for what, nothing, the cold millions with no chance in this world." So thinks Rye Dolan, the main character of Jess Walter's seventh novel, as he navigates the wealthy world and poor underbelly of Spokane, Washington, in 1909. Rye is sucked into the outer edges of history as it's being made during the free speech riots of 1909 and 1910, an effort by the International Workers of the World to battle against predatory employment agencies who hired people for day work for a daily fee. In most historical fiction we read today, the spotlight falls on the names and stories we know from history (think about the kind of moment World War II is having in fiction), but Walter takes a look an unknown corner of American history with primarily unknown names and voices. While Rye and his older brother Gig aren't real, 1909 Spokane was, as well as novel character and professional activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. With The Cold Millions, Walter analyzes the role we play in history as individuals and what it means to truly be “a part” of history, as well as whose voices we listen to after history has finally been “made”. In this episode, we're discussing some of the major themes of The Cold Millions, including history but also the way the structure of the novel both subverts & reinforces certain concepts of historical fiction, along with the morality of living in a world that doesn't love you back. We also drop some great Spokane puns (Spokane should hire us for PR) and discuss our true feelings about epilogues.
Walter is the author of seven novels, one book of short stories and one nonfiction book. His work has been selected three times for Best American Short Stories as well as the Pushcart Prize and Best American Nonrequired Reading. He's been published in, Harper's, Esquire, McSweeney's, Tin House, Ploughshares, the New York Times, the Washington Post and many others.He began his writing career in 1987 as a reporter for his hometown newspaper, The Spokesman-Review where he was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize as part of a team covering the shootout and standoff at Ruby Ridge, in Northern Idaho. Eventually he wrote about this in his first book, Every Knee Shall Bow, in 1995. He has also worked as a screenwriter and has taught graduate creative writing at the University of Iowa, Pacific University, Eastern Washington and Pacific Lutheran.Walter has twice won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award (for The Zero and We Live in Water), the Washington State Book Award (The Cold Millions) and was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize (The Zero) and the PEN/USA Award in both fiction (The Zero) and nonfiction (Every Knee Shall Bow). His novel Beautiful Ruins was a #1 New York Times bestseller and spent more than a year on the bestseller list. It was also Esquire's Book of the Year and NPR Fresh Air's Novel of the Year. The Financial Lives of the Poets was Time Magazine's#2 novel of the year and Walter's story collection, We Live in Water, was longlisted for the Story Prize and the Frank O'Connor Short Story Award. Walter's latest novel is the national bestseller, The Cold Millions, A BOOK OF HISTROICAL FICTION “Featuring an unforgettable cast of cops and tramps, suffragists and socialists, madams and murderers, The Cold Millions is a tour de force from a “writer who has planted himself firmly in the first rank of American authors” (Boston Globe). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
[REBROADCAST FROM NOVEMBER 17, 2020] Jess Walter talks about his latest novel, The Cold Millions. Set in Spokane, Washington, in the early 20th century, the novel depicts the early days of the labor movement in the Pacific Northwest. The Cold Millions is now available in paperback and earned Walter the Washington State Book Award for fiction.
Elizabeth is back, and on a school break, when she can read more of the books she has been meaning to get to. We also solve a literary mystery before the end of this episode.Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 224: School's Out Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via StitcherOr listen through Spotify Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed: The Push by Ashley AudrainThe Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein (Knight)Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotteThe Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoOne Long River of Song by Brian Doyle Other mentions:The Overstory by Richard PowersBewilderment by Richard PowersThe Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenThe Heartbeat of Trees by Peter WohllebenTides by Jonathan WhiteThe Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel HawthorneLong Way Down by Jason ReynoldsHex by Rebecca Dinerstein KnightHelen KellerEl Deafo by Cece BellNick by Michael Farris SmithThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldMink River by Brian DoyleThe Things They Carried by Tim O'BrienHow to Carry Water by Lucille CliftonRememberings by Sinead O'ConnorThe Cold Millions by Jess WalterRelated episodes:Episode 033 - An Undulating Thrum with guests Ruth and ElizabethEpisode 051 - Dreaming in Books with KarenEpisode 061 - Never Do That to a Book with Elizabeth Episode 136 - Six Pack with ElizabethEpisode 160 - Reading Plays with ElizabethEpisode 201 - Wrestling with Complexity with Elizabeth and LaurieEpisode 202 - Jacket Flap with Chris and EmilyStalk us online: Elizabeth at Goodreads Jenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.
In Episode 115, Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising. Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn. JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate crisis, having some fun, and tackling racial justice along the way. No big deal. Jamie is a climate activist, strategist, and communicator. He's the Director of Fossil Free Media, a nonprofit communications lab to boost groups taking on the fossil fuel industry. Together, they're members of Clean Creatives, a group of strategists, creatives, and industry leaders looking to take on the fossil industry where it hurts: their mouth holes. If it kind of sounds like the introduction to the Justice League or something, you're not far off -- the work these guys are doing is saving the planet. Yes, we have a democrat in the White House, Ford's got a new electric truck that's sure to make waves, and solar just keeps getting better. But let's not forget: Exxon mobile is not f***ing around. We have to move at this thing from all angles -- and with the same level of fervor. To really do that, we have to take control of the messaging. We can't compete dollar to dollar, so we have to get creative. Along the way, we may end up starting the Clean Creatives Family Band. Have feedback or questions? http://www.twitter.com/importantnotimp (Tweet us), or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com Important, Not Important Book Club: https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant ("The Cold Millions") by Jess Walter https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant ("The Bully Pulpit") by Doris Kearns Goodwin https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant ("All Boys Aren't Blue") by George M. Johnson https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant (https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant) Links: https://cleancreatives.org/ (cleancreatives.org) Twitter: https://twitter.com/cleancreatives (@cleancreatives) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clean_creatives/ (@clean_creatives) Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamieclimate/ (@jamieclimate) Twitter: https://twitter.com/iGObyJAY (@iGObyJAY) Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiphopcaucus (@hiphopcaucus) Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at http://importantnotimportant.com/ (ImportantNotImportant.com)! Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ImportantNotImp (twitter.com/ImportantNotImp) Follow Quinn: http://twitter.com/quinnemmett (twitter.com/quinnemmett) Follow Brian: https://twitter.com/beansaight (twitter.com/beansaight) Like and share us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant (facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant) Intro/outro by Tim Blane: http://timblane.com/ (timblane.com) Important, Not Important is produced by http://crate.media/ (Crate Media) Support this podcast
In this episode, Hans, Chris, and I discuss Cold Millions, a novel about the Wobblie movement in the early twentieth century in Spokane, Washington.
What Jess Walter shows us in his 2020 novel The Cold Millions is that he is a wonderful story-teller, a fine historian, and like one of his characters guilty of “first-degree aggravated empathy.”This lovely historical novel is on one hand simply a story of the love between two brothers, Gig and Rye Dolan who hop freight trains together, traveling from town to town and job to job. They are part of the cold millions, that is, the millions upon millions of workers who struggle day to day simply to live, while a few wealthy owners live lives of almost unfathomable wealth and luxury.While Walter is quick to inform us in his afterward that this is a book of fiction, he also makes it clear that some of his characters are based on real life people, one of whom, is “the great labor organizer, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn”, a key character in the book. Gurley is a mesmerizing and powerful speaker and organizer. Even the skeptics listen when she speaks.Listen brothers and sisters, have we ever seen such trying times? She went through a list of outrages, fifteen-hour workdays and women dying at their sewing machine, men crushed in cave-ins while their families got nothing, copper kings and shipping magnates living like royalty while poor workers couldn't even afford a flop bed, families in tents and hovels, workers given no rights and tossed aside when they were too broken or sick or old to work.Clearly Walter shares the sense of outrage expressed by Flynn. He tells us that his own father was a union man. Gig, the older brother joins the IWW, although he discourages his brother Rye from getting involved. While Walter's sympathies are clearly with the so-called Wobblies, he carries on a kind of debate regarding the efficacy of their non-violent methods. One character, Early Reston, clearly thinks non-violent methods will not work, and that rather than piecemeal reform the whole structure must be blown apart. At times in the book both Gig and Ryan become disenchanted with the methods of the IWW.Rye felt demoralized. It didn't matter what he did, what Gurley did, what Fred Moore did, what any of them did. Somewhere there was a roomful of wealthy old men where everything was decided. Beliefs and convictions, lives and livelihoods, right and wrong—these had no place in that room, the scurrying of ants at the feet of a few rich men.It made me think that Early Reston was right, in his way ... that maybe it was the castle that needed to be blown up...While it is clearly the struggles between owners and labor that is the focus of this novel, the side stories are also fascinating. The story of Ursula the Great, a performer who enters a cage with a full grown cougar, and then strips to near nudity as the crowd looks on partly horrified, partly titillated. There is also a sweet tale of budding love Rye feels for Gurley, although she is married and pregnant, and nothing comes of it.I much appreciated the argument Walter has with himself throughout the book regarding the possibility of real change and the methods that can achieve it. At one point when Rye is called out as one of the Wobblies by a salesman:Rye didn't answer. But at that moment, he felt done with it all—done with the beatings, done with Taft, done with Lem Brand and Ursula, done pretending they could stand on soapboxes and draw justice out of the air. Early was right. Rye didn't believe in anything but a job, a bed, some soup. If you read this novel, be sure to leave some good reading energy for the acknowledgments and the short closing essay by Walter: “The Undercurrents of History”. Walter talks of his own growing up in Spokane, Washington, and of how “The World came to me in books.”With The Cold Millions, I set out to write about the sort of working-class Spokane family in which I had grown up. My dad's father, a rancher named Jess Walter, first arrived in Eastern Washington on a train he'd hopped as a vagrant field-worker; my mother's dad, Ralph, was an itinerant laborer in the 1930s who later died on a construction site when a crane fell on him. My own father, Alfa Bruce Walter, was a lifetime steelworker and union leader who worked almost forty years in an aluminum rolling mill.For those readers who want to go to original historical sources, Walter provides an extensive list of his own sources in addition to his personal experience. For all who have labored, and for all who feel keenly the injustices of the world, this is a must read, and it is also a wonderful story.
On this episode, Angie speaks with award-winning author Jess Walter about his novel, The Cold Millions, inspired by his grandfather’s years crisscrossing the west by train, searching for work. Angie and Jess talk about how to make the best Manhattan, wealth inequality in the Gilded Age, and why the history of organizing in Spokane, Washington resonates today. Jess' book, The Cold Millions, is available now, and there's a link to purchase it on our website, LitUpPodcast.com. You can find more of his work at JessWalter.com Lit Up is a Podcast from Sugar23. It is hosted by Angela Ledgerwood. The show is produced by Liam Billingham. Mike Mayer and Michael Sugar are the executive producers. The theme music is by Andrey Radovsky.
On this episode, Angie speaks with award-winning author Jess Walter about his novel, The Cold Millions, inspired by his grandfather’s years crisscrossing the west by train, searching for work. Angie and Jess talk about how to make the best Manhattan, wealth inequality in the Gilded Age, and why the history of organizing in Spokane, Washington resonates today. Jess' book, The Cold Millions, is available now, and there's a link to purchase it on our website, LitUpPodcast.com. You can find more of his work at JessWalter.com Lit Up is a Podcast from Sugar23. It is hosted by Angela Ledgerwood. The show is produced by Liam Billingham. Mike Mayer and Michael Sugar are the executive producers. The theme music is by Andrey Radovsky.
Episode 081: Even if you're don't end up being a coach or going pro, you can still enjoy basketball for a lifetime. In today's interview, Jess Walter shares how his love of hoops has helped him as a writer.Jess Walter is the author of nine books, most recently the national bestseller The Cold Millions and #1 New York Times bestseller, Beautiful Ruins. His book, The Zero, was a finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, was the winner of the Edgar Award. His work has been published in 32 languages and his short fiction has appeared three times in Best American Short Stories.And I think you’ll love this interview because Jess shares how the same principles that helped him create a successful writing career, things like preparation, routine and hard work, are the same valuable traits he still uses to this day on the basketball court.In addition to exploring what it looks like to play basketball for a lifetime, I asked Jess these questions:How did playing basketball help your writing career?How has writing helped you on the court?What is your writing process like?Do you believe in early specialization?Why are you still playing hoops after all these years?If you want to learn more ways to play basketball for a lifetime, check out my interview with John Stockton, where he shares his Sunday basketball routine.Instagram @HoopCommitmentTwitter @HoopCommitmentFacebook HoopCommitmentWebsite HoopCommitment.com
Join us for an enlightening conversation with Jess Walter, the award-winning author of nine books, including his runaway bestsellers BEAUTIFUL RUINS and THE COLD MILLIONS. Jess talks to A Mighty Blaze host Mark Cecil about his inspirations for his latest book and his fascination with the issues of labor, class, and wage inequality in America. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet
On the latest episode of Speak Spokane, I sit down with New York Times Bestselling Author - Jess Walter. We talk about playing pick-up basketball games in Peaceful Valley, the evolution of the local art scene, why Spokane Doesn't Suck & how our city-inspired his latest novel “Cold Millions”. You can find Jess online at www.jesswalter.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/digitalcraftsmandaily/message
Jess Walter discusses his latest novel, The Cold Millions, with Andrew Proctor in this conversation from the 2020 Portland Book Festival.
Welcome to 2021! We're kicking off our third season with a look back at the best books we read in 2020! Click the link to purchase the book from our store, or click the "Libro.fm" link to get the Audiobook on Libro.fm. Thanks for shopping local! Books Mentioned During This Episode RECENT READS Ryan, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/ryan-elizabeth-clark A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (November 2021) (libro.fm) Devolution by Max Brooks (libro.fm) Kelso, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/kelso Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (libro.fm) Kindred by Octavia Butler (libro.fm) One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (libro.fm) Hillary, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/hillary A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders (libro.fm) Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (libro.fm) The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (libro.fm) The Agitators by Dorothy Wickenden (libro.fm) Real Life by Brandon Taylor (libro.fm) OUR FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2020 The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (libro.fm) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (libro.fm) The Unwilling by Kelly Braffett (libro.fm) Sword in the Stars by A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy (libro.fm) The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (libro.fm) A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (libro.fm) A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green (libro.fm) You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (libro.fm) Wonderland by Zoje Stage (libro.fm) Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (libro.fm) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (libro.fm) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (libro.fm) Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier (libro.fm) These Women by Ivy Pochoda (libro.fm) Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis (libro.fm) True Grit by Charles Portis (libro.fm) Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey (libro.fm) Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke The Bright Lands by John Fram (libro.fm) Dune by Frank Herbert (libro.fm) The Way Back by Gavriel Savit (libro.fm) Long Bright River by Liz Moore (libro.fm) True Story by Kate Reed Petty (libro.fm) The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (libro.fm) Deacon King Kong by James McBride (libro.fm) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (libro.fm) Afterland by Lauren Beukes (libro.fm) The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (libro.fm) Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony (libro.fm) You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce (libro.fm) Other Links Gibson's Bookstore Website Shop The Laydown Purchase Gift Certificates! Browse our website by Category! Order some curated bundles! Donate to the bookstore! Check out our Events Calendar! Gibson's Instagram The Laydown Instagram Facebook Twitter Libro.fm (Our Audiobook Platform) Use the code “LAYDOWN” for 3 audiobooks for the price of 1! Email us at thelaydownpodcast@gmail.com
Show Notes and Links to Jess Walter's Work and Allusions/Texts from Episode On Episode 35, Pete talks with Jess Walter about his incredible fiction, his nonfiction roots, basketball, writing genres, chill-inducing lines, Jess' masterpieces Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions, and much more. Jess Walter is the author of nine books, most recently the national bestseller The Cold Millions and #1 New York Times bestseller, Beautiful Ruins; The Zero, finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award. His short story collection, We Live in Water, was selected by Barack Obama as one of his favorite reads of 2019. His work has been published in 32 languages and his short fiction has appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. Article on Background of Beautiful Ruins Jess Walter's Personal Website Jess Writes about His “Esquire Magazine” Credentials and Interviewing Kurt Vonnegut Article about POTUS Barack Obama listing We Live in Water as one of his favorite reads of 2019 Buy Beautiful Ruins Here Buy The Cold Millions Here Jess Walter describes the thrill of his short-story collection We Live in Water being listed by former POTUS Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of 2019-at around 3:10 Jess describes his place among the greatest basketball players of all-time (and among writers-”for a writer, [he's] decent-at around 5:15 So cool! Jess describes playing on a basketball team with great writers Sherman Alexie, Shann Ray, Natalie Diaz, called “The Spokane Dirty Realists”-at around 6:15 Jess talks Gonzaga hoops (Go Zags!)-at around 7:10 Jess describes the cool 1-on-1 game that he has played throughout much of the pandemic with his brother-at around 7:55 Jess and Pete talk about the pandemic's impact on aging basketball players-at around 9:40 Jess talks about wanting to play basketball into his 60s and 70s, maybe playing against Slick Watts or some great Seattle legends; Pete references upcoming guest Jon Finkel's excellent book, Hoops Heist, about the insular and special basketball community that is Seattle-at around 10:45 Jess describes the importance of growing up in Spokane in a blue-collar family and literary influences-at around 12:05 Jess discusses the childhood injury that led to his “falling in love with books” and later getting into science-fiction and loving the inventiveness and play of Kurt Vonnegut-at around 12:45 Jess discusses some formative writers in his own journey to becoming a writer-”1970s cinematic realism” like Dog Day Afternoon, Raymond Carver, Hemingway, and in discovering that he loved nonfiction and journalism, Joan Didion-at around 14:00 Jess talks about “stalking” writers as a fan, writing letters and bugging them, and -at around 14:50 Jess talks about getting press credentials to set up a one-on-one meeting with Kurt Vonnegut at Gonzaga University in the mid-80s, memorialized in this article-at around 15:30 Pete and Jess discuss the similarity between Jess' fandom of Kurt Vonnegut, and scenes from Tobias Wolff's Old School in which poet Robert Frost is a visitor to a prep school; this leads to a broader discussion about writers and celebrity-at around 17:40 Pete and Jess discuss “Bullet in the Brain,” Tobias Wolff's epic short story that has inspired the podcast and its title-at around 21:45 Jess, off the top of his head (!), reads the opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude and talks about its significance as a “chill-inducing line” for him-at around 23:45 Jess talks about trusting himself as a reader to give himself the inspiration for writing, pointing to truisms from his short story “Wheelbarrow Kings”-at around 25:50 Jess talks about his early writing: journalism and his first book, based on Ruby Ridge-The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family-at around 28:00 Pete and Jess talk about the common link of many great writers, such as Jeff Pearlman, guest on Episode 33, and their formative years in crime reporting-at around 29:15 Jess talks about Beautiful Ruins and his distaste for classifying literature, particularly “historical fiction”-at around 31:20 Jess reads and discusses the importance of his epigraph for Beautiful Ruins-at around 33:00 Jess talks about the importance of the title of Beautiful Ruins, discovered in a thrilling fashion many years after he'd started the book, and how it informs a throughline of the novel-at around 34:25 Jess talks about and reads from The Cold Millions and reflects on its title's importance-at around 35:40 Jess and Pete talk about the masterful ways in which Jess uses flashback/flashforward/juxtaposition in his last two novels to craft incredible storylines; this leads to a shared appreciation of the last scene of The Godfather Part II, discussed on Episode 25-at around 37:40 Jess discusses the non-linear construction of The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins-at around 40:00 Jess talks about the line between fiction and history in his writing of The Cold Millions-at around 42:00 Pete talks about the power of the ending-due to its structure-of The Cold Millions-at around 43:45 Jess talks about the parallelism of War and Peace and The Cold Millions and its ending-at around 45:00 Jess reads from the ending of Beautiful Ruins-CHILLS!-at around 44:40 (POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILER-if you don't want to know the last part of the book, skip this part: 48:10 to 49:15
It's the last episode of 2020, and we've got a fun one for you! Ryan, Hillary, and Kelso dissect their dauntingly huge To Be Read piles, they gush about Taylor Swift a little bit, and they go off on a tangent about Squishables. It's a grand old time! Enjoy! Click the link to purchase the book from our store, or click the "Libro.fm" link to get the Audiobook on Libro.fm. Thanks for shopping local! Books Mentioned During This Episode Ryan, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/ryan-elizabeth-clark Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (libro.fm) A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (November 2, 2021) Pumpkin by Julie Murphy (May 25, 2021) The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake (libro.fm) Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (libro.fm) The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke Hillary, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/hillary Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson (libro.fm) (March 23, 2021) Master of the Revels by Nicole Galland (libro.fm) (February 23, 2021) The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (March 2, 2021) Wedding Station by David Downing (March 2, 2021) The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. (libro.fm) (January 5, 2021) Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi, Keisha N. Blain (libro.fm) (February 2, 2021) The Historians by Cecilia Ekbäck (libro.fm) (January 12, 2021) The Invention of Miracles by Katie Booth (libro.fm) (April 6, 2021) Kelso, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/staff/kelso The Power of Cute by Simon May (libro.fm) The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (libro.fm) Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension by Matt Parker Vandermeer book Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; Finch by Jeff Vandermeer Other Books Mentioned In The Woods by Tana French (libro.fm) City of Brass by SA Chakraborty (libro.fm) The Circle by Dave Eggers (libro.fm) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (libro.fm) The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (libro.fm) The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (libro.fm) Deacon King Kong by James McBride (Book Club: March 1, 2021) (libro.fm) Other Links Gibson's Bookstore Website Shop The Laydown Purchase Gift Certificates! Browse our website by Category! Order some curated bundles! Donate to the bookstore! Check out our Events Calendar! Gibson's Instagram The Laydown Instagram Facebook Twitter Libro.fm (Our Audiobook Platform) Use the code “LAYDOWN” for 3 audiobooks for the price of 1! Email us at thelaydownpodcast@gmail.com
In this week's episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan talk to acclaimed novelist Jess Walter and award-winning essayist Jerald Walker. First, Walter unravels the literary elements of the Trump administration and discusses how his newest book, The Cold Millions, a historical novel touching on unions and feminism at the turn of the century, has many parallels to today's politics. Then, Walker talks about centering Black courage vs. white cruelty, both in literature and this election, and how he works to find common ground in his writing, including his newest collection of essays, How to Make a Slave, which is a finalist for the National Book Award. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel. This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Selected readings: Jess Walter The Cold Millions Beautiful Ruins We Live in Water The Financial Lives of the Poets ‘The Ponz': Michael Cohen's Prison Memoir Jerald Walker How to Make a Slave and Other Essays The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult Street Shadows: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Redemption Once More to the Ghetto and Other Essays “Dragon Slayers” Others: King Lear by William Shakespeare Elmore Leonard Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare “Did the pandemic sink Trump's chances? Not as much as his opponents expected,” by Alex Roarty, McClatchy “'You are no longer my mother': A divided America will struggle to heal after Trump era,” by Tim Reid, Gabriella Borter, Michael Martina, Reuters Hue and Cry, by James Alan McPherson James Alan McPherson Albert Murray Stanley Crouch “The Little Man at Chehaw Station” by Ralph Ellison Self Help by Lorrie Moore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two novels about the characters and secrets of small towns with big stories: The Cold Millions by Jess Walter, and The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What are book tours like in the time of Covid? For this week's mini-episode, Katy sits down with bestselling author Jess Walter to discuss what it's like to do book events in his office while staring into a computer screen or to sign 6000 books in one go. They also consider that, even in a post-Covid world, true book tours might become a thing of the past, and why maybe that won't be such a bad thing. Jess' latest book, The Cold Millions will be published on 27 October 2020. Pre-order your copy, or better yet, drop by your local bookstore and you might just find a signed copy. -------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
There's nothing like curling up in your favorite armchair and traveling the world via an amazing book. But what about when the shoe is on the other foot? What about the writers who must craft stories that bring these exotic cities and countries to life? How do they go about it? On this week's mini-episode, Katy interviews Jess Walter, best-selling author of Beautiful Ruins and We Live in Water: Stories, about how travel influences his writing, whether its Italy's famed Cinque Terre or his own hometown of Spokane, Washington. He also explains why the memoir of Gabriel Garcia Marquez has him dreaming of a trip to Bogota, Colombia, and shares a sneak peek of his forthcoming book, The Cold Millions. Find Jess at on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or at his website. ---------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. DONATE: Prefer a one-time donation? Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!