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Listen in as America's storyteller, James McBride, discusses his latest masterpiece, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, with guest host and one of McBride's biggest fans, Matt Sawyer. James McBride: James McBride is the author of the New York Times-bestselling Oprah's Book Club selection Deacon King Kong, the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, the American classic The Color of Water, the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna, the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal and an accomplished musician, McBride is also a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.HostMatt Sawyer: Matt is an educator, podcaster, writer, and hip-hop artist based in Macon County, North Carolina. He is the creator of the Story Made Project, an exploration for and of stories that make a difference in our world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
''Boisterous, highly entertaining,'' and ''altogether original'' (Washington Post), James McBride is the author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, in which a young boy born into slavery joins abolitionist John Brown's doomed crusade. His nonfiction books include the New York Times bestselling memoir The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother and Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul. His other fiction includes the novels Miracle at St. Anna and Song Yet Sung, and the short-story collection Five-Carat Soul. Also an award-winning composer, screenwriter, and saxophonist, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2016. Deacon King Kong is a novel about a very public shooting in a 1960s Brooklyn housing project. (recorded 3/11/2020)
Amanda and Jenn discuss all the short stories in this week's special episode of Get Booked! This episode is sponsored by Random House. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS here, or via Apple Podcasts here. The show can also be found on Stitcher here. Questions 1. I am a librarian who runs a book club for teens, one that reads primarily science fiction/fantasy/magical realism. I am looking for short story collections that would appeal to the group. Previous hits with the groups include The Martian by Andy Weir, The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, Jackaby by William Ritter, and Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman. --Alexandra 2. I've fallen in love with short stories through podcasts (like Levar Burton Reads or The Writers Voice). They're my favorite to listen to at work. I'd like some recommendations of must read authors or collections! More podcast recommendations wouldn't be amiss either. Thanks! -Catherine --Catherine 3. I normally hate short stories and have tried reading several collections hoping I could find a place for them in my heart. Most of the collections are YA and contain stories by various authors. While I'll like some of the stories, overall the reading experience isn't very good. Recently I decided to give another short story a try, so I read The Grownup by Gillian Flynn and it was not only the best short story I've ever read, but one of my favorite reads of the year. Can you recommend any short stories or collections that are similar to Gillian Flynn's writing or just have lots of twists and turns? Thanks! --Candice 4. Hello! Short stories are something I've always enjoyed writing, but I haven't read very many. I want to start to read them more so that my own writing will improve. The only short story I remember reading very vividly is The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I read it in school and found it really brilliant. I'm looking for more literary style short stories that display the authors command of the prose and structure. Anthologies would be ideal, but I'm open to single story suggestions as well. Thanks! --Ira 5. Hi there- I've recently started reading short story and anthology collections, and I'm loving them. My recent favorite has been Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu. I'm interested in expanding into other genres though, but I'm having trouble finding many Sci-Fi/Fantasy collections. I've seen a number of Lovecraft's short story collections, but not much else. Especially not for Fantasy. Any recommendations for some action packed short stories? Bonus points for any possible YA fantasy short story collections- I found one recently and I'd love to find more! --Amber 6. Hi! I am a voracious reader and have really enjoyed listening to your recommendations since discovering your podcast :) My question... When reading fiction, I have historically preferred full-length books over short stories. However, I have recently read and loved several short story collections (Knockemstick by Donald Ray Pollack, Tenth of December by George Saunders, Five Carat Soul by James McBride), and now I want to expand my horizons in this category. What short story authors or collections would you recommend? I don't mind dark or creepy and the only genre I typically tend not to gravitate toward is romance. Thanks in advance! --Sally 7. Hello! I like reading short stories before bed-reading helps my mind unwind, but if a novel is too interesting I will stay up late reading rather than put it down. Short fiction has an obvious place to stop, but I’m running out of ideas to try next. I love Jhumpa Lahiri, and What it Means When a Man Falls From The Sky was Amazing. I also liked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck. I read Carmen Maria Machado’s book, Her Body and Other Parties, as well as Helen Oyeyemi but found some of the stories too creepy for before bed. Do you have any more ideas for short fiction, ideally with a global perspective, that isn’t going to give me nightmares? Thank you! --Kara Books Discussed The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg (recently announced transition to Daniel, but book is listed under Mallory) A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, incl. stories by Marie Lu and Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah podcast: Reading Women Night at the Fiestas by Kirstin Valdez Quade We Show What We Have Learned by Clare Beams Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, edited by Sarah Weinman Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Sorry Please Thank You by Charles Yu Tender by Sofia Samatar Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu Gutshot by Amelia Gray Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri In the Country by Mia Alvar The Djinn Falls in Love And Other Stories edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
The BookBully goes a bit crazy talking about new books she's read or is looking forward to reading. Let's just say her eyes are bigger than her reading capacity! BOOK LIST FOR THIS EPISODE: My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti Brewster by Mark Slouka The Secret History by Donna Tartt The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews (yes, only one "t") The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo Commonwealth by Ann Patchett Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton The Turner House by Angela Flournoy Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas The Age of Perpetual Light by Josh Weil The New Valley by Josh Weil Don't I Know You by Marni Jackson The Good Lord Bird by James McBride Five-Carat Soul by James McBride Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash The Good People by Hannah Kent Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan The Power by Naomi Alderman Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia Here in Berlin by Cristina Garcia Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney What She Ate by Laura Shapiro Ranger Games by Ben Blum An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn The Child Finder by Rene Tenfold The Party by Elizabeth Day White Bodies by Jane Robins The Smack by Richard Lange Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent Ferocity by Nicola Lagioia Me Before You by JoJo Moyes Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Paradise City by Elizabeth Day Sourdough by Robin Sloan Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis The Address by Fiona Davis One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus The Revolution of the Moon by Andrea Camilleri The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson
National Book Award Winner James McBride discusses his new short story collection, Five-Carat Soul, how his former career as a journalist helped to shape his creative writing and why he decides whether a book is good or not after reading just one page.
A well-meaning teacher discovers a student's talent, and in the process of helping out his family, bites off more than she can chew. Recorded live at the Now Hear This festival. This story appears in James McBride's collection FIVE CARAT SOUL, available now from Riverhead Books.
This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss After the Eclipse, Five-Carat Soul, Starfish, and more books. This episode was sponsored by Talenti, ThirdLove, The Language of Thorns, and Lit Chat. Find a list of the titles discussed on this episode in the shownotes.
Does a writer have a duty to be moral? And what happens when a writer tries to be wise? We talk to National Book Award-winning writer James McBride on this week's episode about his new story collection, FIVE-CARAT SOUL, and those vexing questions. And were also joined by Attica Locke, whose new thriller, BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD, is a "deftly-plotted whodunit" according to our reviewer in a starred review. And our editors talk about the newly named 2017 Kirkus Prize finalists!
Author James McBride speaks to Tom about his new collection of stories ----Five Carat Soul----