Podcast appearances and mentions of Rachel B Glaser

Rachel B. Glaser has been recognized as one of Granta Magazine's Best Young American Novelists, and her work has been showcased in prestigious publications such as The Paris Review and McSweeney's. "Ira & the Whale" was honored with an O. Henry Prize in 2023. Jeff Hiller is an actor who has been a charming anchor of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere. He's appeared in many other funny shows, such as 30 Rock; was on Broadway in the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; and performs solo shows at Joe's Pub. After the reading, Hiller talked to host Aparna Nancherla about the character, finding your place in the world, and his own book, Actress of a Certain Age, which come out in June of 2025.

Recorded by Rachel B. Glaser for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on June 25, 2021. www.poets.org

This week's short story traces the entire history of the planet in just about 2,000 words. Rachel B. Glaser's "Pee On Water" was first published in New York Tyrant and was the title story of her debut collection. We talk about the story's experiment in narrative time, and the accumulative quality of its short sentences. Also: Mike breaks down and buys a fancy office chair, we commiserate about repetitive stress pains, and we do another round of Judge a Book By Its Cover. If you like the show, and would like more Book Fight in your life, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. For $5, you'll get access to three bonus episodes a month, including Book Fight After Dark, where we read some of the world's weirdest--and steamiest!--novels. We've also recently begun a new series of Patreon-only mini-episodes called Reading the Room, in which we offer advice on how to navigate awkward, writing-related social situations. How do you talk to a writer whose work you like after a reading? How do you promote your own writing without annoying people? Should you force your spouse or significant other to read your work? We've got the answers to these and many other pressing questions.

In this episode, I talk to my longtime friend Alice Slater about two great things: LiveJournal and books. She's a bookseller at Waterstones Gower Street and has flawless literary taste. We talk you through the appeal of now-dead journalling platform LiveJournal, go deep on thrillers, talk about Erin Kelly too much and Alice confesses a book-related crime she committed that endured for many years. Alice blogs at https://smokintofu.com She tweets and Instagrams at @smokintofu Books we talked about: Exquisite by Sarah Stovell I Love Dick by Chris Kraus Carol by Patricia Highsmith Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney Paulina & Fran by Rachel B. Glaser Marlena by Julie Buntin The books of Margaret Atwood The End We Start From by Megan Hunter Diary of An Oxygen Thief by anonymous Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur The Poison Tree // The Burning Air // He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

At their New England art school, Paulina and Fran both stand apart from the crowd. Paulina is striking and sexually adventurous, a self-proclaimed queen bee with a devastating mean-girl streak. Fran, with her gorgeous untamed head of curly hair, is quirky, sweet and sexually innocent. An aspiring painter whose potential outstrips her confidence, she floats dreamily through criticism and dance floors alike. On a school trip to Norway, the girls are drawn together, each disarmed by the other's character.Though their bond is instant and powerful, it's also wracked by complications. When Fran winds up dating one of Paulina's ex-boyfriends, an incensed Paulina becomes determined to destroy the couple, creating a rift that will shape their lives well past their art school days.Paulina & Fran is the debut novel of a writer with rare insight into the complexities of obsession, friendship, and prickly ever-elusive love. Rachel Glaser has studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and fiction at the UMass-Amherst MFA Program. Her previous books include the story collection, Pee on Water, and Moods, a collection of poetry. In 2013, Glaser received the McSweeney's Amanda Davis Fiction Award. 

At their New England art school, Paulina and Fran both stand apart from the crowd. Paulina is striking and sexually adventurous, a self-proclaimed queen bee with a devastating mean-girl streak. Fran, with her gorgeous untamed head of curly hair, is quirky, sweet and sexually innocent. An aspiring painter whose potential outstrips her confidence, she floats dreamily through criticism and dance floors alike. On a school trip to Norway, the girls are drawn together, each disarmed by the other's character.Though their bond is instant and powerful, it's also wracked by complications. When Fran winds up dating one of Paulina's ex-boyfriends, an incensed Paulina becomes determined to destroy the couple, creating a rift that will shape their lives well past their art school days.Paulina & Fran is the debut novel of a writer with rare insight into the complexities of obsession, friendship, and prickly ever-elusive love. Rachel Glaser has studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and fiction at the UMass-Amherst MFA Program. Her previous books include the story collection, Pee on Water, and Moods, a collection of poetry. In 2013, Glaser received the McSweeney's Amanda Davis Fiction Award. Recorded On: Monday, October 5, 2015

We welcome special guest Helen McClory this week, who traveled all the way from Scottland to make us discuss the new novel by Rachel B. Glaser, Paulina & Fran, about an art-school social circle revolving around a woman perhaps most charitably described as "difficult." McClory tells us why she loves problem characters, and books that explore relationships between women. She also talks about her school days in Scottland, her obsession with monsters--and with weird American food--and we ask her questions about her recent American tour in support of her book, On the Edges of Vision, from Queen's Ferry Press. As always, you can find more, including links to things we talked about on the show, at our website, bookfightpod.com.