Podcast appearances and mentions of ramona ausubel

This week on The Book Drop, we're joined by author Ramona Ausubel to talk about her new novel The Last Animal, selected for the National Book Foundation's Science + Literature program, and to give a sneak peek at her upcoming Omaha event (register for free here)! All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. Happening at the Library: Gardening Workshop with No More Empty Pots | Sunday, April 27, 2 p.m. at Milton R. Abrahams BranchKamishibai: Japanese Paper Theater | Monday, April 28, 6 p.m. at W. Clarke Swanson BranchOut & About Storytime: Dundee Community Garden | Wednesday, April 30, 10 a.m. at Dundee Community GardenExplore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Humans are one species on a planet of millions of species. The literary collection Creature Needs is a project that grew out of a need to do something with grievous, anxious energy—an attempt to nourish the soul in a meaningful way, and an attempt to start somewhere specific in the face of big, earthly challenges and changes, to create a polyvocal call to arms about animal extinction and habitat loss and the ways our needs are interconnected. The book's editors, Christopher Kondrich, Lucy Spelman, and Susan Tacent, are joined here in conversation.More about the book: Creature Needs is published in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Creature Conserve. The following writers contributed new literary works inspired by scientific articles: Kazim Ali, Mary-Kim Arnold, Ramona Ausubel, David Baker, Charles Baxter, Aimee Bender, Kimberly Blaeser, Oni Buchanan, Tina Cane, Ching-In Chen, Mónica de la Torre, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Thalia Field, Ben Goldfarb, Annie Hartnett, Sean Hill, Hester Kaplan, Donika Kelly, Robin McLean, Miranda Mellis, Rajiv Mohabir, Kyoko Mori, David Naimon, Craig Santos Perez, Beth Piatote, Rena Priest, Alberto Ríos, Eléna Rivera, Sofia Samatar, Sharma Shields, Eleni Sikelianos, Maggie Smith, Juliana Spahr, Tim Sutton, Jodie Noel Vinson, Asiya Wadud, Claire Wahmanholm, Marco Wilkinson, Jane Wong.About the editors:Christopher Kondrich, poet in residence at Creature Conserve, is author of Valuing, winner of the National Poetry Series, and Contrapuntal. His writing has been published in The Believer, The Kenyon Review, and The Paris Review.Lucy Spelman is founder of Creature Conserve, a nonprofit dedicated to combining art with science to cultivate new pathways for wildlife conservation. A zoological medicine veterinarian, she teaches biology at the Rhode Island School of Design and is author of National Geographic Kids Animal Encyclopedia and coeditor of The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes.Susan Tacent, writer in residence at Creature Conserve, is a writer, scholar, and educator whose fiction has been published in Blackbird, DIAGRAM, and Tin House Online.Episode references:The Lord God Bird by Chelsea Steubayer-Scudder in Emergence MagazineThinking Like a Mountain by Jedediah Purdy in n+1Praise for the book:A thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read that stands out for its lyrical prowess and formal innovation, making it a significant contribution to contemporary literature as well as a key volume bridging the gap between the worlds of science and art.”—Library JournalCreature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation is available from University of Minnesota Press.

Ramona Ausubel, Mary Otis, and Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, moderated by Jasmin Darznik Relationships between mothers and daughters can be fraught or fruitful—especially for fiction writers. Bring your mom, or your daughter—you might find common ground through some fabulous new fiction in this session. Buy the books here  With the support of California College of the Arts MFA Writing program

This week on the KPL podcast, we have bestselling author Ramona Ausubel.  She tells us all about her new book, The Last Animal.  The novel covers a range of topics from, mother-daughter relationships, careers in science, wooly mammoths, and climate change. All the various topics are woven together into a fun exciting story.Author RecommendationsMartyr by Kaveh AkbarBeautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.About the guest author:Ramona Ausubel is an award winning author of three novels and two short story collections. Her latest book, THE LAST ANIMAL, published by Riverhead, was named Best Book of The Year by Oprah Daily, NPR and Kirkus Reviews. Her debut novel, NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US was a New York Times Editor's Choice and winner of both the PEN USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. It was also named  one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Huffington Post as well as being a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the California and Colorado Book Awards, longlisted for the Story  Prize Frank O'Connor International Story Award and and nominated for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award.A native of New Mexico, Ausubel holds an MFA from the University of California, Irvine where she won the Glenn Schaeffer Award in Fiction. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, The New York Times, NPR's Selected Shorts, One Story, Electric Literature, Ploughshares, The Oxford American, and collected in The Best American Fantasy and online in The Paris Review. She has also been a finalist for the prestigious Puschart Prize and a Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. She has taught at Tin House, The Community of Writers, Writing by Writers, the Low-Residency MFA programs at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Bennington. She is currently an assistant professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. About the host:Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup built to help authors succeed. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. She recently finished her first YA crossover novel inspired by her nephew with Down syndrome. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her dog. To learn more about her books and private writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com or find her at Instagram and Twitter @hollylynnpayne.If you have a first page you'd like to submit to the Page One Podcast, please do so here.As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU. After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I'm opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they're currently writing. If your page is chosen, you'll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One's master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.  You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players. Hear past episodes.If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime. The Page One Podcast is created at the foot of a mountain in Marin County, California, and is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community! Thank you for listening! Be well and keep reading.~Holly~ Thank you for listening to the Page One Podcast, where master storytellers discuss the stories and struggles behind the critical first page of their books. If you liked this episode, please share it on social, leave a review on your favorite podcast players and tell your friends! I hope you enjoy this labor of love as much as I love hosting, producing, and editing it. Please keep in touch by signing up to receive my newsletter at www.hollylynnpayne.com with the latest episodes each month. Delivered to your inbox with a smile. For the love of books and writers,Holly Lynn Payne@hollylynnpaynewww.hollylynnpayne.com

Acclaimed author Ramona Ausubel joins BOOKSTORM Podcast to discuss The Last Animal, her fantastic new release! This book is a treasure! We talked about the magnitude and power of ongoing, evolving life on this planet. We talked about viewing the big picture through the lens of human relationships. Is there a danger when scientists pursue their goals without considering the human component? What about the ethical or spiritual aspects? We discussed the hidden dangers of "de-extinction" or reviving long-gone species. Have we really thought through the consequences of genetic cloning or gene editing? We talked about women having to push the boundaries to break barriers ...when is rule breaking too much? Where is the balance for women torn between professional dreams and responsibilities to (and hopes for) her children? We went deep! Join us! You can find more of your favorite bestselling authors at BOOKSTORM Podcast! We're also on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube!

Zibby interviews author Ramona Ausubel about her playful, witty, and resonant new novel, THE LAST ANIMAL, which came from the idea of de-extincting woolly mammoths and evolved into a story about a single mom and her daughters grappling with creation, extinction, and family dynamics. Ramona reflects on her writing journey, from a shy, poetic child to a published author influenced by personal experiences and literary figures like George Saunders. Ramona emphasizes the richness of the writing process over the end goal of publication and shares her future projects, including a new novel, short stories, and a craft book. The interview also touches on Ramona's participation in a panel at the book fair and her plans to enjoy the local Miami culture.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3N1piwcShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Now there's more! Subscribe to Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books on Acast+ and get ad-free episodes. https://plus.acast.com/s/moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Il tema che oggi legherà i miei consigli di lettura sarà la lingua inglese, lingua in cui ho letto i tre straordinari libri che vi elenco qui di seguito: - Terminal Boredom, di Izumi Suzuki; - A guide to being born, di Ramona Ausubel; - Woman, Eating, di Claire Kohda (buona notizia: ne è stata anticipata l'uscita in italiano per Harper Collins, lo trovate dal 5 settembre in libreria col titolo "Cronache della mia fame"). Il podcast è indipendente e autoprodotto, quindi ogni contributo fa la differenza: supportalo con un caffè virtuale su Ko-fi! ko-fi.com/zonalettura Scrivimi su Instagram per commenti, idee e proposte: instagram.com/zonalettura/ Puoi anche acquistare i libri che consiglio direttamente da questa lista, che contiene gli 80 libri più belli che ho letto negli ultimi anni: amazon.it/shop/zonalettura Se apprezzi il podcast, lasciami una recensione o qualche stellina! Foto di Gabriele Taormina Musica: Acoustic Blues e Saloon Rag, di Jason Shaw, da https://audionautix.com Rendezvous, di Shane Ivers, da https://www.silvermansound.com

On this Selected Shorts, host Meg Wolitzer offers up stories about limited viewpoints and larger visions. In “You Can Find Love Now" by Ramona Ausubel, performed by Amy Ryan and Martin Short, an unusual character drops into the dating pool; in “The Weave,” by Charles Johnson, performed by Arnell Powell, a heist gets hairy; and in J. Robert Lennon's “Blue Light, Red Light,” a child's fears find his family seeking tech support.  It's performed by Fred Hechinger.

“What if we could do anything? Should we do it? What are the consequences?” Ramona Ausubel's new novel The Last Animal asks big questions about motherhood, grief and our responsibility to the planet. And there's a woolly mammoth. Ausubel joins us to talk about the realities of working in male dominated fields, the differences in writing novels and short stories, the power of storytelling and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)   Featured Books (Episode):  The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel A Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel Pastoralia by George Saunders Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):   Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler 

Can a sentence be “delicious?” On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we  review "The Last Animal" by Ramona Ausubel and "The Angel of Rome" by Jess Walter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ramona Ausubel is the author of two novels and two story collections. Her most recent book, Awayland, was a New York Times Editors' Choice selection, a Finalist for the California Book Award, Colorado Book Award and long-listed for the Story Prize. She is also the author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, No One is Here Except All of Us and A Guide to Being Born. She is the recipient of the PEN/USA Fiction Award, the Cabell First Novelist Award and was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Tin House, One Story, Ploughshares and many other journals and she teaches in the MFA programs at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Colorado State University. Ramona lives in Colorado where she has two children, ages 7 and 10, and describes writer-motherhood in three words as “effort plus magic.”Writer Mother Monster is a conversation series series devoted to dismantling the myth of having it all and offering writer-moms solidarity, support, and advice as we make space for creative endeavors.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/writermothermonster)

Amanda and Jenn discuss novels about cranky old ladies, rich people problems, great graphic novels, and more in this week's episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations, Literati, and Book Riot Insiders. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Feedback A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman and The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (rec'd by Mardy) Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger (rec'd by Kim) The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon  (rec'd by Kelly) The Road to Nowhere series by Meg Elison (rec'd by Nicole) World War Z by Max Brooks (rec'd by Elizabeth) Questions 1. I know you're receiving a lot of requests about quarantine reading, but this one is a bit different. My name is Jennie and I am a state unemployment employee. We are working 60+ hours per week and we're still going into the office every day. I'm struggling with relaxing during my meager downtime. I'm looking for something funny to read or a fun romance or even a chill cozy mystery. As far as funny books go, my humor is more dry, so I can be picky and I don't like gross humor at all. Romance I like things that don't really have sex on the page but that's not a real deal breaker. I'm not a huge romance person so I haven't read a lot. Please don't recommend Red, White and Royal Blue. I did not enjoy it... It just wasn't for me. Any thoughts on books that could help me wind down after my long days would be great. Thanks ladies!!! -Jennifer 2. I don't have good words about the situation we're all in right now, only hopes that you and those you love are well! I'm writing because I need a little help with a birthday gift for my daughter. She will be 11 on April 30, and had been looking forward to hosting a Harry Potter-themed sleepover with her besties. Obviously, that will not be happening. Of course, we will still celebrate her like whoa, and the party can still happen at some time in the hazy future, but for now, but for now, she's pretty bummed. I would like to get her a book (or several) or her birthday to help fill the hours and distract her a bit. She is an advanced reader, and reads widely, but lately has been wanting to read some graphic novels and/or manga. So far she has enjoyed a manga of Pride and Prejudice and another of Emma, as well as the Zita the Space Girl series (thanks for that rec!), the graphic novels of the Baby Sitters Club, and everything Raina Telgemeier has ever done. She also LOVES Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl, and I just ordered the first trade of Lumberjanes, thinking some combination of Baby Sitters Club plus supernatural content might be a hit with her. Her tastes are all over the map right now. Favorite recent reads have been the Harry Potter series, the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, the Hunger Games series, The Land of Stories series, all of Karina Yan Glaser's Vanderbeekers books, and every old Baby Sitters Club book I had (she found a box in my parent's attic over Christmas, and has blazed through them), and she is on the second book of the School for Good and Evil Series currently. She also recently read and enjoyed "The Selection" by Kiera Cass, which she said she liked "because of the romance;" she enjoyed the romance subplots of the Hunger Games as well. She's really grooving on the identity of being a self-described "nerdy girl" right now, loves theater, and plasters all her notebooks with cat stickers and NASA stickers (to give you a little bit more of who she is). We don't really limit what she reads, and she chooses for herself what she's comfortable with. Clearly violence/peril isn't a deal-breaker because she loved the Hunger Games. However, she picked up a manga shelved in our library's YA section that featured some nudity, and she was NOT a fan. Can you help me find some graphic novels/manga/comics that might appeal and help brighten up her birthday? Thank you!!! -Jenn 3. Hi, I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy! I’ve recently read Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and Normal People by Sally Rooney and I fell in love with the complex dynamics between characters, power shifts, and ESPECIALLy the upending of a seemingly pristine, wealthy veneer. In Little Fires Everywhere I loved how there was the seemingly perfect planned community of Shaker Heights and the equally perfect, wealthy Richardson family, but as the plot develops and you dive deeper into the characters’ psyche and background you realize that it’s all hanging on by just a thread. A similar concept happens in Normal People as Marianna lives in this beautiful mansion in the nice part of town but although raised in material wealth you soon realize she lives in significant emotional deprivation which has negatively affected her sense of self. I would love to find another book that touches on this same idea, the uncovering of a seemingly perfect, wealthy and beautiful setting, life, person or family. In a book I love discovering that there’s more to the story than a person’s projected image, that the surface is just the touch of the iceberg. Other books I’ve enjoyed: The Mothers by Brit Bennett (SO GOOD!), Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and The Learning Curve by Mandy Berman. Thanks!! -EW 4. I'm looking for a light read to recommend to a friend as a distraction. She recently had to cancel her wedding because of COVID and could use some fluff (but maybe not anything with too much of an over the top love celebration HEA just yet). Typically she reads more non-fiction (David Sedaris is a favorite) or literary fiction with her book club but I'd like to gift her the book-equivalent of binge watching Great British Bake Off or Project Runway. Any suggestions? -Heather 5. I recently read a couple of New Adult college romance books. For the first time in a while I've found characters that I can identify with. I'm also in my early twenties, in college and doubting my career path. The problem is that in these books boys and relationships are always the answer to their problems. Do you know of any books with this kind of setting without the relationship being the answer to everything? I really dislike YA and would prefer the characters to be more mature. -Rose 6. I discovered your show about 3 months back. I love it. Can't get enough of it! I recently read the book "Night Boat to Tangier". More than the plot I loved the way the book is written. Long, winding conversations between two old friends. I also love the "Before Sunrise" movie series for the conversation between the leads. I would love to read more books of this type. I read all genres. -Pragna 7. I've just finished All the Single Ladies (Rebecca Traistor), as recommended by one of the Book Riot podcasts! I'd love something similar, strong single women having great lives and dealing with the judgmental parents, but with less statistics and politics than All the Single Ladies. Female led chick lit? Bio of a fab business woman? Anything to combat the "but don't you want a boyfriend?!??" people! -Caroline Books Discussed Spirit Run by Noe Álvarez The Outrun by Amy Liptrot To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten, transl. by Marlaine Delargy Jonesy #1 by Sam Humphries, illustrated by Cailtin Rose Boyle Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 1: BFF by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare, illustrated by Natacha Bustos (also, Rocket Girl) Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel (rec’d by Rebecca) The Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy Naturally Tan by Tan France (tw: discussion of racism, depression, and suicidal ideation) Normal People by Sally Rooney (tw: emotional abuse) Chemistry by Weike Wang (tw: bad parents) This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Outline by Rachel Cusk (rec’d by Jessica) Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg (tw: sick child)

Awayland Some of them previously published in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, this collection of eleven delightfully idiosyncratic and elegantly structured stories spans the globe and showcases Ramona Ausubel’s unique ability to tackle the “frustrations and fantasies of being alive” (Publishers Weekly). Her subtle touch of magic used to confront the mysteries of death, love and longing make the stories “weird and wonderful” (New York Times) and perfect for fans of Kelly Link, Karen Russell and Helen Oyeyemi. Ausubel, however, continues to occupy a space as a writer that is all her own—delivering stories that manage to be both “highly imaginative and philosophical in scope” (Refinery29), wildly unconventional yet universally resonant, darkly comic yet tender and soulful. Ausubel’s uncanny ability to simultaneously amuse, mesmerize, move and inspire, makes Awayland a deeply satisfying read that will linger with you in powerful ways. The Seabeast Takes a Lover Observe: the Fiction of the Future. See it carry our elders away to the ocean. Note how it pulls wires from our alien brains. Watch as a ship is slowly pulled under determined by an amorous kraken. Meet the happy, headless girl. Visit the funhouse that is Michael Andreasen's wild, brilliant mind. Find out how surprisingly familiar these bizarre scenarios feel; how true to life; and how delighted you are to find that the carnival barker's voice has drawn you into a ride you didn't realize you wanted to go on. Squeeze the guard rails, and whoop your way through the curves. Then, get back in line and go again.

The year is 1999, and thirteen-year-old Elliot is a self-appointed "diet coach" who teaches her classmates how to survive on one stick of gum a day to get heroin-chic, Kate Moss thin. Elliot is obsessed with her best friend and former "client" Lisa, who is fresh out of inpatient treatment and dating a nineteen-year-old drug dealer. Meanwhile, Elliot's mother Anna, a capricious poetry professor, has a drug addiction and eating disorder of her own. When Lisa transfers her fixation from food to sex with her boyfriend, Elliot's fragile grip on reality begins to falter, at the same that time that Anna's fascination with the object of her own blind lust, the student who relinquishes his cocaine to her during office hours begins to consume her. I Must Have You is the story of what happens one three-day weekend in an explosion of desire, hunger, and lost innocence. JoAnna Novak's kaleidoscope of 1990s America, filled with vibrant imagery from riot grrl graffiti to Michael Jordan posters, offers a vision of the complexities of womanhood and the culture that keeps the modern girl sick. I Must Have You is a provocative debut of rare honesty from a daring new voice. Similar to the works of Miranda July, Novak's novel will appeal to a new generation of readers who hunger for raw female protagonists. Praise for I Must Have You "I Must Have You is a book about girls―their secret languages and private codes, their painful preoccupations and complex compulsions, and their scary tendency, when caught in the gazes of society, men, (and worst, each other), to diminish themselves―sometimes to the point of disappearing completely. With risky, confident prose and brazen psychological renderings―not to mention a knack for getting the 90's just right―Novak takes us on a seductive, uncharted journey through modern womanhood, obsession and illness. I can honestly say I have never read anything like this book." ―Molly Pretiss, author of Tuesday Nights in 1980 "I Must Have You is a devastating novel about loving and trying to destroy one’s own body."―Ramona Ausubel, author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty  "I Must Have You showcases JoAnna Novak's raw, real, and vivid voice in the character of Elliott, a sharp-tongued, sharp-witted, and complex young heroine unlike any we've met. Novak's intelligent, funny, frightening, and deeply felt novel bravely goes where this genre has not gone before: into the darker reaches of a culture that casts a long shadow across the lives of girls and women today. Novak explores the extent of our longing, and—ultimately—the source of our strength."—Marya Hornbacher, New York Times Bestselling Author of Madness, Wasted, and others. "JoAnna Novak's voice is unforgettable and her irreverent, addictive debut is sure to position her as one of the great stylists of her generation. I Must Have You is a brilliant and candid look at what it means to be a girl in this world; it's a meditation on hunger, on wanting, on the things and people that consume us, and on the things and people that we long to consume. A truly exciting, beautiful novel."—Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire and Skinny  “I Must Have You presents a harrowing and immersive story of compulsion and disorder, addiction and obsession, with frequent detours through the teenage cultural wasteland of the late nineties, all rendered in JoAnna Novak’s crazed, slang-stilted, glinting prose.”—Teddy Wayne, author of Loner  "JoAnna Novak's I Must Have You is a rhapsodic, tumbling, yet rigorously controlled excavation of the secret worlds within us all. Her characters hurtle toward the painful pleasure of self-destruction, uninterested in stopping themselves, determined to find the next prick to make them feel alive. It's a visceral process, like picking off a scab. This is a necessary book."—Sarah Gerard, author of Binary Star  "I Must Have You is a tragic, funny, and moving coming-of-age story. It was impossible not to be swept up in JoAnna Novak's gorgeous, inventive prose, or to stop yourself from falling in love with her irreverent, wild, and ultimately human characters. I loved every word."—Anton DiSclafani, New York Times Bestselling author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls and The After Party "Novak looks unflinchingly at the precarious attachments between female peers, mother and daughters, during some dangerous, inchoate transitions. With exacting prose she explores the the shadow terrain of female attachment, one that is uncertain at best, dangerous at worst. This is a book you'll want to look away from for its familiarity and its honesty, but you won't be able to. This story is nothing if not a disorienting mediation on the tangle of self-loathing, loneliness, and a desire for oblivion that so many women privately hold."—Rebecca Rotert, author of Last Night at the Blue Angel JoAnna Novak's debut novel I Must Have You will be published in May 2017 and a book-length poem, Noirmania, will be published in 2018. She has written fiction, essays, poetry, and criticism for publications including Salon, Guernica, BOMB, The Rumpus, Conjunctions, and Joyland. She received her MFA in fiction from Washington University and her MFA in poetry from University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a co-founder of the literary journal and chapbook publisher, Tammy. She lives in Los Angeles.     

Gayle shares the books that she took with her on her travels to Asia and then Gayle and Nicole discuss the ins and outs of picking the right vacation book for the right moment. They also chat about their differing perspectives on The Leavers and the short story collections that leave them cold. Books Discussed on this Podcast http://amzn.to/2syzNAf (Born To Run) by Bruce Springsteen http://amzn.to/2EyySFA (Best Day Ever) by Kaira Rouda http://amzn.to/2Cnfd5j (The Leavers) by Lisa Ko http://amzn.to/2C2gd34 (Loner) by Teddy Wayne http://amzn.to/2CpRJfZ (Bobcat and Other Stories) by Rebecca Lee http://amzn.to/2Cpt1wp (Awayland) by Ramona Ausubel http://amzn.to/2CpTOZa (Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty) by Ramona Ausubel http://amzn.to/2EwdG34 (The Immortalists) by Chloe Benjamin http://amzn.to/2HmS6vt (The Hazel Wood) by Melissa Albert What We're Reading http://amzn.to/2CpfW63 (Mrs.) by Caitlin Macy http://amzn.to/2F8Q8hH (The Wolves of Winter) by Tyrell Johnson http://amzn.to/2CpqMsS (Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century) by Jessica Bruder http://amzn.to/2C0GQp6 (The Bookseller) by Cynthia Swanson New & Forthcoming http://amzn.to/2CpgOYn (I Am I Am I Am) by Maggie Farrell http://amzn.to/2o4vyrg (The Only Story) by Julian Barnes http://amzn.to/2HkezcB (The Queen of Hearts) by Kimmery Martin http://amzn.to/2HkrA61 (Educated: A Memoir) by Tara Westover http://amzn.to/2CqtnTc (Black Fortunes) by Shomari Wills Support this podcast

Epigraph We are thrilled to welcome our new BFF to Drunk Booksellers: Javier Ramirez, manager of The Book Table in Oak Park, IL and co-host of industry get-together Publishing Cocktails. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, our website, or subscribe using your podcatcher of choice. If you want to get our show notes delivered directly to your inbox—with all the books mentioned on the podcast and links back to the bookstore we’re interviewing PLUS GIFs—sign up for our email newsletter. This episode is sponsored by Books & Whatnot, the newsletter dedicated to books, bookselling, and bookish folk; check out their newsletter archive here. Follow Books & Whatnot on Twitter at @booksandwhatnot. Introduction In which we apologize profusely for the delay in our episode posting, bond over Kelly Link, and get excited about books that are... already out We had the pleasure of chatting with Javier nearly every week for a month while trying to record this episode (#techfail), then ran into a few other delays (#lifefail), but WE HAVE PREVAILED. That said, we talk about books that are already out as if they're forthcoming and we're drinking a nice "summer" drink because it was, you know, still summer when we first started this wild ride of an episode. Just pretend you're a time traveler visiting the halcyon days of late August 2017.    We’re Drinking Vodka & Tonics with NO FRUIT Javier's Reading a bunch of nonfiction for the Kirkus Nonfiction Prize The Sun in Your Eyes by Deborah Shapiro Heartbreaker by Maryse Meijer The Seventh Function of Language by Laurent Binet Ranger Games by Ben Blum Kim's Reading Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit (and check out the Huffington Post article about being mansplained to while reading about Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me) You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie The Store by James Patterson... 'cause Patterson is awesome, gives booksellers (including your grateful hosts) money for fancy things like student loan debt and ridiculous urban rent, trolls Amazon for funsies, and rocks a photoshopped Santa hat like a boss: Kim's reading aloud: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Emma's Reading MIS(H)Adra by Iasmin Omar Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado... Emma's favorite story from the collection is “Inventory” Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power! by Mariko Tamaki Spinster by Kate Bolick   Forthcoming Titles We're Excited For Kim's Epic List of Titles that Are Already Out The Golden House by Salman Rushdie Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Afterglow by Eileen Myles Never Stop by Simba Sana The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison Javier's Excited About The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne Release by Patrick Ness (if you haven't read Ness before, Javier recommends you start with The Chaos Walking series, which beginning with The Knife of Never Letting Go) Dinner at the Center of the Earth by Nathan Englander (also mentioned The Ministry of Special Cases and What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank) The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (pubs 2/6/18) The Grip of It by Jac Jemc Emma's Excited About The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M Valente In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan We Were Witches by Ariel Gore (How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead) A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe Chapter I [26:50] In which Javier conquers the Chicago bookselling scene Javier started at Tower Records (RIP) He currently manages the Fiercely Independent Chicago-area bookstore, The Book Table. Javier has worked at pretty much every bookstore in Chicago. Other than the OG Powell's. Unless you're talking time travel. Javier's epic Tour de Bookselling (chronologically): Tower Books --> Crown Books --> Barbara's Bookstore --> The Book Cellar --> Seminary Co-op Bookstores --> 57th Street Books --> Newberry Library Bookstore --> Book Stall --> City Lit Books --> The Book Table  Chapter II [33:45] In which we talk Publishing Cocktails and how to network IRL in the internet age Publishing Cocktails, created by Javier and Keir Graff (senior editor at BookList) brings Chicago-area book industry folk from around the country together. They have two primary meetup events: Book Swap & Cash Mob. Follow Publishing Cocktails on Twitter at @PubNight. Sign up for the Publishing Cocktails email list for future updates.   Chapter III [38:20] In which Emma is, once again, deeply disappointed Book Description Guaranteed to Get You Reading Anything not blurbed by Lena Dunham (shout out to Gary Shteyngart’s epicly excessive blurbing). Anything blurbed by Kelly Link or George Saunders. Check the blurbs on Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind. Plus time travel! Kim and Javier bond over All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (shout out to the Booze and Lasers Book Club at Third Place Books Seward Park), with references to Michael Crichton’s Timeline and, you know, Harry Potter. Emma ruins the ending of one of the stories in A Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel. Desert Island Pick The entire body of work of Agatha Christie Station Eleven Pick Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which has Javier’s favorite first line: It was a pleasure to burn. In case you were wondering, Emma’s favorite first (and second) line(s) come from Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Javier’s posting staff’s favorite lines from literature in his store and he drunkenly promised Emma that he’d post hers too. Pics or it didn’t happen, Javier. Wild Pick The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben Bookseller Confession HAS ANY BOOKSELLER ACTUALLY READ HARRY POTTER? JESUS, YOU GUYS. Go-To Handsell Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Here's Javier's blurb, blatantly stolen from The Book Table's website: When confronted with the "What is your favorite book of all time?" query, most people will often pause, looking over the inquisitors head while thoughtfully scratching his or her chin. I, on the other hand, will not hesitate when I tell you this. Geek Love is my favorite book. Of all time. Period. This oddball masterpiece (a National Book Award Finalist in 1989) shaped me as a reader and more importantly as a bookseller 20+ years ago. It's one of those reading experiences that make you feel like you're in on some life-changing secret. A novel that will chill you, move you and make you laugh, often at the same time. Help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Geek Love, quite possibly the best novel you've never read. Master & the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov: There's a cat that drinks vodka and talks! Bonus Bookseller Confession from both Emma and Kim: They’ve never read either of Javier’s go-to handsells. #booksellerfail Impossible Handsell The End of Alice by A M Homes (author of This Book Will Save Your Life and Music for Torching) Also mentioned, the origin impossible handsell: Tampa by Alissa Nutting Book for Booksellers The Grip of It by Jac Jemc Still Life with Tornado by AS King (author of Ask the Passengers) Another stolen blurb from The Book Table's website: In Still Life with Tornado A.S. King captures the human condition we refer to as "being a teenager" with so little effort I found myself utterly floored. Exploring the way that memory affects grief and vice versa was second in genius only to how King manifests said memory/grief in the mind of 16 year old Sarah. King weaves family history, art and what our past, present and the future can tell us about ourselves into a perfect storm of a book. Favorite Bookstores Unabridged Bookstore The Last Bookstore in LA Favorite Literary Media This podcast you’ve probs never heard of called Drunk Booksellers. But really: Beth Golay’s Books & Whatnot Shelf Awareness The Millions  Epilogue In which we tell you where to find us, but not Javier, on the Internets Javier is a ghost and cannot be found on the internet. He has… a work email… and a telephone number… neither of which we are going to post here. You’re welcome, Javier. You can find us on: Twitter at @drunkbookseller Litsy at @drunkbooksellers Facebook Instagram Email Newsletter Website   Emma tweets from @thebibliot and writes bookish things for Book Riot. Kim tweets from @finaleofseem less frequently than Drunk Booksellers posts new episodes. #sickburn Subscribe and rate us on iTunes!  

 With all the propulsive tension that made Room an international bestseller, Emma Donoghue’s new masterpiece, The Wonder, is a tale of two strangers who transform each other’s lives. Set in Ireland in the 1850s, an English nurse arrives in a small village to keep watch over a young girl who has been fasting for months and claims to be living only on manna from heaven. Is it a miracle or fraud or something else? Donoghue shares with ALOUD audiences her latest riveting psychological thriller with Ramona Ausubel.Click here for photos from the program.

First Draft interview with Ramona Ausubel

Ramona Ausubel grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of a new novel, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty as well as the novel No One is Here Except All of Us (2012), and a collection of short stories A Guide to Being Born (2013).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty (Riverhead Books) Ramona Ausubel burst onto the literary scene in 2012 with her debut novelNo One is Here Except All of Us, earning the love of critics with her inimitable voice and imaginative style, and winning the PEN Center USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award, as well as being named a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award. Next came A Guide To Being Born, an enthralling story collection that Aimee Bender declared “fresh, delicate, beautiful, expressive, otherworldly.”  Now, already named a most-anticipated book of the year by The Millions,Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty opens on Labor Day 1976 on Martha's Vineyard. Summering at the family beach house, Fern and Edgar—married with three children—learn that the unimaginable has occurred: There is no more money. More specifically, there's no more money in the estate that had allowed them to live this charmed and comfortable life despite their professed anti-money ideals. Quickly unraveling, they are tempted away on separate adventures—unknowingly abandoning their three young children, who set about devising a kind of Netherland for themselves.  Fresh and vital, Ausubel’s magnetic work is chock-full of humanity and wisdom, imbued with humor and bite and a vivid sense of where we find meaning and sustenance. A story of American wealth, class and mobility,Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty explores with Ausubel’s characteristic whimsy and profundity the complicated legacies and strength of family love. Ausubel’s uncanny ability to simultaneously transport, entertain, mesmerize and inspire, makes Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty a deeply satisfying read that will linger with you in powerful ways. Praise for Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty “Fortunes and hearts are lost and found in a modern fairy tale set in the 1960s and '70s. . .Ausubel's magical, engrossing prose style perfectly fits this magical, engrossing story."—KIRKUS, starred review  "This is the book about class and love that I’ve been waiting for. A riches-to-rags story with all the twists and unraveling you could want, embroidered divine in the wizardy mind of Ramona Ausubel, whose imagination and music are simply peerless. A gorgeous and moving must-read!"—Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Gold, Fame, Citrus and Battleborn "Ramona Ausubel has given us a brilliantly imagined novel about family and fortune and the hidden knots between. You're holding a book brimming with life by an author bursting with talent." —Maggie Shipstead, author ofSeating Arrangements and Astonish Me Ramona Ausubel is the author of the novel No One Is Here Except All of Us, winner of the PEN Center USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award, and finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. She is also the author of the story collection A Guide to Being Born, and has been published in The New Yorker, One Story, The Paris Review Daily, and Best American Fantasy.

Want to know if a book's for you? Welcome to Love It or Loathe It, episodes where Bookshelf staffers and friends tell you exactly what they think about a newly released title. In this volume, Annie chats with Bookshelf manager Rebekah and frequent podcast contributor Hunter all about I'm Glad about You by Theresa Rebeck.  Other titles mentioned:  + Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham + Are You My Mother?, by Alison Bechdel + Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal + A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman + Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel 

It’s episode 8 of Drunk Booksellers, and we’re here with Pete Mulvihill, co-owner of Green Apple Books in San Francisco, CA. Get psyched, y’all.  You can also stream the episode on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow us on Twitter at @drunkbookseller for updates, book recs, and general bookish shenanigans. Check out our show notes, after the jump! Epigraph Bitches in Bookshops Our theme music, Bitches in Bookshops, comes to us with permission from Annabelle Quezada. It’s amaze-balls, and Kim just discovered Annabelle’s other literary Kanye parody, Hardcover Bound 2 AND IT’S ALSO AMAZE-BALLS (and, uh, you should stick around at the end of the episode for a nice lil hidden track). Check it:      Introduction   [0:30] In Which, If You’re Interested in Reading Anything Where a Story Ends with a Boy Jumping on Top His Parents Bed Right After They’ve Finished Having Sex, Dumping Out the Ashes of Their Dead Cat onto Them, Then You’ll Probably like Ramona Ausubel. Currently drinking: Boulevardier (don’t forget the orange peel...)   Pete’s reading: The Fear Project: What Our Most Primal Emotion Taught Me about Survival, Success, Surfing... and Love by Jaimal Yogis & Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (pubs 7 June 2016)   Emma’s reading: Uprooted by Naomi Novik (again) & Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina Maclaughlin   Kim’s reading too many books rn, incl: Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith (pubs 7 June 2016; also mentioned: Glaciers), A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold (also mentioned: Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon), Klickitat by Peter Rock, Paper Girls Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff K. Chiang, and Matt Wilson   Everyone’s REALLY EXCITED about Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates (of Between the World and Me fame). Available at your local indie bookstore soonish? Maybe? Or go to your local indie comic shop, ‘cause those places are great too. New/forthcoming books we’re excited about: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach (pubs 6 June 2016) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (pubs 7 June 2016) Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger (pubs 24 May 2016) Zodiac Starforce: By the Power of Astra by Kevin Panetta & illustrated by Paulina Ganucheau (pubs 31 May 2016) I’m Just a Person by Tig Notaro (pubs 14 June 2016) Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel (pubs 14 June 2016; also mentioned: A Guide to Being Born) The Assistants by Camille Perri (pubs 3 May 2016) Everything is Teeth by Evie Wyld & illustrated by Joe Sumner (pubs 10 May 2016; also mentioned: All The Birds, Singing) The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes (pubs 10 May 2016) The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee (pubs 17 May 2016) The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman (pubs 31 May) Chapter I   [16:25] In Which Bookstores Can’t Count to 25, Pete is a Closeted Straight Man, and We Learn About Bitcoin   Read more about Green Apple’s history here.   But seriously, y’all. Those masks, amirite?   And, in case anyone other than Kim is interested in WTF Bitcoin is, here’s Wikipedia. Unfortunately, a bit of Pete’s audio was cut out, during which time he regaled us with the story of Dread Pirate Roberts (no, not that one). Interested now? WIRED has a pretty great read for you. Originally posted by meeshmatched   Chapter II   [31:40] In Which We Discuss California Bookstore Day, the Rise of INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY, and Get to Hang Out with Samantha Independent Bookstore Day started as California Bookstore Day, which was initially inspired by Record Store Day.   April 30, 2016 (Kim’s Birthday!!) will be the second official Independent Bookstore Day.    Lauren Groff is the author ambassador. You might have heard of her. She wrote Obama’s favorite book of 2015: Fates & Furies. Green Apple is doing a shit ton of events, including an appearance from Green Apple’s mascot, Mergatroid; Kate Schatz, the author/illustator of Rad American Women A - Z; a local poet, Sylvie, writing custom poems; prize wheels; KEGS; and a free-throw shooting contest.   Mergatroid welcomes you to Independent Bookstore Day. Chapter III   [45:05] In Which Pete is Not THAT Old, But He’s Totally On the Sleep Game Pete’s Station Eleven, Wild, & desert island book: The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor (or maybe Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) Go-to Handsell: The Tenth of December by George Saunders, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler, The Plover by Brian Doyle Impossible Handsell: Native Son by Richard Wright Also mentioned: The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington   Originally posted by heartsnmagic   Readerly Confession: Pete doesn’t read nearly as much as he wished he did. Neither do we. #BooksellerLife Epilogue   [49:50] In Which Pete Gives a Shoutout and You Should Look Up Green Apple On YouTube Immediately Pete wants everyone to visit Omnivore Bookstore in SF. It looks fucking awesome.   Pete can be found on the internets via Green Apple’s Facebook & Twitter Go watch all of Green Apple’s videos on YouTube, particularly: Goooooogly Books (2011), The Book vs The Kindle (2009), and The New Hire (2013).   In other news, if you’re not following us on Twitter by now, it’s probably because you don’t have Twitter. But here’s where you can find us, in case you decide to join the Twitter-sphere: @drunkbookseller. Emma tweets @thebibliot and writes nerdy bookish things for Book Riot. Like, seriously nerdy, as evidenced by a recent post titled What the Cats of Neko Atsume are Reading.  Originally posted by popnographic   Kim tweets every few months or so at @finaleofseem, but mostly uses her Twitter account for off-the-clock communication with coworkers, who tend to send group messages on Twitter rather than just texting each other like normal people. Anyway, you can follow her there if you feel like it. Make sure you don’t miss an episode by subscribing to Drunk Booksellers from your podcatcher of choice. Also, if you read this far in the show notes, you are awesome and we love you and you should totes rate/review us on iTunes. Emma and Kim both have birthdays at the end of April, so a nice review would be the best of birthday presents. Other than copies of The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (with Cats!) by Anna Pulley, which we’d both happily accept as well. Please send to WORD and/or The Elliott Bay Book Company, ATTN Drunk Booksellers. Thanks, and happy birthday to us. Originally posted by fineleathergifs    

Infinite Home (Harper Collins)A beautifully wrought story of an ad hoc family and the crisis they must overcome together. Edith is a widowed landlady who rents apartments in her Brooklyn brownstone to an unlikely collection of humans, all deeply in need of shelter. Crippled in various ways--in spirit, in mind, in body, in heart--the renters struggle to navigate daily existence, and soon come to realize that Edith's deteriorating mind, and the menacing presence of her estranged, unscrupulous son, Owen, is the greatest challenge they must confront together. Faced with eviction by Owen and his designs on the building, the tenants--Paulie, an unusually disabled man and his burdened sister, Claudia; Edward, a misanthropic stand-up comic; Adeleine, a beautiful agoraphobe; Thomas, a young artist recovering from a stroke--must find in one another what the world has not yet offered or has taken from them: family, respite, security, worth, love.The threat to their home scatters them far from where they've begun, to an ascetic commune in Northern California, the motel rooms of depressed middle America, and a stunning natural phenomenon in Tennessee, endangering their lives and their visions of themselves along the way. With humanity, humor, grace, and striking prose, Kathleen Alcott portrays these unforgettable characters in their search for connection, for a life worth living, for home.Praise for Infinite Home“Kathleen Alcott is part sculptor and part fire-breather—not only are these characters intricately carved but they stand up, walk right off the page and beckon us into a story that is both vivid and welcoming.”  —Ramona Ausubel, author of No One is Here Except All of Us and A Guide to Being Born“Vibrant, inventive, expansive. Kathleen Alcott has peered through the walls of an everyday apartment building and transformed the private lives of its tenants into pure poetry. Infinite Home is as much a story of those neighbors we may only know in passing, as it is a commentary on the beauty and misfortune of our modern age.”—Said Sayrafiezadeh, author of Brief Encounters with the Enemy “Starting with the first page of Infinite Home, you will feel it: something different, something brave, and something fundamentally amazing about Kathleen Alcott’s power over the English language. Every yearning character in this breakout novel is flesh and blood. Alcott’s roving heart, and power as a storyteller, may very well be limitless.” —Patrick Somerville, author of This Bright River“A stunningly sensitive exploration of how families are made and unmade, and how the search for one’s place in the world can come to define a life. Kathleen Alcott writes characters so achingly real, they will take up permanent residence in your imagination. This novel is the evidence of a wondrous talent at work.” —Laura van den Berg, author of The Isle of Youthand Find Me“In her quietly wonderful second book, Alcott displays a deft hand with every one of her odd and startlingly real characters. …As their lives weave together more tightly, we feel more drawn to them individually and as a family of sorts. Their situation may not be enviable, but Alcott's handling of it is. The voices in this book speak volumes. A luminous second novel from a first-class storyteller.”—Kirkus Starred Review“Alcott’s writing has an acute sensory quality, and she’s at her imaginative best when describing the small, quotidian moments of her characters’ lives…Alcott’s writing is generous, and her peculiar cast of characters memorable.” –Publishers Weekly “Infinite Home is a story about a handful of people’s lives and their excuses not to live them, and how neither our lives nor our excuses can last forever. ….Kathleen Alcott’s beautiful telling of their stories is dense with individual sentences that are beautiful all on their own. She’s that kind of writer. You might cry. You’ll probably cry, actually. (I cried.)” – Gawker “Alcott’s sophomore effort does wonders in building a fragile web of familiarity, and compels the reader to become an extended part of it.” – NYLON  “I read straight through its 317 pages in about a day. This is … mainly a direct result of Alcott’s page-turning, character-driven prose. [Infinite Home] offers up a story about the quest to find connection, meaning, love and a life that feels all our own.” – Brooklyn Based“Infinite Home doesn’t disappoint. At turns despondent and darkly funny, Alcott has woven a uniquely beautiful story which challenges the way we view the concept of home.” – Brooklyn Magazine“[Infinite Home] gets at the heart of what the word “home” is about — both in terms of the physical place and the feeling. …Prepare to be moved, because this one will reach deep inside of you.”– Bustle“Novelist Katheen Alcott calls into question what "home" really means -- is it a physical space populated by the belongings you acquire, or a state of mind achieved when you're surrounded with those you feel most at ease with? In Infinite Home, she posits that it's somehow both.” – The Huffington PostKathleen Alcott is the author of the novel The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets. Her fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, ZYZZYVA, The Coffin Factory, The Believer, and elsewhere, and her short story “Saturation” was listed as notable by The Best American Short Stories of 2014. Born in 1988 in Northern California, she lives in Brooklyn, New York. Karolina Waclawiak received her BFA in Screenwriting from USC School of Cinematic Arts and her MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. She is the author of How To Get Into The Twin Palms (Two Dollar Radio) and The Invaders (Regan Arts). Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Rumpus, and The Believer (where she is also an editor). She lives in Los Angeles.

Head Case: My Brain and Other Wonders (Henry Holt & Company)  A spirited, wry, and utterly original memoir about one woman's struggle to make her way and set up a life after doctors discover a hole the size of a lemon in her brain. The summer before she was set to head out-of-state to pursue her MFA, twenty-six-year-old Cole Cohen submitted herself to a battery of tests. For as long as she could remember, she'd struggled with a series of learning disabilities that made it nearly impossible to judge time and space--standing at a cross walk, she couldn't tell you if an oncoming car would arrive in ten seconds or thirty; if you asked her to let you know when ten minutes had passed, she might notify you in a minute or an hour. These symptoms had always kept her from getting a driver's license, which she wanted to have for grad school. Instead of leaving the doctor's office with permission to drive, she left with a shocking diagnosis--doctors had found a large hole in her brain responsible for her life-long struggles. Because there aren't established tools to rely on in the wake of this unprecedented and mysterious diagnosis, Cole and her doctors and family create them, and discover firsthand how best to navigate the unique world that Cole lives in. Told without an ounce of self-pity and plenty of charm and wit, Head Case is ultimately a story of triumph, as we watch this passionate, loveable, and unsinkable young woman chart a path for herself. Praise for Head Case “Head Case is hilarious, moving, thought-provoking: it will change the way you think about what it means to move through the world, no matter the shape of your own human brain.  Cole Cohen's brain is unusual, and her voice is indelible: this is a wonderful book by a wonderful writer.  I can't wait to see what she writes next.”—Elizabeth McCracken "Terrifically readable, while still being piercing and honest about different kinds of struggle, some familiar, some utterly her own. Besides that, Cole Cohen's also really funny. And unafraid of being bleak. And funny/bleak. I so enjoyed being carried along by Cohen's voice."—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake "Rich with yearning and ache, conveying a scrunched sense of claustrophobia and imagery of cinematic quality. . .The author also delivers flashes of humor to add levity to the proceedings. A beautifully wrenching memoir as piercing as smelling salts."--Kirkus (starred review)" "Head Case is funny, touching, acerbic, and emotional; it vividly evokes the world as she experiences it and leaves you feeling you have met an exceptional, tough, indomitable character. " --Susan Orlean "I'm delighted and inspired by Cole Cohen's Head Case, an account of herself that shines throughout with her particular brand of perseverance, humor, hard-won clarity and wisdom." --Maggie Nelson, author of The Art of Cruelty "Cole Cohen writes with poignant clarity about her life of continual disorientation--the result of a hole in her parietal lobe. I laud her persistence, her humor, her gracious prose, and most of all, her honesty - and, as the mother of a child likewise afflicted with an "invisible disability," I am grateful for this revelatory memoir. Cohen's challenges are as universal as their cause is unique, and Head Case, so raw and artful both, is an important book. Bravo!"--Robin Black, author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This "Cole Cohen writes with clarity, humor and honesty about her own unique brain, but Head Case is also about the very human journey of learning to navigate the big world from inside one's one mind. This is a fascinating and brave memoir."--Ramona Ausubel, author of No One is Here Except All of Us and A Guide to Being Born Cole Cohen graduated from the California Institute of the Arts MFA program in Writing and Critical Studies in 2009. She was a finalist for the Bakeless Prize and the Association of Writers & Writing Programs prize in Nonfiction and she has been a Yaddo Fellow. She currently lives in Santa Barbara, California where she works as the Events and Program Coordinator for UC Santa Barbara's Interdisciplinary Humanities Center.

A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, No One Is Here Except All Of Us explores how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.

A Guide To Being Born (Riverhead Books) We are honored and excited to have Ramona Ausubel back for another book launch.  We hosted the launch for her stunning debut novel, NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US, which was hailed by The New Yorker as "An absorbing and unpredictable novel . . . Ausubel's original voice combines fresh, clear observation.”  Join us to hear stories from her new collection, which is already gretting great buzz. “Ausubel has a gift of language so rich that even the most mundane events are invested with poetry, and many of her characters are in need of all the poetry they can muster.”--Kirkus “These stories reminded me of branches full of cherry blossoms: fresh, delicate, beautiful, expressive, otherworldly.  I eagerly read from one story to the next.”--Aimee Bender Whimsically beautiful and delightfully strange, A GUIDE TO BEING BORN charts the life cycle from Birth to Motherhood to Death.  Each of the eleven stories is organized around the stages of life—birth, gestation, conception, love—and the transformations that happen as people encounter deeply altering life events: falling in love, becoming parents, approaching the end of life.  Reminiscent of Karen Russell and Aimee Bender, Ausubel's imagination and humor are deeply moving and provocative, allowing readers to see the familiar world in new ways. Ramona Ausubel is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of California, Irvine. She has been published in The New Yorker, One Story, The Paris Review Daily, Best American Fantasy, and elsewhere, and has received special mentions in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Non-Required Reading. She was a finalist for the Pushcart Prize. Photo by Teo Gosse THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS MAY 2, 2013. COPIES OF THE BOOK FROM THIS EVENT CAN BE PURCHASED HERE: http://www.skylightbooks.com/book/%5Bmodel%5D-237

No One Is Here Except All of Us (Riverhead) We're pleased to present debut novelist Ramona Ausubel for a reading and signing of her beautiful and riveting novel No One Is Here Except All of Us. "Here is a world created out of the most curious and beautiful remnants of our own: opera, suitcases, letters, rivers, daughters, strangers, and shovels. Ramona Ausubel cracks open the very idea of a book and fills its shell with a thing glimmering, thrilling, and new." — Samantha Hunt, author of The Invention of Everything Else "A special work of the imagination, an original gift, dark and light, and Ramona Ausubel colors it all with a glowing wisdom." — Ron Carlson, author of Five Skies "A wise, compassionate book that even in its darkest turns uplifts." — Christine Schutt, National Book Award finalist for Florida and Pulitzer Prize finalist for All Souls "Ausubel has written a riveting, otherworldly story about an all-too-real war and the transformative power of community." — Library Journal Ramona Ausubel grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds an MFA from the University of California, Irvine where she won the Glenn Schaeffer Award in Fiction and served as editor of Faultline Journal of Art & Literature. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, One Story, The Paris Review Daily, and Best American Fantasy. Her work has also received special mentions in Best American Short Stories and Best American Nonrequired Reading. Ausubel was also a finalist for the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Santa Barbara, California. Photo of the author by Twin Lens Images. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 10, 2012.

Ramona Ausubel is the guest.  Her debut novel, No One is Here Except All of Us, is now available in hardcover from Riverhead Press.  And her short story "Atria" was published in the April 4, 2011 issue of The New ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's bumper Bonus July Episode, we have three amazing interviews!Bianca first chats with bestselling and award-winning author, Ann Patchett, about her latest novel, Tom Lake. During the show, the two discuss how and why Ann wrote past and present as 'bleeding into one narrative' in her latest novel; when to show vs when to tell backstory; testing different ways of beginning a story before settling on the best place to start; breaking the writing rule of starting with a character desperately wanting something; causality and reflecting real life accurately; using specificity to intrigue the reader; and planting curiosity seeds at the right time and place.After which, Tina and Renee of Book Talk, etc. podcast, join Bianca to talk about books they love and what they found to be so compelling about them. During the episode, they discuss Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas; Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi; The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton; Miracle Creek by Angie Kim; and Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta.Finally, Ramona Ausubel joins Bianca to talk about her latest novel, The Last Animal. They also discuss story inspiration; the emotional truth of a story; plausibility and suspending disbelief; the personal universal element; intentionally choosing POV; writing a teenage protagonist for an adult novel; the relationship between a writer and their work; the evolution of a project, using Fortunately/Unfortunately for story structure; and how to avoid info dumps when trying to convey very technical information.Find us on our socials:Find us on our socials:Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyraInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAWWebsites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwritingMore information about Ann can be found at http://www.annpatchett.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/parnassusbooks/More information about Book Talk, etc. can be found at booktalkpodcast.com. They're also on Instagram @booktalketc, Twitter @booktalketc, and Facebook @booktalketc.More information about Ramona can be found at www.ramonaausubel.com. She's on Twitter @ramona_ausubel and Facebook @ramonaausubelauthor.Our Sponsors:* Check out Factor 75 and use my code tsnotyaw50 for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com/* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands