Podcasts about we talk about something more pleasant

In this episode, PWPL Communications Coordinator Andrea Marsh talks all things NEA Big Read, expensive dinners, and being an adrenaline junkie!Andrea's Book Recommendations:Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz ChastThe Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes of Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

In the episode, Marty Achatz talks about the upcoming NEA Big Read at PWPL, focused on Roz Chast's graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Marty shares an NEA Big Read Moment about his mother.

It's been a long time since you've seen an author interview here on Book Dreams, but we were recently given the chance to interview Roz Chast, and who could possibly say no to that?! Roz is a beloved New Yorker cartoonist with a style all her own, and Eve and Julie have both been big fans of her work for decades. She is as funny, insightful, and distinctive in person as she is in her drawings, and it was a joy to get to speak with her. Take a listen to hear about everything from her latest book, in which she illustrates her dream world; to what it's like to submit cartoons and cover art to The New Yorker; to the role anxiety plays in her cartoons and in her life. Roz Chast is a cartoonist for The New Yorker and has published more than a thousand cartoons in the magazine since 1978. She is also the author of a number of books, including Going Into Town, What I Hate from A to Z, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant, which won the National Book Critics Circle award and the Kirkus Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her latest book, I Must Be Dreaming, is a USA Today bestseller, a New Yorker Best Book of the Year, a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, and a Washington Post Best Graphic Book of the Year. The Miami Book Fair is an “eight day literary party” founded by Miami Dade College that's been held every November in Miami, Florida since 1984. The Fair plays host to more than 450 international authors reading and discussing their work, as well as more than 250 publishers and booksellers exhibiting and selling books, with special appearances by antiquarians showcasing signed first editions, original manuscripts, and other collectibles. Many thanks to our friends at Miami Book Fair for coordinating this episode with Roz. Find us on Twitter (@bookdreamspod) and Instagram (@bookdreamspodcast), or email us at contact@bookdreamspodcast.com. We encourage you to visit our website and sign up for our newsletter for information about our episodes, guests, and more. Book Dreams is a part of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to Book Dreams, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows about literature, writing, and storytelling like Storybound and The History of Literature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watch the video here. Renowned for her ''extraordinarily honest, searing and hilarious'' (San Francisco Chronicle) takes on modern life, Roz Chast has published more than 1,000 cartoons in The New Yorker since 1978. She has written or illustrated more than a dozen books, including Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a bestselling multi-genre narrative about her aging parents that won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a National Book Award Finalist; Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York, an illustrated paean/guide/thank-you note to New York City; and several collected volumes of her published cartoons. Most recently, she illustrated New Yorker writer Patricia Marx's Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?: A Mother's Suggestions. In I Must Be Dreaming, Chast takes an illustrated journey to the enduring and elusive land of Nod to explore the secrets of the sleeping yet active mind. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU! (recorded 10/30/2023)

This week Alice and Kim wrap up 125 episodes of the For Real podcast by discussing their favorite reads of 2022 and reflecting on their favorite podcast episodes. Follow For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kendra Winchester. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. KIM'S FAVORITES OF 2022 How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur Ancestor Trouble by Maud Newton Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes  In the Shadow of the Mountain by Sylvia Vasquez-Lavado Dog Flowers by Danielle Geller ALICE'S FAVORITES OF 2022 A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve L. Ewing The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú Looking for the Good War by Elizabeth D. Samet The Lost City of Z by David Grann Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? By Roz Chast Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Trans Mission by Alex Bertie FAVORITE PODCAST EPISODES Episode 13: Suffragists, Suffragettes, and Winning the Vote Episode 23: The Arctic and the Tropics Episode 34: Ahoy, We Sail the Sea of Books Episode 50: 50 Books for 50 Episodes Episode 53: Snake Math! Episode 67: After the Final Rose Episode 70: YA Nonfiction, aka Nonfiction for Exhausted Adults  Episode 91: Library Treasure Hunt Episode 92: The One With Mary Roach  Episode 96: Fell in a Hole (AKA True Stories Underground) Episode 100: Episode 100!!!! Episode 123: Nonfiction Holiday Gift Guide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we welcome two guests: finance writer and author, Emily Guy Birken and host of the award-winning personal finance podcast, Stacking Benjamins, Joe Saul-Sehy. Emily and Joe join the podcast to discuss how to approach your money in a fun but effective way.  We discuss the first steps you can take to begin your financial independence journey, being proactive instead of reactive when it comes to your overall money goals and how letting your inner kid out can actually improve your financial life. Emily Guy Birken is an award-winning freelance writer in the financial sphere. Emily is the author of five books and her work has appeared in HuffPo, Business Insider, Kiplinger, MSN Money, and The Washington Post.  Joe Saul-Sehy learned about money the hard way and much of it as he was telling other people how to manage their money, as a financial advisor. After 16 years in the industry he created the award-winning podcast, Stacking Benjamins, one of the most listened to podcasts in the personal finance sphere. If you're ready to get super-serious about your money management (just kidding), this episode is for you! In the episode we discuss:

This week Tayla is joined by MK Czerwiec (The Comic Nurse) and librarian Matthew Noe to talk all things Graphic Medicine. They tell us all about the many uses of the genre as well as some of their favorite titles. They also discuss other podcasts, Hawkeye, and Sci-fi novellas. During the Last Chapter they discuss: what's a genre you wish you read more of? Like what you hear? Rate and review Down Time on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player of choice! If you'd like to submit a topic for The Last Chapter you can send your topic suggestions to downtime@cranstonlibrary.org. Our theme music is Day Trips by Ketsa and our ad music is Happy Ukulele by Scott Holmes. Thanks for listening! Books All Systems Red (Murderbot #1) by Martha Wells Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price A Winter's Promise (Mirror Visitor #1) by Christelle Dabos The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki What Fresh Hell is This by Heather Corinna My Degeneration by Peter Dunlap-Shohl Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast Pain is Really Strange by Steve Haines Crude by Pablo Fajardo, Sophie Tardy-Joubert, Damien Roudeau, and Hannah Chute Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Menopause: A Comic Treatment edited by MK Czerwiec AV Succession (2018- ) Young Justice (2010- ) Hawkeye (2021) Maximum Film (podcast) Tig and Cheryl: True Story (podcast) Maintenance Phase (podcast) Other Graphic Medicine (website) American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom Comic Nurse (website) Drawing Together Archive @NoeTheMatt on Twitter Graphic Medicine Book Club Kits

Our guest this week, Danica Novgorodoff, is a writer, graphic novelist, and illustrator who has written 3 of her own graphic novels but her work has received some extra special attention recently.  She is the illustrator of the new graphic novel edition of Jason Reynolds' award winning young adult novel Long Way Down.  She believes she was chosen for the book partly because of her special use of watercolors as a medium for graphic art, which gives the work an ephemeral feel.   Besides this project, she is also in the process of writing a graphic novel on climate change, several children's books, as well as essays and illustrating a cookbook with a James Beard award winning cookbook author.  And did I mention she has a 3 year old and a one year old? As well as working at home during a pandemic?  We need to give this artist and mother a medal... or at least a glass of wine and an hour to herself.   Danica talks to us about what steps she takes to adapt a book into a graphic novel, how becoming a mother totally changed her thoughts on how to write and illustrate a good children's book, and how the pandemic hastened her family's move away from Brooklyn back to some of her roots in Kentucky. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 2- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 3- Island of the Blue Dolphins  by Scott O'Dell 4- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George 5- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 6- Long Way Down (graphic novel) by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff 7- A Late Freeze by Danica Novgorodoff 8- The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff 9- Refresh, Refresh by Danica Novgorodoff 10- Slow Storm by Danica Novgorodoff 11- Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast 12- What I Hate from A to Z by Roz Chast 13- The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humbolt's New World by Andrew Wulf 14- The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humbolt and the Shaping of America by Laura Dassow Walls 15- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 16- Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Our guest this week, Danica Novgorodoff, is a writer, graphic novelist, and illustrator who has written 3 of her own graphic novels but her work has received some extra special attention recently. She is the illustrator of the new graphic novel edition of Jason Reynolds’ award winning young adult novel Long Way Down. She believes she was chosen for the book partly because of her special use of watercolors as a medium for graphic art, which gives the work an ephemeral feel. Besides this project, she is also in the process of writing a graphic novel on climate change, several children’s books, as well as essays and illustrating a cookbook with a James Beard award winning cookbook author. And did I mention she has a 3 year old and a one year old? As well as working at home during a pandemic? We need to give this artist and mother a medal... or at least a glass of wine and an hour to herself. Danica talks to us about what steps she takes to adapt a book into a graphic novel, how becoming a mother totally changed her thoughts on how to write and illustrate a good children’s book, and how the pandemic hastened her family’s move away from Brooklyn back to some of her roots in Kentucky. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 2- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 3- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 4- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George 5- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 6- Long Way Down (graphic novel) by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff 7- A Late Freeze by Danica Novgorodoff 8- The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff 9- Refresh, Refresh by Danica Novgorodoff 10- Slow Storm by Danica Novgorodoff 11- Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast 12- What I Hate from A to Z by Roz Chast 13- The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humbolt's New World by Andrew Wulf 14- The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humbolt and the Shaping of America by Laura Dassow Walls 15- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 16- Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

What services does Friends in Action provide to the Deer Isle-Stonington community? How do I sign up for transportation services? How do I volunteer with Friends in Action? Why is a ride so much more than just getting from Point A to Point B? I talk about this and much, much more in my conversation with Jo Cooper, Executive Director Friends in Action.  Friends in Action: Phone Number: 207-664-6016 Website: https://www.friendsinactionellsworth.org/ Recommended Book: "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" by Roz Chast https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Talk-about-Something-Pleasant/dp/1632861011/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2CYW89OR5W6DJ&dchild=1&keywords=can%27t+we+talk+about+something+more+pleasant&qid=1605041886&sprefix=Can%27t+we+talk%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-2

A 30-year contributor to The New Yorker, Patricia Marx is the author of several books including Starting From Happy and Him Her Him Again the End of Him, both of which were Thurber Prize finalists. A former writer for Saturday Night Live and Rugrats, she has taught screenwriting and humor at a number of universities, and is the recipient of a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship. Her new book, illustrated by Roz Chast, is a collection of bon mots passed down from her mother. Chast has published more than 800 cartoons in The New Yorker since 1978. She has written or illustrated more than a dozen books, including several collected volumes of her published cartoons, an illustrated love note to Manhattan titled Going into Town, and the memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and a National Book Award Finalist. Natalie Cohn Memorial Lecture (recorded 4/11/2019)

Amanda and Jenn discuss books set in New Mexico, horror with cars, political machinations, and more in this week's episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Timothy Top Book 1: The Green Pig by Gud and Good Me Bad Me, now in paperback by Ali Land. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS here, or via Apple Podcasts here. The show can also be found on Stitcher here.   Feedback Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe Out by Natsuo Kirino   Questions   1. I love the podcast and have actually read some of the books that have been recommended and have loved them. I am taking a trip to Portland, Oregon and will go visit Powell’s City of Books (my first time ). I noticed as I was making my wish list of books I want to buy and looked at the list of books I’ve read this year and realized I have read too many books that are emotionally heavy. I’m not trying to say those books are unimportant they are! I just need an escape every now and then. I recently read Alan Bennett’s, “The Uncommon Reader,” and loved it so much. I need recommendations for books like that : easy to read in one sitting, grossly absorbing, and don’t leave me feeling emotionally and mentally exhausted. I have also read the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor and “The Bookshop,” by Penelope Fitzgerald. I am not a fan of romance novels. Would like some recommendations by women, people of color, or LGBTQ. Thanks and again love the podcast. --Rebekah   2. Hi - I send a request for book suggestions on your website (using the form I can no longer find...?) but forgot to mention that since I'm leaving for my trip in about a month, I'd really really appreciate some suggestions as soon as possible...I'm thinking you might have answered a similar question in past shows, too, since it's pretty simple. As I said before, I'm going to be travelling to Santa Fe, NM to live for a while, but know virtually nothing about the place! I'd love book suggestions - either modern fiction (preferred) or non-fiction / travel - that give a sense of the history & atmosphere & cultures & climate of New Mexico. I recently read Pretend I'm Dead by Jen Beagan, and thought it was great, although New Mexico is only a backdrop in that one. I'm not a big fan of cowboy / frontier type stuff, though. Thank you so much! Your podcast was recommended by my local librarian and I'm so grateful she let me know about it! All the best, --Tracey   3. Hi Ladies, My friend is looking for recommendations and I just do not feel equipped to suggest based on our differing reading interests, so I thought I would consult the experts! He gave me his 2 favorite books: "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch and "Dragon Teeth" by Michael Crichton. I suggested "N0S4A2" by Joe Hill based on one of your previous shows, and he loved it. But he actually moved it to the top of his TBR because of the Rolls-Royce! He absolutely loves cars - it is his passion personally and professionally. Do you have any suggestions for what he calls "adventure" and "darker" books? HUGE plus if you can throw in a sweet car! I am trying to keep his reading flame alive. Thank you, --Andrea   4. Apparently I have an unpopular opinion. After watching the tv adaptations of her work, I decided to try reading one of Philippa Gregory's books but don't seem to be enjoying it very much. I'm confused by this since I know she is well regarded in this genre and that I enjoy these sorts of books (The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart is one of my favorites and of course A Song of Ice and Fire) but I'm not finding the environment or characters very immersive. Could you recommend a political machinations, inspired by history, power weddings, and rising king novel by another author? Ideally it would be realistic with a few witchy superstitions, but full fantasy is good too. Wolf Hall is on my TBR and I know I've heard you mention an "inclusive GoT" - was it Promise of Blood? Thank you! --Kelly   5. My grandfather was diagnosed with dementia several years ago, but his condition has escalated recently, and he's just moved into a nursing home. Since my family has fairly spread out, the majority of the care for him has fallen on my mother, who lives closest to the home. She loves to laugh, and hasn't let any of this get her down, but I know it's tough on her. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for books that deal with aging parents in a positive or humorous tone, either a memoir or a novel of some sort. Thanks! --Amanda   6. Hello! I was pretty convinced that I don't like romance, but you ladies are always talking about great romance books. For the Read Harder challenge of a romance novel by or about a person of color, I chose Whiskey and Ribbons, by Leesa Cross-Smith. I think Amanda may have mentioned it on this podcast or on All the Books. This book is so good! It just made me feel like love is so amazing and wonderful, and the writing is beautiful. I feel like I have been missing out by avoiding the genre, and now I need more books to feel all of the feels. I admit that I haven't given romance much of a chance, but the little bit I have read has annoyed me with either the characters having amazing sex immediately after meeting on page two, or just plain bad writing. What are some good romances for people new to the genre? I usually read literary fiction and nonfiction. --Kara   7. Hi, can you recommend any books based around tattoos and fantasy elements connected to or about them? I love fantasy, historical fiction. Favorite books are Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, Station Eleven, Discovery of Witches. --Angela   Books Discussed An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie Passing Strange by Ellen Klages River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey Fire Season by Philip Connors Night at the Fiestas by Kirstin Valdez Quade Christine by Stephen King Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak War With the Mein by David Anthony Durham The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin (Inheritance Trilogy) Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev Inked by Eric Smith Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (tw: rape, suicidal ideation)

In this episode, Curt and Kevin put superhero slugfests aside to confront a subject far more frightening than Doomsday, Thanos or the Annihilation Wave! That's right: We're talking about the award-winning graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, written and drawn by Roz Chast and published by Bloomsbury! Chast, a critically acclaimed cartoonist for the New Yorker, paints an unflinching portrait of the final years of her nonagenarian parents, anxious George and overbearing Elizabeth, as they come to grips with physical frailty, encroaching dementia, and leaving their cluttered Brooklyn apartment for an assisted living facility. Can Chast, an only child suddenly forced to become a parent to her parents, successfully navigate the thorny thicket of managing their care and finances and prepare herself to say goodbye? And can this funny and heart-wrenching book earn a spot in that eternal resting place known as … The Comics Canon? Things Discussed in This Episode: Content warning The Poky Little Parkway Ozymandias Reliving high school as a senior citizen The fine T-shirts available at our new TeePublic store Michael Haneke's Amour Our Cancer Year God Country Join us in two weeks as we return to more familiar territory (and prepare for the upcoming Venom movie) with a look at Ultimate Spider-Man: Venom! Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and  we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin turn their attention to one of the most famous Superman stories of all time—the headline-grabbing, multi-part event storyline The Death of Superman, written and drawn by a rotating cast of creators and published by DC Comics! The hulking, mysterious figure who comes to be known as Doomsday arrives out of nowhere, destroying everything in his path! Not even the Justice League can slow this raging brute as he plods toward Metropolis, leaving death and ruin in his wake! Only one man has a chance against this inhuman monster. But is even Superman up to the task? Can the Man of Steel stop Doomsday's relentless onslaught without paying the ultimate price? (Well, the title of the story is a dead giveaway.) And will his name be added to that memorial of monumental epics known as … The Comics Canon? Things Discussed in This Episode: The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? Vulture recounts the birth of Doomsday Extremely radical 90s bad guys Lex Luthor Jr. and Supergirl's creepy relationship Convoluted post-Crisis continuity The Garden of Gethsemane Glen Weldon's Superman: The Unauthorized Biography Superman's death scene done right Did we mention our Comics Canon TeePublic store? Superman/Batman Annual #1: Stop Me If You've Heard This One The Death of Captain America World Without a Superman Join us in two weeks as we explore the topic of death from a different angle with a look at cartoonist Roz Chast's graphic memoir, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

Amanda and Jenn discuss pioneer fiction, distraction reads, slashers, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and First Lessons by Lina J. Potter.   Questions   1. Hello! I am a literature and linguistics double major and am going to be taking 5 classes at an intensive this summer. I am looking for books that are easy to read and really draw you in. I love “The Vacationers,” “the Secret History,” and “the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” and am also a huge fan of classics but want something a bit easier to read than that. I am also looking for fiction books that take place during the rise of Irish Nationalism in the 1910s. I am reading Yeats and Joyce and would like books that will fill in a bit of background information. Thanks so much! –Quinn Elle   2. Hi, I’m looking for a specific type of book that I’m at a loss of where to find. I love love love the Little House on the Prairie series and I have not been able to find any others like it! I enjoy reading about how people lived in the pioneer days. I recently read The Snowchild which was a story of survival as well and I enjoyed that too. Please find me some books similar to those! I like fiction, nonfiction, historical, YA is fine, but please no short stories, poems, or graphic novels. Thanks so much in advance, I look forward to hearing what you recommend! –Susan   3. Hi gals, I believe you have covered something like this before, but I am not sure how to really search for without going through every past episode. Hoping you can help me! My cousin/bestie’s mother-in-law is starting chemotherapy and radiation and they would like to read something light and easy together. My cousin loved the Twilight series and she and her MiL like Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steele. Both of them, but especially her MiL are progressive and her MiL isn’t religious (my cousin believes in God but also isn’t overly religious). Do you have any uplifting books for them to read? I think they would prefer something that distracts them a bit from the cancer and the physical and emotional pain it causes, so I’d rather it not be about anyone dying or that focuses a large part of the plot on being ill. That said, if it is an uplifting story about someone overcoming a serious illness and you think it would be a good fit for them, I’d certainly consider it. Thank you very much, –Kristin   4. Hello Get Booked! I’m a longtime listener of all things Book Riot and am coming to you for a recommendation for my mother, whose birthday is right around the corner (along with Mother’s Day). To give you an idea, she’s an avid and curious reader who loves plants and gardening, food, historical fiction, cute/feel-good stories, and books with great writing. She also likes current books, books that are on the new releases/hot reads shelf at the library, that she hears about on NPR, etc. Some books that she’s really enjoyed have been Lab Girl, Stay With Me, The Sympathizer (loved the story/writing, didn’t like the ending), The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Goodbye Vitamin. What she doesn’t like are books that are heavy-handed with their message or that have an unrealistic/unrelatable plot (she didn’t like The Nightingale, The Family Fang, or Manhattan Beach). Hopefully that will help you/me out and I can nail her birthday gift this year!! Thanks so much, –Chloe   5. Hi! I have a book swap quickly approaching with a complete stranger. It’s a “slasher” themed swap (which I have understood to mean horror or dark psychological suspense). My partner has listed Stephen King, Grady Hendrix, Richard Laymon, Anne Rice, and James Newman as her favorite authors. She has read and enjoyed The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, Bird Box by Josh Malerman, Universal Harvester by John Darnielle, NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, and Little Heaven by Nick Cutter. She did not particularly enjoy Final Girls by Riley Sager or Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones. Could you recommend a book or two for this swap that would make her day? Thanks! –Tanya   6. My sister is trying to get into reading and she keeps coming to me for book requests, which is great, but I’ve run out of ideas on what to suggest to her. She likes reading Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Dessen and John Green, but I believe at this point she’s read them all. She also thoroughly enjoyed Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, mostly because the plot line kept her interested and she loved the sections about the elephants. I got her Where’d You Go Bernedette for her birthday which she seemed excited for but she hasn’t read it yet. She loves the outdoors and animals and nature, she just needs a plot line that is going to keep her interested from beginning to end. Thank you! –Allyson   7. Hi Amanda and Jenn! I recently discovered this podcast and have been loving it. After binging several episodes, I was tempted to submit a request of my own. I’m in my late twenties and have never been in a relationship; the short way to put it is just that I make friends rather slowly, have never found the idea of romance that appealing, and haven’t yet met anyone to change my mind. I do want a partner though and have tentatively started dating, but I’m not finding the process much fun. I wonder if you could recommend a sweet-hearted story with an older, skeptical or inexperienced narrator with a similar mindset and a happy ending. (In the ballpark of The Rosie Project maybe? Have read Persuasion and Attachments.) I have seen contemporary stories about online dating mishaps, but even humorous takes on this aren’t that encouraging for me. Obviously a Romance would be fine, but it’s also okay for the relationship to be off to the side (enjoy general fiction, mysteries, SFF, and historical fiction). I’m fine with straight or LGBTQIA, steamy bits are welcome, and actually I’ve had some luck with fantasy settings where relationships are arranged/necessary for magical health, etc. No YA and please no trigger warnings. –KS   Books Discussed   The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt The Mothers by Brit Bennett Giveaway! bookriot.com/bookstore500 Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell The Wangs vs. The World by Jade Chang The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich Burial Rites by Hannah Kent A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes (TW: harm to children and basically everyone else also) Security by Gina Wohlsdorf (rec’d by Liberty) When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

First Keith talks about how things went in the first session of his new D&D campaign, and about a D&D event he just returned from called Level Eater 8. Keith mentions a couple who went looking for a dog they could call Kevin. Andy mourns the passing of Joe Frank, recommends a book by Roz Chast called Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, and asks if Keith has thought about going to Burning Man. Keith tells a morbid story, then they get into a big discussion about Star Trek Discovery, including some minor spoilers. Behind the spoiler curtain they also discuss The Good Place, Electric Dreams, and Black Mirror.SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.

Amanda and Jenn discuss Alaska reads, classics, LGBTQ+ YA, and more in this week's episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout and The Secret Agent Training Manual by Elizabeth Singer Hunt.     Questions 1. Hi! I'll be visiting a few cities in Alaska this summer, and I was wondering if you could recommend some books set in (relatively) modern day Alaska. Most books set in Alaska I've seen focus on either the Gold Rush, the Yukon (where no really lives...?), being stranded in the wilderness and having to survive, or some combination thereof. I'm more interested in the everyday lives of people in Alaska. Do these kinds of books set in Alaska even exist? Please let me know! I'm open to fiction, non-fiction, and even poetry. --Jess   2. Hello, I am the public librarian in a small (fairly conservative) town. We have a limited YA collection that has been slowly been building over the years. There is a real lack of diversity in the collection, especially concerning LBGT books. I am looking for books that cover this area but aren't overly explicit or fantasy as much of the YA collection is fantasy. Thank you! --Maggie   3. I just discovered your podcast and am loving catching up on all the back episodes, so thanks! I am a fiction revert book lover. After reading Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl under the covers with a flashlight, I gave up reading in high school and college when a bad English teacher killed it for me (besides Harry Potter and cliffs notes). Only in the last few years have I really begun to fall in love with reading fiction. And more than anything, I'm really digging reading all the classics I missed. I know that I missed so many good books in all those years, and it's hard to navigate which to go for. I would like to pick ones that would be five star material. Some of my favorites have been To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne of Green Gables, Rebecca, A Wrinkle in Time, and Count of Monte Cristo. I'm looking for classics, although contemporary classics would be great too. Thanks so much!! --Ally   4. Hi ladies first off, just wanted to say how comforting and glad i am to have discovered your podcast recently. Hearing about such a wide array of books, comics and audiobooks has really made me feel like my reading world has been such a narrow one but also has made me really excited to expand my reading experiences Okay, i have noticed that i have started reading less and less as i grow up and over the past couple of years, i would be lucky if i could even read 2 books a years. I really want to get back into one of my first love in storytelling but am kind of at a lost to where to start. im looking for any kind of book that will just have me absolutely engrossed and fall back into love with reading. i usually read YA of young character centred books but am totally open to anything new. the last couple of books i read that reminded me how much i love reading were: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow rowell Trouble is a friend of mine by Stephanie tromly The Outsiders by S.E Hinton and Viral series by Kathy Reichs --Dami   5. Hi Jenn and Amanda! I love reading about people bonding with their dogs. However, I find that 99% of the time, if the dog plays a key role in the book then something terrible will happen to it. Can you help me find a happy book about dogs that will not wrench my heart out and bring me to tears? I read What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren and enjoyed her style of non-fiction. I would prefer a fiction recommendation at the moment, but I am open to any recommendations! Thank you! --Marie   6. I'm based in the UK and love the access that your show gives me to a wider range of books. I am in a book club and when it's my turn to choose I like to challenge the group (the others often usually pick contemporary literary fiction which is great but it's great to try something different). I fancy reading a graphic novel as I've not read one before but am scared off by the fantasy and comic book characters. Can you suggest 3 options that may be more of my thing? Thanks --Janine   7. Hi Jenn and Amanda! I am a retired first-grade teacher and for the last year or so have been channeling my love for reading aloud into reading to my father-in-law, who lives in a care center near my home. I am wondering if you have any suggestions for things he might enjoy. He is in his early 80s. He had a stroke a few years ago, resulting in some limitations with short-term memory, so short stories and/or plots that are not too hard to follow between reading sessions work best. (I usually go a couple times each week.) He LOVES westerns, cowboy stories, old movies, and generally adventurous/action-packed plot lines. We have read quite a few Louis L'Amour books and short stories. I am looking for things that are generally upbeat, and not too risque. Thank you so much! --Kathy   8. Hi! Money has been short lately but I finally have enough to invest in some really great books! Do you have any suggestions on what books and authors are worth my hard earned money? I will read anything, preferably fiction and if it's longer than 600 pages I will be very happy. Would also enjoy something that's not western culture. Thank you! --Hanna   Books Discussed Dot Journaling by Rachel Wilkerson Miller Into the Water by Paula Hawkins Baby It's Cold Outside by Addison Fox If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name by Heather Lende Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert The Woman In White Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Stay by Allie Larkin Dog On It by Spencer Quinn Alias Vol 1 by Brian Michael Bendis Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

Interview with New Yorker Magazine cartoonist, Roz Chast author of "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" My guest today is New Yorker Magazine cartoonist, Roz Chast.  I've seen her speak here in Washington DC, and on May 13, Chast will appear in Reston, Virginia to discuss her graphic memoir, “Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?”   As an only child, Roz Chast found herself as the sole caretaker for her parents, George and Elizabeth Chast, when they reached old age. As she cared for her parents, and following her father's death, it became clear Chast wanted to, and needed to tell their story. If you've never seen Roz Chast, but have seen her cartoons, you might imagine her to be one of the cartoons she so ably draws: frizzy hair, frazzled demeanor, eyes crossed, with exclamation points swirling around her head inside the cartoon bubble she's drawn for her clever one liner response.  But, the real life Roz Chast is a lovely, generous, sincere, funny, observer of life, which she depicts brilliantly in her cartoons. After talking with her for this interview for nearly an hour, even more appealing aspects of her personality are revealed:  for one, she has many comic voices. As you'll hear in today's wonderful interview, many of Roz' impressions sound like she's poking fun at her very challenging up-brining, as only child of quirky parents, when in reality she's very nobly caring for her parents at a time when they truly needed her.      Roz very much personalized our interview and conversation, asking about me, my parents, my father's illness and my own children.  And, unlike, other interviewees, who want to portray themselves, themselves, and oh, by the way, themselves, Roz genuinely cares about the connection, which likely deepens her understanding of her touching, and hilarious cartoons. Roz Chast's cartoons exude warmth and whimsy, but often share more in common with the dark humor of cartoonists like Charles Addams or Gahan Wilson than they do with "Peanuts." I mention that my own parents owned the Charles Addams book “Monster Rally,” which I loved, and apparently influenced Roz, too.   When she broke into a regular gig as a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine in the 1970s, at age 23, she had already cultivated the eccentricities that became the hallmark of her work. As proof, an adult Chast drew a cartoon that shows a woman holding what is clearly a very “war torn” oven mit, saying to her mom, “Mom, what is it with this oven mit?  It''s from year one!”  “It's disgusting!  It's all burnt and cruddy.  And, it's got patches on it!  Oh my god, these patches come from a skirt I made 40 years ago in Home Ec!  Directing her comments to her mother, at the sink, washing dishes, she says, “Please let me buy you a new over mit.”  Without missing a beat or in this case, a frame, her mom replies, “Why waste your money?  That one still works.”   Chast has illustrated more than 800 cartoons for The New Yorker, as well as a number of books. Her book, “Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?,” is a New York Times best seller and a National Book Award Finalist, and is a sharply-observed memoir of her parents at the ends of their lives.    

In her graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, cartoonist Roz Chast brings humor to the difficult topic of aging parents. Last year, the book earned her the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction. Now, it's being featured alongside some of her other work as part of the Distinguished Illustrator Exhibition Series at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was pre-recorded specifically for KWTF Sonoma County Radio on March 3, 2015. In this episode, Tristy is flying solo and sharing six of her favorite books published in 2014. Along with her review, she shares music that she feels go hand-in-hand with the book:10:04 by Ben Lerner (songs: Cold Blooded Old Times by Smog & It Happened Before Our Time by Jeremy Jay)The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt (songs: New York Social Life by Laurie Anderson & Hard Headed Woman by Wanda Jackson, The Queen of Rock!)Why Are You So Sad? by Jason Porter (songs: Right Track Now by Rocky C. Hall and The 13th Floor Elevators & I Started a Joke by Bee Gees)Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (songs: Marriage Tree by Throwing Muses & Marriage by Palace Music)Over Easy by Mimi Pond (songs: Judy is a Punk by the Ramones & Lust for Life by Iggy Pop)Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast (songs: The Song is Ended by Annette Hanshaw)Songs also played:Books by Blank Dogs (2009)Outta Money by Calamity Jane (1992)Don’t forget to stay connected on all the social media places!Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, 8Tracks, Pinterest, SoundCloudPlease feel free to rate and subscribe and do all the things the robots like to push us up the ladder on I-Tunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/spilling-rubies/id928952261

Roz Chast's cartoons exude warmth and whimsy, but often share more in common with the dark humor of cartoonists like Charles Addams or Gahan Wilson than they do with "Peanuts." When she broke into a regular gig as a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine in the 1970s, she had already cultivated the eccentricities that became the hallmark of her work. As proof, an adult Chast drew a cartoon that shows a young girl with her head stuck in the "Big Book of Horrible Rare Diseases." It's labeled "Me, Age 9." Chast has illustrated more than 800 cartoons for The New Yorker, as well as a number of books. Most recently, she published Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a sharply-observed memoir of her parents at the ends of their lives. In this episode of Here's The Thing, Roz Chast talks to Alec Baldwin about life with her parents, growing up in New York, and her neurotic pet birds.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant isn’t as easy book. As the title implies, in deals in topics few are equipped to candidly discuss: family, aging, mortality. But long time New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast valiantly marches headfirst into a memoir of her parents’ decline armed with humor, insight and desk full of watercolors. The result is one of the best comics of 2014. I met Chast in a strange cavernous room below a luxury hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, following a talk and signing. We sat on a bench, discussing her work as a fascinating collection of fellow comics luminaries like Art Spiegelman and Charles Burns milled about between appearances. Given the subject matter of her most recent book, I wasn’t entirely sure what tone the conversation would take, but quickly realized that as with her work, Chast has a knack for making even the heaviest of conversational topics immensely entertaining. During our 40 minute interview, we spanned the cartoonist’s entire career, beginning with an envelope dropped off at the New Yorker in 1978, stuffed with 60-odd submissions. All of these years later, the artist The Comics Journal called, “the first truly subversive New Yorker cartoonist” has had well over 1,000 cartoons run in that most prestigious of periodic institutions and one of the most touching graphic memoirs in recent memory.

[Podcast audio below.] Roz Chast is best known for her New Yorker comics—colorful and witty depictions of everyday humiliations and grievances. Often those come at the hands of the people closest to her: family members. In Chast’s recent book, a graphic memoir called Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? that has rightfully earned a place on many annual lists of the year’s best new non-fiction, she tells the story of her parents. In particular, she looks back at how, as an only child, she dealt with their steep decline at the end of their lives—with love and sadness, but also with frustration and guilt. It’s a poignant and often unexpectedly hilarious account and one that... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's show title is brought to you by Virginia Sheppard. Jane is joined by friends for the Holiday season. They discuss books, reading, and the next chapters of Soulless. Media mentioned: Mistletones, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. For more information go to dibtbpodcast.blogspot.com