Book Fight

Latest Episodes:

Ep 69-Andre Dubus III, Townie Sep 22, 2014

Show notes

We talk about the younger Dubus's 2011 memoir of growing up in a series of rough neighborhoods, learning to fight, and making his peace with a mostly absent father. Also: raccoon news!

Fall of Failure Ep 1: J.D. Daniels, "Letter from Majorca" Sep 15, 2014

Show notes

This week we're kicking off our new fall series, in which we read short stories and essays and also talk about various kinds of failure. In today's episode we're talking about J.D. Daniels' essay "Letter from Majorca," from the Paris Review. We also consider why failure is more interesting than success, and why Americans have such a difficult time with it.

Ep 68-Kenzaburo Oe, A Personal Matter Sep 08, 2014

Show notes

This 1964 novel is one of the best-known by Japanese novelist Kenzaburo Oe, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994. The book follows Bird, a new father deciding whether to save his newborn son, whose seemingly severe birth defect might keep him from ever living a full life.

Summer of Shorts Ep 8: Lorrie Moore and Shorts Jobs Sep 01, 2014

Show notes

The summer is over, and so is our Summer of Shorts. In this final installment, we talk about Lorrie Moore's "People Like That Are The Only People Here" and--for those who've fallen in love with the shorts lifestyle--jobs for which you don't need to wear pants (or dresses/skirts).

Ep 67-Geoff Dyer, Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It Aug 25, 2014

Show notes

This week's book is a Mike pick: an essay collection about travel, displacement, love, loss and occasional psychedelic drugs. We talk about the necessary artifice of narration, and why readers so often fail to acknowledge it; how travel experience is often more about the traveler than the place itself; dark humor and bad habits. We also bring back our Sticks and Stones segment, make an important announcement, and get lost in a Groundhog Day-style feedback loop.

Summer of Shorts Ep 7-Barthelme and Swim Trunks Aug 18, 2014

Show notes

This week on Summer of Shorts we're talking about Donald Barthelme's "Me and Miss Mandible" and also swim trunks. Tom is headed out on a beach vacation, despite pretty much hating the beach, whereas Mike grew up near the beach and thinks he needs to get over his irrational fears of the ocean. Also, the story is pretty good, and you should check it out, either in the collection Come Back, Dr. Caligari, or in the collected Sixty Stories.

Summer of Shorts Ep. 6: Sherman Alexie and Boxers Aug 11, 2014

Show notes

This week's story is "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," by Sherman Alexie. This week's shorts are boxers. Trigger warning: We're gonna talk about our underpants.

Ep 66-Aglaja Veteranyi, Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta Aug 04, 2014

Show notes

We're joined this week by Matt Jakubowski--writer, critic, and interviews editor for the international journal Asymptote--to discuss the English translation of Aglaja Veteranyi's Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta. Veteranyi was originally from Romania but lived most of her life in Switzerland, after growing up with a family of circus performers, an experience which certainly informs the novel. We also talk about Matt's ongoing project to read only women for 2014.

Summer of Shorts Ep 5: Gaitskill and Gym Shorts Jul 28, 2014

Show notes

This week we're discussing Mary Gaitskill's "The Girl on the Plane," and also gym shorts. What more could you possibly need to know?

Ep65-Salinger, Raise High the Roofbeams Carpenter and Seymour an Introduction Jul 21, 2014

Show notes

This week we read two long stories (novellas, maybe?) by some guy named J.D. Salinger. Maybe you've heard of him. Kind of a recluse? Didn't like phonies? Both stories are about Seymour Glass, and the Glass family more generally, who make appearances in a number of other Salinger stories, like A Perfect Day for Bananafish and Franny and Zooey.

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