Otherppl with Brad Listi: Books & Culture

Latest Episodes:

Episode 286 — Ariel Schrag Jun 15, 2014

Show notes

Ariel Schrag is the guest. Her new novel Adam is now available from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Publishers Weekly says "Schrag's frisky debut...is one of the most original coming-of-age stories of recent years." And Flavorwire says "Ariel Schrag’s story about a teenager who goes to spend the summer in New York with his sister is unlike any coming-of-age story you’ll read anytime soon. Funny and tender... Anybody familiar with Schrag’s comics won’t be disappointed with her work as a novelist; if you haven’t read her other work, let Adam be your introduction and read everything else you can find of hers from there." Monologue topics: preschool, social anxiety, inferiority, courtesy, instincts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 285 — Tom Barbash Jun 11, 2014

Show notes

Tom Barbash is the guest. His story collection Stay Up With Me is now available in paperback from Ecco. The Daily Beast calls it “Fantastic…These Cheever-esque stories all show that Barbash has a sensitive ear towards the subtle ways that relationships are formed and altered, but he’s also not afraid to open a story with a car accident and watch the sparks fly.” And The New York Times says “These stories should come with a warning: They might undo you.” Monologue topics: competition, competitive mania, confusion, fear, loathing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 284 — Brittani Sonnenberg Jun 08, 2014

Show notes

Brittani Sonnenberg is the guest. Her debut novel, Home Leave, is now available from Grand Central Publishing. Karen Russell says "It's hard to believe that this astonishing novel is Brittani Sonnenberg's first--she writes about family with wisdom, humor, and native daring. Here is Persephone's journey, undertaken by an entire family, the Kriegsteins, who ricochet through time zones, moving from Berlin to Singapore to Wisconsin to Shanghai to Atlanta, together and alone. Sonnenberg's prose is so vital and so enchanting that you will read this book in the dilated state of a world-traveler, with all of your senses wide open. Her family members are so well-drawn and complex that you'll close this book certain they exist." And Wim Wenders calls it "A captivating tour de force that follows a nomadic family across generations and continents." Monologue topics: mail, multilingualism, cultural superiority, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Iran, Egypt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 283 — Nicholas Grider Jun 04, 2014

Show notes

Nicholas Grider is the guest. His story collection, Misadventure, is now available from A Strange Object. Brian Evenson calls it "A dark and luscious hell ride through the damaged but nonetheless appealing rituals of bondage. These are tantalizing and difficult stories in which fantasy and reality bleed (quite literally) into one another." And Matt Bell says "Each of these compelling stories is ruled not by certainty but by maybe, by sometimes, by ‘this is not necessarily a proclamation of anything’—and so we finally sense behind their pages the nervous heart of the modern man, stubbornly clinging to a fading authority, now more desperately than ever before.” Monologue topics: thanks, Skylight Books, xTx, Roxane Gay, Lisa Mecham, curtseying.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 282 — Aaron Gwyn Jun 01, 2014

Show notes

Aaron Gwyn is the guest. His new novel, Wynne's War, is now available from Eamon Dolan Books. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, says "Gwyn’s (Dog on the Cross) story is a gripping tale of men at war in the desolate snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan, and captures the essence of close combat—the terror, excitement, chaos, tension, and cruelty, as well as the harsh decisions men make under stress...its gritty realism is part of the strength." And Nic Pizzolatto, creator of HBO's True Detective, says “Wynne's War is a deep and beautifully written story of men, war, and madness, told by a young American master. A page-turner of poetic and savage grace, of our time but transcending it, this novel takes its rightful place among the great American literature of war.” Monologue topics: bad news, miscarriage, feeling bad about feeling bad, bad luck, bad.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 281 — Ana Carrete May 28, 2014

Show notes

Ana Carrete is the guest. Her poetry collection Baby Babe is now available from Civil Coping Mechanisms. Sam Pink says “The first time I heard Ana’s writing was 2 years ago. In November of 2010, I read at the ‘Ear Eater’ reading series in Chicago. Ana was another reader. She was reading via Skype. There were a lot of people at the reading. After I read, I walked out of the room and stood in a hallway, staring at the floor. After a few difficult conversations with people in the hallway, I heard the host of the reading talking to someone on the computer. It was Ana. Ana started reading. I laughed a lot and enjoyed her reading. Seemed like other people weren’t enjoying it as much as me but I was enjoying it a lot. I stood in the hallway laughing and shaking my head ‘Yes’ and people looked at me. I kept thinking, ‘I want to go into the room and watch her face reading’ but then I would think, ‘No, don’t do that, just listen.’ Not sure why I kept telling myself not to go into the room where she was reading but I stood in the hallway and listened and enjoyed it a lot. Two years later, Ana emailed me Baby Babe. I opened the PDF just to skim a few poems but then I read the whole book. When I was done reading the book, I thought, ‘I’ll be glad to have this book so I can look at it whenever I want.’” Monologue topics: foreign languages, bilingualism, power dynamics, ego, inferiority, anger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 280 — Kelly Braffet May 25, 2014

Show notes

Kelly Braffet is the guest. Her novel Save Yourself is now available in paperback from Broadway Books. Dennis Lehane calls it "The real deal. Save Yourself is an electrifying, tomahawk missile of a thriller with honest-to-God people at its core. It rocks the house." And The New York Times says "There’s storytelling skill to burn here. Ms. Braffet has empathy for her working-class characters and brings neglected places to convincing life." Monologue topics: orders of business, questions from listeners, blogging, what I'm reading currently.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 279 — Lee Klein May 21, 2014

Show notes

Lee Klein is the guest. He has two books out this year. The first is called Thanks and Sorry and Good Luck, available now from Barrelhouse. The second, due out in August 2014, is called The Shimmering Go-Between (Atticus Books). Blake Butler says "Somewhere on the brutal truth continuum between Bill Hicks and Mussolini, Lee Klein’s rejection letters are mini-masterpieces of literary criticism disguised as no-thank-yous from Writer’s Hell. And yet, in each, a little lesson; a steadfast faith that says 'I took the time to read what you created and this is exactly what I thought.' They should be passing these things out under the pillows at MFA camp; we’d all be better off." And Elizabeth Ellen says "Lee Klein made me cry. He was the only editor ever to make me. This was back in 2002. I wish I still had the email. I remember it going something like, 'whenever you have the instinct to write a line like that, delete it immediately, without prejudice.' I hated him for a while. I pictured him looking like the guy in that 90’s movie Heavy (the one with Liv Tyler), except housebound and with no redeemable qualities. Then, somewhere around 2004, I met him 'IRL' and he was soft-spoken and sweet. It was harder to hate him after that. Reading all of these rejection letters here in this book made me finally fall a little in love with him, I think. I think if I had had access to (and disassociation from) these letters then, I might have fallen in love with him then. This is the funniest book I have read in a long time. It is also the smartest. I feel confused now, like I’m unsure whether to love or hate Lee Klein. But both of us are married now so it doesn’t really matter." Monologue topics: analytics, paranoia, See's Candies, death, parenthood, mortal fear.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 278 — Katherine Faw Morris May 18, 2014

Show notes

Katherine Faw Morris is the guest. Her debut novel, Young God, is now available from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Daniel Woodrell says "Young God is a poetic, grim, and beautifully dark novel about backwoods violence and horror recounted in a numbed, laconic voice. Morris writes with splendid economy, chapters short as contes, and plenty of slashing insights on the rough world of throwaway lives and varieties of wrong." And Richard Hell says "This book is so clean and dirty: thirteen-year-old Nikki’s nipples pop like buttons; Kool Kings come in a hard box; white goo tastes a little salty but mostly like nothing. The best dreams are of nothing. Except that it is not nothing. It is charged white space: These pages happen to you and now you’re awakening, groping groggily to reconstruct. Get mixed up by it. Enter the single-wide and find some ecstasy with Katherine Faw Morris." Monologue topics: mail, videos, intoxicated listeners on rooftops, my bad memory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 277 — Stacey D'Erasmo May 14, 2014

Show notes

Stacey D'Erasmo is the guest. Her new novel, Wonderland, is now available fromHoughton Mifflin Harcourt. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, calls it "A spellbinding look into the protagonist’s being... meticulously crafted ... Days and shows pass, but within this routine, a transformation slowly creeps into the narrative: that of commitment, and, perhaps, hope for the future." And Michael Stipe says "The world of Wonderland is authentic, vibrant, and genuine. Stacey D’Erasmo explores the delight and terror of second chances. A great read!" Monologue topics: heat, Santa Ana winds, climate change, indifference, idiocy, fear.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Otherppl with Brad Listi: Books & Culture

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected