Poured Over

Latest Episodes:

Abraham Verghese on THE COVENANT OF WATER May 04, 2023

Show notes

"I loved that sense of the slow evolution of a community and watching it happen under your eyes."

Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone, returns with a long-awaited novel — The Covenant of Water, an inter-generational tale through the lives of a family in Southern India. Verghese joins us to talk about the long gap between his works, his career as a doctor, themes of finding home and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

My Own Country by Abraham Verghese

The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Featured Books (TBR):

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah on CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS May 02, 2023

Show notes

"…A big part of the journey with this book is realizing that people's humanity shouldn't be negotiable."

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel Chain-Gang All-Stars tells an explosive, unrelenting and ultimately compassionate story about a not-so-unbelievable future in which incarcerated people become gladiators fighting their way to freedom at any cost. Adjei-Brenyah joins us to talk about the underlying love in his dystopian setting, creating his characters through voice, the realities that led him to his plot and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Solitary by Alfred Woodfox

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Double Shot: Christina Sharpe and Ava Chin Apr 29, 2023

Show notes

These riveting works of nonfiction by two incredible women have powerful narratives on family, race, and the way we get to tell our stories.

Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe compiles art and short vignettes into a beautiful work that explores the Black experience through a wide variety of themes. Sharpe joined us to talk about how these notes came to be, the wealth of literary influences on the project and more.

Ava Chin's Mott Street follows one Chinese American family through generations of struggle and resiliency as they work to build their lives. Chin joined us to talk about uncovering her family's past, researching an intergenerational story and more.

Listen in as both talk separately with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And 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.

Featured Books (Episode):

Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe Mott Street by Ava Chin

In the Wake by Christina Sharpe Counternarratives by John Keene Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham Obasan by Joy Kogawa Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark Wayward Lives by Saidiya Hartman Lose Your Mother by Saidiya Hartman

Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

David Grann on THE WAGER: A TALE OF SHIPWRECK, MUTINY AND MURDER Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

"We all shape our stories in some way, we all try to emerge as the hero of them…"

Author of Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann, takes on mutiny and shipwreck in the shocking true story of The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. Grann joined us on the show to talk about wading through archival research, his adventure to the sites from the book, seeing his works become films and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Dennis Lehane on SMALL MERCIES Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Dennis Lehane, prolific author for both the page and the screen, returns with Small Mercies, a thriller set against the time of desegregation of public schools in Boston that balances one family's struggle with the turmoil of the era. Lehane talked about his personal connection to the history of the novel, writing challenging and complex characters, creating his tv show "Blackbird" and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. 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.

Featured Books (Episode) Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Featured Episode (TBR Topoff) Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins

Maggie Smith on YOU COULD MAKE THIS PLACE BEAUTIFUL Apr 22, 2023

Show notes

"I leave that book feeling less alone, because I've been welcomed into somebody else's humanity, and I feel like they've shared part of themselves with me and that feels communal…"

Maggie Smith's bestselling You Could Make This Place Beautiful transcends traditional memoir in a staggering take on divorce, motherhood and what it means to be a writer in a way only the poet could deliver. Smith speaks about the vulnerability of sharing your life through words, the freedom of nontraditional literary devices, healing through art and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.

This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Good Bones by Maggie Smith

Goldenrod by Maggie Smith

Keep Moving by Maggie Smith

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

Broken Reverie by Elle Madison

Victor LaValle on LONE WOMEN Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

"All of them, in my mind… were wrestling with the same question, which is — what do I do with either the burden of family or what do I do with the found family that I've made?"

Victor LaValle's Lone Women takes supernatural suspense to early 1900s Montana as one young woman sets out to leave her past and family secrets behind. LaValle talks about the history that inspired this novel, the connection between this story and one of his previous books, the upcoming streaming adaptation of The Changeling and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann

Nick Medina on SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

"You get to learn a bit about the social issue of Native women and girls going missing and that's really what I hope a lot of people will take away from this, having more awareness…"

Nick Medina's debut novel Sisters of the Lost Nation defies genre — mixing mystery, horror and family drama into the story of one teen girl as she searches for the women who've gone missing on her tribe's reservation, including her own sister. Medina joined us to discuss the unusual way his ideas came to him, preserving culture through legends and stories, his research and the resources he used and more with guest host, Marie Cummings. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Jamie.

This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Poured Over is brought to you by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and the booksellers of Barnes & Noble.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

Curtis Sittenfeld on ROMANTIC COMEDY Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

"I can even still have my festively neurotic characters, but they can be working their way toward a happy ending, instead of working their way towards crushing disappointment."

Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy is a playful, smart and fizzy look at love and pop culture through the eyes of a charming and relatable late-night TV writer. Sittenfeld joins us to talk about how a good novel feels like eavesdropping, what makes a character likable, surprising literary influences and more with Poured Over host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore

XOXO by Axie Oh

Charles Frazier on THE TRACKERS Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

"I never start a book out with ideas. I always start a book out with people in places, and what could happen here."

Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, brings readers to the Great Depression-era American West with impeccably researched history in his new novel, The Trackers, featuring a vivid cast holding secrets and ambitions that transcend the past. Frazier talks about the photograph that inspired the characters, the excitement and drama of book tours, taking his time to get the language right and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. And 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. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

The Trackers by Charles Frazier

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg