Poured Over

Latest Episodes:

Selma Blair on MEAN BABY May 17, 2022

Show notes

"But then when I read that Raymond Carver said he didn't have the ability to write, you know, a full novel. He was a sprinter and I thought, Oh, maybe I could do it. Is there any such thing as a half a paragraph short story, because that was all I had the focus for. So, it took me a long, long time to write this book." Actress (Cruel Intentions, Hellboy, Legally Blonde), model, muse to Karl Lagerfeld, mom to a young son, subject of an indelible documentary (Introducing, Selma Blair on discovery+), now author of the memoir Mean Baby, Selma Blair joins us on the show to talk about the title of her book, her relationship with her mother and mentors Ingrid Sischy of Interview Magazine and Carrie Fisher, her love of Joan Didion and C.S. Lewis, the village that came together to help her get her memoir into the world, living with multiple sclerosis and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and his bookseller guest Becky.

Featured Books:

Mean Baby by Selma Blair

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Alison Espach on NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE May 14, 2022

Show notes

"For me, part of the fun of coming-of-age novels, both reading and writing, is getting to have that adult perspective on these youthful moments and kind of allow you to make sense of them in a way you couldn't before; it can allow you to forgive yourself for some of the things maybe you did, it can allow you to laugh at some of the things that horrified you, and that can bring peace and joy and resolution." It's been a minute since Alison Espach's debut novel The Adults — she joins us on the show to talk aboutthe inspiration behind her new novel, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, writing love stories, sitting with grief, her obsession with the passage of time in life and in books, Lorrie Moore's Self-Help, and much more with Poured Over's Host, Miwa Messer. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

Self-Help by Lorrie Moore

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Jennifer Weiner on THE SUMMER PLACE May 12, 2022

Show notes

"I was thinking about caretaking. And I was thinking about mothers because I lost my mom last year, but just the places that feel familiar and how they almost become characters in our heads. Like when I think about the house where I grew up, and I can remember it so specifically right down to the way like the closet smelled or when I think about all the time I spent in Cape Cod, the way the sand on the beach feels at low tide or the way the wind sounds when it's late at night." Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner (Mrs. Everything and That Summer, among others) joins us on the show to take us behind the scenes of her newest novel, The Summer Place, and talk about love and loss, family and home, motherhood, money and much more with B&N's Marie Cummings. And we end the show with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Book:

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (and occasional Saturdays)

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Heather Walter on MISRULE May 10, 2022

Show notes

"…It's like if Tim Burton decorated Versailles for Halloween…" Heather Walter's queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty kicked off with Malice, which we think of as more than just a remix to a familiar story—It's a complex, character-driven story with action, political intrigue, betrayal, and of course, a slow burn romance ... Heather's closing out her Malice duology with Misrule, and she joins us on the show to talk about good vs. evil, why readers love morally grey characters, the fun she has writing her novels, what she's reading and recommending now, what's next (hint: Anne Boleyn) and much more with B&N's Kat Sarfas. And we end the episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Misrule by Heather Walter

Malice by Heather Walter

This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Monica Ali on LOVE MARRIAGE May 07, 2022

Show notes

"For me, the novel form is the greatest expression because it has that room, that latitude to really explore for the full complexity of human existence and psychology and diversity, and there's no other single format that I think comes close, even with the amazing ways in which television drama has grown and become more complex and more satisfying, I still think that it's the novel form that did it first, and still does it best."

Monica Ali made a splash with her Booker-nominated debut novel, Brick Lane — and she's back with a new novel, Love Marriage, a story of love and family and manners set in modern-day London. Monica joins us on the show to talk about her unforgettable characters, balancing comedy and tragedy, Jane Austen's influence, what screenwriting taught her about novel writing, and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Hernan Diaz on TRUST May 05, 2022

Show notes

"And the title, of course, has this double meaning, the financial meaning of trust, and let's call it, emotional meaning of trust … To what extent can I trust this voice and the book, to a large extent is questioning the contracts we enter into as readers." Hernan Diaz follows up his acclaimed debut novel, In the Distance (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), with Trust, a stunning book-about-a-book, an exploration of capital and greed and the making of myths. Hernan joins us on the show to talk about how the stories of Great Men influenced his latest, bringing women back into the story of American business and capital, authenticity, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and other literary influences, why he writes, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the segment with a TBR Topoff segment featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Vaishnavi Patel on KAIKEYI May 03, 2022

Show notes

"I grew up hearing The Ramayana over lunch. My grandma would tell me little bits and pieces to me and my younger sister, she would tell us little bits and pieces every day. And we would ask to hear the same stories over and over again." If you're a fan of imaginative retellings like Circe, Ariadne and The Witch's Heart, you don't want to miss Vaishnavi Patel's Kaikeyi. Vaishnavi joins us on the show to talk about the origins of her debut novel, her love of retellings and epic fantasy, what writing her first novel taught her about herself, balancing law school with writing fiction, Season 2 of Bridgerton and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured books:

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

The Ramayana

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

Viola Davis on FINDING ME Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

"And so then, I felt like that's when I had to go back to the beginning of telling my story of sort of rediscovering the young Viola, who definitely may have been traumatized, but was pure."

Multi-award-winning actress Viola Davis has poured herself into the characters she portrays on the big screen and on stage. And, now, in her most deeply personal and inspiring role yet, as author, she has released her memoir, Finding Me — out now.

Viola joins us on the show to talk about rediscovering the younger version of herself in order to write this book, the impact of Miss Cicely Tyson and August Wilson, the magic of artistry, the Black best friend role, the freedom and bravery that came with playing Annalise Keating, the connection between joy and peace and trauma, the radical act of forgiveness and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Finding Me by Viola Davis

Educated by Tara Westover

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown

Native Son by Richard Wright

Black Boy by Richard Wright

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

A History of God by Karen Armstrong

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Bonnie Garmus on LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

"And I think it's just overall her humanity and her recognition of what other people could accomplish. If you just say the right things, if you create the right chemistry, that really drove me to her. And she does—she has her own chemistry with everyone in the book." That's Bonnie Garmus talking about Elizabeth Zott, the unforgettable center of Bonnie's debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. Bonnie joins us on the show to talk about her spectacular characters, never giving up (and the writing advice that helped her the most when she was stuck), having empathy for all of her characters (even the evil ones), a most extraordinary dog, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, rowing, what she's reading now, how writing a novel is scarier than open water swimming, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with a TBR Topoff featuring book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

On Animals by Susan Orlean

Rationality by Steven Pinker

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Margo Jefferson on CONSTRUCTING A NERVOUS SYSTEM Apr 23, 2022

Show notes

"I didn't want that more traditional kind of arc of childhood to a certain stance of wisdom or resignation or triumph. I wanted—partly because I felt with Negroland, and very much with this book—that ability to change persona, change my position, to acknowledge that one was performing at times, and that one played many, many roles … I wanted to be able to take in all of that, and a traditional memoir structure wasn't going to allow it." Margo Jefferson is one of our most astute and elegant cultural critics, full stop. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, she's also the acclaimed author of several books, including her latest, Constructing a Nervous System. Margo joins us on the show to talk about finding a new language for criticism, engaging with art on her own terms, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald, investigating herself as a critic and a teacher, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end the episode with another set of TBR Topoff book recommendations from Margie and Marc.

Featured Books:

Constructing a Nervous System: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson

Negroland by Margo Jefferson

Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

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