how to win the lottery: a book club podcast

it’s time for another “full” season of lottery pod, and we’re returning to a familiar well: un/adaptable books. we discuss the timeliness of this module (hello, christopher nolan’s “the odyssey”!) and what happened to the adaptations we covered the last time we did this type of module. (it was a mixed bag.) shreds offers some new comic book recommendations, and we wonder: will the salinger archive...

we’re talking about american psycho by bret easton ellis. given that it’s almost the 4th of july, we’re also talking about american opulence, the connective tissue between this and the great gatsby, and the paradox of american exceptionalism. we discuss what happens when patrick bateman interacts with people outside his circle, the purposeful lack of a memorable ending, and the timothy price “fake...

our third great american novel module kicks off with the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald, and we’re joined by an old friend (albeit one who makes a very brief appearance before immediately leaving). after discussing, briefly, two film adaptations (and the flaws in baz luhrmann’s version), joey asks: is this wasted on high schoolers? we talk about gatsby’s ties to other classic literature, the...

yes, we’re still the world’s most patriotic podcast. now, it’s time to announce our third “great american novel” pairing. after we refresh the rules, we roll the die to discover which books we’re reading. joey details what he remembers about each. we talk about the film adaptations of each novel. shreds gives some stone-cold 2026 fantasy baseball locks. reading list for season twenty the great gat...

our minnesota module comes to a close with american boy by larry watson. we have minnesota facts… but do we have more klobuchar facts? we play “say a nice thing about this novel” (and struggle, though point out it is a textbook example of what not to do in writing). we talk about the negative portrayals of literally every woman in the text, the lack of depth and the overabundance of explanation, a...

after discussing vestments last week, we welcome john reimringer onto the show to talk about his work. we ask him about his connections to minnesota and baseball, the origins of joe dressler (and what the character afforded him while writing the novel), and where vestments began. he shares lessons learned about catholicism and the church, talks about what other stories can be told in this universe...

our minnesota module continues with vestments by john reimringer, which represents not only the high point of the season but one of the high points of the show’s run so far. after revealing that shreds already forgot all of our previous minnesota facts, joey shares even more. we talk about where else could vestments take place, specifically with regards to its working class catholicism. we discuss...

our minnesota module kicks off with ruby and roland by faith sullivan and with a slew of minnesota facts… from both of us (!). after discussing game show hosts (including one who took his own life) and pokemon, we talk about how minnesota is a farming state, which is frustrating for the pod but ultimately re-assuring for national unity. we talk about the world war i framing in the novel, its aspir...

it’s a return to the best podcast format ever invented: the random card draw. we are exploring our sixth state and telling sufjan stevens to once again suck shit as we have tripled up on his state output. after recapping the states we have already covered (as well as which we’re most excited for), shreds draws a card and determines our fate. we discuss our favorite things about minnesota. reading...

we talk to sara levine, author of treasure island!!! and the hitch, about pets, siblings, and her favorite notebooks. after joey promises her 100 compliments, shreds tells her about the 100% hit rate on recommending her novels to friends. sara talks about haters on goodreads and “hammock reviews”, what she learned from adam levin about parrots, and subverting the expectations of chick lit. we tell...

our final book in the sara levine module is the hitch, which is notable as it’s a new release (and one of the fastest publication-to-episode timelines we’ve done) and, more importantly, another perfect novel. we compare it to treasure island!!! (and how this is a counter-arc to that), discuss the story of the “fun aunt” thrown into the deep end (by choice), and sara levine’s ability to craft good...

it’s time to talk about one of our favorite books, treasure island!!! by sara levine, and a plea to you, listener: go read this one. after shreds accidentally previews our next module, we ask: which most defines us? boldness, resolution, independence, or horn-blowing. we talk about how treasure island!!! serves as the best kind of palate cleanser, why we relate to messy and narcissistic 25-year-ol...

our sara levine module kicks off with her short story collection, short dark oracles. after comparing ourselves to other media with animals making noise in the background, we talk about our favorite stories from the collection, the value in a successful short story (as well as how the arc of a short story has changed over the years), and our favorite lines (mostly: the ones that made us laugh out...

it’s time for another season of the podcast, but before we head to another state module, we’re reading the work of sara levine. it’s our third author-focused module. we talk about the pre-podcast lore (and the role of treasure island!!!) and the qualifications of being invited onto our show (or being selected for this type of focus). shreds recounts another time he was embarrassed in class. readin...

we’re wrapping up our 1990s module with from hell by alan moore, more 1999 facts, and an answer to the question: how old are we, really? after talking about why this book is invalid for this module, we check in with shreds about his self-imposed homework. we then talk about what we admire in from hell (and what frustrates joey, which shreds says is by design), while shreds heaps praise on alan moo...

our 1990s module continues with the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver, whose backstory informs her writing in a unique way. after joey shares some 1998 facts (which shows how timely this novel is), we talk about the historical context within the text, as well as the way it depicts universal societal/cultural upheaval. we discuss the timing of ruth may’s death in this text (vs. a more “traditi...

our 1990s season continues with i love dick by chris kraus and a slew of 1997 facts, including lots of titanic talk. the big question, right off the bat: how did they make this a tv series? (shreds plans to investigate.) we discuss the text’s format and two (very different) halves, the reference to kathy acker, and the inherent sadness and embarrassment in this novel and in sylvere leaving her. we...

we’ve entered 1996 with the atlas by william t. vollmann, which has laid a curse upon our podcast. after an unprecedented preview of an upcoming module, we discuss vollmann’s various writing styles he uses throughout the text (and what they do). joey shares some 1996 facts, including a quick look back at video games that blew our minds. we talk about vollmann acting as a journalist (but also inter...

the 1990s keeps on truckin’ as we advance into 1995 for sabbath’s theater by philip roth. after talking about patricia lockwood’s new book (will there ever be another you), joey shares some 1995 facts, including some pride for our new jersey devils. then, we talk about how sabbath’s theater fully sticks the landing (with an all-time great final line, not to mention a great opening line), how the t...

we’re talking about notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin. first, though: 1994 facts and talk of the car that shreds will never buy. we discuss qiu miaojin’s tragic end (and how it pops up a lot among our authors) and the equally dark inspiration for this novel (which still winds up being not a total downer). shreds compares notes of a crocodile‘s tonal ties to no longer human and colorless tsukuru...

we enter into 1993 with trainspotting by irvine welsh, which released on january 1. (whew, we just snuck in there!) after shreds fails to surface any 1993 facts, joey saves the day. we talk about a 90s novel set in the 90s, explore the irvine welsh shared universe, and discuss the dialectal writing in the text as well as the line that welsh straddles. we talk about how to describe the novel (in te...

our 1990s module continues with all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy, marking a rapid return to his writing after covering blood meridian earlier this year. after discussing whether we could have approached “the border trilogy” in another way, we discuss 1992 facts (wherein shreds makes a generous offer) and talk about mccarthy’s assumption that you understand a fair amount of spanish to read...

we’ve progressed into 1991 to talk about mao ii by don delillo, and joey has finally done his due diligence and brought some 90s facts. we start things off by talking about whether or not it’s important to have historical context for the events covered in the text, how dull (complimentary) and realistic delillo’s writing is, and the death of the novelist as a cultural touchstone/celebrity. we talk...

our 1990s module kicks off with vineland by thomas pynchon and an existential dilemma: are we starting off this module with a lie? after talking about getting our hands on media before its release date, we detour to discuss radiohead’s live “hail to the thief” album, which shreds expertly weaves right into the novel description via paul thomas anderson’s upcoming “loose adaptation” of vineland. jo...

it’s time to unveil our next full-length module, which comes as a surprise to joey, too: we’re heading back to the 1990s. after shreds reveils the ungodly length of the original form of this module, we discuss how the form of this module is yet another one that we could cycle through. shreds announces the titles while confirming what we all know: we needed a win. we share a warning that we may pau...