Life On Books Podcast

Thank you to all of you for watching and being a part of this community! Join our book club!patreon.com/LifeonBooksJoin the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more! https://linktw.in/BRYAnVh Want to read one book from every country? Check out our resource online: https://linktw.in/Zeolty Want to know my all time favorite books? Click th...

Helen DeWitt's debut novel "The Last Samurai" almost didn't get published, but since then has become a cult classic, and it also made the now infamous NYT 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list. In today's episode we break down the book, which we read for our January book club, and Andy gives us his feelings on finally reading a book written by a woman. Become part of our gr...

The world is in a crazy place right now, so to give you a bit of comedic relief, we've put together a list of our 10 favorite funny books. We hope that these books make you laugh as much as they did for us. Become part of our growing book community! patreon.com/LifeonBooks Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more! https://li...

Today on the Life on Books Podcast, we're talking about our favorite independent publishers! Use Code LIFE at Checkout at Open Letter Books to get 30% off your entire order now through the end of February, 2025! https://www.openletterbooks.org/ Join our book club on Patreon! www.patreon.com/lifeonbooks The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt https://amzn.to/40dmDW1 Or https://bookshop.org/a/103053/97...

Roberto Bolano is one of Latin America's most heralded authors, and the Savage Detectives is possibly his most famous work. We recently finished reading The Savage Detectives as part of our online book club, and we've got some thoughts about this one. So buckle in, because for the first time ever, Andy and I are pretty split on how we felt about this book! Become part of our growing book community...

The Devil’s Chessboard by David Talbot https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780062... Or https://amzn.to/3PnAiVn At Night He Lifts Weights by Kang Young-sook https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781945... Or https://amzn.to/4a5DFtI Waiting for the Fear by Oguz Atay https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781681... Or https://amzn.to/4gC5wDX The Taker and Other Stories by Rubern Fonseca https://bookshop.org/a/103053/97...

Make sure to drop your 2025 goals in the comments, and if you want to join a great community of readers, check us out on Patreon! patreon.com/LifeonBooks Books mentioned in this episode: The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780312... Or https://amzn.to/3ZCszIO Last Evenings on Earth by Roberto Bolano https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... Or https://amzn.to/4gxw...

It's everyone's favorite time of year! In this episode, Andy and I will be breaking down our top 10 favorite books that we read all year. We both had so many great books to choose from, that it was difficult to decide, but we hope you enjoy the discussion! Join our book club! patreon.com/LifeonBooks Books mentioned in this episode The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano https://bookshop.org/a/1030...

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is one of the most controversial books of the last 50 years...but why? Some people call Infinite Jest a masterpiece, while other claim that David Foster Wallace is a talentless hack. Today on the Life on Books podcast, we tackle this all things Infinite Jest, what we like about the book, why so many people have such strong opinions about it, and we answer the...

Toni Morrison is often considered one of the great American writers, and recently the Life on Books book club read one of her most popular works: Song of Solomon. In today's episode we discuss Song of Solomon, as well as Morrison's writing in general. Have you read Song of Solomon? What did you think of it? Become part of our growing book community! patreon.com/LifeonBooks Join the Life on Books m...

A recent Vanity Fair article pulled the curtain back on a long time relationship Cormac McCarthy had with a woman named Augusta Britt. Often heralded as one of the greatest American authors of all time, McCarthy is known for his southern gothic novels, which tackle themes of violence, free will, luck, and other dark and brooding subjects. While some may say it should be expected that someone able...

A few we episodes ago, we discussed the things in books (and the book community) that give us pause, and make us shy away from certain books. Today, we're going to be covering our GREEN FLAGS in books...the things that when we see it, we get excited about, or become inclined to pick up and read. As always, please share YOUR green flags down below! Join our Book Club: www.patreon.com/lifeonbooks Bo...

Books and politics go hand in hand, while there may be some apolitical reads out there, they are probably not the majority. So today we're talking about how the books we've read have shaped our world view, and oh what a crazy world it is. Books mentioned in this episode: Libra by Don DeLillo https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780140... The Pearl by John Steinbeck https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780140....

It's one of the most famous novels of all time, beloved by all different kinds of readers. Some describe it as "The Great American Novel" while others say it's the greatest western ever written, so on this episode of the Life on Books podcast, we tackle the topic of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, and weigh on what we think of the book, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Join our Patreon and become...

We all have our preferences when it comes to books, so today Andy and I are going over our biggest red flags in books, and what is usually a big turnoff for us when choosing what to read. We also take some time to discuss things we don't like about the book community in general. We would love to know what your biggest red flags are in a book, so make sure to let us know down below! Become part of...

Two years ago I decided that I hadn't read enough books from countries outside of the US, so I embarked on a journey of reading one book from every country. The journey has been slow as I am not solely focusing on this project. I've made some great progress in Europe and Asia, but Latin America has been a bit of a weak spot for me. Andy has read a few more books from the South American region, so...

We've talked about our favorite short books...we've talked about our favorite medium length books...now it's time to talk about our favorite LONG books. Today we're discussing great books that are 600+ pages. These aren't necessarily our all time favorite long books, as there is some overlap with the books that make our all time favorite books list in general, but these are long books that we real...

We are in Q4 of 2024, and today we're talking about our "10 before the end", which are the 10 books (5 each), that we'd like to read before the end of the year. What are some books you'd like to read before the end of the year? Also, don't forget, our Patreon is now live and quickly growing! Come be a part of our awesome community where we talk books and have additional content for you to dive int...

Few philosophical or artistic movements have been debated quite like postmodernism, yet despite the ongoing debate about what postmodernism really is, the phrase was probably one most weren't familiar with until public figures like Jordan Peterson warned everyone about the "postmodern neo-marxists!" Some people seem to think that postmodern writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon,...

Summer has fallen asleep and fall weather has already begun to creep in, so it's time to pull those hoodies out of the closet, and cozy up with some great books, and we've just got the books for you (kinda). Here are some of our top recommendations for books to read this fall! All the books mentioned in this episode: The taker and other stories Rubem Fonseca https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9...

Today on the Life On Books Podcast we are answering all of YOUR bookish questions, from how to navigate a bookstore as a beginner, to how to build a daily reading habit, and so much more. Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more! https://linktw.in/BRYAnVh Want to read one book from every country? Check out our resource online: h...

August is women in translation month and all month long we have been celebrating, and why not do another listicle episode, this time talking about 5 of our favorite books in translation written by women, as well as 5 books written by women in translation that we're looking forward to reading. Here are the books discussed in this week's episode: The Dying Grass William T. Vollmann https://a...

Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass is considered a pioneering work in postmodern American literature, but did you know that the novel almost never came to be because the original manuscript was stolen? In this episode, we discuss Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass, and all of its quirks, oddities, and genius. Whether you're a William Gass fan or are only vaguely aware of Omensetter...

Why read literature? Why read works in translation? Why read books written by women? Why continue to participate in a medium that might not have a future? That's what we tackle on today's episode of the Life on Books podcast, as we chat with Chad Post, the director of Open Letter Publishing, which is a project from the University of Rochester. Specializing in works in translation, Open Let...

Millions of books are published each year, and with a back catalogue of nearly 130 million books since the printing press was invented in 1440, you have a lot of books to choose from...so how do we pick the right books to read? That's the topic of today's episode, where we break down how we select books to buy and read. Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our l...