So Many Damn Books

Mona Awad visits the Damn Library via the casual magic of web video for a third go round, this time for her bedeveling, garnet-bedazzled Rouge . She talks about putting her characters through the ringer, horror stories showing you a path, Tom Cruise, beauty cults, and more. Plus, both Mona and Christopher extoll the many virtues of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi , and how it came at exactly the right t...

Stacey Mei Yan Fong drops into the Damn Library for a slice of pie and a pie-inspired cocktail and lots of impassioned talk of pie and baking and her new cookbook 50 Pies 50 States . Plus, behind the scenes of morning shows! And Stacey introduces Christopher to the joys of John Waters through his memoir Carsick . Have a slice! contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and...

Henry Hoke makes a visit to the physical space of the Damn Library to talk his novel Open Throat , and allowing P-22 to become “me-22,” as well as the rest of his work, plus the novella Potted Meat by Steven Dunn, and the power of short weird books in general. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic ( https://so...

I’m just hanging out in the Damn Library talking about some books I just got in the mail, and the books I’m taking on vacation. Is this a good idea? Only time will tell. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic (https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Into the Damn Library Christine Grillo zooms, and what do we talk about? Her inventive, touching, hopefully not too prescient Hestia Strikes a Match , plus all that went into it, like parents and politics and fireplace decor. Plus, she brings along the archly funny and itself harrowing Good Behaviour by Molly Keane. Books, you better believe it! contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recip...

Kate Slotover, co-host of the podcast The Book Club Review, zooms into the Damn Library and chats book podcast reading, how many books she will get to before she dies, the driving philosophy of what she wants her show’s conversations to be like, why we should articulate what we don’t like about books, the magic of Dick Francis, the perennial fun of will-they-won’t-they, and so much more, including...

Rebecca Makkai drops into the Damn Library a few months after her newest smash hit novel I Have Some Questions For You hit the shelves, chatting about critiquing/celebrating the podcast world, how podcasters are the new detectives, writing a campus novel when you live on campus, and so much more, including just how it feels to be where she's at in her career at this point. Plus, we delve into her...

Brendan Slocumb has a seat in the hyperspace universe of the Zoom Damn Library to talk his new historical musical thriller Symphony of Secrets , and of course some Violin Conspiracy, getting into creating a world of historical music, how his violin discipline helps him as a writer, and more. Plus, he gets to talk up his debut panel friend Eli Cranor’s Ozark Dogs , and how the literary world has we...

Ling Ling Huang stops by the universe of the Zoom Damn Library the day after her book, Natural Beauty , graces shelves. She talks about writing the book in her Notes app, living the classical music life, how she surprised her parents with her book deal, getting shots in her butt for her beauty industry employer, and so much more. Plus, she brought along the Korean bestseller I Want to Die but I Wa...

The one and only Kelly Link zooms into the Damn Library hypserspace to talk her spectacular new collection, White Cat, Black Dog . She gets into how the new collection got its footing in fairy tales, how she loves ghost stories but has never seen a ghost (and that’s okay), and discuss the magic of David Macaulay’s Motel of the Mysteries. She brought along Megan Giddings’ incredible The Women Could...

Idra Novey actually drops by the Damn Library IN PERSON to discuss her stunning new book, Take What You Need , creating an artist’s practice, torching things, and short novels. Also, she brought along César Aira’s On Contemporary Art to accompany the art on display in the text of her book. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com musi...

Former co-host, writer, and podcast journeyman Drew Broussard sits down to talk about, what else? Books. The Tournament of Books, inventing rather than referencing art within fiction, the problem with thriller titles these days… it’s all out on the table. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic ( https://soundcl...

Nita Prose drops into the Damn Library to illuminate her runaway hit novel, winner of a Goodreads Choice Award, The Maid , and all the ways she used her past as an editor and her knowledge of the tropes of mystery writing reused to create it. Plus, she brings along Nina de Gramont’s The Christie Affair , because who can ever get enough Agatha Christie? contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drin...

Antiquarian Bookseller and TikTok star Tom Ayling zooms on in to the Damn Library discuss the world of antiquarian books, and the world of book-centered TikTok, two worlds that are far more complementary than you’d imagine. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic ( https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic ) Hosted...

Sarah joins me in the Damn Library she co-owns to chat about favorite reads of 2022, both books published this year and books experienced this year. Plus, the HarperCollins union is on strike! If you’d like to help out, check out this page here to donate to the strike fund, and check out more information at this link roundup . contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and...

Alison Watts zooms through the Damn Library hypserspace from Japan to talk the new novel she translated, The Boy and the Dog by Seishu Hase, as well as the life of a translator. Plus, we talk the prevalence of Japanese cat fiction, the ascendancy of dog fiction, canine noir, and so much more. Plus, she brings along (and does some light spoiling of) Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars , a shaggy dog of a...

Ashley Hutson, author of Christopher’s favorite novel of 2022, One’s Company , drops into the Damn Library to discuss the joy of writing a novel based on a favorite sitcom, writing a novel chronologically and then interweaving it, and how publishing a novel is quite different than the dream of publishing a novel. Plus, she brings along Lindsay Hill’s Sea of Hooks, which leads into a robust recomme...

Kevin Wilson zooms in from his mountain to discuss his thrilling new novel, Now is Not the Time to Panic , and that means going into writing teenagers, the pre-Internet world, and magic disappearing as one gets older, and how that’s okay, along with a whole lotta other stuff. Plus, he brings along Blair Braverman’s Small Game , which means survival talk and reality television.  contribute! https:/...

Legendary comic artist and writer Kate Beaton drops into the Damn Library and talks about her monumental achievement — her new memoir, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands , and all that comes with it, including excavating memories, showing her parents a painful past, and how comics can be a type of memory palace. Plus, she brings along Michelle Paver’s Dark Matter , and we both talk about how we get...

GennaRose Nethercott drops in, no strings, for a discussion of her new novel Thistlefoot , puppetry, research, cootie catchers, and the muchness of novel writing. Plus, she brings along Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link, which starts a discussion of just how great she is, and how influential her work has become. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: s...

Anthony Marra zooms into the Damn Library and attempts to turn the tables on interviewing, to some avail. Of course he gets into his new novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, how research fuels his writing, and how he wants to do the opposite of what he did the last time. Plus, he brings along Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad , which is a great novel to revisit as Candy House is making the...

Living Legend Tom Scharpling drops into The Damn Library to chat about the paperback release of his national bestseller, It Never Ends, and his recent 24-hour Best Show episode triumph. There are discussions of legacy, mystery, what it was like to work together on the book, and the bizarre temporal reality created from writing something and then waiting forever for it to appear on shelves. Plus a...

Drew returns to discuss his new show, Voyage into Genre , working at a bookstore, and Christopher's mad musings on which child survivalist would win in a battle royale. Plus other things too! contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnbooks.com music: Disaster Magic ( https://soundcloud.com/disaster-magic ) This week's sponsor: Bombas. Get 20% of...

Angela Ledgerwood, of the podcast Lit Up drops in, physically, in person, actually inside the Damn Library, and it's a meeting of the podcast minds. Of course Christopher smokes a negroni for the both of them and tongues get wagging. Angela surprises herself to be the blockbuster loving, self-help recommending guru that she ends up being. And she also talks about a lost Richard Flanagan episode of...

Mat Johnson launches into the Damn Library Zoom Zone to discuss his new novel, Invisible Things . We get into conspiracies, surprising yourself with your writing, teaching, writing funny, and a bunch of other stuff, including Claire North’s Notes from a Burning Age, and getting your sci-fi terms right. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnb...