Table of (Mal)Contents

Dave and I are back in the studio while Barnabas is still off doing something else. So, we're joined by our friends, Nick Rynerson and James Kinnard, to talk about our reading through different seasons of life. Listen in as we discuss: How our reading habits grew and changed from high school through adulthood If teen boys will successfully impress girls by reading eastern philosophy Books we read...

Dave's back from vacation, Barnabas is off doing something else, and we're uncomfortable in the studio with a special guest: our friend Nick Rynerson. Nick is the chief creative officer at Useful Group (a digital marketing agency you'll be hearing more about in the future); more importantly he loves to read—and he adores Wendell Berry. So we're going to talk about that. Listen in as we discuss: Ho...

It's rabbit trails, non sequiturs, and listener questions on today's episode! Dave continues to allegedly be on vacation during this episode, leaving it to us to discuss these important issues: Is Cat Lady Dave played out? Have we ever deliberately destroyed a book? What are some of our favorite international authors? If we could write the history of or a tell-all on anything, what would it be? Wh...

It finally happened: I (Aaron) finished the book I've been struggling to read for months, and Barnabas and I decided to talk through it while Dave was on vacation. (Because that's what friends do.) Listen in to a surprisingly earnest discussion about family dynamics, what Dave's doing on vacation, and our desperate need for coffee: Why all of Pat Conroy's books are an emotional rollercoaster The r...

Things get super-nerdy—and even more middle-aged—on this episode of the show as Andrew Osenga joins us for a great conversation about science fiction, westerns, and being cat or dog people. Listen in as we discuss: Why Star Trek: The Next Generation looked like a Holiday Inn circa 1994 How we really feel about John Steinbeck Why westerns are great to read, and what makes a great western If mindles...

As you can imagine, we're all getting older and (theoretically) maturing. Well, one of us is, at any rate. In honor of my (Aaron's) 40th birthday (on August 21st), and the tendency for guys to start chucking their lives in an attempt to recapture their youth as soon as they officially become middle-aged, we decided to talk through the idea of midlife crises related to reading. Listen in as we disc...

We're back in the sauna/podcast studio for another round of Q&A thanks to our friend Andy Whisenant and the fine folks at Goodreads. Listen in as we dig into the following questions: Who are our favorite sidekicks—and do Ron and Hermoine qualify? If we were starting book clubs, what is the first book we would introduce to our audiences? What do our favorite books have in common? Which books do...

It grieves all three of us on this podcast when anyone walks away from the Christian faith. Joshua Harris' recent announcement of his "deconstruction" of his faith is just one of many that each of us—Barnabas, Dave, and me—know of and are affected by to varying degrees. He isn't the only one, of course. There are so many (former) pastors that have either rejected the faith entirely, or through the...

Over the last several months, we've mentioned a lot of works of historical fiction, but we've never really talked about historical fiction much at all: it's purpose, some of our favorite works, and does it include room for speculative fiction, too. So, now we're going to! Listen in as we discuss: The difference between period fiction and historical fiction (and if we're just splitting hairs on thi...

There are certain books so good they can only be described as transcendent. Others are cultural phenomena, but are best described as… well, you'll find out as we discuss The Notebook . That's right—all three of us have finally (mostly) read this book, and today, Barnabas, Dave, and I are talking about our experience in the most PG-12 episode of the show yet. Listen in as we discuss: Why Nicholas S...

There's often something that triggers a writer's desire to write—even if that something is as simple as reading a book and saying, "I can do better than that." So what were some of those moments for Barnabas and Aaron? That's our conversation on the show today. Listen in as we discuss: What made us want to write in the first place What authors do we look to for inspiration Who we think are good an...

We don't talk about Christian books a whole lot, which is funny since we all work in Christian publishing. But since it's "summer reading list" season from ministry leaders and websites, we decided to discuss the books would we recommend Christians read to read instead of being known for having read them? Listen in as we discuss: What movies pastors constantly reference in sermons? Does Humble Cal...

We love good stories—and great stories are even better when they're true. Real stories, true stories don't just pass on facts, they inspire us. Recently, Dave and I sat down with our friend Catherine Parks to talk about how biographies help us see God at work, movies, and reading well. Listen in as we discuss: People that surprised Catherine as she worked on Empowered and Strong How to fight again...

Fireworks, grilling, and spending time with friends. That's what you do on Canada Day, which happens to be the day we're releasing this episode. Oh, and Independence Day is this week, too, and all the Americans do that same stuff. Except bigger. And more explosive. Because that's how we do it here in America. Thinking about this got us all kinds of patriotic in the studio, and you get to enjoy the...

Not every conversation makes sense, but sometimes they really make no sense. Such is the case in this episode recorded in Birmingham a couple weeks back, where our nadir was reached after a hard day of standing in a conference hall. Listen in as we discuss: Dave's poor defense of Dave Matthews Band Music we'd never let our kids listen to Cat poetry after an impromptu on-air reading Dave's experien...

Recently, the team was in Birmingham for a certain work-related event. Because we needed a break from what we were doing for our work-jobs, we decided to record a couple of episodes of the show… and it just so happens that an author Barnabas and I enjoy was in town and able to join us on the show. This week we're joined by K.B. Hoyle, author of The Gateway Chronicles and The Breeder Cycle , to cha...

In a special bonus episode, we're answering a big question that we've kind of talked about in the past, but we really felt like it would be good to hit directly: What factors determine whether we buy or borrow a book? What prompts us to buy a book brand-new in a brick-and-mortar bookstore—and are we part of the problem with them going under? What books we'll borrow from the library How the library...

It's getting hot outside, which means it's the time of year when many blogs are sharing their annual Summer Reading Lists™, mostly filled with big thick theology books and historical works. Which is… fine. But is that the best way to use your reading time when you actually get to go on vacation? That's what we're talking on this episode over donuts made in my kitchen. Listen in as we get fatter an...

Since Dave was being all professional and in a meeting, Barnabas and I decided to have a conversation about what might be the grossest phrase associated with writing: the writing process. What are the habits, practices, and disciplines that work for us? What does it look like to be writers who have jobs? Y'know, simple stuff like that. Listen in as we dig tackle the following topics: Which of us w...

We tend to joke a lot about "content," "grit," and "scenes" in books. But today, we're having a serious conversation (as serious as we get anyway) about the place of questionable content in fiction, if there is actually a legitimate place at all. Listen in as we get think-piece-y while discussing: If we should make distinctions between violent and sexual content What we do when we get caught off-g...

We love our listeners—you are as much a part of this show as we are, with your questions, feedback, and more than a little shade that gets thrown at us. On today's episode, we introduce a new way for you to participate in the show with our illiteracy helpline! With the help of Google Voice, we set up a new number for you to call in with your questions, and asked a few of you to test it out. And bo...

Barnabas is writing a new book. Dave is helping launch a few key new titles for B&H. I'm in the midst of putting together a new book proposal for something I've wanted to write (and have been poking away at) for four-plus years. So today, we're digging deep and offering some practical advice for aspiring authors, specifically around what makes a good proposal. Listen in as we discuss: What are...

The three of us read a lot of books, but even as guys who really like to read, there are too many books that are just way too long. Maybe you feel the same way. So today, we're back in the studio in Nashville to talk about some of our favorite books that are quick reads. Listen in as we discuss: How do we define "short" books? Are celebrity memoirs actually any good? How do we really feel about th...

All of us live around Nashville, but sometimes it takes traveling to Indianapolis to make magic happen. That's what happens on this episode of Table of (mal)Contents, as Russ Ramsey joins us for a great chat about the art of writing, and that time he wrote a letter to Annie Dillard. Listen in as we discuss: The magical time in the mid-90s when all the baseball players were juicing Russ' book being...

It's a podcast crossover! Ronnie Martin of The Happy Rant joins us in-studio in exotic Indianapolis to talk nostalgia, Christmas and romance novels, and trying to read theology. And by "in-studio" I mean "in the hallway outside the exhibit hall at TGC." Listen in as we discuss: Why Ronnie enjoys romance and Christmas novels What's really nice about writing for kids If the name "Joseph" is cult-y W...