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A blessing, a curse, a podcast, since 2014. Christopher (@cdhermelin) invites folks to the Damn Library to talk about reading, literature, publishing, and trying to make it through the never-dwindling stack of things to read. All with a themed drink in hand. Recorded at the Damn Library in Brooklyn, NY. For show info, book lists, and drink recipes, follow @somanydamnbooks and visit somanydamnbooks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Discussion, debate, even a little dispute – expect it all on The Book Club Review. Every month hosts Kate and Laura bring you a new episode. That could be Book Club where we chat about the book read most recently by one of our book clubs. It could be Bookshelf, an episode dedicated to the books we’re reading outside of book club – the ones we get to pick and choose. Or it could be an interview with a book club, bookshop or book lover. Whatever the topic, every episode features lively and fra ...
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227: Holly Gramazio (THE HUSBANDS) & Zito Madu's THE MINOTAUR AT CALLE LANZA
1:11:52
1:11:52
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Holly Gramazio drops by via the magic of Zoom to talk her magical summer blockbuster of a book, The Husbands. She gets into its origin as a computer game, a lack of supernatural solutions, and why it used to have the moon falling apart. Plus, she brings along the surreal-but-still-relatable Zito Madu’s The Minotaur at Calle Lanza, and reveals she’s…
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226: Kate Slotover (THE BOOK CLUB REVIEW) discusses Helene Hanff's LETTER FROM NEW YORK and Joseph Mitchell's UP IN THE OLD HOTEL
1:10:14
1:10:14
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Kate Slotover, host of The Book Club Review podcast, joins me in the Damn Library all the way from London! Drinks are had, New York is discussed, along with two different worlds of New York reportage, Helene Hanff’s Letter from New York, and Joseph Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel. Such a joy! contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, b…
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Laura’s on a flying visit to London, and so of course we took the opportunity to get together and swap notes on our recent reading. Regular guest Phil Chaffee dialled in from New York to add his picks to the mix. Find out what we thought of summer it-book The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, we consider the auto fictional world of Deborah Levy,…
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225: Melissa Mogollon (OYE) and Jenny Odell's HOW TO DO NOTHING
1:02:50
1:02:50
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Melissa Mogollon zooms in to talk her debut Oye, and all the fun she had writing it. That means we talk how her friends are like her sisters, the unusual structure that always felt like it could fail, and how she might write a sequel from the sister’s perspective. Plus, she brings along Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing, a book that was great to revi…
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Inspired by the folk at the New York Times article ‘22 of the funniest novels since Catch 22’, join me (Kate), Phil and Laura as we consider the books that make us laugh. Listen in as we explore the NYT's suggestions and add in a few of our own. Find out the author we can’t believe they missed, and the book that reliably makes Laura – a tough custo…
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224: Tea & Contemplation with Drew Broussard
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52:54
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Our old pal Drew (of Voyage into Genre) is back! We talk about how the internet used to be, how Drew broke his slump, some literal tea discussion, RPG and video games, and general book chatter. The usual, served up just how you like it, in podcast form. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnb…
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223: Fiona Warnick (THE SKUNKS) and Sheila Heti's ALPHABETICAL DIARIES
1:05:27
1:05:27
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Fiona Warnick, author of the charming novel The Skunks, drops by to talk animals and metaphor, how her creative writing program helped her with this book, writing smooth, and more than that, because we also get into Sheila Heti’s Alphabetical Diaries, which inspires a deeper dive into the work of Heti and her influence. contribute! https://patreon.…
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Talking Non-Fiction, with Tom Rowley of Backstory • Episode #160
46:49
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Exploring literary worlds beyond fiction: a dive into non-fiction Join Kate, as she ventures to South London to visit Backstory, a unique indie bookstore founded by former journalist Tom Rowley. Rowley shares his journey from journalism to opening a bookshop, the challenges and joys of running a bookstore, the importance of community engagement, an…
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Christopher goes through some stuff he read and some stuff he wants to read. Got any modern pirate book recommendations? 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.…
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Browsing the So Many Damn Books bookshelf, with Christopher Hermelin • #159
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47:58
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So Many Damn Books podcast creator and host Christoper Hermelin joins Kate to swap book recommendations and discuss the magic of book club, recent book discoveries and bookish pet peeves. EPISODE BOOK LIST The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers McSweeney’s magazine, including The Panorama i…
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221: Alexandra Tanner (WORRY) and Kathryn Scanlan's AUG 9 - FOG
57:51
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Alexandra Tanner shares the Damn Library physical space, sitting in the chair across from me and everything. She discusses her sibling’s influence on Worry, writing for an audience of one, money, moms, and more. Plus, she brings Kathryn Scanlan’s Aug 9 - Fog for book club. Listen closely and you’ll hear books mentioned now and again. contribute! ht…
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Book club: The New Life by Tom Crewe • Episode #158
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Two marriages, two forbidden love affairs, and the passionate search for social and sexual freedom in late 19th-century London. Publishers Penguin call The New Life by Tom Crewe ‘A brilliant and captivating debut, in the tradition of Alan Hollinghurst and Colm Tóibín' but what did our book club make of it? Kate is reporting back, with regular guest…
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Damn Library co-owner Sarah sits to chat about all the things that makes one pick up a book only to put it back down again. A list of reading pet peeves that touches on everything from subject matter, to stylizations, tropes, design choices, and more. contribute! https://patreon.com/smdb for drink recipes, book lists, and more, visit: somanydamnboo…
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219: Rachel Lyon (FRUIT OF THE DEAD) & Tessa Hadley's THE PAST
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52:02
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Rachel Lyon returns to talk about her new novel, Fruit of the Dead, and how it wasn’t always a Persephone myth retelling, she found that along the way. Plus, we get into the “generative fill” of reading, and I pontificate on dust mote fiction, inspired by the fetid summer heat within the pages of Tessa Hadley’s The Past. Read along! contribute! htt…
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What did our podcast book club make of Mild Vertigo, Japanese author Mieko Kanai's 1997 novel, recently translated into English by Polly Barton. A 'modernist masterpiece' written in sentences that go on for pages with hardly any paragraph breaks might not seem like an obvious book club winner; listen in to find out if we were won over. To discuss i…
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218: GennaRose Nethercott (FIFTY BEASTS TO BREAK YOUR HEART) & Sabrina Orah Marks' HAPPILY
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GennaRose Nethercott returns to talk about her brand new story collection Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart, stealing details from her friends, telling stories from the periphery, and how each tale in the book is about yearning. Also, thanks to Sabrina Orah Marks’ Happily, we discuss all form of fairy tales, and how they can tubocharge your selling …
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217: Kirsten Bakis (KING NYX) & Tana French's THE SECRET PLACE
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Kirsten Bakis makes her podcast airwave debut to discuss her brand new novel, King Nyx. And it’s a doozy. Kirsten reflects on sideways stories and how she first “met” the real life inspiration for her main character, and some reflections on how things have changed in publishing since she first debuted 27 years ago with her modern classic, Lives of …
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216: Marie-Helene Bertino (BEAUTYLAND) & Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's THE LITTLE PRINCE
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Marie-Helene Bertino returns to the Damn Library to discuss her latest triumph, Beautyland. Marie-Helene goes into how she creates some of the book's indelible, otherworldly moments, and why the book's writing process was charmed. Plus, she brought along The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a book that is much more powerful when you're no…
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Join me (Kate) and Laura as we go through our bookstacks and discuss our recent reads. Find out what why Laura can’t put down The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Meanwhile I’ve discovered Mrs Miniver, a comfort read from the 1930s that still has a message for us today, Laura’s made a discovery of her own – that there’s more to Anita Brookner tha…
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