Books on the Nightstand

Sadly, we have come to the true end of Books on the Nightstand. Happily, this final episode is filled with bloopers!     Information on our special Two Dozen Books We Can't Wait For You to Read Sweepstakes is available here. Be sure to enter now. The deadline is July 31, 2016. While entering, you can opt-in to a mailing list, where we can keep you updated on BOTNS news. We can't guarantee what we will be sending out via this list other than that we will share our two monthly selections that will go to the winners of the sweepstakes.   If you'd like to join the mailing list for possible future BOTNS news, but can't enter the sweepstakes because you live outside the US, or because you've reached this page after the sweepstakes has ended, you can sign up here.   Ways to interact with Books on the Nightstand, as well as with Ann and Michael, going forward: The Books on the Nightstand Goodreads Group Older episodes of the podcast Twitter: @annkingman and @mkindness Litsy: @mkindness

A preview of fiction titles we're looking forward to in the next nine months. _______________________________________________ Don't Forget! Although this is the final "regular" episode of Books on the Nightstand, there will be an episode 390 - filled with hilarious bloopers! _______________________________________________ Information on our special Two Dozen Books We Can't Wait For You to Read Sweepstakes is available here. Be sure to enter now! While entering, you can opt-in to a mailing list, where we can keep you updated on BOTNS news. We can't guarantee what we will be sending out via this list other than that we will share our two monthly selections that will go to the winners of the sweepstakes. (Something many of you asked for!) If you'd like to join the mailing list for possible future BOTNS news, but can't enter the sweepstakes because you live outside the US, you can sign up here. Tell me what to read this summer! Go here to vote on which of  six titles I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read I should read before Labor Day.   Audiobook of the week (05:37)  My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, narrated by Hillary Huber, is Ann's pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Fiction Preview (11:39)                   There's a ton of great fiction titles coming out in the next 9 months. Here are our picks: DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis How to Set a Fire and Why by Jesse Ball The Dream Life of Astronauts by Patrick Ryan Dr. Knox by Peter Spiegelman The Last One by Alexandra Oliva The Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers Dark Matter by Blake Crouch The Nix by Nathan Hill Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead The Ballroom by Anna Hope Nutshell by Ian McEwan Dear Mr. M by Herman Koch The Apartment: A Horror Story by S.L. Grey The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore The Mothers by Brit Bennett Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood Angel Catbird, Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood and Johnnie Christmas Untitled Novel by Hannah Tinti Ill Will by Dan Chaon   That brings us to the end of last full episode of Books on the Nightstand. THANK YOU to all of you who've been with us on this bookish journey, whether from episode 1 or episode 389. You  have all made this worthwhile! -- Ann and Michael

A preview of non-fiction titles coming in the next eight months.   Information on our special Two Dozen Books We Can't Wait For You to Read Sweepstakes is available here. Be sure to enter now! If you'd like to join the mailing list for possible future BOTNS news, but can't enter the sweepstakes because you live outside the US, you can sign up here. We can't guarantee what we will be sending out via this list other than that we will share our two monthly selections that will go to the winners of the sweepstakes. (Something many of you asked for!)   Tell me what to read this summer! Go here to vote on which of  six titles I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read I should read before Labor Day.   Audiobook of the week (03:35)  Before the Fall by Noah Hawley, narrated by Robert Petkoff, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Non-Fiction Preview (06:52)                         Lots of great non-fiction titles coming out in the next 8 months or so. Here are our picks: How to Be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky Dark Night: A True Batman Story by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin We Are Not Such Things by Justine van der Luen Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky Eyes on the Street by Robert Kanigel Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans Patient H.M. by Luke Dittrich The French Chef in America by Alex Prud'Homme In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett A Lowcountry Heart by Pat Conroy A Truck Full of Money by Tracy Kidder Bellevue by David Oshinsky Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami Doctor Who: Whographica by Steve O'Brien The Inkblots by Damion Searls

We recommend tons of podcasts, then rave about Anatomy of a Solder by Harry Parker, and The Girls by Emma Cline.   The Summer reading packet came home from Ann’s daughters’ school. In addition to reading David Copperfield, the students must choose one of the following contemporary books: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Interestings, or The Poisonwood Bible. They also must read selected chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, and also must keep a reading journal using the prompts included in the handout.  Information on our special Two Dozen Books We Can’t Wait For You to Read Sweepstakes is available here. Be sure to enter now! If you’d like to join the mailing list for possible future BOTNS news (no promises!), but can’t enter the sweepstakes because you live outside the US, you can sign up here.   Audiobook of the week (10:30)  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, narrated by George Newbern, is Ann’s pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Podcasts to Keep Your Nightstand Full (14:07) When we announced the end of BOTNS, a common cry from listeners was, “What will I listen to now?” This podcast is your resource. Here are many bookish podcasts for you to check out! (Keep in mind, what’s included here is just the list. For descriptions of the podcasts, be sure to listen to this episode.) Checkout the Podcasts – Books & Authors thread at the BOTNS Goodreads Group for an existing list of podcasts The Readers Literary Disco Literally Unplanned Adventures with Words Book Riot has several podcasts, including The Book Riot Podcast and All the Books Mashreads Drunk Booksellers Overdue What Should I Read Next? The New York Times Book Review Podcast Spoiler (the new podcast from the hosts of The Reading Room) PW More to Come A few Penguin Random House podcasts: Beaks & Geeks, This is the Author, and Book Club Appetizer Lastly, we recommend several non-bookish podcasts: Good Job, Brain Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Invisibilia Mystery Show Startup Reply All Boy vs. Girl The Archers   Two Books We Can’t Wait For You to Read (39:55)       Ann recommends Anatomy of a Soldier by Harry Parker. The novel follows British soldier Captain Tom Barnes, but, in a unique twist, the story is told from the points of view of objects that interact with Barnes: dog tags, boots, medical instruments used to keep him alive after an explosion powered in part by another “narrator” – a bag of fertilizer. I wholeheartedly recommend The Girls by Emma Cline. This debut novel follows a young teen in Northern California of the late 1960s, who gets pulled into a Charles Manson-like cult. The writing is astonishingly good and it will surely be one of my favorite books of 2016. Ann also loved The Girls, and mentions listening to You Must Remember This, a podcast about old Hollywood, that did several episodes about the Manson murders.

We answer your burning questions, and then recommend The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha, and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.   Thank you to everyone who sent us messages, tweets, comments, etc. about the ending of Books on the Nightstand. Though you all shared your disapointment, nearly all of you said you understood why were bowing out now, and thanked us for the nearly 400 episodes.  Information on our special Two Dozen Books We Can't Wait For You to Read Sweepstakes is available here. Be sure to enter now!   Audiobook of the week (14:38)  Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett, narrated by Ellen Archer and Robert Fass, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   The Final Interrogation (18:35) When we announced the end of BOTNS, we encouraged you all to write in with final Q&A questions. I won't recount every question and answer in these show notes (you can listen to the podcast for that!), but here are a few questions for which the answers have links: Jessie from Maine asked if we'll continue to recommend books via social media (yes - twitter: @AnnKingman and @mkindness, and Michael is using Litsy more). Yes, Heidi, the Books on the Nightstand Goodreads group will continue to exist! Joanne asked about becoming a more focused reader. Ann recommends taking a creative writing class (like the one she took at Grub Street in Boston), and also reading Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. Anne asked about how we create the podcast. Awhile back we wrote up our workflow for a presentation we did at BEA. You can find that info at the very end of these show notes.   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (51:44)       I recommend The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha. It is one book in a sea of books about happiness, but it is speaking to me in a way that other books haven't. Filled with 9 secrets informed by insights gleaned by the author as well as wisdom from past great thinkers, The Happiness Equation is showing me simple things I can do (and am doing) to be happier every day. Ann recommends Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It's the story of two half-sisters (each unaware of the other) in 18th-century Ghana. One is married off to an Englishman who is a slave trader, and the other is slave, sold by this man. The book then moves forward, tracing the descendants of these two women. Ann knows that this will end up being one of her favorite books of 2016.     Books on the Nightstand Podcast Workflow Michael and Ann each record on Zoom H2 microphones in their own home offices, while talking on the phone with headsets. Each uses a pop filter while recording to cut down on hard p and s sounds. We alternate editing duties on a weekly basis. The person who is not editing sends their .wav file to the one who is editing. Editor uses Audacity to combine the two files. Editor tightens the file by removing mistakes, coughs, etc. Intro music and intermission tracks are added. File is exported into MP3 format and uploaded to Libsyn (podcast host). Show notes are written in Wordpress, hosted at HostGator. URL of Libsyn file is plugged into Wordpress post, and post is published. Post is automatically distributed to iTunes, Instacast, Stitcher, etc. Show is linked and promoted through Twitter, and other social media networks. Approximate time - Recording: 1 hour  - Editing: 1 hour. - Show notes - 30 minutes.

Author talks from Booktopia Petoskey, including W. Bruce Cameron, Janis Cooke Newman, and Luis Alberto Urrea.   This week we have an amazing lineup of author talks from our final Booktopia event. These talks were recorded in September 2015 at the fabulous McLean & Eakin bookstore in Petoskey, MI. Authors featured this week:     W. Bruce Cameron, author of The Dog Master       Janis Cooke Newman, author of A Master Plan for Rescue       Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Water Museum   We'll be back next week with a new episode. Until then, happy reading!

A big announcement. The start of BOTNS Book Bingo. We recommend Everything is Teeth by Evie Wyld and Joe Sumner, and Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler.    Listen to the podcast for a big announcement about Books on the Nightstand!   Audiobook of the week (11:15)  The Assistants by Camille Perri, narrated by Jorjeana Marie, is Ann's pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   The Beginning (16:22) Memorial Day weekend is days away which means the start of Books on the Nightstand Summer Book Bingo! Go to http://tinyurl.com/BOTNSBingo2016, and hit refresh to get a brand new card. As in the past, the "rules" are what you make them. However, we suggest you: Interpret the categories as you see fit Not use a book for more than one square Use the Free Square for any book that you read that won't fit in another category   Some of the categories and books Ann and I discuss in this episode: With an alliterative title - The Wind in the Willows, Brazzaville Beach Hated by someone you know - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius About books, bookstores or publishing - Be Frank With Me With a flower in the title or on the cover - The Black Dahlia (which actually is fiction, not true crime as we said in the episode) Written by two (or more) authors - Will Grayson, Will Grayson Reread a book you hated in school - The Catcher in the Rye, The Last of the Mohicans, Giants in the Earth That you think you will dislike - Me Before You Mentioned on The Gilmore Girls - Here's a list of all 339 titles mentioned on the show! With a punctuation mark in the title - The Regional Office is Under Attack!, Who Killed Piet Barol? (not out until January 2017 though...) Sports-related - Ice Time, The Art of Fielding   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (32:50)       I recommend Everything is Teeth, a graphic memoir by Evie Wyld, illustrated by Joe Sumner. It's the story of Evie's childhood, some of which she spent visiting family in Australia. She was obsessed with sharks and shark attacks, and those memories and experiences are brought to vivid life via that unusual juxtapositions of art style and color. Ann recommends Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler. It's the story of a young woman indoctrinated into working at a high-end NYC restaurant (based on the real-life Union Square Cafe). Stephanie Danler actually did work at the Union Square Cafe and that background brings a level of reality to this work of fiction.

Sad author news, a roundup of book news featuring girls and women, and two books we can't wait for you to read.   Booklovers, especially Michael,  are mourning the passing of two authors that have touched many with their work. Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love, died at age 70. Darwin Cooke, writer and artist of Michael's favorite superhero graphic novel ever, DC The New Frontier, passed away at the age of 53.   Audiobook of the week (04:49):    Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson, narrated by Tavia Gilbert, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Women and girls in books and bookstores (09:49):   This week, we wanted to talk about three unrelated stories, and Michael realized that they all had women at the center. Judy Blume opened an independent bookstore! She's partnering with the fabulous Books and Books to open a location in Key West, Florida. I'm dying to visit. If you go, please let us know how it is. The Nebula awards for 2015 were given out this past weekend, and of the six major awards, five were given to women. The winner of Best Novel, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, was an Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week in episode #337, chosen by Michael. Other winners: Best Novella: Nnedi Okorafor for Binti Best Novelette: Sarah Pinsker for "Our Lady of the Open Road," featured in the June 2015 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Best Short Story: Alyssa Wong for "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers," featured in the Oct. 2015 issue of Nightmare Magazine Winner of the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy: Fran Wilde for Updraft After hearing a lot about a young adult graphic novel called Lumberjanes, which features a diverse group of strong female characters, I was thrilled to see an article in the New York Times: Boom Box Comics Tell Stories of Teenagers, With a Light Heart. This is a graphic novel line worth taking a look at, especially if you have teen readers in your life.   Two books we can't wait for you to read (20:41):         Smoke by Dan Vyleta goes on sale Tuesday May 24th, but march down to your bookstore or library now and reserve your copy. It begins in an exclusive boarding school, and is set in a world that looks a lot like 1900 London, with one exception: when people think bad thoughts or do bad deeds, their body starts to emit thick black smoke. It's atmospheric, compelling, and full of suspense and adventure. Michael talks about Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv. It's a book of ideas of things to do outdoors with your family, and talks about the importance of being in nature for family togetherness and other benefits. It's full of resources and ways to enrich your family life through nature.

Misconstruing the Man Book Club, and we recommend Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, and Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo.   Booktopia was this past weekend, and it was the first Booktopia not organized by us. Northshire Bookstore and the Inn at Manchester put together a wonderful weekend, judging by the comments and photos we saw online. If you weren't able to attend, but want to read some of the books that were featured, here's a list. The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein Shelter by Jung Yun The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus She Called Him Raymond by Ray O'Conor Written on my Heart by Morgan Callan Rogers The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro   Audiobook of the week (02:42)  The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, narrated by Kate Atwater, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   No Women Allowed? (07:18) A recent New York Times article, called Men Have Book Clubs, Too, led to a bit of discussion on my Facebook page. I made a pretty harsh pronouncement about the members of The Man Book Club, however my opinion was very much colored by the article and by my slight misreading of it. One of their rules (which they admittedly don't always follow) is no books by a woman about a woman. Ann and I discuss the possible reasons for this rule and whether it could ever be considered a good thing to limit one's reading this way. Be sure to read the group's blog post, titled An Apologia, where they respond to the omissions in, and misconceptions perpetrated by, the NYT article. And do check out the list of books they have read thus far. I officially apologize for my original comment!   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (22:24)       I recommend Paper Girls, Vol. 1, written by Brian K. Vaughan, with art by Cliff Chiang. It's the story of 4 twelve-year-old paper girls in 1988. It's the morning after Halloween, and strange "people" are wandering their neighborhood. Are they teenagers still in costume from the night before, or are they something more sinister? A few weeks ago, Ann recommended Nobody's Fool for our Don't You Forget About Me. She read it recently to prepare for reading Richard Russo's newest book Everybody's Fool. The new book returns to North Bath, NY. It's both funny and tragic, and it revisits many of the characters from the first book, as well as introducing some new ones. Ann promises that you don't have to have read the older book to enjoy the new one!

So many books, in praise of novellas, and we recommend a new novella by Graham Swift and a novel that is the first in a new science-fiction trilogy. Audiobook of the week (03:12) Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes, performed by Santino Fontana, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   One-sit Wonders (07:30) This week's episode was inspired by an article on Publishersweekly.com by Cynan Jones called "The Case for Very Short Novels." Michael and I talk a bit about the terminology ("novella," specifically), our relationship to short novels, and how we approach them. Titles discussed: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett Bartleby the Scrivener Animal Farm by George Orwell A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Coraline by Neil Gaiman The Time Machine by HG Wells Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway More titles are listed on the Wikipedia page for "Novella." Please let us know your thoughts on novellas, and share some of your favorites.   Two books we can't wait for you to read (22:55)         My pick this week is a novella, Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift. Just 177 pages, it packs a punch that belies its small size. Most of the novel is set in just 5 hours in the spring of 1924, with the story of a young housemaid who spends her day off in an illicit assignation with the son of the wealthy neighbors. There, her life changes in an instant. Michael takes a different direction, telling us about the first book in a science fiction trilogy. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Nouvel starts with a young girl, Rose, who falls off her bicycle into a hole in the ground that turns out to be a chamber that is actually a metal hand. Fast forward 20 years, and Rose is a physicist who is helping to investigate the origin of this hand and what it means.

Litsy, Book Awards,  plus, don't you forget about 84, Charing Cross Road and Nobody's Fool. Ann and I are both on Litsy, a new photo-focused book-based social media app (usernames AnnKingman and mkindness). The one problem we're encountering is posting about a book that we're reading electronically in manuscript form; they're not very photogenic! So, check out Litsy and let us know what you think! Audiobook of the week (04:17) Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt, narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Emily Woo Zeller, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 100,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   A New Batch of Book Awards (07:42) Unlike movie awards, awards for books seem to be given out throughout the year. Recently announced were the Indies Choice Awards and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards for 2016, both of which were voted on by Independent Booksellers around the US. The full list of winners and honor books can be found here. Below are the winners we mentioned on the podcast. Fiction - Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Non-Fiction - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Adult Debut - Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal Young Adult Book of the Year - Winner (tie) Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson E.B White Read-Aloud Award for Middle Readers - The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin E.B White Read-Aloud Award for Picture Books - Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins Indie Champion Award - Richard Russo Congratulations to all the winners and the runners-up!   Don't You Forget About Me (18:36)         Within the past few weeks, posts from two different book lovers wrote statuses that showed in my Facebook feed. They had each read, for the first time, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. It's something that all book lovers should read, and a book I only read myself a few years ago. Though it's an older book, Ann only recently read Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo. On paper, Donald "Sully" Sullivan doesn't seem like a character you'd fall in love with. He's a drinking, gambling, womanizer who lives in a dying town in upstate New York. But Ann says he's a character that you'll long remember.

This week, we bring you three authors from Booktopia Petoskey (September 2015), each of whom gives a short talk about their work (or other things). Lauren Fox, author of Days of Awe Jim Ottaviani, author of Primates Jennifer McMahon, author of The Night Sister These are always very entertaining, so please do listen and check out these wonderful authors' books. Many thanks to our authors and to the fabulous McLean & Eakin Bookstore for hosting us.                Official author photo of Jim Ottaviani, who says, "More serious author photos than this self-portrait are available, as are print-ready images from any of our books -- please contact us for more information. But I'm fond of this one, and hope you'd at least consider using it, since it's the closest I'll ever get to the moon."          

"April Showered" with listener questions. Plus, we recommend Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh, and Geek Parenting by Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu. Thanks to all of you who commented on episode 375 with suggestions for adult books that can be ready by a precocious 9-year-old. And, in a follow-up to episode 376, listener Mitzi shared info on a local library's seed library. Audiobook of the week (04:38)  Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, narrated by the author, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Showered with Questions (08:12) Marchelle A.D. asked about book trailers, and why they exist. Some people think they're pretty awful, but there are a few that we think are funny (B.J. Novak/Mindy Kaling, Gary Shteyngart) and some are viral and don't even mention the book. Jessie from Montana asked if the reading we do for work happens during work hours or during evenings and weekends. We definitely do our work reading in off hours, and that's the case for most of the publishing and bookstore industry. MaryAnne from Oceanside CA asked if either Ann or I write or wanted to be a published author. Ann did want to be an author, until she started working in publishing, and realized how hard it would be! As for me, other than an extremely derivative short science fiction story in grade school, I've never really enjoyed writing. I much prefer to read! Elenor H heard about James Patterson's generosity toward bookstores, booksellers, and libraries, and wonders if author philanthropy common. Ann found a listing from 2012 of top-earning authors and where they donated funds.   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (30:06)     Ann recommends Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh, calling it one of the strangest and most intriguing books she's read in a long time. The main character, Eileen, is an unlikable, terrible person, and she seems to enjoy telling us exactly how awful she is. Yet Ann found the writing compelling and irresistible. I recommend Geek Parenting by Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu, a collection of parental advice brought to life via exceedingly memorable examples from pop culture: "Inheriting dad's pointed ears does mean a kid is just like dad. That is illogical." "If they're creepy and they're kooky, then you're the one who's lucky." "We should savor life's sweetness, with or without a golden ticket." "If you always harp on what they're doing wrong, you're teaching them to focus on the dark side."

We're thinking about summer, trying not to be book snobs, and raving about The Caped Crusade and Lab Girl.   It's time to start thinking about summer (even though there is snow out my window right now). Specifically, we'd like you to help us create the categories that will appear in this year's Books on the Nightstand Bingo cards, which will go live sometime around Memorial Day (end of May). You may add your suggestions to the Google form. Before you add your categories, please do check our existing categories to see if you idea has been taken. This will help us not have to filter through a lot of duplicates. Thank you for your help.     Audiobook of the week (03:39)  The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney read by Mia Barron is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook When a friend discovers the joy of reading, but you don't like her taste (08:16) We received this email from a listener: A friend--not a close one, but a long-term one--has JUST discovered books (at 63!). She read a whole series and got so excited about how HILARIOUS they are that she mailed all three books in the series to me and is now dying to have me read them AND REPORT! I'm thrilled she's reading--truly I am--but when the books arrived and I began dipping into them, I immediately recognized they are NOT MY CUP O' TEA!... I am skimming so I can talk about them with her--clearly what she desires--but I can hardly bear the thought of saying anything to her about them. I may be (am) a book snob, but I surely do not want to be discovered as such, and I sure don't want to rain on her new reading hobby. What shall I do? What would YOU do?? Our listener also posted this question on Goodreads and had a number of good suggestions, including helping the new reader to find a book club with similar tastes, and telling the friend that you've been reading so long that you like more "experimental" fiction. Michael and I firmly believe that the main thing is to not make the new reader feel judged, but we're not exactly sure how best to do that. I'm in favor of asking the new reader what she liked about the book series, and then finding similar books to recommend. Michael worries that the new reader will infer that you want to read them together. It's a tricky spot, but we love that our listener wants to encourage her friend to keep reading.   Two books we can't wait for you to read (20:30)       Michael recommends The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon. It's a cultural and sociological history of Batman, organized by "eras" of Batman. I can't wait for you read Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, a book that is part memoir, part love letter to science and plants. You'll never look at a tree the same way again.

Three mini topics. Plus, don't you forget about Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. In addition to candy, my kids got books for Easter. Later that day, Friends came over and we gave their daughter a late birthday gift: a signed copy of Demon Dentist by David Walliams. At one point during the sugar-fueled antics of the day, I looked into the living room to see my son and their daughter reading quietly. It was wonderful!   Audiobook of the week (06:44) The Turner House by Angela Flournoy, narrated by Adenrele Ojo, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Ten Books, a Whale, and a Library Farm (11:44) A few different mini topics this week: Flying Books in Toronto is a mini pop-up shop that sells only ten books at a time. Plymouth University has created an audio version of Moby Dick, called Moby Dick Big Read, in which each chapter is read by a different narrator, many of whom are famous. Mental Floss published a list of libraries that lend non-book things, including The Brooklyn Art Library of sketchbooks submitted by artists around the world. Ann was surprised that tool libraries were not included.   Don't You Forget About Me (27:07)       Ann recommends an older book that's new to her: Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, the story of a terrorist attack on a gala birthday party in an unnamed South American country. Ann calls it brilliant and wonders why no one forced her to read it earlier! Since Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon was first published in 2007, the concept of locavorism has exploded into the mainstream consciousness. Though many people are unlikely to go to the lengths of these authors (eating only food from a 100 mile radius of their home for a full year), readers today will get much information (and entertainment) from this book.

A new podcast; an audiobook narrated by the creator of Hamilton, and questions from the mailbag.   This week Michael tells us about a new podcast, This is the Author, published by the audiobooks division of Penguin Random House. It features short conversations with authors who are in the studio narrating their audiobooks. During the course of that discussion, we also talk about In Other Words, the new book by Jhumpa Lahiri which she narrates in both English and Italian. Audiobook of the week (05:43)  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz and read by Lin-Manuel Miranda is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook More from the virtual mailbag (11:14) This week we answer (or try to answer) several listener questions: Jen from Boston asks: "My kids and I often listen to the barefoot books podcasts which are essentially folk and fairy tales. Are there any "adult" version of this? Like a podcast that is a short stories being read out loud? I am looking for like 10-15 minute story rather than an entire audiobook. Thanks so much!" Some ideas for Jen: Selected Shorts The Guardian Short Stories podcast The Moth podcast The New Yorker Fiction podcast Welcome to Nightvale The Archers or try an audiobook of short stories Mary from Byfield writes: I am a retired librarian from a private school in MA. One of my former students contacted me recently and asked for book recommendation for her advanced 9 yr old reader(female).This child wants to read adult books. I listen to your Podcasts and wonder if you have ever considered doing a show on adult books for young readers. Or if you and Michael have any personal recommendations for this query. Thanks for any help...a loyal listener and a die hard reader. Ann...thought you'd like to know the next book to be read on my nightstand is A Little Life... We were a little stumped on this one, so we're looking to our listeners for ideas. A few thoughts we had: Michael immediately thought of Uprooted by Namoi Novik I think this is a great time to introduce classics, because kids of this age aren't yet intimidated by classics. In our house, we started with reading aloud Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, and then my daughter moved on to books that interested her, like Les Miserables, after she had seen the movie. Have your friend take her daughter into a library or bookstore and let the experts work with the child to figure out what she might like.   spancho asks: Is there a single resource for keeping abreast of author lectures and signings? I'd like to hear Hanya Yanagihara but she doesn't seem to have a website... I'm so pleased with the 2016 TOB authors and I'd like to hear from as many of them as possible! We don't know of one, though that's a great idea! We recommend that you go to Library Thing and click the "Local" tag (free membership required). That should give you a list of author events near you. Other options are to subscribe to newsletters from bookstores and libraries near you, and to check out author festivals. You may have luck with a particular author by looking at the publisher's website to see if a tour is listed. Pat8 inquires: I'm trying to remember where I heard recommendations for novels that revolve around book sellers/bookstores. Len at The Kindle Chronicles thought he'd heard something like this several years ago as well. I've asked over on the Goodreads group as well. Do you remember a list of recommendations like this from a podcast of yours? In BOTNS #138,

Defining literary and commercial fiction. We recommend Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg and All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage.   I've just gotten over a reading slump. For a few weeks, I couldn't get into any books or audios. All I wanted to do was watch TV (I binged the first season of Netflix's Daredevil. Dark and violent, but oh so good!). I eventually broke the slump by continuing to try things, and I didn't feel bad about not reading.   Audiobook of the week (03:06) Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, narrated by the author, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   Commercial vs. Literary Fiction (07:34) We tackle the difficult task of trying to define literary fiction and commercial fiction. Before getting into those subjects, we define genre fiction which is the term used to describe romance, mystery, and science fiction & fantasy. Throughout our discussion we mention several times that the defining characteristics of these fiction types are generalizations and they can easily apply to both fiction categories. Also, none of these properties are meant to imply that one of these categories is better than the other. Commercial Fiction A heavy reliance on plot Less interior character development Page-turner Literary Fiction Much of the action comes from internal character development ("Nothing happens.") More ups and downs from emotions than events More complex writing needed to imply emotional states   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (27:32)       Smarter Faster Better is the newest book by Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, which I loved. Diving into the research surrounding productivity, Duhigg presents things that were discovered by telling the stories of people and teams encountering problems and solving them. The book's appendix shows how to put the research and finding to work for you. Ann recommends All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage, which she says is both literary and commercial (!). A farm in upstate New York is the setting for a murder in the present, and an apparent suicide in the past. How are these events connected and what led to murder?

Authors Steve Himmer and Mary Doria Russell, speaking at Booktopia Vermont 2015.     Michael and I are at Sales Conference this week, learning about books that Penguin Random House will publish in the fall of 2016. In place of our usual episode, we're thrilled to share with you two author talks from Booktopia Vermont in May, 2015. Please do listen to these very entertaining talks. Fram and Epitaph are two books we can't wait for you to read. We'll be back next week with a regular episode.

Diverse books for a diverse reading population. We recommend What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell, and Evicted by Matthew Desmond.   I recently discovered The Setup Wizard, a Tumblr-based fan fiction about a Muggle who is the first ever IT person at Hogwarts. It's hilarious, and you should definitely read it from the very beginning! And, coming on July 30, you'll be able to read, in book form, the forthcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.   Audiobook of the week (05:07) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, narrated by the author, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook   We Need Diverse Books (08:31) After the lack of diversity in this past weekend's Academy Awards, this seemed like a good time to examine publishing's similar problem. In 2014, author Ellen Oh and 21 other children's book authors and industry professionals began using the hashtag #weneeddiversebooks in response to an all-white, all-male panel of children’s book authors at a major book convention. The social media campaign has gone worldwide and has grown into the We Need Diverse Books movement that's bringing this issue to the attention of publishers and readers. Lee & Low Books, the largest multicultural children's book publisher in the United States, recently released the results of a survey they conducted, which shows that the lack of diversity in books and authors published might be exacerbated by the lack of diversity among publishing employees and book reviewers. Thankfully, the discussion of these issues is leading to some small changes, such as more diverse participants on author panels, and even the creation of Salaam Reads, a new Simon & Schuster imprint that will publish children's books featuring Muslim characters and stories. Ann mentioned an article about the difficulty of getting an agent in Hollywood if you're a person of color, and wondered if that's an issue with literary agents as well. Then, there's the story of Marley Dias, an 11-year-old girl from New Jersey who was sick of reading books about "white boys and dogs." Where were the books starring black girls like her? She set out to collect 1,000 books with black girls as the main characters. She quickly blew past that goal, thanks to the help of Twitter, and others. Her quest is serving to educate people, including teachers and librarians. Way to go Marley!   Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (29:16)       Ann recommends What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell, which is getting much critical praise lately. The unnamed main character, an American teacher, meets Mitko in a Bulgarain public bathroom and pays him for sex. He returns to Mitko again and again in this gorgeous, uncomfortable novel that Ann said felt like a literary masterpiece from the first page. In the vein of Just Mercy, Ghettoside, and Between the World and Me, I recommend Evicted by Matthew Desmond. A difficult, but vital look at the eviction process and how, once caught in it, it can be so hard to escape. This is one the most important books you'll read this year.

Hi all, Ann here. Episode 371 was accidentally published with the incorrect audio file (episode 317 -- you can see how it happened). I've fixed the file so that if you received it via email or find it through the website, you'll have the correct file. But if you've already updated your iTunes/podcatcher file, you may have received the wrong file. So this is a fix. The correct file is attached to this post, and here is a link to the show notes in the original episode. Sorry for the inconvenience!