Poured Over

Barnes & Noble

Poured Over is a show for readers who pore over details, obsess over sentences and ideas and stories and characters; readers who ask a lot of questions, just like Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer, a career bookseller who's always reading. Follow us here for surprising riffs, candid conversations, a few laughs, and lots of great book recommendations from big name authors and authors on their way to being big names. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

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English

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Today · 1 hr
Julie Orringer on LUNA, PHOENIX, QUEEN
Luna, Phoenix, Queen is Julie Orringer's latest, a thoughtful, and thought-provoking novel about the stories we tell about ourselves—and who gets to tells them. Julie joins us to talk about autonomy, memory, patience, and her adopted dog, Hazel with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Luna, Phoenix, Queen by Julie Orringer The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer Dear Life by Alice Munro How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend by The Monks of New Skete The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Last Days of the Dog-Men: Stories by Bad Watson Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet's Journey by Stephen Kuusisto Middlemarch by George Eliot Day for Night by Frederick Reiken Intimacies by Katie Kitamura Foster by Claire Keegan A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Tuesday · 47 min
Yiyun Li on MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT
Music Against the Night is an epic story about love and betrayal, music and power, creativity and lust, that cuts across time and countries, from Yiyun Li, the acclaimed author of The Book of Goose. Yiyun joins us to talk about Hilary Mantel, movement and music, laughter and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li Book of Goose by Yiyun Li Wednesday's Child by Yiyun Li Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel Childhood; Boyhood; Youth by Leo Tolstoy War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy King Lear by William Shakespeare Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Collected Stories by William Trevor Nocturnes for the King of Naples by Edmund White Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Moderation by Elaine Castillo Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin Duel Duet: Selected Stories by Graham Greene East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Saturday · 49 min
Bonnie Garmus on PECK & PECK
After the global sensation Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus delivers a charming and funny novel about a young man searching for his place in the world in Peck & Peck. When he stumbles into a job at an unconventional New York City poetry journal, Batter Gray discovers the transformative power of language and a community he never knew he needed. Bonnie joined us live in New York to talk about her dog Friday, the magic of poetry, and the future of the arts with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books & Poets: Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant Robert Lowell Sylvia Plath Jericho Brown Aimee Nezhukumatathil Jorie Graham Geraldine Brooks Langston Hughes Claudia Rankine Edgar Allen Poe Charles Bukowski A. A. Milne Phillip Larkin
Friday · 44 min
Elizabeth Kostova on MYSTERY PLAY
When a dark secret comes to light after his mother's death, Jay sets out to uncover the truth in Mystery Play, a haunting tale steeped in Dracula lore from master storyteller, Elizabeth Kostova. Elizabeth joins us to talk about seances, mysticism, the theater and Indiana Jones with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books & Authors: Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Booth by Karen Joy Fowler Dracula by Bram Stoker Henry James Robert Louis Stevenson The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Arthur Conan Doyle Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare King Lear by William Shakespeare Macbeth by William Shakespeare Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
October 15 · 49 min
Jason Rekulak on LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN
In Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak, after agreeing to pet sit, a cartoonist becomes haunted by violent nightmares and starts to find disturbing imagery in her art. Jason joins us to talk about demonic possession, viral videos, collaborating with Doogie Horner and Will Staehle on the book's illustrations, and more with cohost Chris Gillespie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Chris Gillespie and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak Smile by Raina Telgemeier Baby-Sitters Club Graphix Series The Adventures of Invisible Boy by Doogie Horner Bleak House by Charles Dickens The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters Cujo by Stephen King Dead Zone by Stephen King Christine by Stephen King Carrie by Stephen King The Shining by Stephen King The Green Mile by Stephen King Jaws by Peter Benchley Pet Semetary by Stephen King Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix
October 13 · 1 hr 4 min
Anand Giridharadas on MAN IN THE MIRROR
Man in the Mirror by Anand Giridharadas is a meticulously reported, empathetic and urgent account of America at a crossroads, where mental health and systemic failure intersect. Anand joins us to talk about his reporting process, compassion, civic engagement, and the questions of democracy with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Man in the Mirror by Anand Giridharadas The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas Evicted by Matthew Desmond There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder Invisible Child by Andrew Elliott
October 10 · 49 min
Deesha Philyaw on THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF THE FIRST LADY FREEMAN
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw is a scandalous, messy satire about a pageant for the wives of megachurch pastors, following Scharisse Freeman, a church "First Lady" who gets caught between childhood secrets and her public image. Deesha joined us live at B&N City Center in Philadelphia to talk about creating humor on the page, obedience, faith, and her skepticism of forgiveness with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Phillyaw The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw The Sellout by Paul Beatty The Prophets by Robert Jones
October 8 · 57 min
Barbara Kingsolver on PARTITA
Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver returns with Partita, an unforgettable story of resilience, possibility and the transformative power of music. Barbara joins us to talk about her craft, her passion for classical music, and her Appalachian heritage with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. The episode features musical accompaniment from pianist and musicologist, César Reyes. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Partita by Barbara Kingsolver The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver The Death of the Hired Man by Robert Frost
October 6 · 35 min
Imbolo Mbue on EVERY STORY IS A LOVE STORY
Every Story is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue is a smart and tender exploration of grief following a man who meets the person responsible for his wife's fatal car accident. Imbolo joins us to talk about faith, community, regret, and forgiveness with cohost Brenda Allison. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Brenda Allison and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Every Story is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundathi Roy Monkey Boy by Francisco Goldman The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland The Laughter by Sonora Jha
October 3 · 1 hr 6 min
Hernan Diaz on PLY
In Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz's Ply, centuries from now, society has adapted to a new way of life as humans mend their relationships to the world…and each other. Hernan joined us live in Philadelphia to talk about subjectivity, selfhood and identity; particle physics; and Charles Dickens with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Ply by Hernan Diaz Trust by Hernan Diaz In the Distance by Hernan Diaz The Bostonians by Henry James Zone One by Colson Whitehead Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens Moderation by Elaine Castillo Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Summer Book by Tove Jansson Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
October 1 · 1 hr 3 min
Min Jin Lee on AMERICAN HAGWON
The acclaimed, bestselling author of Pachinko, Min Jin Lee returns with American Hagwon, a modern classic about ambition and love, family and finding home. Min Jin joined us live at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church to talk about education and ambition, the 19th century social novel, compressed modernity, and trying to be a good person in an anxious world with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee Pachinko by Min Jin Lee Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee Middlemarch by George Eliot Can You Forgive Her? By Anthony Trollope Bleak House by Charles Dickens The Risk of Compressed Modernity by Chang Kyung-Sup Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
September 30 · 52 min
John Grisham on THE FRENCH ILLUSION
In The French Illusion by John Grisham, a honeymoon unravels into terror as newlyweds Paul and Chelsea get snatched from the French countryside, prompting a puzzling investigation. John joins us to talk about his time in law school, his prolific writing career, and his advocacy for the wrongfully convicted with cohost Chris Gillespie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Chris Gillespie and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: The French Illusion by John Grisham The Law Student by John Grisham Time to Kill by John Grisham Pelican Brief by John Grisham The Innocent Man by John Grisham Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham & Jim McCloskey To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
September 29 · 1 hr 7 min
Ayad Akhtar on THE RADIANCE
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author, Ayad Akhtar joins us to talk about craft, the campus novel, autofiction, and his latest book, The Radiance, with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: The Radiance by Ayad Akhtar Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar Junk by Ayad Akhtar McNeal by Ayad Akhtar The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar Poor Folk and Other Early Stories by Fyodor Dostoevsky Fifty-Two Stories by Anton Chekhov The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy Herzog by Saul Bellow The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow Seize the Day by Saul Bellow Ravelstein by Saul Bellow The Republic of Plato translated by Allan Bloom The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia Antiquities and Other Stories by Cynthia Ozick Nature and Selected Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson Hawthorne's Short Stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser The American Canon by Harold Bloom The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation by Harold Bloom The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford The Complete Odes and Epodes by Horace
September 24 · 56 min
Sharon McMahon on THE SMALL AND THE MIGHTY
Now out in paperback, The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon casts a needed spotlight on the other heroes of American greatness — ones you may not have heard of. Sharon joins us to talk about raising engaged citizens, local news, and communication as a leadership skill with cohost Chris Gillespie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Chris Gillespie and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon We are Mighty by Sharon McMahon
September 22 · 51 min
John Green on HOLLYWOOD, ENDING
Beloved storyteller John Green returns with a tender love story set against the underbelly of the entertainment industry as two actors balance their rising fame with their complicated feelings in Hollywood, Ending. John joins us to talk about the social internet, the attention economy, Andy Warhol, having fun writing, and the world's largest ball of paint with cohost Brenda Allison. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Brenda Allison and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Hollywood, Ending by John Green Looking for Alaska by John Green The Fault in Our Stars by John Green The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green Turtles All the Way Down by John Green The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen Beloved by Toni Morrison Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Canon by Paige Lewis Some of Us May Never Die by Robin Wasserman (coming soon) The visual artists mentioned are Joan Mitchell, Agnes Martin, Kerry James Marshall, and Andy Warhol.
September 19 · 45 min
Makenna Goodman on HELEN OF NOWHERE
Blending surrealism, satire and philosophical concepts, Booker Prize-longlisted Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman weaves a tale of beginnings following a disgraced professor who moves into a house where the presence of the previous owner lingers. Makenna joins us to talk about narrative form, stand-up comedy, and the dynamism of nature with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman Living the Good Life by Scott & Helen Nearing All Fours by Miranda July Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Friere The Summer Book by Tove Jansson The Moomin Series by Tove Jansson The Wall by Marlen Haushofer Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid
September 17 · 51 min
Claudia Rankine on TRIAGE
In Triage, acclaimed author and playwright Claudia Rankine uses prose, poetry and art images to challenge the ways we look at friendship and memory, action and obligation. Claudia joined us live from B&N Upper West Side to talk about narrative, lyric poetry, interiority, and broadening the collective we with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Triage by Claudia Rankine Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine The White Card by Claudia Rankine Solutions for the Problem of Bodies in Space by Catherine Barnett Gaza in My Phone by Mazen Kerbaj William Kentridge: Milestones: At the Heart of Creation by William Kentridge Anarchitecture After Everything by Jack Halberstam Black Formations: Poetics of Refusal Within the African Diaspora by Melody Howse
September 15 · 55 min
Jodi Picoult on HOLLOW BONES
In her latest novel, Hollow Bones, Jodi Picoult uses her powerful voice to craft a moving story about what we do to protect our loved ones when faced with the unexpected. Jodi joins us to talk about public health, private tragedy, motherhood, and gender gaps in healthcare with cohost Brenda Allison. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Brenda Allison and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak Into the Blue by Emma Brodie Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves Under Story by Chloe Benjamin TBR Featured Books: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
September 12 · 54 min
Olga Ravn on THE WAX CHILD
Told from the perspective of a wax doll, Olga Ravn's The Wax Child is a chilling tale inspired by a real group of women accused of dark magic in seventeenth-century Denmark. Olga joins us to talk about her craft, the power of ritual, collective memory, creepy children, and contemporary Scandinavian literature with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: The Wax Child by Olga Ravn The Employees by Olga Ravn alphabet by Inger Christensen The Condition of Secrecy: Selected Essays by Inger Christensen it by Inger Christensen How I Became a Nun by César Aira The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Dark Spring by Unica Zürn The Man of Jasmine and Other Texts by Unica Zürn The Trumpets of Jericho by Unica Zürn The Cinnamon Shops and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz The Wall by Marlen Haushofer Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood; Youth; Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen Vilhelm's Room by Tove Ditlevsen The Faces by Tove Ditlevsen On the Calculation of Volume, Book I by Solvej Balle After the Sun by Jonas Eika Money to Burn by Asta Olivia Nordenhof Valerie: or, The Faculty of Dreams: Amendment to the Theory of Sexuality by Sara Stridberg
September 10 · 44 min
Emily Wilson on CROSSING THE WINE-DARK SEA
Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea by Emily Wilson takes readers on a tour through the ancient world for an entertaining examination of Greek and Roman literature and their impact on our modern world. Emily joins us to talk about the joys and challenges of interpreting antiquity, the stakes of poetic form and re-translating The Odyssey with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books: Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea by Emily Wilson The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho, translated by Anne Carson The Oresteia by Aeschylus, translated by Robert Fagles Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Marin Hammond The Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Scott McGill & Susannah Wright The Poems of Catullus by Gaius Valerius Catullus, translated by Stephanie McCarter Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles, translated by Robert Fagles

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