Episode · How I Write · 2026-09-09
David Perell & Harlan Coben: books mentioned on How I Write
Harlan Coben: Tough Love Advice for Every Writer | How I Write
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Harlan Coben recommended The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth, and Where Are The Children? by Mary Higgins Clark, and discussed Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. David Perell discussed The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is a well-known guide on writing and creativity that often resonates deeply with readers' broader lives.
Discussed“we were talking off thing about Ann Lamont's bird by bird. She has the great chapter called the shitty first draft that many people are familiar with.”
Where to get it
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The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F.
Discussed“So, I read the book, I watched the DiCaprio Gatsby movie, I then watched the Robert Redford Gatsby movie, and then I went to the play.”
Where to get it
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The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is a satirical novel chronicling ambition, greed, and urban decay in 1980s New York City.
Recommended“two of my favorite books of the you know when I was sort of coming of age poor noise complaint by Philip Roth and Bonfire the Vanities by Tom Wolf both are horrendous films unwatchable”
Where to get it
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Portnoy's Complaint
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth is a groundbreaking, highly controversial coming-of-age novel that dives deeply into the psychological and sexual anxieties of its neurotic protagonist, Alexander Portnoy.
Recommended“two of my favorite books of the you know when I was sort of coming of age poor noise complaint by Philip Roth and Bonfire the Vanities by Tom Wolf both are horrendous films unwatchable”
Where to get it
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Where Are The Children?
Where Are The Children? by Mary Higgins Clark is a suspenseful psychological thriller novel about a mother with a troubled past who moves to a quiet Cape Cod town, only to have her children disappear.
Recommended“Where are the children was her her first legendary book. When Mary was 37 years old, she had five kids.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (16) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I wrote a book a number of years ago called Promise Me.”
“if you read the book I will find you. Every one of you is going to have a completely different David.”
“If you want the experience of reading I Will Find You, read I Will Find You.”
“from James M. Kaine, the the great writer who wrote Postman Wings Twice and Double Demny, a famous story where an interviewer said to him, "Don't you hate what Hollywood has done to your books?"”
“from James M. Kaine, the the great writer who wrote Postman Wings Twice and Double Demny, a famous story where an interviewer said to him, "Don't you hate what Hollywood has done to your books?"”
“It's be out soon called Plot Twist. It's a memoir I'm writing that I wrote. basically I realizing how much of my own life and stories affect my writing.”
“A few years ago, I came up with a book. I wrote a book called The Boy from the Woods.”
“I mentioned before um the story the boy from the woods. So the character um because he spent the first five years of his life in the woods, he never really feels comfortable in society.”
“this is one of the things I discovered when I was writing plot twist is that I constantly go over. I don't consciously think, oh, I'm gonna write a novel”
“the first line of the book is in my fifth year of a life sentence for murdering my own child.”
“The first line of I will find you is I am serving the fifth year of a life sentence for murdering my own child.”
“I was writing a book, The Boy from the Woods and the Match. There are two books in this series.”
“I was writing a book, The Boy from the Woods and the Match. There are two books in this series.”
“had it happen to Missing You. I've had it happen three or four times in books, uh, Just One Look. uh, there's two examples I can think of off the top of my head where a secondary character almost ended up being the main character.”
“had it happen to Missing You. I've had it happen three or four times in books, uh, Just One Look. uh, there's two examples I can think of off the top of my head where a secondary character almost ended up being the main character.”
“I was writing a book called The Stranger and I started to try to justify why I'm spending the money because I just didn't want to drive that day”