Episode · How I Write · 2026-07-08
Books mentioned on How to Get Your Book Published (Hachette CEO Interview)
David Perell discussed A Series of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket by Lemony Snicket, Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, Flight, and The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. David Shelley discussed Heartstopper by Alice Oseman and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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A Series of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is a darkly humorous and tragic children's book series chronicling the dismal trials of the orphaned Baudelaire children as they evade the villainous Count Olaf.
Discussed“Well, yeah, I remember when I was a kid there was a series You definitely know it. The Series of Unfortunate Events. of course. Lemony Snicket. You guys published that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I published him.”
Where to get it
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Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a widely acclaimed guide on habit formation, personal development, and how minor incremental adjustments yield substantial long-term results.
Discussed“For example, when James Clear when he did Atomic Habits, I think he had like 80 podcasts that launched that week. There's probably things around BookTok and Twitter and like clipping up different things that you've made about your book, that's more kind of guerrilla marketing tactics that are going to end up being more solo.”
Where to get it
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The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Talented Mr.
Discussed“Like So, I I think there's something immensely appealing for readers it of like that that that is what happens. Justice is served. That story is phenomenal. The Talented Mr. Ripley. Holy cow. I haven't read the book, but I've watched the movie and it is so good.”
Where to get it
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Flight
Discussed“So, this is my favorite children's book from growing up. It's called Flight. And it tells the story of Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis.”
Where to get it
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The Technological Society
The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul is a profound sociological critique examining how technique and efficiency have come to dominate every aspect of modern human civilization.
Discussed“The there's a book The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. I remember buying that in the mass market paperback and be like I can't read this just because of the way it's printed. But then if you look at this, you see how it sits flat?”
Where to get it
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Heartstopper
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman is a critically acclaimed young adult graphic novel series that follows the romantic journey of two British schoolboys navigating friendship, identity, and adolescence.
Discussed“We did these wonderful books in the UK Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. It tied into a Netflix series. It was incredible to me to actually to see the percentage of physical to digital.”
Where to get it
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Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a bestselling fiction novel that combines a coming-of-age narrative with a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the North Carolina marshes.
Discussed“take a book like Where the Crawdads Sing. Yeah, you know, we so we published that in the UK, Penguin Random House published it here. Wasn't a huge was not a huge deal at all, but what you know, one of the best-selling books of the last 20 years.”
Where to get it
