Episode · The Book Review · 2016-02-05
Books mentioned on Inside The New York Times Book Review: ‘Infinite Jest’ at 20
Gilbert Cruz discussed Infinite jest by David Foster Wallace and Paradise Now by Chris Jennings. Pamela Paul recommended When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, and discussed The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace and others, Girl With Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace, A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again by David Foster Wallace, The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin, Dark Money by Jane Mayer, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson, and The Name of God is Mercy by Francis Pope. Greg Cowles discussed The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin, The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson, NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson and others, The only game in town by Mohamed A. El-Erian, and Cure by Jo Marchant.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, and modern American culture.
Discussed“what's it like reading infinite just on its 20th anniversary David Foster Wallace's editor Michael Peach and his friend Tom Bissell who wrote the forward to the new edition will join us to talk about Wallace and his work”
Where to get it
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Paradise Now
Discussed“Chris Jennings will be here to talk about his first book Paradise now the story of American utopianism”
Where to get it
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The Broom of the System
Discussed“so tell us the sort of the story he had two previous books the uh broom of the system and girl with curious hair”
Where to get it
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Girl With Curious Hair
Discussed“so tell us the sort of the story he had two previous books the uh broom of the system and girl with curious hair”
Where to get it
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A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace is a brilliant collection of sharp, deeply observant essays exploring contemporary American culture, media, and leisure through the author's trademark hyper-detailed lens.
Discussed“we were talking earlier before this podcast about his non-fiction which some people consider to be a kind of a gateway to his fiction specifically we're talking about about uh a supposedly fun thing I'll never do again and you were saying that there's a real relationship between that essay in particular and this novel”
Where to get it
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The Swans of Fifth Avenue
Discussed“on the fiction side there are three new titles starting with a novel called the swans of Fifth Avenue down at number nine that's by Melanie Benjamin”
Where to get it
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The Aviator's Wife
Discussed“so she wrote a novel a few years ago called the aviator's wife that was also a New York Times bestseller um that was about anuro Lindberg Charles lindberg's wife”
Where to get it
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The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb
Discussed“U before that she had a novel called The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb this is kind of her thing”
Where to get it
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The Bands of Mourning
Discussed“at number six Brandon Sanderson continues his mistborn fantasy series with a novel called the bands of morning new at number six that's morning m o u r n i n g”
Where to get it
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NYPD Red 4
Discussed“then finally at number one James Patterson continues the NYPD Red series that he's been writing with Marshall carp that one uh is creatively called NYPD Red 4 it is unsurprisingly the fourth book in the series new it number one”
Where to get it
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The only game in town
Discussed“at number 14 a guy named Muhammad a l Aran who used to be the CEO of Pim ccoe that huge Bond firm in Southern California um has written a book called The Only Game in Town”
Where to get it
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Cure
Discussed“the other one is at number 10 a book called Cure by a science writer named Joe marant and she's especially looking at the Mind Body link um the role that our psychology that the Mind plays in helping us get over diseases”
Where to get it
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When Breath Becomes Air
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is a profound posthumous memoir written by a neurosurgeon facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, exploring mortality, meaning, and the human condition.
Recommended“I want to talk just uh really quickly about the the top books on the non-fiction side because they are I'm showing my card such great books it's really nice to see we've got when breath becomes erab by Paul Colony”
Where to get it
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Dark Money
Dark Money by Jane Mayer is a landmark investigative work exposing the hidden networks of billionaires and secretive funding channels behind the rise of the radical right in American politics.
Discussed“uh number two dark money by Jane Mayer a previous guest here on the podcast”
Where to get it
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Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful, epistolary memoir structured as a letter from a father to his teenage son regarding the realities of growing up Black in America.
Discussed“and then at number three between the world and Me by Tana Hy coats just a Jugger nod of a book there one of our 10 best”
Where to get it
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The road to Little Dribbling
Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling offers a humorous, observant travelogue chronicling the author's journey across Britain.
Discussed“Bill Bryson also here as a podcast guest the road to little dribbling at number four”
Where to get it
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The Name of God is Mercy
Discussed“and then the pope who can argue with that the name of God is Mercy at number five it's just nice to see”
Where to get it
