Person
Harlan Coben's book recommendations
Books Harlan Coben recommends
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Portnoy's Complaint
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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The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is a sweeping satirical novel that exposes the extreme greed, ambition, and urban dysfunction of 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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Where Are The Children?
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
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Bird by Bird
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
Books Harlan Coben wrote
- Promise Me
- I Will Find You
- Plot Twist
- The Boy from the Woods
- The Match
- Missing You
- Just One Look
- The Stranger
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan Coben: Tough Love Advice for Every Writer | How I Write | How I Write | 2026-09-09 | 4 |
Other mentions (16: passing, ad reads, own books)
Own book Promise Me
“I wrote a book a number of years ago called Promise Me.”
Own book I Will Find You
“if you read the book I will find you. Every one of you is going to have a completely different David.”
Own book I Will Find You
“If you want the experience of reading I Will Find You, read I Will Find You.”
Passing The Postman Always Rings Twice
“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?"”
Passing Double Indemnity
“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?"”
Own book Plot Twist
“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.”
Own book The Boy from the Woods
“A few years ago, I came up with a book. I wrote a book called The Boy from the Woods.”
Own book 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.”
Own book Plot Twist
“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”
Own book I Will Find You
“the first line of the book is in my fifth year of a life sentence for murdering my own child.”
Own book I Will Find You
“The first line of I will find you is I am serving the fifth year of a life sentence for murdering my own child.”
Own book The Boy from the Woods
“I was writing a book, The Boy from the Woods and the Match. There are two books in this series.”
Own book The Match
“I was writing a book, The Boy from the Woods and the Match. There are two books in this series.”
Own book Missing You
“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.”
Own book Just One Look
“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.”
Own book The Stranger
“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”