Person
Every book John Williams recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- John Williams has recommended or discussed 435 books on podcasts, as of July 18, 2024.
- John Williams has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of July 18, 2024.
- Those books came up in 201 episodes, as of July 18, 2024.
- The 3 books John Williams has mentioned in the most episodes, as of July 18, 2024: The Portrait of a Lady, Essays in disguise and Priestdaddy.
- The latest episode with a book mention from John Williams aired on July 18, 2024.
Updated
John Williams’s most recommended books
- The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
- Essays in disguise by Wilfrid Sheed
- Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
- But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- New Grub Street by George Gissing
- Outline by Rachel Cusk
- Under the Glacier by Halldór Laxness
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- Swing Time by Zadie Smith
John Williams is a podcaster and critic who appears on The Book Review to discuss literature, reading habits, and newly published or rediscovered works. Throughout various podcast episodes, John Williams shared several book recommendations and discussed titles that caught his attention. He mentioned reading Theodore Weesner's 1972 coming-of-age novel The Car Thief after encountering the author's obituary, and he picked up Elizabeth Hardwick's late-1970s novel Sleepless Nights as an alternative reading choice. John Williams also talked about enjoying Moshin Hamid's novel Exit West, and noted that he was rereading Denis Johnson's slender and potent 1992 short story collection Jesus's Son in honor of its twenty-fifth anniversary. Additionally, he discussed reading Eileen B. Simpson's early 1980s memoir Poets in Their Youth, which led him back to Wilfrid Sheed's essay collection Essays in Disguise because it features a review of Simpson's book. Further reading discussions included Anita Brookner's novel Brief Lives and Andy Miller's book The Year of Reading Dangerously, which John Williams described as terrific. Through these discussions, John Williams provided listeners with a diverse array of literary reflections, ranging from mid-century memoirs and short fiction to contemporary novels and essay collections.
Books recommended by John Williams
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The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James is a classic 1881 novel following the spirited young American heiress Isabel Archer as she navigates European society, independence, and a disastrous marriage.
Discussed“I was read last time we came on the show I was reading uh I just finished the portrait of a lady by Henry James and so in the mood for more James”
Where to get it
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Essays in disguise
Essays in Disguise by Wilfrid Sheed is a celebrated collection of literary criticism and commentary originally written for outlets like the New York Review of Books.
Recommended“while I'm talking about him I should just say that there's a book called essays in Disguise which is a collection of his pieces for the New York Review of Books and other places about that are more review like and Essay like and that the novels are kind of a personal I wouldn't push too many of them on”
Where to get it
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Priestdaddy
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood is a sharply witty and unconventional memoir recounting the author's eccentric upbringing in the Midwest as the daughter of a married Catholic priest.
Recommended“her Memoir priest daddy is a favorite book of mine and she's also a very talented poet”
Where to get it
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But Beautiful
But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer is a richly imagined, critically acclaimed book about jazz that blends biography, fiction, and impressionistic criticism to capture the lives and music of legendary jazz icons.
Discussed“it reminds me in a way of Jeff Dyer's book but beautiful which is a very different book”
Where to get it
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Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is a celebrated Victorian novel following the turbulent life and emotional maturation of its eponymous orphaned protagonist.
Discussed“in terms of what I've been reading this week well I finally finished weaing Heights which I've talked about in the past on the show um so I understand the Kate Bush song now and I do prefer Jane a so the country can sleep easier knowing my preference I think Jane a just has more going on in it”
Where to get it
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New Grub Street
New Grub Street is a sprawling, 550-page realist novel by George Gissing that explores the grueling economic and moral realities of the literary marketplace in late-nineteenth-century London.
Discussed“when I read a book fairly recently by George gissing called new grub street I'm reading another novel by gissing now called the odd women”
Where to get it
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Outline
Outline by Rachel Cusk is a critically acclaimed contemporary novel known for its minimalist style and unique narrative structure where the protagonist reveals herself primarily through the stories told to her by others.
Discussed“I'm rereading Rachel cusk's outline in preparation for reading the third book in that”
Where to get it
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Under the Glacier
Under the Glacier is a humorous novel by Halldór Laxness that follows an emissary sent by the bishop of Iceland to investigate a peculiar small town.
Recommended“I finally finished do want to mention briefly again hdor laxus's novel under the glacier which is sort of linked to the other book”
Where to get it
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Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a classic Gothic novel examining the destructive, all-consuming passion between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw across the bleak Yorkshire moors.
Discussed“in terms of what I've been reading this week well I finally finished weaing Heights which I've talked about in the past on the show um so I understand the Kate Bush song now and I do prefer Jane a so the country can sleep easier knowing my preference I think Jane a just has more going on in it”
Where to get it
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Swing Time
Swing Time by Zadie Smith is an intricate novel that explores themes of race, class, friendship, and cultural identity through the lens of young girls dreaming of becoming tap dancers.
Discussed“I have put aside for the moment swing Time by zadee Smith which is which I'm enjoying but which is a big book”
Where to get it
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Middlemarch
Middlemarch by George Eliot is widely celebrated as a masterwork of Victorian literature, chronicling the lives and aspirations of provincial society in the fictional town of Middlemarch.
Discussed“well as listeners will know I have been reading and I am continuing to read Middle March by George Elliott but that will take me a bit longer”
Where to get it
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Look at me
Look at Me by Anita Brookner is a poignant psychological novel that examines loneliness, self-deception, and the quiet struggles of a perceptive young librarian trying to navigate the demands of London's social and intellectual circles.
Recommended“the non- self-reflective one is called look at me so I get it in somehow in every book I read um I want to talk about appreciation for knowing people who recommend great books because this week I'm recommending two things very highly and I would not have read them if it weren't for friends of mine who recommended them”
Where to get it
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The Bass Rock
The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld is a critically acclaimed contemporary novel that explores generations of trauma, family secrets, and the lives of women against the backdrop of the Scottish coastline.
Recommended“I'm gonna recommend a novel by a British writer named Eevee wild she was born in London and raised in Australia and London her third novel The Bass Rock came out this year”
Where to get it
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Hitch-22
Hitch-22 is a candid and intellectually robust memoir by the late British-American essayist and critic Christopher Hitchens, reflecting on his political evolution, literary friendships, and eventual battle with cancer.
Discussed“Christopher Hitchens was right Christ I think that's almost it”
Where to get it
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The executioner's song
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer is a sweeping, Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime masterpiece that details the final months and execution of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore in Utah, alongside the profound fallout felt by those around him.
Recommended“I'm still reading the Executioner song which I've talked about on here before and that's really great but it's sort of my bedtime reading so I'm reading like 40 pages before bed every night and it's a 900 page book”
Where to get it
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When We Cease to Understand the World
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut is a gripping narrative that explores the complex historical and scientific discoveries that pushed brilliant minds to the brink of madness, successfully blurring the lines between historical fact and imaginative fiction.
Discussed“his book when we cease to understand the world fuses fact and fiction to turn the modern history of physics into a gripping Narrative of Obsessed scientists world changing discoveries”
Where to get it
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The Stone Angel
On the podcast The Book Review, John Williams discussed The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence during two different episodes in July 2024.
Discussed“I followed it up with a book that I think is maybe a little bit more wellknown called The Stone Angel and that's about a woman who is essentially aging into the point into her 90s”
Where to get it
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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a bestselling novel that follows the complex, decades-long creative and personal partnership of two friends who design video games.
Discussed“I read tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zan”
Where to get it
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Hold still
Hold Still by Sally Mann is a 2015 memoir by the acclaimed photographer that looks back at her life, family history, and the evolution of the medium of photography.
Recommended“I'm reading a memoir by the photographer Sally man called Hold Still it was published in 2015”
Where to get it
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Jesus' son
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson is a slender, potent 1992 collection of interconnected short stories that explores the stark and harrowing experiences of its narrator and other fringe characters.
Recommended“Tommy orange said of the collection that it took me in the same way Dennis Johnson's Jesus's son did when I first read it and it's hard to think of higher praise than that for a short story writer”
Where to get it
- Latecomers by Anita Brookner
- Other People's Houses by Lore Segal
- Should you leave? by Peter D. Kramer
- So long, see you tomorrow by William Maxwell
- The debut by Anita Brookner
- The examined life by Stephen Grosz
- Breath by Tim Winton
- Destiny and power by Jon Meacham
- Fatal discord by Michael Massing
- Foe by J. M. Coetzee
- Lives Other Than My Own by Emmanuel Carrère
- Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
- NW by Zadie Smith
- Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick
- The friend by Sigrid Nunez
- The Idiot by Elif Batuman
- The odd women by George Gissing
- The Sellout by Paul Beatty
- They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
- I love Dick by Chris Kraus
- Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth
- Slade House by David Mitchell
- Something for the Pain by Gerald Murnane
- The Magician by Colm Tóibín
- The Master by Colm Tóibín
- The men in my life by Vivian Gornick
Books John Williams wrote
John Williams’s latest episodes with books
John Williams’s book recommendations by year
All 435 books John Williams recommended or discussed across 201 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.