Person
Every book Lev Grossman recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Lev Grossman has recommended or discussed 7 books on podcasts, as of July 19, 2024.
- Lev Grossman has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of July 19, 2024.
- Those books came up in 1 episode, as of July 19, 2024.
- The 3 books Lev Grossman has mentioned in the most episodes, as of July 19, 2024: The Mists of Avalon, The Once and Future King and The Winter King.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Lev Grossman aired on July 19, 2024.
Updated
Lev Grossman’s most recommended books
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- The Once and Future King by T. H. White
- The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell
- Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Watchmen by Alan Moore
Lev Grossman appears on literary podcasts as an imaginative novelist and cultural critic with a deep fascination for mythological revisionism, particularly the enduring lore of King Arthur. During his discussions, Grossman strongly recommends Bernard Cornwell's 'The Winter King,' praising it as an exceptionally grounded and amazing Arthurian retelling. When exploring the historical evolution of the Arthurian legend, Grossman reflects on his own formative reading experiences, contrasting T. H. White's classic novel cycle 'The Once and Future King'—along with its entry point 'The Sword in the Stone'—with works that feel more firmly bound to the past. He also evaluates Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'The Mists of Avalon,' discussing its complex handling of paganism and Christianity, and cites Alfred Lord Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King' as a high-water mark for magical romance in the tradition. Beyond Arthuriana, Grossman highlights Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's graphic novel 'Watchmen' as a foundational text from his high school years that deeply shaped his understanding of modern heroism and deconstruction.
Books recommended by Lev Grossman
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The Mists of Avalon
Discussed“and then I went on and I read mallerie and M Avalon and Rosary s Cliffe”
Where to get it
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The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King by T.
Discussed“like a lot of people I fell in love with Arthur through Sword in the Stone the th White and The Once and Future King which is that sort of Novel cycle that he wrote”
Where to get it
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The Winter King
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell is a historical fiction novel that offers a gritty, realistic retelling of the Arthurian legend.
Recommended“the one that states with me is the winter King by Vernard Cornwell amazing book”
Where to get it
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Idylls of the King
Discussed“probably Tennyson idles of the king as the high water mark of that”
Where to get it
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The Magicians
The Magicians by Lev Grossman is a contemporary fantasy novel that follows a group of young adults discovering that magic is real, combining dark themes with a meta-fictional approach to traditional fantasy tropes.
Discussed“The Magicians was not my first book I had two books before then but The Magicians was when I really I found my voice as a writer and really learned my craft”
Where to get it
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War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is a monumental historical novel blending grand military strategy with intimate domestic life against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.
Discussed“that scene oddly came out of I I I had been reading War and Peace a book that I had put off reading for a very long time”
Where to get it
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Watchmen
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is a landmark graphic novel set in an alternate history that deconstructs the superhero genre against the backdrop of Cold War tensions.
Discussed“I feel like the great Treatise on this which was a formative reading experience for me is Watchmen by Alan Moore which I read when I was in high school”
Where to get it
Books Lev Grossman wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| What It's Like to Write a King Arthur Tale | The Book Review | 2024-07-19 | 10 |
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and I thought somebody it was time somebody took him seriously and told his story and that that that's how the bright sword happened”
“and I came back to that in in the bright swword one of the heroes of the book column”
“And I tried to bring some of that to the battle scenes in the bright sword because it must have been a truly amazingly difficult experience being in a battle”