Person
Every book Sam Tallent recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Sam Tallent has recommended or discussed 7 books on podcasts, as of November 3, 2026.
- Sam Tallent has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of November 3, 2026.
- Those books came up in 2 episodes, as of November 3, 2026.
- The 3 books Sam Tallent has mentioned in the most episodes, not counting Sam Tallent's own, as of November 3, 2026: Angels, Blindsight and Butter.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Sam Tallent aired on November 3, 2026.
Updated
Sam Tallent’s most recommended books
- Angels by Denis Johnson
- Blindsight by Peter Watts
- Butter by Asako Yuzuki
- Life by Unknown
- Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
- Queer by William S. Burroughs
Sam Tallent discussed several books during his appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience. Tallent recommended Angels by Denis Johnson to listeners, describing its depiction of a bank robbery gone awry as a beautiful, bleak masterpiece and calling it his favorite book ever. He also noted the science fiction novel Blindsight by Peter Watts, which was recommended by Neil Blomkamp. When asked about works by William S. Burroughs, Tallent named Queer as a major influence, though he offered a negative critique of Naked Lunch, comparing its lack of a discernible story unfavorably to Burroughs’s more digestible novels. Discussing contemporary literature, Tallent singled out Butter by Asako Yuzuki as an intense example of Japanese fiction, while offering a sharp critique of A Little Life by Unknown, which he dismissed as implausibly hyperbolic. Finally, he spoke about his own novel Brut, discussing how he managed public reactions and describing how the writing process expanded his creative perceptions and led to a film option.
Books recommended by Sam Tallent
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Brut
Discussed“And I decided early on with this book, it was like I can't if if people say the book is really good, which a lot of people have, I love the book.”
Where to get it
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Angels
Angels by Denis Johnson is the gritty and uncompromising debut novel by the acclaimed American author, following a rootless woman whose life spirals out of control during a fateful bus journey that ultimately leads to a disastrous bank robbery.
Recommended“And Angels, if anyone out there's listening and they want to read a really good book, Angels by Dennis Johnson is about a bank robbery gone arry and it might be the most beautiful, ugly, bleak thing and it's my favorite book ever.”
Where to get it
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Blindsight
Blindsight by Peter Watts is a grim, thought-provoking hard science fiction novel that explores themes of first contact, consciousness, and artificial intelligence.
Recommended“it's like blindsight or something like that remember now you're saying I remember him telling that story”
Where to get it
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Butter
Butter by Asako Yuzuki is a contemporary Japanese novel that explores complex themes around obsession, food, and societal expectations placed on women.
Discussed“The best literature now, best fiction comes out of Japan. It comes out of France. It comes out of Japan. Oh, dude. Japanese fiction is [ __ ] There's all these books about like women who eat each other.”
Where to get it
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Life
A Little Life is a poignant novel by Hanya Yanagihara that explores the deep, lifelong bonds and trauma of four college friends in New York City.
Critiqued“And then the stuff they do champion like a little life is the most ridiculous hyperbolic [ __ ] that's never happened to anyone.”
Where to get it
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Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch by William S.
Critiqued“Naked Lunch always seemed like he was like I hated it. Really? Yeah man. It's like look I understand that you're like Jackson Pollocking and you've earned that right as like a master of the form like as a writer.”
Where to get it
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Queer
Discussed“What Burrow's book specifically? Oh man, probably Queer and Junkie. Those two for sure.”
Where to get it
Books Sam Tallent wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2575 - Sam Tallent | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2026-11-03 | 7 |
| #2175 - Sam Tallent | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2024-07-11 | 1 |
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Random House picked up Running the Light, my first novel. And they reissued it and they gave me a twobook deal”
“Butter is an insane novel. um uh uh convenience store girl or dude, Japanese fiction is still publishing stuff that used to be okay to write about”
“people get tattoos of my book e they'll get like running the light [ __ ] on their body and I'm like what were you going through when this happened”
“I only like familiar with the Chariots of the Gods type [ __ ] Yeah Chariots of the god is interesting too”
“read the novel running the lights right here yeah um buy it off my website by the way [ __ ] Amazon buy it off Sam talent.com and I'll give you a signed copy oh there you go ship it out there's an audio book if you're dumb uh that's me yeah yeah I love audio books you're busy though”
“read the novel running the lights right here”