Concavity Show

In Episode 91, we're joined by Kevin Moffett, author of Only Son, a 2025 McSweeney's release which was longlisted for the National Book Award. Rush out and get this book; it's fantastic. Buy it from the McSweeney's store. Jonathan Lethem's review of Only Son. Contact Concavity Show: Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com Patreon Instagram Threadless Merch Store YouTube

In Part 2 of our annual best-of-the-year show, Dave and Matt talk about their favorite reads of the year. As usual, it comes with a playlist: Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2025/pl.u-55D6zM5h8VMBkG Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Tzs7v76kjU0IFjsOfVw4N?si=9BjOJdkTR9mXIZmAnKrD-A Stay tuned for our bonus episode in which we discuss some of the music featured above, along with movies, TV, podcasts, and other gems from the year. Contact Concavity Show: Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com Patreon Instagram Threadless Merch Store YouTube

In Episode 88, we welcome Brandon back to the show to talk about his new novel, The Devil Is a Southpaw, out now from HarperCollins. We discuss things like metafiction, abjection, doppelgängers, alt-country, and much more. You can buy the novel here or here online, or ideally at your local independent bookstore. Brandon's website Brandon's Instagram Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbt2QjzmrwakXQtH08WZ6-rSaeEVcSknI

In Episode 86, Matt Bucher not only co-hosts, but guests as the author of interest, whose new novel, a follow-up to The Belan Deck, has just recently released. Matt's latest book is a Marksonian treatise on the marking, measuring, and allocation of time, and is sure to delight listeners of our show. You can purchase Matt's excellent sophomore release here: Bookshop.org Barnes & Noble Alienated Majesty Bookstore (Austin, TX) Book People (Austin, TX) Matt's Websites: mattbucher.com simpleranger.net buchrtumblr.com Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow

In Episode 84, the incredible Sergio De La Pava joins Dave and Matt to talk about his latest novel, Every Arc Bends Its Radian, out now from Simon & Schuster. We also discuss David Lynch and his recent passing, deep sea life, and haunted hotels, among many other things. You can find Sergio's website here. Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, Matt speaks with Lauren Elkin about her new novel, Scaffolding. They discuss Lacan, marriage, and why Paris is so damn literary, among other things. Lauren Elkin is a French and American writer and translator, most recently the author of the novel Scaffolding (FSG), a New York Times Editor's Choice which the Observer called both "erudite" and "horny." Previous books include Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute, and Flâneuse: Women Walk the City, which was a finalist for the 2018 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and a Notable Books of 2017, a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and a best book of 2016 by the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New Statesman, and the Observer. Her writings on books, art, and culture have appeared in a variety of publications including the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harper’s, Le Monde, the Times Literary Supplement, Les Inrockuptibles, and Frieze, and her essay "This is the Beginning of Writing," published in the Sewanee Review, was awarded notable distinction in the Best American Essays of 2019, edited by Rebecca Solnit. Her website is: https://www.laurenelkin.com/ You can find her on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/laurenelkin.bsky.social The Spotify playlist she created for the novel is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3saYDj2BSKyCFWGXsUhCTZ?si=f7a471a0e77e45bc Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

For episode 80, we welcome Jessica Anthony back to the show. She has long been one of our favorite writers and she returns this month with a new novel titled The Most (out July 30 from Little Brown).

In this episode, Matt interviews Don Hough, author of a collection of short stories titled The Funeral Girl, a collection of essays called The Exact Right Word, and a new correspondence collection called All the Best.

It's our favorite annual episode on the show, when we get to look back at the best of our year in reading with someone else who has read cool stuff. This time it's with Ben Diamond, a very keen listener and patron from London, who for three years running has sent us an annual best of his year recording, always full of interesting books, shows, music, and films. We had an awesome conversation with Ben that we hope you'll enjoy. Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks that covers all other things we liked this year in pop-culture. As always, this episode comes with a playlist of our favorite songs of 2023: Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2023/pl.u-yZyVDNACYq2akv Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Uq1526MP5mLBVI4zM0e5j?si=59d0bc52f08e41aa Quick reference Top Fives Ben: 1. The Instructions by Adam Levin 2. Something Happened by Joseph Heller 3. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 4. Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton 5. Anything that Moves by Jamie Stewart Dave: 1. THE MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut 2. The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen 3. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty 4. Magnetic Fields by Ron Loewinsohn 5. The Passenger & Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy Matt: 1. Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel 2. Chaotic Good by Lee Klein 3. Diana: My Graphic Obsession by Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth 4. The Deluge by Stephen Markley 5. America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien Contact Ben Diamond: ben.diamond@gmail.com Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode with speak with bestselling writer and journalist David Lipsky. To David Foster Wallace fans, Lipsky is, of course, familiar as the author of Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself which was the basis of the 2015 film The End of the Tour. David Lipsky is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Magazine Writing, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, and many others. He contributes to NPR's All Things Considered, and is the recipient of a Lambert Fellowship, a Media Award from GLAAD, and a National Magazine Award. He's the author of the novel The Art Fair; a collection, Three Thousand Dollars; and the bestselling nonfiction book Absolutely American, which was a Time magazine Best Book of the Year. His new book, The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial is out now from Norton. The book examines the roots of climate change in popular thought, reaching back to the invention of electricity and the global impacts of technology. Lipsky profiles the scientists and characters who have taken up climate science and those who work to deny the effects of carbon and warming. The New York Times described the book, saying Lipsky "spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment." The extensive notes to the book, which he mentions in this episode, can be found at https://www.theparrotandtheigloo.com/ (Thank you to Kory Hill for technical assistance.)

In Episode 73, Dave welcomes special guest Matt Bucher on the show to discuss his debut novel, The Belan Deck. Buy Matt's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-belan-deck-matt-bucher/19943822?ean=9798888623428 Biblioklept review: https://biblioklept.org/2023/06/02/matt-buchers-the-belan-deck-is-an-unexpectedly-moving-argument-for-humanity-and-serious-triviality/ The Belan Deck on Goodreads (featuring reviews by many of our amazing listeners, like Phillip Freedenberg, Jack Waters, and Richie Speiser): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128126023-the-belan-deck Erick Eckel review: https://erikeckel.com/2023/06/18/the-belan-deck-hints-of-microserfs-in-an-ai-age/ Jay Innis Murray review/interview: https://www.thevisionarycompany.net/blog/the-afterlife-of-anecdotes-a-review-of-the-belan-deck-by-matt-bucher Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In this episode, we talk with prolific reader and accomplished musician Evan Stephens Hall from the band Pinegrove. We discuss his top books of the year and go through a few of our own favorite reading experiences from 2022. Here is the David Foster Wallace & Richard Powers Q&A we mention. And here is the reading poriton of that event that begins with DFW talking about the “brick” in his pocket. The Pinegrove songs featured in this episode are Alaska and Habitat. Thank you to Rough Trade Records, Pinegrove and Evan Stephens Hall for permission. Here are our Concavity Show Best Songs of 2022 playlists: iTunes: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2022/pl.u-EdAVv5dCaMJB7j Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BwuTDJq2LoU8ZzdSDXSK5?si=052f5d25ed514b43 Evan, top books mentioned: A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines (Gaines stamp!) Morality Play by Barry Unsworth Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Public Library by Ali Smith (and Autumn!) Breaking and Entering by Joy WIlliams Leave Society by Tao Lin Dave, top books mentioned: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyaasi Intimacies by Katie Kitamura The Overstory by Richard Powers Autoportrait by Jesse Ball Liberation Day by George Saunders Matt, top books read this year: Robert Crews by Thomas Berger Literary Alchemist by Steve Paul We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper Airport Music by Mark Tardi Zol by REYoung Evan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evanstephenshall/ Pinegrove website: https://pinegroveband.com/ Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/

In Episode 69, we talk to our friend Mike O'Connell about his recent collection from University of Mississippi Press, Conversations with George Saunders, and discuss Mike's background, the origins of the collection, particulars of the interviews in the book, the trajectory and flavor of Saunders' literary career, and where it all might go. Buy the Conversations book here - https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/Conversations-with-George-Saunders Buy George's brand new book, Liberation Day here - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564990/liberation-day-by-george-saunders/ You can find Michael online in these places: Twitter - https://twitter.com/moc Academia.edu - https://sienaheights.academia.edu/MichaelOConnell Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/books_in_2022/ Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/ Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/