how to win the lottery: a book club podcast

our minnesota module kicks off with ruby and roland by faith sullivan and with a slew of minnesota facts… from both of us (!). after discussing game show hosts (including one who took his own life) and pokemon, we talk about how minnesota is a farming state, which is frustrating for the pod but ultimately re-assuring for national unity. we talk about the world war i framing in the novel, its aspirations to be the type of timeless love story that ruby reads, and the absolute lack of heat/horniness/sexiness on display. (it’s tina belcher-esque.) shreds recalls getting dunked on in class and asks if “drunk driving-inspired romances” is now a genre. joey pinpoints the early writing that put him off almost immediately. we break down the inappropriate age gaps and power dynamics found in ruby’s love life and try to answer: is the dog that ruby kills a metaphor for something? why does ruby go home? genuinely, what is she seeking? egg pulls no punches in her email. reading list for season nineteen ruby and roland by faith sullivanvestments by john reimringeramerican boy by larry watson

we talk to sara levine, author of treasure island!!! and the hitch, about pets, siblings, and her favorite notebooks. after joey promises her 100 compliments, shreds tells her about the 100% hit rate on recommending her novels to friends. sara talks about haters on goodreads and “hammock reviews”, what she learned from adam levin about parrots, and subverting the expectations of chick lit. we tell her about her mythology on the podcast. we ask about the cover art of her novels, how she approaches different class situations for her protagonists (or: if she does), and whether she ever lived by the mottos “steer the boat, girlfriend” or “be the alpha.” we talk about her ability to invert expectations and play with genre a bit and then share a series of questions from meg. sara mentions another author she recommends we read, discusses the ups and downs of publishing short stories in smaller publications, and her affinity for robert louis stevenson. (here’s the playlist for treasure island!!! that she created for largehearted boy.) reading list for season eighteen short dark oracles by sara levinetreasure island!!! by sara levinethe hitch by sara levine

it’s time to talk about one of our favorite books, treasure island!!! by sara levine, and a plea to you, listener: go read this one. after shreds accidentally previews our next module, we ask: which most defines us? boldness, resolution, independence, or horn-blowing. we talk about how treasure island!!! serves as the best kind of palate cleanser, why we relate to messy and narcissistic 25-year-old female protagonists, and whether or not a pet library is a good business model. we share our favorite moments in the book, compare the novel’s tone to how sitcoms get away with darkness, and praise sara levine and her unique descriptions. joey mentions the almost unspoken (deep, deep) sadness of the text. shreds talks about how easy this novel would be to adapt, with so many actresses who could fit hte bill. egg writes in to compare this to the original treasure island. steer the boat, girlfriend! reading list for season eighteen short dark oracles by sara levinetreasure island!!! by sara levinethe hitch by sara levine

it’s time for another season of the podcast, but before we head to another state module, we’re reading the work of sara levine. it’s our third author-focused module. we talk about the pre-podcast lore (and the role of treasure island!!!) and the qualifications of being invited onto our show (or being selected for this type of focus). shreds recounts another time he was embarrassed in class. reading list for season eighteen short dark oracles by sara levinetreasure island!!! by sara levinethe hitch by sara levine

our 1990s module continues with the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver, whose backstory informs her writing in a unique way. after joey shares some 1998 facts (which shows how timely this novel is), we talk about the historical context within the text, as well as the way it depicts universal societal/cultural upheaval. we discuss the timing of ruth may’s death in this text (vs. a more “traditional” story), the beauty in never hearing nathan’s perspective, and the idea of knowing a thing before you know it (or living temporarily in a state of blissful ignorance). we talk about a section that harkens back to the atlas (but isn’t as effective) and the assumption that books in translation have the “correct” meaning. egg writes in about guilt and theology, and we talk about education and reclaiming our humanity. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

we’ve entered 1996 with the atlas by william t. vollmann, which has laid a curse upon our podcast. after an unprecedented preview of an upcoming module, we discuss vollmann’s various writing styles he uses throughout the text (and what they do). joey shares some 1996 facts, including a quick look back at video games that blew our minds. we talk about vollmann acting as a journalist (but also intervening), the meaning of the only thing that vollmann ever footnotes throughout the text, and how the atlas is a book that makes you feel like you’ve never lived live… and maybe that’s okay. mosquitoes: aaaah! we explore the ambitious structure of the text (and how it doesn’t necessarily land without re-reading) and how vollmann parallels western constructs to the reality of the rest of the world. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

we’re talking about notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin. first, though: 1994 facts and talk of the car that shreds will never buy. we discuss qiu miaojin’s tragic end (and how it pops up a lot among our authors) and the equally dark inspiration for this novel (which still winds up being not a total downer). shreds compares notes of a crocodile‘s tonal ties to no longer human and colorless tsukuru tazaki. joey shares big updates in his life since our last episode. we discuss the cultural legacy of crocodile and how qiu miaojin is able to capture the emotional heights of young love. we take a brief interlude for a quick review of paul thomas anderson’s one battle after another and to discuss what he and pynchon do well that the other does not. we get another email about the patreon and we hear from the egg, who likens this text to those by two other female authors. in an unprecedented move, we announce our next big module way early. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

our 1990s module continues with all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy, marking a rapid return to his writing after covering blood meridian earlier this year. after discussing whether we could have approached “the border trilogy” in another way, we discuss 1992 facts (wherein shreds makes a generous offer) and talk about mccarthy’s assumption that you understand a fair amount of spanish to read his work. we talk about the minimal plot found in all the pretty horses, how this book serves as both an antidote to blood meridian and a possible return to religion for mccarthy, and the focus on morality in this text. we also talk about the “offscreen” violence (and reading with a fear of blood meridian-esque violence), whether we could do a module of books set in the 1990s (rather than published then), and the hallmarks of the western genre. we also talk about the issues with billy bob thornton’s film adaptation (though it’s likely not his fault). reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

our 1990s module kicks off with vineland by thomas pynchon and an existential dilemma: are we starting off this module with a lie? after talking about getting our hands on media before its release date, we detour to discuss radiohead’s live “hail to the thief” album, which shreds expertly weaves right into the novel description via paul thomas anderson’s upcoming “loose adaptation” of vineland. joey shares his pov coming into this (and how it failed him); we talk about the misdirection of vineland not really being a novel about zoyd and discuss who the main character really is. we talk about the novel being structurally strange, pynchon’s exploration of 60s counter-culture (and the yippie to yuppie pipeline), and the amount of time he’s taken to publish his work. we critique the things that pynchon doesn’t do very well and admire him for what he does. shreds gives tips on reading a book where you get lost within the plot. we ask: please, write in about this book. also: happy halloween. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

the second book in our second great american novel module is the demon by hubert selby, jr. does it pair well with the sound and the fury? that’s what we’re discussing. first, though, we check in with shreds to see if this is the novel that he remembered reading, what his history with it is, and what it inspired him to want to do. we talk about the book’s punctuation and hubert selby jr.’s sort of unorthodox path to a writing career. we explore the novel’s escalation, our feeling of “how bad can it get?”, and how inevitable the plot feels (as well as how it manages to refrain from ever being boring). we dunk on harry for his pedestrian pickup lines, discuss the other works that came to mind while reading this book, and explore the metaphors that worked (and the ones that don’t) in the text. joey shows shreds the insane original cover art. reading list for season sixteen the sound and the fury by william faulknerthe demon by hubert selby, jr.

we’re back to find out what will be in store in our next great american novel module. also, we wonder: could we run out? does shreds enjoy reading? after a refresher on how this works (and teasing future great american novel modules), we discuss whether or not this is what the podcast “should” be, and if these mini-modules are the purest version of what we do. then, we roll the die, which yields another intense module. reading list for season sixteen the sound and the fury by william faulkner the demon by hubert selby, jr.

it’s another double dip of danielle chelosky’s writing this episode, as we cover baby bruise and female loneliness epidemic. after lamenting what twitter has become (and what we lost), we talk about the title of chelosky’s short story collection, how frank o’hara’s meditations in an emergency relates to the work, and how we continue to approach her work as though it’s not auto-fiction. we talk about the evolution of stories written about young people, the vivid first lines in female loneliness epidemic, and the benefits of telling technology-agnostic stories. we explore the evolution of chelosky’s writing from cheat through “terror,” and we pivot to discussing baby bruise by discussing how her short-form writing compares to her longer-form stuff. in discussing baby bruise, we talk about teen girl music tastes and the relatability of the musical taste elements in the text, whether the character of dave is very sad or high comedy (or both), and how the book never gets as dark as you imagine it might. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky

our danielle chelosky module kicks off with a pair of chapbooks that she self-published: cheat and show me your face. (it’s our first-ever “two books in one podcast” episode, and we do our best to keep ’em separated.) we talk about how both titles are very sexual and sexualized, but almost devoid of joy and not at all sexy, by design. we explore the similar content told in two very different styles/formats (plus the mixed media found in show me your face), how one text is technology-agnostic (while the other much more “of the time”), and how people of a certain generation learned to write through sites like livejournal and xanga. we talk about putting a version of you (that isn’t really you) online and how elements learned in show me your face make cheat more sad in retrospect. egg writes in to share similar (yet totally opposite) experiences. we imagine how inspiring and empowering it must have been to be a young writer in nyc around 2012. what would happen if chelosky added a kaiju to this narrative? we discuss. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky