- Best of The Writers' Block 2012
2012 was a really great year for books and an even better one for KQED's book-lovin' podcast, The Writers' Block. Although, as the program's Producer, every episode is a home run in my book, here's a rundown of a few authors that truly blew me away.
[December 31, 2012]
- Birds of a Lesser Paradise
Megan Mayhew Bergman reads a passage from her debut collection, Birds of a Lesser Paradise.
[December 17, 2012]
- A Working Theory of Love
Scott Hutchins, a former Truman Capote Fellow in the Wallace Stegner Program at Stanford, reads a passage from his debut, A Working Theory of Love.
[December 10, 2012]
- The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days
Ian Frazier reads a passage from The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days, a comic novel based on his widely read columns for The New Yorker.
[December 3, 2012]
- The Entertainer
Margaret Talbot, staff writer for The New Yorker, reads a passage from The Entertainer about her Hollywood actor father and his relationship with Ed Wood. (Running Time: 11:46)
[November 26, 2012]
- Yes, Chef
Marcus Samuelsson, James Beard Award recipient and winner of Top Chef Masters, reads a passage from his memoir, Yes, Chef.
[November 19, 2012]
- More Fine Fine Music
Cassie J. Sneider reads "Homegrown," a story from her hilarious collection Fine Fine Music about Jersey, the importance of having a car antenna, and violent monkeys.
[November 12, 2012]
- Memorized Poems
Sam Sax, the first ever Bay Area Unified Grand Slam Champion, reads a selection of his poems.
[November 5, 2012]
- Under Wildwood
Colin Meloy, also known as the lead singer of The Decemberists, reads from Under Wildwood, the second book in the Wildwood series.
[October 29, 2012]
- Distrust That Particular Flavor
William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, reads the introduction from his new collection of essays, Distrust That Particular Flavor.
[October 22, 2012]
- Winter Journal
Paul Auster, author of hits such as The New York Trilogy and The Invention of Solitude, reads a passage from his latest, Winter Journal.
[October 15, 2012]
- April 3rd, 2012
Nate Waggoner, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads a piece called "April 3rd, 2012."
[October 8, 2012]
- Letters from Robots
Diana Salier, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads selected poems from Letters to Robots.
[October 2, 2012]
- Our Generation Is One of Moving Back in with Your Mother
D.W. Lichtenberg, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads "Our Generation Is One of Moving Back in with Your Mother."
[September 24, 2012]
- Chapbook Poems
Alli Warren, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads selected poems.
[September 17, 2012]
- People Who Are Good People
Andrea Kneeland, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads from her short story "People Who Are Good People."
[September 10, 2012]
- When It Happens to You
Molly Ringwald, everyone's favorite redhead from movies like Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club, reads from her first novel, When It Happens to You.
[September 6, 2012]
- Fine Fine Music
Cassie J. Sneider reads "Sugar Sugar," a story from her hilarious collection Fine Fine Music about the hazardous effects of being forced to wear a sexy wizard costume for Halloween at the age of 10.
[September 3, 2012]
- A Million Heavens
John Brandon, author of the much acclaimed Citrus County, reads a passage from his latest, A Million Heavens.
[August 27, 2012]
- Year Zero
Rob Reid reads a passage from Year Zero, his novel that takes a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.
[August 20, 2012]
- Half Empty
Acclaimed humorist David Rakoff died last week, but his acerbically witty writing lives on. Before you run out to buy all his books, listen to this episode from our archives, in which Rakoff reads from his final book of essays, Half Empty.
[August 13, 2012]
- Tiny Beautiful Things
Cheryl Strayed reads two passages from Tiny Beautiful Things, a collection of advice columns she wrote under the pseudonym Dear Sugar for The Rumpus.
[August 6, 2012]
- The Age of Miracles
Karen Thompson Walker reads a passage from The Age of Miracles, the story of what happens when the rotation of the Earth suddenly begins to slow.
[July 30, 2012]
- Invisible Monsters Remix
Chuck Palahniuk, best-selling author of Fight Club, reads a passage from Invisible Monsters Remix, his updated 1999 daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry.
[July 23, 2012]
- Ninety Days
Bill Clegg reads a passage from Ninety Days, which begins where Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man ends and tells the wrenching story of Clegg's battle to reclaim his life from addiction.
[July 16, 2012]
- The Kid
Sapphire, the author whose novel, Push, was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Precious, reads a passage from The Kid, a sequel that follows the life of Precious' son.
[July 9, 2012]
- Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down
Rosecrans Baldwin reads a passage from Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down, his new book that explores living in the Paris of Sarkozy, text-message romances, smoking bans, and a McDonald's beneath the Louvre.
[July 2, 2012]
- Make It Stay
Joan Frank reads a passage from Make It Stay, the story of what happens after a mysterious catastrophe hits the tree-nestled Northern California town of Mira Flores.
[June 25, 2012]
- The Wilder Life
Wendy McClure reads a passage from The Wilder Life, a hilarious chronicle of her attempt to immerse herself in all things Little House on the Prairie.
[June 18, 2012]
- Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Jenny Lawson, also known as the Bloggess, reads a hilarious passage from Let's Pretend This Never Happened, about the time her father brought home a magic squirrel.
[June 11, 2012]
- The Lion Is In
Delia Ephron, the woman behind such films as You've Got Mail, Hanging Up, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, reads a passage from The Lion Is In, her new novel about three women who flee their lives and encounter the unlikeliest of companions, a lion named Marcel.
[June 5, 2012]
- Weight Less Than Shadow
In honor of the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Anniversary, we pulled this reading by Jim Nisbet from the archives to get you in the mood to celebrate San Francisco's favorite piece of infrastructure.
[May 27, 2012]
- Letters to Kurt
Eric Erlandson, founding member of the band Hole, reads a passage from Letters to Kurt, an anguished, angry, and tender meditation on the octane and ether of rock and roll.
[May 21, 2012]
- Are You My Mother?
Alison Bechdel, author of the wildly successful Fun Home, reads a passage from her latest graphic memoir, Are You My Mother?
[May 13, 2012]
- None of This Is Real
Miranda Mellis reads a passage from None of This Is Real, her collection that imagines a not-too-alternate reality of philosophical children, reincarnating chimeras, mutant matriarchies, and kind seers adapting to affliction.
[May 7, 2012]
- Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day
Doug Mack reads a passage from Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day, about being mistaken for a Diane Keaton groupie on a trip to Paris.
[April 30, 2012]
- Kasher in the Rye
Moshe Kasher reads a passage from Kasher in the Rye, the true tale of a white boy from Oakland who became a drug addict, criminal, mental patient, and then turned 16.
[April 23, 2012]
- No One Is Here Except All Of Us
Ramona Ausubel reads a passage from No One Is Here Except All Of Us, about a Romanian village that tries to save itself from the horrors of World War II through the sheer force of imagination.
[April 16, 2012]
- More from One More for the People
Martha Grover reads "Swedish Massage," a story from her new collection, One More for the People.
[April 9, 2012]
- The Mirage
Matt Ruff reads a passage from The Mirage, a mind-bending novel in which an alternate history of 9/11 and its aftermath uncovers startling truths about America and the Middle East.
[April 2, 2012]
- By Blood
Ellen Ullman reads a passage from her latest novel, By Blood, about a disgraced professor who becomes enraptured by the troubles of his psychologist neighbor's patient.
[March 26, 2012]
- Baby Geisha
Trinie Dalton reads "Escape Mushroom Style," a story from her new collection, Baby Geisha.
[March 14, 2012]
- Drifting House
Krys Lee reads a passage from Drifting House about a South Korean woman who goes to America in search of her daughter whom she believes has been kidnapped.
[March 7, 2012]
- One More for the People
Martha Grover reads "Fifteen Things I'm Not Putting on My OkCupid Profile," a story from her new collection, One More for the People.
[February 29, 2012]
- What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
Nathan Englander reads a passage from his latest story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.
[February 25, 2012]
- Best of The Writers' Block: LGBT Edition
Christopher Bram's appearance on KQED's Forum, in which he discusses gay writers who changed America, got me thinking about which queer writers left a mark on The Writers' Block over the years. Here's a rundown of episodes that I can't forget.
[February 22, 2012]
- Dream School
Blake Nelson reads a passage from Dream School, the sequel to his beloved 1994 novel Girl.
[February 15, 2012]
- Blueprints of the Afterlife
Ryan Boudinot reads a passage from Blueprints of the Afterlife about the aftermath of a sentient glacier wiping out most of North America.
[February 8, 2012]
- The Fallback Plan
Leigh Stein reads a passage from her debut novel, The Fallback Plan, about what happens when you graduate college without a fallback plan and are forced to move back in with your parents.
[February 1, 2012]
- The Last Nude
Ellis Avery reads a passage from The Last Nude, her new novel about an artist and her most famous muse in Paris between the World Wars.
[January 25, 2012]
- The Tiger's Wife
Tea Obreht, one of The New Yorker's best American writers under forty, reads a passage from her debut novel, The Tiger's Wife.
[January 18, 2012]
- Damascus
Joshua Mohr reads a passage from Damascus, his latest novel about a man whose birthmark unfortunately resembles a Hitler mustache.
[January 11, 2012]
- Best of The Writers' Block 2011
2011 was a really great year for books and an even better one for KQED's book-lovin' podcast, The Writers' Block. Here's a rundown of a few encounters with authors that truly blew us away.
[December 28, 2011]
- Shards
Ismet Prcic reads a passage from Shards, his debut novel about a young Bosnian who has fled his war-torn homeland.
[December 21, 2011]
- Last Year's Snow
Anisse Gross, author of Body Cavity, reads her evocative poem, "Last Year's Snow."
[December 15, 2011]
- Love and Shame and Love
Peter Orner reads a passage from Love and Shame and Love, his latest novel that illuminates the countless ways that love both makes us whole and completely unravels us.
[December 8, 2011]
- Pulphead
John Jeremiah Sullivan, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, reads "Feet in Smoke," a piece from his new essay collection, Pulphead.
[November 30, 2011]
- The Barbarian Nurseries
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Hector Tobar reads a passage from his latest, The Barbarian Nurseries.
[November 23, 2011]
- The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern reads a passage from The Night Circus, her spell-casting debut novel that has been heralded as the next Harry Potter.
[November 16, 2011]
- The Stranger's Child
Alan Hollinghurst, winner of the 2004 Booker Prize for The Line of Beauty, reads a passage from his latest novel, The Stranger's Child.
[November 9, 2011]
- Down from Cascom Mountain
Ann Joslin Williams reads a passage from Down from Cascom Mountain, her debut novel about how a rural New Hampshire community deals with tragedy.
[November 2, 2011]
- The Marriage Plot
Jeffrey Eugenides, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, reads a passage from his latest, The Marriage Plot.
[October 26, 2011]
- Salvage the Bones
Jesmyn Ward reads a passage from Salvage the Bones, her novel that was just announced as a finalist for the National Book Award.
[October 19, 2011]
- LitCrawl Preview
This Saturday, October 15, 2011, join The Writers' Block at Bruno's in San Francisco for "Some Girls from the Block," a live reading by five of the podcast's most popular female writers. We pulled this reading by Lisa Brown from the archives to whet your appetite.
[October 12, 2011]
- The Oracle of Stamboul
Michael David Lukas reads a passage from The Oracle of Stamboul, his debut novel about a young girl who becomes an advisor to the sultan of the Ottoman empire.
[October 5, 2011]
- Turn of Mind
Alice LaPlante reads a passage from Turn of Mind, her novel about the disintegration of a strong woman's mind and the unhinging of her family.
[September 28, 2011]
- I Have A Few Last Words
Charles Warnke reads "I Have A Few Last Words," a short story told from the perspective of a driver involved in a fatal car crash.
[September 21, 2011]
- We The Animals
Justin Torres reads from We The Animals, his blistering debut novel about three brothers tearing their way through childhood.
[September 14, 2011]
- Monster Party
Lizzy Acker reads from Monster Party, her collection of short stories about boys, violence, drinking and aliens.
[September 8, 2011]
- More from Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day
Ben Loory reads "The Tree," another story from Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day, his collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables.
[August 31, 2011]
- Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day
Ben Loory reads "The Crown," a story from Stories for the Nighttime and Some for the Day, his collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables.
[August 24, 2011]
- The Orange Eats Creeps
Grace Krilanovich reads a passage from The Orange Eats Creeps, her debut novel about a band of slutty teenage hobo vampire junkies.
[August 17, 2011]
- Fated
S.G. Browne reads a passage from Fated, his latest novel about what happens when Fabio a.k.a. Fate breaks rule number one and falls in love with a human.
[August 10, 2011]
- How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Charles Yu reads a passage from How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, the story of a time travel technician and resident of Minor Universe 31, who travels to crucial moments in the past to save people from themselves.
[August 4, 2011]
- The Curfew
Jesse Ball reads a passage from The Curfew, the story of an epitaphorist and his mute daughter trying to survive in the dystopian city of C.
[July 27, 2011]
- Thoughts without Cigarettes
Oscar Hijuelos, author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love and the first Latino to win the Pultizer for fiction, reads from his memoir, Thought without Cigarettes.
[July 20, 2011]
- My New American Life
Francine Prose reads a passage from My New American Life, a darkly humorous novel of mismatched aspirations, Albanian gangsters, and the ever-elusive American dream.
[July 13, 2011]
- Orientation
Daniel Orozco reads the title story from Orientation, a dark and funny account of a new employee's first day on the job.
[July 6, 2011]
- Beautiful in the Mouth
Keetje Kuipers reads select poems from her collection, Beautiful in the Mouth.
[June 29, 2011]
- Say Her Name
Francisco Goldman reads a passage from Say Her Name about the love and loss of his wife, Aura Estrada.
[June 22, 2011]
- The Great Night
Chris Adrian, one of the New Yorker's 20 under 40, reads from his latest novel, The Great Night, a retelling of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" set in San Francisco's Buena Vista Park.
[June 15, 2011]
- Black Wave
In anticipation of the third annual RADAR Spectacle, Michelle Tea reads a passage from her brand new as-yet-unpublished novel, Black Wave, about the end of the world and the end of love in '90s San Francisco.
[June 8, 2011]
- How Did You Get This Number
Sloane Crosley reads an essay from her hilarious collection, How Did You Get This Number, about her experiences in Alaska.
[June 1, 2011]
- Otherwise Known as the Human Condition
Geoff Dyer reads "Of Course," an essay from his latest collection, Otherwise Known as the Human Condition, about meeting his wife and his experiences at Burning Man.
[May 25, 2011]
- There Is No Year
Blake Butler reads a passage from There Is No Year about a family that moves into a new home and finds a copy family already living there.
[May 18, 2011]
- Blood, Bones, and Butter
Gabrielle Hamilton reads a passage from Blood, Bones, and Butter, her memoir that takes a journey through the many kitchens she has inhabited through the years.
[May 11, 2011]
- The Professor
Terry Castle reads an essay from her latest collection, The Professor, about her relationship with Susan Sontag.
[May 4, 2011]
- Everyone Loves You When You're Dead
Neil Strauss reads passages from Everyone Loves You When You're Dead, his collection of 120 interviews with the world's biggest celebrities.
[April 27, 2011]
- A Widow's Story
Joyce Carol Oates, literary icon and author of over 50 novels, reads from her new memoir, A Widow's Story.
[April 20, 2011]
- The Dirty Life
Kristin Kimball reads a passage from The Dirty Life, her memoir about transitioning from the life of a city girl to that of a farmer.
[April 13, 2011]
- The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore
Benjamin Hale reads a passage from The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, his comic novel told from the perspective of a talking chimpanzee.
[April 6, 2011]
- The Good Daughter
Jasmin Darznik reads a passage from her memoir, The Good Daughter, about discovering her mother's secret past life.
[March 30, 2011]
- Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer
Wesley Stace reads two passages from Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, a novel about music and murder in 1920s England.
[March 23, 2011]
- The Memory Palace
Mira Bartók reads a passage from her memoir, The Memory Palace, about living with a schizophrenic mother as well as a traumatic brain injury.
[March 16, 2011]
- Swamplandia!
Karen Russell reads a passage from Swamplandia!, her debut novel about a family of alligator wrestlers.
[March 9, 2011]
- The Empty Family
Colm Tóibín reads the title story from his latest story collection, The Empty Family, which was inspired by visiting Point Reyes.
[March 2, 2011]
- The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
Heidi Durrow reads a passage from The Girl Who Fell from the Sky about a young boy who witnesses a family fall through the sky from his window.
[February 23, 2011]
- The Lover's Dictionary
David Levithan, author of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, reads passages from The Lover's Dictionary, a modern love story told through dictionary entries.
[February 14, 2011]
- God Loves Hair
Vivek Shraya reads selections from God Loves Hair, his debut story collection about growing up queer and Indian.
[February 9, 2011]
- The Imperfectionists
Tom Rachman reads a passage from The Imperfectionists about an obituary writer who works for a newspaper in Rome.
[February 2, 2011]
- Elegies for the Brokenhearted
Christie Hodgen reads a passage from Elegies for the Brokenhearted about an unforgettable skirt-chasing, car-racing uncle who comes in and out of his family's lives.
[January 26, 2011]
- Luka and the Fire of Life
Salman Rushdie, literary icon and author of The Satanic Verses and Midnight's Children, reads a passage from his latest novel, Luka and the Fire of Life.
[January 19, 2011]
- Death Is Not An Option
Suzanne Rivecca reads the title story from Death Is Not An Option about a high school senior who finds a warped kind of redemption on a school retreat.
[January 12, 2011]
- Here Comes Another Lesson
Stephen O'Connor reads a story from Here Comes Another Lesson about a Minotaur who is awakened to his humanity by a girl who was sent to be his supper.
[January 6, 2011]
- Best of The Writers' Block 2010
2010 was a really great year for books and an even better one for KQED's book-lovin' podcast, The Writers' Block. Here's a rundown of a few encounters with authors that truly blew us away.
[December 29, 2010]
- Getting to Happy
Terry McMillan reads a passage from Getting to Happy, the sequel to Waiting to Exhale.
[December 23, 2010]
- I Remember Nothing
Nora Ephron, the force behind When Harry Met Sally and I Feel Bad About My Neck, reads a passage from her latest book, I Remember Nothing.
[December 15, 2010]
- Half Empty
David Rakoff, author of Fraud and Don't Get Too Comfortable, reads a passage from his hilarious new book, Half Empty.
[December 8, 2010]
- Great House
Nicole Krauss, author of international bestseller The History of Love, reads from her latest National Book Award nominated novel, Great House.
[December 1, 2010]
- Fury
Koren Zailckas, author of the best-selling memoir Smashed, reads a passage from her latest, Fury.
[November 25, 2010]
- How to Read the Air
Dinaw Mengestu reads a passage from How to Read the Air about a young Ethiopian immigrant couple who set off on a road trip in search of a new identity.
[November 17, 2010]
- By Nightfall
Michael Cunningham, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Hours, reads a passage from his latest, By Nightfall.
[November 10, 2010]
- The False Friend
Myla Goldberg, author of the best-selling novel Bee Season, reads a passage from her latest, The False Friend.
[November 3, 2010]
- What is Left the Daughter
Howard Norman reads a passage from What is Left the Daughter about what becomes of Wyatt Hillyer after he is suddenly orphaned when his parents jump off two different bridges.
[October 28, 2010]
- The Surf Guru
Doug Dorst reads a passage from The Surf Guru about an old surfing champion who sits on his ocean-front balcony watching a new generation of surfers come of age on the waves.
[October 23, 2010]
- Zero History
William Gibson reads a passage from Zero History, the third installment of the Bigend series.
[October 13, 2010]
- Gold Boy, Emerald Girl
Yiyun Li, recent recipient of the MacArthur "Genius Grant," reads the title story from Gold Boy, Emerald Girl which chronicles what happens when a professor introduces her middle-aged son to her favorite student.
[October 2, 2010]
- Down and Derby
Alex "Axles of Evil" Cohen and Jennifer "Kasey Bomber" Barbee read a passage from Down and Derby, a brassy celebration of the rough and tumble sport of roller derby.
[September 29, 2010]
- Three Delays
Charlie Smith reads a passage from Three Delays, which follows the troubled lives of two lovers as they combat their passions and each other.
[September 22, 2010]
- Super Sad True Love Story
Gary Shteyngart reads a passage from Super Sad True Love Story, a deliciously dark tale of America's dysfunctional coming years.
[September 15, 2010]
- Sweet Tomb
Trinie Dalton reads a story from Sweet Tomb about a witch who decides to leave her candy house in the forest for the big city with the help of her hallucinated friend, Pinocchio.
[September 8, 2010]
- Tinkers
Paul Harding reads a passage from Tinkers, this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
[September 1, 2010]
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
David Mitchell reads a passage from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet about an earnest young clerk whose life plans are shaken when he meets the daughter of a Samurai in 18th century Japan.
[August 25, 2010]
- Kings of the Earth
Jon Clinch reads a passage from Kings of the Earth, a powerful and haunting story of life, death, and family in rural America.
[August 18, 2010]
- Termite Parade
Joshua Mohr reads a passage from Termite Parade, which the New York Times Book Review named an Editors' Choice.
[August 11, 2010]
- Backseat Saints
Joshilyn Jackson reads a passage from Backseat Saints about a Texas housewife who must kill her husband before he kills her.
[August 4, 2010]
- The Beaufort Diaries
T Cooper reads a hilarious passage from The Beaufort Diaries about a polar bear from a broken arctic home who tries to make it in Hollywood.
[July 29, 2010]
- A Short History of Women
Kate Walbert reads a passage from A Short History of Women about the complicated legacies of mothers and daughters.
[July 21, 2010]
- Men and Dogs
Katie Crouch reads a passage from Men and Dogs about a woman's quest to piece together the clues of her father's disappearance.
[July 11, 2010]
- Bonobo Handshake
Vanessa Woods reads a passage from Bonobo Handshake, her memoir about the time she spent in the company of bonobos in the African jungle.
[July 7, 2010]
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender reads a passage from The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake about a young girl whose magical gift of tasting emotions in food becomes a devastating curse.
[June 30, 2010]
- A Visit from the Goon Squad
Jennifer Egan reads a passage from A Visit from the Goon Squad about a woman in her mid-thirties who must confront her long-standing compulsion to steal.
[June 23, 2010]
- The Kindness of Strangers
In the second episode of a two-part exclusive, John Waters reads "The Kindness of Strangers," a chapter from Role Models about the impact that Tennessee Williams has had on his life.
[June 16, 2010]
- Cult Leader
In the first episode of a two-part exclusive, John Waters reads a selection from "Cult Leader," a chapter from Role Models that describes what a John Waters-led cult might look like.
[June 9, 2010]
- Pinball Effect
Claire Light reads "Pinball Effect," her story about a human who is traveling through the galaxy with his alien abductors and finds love and much more on a weightless planet.
[June 2, 2010]
- Boys and Girls Like You and Me
Aryn Kyle reads "Femme," a short story from her collection Boys and Girls Like You and Me about the loneliness, selfishness, and longing that underlie female experience.
[May 26, 2010]
- Dead End Gene Pool
Wendy Burden reads a passage from Dead End Gene Pool, her wickedly funny memoir about growing up in an over-funded family of blue bloods on the verge of financial and moral decline.
[May 12, 2010]
- Your Next Girlfriend
Kate Simmons reads "Your Next Girlfriend," her short story that chronicles the ups and downs of a modern relationship. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[May 5, 2010]
- The Lost Books of the Odyssey
Zachary Mason reads a passage from The Lost Books of the Odyssey, his debut novel that reimagines Homer's epic.
[April 28, 2010]
- The Ask
Sam Lipsyte reads two hilarious passages from The Ask about recently unemployed, middle-aged Milo Burke and all of his anxieties. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[April 21, 2010]
- Horns
Joe Hill reads a passage from Horns, the story of a man who wakes up to find he has sprouted horns. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[April 15, 2010]
- Chasing the White Dog
Max Watman reads a passage from Chasing the White Dog and takes us inside the rich and colorful history of illicit booze in America.
[April 7, 2010]
- The Sky Is Everywhere
Jandy Nelson reads a passage from The Sky Is Everywhere, the story of a bookworm and band geek who must deal with the loss of her sister along with the advent of two romances.
[March 31, 2010]
- The Mechanics of Falling
Catherine Brady reads "Slender Little Thing," a story from her book The Mechanics of Falling and Other Stories, which has just been named as a finalist for the Northern California Book Awards. (This episode was originally published in April 2009.)
[March 25, 2010]
- Breathers
S.G. Browne reads a passage from Breathers, the story of a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie.
[March 24, 2010]
- Model Home
Eric Puchner reads a passage from Model Home, the story of an unraveling California family.
[March 17, 2010]
- Where the God of Love Hangs Out
Amy Bloom reads "Your Borders, Your Rivers, Your Tiny Villages," a story from her new collection Where the God of Love Hangs Out about suppressed desire.
[March 10, 2010]
- Union Atlantic
Adam Haslett reads a passage from Union Atlantic about the harsh realities of war.
[March 3, 2010]
- Another Life Altogether
Elaine Beale reads a passage from Another Life Altogether, her latest novel about a teenage girl growing up in northern England under the shadow of her mother's mental illness.
[February 24, 2010]
- The Swan Thieves
Elizabeth Kostova reads a passage from The Swan Thieves, the story of a renowned painter who has brutally attacked a canvas in the National Gallery of Art.
[February 17, 2010]
- The Unnamed
Joshua Ferris reads a passage from The Unnamed about a man's incurable illness and its effect on his wife.
[February 10, 2010]
- Just Kids
Patti Smith reads excerpts from Just Kids, her memoir about life with Robert Mapplethorpe.
[February 3, 2010]
- Talking Fowl with My Father
Lori Ostlund reads a passage from "Talking Fowl with My Father," a short story from her collection The Bigness of the World about the complicated relationship between a daughter and her father.
[January 27, 2010]
- What Kind of Animal
Kristen Tracy reads selected poems from What Kind of Animal, her collection inspired by her Mormon upbringing and her fear and fondness of wild animals.
[January 20, 2010]
- More Lit
Mary Karr reads the second of two passages from Lit, a memoir that chronicles her descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness, and her astonishing resurrection.
[January 13, 2010]
- Lit
Mary Karr reads the first of two passages from Lit, a memoir that chronicles her descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness, and her astonishing resurrection.
[December 30, 2009]
- Kingdom of Simplicity
Holly Payne reads a passage from Kingdom of Simplicity, a story set in Amish country about the power of forgiveness.
[December 23, 2009]
- Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession
Julie Powell reads a passage from Cleaving and sits down for a video interview!
[December 10, 2009]
- Blood's A Rover
James Ellroy reads a passage from Blood's A Rover, a political noir tale set during the summer of 1968, a time of assassination conspiracy theories, corruption, and retribution.
[December 2, 2009]
- The Adderall Diaries
Stephen Elliott reads a passage from The Adderall Diaries, which follows the author as he investigates into a murder confessed by his father.
[November 25, 2009]
- Beautiful
Amy Reed reads a passage from her debut novel, Beautiful, about a young girl who trades her good-girl existence for a swift downward spiral tinged with drugs and abuse.
[November 19, 2009]
- Eating Animals
Jonathan Safran Foer reads a passage from Eating Animals that dissects the emotional ingredients of meals from his childhood.
[November 10, 2009]
- Chronic City
Jonathan Lethem reads a passage from Chronic City, his new novel about a former child star who meets an unusual friend in a man named Perkus Tooth.
[November 4, 2009]
- Long Past Stopping
Oran Canfield reads a passage from Long Past Stopping, his memoir about growing up around anarchists, socialist rebels, and born-again circus clowns.
[October 29, 2009]
- My Life with Stella Kane
Linda Morganstein reads from My Life with Stella Kane, the story of a '50s Hollywood gay actress.
[October 20, 2009]
- The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
Reif Larsen reads a passage from The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, the story of twelve-year-old genius cartographer who leaves home and meticulously maps, charts, and illustrates his journey to self discovery.
[October 14, 2009]
- True Crime
Donna de la Perrière reads poems from her new book, True Crime.
[October 7, 2009]
- The Lace Makers of Glenmara
Heather Barbieri reads from The Lace Makers of Glenmara, the story of a fashion designer who travels to Ireland to escape her failed marriage.
[September 30, 2009]
- SUM
David Eagleman reads five vignettes from SUM: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, each of which imagines a different possible afterlife.
[September 24, 2009]
- Don't Cry
Mary Gaitskill reads the title story from Don't Cry about a middle-aged woman's quest to adopt a child in Addis Ababa.
[September 17, 2009]
- This Is Where I Leave You
Jonathan Tropper reads a passage from This Is Where I Leave You, the story of a man who must come to terms with the recent death of his father and his wife leaving him for his boss.
[September 9, 2009]
- Labor Day
Joyce Maynard reads a passage from Labor Day about a thirteen-year-old boy and the mysterious man who changes his life forever.
[September 2, 2009]
- Alive in Necropolis
Doug Dorst reads a passage from Alive in Necropolis, this year's One City One Book: San Francisco Reads selection.
[August 26, 2009]
- Split
Suzanne Finnamore reads a passage from Split, the story of her painful divorce told with the blackest of humor.
[August 19, 2009]
- Lie & More Lies
Gloria Frym reads "Lie" and "More Lies," two short stories that dissect artifice and the practice of lying.
[August 13, 2009]
- Into the Beautiful North
Luis Alberto Urrea reads from Into the Beautiful North, the story of a small Mexican town called Tres Camarones.
[August 5, 2009]
- Sag Harbor
Colson Whitehead reads a passage from Sag Harbor about two young brothers who are often mistaken for twins, but are beginning to grow apart.
[August 1, 2009]
- World Ball Notebook
Sesshu Foster reads from a collection of narrative prose poems from the genre-breaking World Ball Notebook.
[July 24, 2009]
- Love or Something Like It
Deirdre Shaw reads the first chapter from Love or Something Like It, the story of a thirty-something woman who moves to LA and quickly learns about the pitfalls of celebrity.
[July 16, 2009]
- Revenge of the Spellmans
Lisa Lutz reads from Revenge of the Spellmans, the third installment of the Spellman series that finds ex-private investigator Izzy reluctantly coming out of retirement.
[July 8, 2009]
- WB Extra: David Sedaris on Evil Politicians, Cursing, and more!
David Sedaris answers five completely random questions. Find out which politician he would like to kick in the shins and which country he thinks has the most "off-the-hook" curse words.
[July 4, 2009]
- Author, Author?
In the second episode of a two-part exclusive, David Sedaris reads "Author, Author?," a story that recently appeared in The New Yorker about the joys of book tours, giant boxes of condoms, and Costco.
[July 1, 2009]
- Just a Quick E-mail
In the first episode of a two-part exclusive, David Sedaris reads "Just a Quick E-mail," an unpublished story about the passive-aggressive sister of a paraplegic.
[June 25, 2009]
- Admission
Jean Hanff Korelitz reads a passage from Admission, the story of an admissions officer at Princeton University.
[June 16, 2009]
- Mudbound
Hillary Jordan reads a passage from her debut novel Mudbound, the story of racial prejudice in 1940s Mississippi.
[June 10, 2009]
- Captive Audience
Dave Reidy reads "The Regular," a story from his collection Captive Audience, in which two indie music lovers bond over their hatred of karaoke.
[June 6, 2009]
- Through Black Spruce
Joseph Boyden reads a passage from Through Black Spruce, the story of a retired Cree Bush pilot who narrates from within his coma, remembering as a way of clinging to life.
[May 28, 2009]
- Please Step Back
Ben Greenman reads a passage from Please Step Back, a swirling '60s saga of the rise and fall of a true American icon, a rock star called Rock Foxx.
[May 20, 2009]
- Kokomo Joe
John Christgau reads a chapter from Kokomo Joe, the story of the first Japanese American jockey and the adversity he faced in 1940s America.
[May 13, 2009]
- Lowboy
John Wray reads the first chapter of Lowboy, the story of a sixteen-year-old paranoid schizophrenic who has wandered away from the mental hospital into the subway tunnels believing that the world will end within a few hours and that only he can save it.
[May 6, 2009]
- Mercury Station
Mark von Schlegell reads two chapters from Mercury Station, his book about the collapse of human civilization in 2150.
[April 28, 2009]
- Ablutions
Patrick deWitt reads a passage from Ablutions about a bartender's relationship with three barflies called Monty, Marge, and Joe.
[April 21, 2009]
- Made Flesh
Craig Arnold reads "Hymn to Persephone," a love poem from his collection Made Flesh that uses Greek mythology to answer the question: How do we love anyone knowing we will eventually lose them?
[April 8, 2009]
- Little Bee
Chris Cleave reads an excerpt from Little Bee, the story of a young Nigerian refugee who flees from the tribal oil wars of her country to England.
[April 1, 2009]
- The New Haven Line
Jeff O'Keefe reads "The New Haven Line," a story about a young man's battle of wills with his mother, an ex-fashion model, set in New York's Penn Station.
[March 25, 2009]
- In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
Daniyal Mueenuddin reads "Nawbdin Electrician," the story of a struggling Pakistani electrician who encounters death and danger, from his collection, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders.
[March 20, 2009]
- Live Through This
Debra Gwartney reads a passage from Live Through This, the story of two runaway daughters and her frantic effort to recover them.
[March 12, 2009]
- The Tricking of Freya
Christina Sunley reads a passage from The Tricking of Freya, the story of a young woman obsessed with uncovering a family secret that draws her into the strange and magical history, language and landscape of Iceland.
[March 4, 2009]
- The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
Tiffany Baker reads a passage from The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, the story of larger-than-life Truly Place and the secrets she finds in her small-minded town's past.
[February 25, 2009]
- Fool
Christopher Moore reads a chapter from Fool, a retelling of Shakespeare's "King Lear" from the point of view of the Royal Fool.
[February 18, 2009]
- Legend of a Suicide
David Vann reads "Ichthyology," a story from his collection, Legend of a Suicide. Set in the wilds of Alaska, the story that takes on the shifting legend of a lost father.
[February 11, 2009]
- How to Survive
Laura Schadler reads "How to Survive," a short story about a young woman surviving in a collapsing world.
[February 4, 2009]
- Going to See the Elephant
Rodes Fishburne reads a passage from Going to See the Elephant, the story of Slater Brown and his attempt to become the greatest writer ever.
[January 28, 2009]
- Forevertron
Anisse-Marie Gross reads "Forevertron," an essay about a time machine in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
[January 24, 2009]
- The Mistaken Variations
PlayGround presents Molly Noble, Julia McNeal, Eric Fraisher Hayes and Mick Mize in Trevor Allen's short play, The Mistaken Variations. Jim Kleinmann directs.
[January 14, 2009]
- Denny Smith
Robert Glück reads "Conviction," a short story from Denny Smith about fathers and theft.
[January 7, 2009]
- My Other Family
J. M. Tyree reads "My Other Family," a story of child abandonment and revenge that takes place in a Wal-Mart.
[January 1, 2009]
- The Revisionist
Miranda Mellis reads a passage from The Revisionist about a civil scientist hired to 'revise' the facts of a crumbling society.
[December 17, 2008]
- Songs for the Missing
Stewart O'Nan reads a passage from Songs for the Missing, the story of a young girl's disappearance and its effect on those left behind.
[December 9, 2008]
- Serpent Box
Vincent Carrella reads a passage from Serpent Box, the story of Pentecostal preachers in the mountains of Appalachia.
[December 3, 2008]
- Forgotten Fashion
Kate Hahn reads an excerpt from Forgotten Fashion, a tongue-in-cheek history of faux fashion trends.
[November 27, 2008]
- Horses that Buck
Margot Kahn reads a passage from Horses that Buck, the story of a Wyoming cowboy and the transformation of his world, the frontier West.
[November 20, 2008]
- Stray Dog Winter
David Francis reads a passage from Stray Dog Winter about a young boy and his relationship with his alcoholic mother.
[November 12, 2008]
- Saguaro
Carson Mell reads a passage from Saguaro, a first person rock memoir chronicling the life of Bobby Allen Bird. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[November 5, 2008]
- Oxygen
Carol Cassella reads an excerpt from Oxygen, a novel about the aftermath of an operating room disaster.
[October 30, 2008]
- Demons in the Spring
Joe Meno reads "What a Schoolgirl You Are," a short story from Demons in the Spring. Structured after the "choose your own adventure" series, the story puts the reader inside the mind of an awkward teenage girl as she decides to try out for the cheerleading squad.
[October 22, 2008]
- Investing
PlayGround presents Julia McNeal and Ken Sonkin in Evelyn Jean Pine's short play, Investing. Jim Kleinmann directs. (Running Time: 7:36)
[October 13, 2008]
- The Little Book
Selden Edwards reads a passage from The Little Book, the story of a California rock legend who finds himself in the past -- 1897 Vienna. (Running Time 19:51)
[October 7, 2008]
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Díaz reads a passage from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the story of an overweight Dominican boy growing up in New Jersey. (Running Time 15:36)
[October 1, 2008]
- Something to Tell You
Hanif Kureishi reads an excerpt from Something to Tell You, the story of a middle-aged psychoanalyst with a dark secret. (Running Time: 21:03)
[September 24, 2008]
- Fate! Luck! Chance!
Amy Tan and Stewart Wallace read a passage from Fate! Luck! Chance! describing the inspiration for the opera adaptation of Tan's best-selling novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter. (Running Time: 10:44)
[September 16, 2008]
- Thirteen Views of Grief
Donna George Storey reads Thirteen Views of Grief, an essay tracing the impact of her father's death from when she was seventeen to the present day.
[September 10, 2008]
- The Gargoyle
Andrew Davidson reads an excerpt from the beginning of his first novel, The Gargoyle. (Running Time: 15:16)
[September 3, 2008]
- What Rhymes with Bastard?
Linda Robertson reads an excerpt from Chapter 3 of her memoir, What Rhymes With Bastard?, and performs an accordion ditty called "All Made Up." Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[August 27, 2008]
- Man in the Dark
Acclaimed novelist Paul Auster reads the first chapter of his latest novel, Man in the Dark.
[August 20, 2008]
- Silhouettes
Bay Area writers Kelly Lydick, MG Roberts and Amy Reed read a few selections from their upcoming August 18, 2008 reading, Silhouettes at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland, CA.
[August 13, 2008]
- Finding Nouf
Zoë Ferraris reads an excerpt from her first novel, Finding Nouf.
[August 8, 2008]
- Serpent in the Garden of Dreams
Robin Messing reads a selection from her debut novel, Serpent in the Garden of Dreams.
[August 3, 2008]
- West of Kabul, East of New York
Tamim Ansary reads "The Rebel Leader," a chapter from his memoir West of Kabul, East of New York.
[July 26, 2008]
- Maynard & Jennica
Rudolph Delson reads a selection from his debut novel, Maynard and Jennica. In this excerpt, Jennica Green waxes nostalgic for California, and her parents, brother, and long-lost best friend all chime in.
[July 16, 2008]
- Awesome
Jack Pendarvis reads the first chapter of Awesome, a humorous and heartwarming tale of the richest, sexiest, handsomest giant you'll ever meet.
[July 2, 2008]
- The Shared Patio
Miranda July reads a selection from No One Belongs Here More Than You, her debut collection of short stories. In "The Shared Patio," a woman longs to share her neighbor's life, but learns that her fantasy of him bears no resemblance to reality.
[June 25, 2008]
- The Story of a Marriage
Andrew Sean Greer reads the first chapter of The Story of a Marriage, in which Pearlie recounts her courtship and marriage to Holland Cook, her childhood sweetheart.
[June 18, 2008]
- Helpmate
Ben Greenman reads a letter from the forthcoming Correspondences. In "Helpmate," a man composes a letter to his wife, reminiscing on his life and (perhaps) its conclusion.
[June 11, 2008]
- Not a Genuine Black Man
Brian Copeland reads the first chapter of Not a Genunine Black Man, his hilarious memoir about growing up black in the all-white suburb of San Leandro, CA.
[June 4, 2008]
- Opium Magazine: Bookmark Contest, Pt. 2
Authors Rachel Khong and Matt Leibel join actors Jon Wolanske and Erin Carter to read "Two Eggs, Any Style," "Heartless," "Industry," "Minnesota Menage," and "Reading," the winner and some of the finalists of Opium Magazine's 250-word Bookmark Contest.
[May 28, 2008]
- Opium Magazine: Bookmark Contest, Pt. 1
Opium Magazine's Go Green! (But Save Me First) issue (May 2008) featured the winner and finalists of its 250-word Bookmark Contest, judged by Aimee Bender. Authors Lisa K. Buchanan and Kristin Kearns join actors Jon Wolanske and Erin Carter to read "Hiss," "What Follows Us," "The Hansel Fiasco," "The Sail," and "Mr. Artichoke Eats Monday."
[May 28, 2008]
- It's Not You, It's Your Uncontrollable Telekinesis
Ben Joseph reads "It's Not You, It's Your Uncontrollable Telekinesis," a completely true story loosely based on actual events.
[May 14, 2008]
- Operation Water Dump
Dan White reads "Operation Water Dump," a chapter from his book, The Cactus Eaters, which revolves around the extremely bad decision that inspired the book's title.
[May 7, 2008]
- Sunday School
Naomi Williams reads "Sunday School," the story of a woman asked to teach a second-grade Sunday school class and the various scenarios that might follow.
[April 30, 2008]
- The Pony Problem
Sloane Crosley reads a selection from her debut collection, I Was Told There'd Be Cake. In "The Pony Problem" she worries about what people might find in her apartment after an imagined freak accident.
[April 23, 2008]
- Reunion
Playground presents Delia MacDougall and Eric Fraisher Hayes in Kenn Rabin's short play, Reunion, the story of a convicted sex offender's arrival at his new home after being recently released from prison. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[April 16, 2008]
- Beauty Talk & Monsters
Masha Tupitsyn reads "Kleptomania," the story of three intergenerational female movie icons meeting for cocktails at a bar. "Kleptomania" is from Tupitsyn's short story collection, Beauty Talk & Monsters.
[April 9, 2008]
- Turning Point
Peter Nathaniel Malae reads "Turning Point," the story of an ex-con who realizes that life outside prison is just as dangerous as life behind bars. "Turning Point" is from Malae's short story collection, Teach the Free Man. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[April 2, 2008]
- Sharp Teeth
Toby Barlow reads a passage from Sharp Teeth describing the decisive battle between two rival werewolf packs in Los Angeles.
[March 26, 2008]
- Pampkin's Lament
Peter Orner reads "Pampkin's Lament," his Pushcart Prize-winning story about a man running for governor of Illinois who is about to lose more than just the election. "Pampkin's Lament" was originally published in McSweeney's. (Running Time: 17:12)
[March 19, 2008]
- Missive
In Garret Jon Groenveld's short play Missive, a letter holds the key to one man's troubled past and his surprising present. Presented by PlayGround, with Eric Fraisher Hayes as Bobby.
[March 12, 2008]
- The Invention of Everything Else
Samantha Hunt reads a selection from The Invention of Everything Else, in which Nicola Tesla, a young inventor, makes his way to the workshops of his hero, Thomas Edison.
[March 5, 2008]
- Off Mike
Michael Krasny reads the introduction to Off Mike, his memoir of talk radio and public life. (Running Time: 8:10)
[February 27, 2008]
- The Sixth Form
Tom Dolby reads a selection from his second novel, The Sixth Form, in which one of his main characters, Todd Eldon, has an unhappy reunion with his ne'er do well father.
[February 20, 2008]
- The Teahouse Fire
Ellis Avery reads a selection from The Teahouse Fire, in which Aurelia, an young American orphan, recounts the events that led her to the grounds of a Japanese tea ceremony school.
[February 13, 2008]
- Objects Of My Disaffection
Jean-Pierre Lacrampe reads his prose poem, "Objects Of My Disaffection."
[February 6, 2008]
- A Version of the Truth
Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman read the prologue to A Version of the Truth, in which Cassie Shaw describes the aftermath of the accident that sent her husband to an early grave.
[January 30, 2008]
- Travels in the Scriptorium
Paul Auster reads the first section of Travels in the Scriptorium, in which a man awakes to discover that he cannot remember who he is or how he has arrived in an unfamiliar room.
[January 24, 2008]
- Framing the Black Panthers
Jane Rhodes reads a selection from Framing the Black Panthers, which chronicles the Panthers' May 1967 protest of a gun-control bill at the California state capitol building in Sacramento.
[January 16, 2008]
- Sewermonster Diaries
PlayGround presents Danielle Levin, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Cat Thompson and Mark Farrell in Brady Lea's Sewermonster Diaries, a comic portrait of a woman who withdraws from society and descends sewers of San Francisco.
[January 9, 2008]
- Stop
Pia Ehrhardt reads "Stop," from her collection Famous Fathers and Other Stories. If you are in need of some New Year's resolution advice, have a listen as Ehrhardt describes what you should most emphatically NOT do to change your life for the better. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[January 2, 2008]
- Pink Harvest
Toni Mirosevich reads the first story from her nonfiction collection, Pink Harvest. "The View" involves a homeless man, an acute care clinic in an urban hospital, and a viewfinder. It's a few days before Christmas.
[December 26, 2007]
- twin time: or, how death befell me
Veronica Gonzalez reads a selection from her debut novel, twin time: or how death befell me, in which her main character, Mona, recounts her father's early childhood. (Running Time: 14:17)
[December 19, 2007]
- East Side/West Side
Nora Pierce reads "East Side/West Side," a story about choosing sides, in which two eleven year olds try to "dance their way out of the ghetto."
[December 12, 2007]
- The Flame
Tess Urize Holthe reads a story from her collection The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes. In "The Flame," Serena barr visits an open house, which she believes belongs to her husband's ex-lover.
[November 21, 2007]
- Broken World
Joseph Lease reads a selection of poems from his collection Broken World.
[November 14, 2007]
- Lost
Jean Thompson reads "Lost," the story of a '70s era college romance that goes bad. "Lost" is from Thompson's short story collection, Throw Like a Girl. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[November 7, 2007]
- The Futurist
In this excerpt from his novel The Futurist, James P. Othmer reads the career ending speech given by Yates, a consultant, guru and keynote speaker at the "Futureworld" conference.
[November 5, 2007]
- by George
Wesley Stace reads from the first section of his book, by George the story of the Fisher family, as told by two different boys named George: one a dummy owned by one of the greatest ventriloquists in WWII-era England, the other the eleven-year-old grandson of that ventriloquist, who uncovers secrets about his famous grandfather. In this excerpt, George, the ventriloguist's dummy describes his origins.
[October 31, 2007]
- Lost Son
M. Allen Cunningham reads from Lost Son, his fictional biography of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In this excerpt Rilke meets his lifelong muse, Lou Andreas-Salomé.
[October 24, 2007]
- Laundry Day
Elizabeth Bernstein reads her very short story, "Laundry Day."
[October 17, 2007]
- Up High in the Trees
Kiara Brinkman reads selections from her debut novel, Up High in the Trees.
[October 10, 2007]
- Michael Tolliver Lives
Armistead Maupin reads the first chapter of Michael Tolliver Lives, where we find Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, one of the most beloved characters in contemporary fiction, grappling with what it means to be a middle-aged gay man today. Please Note: This episode contains adult language and situations.
[October 3, 2007]
- Wakefield
Andrew Sean Greer reads "Wakefield," a retelling of the Nathaniel Hawthorne story of a man who walks out his door one day and does not return for twenty years.
[September 26, 2007]
- Our American King
David Lozell Martin reads selections from his new novel, Our American King. In a near-future America, devastated by a recent cataclysm, Tazza, a presumptive king rises to power. In this selection, Tazza makes a speech in front of the White House that speaks to the current state of leadership and democracy in America.
[September 19, 2007]
- The New Mecca
George Saunders Bonus Feature: George Saunders reads a second selection from his non-fiction collection, The Braindead Megaphone. In an excerpt from "The New Mecca," Saunders checks out Dubai, the Vegas of the Middle East, and thinks about world peace.
[September 15, 2007]
- Manifesto
George Saunders reads a selection from his non-fiction collection, The Braindead Megaphone. In "Manifesto," a press release from the People Reluctant to Kill For An Abstraction (PRKA), the group touts the success of its most recent initiative.
[September 12, 2007]
- Ondine
Playwright Garret Jon Groenveld introduces us to the story of Ondine and Him, star-crossed lovers from completely different worlds. How far will the white knight go to be with his mythical water nymph? With Gabriel Marin and Gwen Loeb and presented by PlayGround.
[September 5, 2007]
- Guerrero
Sean Beaudoin reads his short story "Guerrero," which provides a view from the floor of a Guerrero Street flat. The story is from the "Love" edition of Instant City, a San Francisco literary quarterly.
[August 29, 2007]
- Imeldific
In Gina Apostol's short story "Imeldific," a cohort of the dethroned first lady, Imelda Marcos, goes nuts in the aftermath of her heroine's downfall. Her daughter reflects with grim irony on the perils of life for women with bouffant hairdos in a newly emerging democracy.
[August 22, 2007]
- The Devil You Know
Mike Carey reads a selection from The Devil You Know in which freelance exorcist, Felix Castor goes out for a pint with a few of the workers from a library haunted by a particularly nasty ghost.
[August 15, 2007]
- Angel Face
San Francisco theater company, Word for Word perform a few scenes from Cornell Woolrich's Angel Face, a suspense-driven story from the pages of the famous pulp magazine, Black Mask. Angel Face is a wisecracking chorine with a beautiful face using all her charms to save her brother from a date with the electric chair.
[August 8, 2007]
- Fake
Kenneth Walton reads an excerpt from Fake: Forgery, Lies and eBay, which details the downward spiral of greed that ultimately led to his federal felony conviction for selling paintings of questionable origin.
[August 1, 2007]
- Free Food for Millionaires
In this excerpt from the first chapter of Min Jin Lee's novel, Free Food for Millionaires, the Han family dinner is disrupted when a violent argument breaks out between Joseph and his eldest daughter Casey, who is home for the summer after graduating from Princeton. Please Note: This episode contains adult language.
[July 25, 2007]
- The King of Methlehem
In this selection from The King of Methlehem, author Mark Lindquist introduces "Howard Schultz," the self-proclaimed monarch of methamphetamine production in Pierce County, Washington and Wyatt James, the veteran police officer on his trail.
[July 18, 2007]
- The Beginning
Playground presents John Patrick Moore and Gabriel Marin perform Tom Swift's short play, The Beginning, about the sweet, awkward and sometimes painful moments at the beginning of a new relationship. Jim Kleinmann directs.
[July 11, 2007]
- Chicken on Church
Jeremy Larner reads three selections about art and artists from his poetry collection, Chicken on Church.
[July 4, 2007]
- Little Stalker
Jennifer Belle reads a selection from Little Stalker, which enters the chaotic mind of Rebekah Kettle, a one-time successful novelist (now hopelessly blocked), as she attends a book party for an attractive British novelist, delivers a signed copy of his book to her ex-boyfriend and remembers a trip to Disneyworld.
[June 27, 2007]
- Darling, I Like You That Way
Ayelet Waldman reads her essay "Darling, I Like You That Way," in which she defends her not-so-secret wish that at least one of her two sons would turn out gay.
[June 20, 2007]
- The Last Chinese Chef
Nicole Mones reads the from her novel, The Last Chinese Chef. In this selection, the first chapter of a fictional Chinese food classic, also called The Last Chinese Chef, chef Liang Wei recounts his early life as a slave in the Forbidden City's palace kitchen.
[June 13, 2007]
- The Immense Complexities of Love
Book #3 in Kottie Paloma's "Books on Tape" series, The Immense Complexities of Love captures the brief history of a relationship. (Running Time: 2:19)
[June 6, 2007]
- The Increasing Crime Rate
Elaine Beale reads "The Increasing Crime Rate," a first-person nonfiction story inspired by the author's personal experiences in Oakland for the last half of 2006.
[May 30, 2007]
- The First Man-Made Man
Pagan Kennedy reads the first chapter of The First Man-Made Man, her biography of Michael Dillon, the first female-to-male transsexual. (Running Time: 30:45)
[May 23, 2007]
- Rear Views
Kristen Yawitz reads "Rear Views," a story from her unpublished collection Reward Body. (Running Time: 7:31)
[May 16, 2007]
- The Spellman Files
Lisa Lutz reads a selection from her debut novel The Spellman Files, in which Isabel "Izzy" Spellman describes her younger sister, Rae.
[May 9, 2007]
- Jimmy
Aaron Nielsen reads his short story, "Jimmy," the story of a sometimes awkward and difficult high school friendship between two boys; one gay, the other not.
[May 2, 2007]
- Heyday
Kurt Andersen reads a selection from Heyday, his sprawling novel of nineteenth century America. In this excerpt, amateur photographer Timothy Skaggs and volunteer fireman Duff Lucking photograph a Manhattan dairy fire.
[April 25, 2007]
- Alice
Elizabeth Bernstein reads "Alice," the darkly comic story of Joel and Alice Holding, a brother and sister with a big problem on their hands -- the Guinea worm that emerges through the skin just below Alice's belly button.
[April 18, 2007]
- Black, Gray, Green, Red, Blue: A Letter From a Famous Painter on the Moon
Ben Greenman reads "Black, Grey, Green, Red, Blue: A Letter From a Famous Painter on the Moon" from his short story collection, A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both: Stories About Human Love.
[April 11, 2007]
- Un Lun Dun
China Miéville reads a selection from Un Lun Dun, in which twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading to Un Lun Dun, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too.
[April 4, 2007]
- Red River
Lalita Tademy reads a selection from her novel, Red River, which tells how former slaves Lucy and Israel came to be together in Louisiana during Reconstruction.
[March 28, 2007]
- Still Water Saints
Alex Espinoza reads the first chapter of his novel, Still Water Saints, describing a day in the life of the Botánica Oshún.
[March 21, 2007]
- Tove's Secret Letter Writing Campaign
Claire Phillips reads her short story, "Tove's Secret Letter Writing Campaign," an action-packed, erotically charged rags-to-riches tale set in the United States of Beef at an unknown time in the future.
[March 14, 2007]
- Devotion
Howard Norman reads a selection from his novel, Devotion, describing the first meeting between David Kozol and Maggie Field at the Durrants Hotel in London.
[March 7, 2007]
- Honey, I'm Home
PlayGround presents Anthony Nemirovsky and Kerri Shawn in Geetha Reddy's short play, Honey, I'm Home. Jim Kleinmann directs.
[March 1, 2007]
- Dermaphoria
Craig Clevenger reads the first two chapters of his novel, Dermaphoria, in which Eric Ashworth awakens in jail, unable to remember how he got there or why.
[February 21, 2007]
- Lost City Radio
Daniel Alarcón reads a selection from Lost City Radio, an emotionally raw story of the consequences of war. In this excerpt, Victor, a young boy from the jungle village of 1797, is sent to the capital to deliver a list of his village's missing to Norma, the voice of Lost City Radio. Norma's weekly show broadcasts the names of those who disappeared during the long conflict, both to reunite families and to keep the memories of the departed alive.
[February 14, 2007]
- The Last of Her Kind
Sigrid Nunez reads a passage from The Last of Her Kind, an examination of the revolutionary era in which two women came of age. Ann and George's turbulent relationship begins when they are assigned to the same dorm room at Barnard College in 1968. In this excerpt, the two deal with the aftermath of George's rape.
[February 7, 2007]
- Candy from Strangers
William P. Arney of San Francisco's Noir City Film Festival reads "It Was the Meat," the first chapter of Mark Coggins' novel CANDY FROM STRANGERS, in which jazz bass-playing private eye August Riordan's gig at the venerable House of Shields bar doesn't go exactly as planned.
[January 31, 2007]
- The Long Night of Flying
Sharon Olson reads several selections from A Long Night of Flying, her first full-length collection of poetry. (Running Time: 8:34)
[January 24, 2007]
- The Oracles
Pati Poblete reads a couple of selections from her book, The Oracles, a memoir about the clash of values in a Filipino American household.
[January 17, 2007]
- My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up
Stephen Elliott reads a chapter from My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up, a collection of true stories that wrestle with the unknown and unspoken essences of love. In "Three Men and a Woman" Elliott struggles to share his girlfriend with her husband -- and another man.
[January 10, 2007]
- Sever
PlayGround presents Anthony Nemirovsky, Kerri Shawn and John Dana Kenning in Aaron Loeb's Sever. Jim Kleinmann directs. (Running Time: 10:43)
[January 3, 2007]
- Colored Purple
"All this time I've been leading up to this. God knows why I never wrote this, but I LOVE Prince. It's indescribable. He's my favorite everything! He's SOOO cool." Inspired by Mortified, Christina Nunez shares selections from the diary she kept as a thirteen year old obsessed with Prince.
[December 27, 2006]
- Rose of No Man's Land
A whirlwind exploration of poverty and dropouts, Rose of No Man's Land is the world according to Trisha -- a furious love story between two weirdo girls, brimming with snarky observations and soulful wonderings on the dazzle-flash emptiness of contemporary culture.
[December 20, 2006]
- Paint It Black
Janet Fitch reads a selection from Paint It Black, in which teen runaway turned art model, Josie Tyrell meets her fiancé's mother, Meredith Loewy, a concert pianist who disapproves of her son's lifestyle.
[December 13, 2006]
- One Good Turn
Kate Atkinson reads a selection from One Good Turn, wherein Gloria, after witnessing a brutal fit of road rage, thinks back on her life with Graham, an unscrupulous real estate tycoon.
[December 6, 2006]
- Mortified: Horus Hears a Ho
Jennifer Kirmse reads "Horus Hears a Ho," a series of entries from the journal she kept as a teenager, wherein she attempts to gain the attention and affection of her classmate and neighbor Horus. The piece is from Mortified: Real Words Real People Real Pathetic, an anthology of people's actual childhood writings, ripped from the pages of their lives and shared with total strangers.
[November 29, 2006]
- Gemma
Meg Tilly reads a selection from her novel Gemma, a disturbing, yet compelling exploration of the complex dynamics between a sexual predator and his teenage victim, told from the perspective of both the pedophile and his prey.
[November 22, 2006]
- The House Beautiful
Allison Burnett reads the introduction to his novel The House Beautiful, wherein B.K. Troop, a witty, middle-aged, bipolar, alcoholic homosexual, describes how his life is turned upside down when he inherits his best friend's Manhattan brownstone.
[November 15, 2006]
- Halfway House
Katherine Noel reads the first chapter of her novel Halfway House, describing the day that Angie Voorster -- diligent student, all-star swimmer, and Ivy League-bound high school senior -- dove to the bottom of a swimming pool and stayed there, throwing her close-knit family into turmoil.
[November 8, 2006]
- Magic for Beginners: The Hortlak
Kelly Link reads "The Hortlak," from her short story collection Magic for Beginners. "The Hortlak" is a Turkish word, meaning revenant, or ghost. Eric and Batu work at the All Night Convenience store across the road from the Ausible Chasm, at the bottom of which lies a vast zombie city. Zombies stop in at the All Night on their way to the chasm. Are Eric and Batu part of some kind of "new retail" experiment designed to study the shopping habits of zombies? Will Eric ever get the nerve to talk to Charley, the woman who works at the local SPCA putting dogs to sleep?
[November 1, 2006]
- The Return of the Player
Michael Tolkin revisits his character Griffin Mill a decade after he made his murderous ascent to Hollywood power in The Player. Now, with his career stalled and only $6 million in the bank, he is, by Hollywood standards, broke. In this excerpt from The Return of the Player, Mill assesses his situation, says a prayer for guidance and forgiveness and begins to calculate his next move. Mill's anti-heroic effort to wring love and meaning from a loveless and meaningless life is heartfelt and cynical, resulting in a powerful dark comedy that transcends the shopworn genre of Hollywood satire.
[October 25, 2006]
- The Book of Fate
Wes, a young Presidential aide, is about to have his life changed forever. An assassination attempt is made on the President of the United States and Wes is caught in the crossfire. Best-selling thriller author Brad Meltzer reads the first chapter to his novel "The Book of Fate."
[October 18, 2006]
- Adverbs
Adverbs is a novel about love -- a bunch of different people, in and out of different kinds of love. The title of each chapter is an adverb that describes the "love" story contained therein. "collectively" is a story about a bunch of people who really love a guy they hardly know. There's just something about him that's lovable, who knows what it is? He's got it and now he also has a group of folks dropping in for a visit so they can get to know him better.
[October 11, 2006]
- The Suitors
Ben Ehrenreich reads the second chapter of The Suitors, an audacious reimagining of The Odyssey, in which Penny waits alone at home while Payne, a modern-day Odysseus, gallivants around the world on battleships and attack helicopters, waging wars of conquest. A drinking, drugging crew of ne'er-do-well squatters surrounds Penny, eager for her attention. Even their most eyebrow-raising exploits can't distract her, though, as she angrily pines for Payne. But when a mysterious man with suspicious origins arrives on the scene, the suitors' precarious pecking order falls to pieces in the glow of Penny's newly ignited ardor. Brutal, playful, sexy, and subversive, The Suitors is a classic of its own kind.
[October 4, 2006]
- Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Meet Blue Van Meer, the preternaturally erudite heroine of Marisha Pessl's hilarious yet heartrending debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Never having lived in a place longer than it takes for most people to get a mortgage approval, she has been raised and educated by her brilliant, handsome, big-hearted (even bigger-mouthed), academic tome-citing, neo-Marxist, womanizing, Swiss professor father, Gareth Van Meer. When Gareth decides to settle for one year in one place before Blue goes off to Harvard, she blossoms from a shy, impressionable girl into a truly wise, independent young woman.
[September 27, 2006]
- Mary
Mary Todd Lincoln shares the story of her life, beginning with an account of the day her eldest son had her declared insane and committed to Bellevue Place, an asylum for women with nervous conditions.
[September 20, 2006]
- The Stolen Child
Inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem about the folk legend of the fairy changelings, this beguiling and truly original tale moves from contemporary America to nineteenth-century Germany and deep into humankind's most basic fantasies and fears. The Stolen Child is the story of Henry Day, a seven year old kidnapped in the dark forest near his home. No ordinary kidnappers, they are the fairy changelings -- ageless beings whose secret
community is threatened by encroaching modern life. They give Henry a new name, Aniday, and the gift of agelessness -- now and forever, he will be seven years old.
[September 13, 2006]
- The Adventure of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
"The Adventure of the Giant Rat of Sumatra" is the long-lost story of one of Watson's most intriguing adventures, one for which the "world was not ready" during Holmes' lifetime. The story deals with Professor Moriarty, Colonel Sebastian Moran, and the infamous Dr. Culverton-Smith, who together collude to introduce the bubonic plague into England. Holmes and Watson nearly face their own ends in their efforts to foil this deadly and dastardly plot.
[September 6, 2006]
- Slipstream
Set in and around the eerie expanse of Los Angeles International Airport, Slipstream is an intricately crafted tale of five people whose lives are quietly drawing toward a fateful collision as each struggles to stay afloat in the face of major setbacks, minor failures, and a reckless pursuit of elusive second chances.
[August 30, 2006]
- The Secret Language of Sleep
With The Secret Language of Sleep, a couple finally unlocks the secrets hidden within their chosen sleeping position. Each pose (there are thirty-nine in all) is deciphered using an easy-to-identify illustration, an overview of the sleepers' traits and tendencies, along with tips about which stretches and diets to try to enhance the effectiveness of the pose. A
legend of handy icons points the way to the poses that are most therapeutic for specific kinds of sleepers, including: snorers, outdoorsmen, couples suffering from intestinal ailments, and anyone confined to a twin-sized bed or tent. The book is color-coded based on the four Comfort Zones, and features a dream-blue cover embossed with an illustration of The Ticket Puncher, the favorite pose of couples whose schedules never quite mesh.
[August 23, 2006]
- We of the Capitals
"We of the Capitals," a poem in 14 sections, is about the value of abstract nouns in wartime. It is from the book, Parcel (O Books 2006).
[August 16, 2006]
- Crawl Space
It's 1999 and Emile Poulquet awaits sentencing in a Paris court for deporting thousands to almost certain death during World War II. But haunted by ghosts from his past, and determined to confront his dark legacy, he escapes and heads toward his beloved Finier, a rural town in the south of France. In Finier, Poulquet finds shelter within the strange embrace of a group of teenage wastrels, and encounters new breeds of idealism, degeneracy, and friendship. He sets out to find Arianne -- a lifelong obsession and the widow of a Resistance hero -- in order to hand her his last will and testament. But as he begins his quest, he cannot help being drawn, inexorably, toward another circle of refugees and reporters in town for a wartime reunion. He doesn't yet know that his worst betrayal -- and the greatest test of his own ability to pardon another -- is yet to come.
[August 9, 2006]
- The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril
In The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, Paul Malmont draws upon his long fascination with the pulp era and the lives of the greatest pulp authors of them all -- Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage, and Walter Gibson, author of The Shadow -- and brings a beloved genre roaring out of the past. Deftly weaving real-life biographies into a work of fiction, Malmont's adventure begins in 1937 at New York's legendary White Horse Tavern. Gibson tells a young, pre-scientology L. Ron Hubbard (then a pulp writer himself) the "Tale of the Sweet Flower War," asking him to identify what's real and what's pulp.
[August 2, 2006]
- Herman Melville, Metafictional Laff Riot
"Herman Melville, Metafictional Laff Riot" is an essay slated for an upcoming issue of Kitchen Sink Magazine. It celebrates the first three words of Moby Dick, and attempts to cast Mr. Melville's writing in a more "punk rock" light than it is usually thought of.
[July 26, 2006]
- Matches
Matches is about a young American Jew who serves in the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. Somewhat based on the author's experience as an American-Israeli soldier, Nathan Falk's journey into the troubled heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of disillusionment and sobering revelation, but also of a newly steeled determination to survive, as a Jew in a hostile world, at all costs. "The Orchard" is the prologue to the novel.
[July 19, 2006]
- A Scarecrow's Bible
In a house trailer in the rural South, a married Vietnam veteran, addicted to drugs and haunted by memories of the past, is on the brink of collapse. Just when he thinks the dream of another life is over, the unspeakable happens. He falls in love with a frail, ghostly younger man who reminds him of youth, beauty, and the possibility of a life beyond the prison he has created for himself.
[July 12, 2006]
- The City, Not Long After
The City, Not Long After is a novel set in a future San Francisco. Half a generation before the novel takes place,a plague wiped out all but one in one thousand. The city is inhabited by artists, and they are transforming it with art and imagination. San Francisco is a haunted, dreaming place, peopled with memories. Invaded by an army from Sacramento, the artists fight back, using art as their weapon of choice.
[July 5, 2006]
- Made of Steel
"Made of Steel," the first chapter of Elizabeth Block's novel, A Gesture Through Time, introduces the forbidden love affair between the narrator and Magnitude Hortense Zappa.
[June 28, 2006]
- Sperm Are From Men, Eggs Are From Women
In Sperm Are From Men, Eggs Are From Women, an average guy takes a look at the whole issue of relationships through the lens of sociology, biology, anthropology, and some pretty awful dates. Elegant and earthy, intelligent and a little bit insane, the real reason men and women are different is the very reason human beings are made for each other.
[June 21, 2006]
- The Problem with E.S.P.
The Golden Rule for a bedwetter: nobody can ever know. Well, maybe Mom and Dad can know, but nobody else. Unfortunately however, in "The Problem with ESP" a young bedwetter has to contend with a teacher's supernatural forces -- ESP. This humorous account of awkward adolescence details the narrator's lifelong struggle with chronic bedwetting and the various methods he employed to conceal his secret.
[June 14, 2006]
- Crashing America
Katia Noyes read selections from her novel, Crashing America, which follows a runaway torn between her yearnings for freedom and her need for belonging.
[June 7, 2006]
- Monstress
"Monstress" is loosely based on an actual event, or rather, an actual movie: years ago, I read about a movie deemed by a group of critics as the worst movie ever made; a horror/sci-fi flick made of two films -- one from the Philippines, one from the US -- spliced together.
[May 31, 2006]
- Zoo Material
"Zoo Material" is the story of a man who gets fired from his job at the zoo, if not for his own good, then certainly for the poor animals, who among other things seem to be "acting oddly in his presence."
[May 24, 2006]
- Billy and the Ants
My 'Billy' stories are my attempt to capture in words, like flies in corn syrup, the hopes and dreams of children everywhere. They are intended to be read aloud to boys and girls you hope never to see again.
[May 17, 2006]
- A Series of Walks
Jeff T. Johnson reads "A Series of Walks," a three-poem cycle about a visit to Vancouver in the dead of winter.
[May 10, 2006]
- From Somewhere Down South to South Beach
"From Somewhere Down South to South Beach" takes an irreverant look at the seedier side of the MFA experience.
[May 3, 2006]
- Magic Kingdom
In "Magic Kingdom," a 315-pound complexity engineer with a briefcase full of software is bound for Orlando to boot up Disney's new "Origins of Life" exhibit. He finds himself seated next to a man who is clinically aerophobic.
[April 26, 2006]
- Always a Happy Man
Is it art or is it obsession? Is art always obsessive? Follow the story about Danny Moran (about many of us) who keeps the hum turned up inside his body. Will his product be his demise?
[April 19, 2006]
- Always Coming Second
This poem describes my relationships with musicians. I do find myself using music as a jumping off point for a lot of my writing, but with this poem, there's a very sustained conversation going on about how music and writing are the same, and how they are inevitably going to be different -- and how those differences can impact communication.
[April 5, 2006]
- La Ann
Stefanie Kalem reads "La Ann," her essay about meeting Ann Magnuson and starting a new life in San Diego.
[March 29, 2006]
- Girl Reporter
Stephanie Harrell reads "Girl Reporter," a short story recounting Lois Lane's torrid relationship with the man of steel.
[March 22, 2006]
- Animals Here Below
Eric Puchner reads "Animals Here Below," a selection from his short story collection Music Through the Floor.
[March 8, 2006]
- Devil in the Details
Jennifer Traig reads "Sacre Bleu," a selection from her memoir Devil in the Details.
[March 1, 2006]
- Weight Less Than Shadow
In honor of the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Anniversary, we pulled this reading by Jim Nisbet from the archives to get you in the mood to celebrate San Francisco's favorite piece of infrastructure.
[February 22, 2006]
- Agnes and Iris
Ben Bush reads his short story "Agnes and Iris."
[February 15, 2006]
- Fusion City
Kate Braverman reads "Fusion City," an essay from her "accidental memoir" Frantic Transmissions to and from Los Angeles.
[February 8, 2006]
- Choir Boy
Charlie Anders reads a selection from her novel Choir Boy.
[February 1, 2006]
- Hidden Kitchens
The Kitchen Sisters read selections from their book Hidden Kitchens.
[January 25, 2006]
- Spook
Mary Roach reads "Listening to Casper," a chapter from her book Spook, wherein she investigates whether ghosts play bass. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
[January 18, 2006]
- Flores
Julie Orringer reads her short story "Flores."
[January 11, 2006]
- Nothing Ever Just Disappears
Kevin Killian reads "Nothing Ever Just Disappears" from The Wild Creatures, a collection of stories by Sam D'Allesandro, which he edited.
[January 4, 2006]
