Life On Books Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Summer has fallen asleep and fall weather has already begun to creep in, so it's time to pull those hoodies out of the closet, and cozy up with some great books, and we've just got the books for you (kinda). Here are some of our top recommendations for books to read this fall! All the books mentioned in this episode: The taker and other stories Rubem Fonseca https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781934... The Dying Grass William T. Vollmann https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780143... Texas the Great Theft Carmen Boullosa https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781941... Bad Monkey Carl Hiaasen https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780446... The Forty Days of Musa Dagh Franz Werfel https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781567... Che Jon Lee Anderson https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780802... Natural Causes Nina Lykke https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781948... Wailing Madness Shame and Death W. Gavin All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780449... Eastbound Maylis De Kerangal https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781953... The Trees Grew Because I Bled There Eric LaRocca https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781803... The Melancholy of Resistance Laszlo Krasznahorkia https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781982... J.R. William Gaddis https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781681... Yellow Bird Sierra Crane Murdoch https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780399... Vulture Capitalism Grace Blakeley https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781982... Solenoid Mircea Catarescu https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781646... Omensetter’s Luck William H. Gass https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780141... The Tunnel William H. Gass https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781628... Between Two Fires Christopher Buelman https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9798662... The Road Cormac McCarthy https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780307... Against the Day Thomas Pynchon https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780143... The Apple in the Dark Clarice Lispector https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... Malina Ingeborg Bachman https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... Death in Spring Merce Rodoreda https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781940... Butcher’s Crossing John Williams https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781590... The Last Samurai Helen DeWitt https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... Wild Horses Jordi Cussa 07769 Laszlo Krasznahorkia Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more! https://linktw.in/BRYAnVh Want to read one book from every country? Check out our resource online: https://linktw.in/Zeolty Want to know my all time favorite books? Click the link below! https://bookshop.org/shop/lifeonbooks Follow me on Instagram:   / alifeonbooks   Follow Andy on Instagram   / metafictional.meathead   This video was created with

Today on the Life On Books Podcast we are answering all of YOUR bookish questions, from how to navigate a bookstore as a beginner, to how to build a daily reading habit, and so much more. Join the Life on Books mailing list to stay up to date on all of our latest book giveaways, projects, and more! https://linktw.in/BRYAnVh Want to read one book from every country? Check out our resource online: https://linktw.in/Zeolty Want to know my all time favorite books? Click the link below! https://bookshop.org/shop/lifeonbooks Follow me on Instagram:   / alifeonbooks   Follow Andy on Instagram   / metafictional.meathead   This video was created with: Sony A7IV https://amzn.to/3WGit8i Sigma 24-70 https://amzn.to/3yjDPis Aputure 300X https://amzn.to/4fnxwv0 Aputure Light Dome https://amzn.to/3WptlGk Rode Wireless Mics https://amzn.to/3YpavBW Shure SM7B https://amzn.to/46vyQbk

In this podcast we take a trip to Andy's new apartment, where we sit down to discuss what it means to be "well read", if you should intentionally try to "read diversely" and of course, we talk a lot about books. What does it mean to you to be "well read"? Are you there yet, or do you think it's a lifelong pursuit? Books discussed in this episode: Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakeley https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781982180850 Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781568364278 Broughtupsy Christina Cooke https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781646221882 The Brother by Rain Raud https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781940953441 Lost Empress by Sergio De La Pava https://amzn.to/3Vxf36a Tell them of Battles and Elephants by Mathias Enard https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811227049 The Instructions by Adam Levin https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781952119736 Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780143039945 Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780679728757 Moby Dick by Herman Melville https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780142437247 Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780805086843 Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780812976717 Women and Men by Joseph McElroy https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780979312397 The Lost Scrapbook by Evan Dara https://amzn.to/45Bu7UI #literature #books #guyswhoread

Today on the Life on Books Podcast we are doing a deep dive on the hidden literary gem of Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter. Hard Rain Falling was Carpenter's debut novel, and despite it being the work of a master of his craft, Carpenter's career never seemed to materialize in the same way as his contemporaries. In Hard Rain Falling you won't be wowed by pyrotechnic prose, or need to keep a dictionary nearby as is the case with so many respected authors. Instead what you'll get is a gritty, bleak, and unique story that sinks its hooks into you and won't let you go until you've finished. In our modern time, so many books are described as "daring" "bold" or "ambitious" but often fail to live up to those claims. Hard Rain Falling is all of those things, and more. In 1966, when the novel debuted, tackling topics like race relations, gay romance, class struggle, questioning the morality of the prison system and capitalism were all taboo subjects, yet Carpenter fearlessly took these head on. Don Carpenter has been called the "American Dostoevsky" and after reading Hard Rain Falling, I'm inclined to agree. Here are all the books mentioned in the podcast: Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781590... Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson https://amzn.to/3RPVvcj Angels by Denis Johnson https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780060... The Garden by Aiden Scott Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780679... What Kingdom by Fine Grabal https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781953... An Apprenticeship of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811... Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakely https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781982... History a Mess by Sigrun Palsdottir https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781940... Hamas from Resistance to Regime by Paola Caridi https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781644... Memed, My Hawk by Yashar Kemal https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781590... Fox by Dubravka Ugresic https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781940... On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krieza https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811...

In this episode, we travel to the 5 college's booksale in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and on the way we take your book related questions.

We talk about our favorite places to read, what it means to have success in the literary space, whether we prefer waffles or pancakes, and so much more.

As always, here are the books mentioned in this episode

Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/3QRHOZN

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780143039945

The Tunnel by William Gass

https://amzn.to/3wJsAza

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781628974638

Berserk by Kentaro Miura

https://amzn.to/4bteVv0

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781506711980

Watchmen by Alan Moore

https://amzn.to/3QY1UBz

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781779501127

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

https://amzn.to/4dTwTsg

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781779511195

Cain’s Jawbone by Edward Powys Mathers

https://amzn.to/3yD4whO 

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781800180796

Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming by Laszlo Kraznahorkai

https://amzn.to/3UTEWMZ

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811226646

Pay as you Go by Eskor David Johnson

https://amzn.to/44UObRL

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781952119743

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

https://amzn.to/3KfBCqN

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780140177398

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

https://amzn.to/3QRvHMo

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781501179402

Passing by Nella Larsen

https://amzn.to/3V80KpE

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780142437278

The Passion According to GH by Clarice Lispector

https://amzn.to/3UZUAXw

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811219686

Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakely

https://amzn.to/4bLXG7X

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781982180850

Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa

https://amzn.to/3QROCXl

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781568364278

Tell them of Battles, Kings and Elephants by Matthias Enard

https://amzn.to/3UThyPP

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780811227049

Then I am Myself the Word by Christof Koch

https://amzn.to/3KdnVbR

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781541602809

Oblivion by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3KcZKu0

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780316010764

The Pale King by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3QYqcvo

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780316074223

 In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen

https://amzn.to/3WYIIau

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780140144567

Grunts by John C. McManus

https://amzn.to/3KdUaYi

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9780451233417

The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvilli

https://amzn.to/4dKfORL

Or

https://bookshop.org/a/103053/9781950354146

In Today's episode we do a reading recap as well as announce the new Life on Books Book Club!

Here are all of the books discussed in this episode!

Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter

https://amzn.to/3WynGQ3

Tell them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants by Matthias Enard

https://amzn.to/3ye4WeD

The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector

https://amzn.to/3WEspQa

Oblivion by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3WEGOfk

This is Water by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3WAUHek

Speedboat by Renata Adler

https://amzn.to/3KiJlEF

Meditations by Marcus Aurelias

https://amzn.to/4dzCJPs

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3UZRKmA

The Instructions by Adam Levin

https://amzn.to/3WCvjVq

JR by William Gaddis

https://amzn.to/3UTxeDY

The Mystery Dot Doc by Mathew McIntosh

https://amzn.to/3yqpqk7

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

https://amzn.to/3UWDTNG

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

https://amzn.to/3WHdip5

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson

https://amzn.to/44Dmfle

Angels by Denis Johnson

https://amzn.to/3UUJJiB

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

https://amzn.to/3WVXuiD

 The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

https://amzn.to/3UYS1Ge

The Lime Twig by John Hawkes

https://amzn.to/3wC1slu

The Melancholy of Resistance by Lazslo Krasznahorkai

https://amzn.to/3ynywhP

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor

https://amzn.to/3yvWW8D

Omensetter’s Luck by William Gass

https://amzn.to/4dERkJv

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/3WHWZbt

Underworld by Don DeLillo

https://amzn.to/3K9JB8x

White Noise by Don DeLillo

https://amzn.to/4dGA4n0

Tinkers by Paul Harding

https://amzn.to/4bh2Bhx

Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed

https://amzn.to/3UZsVqM

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

https://amzn.to/4bC9UQE

Warlock Oakley Hall

https://amzn.to/44HzEsq

Babel by RF Kuang

https://amzn.to/3wAsLga

Dr. Christof Koch: Consciousness, Free Will & The Grand Theory of Everything

In this episode we interview Dr. Christof Koch, a trained physicist turned neuroscientist who's primary area of research focuses on consciousness.

We sit down with Dr. Koch to discuss his latest book "Then I am Myself the World" out in May of 2024 on Basic Books where he recounts his experience with consciousness altering substances, Integrated Information Theory, which is the foundational theory for his research, and of course...what he's currently reading!

You can find all of the books mentioned in this episode in the links below.

⁠⁠

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

⁠https://amzn.to/3WlhDy4⁠

The Schopenhauer Cure by Irvin Yalom

⁠https://amzn.to/4b1JdoK⁠

When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin Yalom

⁠https://amzn.to/3UnSLDd⁠

The Feeling of Life Itself by Christof Koch

⁠https://amzn.to/3Umeewf⁠

The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

⁠https://amzn.to/3Qtn61Y⁠

Oblivion by David Foster Wallace

⁠https://amzn.to/3WkLG91⁠

Determined by Robert Sapolsky

⁠https://amzn.to/3JH1Imc⁠

In case you haven't noticed, there has been an explosion in books being adapted to television and movies lately.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it's a great way for writers to have financial success and stability in their writing careers.

This practice has become so common, Reese Witherspoon has an entire business model based on not just publishing books, but gobbling up the film rights to those books, essentially giving her an near unlimited pipeline of content.

One of the most recent adaptations that we were excited about is Shogun, which is based on the 1970s novel by the same name, written by James Clavell.

If you haven't read Shogun, it's an epic adventure, smartly written with a swath of complex characters and plot lines.

While both Andy and Tony have been enjoying Shogun (out now on Hulu), we certainly have our critiques as well.

In this episode we also talk about our favorite book to screen adaptations thus far, and which books we'd love to see on the big screen.

Here is a list of all of the books mentioned in the episode.

Shogun by James Clavell

https://amzn.to/49csA7R

Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright

https://amzn.to/3xafpHt

Too Much of Life by Clarice Lispector

https://amzn.to/4acgop2

Lost Empress by Sergio De La Pava

https://amzn.to/43Dhh7M

A Bended Circuity by Robert Stickley

A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava

https://amzn.to/4cpOAPs

Passion According to GH by Calrice Lispector

https://amzn.to/4abhHEC

Dispatches by Michael Herr

https://amzn.to/3x8zcqB

Musashi by Eiji Yushikawa

https://amzn.to/3x8zcqB

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

https://amzn.to/43xVcao

King Rat by James Clavell

https://amzn.to/49c9gaL

Tai-Pan by James Clavell

https://amzn.to/3TTFHGP

Noble House by James Clavel

https://amzn.to/4alIjCG

Whirlwind by James Clavell

https://amzn.to/4appgId

Gai-Jin by James Clavell

https://amzn.to/4abu3fW

A Song of Fire and Ice by George RR Martin

https://amzn.to/3IVFxZi

White Noise by Don DeLillo

https://amzn.to/4989VKB

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

https://amzn.to/4czyouZ

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/4auaCyW

Jaws by Peter Benchley

https://amzn.to/43I1RPt

Jurassic Park by Michael Cricthon

https://amzn.to/4a87fxD

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

https://amzn.to/4azLuH3

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nyguen

https://amzn.to/3VCQ2Z2

Dune by Frank Herbert

https://amzn.to/3TDkWxs

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

https://amzn.to/3vxlpcH

The Wager by David Grann

https://amzn.to/3TBGjiJ

Hold the Dark by William Geraldi

https://amzn.to/3ISYkUK

Leave the World Behind with Rumaan Alam

https://amzn.to/3PFSjyK

Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/49bUPDJ

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

https://amzn.to/3PGmRjP

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/43zZX3f

Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/49aGoQh

Underworld by Don DeLillo

https://amzn.to/3x69piI

JR by William Gaddis

https://amzn.to/4awhjAp

The Crying of Lot 49

https://amzn.to/49f3DJd

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

https://amzn.to/43BXdT9

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

https://amzn.to/3PzZmsQ

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

https://amzn.to/4cBi6Sk

Satantago by Laszlo Krasznahorki

https://amzn.to/3xb2PaJ

The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorki

https://amzn.to/3TPpl1L.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

https://amzn.to/4cye8Kk

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

https://amzn.to/43z29rI

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

https://amzn.to/3vEkvLr

Last  Boat out of Shanghai by Hele Zia

https://amzn.to/4atmbGz

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

https://amzn.to/3xeVjMd

Love and Terror by William Herrick

https://amzn.to/4aaPu0Q

In this episode we talk about what happened to the Life on Books Podcast, why we haven't posted a single new episode in 2024, despite finishing 2023 so strongly and with some very big goals.

In this episode, Andy and Tony pull back the curtain on their private lives and talk about some of the monumental shifts in both of their lives, and how that has kept them from releasing a new episode.

In this episode we talk about relationships, mental health, the concept of consciousness and free will, infidelity, and of course..books! Here is a list of all of the books mentioned in the podcast!

Comeback Pod Show Notes

Behave by Robert Sapolsky

https://amzn.to/49CKOjW

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky

https://amzn.to/4a0IUtj

Determined by Robert Sapolsky

https://amzn.to/3P9Pplq

Ethics by Spinoza

https://amzn.to/3Vcjzsl

Essay on the Freedom of the Will

https://amzn.to/4a2V9p4

Praise Worthy by Alexis Wright

https://amzn.to/4a26w0I

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

https://amzn.to/3vai5Uy

Madam Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

https://amzn.to/3PxAqCj

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

https://amzn.to/3uPYMQB

Lady Chatterly’s Lover by DH Lawrence

https://amzn.to/4c3xcQi

Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy

https://amzn.to/4393jtK

The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne

https://amzn.to/49CRfn6

Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett

https://amzn.to/3T7oZlr

Effie Briest by Theodor Fontaine

https://amzn.to/3uZp56N

A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben

https://amzn.to/3P9X4Ac

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

https://amzn.to/3wMBCv2

Then I am Myself the World by Christof Koch

https://amzn.to/4a1ZFV6

A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

https://amzn.to/3v6m3gY

Too much of Life

https://amzn.to/434GkQy

The Anarchist who Shared my Name by Pablo Martin Sanchez

https://amzn.to/3IozQmn

A Woman Back from Moscow by Ha Jin

https://amzn.to/48DDUK4

Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/438pEYp

The End of the World is a Cul De Sac by Louise Kennedy

https://amzn.to/4c1Vz0W

In this episode we discuss all of the amazing books we read in 2023, from literature to nonfiction and audiobooks. We also discuss some of the things we experienced as "social media influencers" and "Bookstagrammers," what our goals are for 2024 and so, so much more.

Thank you to everyone who has watched or listened to our book podcast this year. We couldn't have done it without your support, and we're looking forward to sharing and talking about more books with you in the new year!

Year End Pod Show Notes

The Netenyahus by Joshua Cohen

https://amzn.to/3S1PBVM

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/48DpQk0

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

https://amzn.to/48B7jF7

Angels by Denis Johnson

https://amzn.to/3RKtRwt

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig

https://amzn.to/3RFKwkv

Libra by Don DelIllo

https://amzn.to/4aQmv3c

The Wager by David Grann

https://amzn.to/3U1mdR9

Grimmish by Michael Winkler

https://amzn.to/4aG34d3

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

https://amzn.to/3NOoM4V

The Tunnel by William H. Gass

https://amzn.to/48h92iW

The Bridge at No Gun Ri

https://amzn.to/3NKJEdk

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

https://amzn.to/3TJJjv7

Pay as you Go by Eskor David Johnson

https://amzn.to/3NNbHZP

Love and Terror by William Herrick

https://amzn.to/3S2BfEz

Troll by Dave Fitzgerald

https://amzn.to/48DVgXs

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

https://amzn.to/48zcpBG

https://amzn.to/48fYJM1

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

https://amzn.to/3vfBVxv

JR William Gaddis

https://amzn.to/3S2yGSY

War Trash by Ha Jin

https://amzn.to/41JBvvF

Antagony by  luis goytisolo

https://amzn.to/3RLbfw6

The Lift by Dimitri Kralj

https://coronasamizdat.com/index.php?id_product=70&rewrite=the-lift-by-dimitrij-kralj&controller=product

The Hole by Jose Revueltas

https://amzn.to/48cjcl0

 The Pearl by John Steinbeck

https://amzn.to/4aCw4Tc

The Hospital by Ahmed Bouanani

https://amzn.to/4aCEwSp

The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca

https://amzn.to/47kXfPF

Babel by RF Kuang

https://amzn.to/47g86tX

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

https://amzn.to/47lvvuf

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

https://amzn.to/3NP1eNj

The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins

https://amzn.to/48eoYCT

 The Logos by Mark DeSilva

https://amzn.to/3TIddzW

A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava

https://amzn.to/3S2Ys9S

Warlock by Oakey Hall

https://amzn.to/3vr4MPj

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

https://amzn.to/3vr4MPj

A novel to read on the train by Dumitru Tsepeneag

https://amzn.to/3RJoZrf

Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by Laszlo Krasnahorki