Mashreads Podcast

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we talk to Arvin Ahmadi about his debut novel 'Down and Across.' The book follows Scott Ferdowsi, who is on a guest to find his purpose and become gritty. When he runs away from his home in Philadelphia to D.C. for the summer, he meets Fiora, a crossword puzzle enthusiast struggling to define her own life as well. "You hear sometimes, and this is a cliche, that life is like a crossword puzzle. But Fiora’s perspective is a bit different," explains Ahmadi. "[She believes] that life is like constructing a crossword puzzle. Where you’re given the grid, you’re given the constraints of your life, but it’s up to you to actually fill in the squares." Join us as we talk about grit, crossword puzzles, writing diverse characters, and more. And, as always, we close the episode with recommendations: Arvin recommends two books: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. “It’s crazy, it’s this multi-universe story but at the same time, it’s a story full

This week, we chat with Neal Shusterman, author of the new Arc of the Scythe series, the 2015 National Book Award-winning young adult novel 'Challenger Deep,' and more. Join us as we chat about utopia vs. dystopia, writing about mental health, and advice for young writers. Neal recommends 'Black Mirror.' "For TV, I just finished the new season of 'Black Mirror' which is my favorite TV show. That series hits me where I live." He also recommends 'Dear Evan Hansen.' "I saw 'Dear Evan Hansen' back in September and I can't stop listening to it." And finally, he recommends the 'Tron: Legacy' soundtrack by for writing. "It really, really sets the mood for any science fiction story." MJ recommends diving into the archives of The Awl, in light of the news that the website is shutting down. He especially suggests you check out the site's "weather reviews" series, which provides literary inspired reviews of the previous days weather. He also recommends Jia Tolentino's ode to The Awl, "The end of The Awl and the

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we catch up with James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner series to chat about the movie adaptation of his novel The Death Cure, dystopian novels vs. post-apocalyptic novels, and what's its like to write blockbuster books. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: James recommends Leonard da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. "It is fantastic. Leonardo da Vinci had a fascinating life, and I really enjoyed [this book]." Peter recommends Reality Is Not What It Seems by Carlo Rovelli. MJ recommends "'Call Me By Your Name' is the rare case where you should watch the movie before reading the book," an essay by Mashable's entertainment editor (and frequent MashReads quest) Proma Khosla. He also recommends "The Self In Self-Help," a 2013 essay by Kathryn Schultz.  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Joe Hill's novella "Snapshot," which choronicles the plight of a boy who discovers a man who steals memories with mysterious polaroid camera. Then, inspired by the book, we chat about books that scared us as kids. Also during the episode, MJ urged people interested in the plot of "Snapshot" to check out the lauded short story by George Saunders "Victory Lap." During the podcast, we also learned of the very sad death of author Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the The Earthsea Trilogy and The Left Hand of Darkness. We discussed her tremendous two-page short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" early last year on this podcast. Her talent will be very missed and we are lucky to have the impactful books she left behind Martha says she's "obsessed" with a new song by Troye Sivan called "My My My!"and has been listening to Tinashe's "No Drama." Her recommendation unfortunately sparked a debate over whether Tinashe can

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we celebrate our 100th episode! Join us as we look back on some of our favorite moments, from book discussions we loved to guests we can't believe we got to interview.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, about her new memoir When They Call You A Terrorist. The story documents both Patrisse's own life as well as the founding of Black Lives Matter. "The story of Black Lives Matter starts before Black Lives Matter. The story of Black Lives Matter, for me, starts with my childhood." And as always we close the show with recommendatiosn: Patrisse recommends “Anything by Octavia Butler, especially her last book Fledgling, which is about racist vampires. Amazing.” She also recommends Marge Piercy “She mixes sci-fi and political issues together.” And she also recommends the upcoming books Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittany Cooper, No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America by Darnell Moore, and Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Our Movement by Charlene Carruthers. "It’s the year of Black Lives books." Matt recommends

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Michael Wolff's new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Peter recommends The Mighty Boosh, a BBC Three comedy. "It's just the weirdest and most surreal show, that's slightly problematic sometimes. All that said, though, it's a delightful show because it has my two favorite comedians: Rich Fulture and Matt Berry. It's fun. It's on Hulu. Heather recommends The Liars Club by Mary Karr. "Mary Karr is perfect, she's never made a mistake much like Michael Wolff. This published this in '96 or '97, and it kicked off the era of memoir writing. This was like the original good memoir." MJ recommends author Matt De La Peña's essay for Time "Why We Shouldn't Shield Children From Darkness." "The essay is just so movign about how we need to support children through darkness and the incredible, heartbreaking moments that he's expereicend when he's gotten to see a child expressing true

The MashReads Podcast is back! This week, we reunite in the New Year and talk about what we read over the holiday and we set some 2018 reading goals. Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Martha recommends watching Lovesick, season 3, on Netflix. "It's a beautiful story of friendship and love. And it's just so good. The acting is fantastic. I'm just the biggest fan of this." Martha has also been working on a movie project: "I have been watching every Jake Gyllenhaal movie ever." Peter recommends a bunch of movies including The Square. "It has one of the most intense scenes that I've experienced all year, and that's incredible in a year where mother! came out."  MJ recommends DJ Detweiler's remix of Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball,"  (h/t Mashable's senior editor Foster Kamer). "It takes this song and makes it even more absurd, and it just keeps building. The more you listen to it, the funnier it gets."

2017 is coming to an end! This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about what we read in 2017, including our favorite new book released in 2017, the most unexpected thing we love, books we wished got more attention, most challenging book, and our favorite things we read (new or old) in 2017.  

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'Cat Person' by Kristen Roupenian. Then, we move on and discuss books and stories that we extremely related to. And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Chloe recommends 'Difficult Women' by Roxane Gay. "It's great. I assume that if you're listening to this podcast, you'd be into very interior female protagonists. It's full of them. It's great." Nicole recommends 'A Life Apart' by Neel Mukherjee. She also recommends 'Voyeur,' a documentary on Netflix about Gay Talese's 'New Yorker' article "The Voyeur's Motel." "It is fascinating. It made me think about who we are as people and what's okay and what's not okay, and it's very nuanced. And it was also great to see Gay Talese talking about being a writer, and to get a peek into his life as well." Peter recommends 'Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made' by Jason Schreier, a news editor at Kotaku. "It is fascinating to me because it'

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat about David Foster Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest.' And as always we close the show with recommendations: Peter recommends Lady Bird. "I don't think it's a perfect movie but I think it's an incredibly beautiful one."  Brett recommends This is Water, David Foster Wallace's speech about daily life. Chloe recommends the show Riverdale. I think it's a perfect is a perfect post-modern show and I think David Foster Wallace would love it." (Also check out David Foster Wallace's essay on TV E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction). She also recommends How to A Be A Person In The World by Heather Havrilesky.

This week on The MashReads Podcast, we talk to R.J. Palacio about her novel Wonder, which was just turned into a major motion picture staring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The book follows a year in the life of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy who is starting the 5th grade. Though Auggie is a normal 10-year-old boy, he was born with facial differences resulting in numerous surgeries which have kept him homeschooled and away from his peers until now. Now, entering school for the first time, Auggie and his community must find the courage, kindness, and empathy to accept each other, despite their differences. "The narrative we’ve come to expect and accept about middle schoolers being mean and middle schoolers being cruel and all of that is one that don’t subscribe to because, [while] kids can be mean, I’ve also experienced tremendous nobility. What I’ve seen in children is they reach out to support each other when they’re down. Kids have an innate nobility that needs to be urged o

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we catch up with actor, producer, and author Neil Patrick Harris to talk about writing, reading, and his new book 'The Magic Misfits.' Neil has a host of recommends including the podcasts Comedy Bang Bang, The Daily, and Human Brain; the TV shows Survivor; Kelly Clarkson's new album The Meaning of Life and P!nk's new album Beautiful Trauma; and more. MJ recommends "The Apex of Insanity: A look back on the fifth anniversary of Rihanna's ill-fated '777 Tour,'" an oral history of Rihanna's ill-fated attempt to perform seven shows, in seven countries, in seven days. Peter recommends the album 'We Can Die Happy' by Tennis. Neil is also producing a show In & Of Itself, a mix of theater and magic by Derek DelGaudio. ("It's sort of a theatrical existential crisis" DelGaudio explained on The Late Show with Colbert.)  

This week on the MashReads Podast, we talk with Andy Weir, author of 'The Martian,' about his new novel 'Artemis.' The novel follows Jazz Bashara, a space smuggler who has grown up on Artemis, the first city on the moon. When Jazz gets a heist job from one of Artemis' wealthiest citizens, she thinks she's hit the jackpot. However, what Jazz believes to be a tricky but solvable task soon transforms into a mission that not only threatens Jazz's future but also the future of Artemis itself. And as always, we close the show with recommendations: Andy recommends Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. "RPO just captured. It reached out and grabbed my right by the nostalgia and pulled me in." (And Andy Weir actually wrote a Ready Player One fanfiction titled Lacero.) MJ recommends this "A Unifying Theory of Bops," a chart someone tweeted that rights pop music on a scale of whether it's a bop or not. "It's this weird chart with all of these great songs ranked." (You can also check out MJ's explainer on bops here.)

This week, we talk with Erika L Sánchez about her National Book Award nominated YA novel 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.'   The book follows the story of Julia Reyes, a 15-year-old Mexican American girl growing up in Chicago. The novel begins with the death of her sister and as the story unfolds she soon learns that her sister isn't as perfect as everyone imagined.   "But it's funny!" Sánchez clarifies.   And as always, we close the show with recommendations. Erika recommends Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith. (You can listen to MashReads' podcast discussion of Don't Call Us Dead here.) Peter recommends the Comedy Central show Nathan 4 You, especially the show's fourth season finale, where Nathan tries to take a 78-year-old Bill Gates on a trip to find the woman he loves. "It's just exceptionally good. It reaches an emotional level that the show never has before while also being as goofy and as silly as the show always is. Just an incredible thing." Aliza recommen

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Stephanie Perkins' novel 'There's Someone Inside Your House,' a YA slasher novel that's a perfect homage to classic horror movies like 'Scream' and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.'    Then, inspired by the vividly rendered gore of the novel, we chat about favorite visceral books including 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, 'Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, 'Room' by Emma Donoghue, 'Wolf in White Van' by John Darnielle and 'The Walking Dead' comics.   Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations: Aliza recommends seeing Thor: Ragnarok. "It's not a perfect film. "I thought it was so much fun. It was so funny ... the cast are perfect human beings." Peter recommends the movie The Killing of a Sacred Deer by director Yorgos Lanthimos. "It's a suspenseful thriller sort of horror movie, but only light on the horror. But it is absolutely terrifying." MJ recommends seeing the new A24 movie Lady Bird. "It is so infinitely cha

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel 'The Haunting of Hill House.' Then we chat about our favorite scary books for Halloween.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we chat with Jason Reynolds himself about his new book Long Way Down. The book follows a minute in the life of Will, the day after his brother Shawn is murdered. In a quest for vengence, Will steps onto an elevator with a gun, on his way down to find the man that he thinks is responsible for his brother's death. However, as Will tries to make the long trip down, the elevator keeps stopping floor-by-floor, forcing Will to confront the ghosts of his past. "Every time the door opens, somebody gets on the elevator, and this person who gets on is somebody who [Will] knows. But what he also knows is that that person is deceased, that person is dead, and therein lies the rub." Or put more succinctly: "It's A Christmas Carol meets Boyz n the Hood," jokes Jason. Join us this week as we talk with Jason himself about 'Long Way Down." And as always, we end the show with recommendations: Jason recommends 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' by Jesmyn Ward. "I personally think [Jesmyn] is the gr

John Green is back! This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'Turtles All the Way Down,' John Green's first book in 6 years after 'The Fault In Our Stars.' The book follows Aza, a 16-year-old would-be detective living in Indianapolis who is trying to track down a missing billionaire, Russell Pickett, with her friend Daisy, all the while grappingly with her own severe OCD and anxiety. Then, inspired by 'Turtles All The Way Down,' we chat about our favorite books that explore mental health, including 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger, 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell, 'Our Numbered Days' by Neil Hillborn, 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' by Ken Kesey, and 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green. And finally, we close the show with recommendations: Aliza recommends Kesha's album 'Rainbow.' "Something that has gotten me through the heaviness of being a woman on the internet in the past few weeks has been the album 'Rainbow' by Kesha Rose. (Bonus reading: Check out Mashable's Deputy Managing Editor A

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss 'My Absolute Darling' by Gabriel Tallent with Gabriel himself. The book follows Turtle Alveston, a young girl living in northern Calfornia, as she fights to escape unthinkable abuse from her father. Then as always, we end the show with recommendations: Gabriel recommends ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng and 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison. Aliza recommends Ronan Farrow’s piece in the New Yorker about the Harvey Weinstein allegations "For Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: "Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Tell Their Stories." "It didn’t break the news about the Weinstein abuses but it really delved into what was going on ... My recommendation is to listen to women, especially when they tell you about trauma. And read Ronan's New Yorker piece." Peter recommends Netflix's new show 'American Vandal.' “Even though I do have faults with the plot as it’s told, it is an extremely well done fictionalized mystery, with