S7 Ep. 12: The Best Books Machine: Lydia Kiesling on Making the Lists—or Not

Dec 21, 2023

49:17

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Episode notes

Novelist and critic Lydia Kiesling joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the creation and the spirit of year-end book lists. She talks about list culture getting its start at the small, online literary magazine, The Millions, and its eventual spread to seemingly every media outlet. The three grapple with the significance of inclusion on these lists, whether they really sell more books, and the ethics of their construction. Kiesling reads from her new novel, Mobility.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Lydia Kiesling:

The Golden State

Mobility

Others:

Books We Love | NPR

A Year in Reading: 2023 | The Millions

100 Notable Books of 2023 | New York Times

The 10 Best Books Through Time | New York Times

A Year in Reading: 2023 | The Millions

“Crime,” by Marilyn Stasio, August 19, 2001| New York Times

“‘Terrorist’ – to Whom? V.V. Ganeshananthan’s novel ‘Brotherless Night’ reveals the moral nuances of violence, ever belied by black-an-white terminology” by Omar El Akkad, Jan. 1, 2023 | New York Times