

Poured Over
Barnes & Noble
Poured Over is a show for readers who pore over details, obsess over sentences and ideas and stories and characters; readers who ask a lot of questions, just like Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer, a career bookseller who’s always reading. Follow us here for surprising riffs, candid conversations, a few laughs, and lots of great book recommendations from big name authors and authors on their way to being big names. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 4, 2025 • 45min
Jen Hatmaker on AWAKE
Awake by Jen Hatmaker is a powerful and poignant memoir full of hope, loss and paving a new path after the end of her marriage. Jen joins us to talk about healing, home, family, faith, support systems and more with guest host Brenda Allison. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Brenda Allison and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Awake by Jen Hatmaker All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker Sandwich by Catherine Newman Go as a River by Shelley Read Wreck by Catherine Newman

Oct 3, 2025 • 54min
Jason Diamond on KAPLAN'S PLOT
Kaplan’s Plot by Jason Diamond is a riveting read where home, past and present collide in one gripping family mystery. Jason joins us to talk about releasing his debut novel, haunting the narrative, Chicago, empathy, redemption and more with cohost Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Kaplan’s Plot by Jason Diamond The Sprawl by Jason Diamond Searching for John Hughes by Jason Diamond On Writing by Stephen King It by Stephen King White Teeth by Zadie Smith The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1000 Words by Jami Attenberg The Ecstasy of Influence by Jonathan Lethem

Oct 2, 2025 • 50min
Mona Awad on WE LOVE YOU, BUNNY
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad is the long-awaited return to the world of the sickeningly sweet (and maniacally maddening) clique in Bunny. Mona joined us live at B&N Union Square to talk about revisiting the Bunnies, Frankenstein, writing delusional characters, hyperfemininity, the myth of the outsider, surrealism and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad Bunny by Mona Awad Rouge by Mona Awad Frankenstein by Mary Shelley All’s Well by Mona Awad 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Sep 30, 2025 • 47min
Angela Flournoy on THE WILDERNESS
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy is a big-hearted story about community and friendship amid the chaos of life’s uncertainties. Angela joined us live at B&N Upper West Side to talk about friendship, adulthood, building a life, platonic love, what it means to be good, money, class and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy Turner House by Angela Flournoy Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Sula by Toni Morrison Beloved by Toni Morrison A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal

Sep 27, 2025 • 1h 1min
SenLinYu on ALCHEMISED
Alchemised by SenLinYu is an epic and engrossing dark fantasy novel following a prisoner of war grappling with a world of death and dark magic. Sen joins us to talk about world building, their research process, religion, philosophy, characterization and more with cohost Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Alchemised by SenLinYu Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Babel by R.F. Kuang The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Featured Books (TBR Top Off): Alchemised by SenLinYu The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Rose in Chains by Julie Soto The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley

Sep 25, 2025 • 1h 1min
Patricia Lockwood on WILL THERE EVER BE ANOTHER YOU
Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood is a gripping and disconcerting story of one woman’s unraveling during a global pandemic. Patricia joins us to talk about writing about the internet, nostalgia, language, genre, reading classics and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood Priest Daddy by Patricia Lockwood No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood Audition by Katie Kitamura Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls Binstead’s Safari by Rachel Ingalls Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Featured Books (TBR Top Off): I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

Sep 24, 2025 • 57min
Arundhati Roy on MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME
“Laughter does not mean there’s no grief . . . laughter means a deep understanding of something.” Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy is a triumphant memoir chronicling Roy’s journey to becoming an award-winning author. Arundhati joins us to talk about memory, language, family, imagination, humor and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy My Seditious Heart by Arundhati Roy

Sep 23, 2025 • 56min
Kiran Desai on THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai is a sweeping, big-hearted tale from an award-winning author. Kiran joins us to talk about loneliness on a busy planet, art, storytelling, fame, exile, love, diaspora novels and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai The Parisian by Isabella Hammad The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster A Room with a View by E.M. Forster A Passage to India by E.M. Forster Burmese Days by George Orwell Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Rosarita by Anita Desai Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai

Sep 20, 2025 • 47min
Elizabeth Gilbert on ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER
All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert covers the full emotional spectrum, from love and loss to hope and healing. Elizabeth joined us live at B&N Paramus to chat about finding community in reading, leading with truth, letting grief move through you, resilience and more with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert The Summer Book by Tove Jansson The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway

Sep 18, 2025 • 43min
Agustina Bazterrica on THE UNWORTHY
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica gives us a harrowing look at a dystopian future through an unforgettable heroine. Agustina joined us live at B&N Union Square to talk about active reading, the relationship between humans and nature, literature as a salvation, influences, translation and more with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici Silent Spring by Rachel Carson The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector Before Night Falls by Reinaldo Arenas Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones The Bloody Countess by Valentine Penrose The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken