Poured Over

“My specialty is digging up obscure stories where there are just enough facts to really stimulate the imagination.”  Emma Donoghue’s newest novel, Learned by Heart, tells the story of young, enigmatic Anne Lister and her first love, an orphaned heiress born in India. Donoghue joins us to talk about the role Anne Lister has played in her life, crowdsourcing research, the importance of historical fiction and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Mary.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).       Featured Books (Episode):  Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue  Room by Emma Donoghue  The Wonder by Emma Donoghue  Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue  Haven by Emma Donoghue  Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue  Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Matrix by Lauren Groff  Fingersmith by Sarah Waters   

Maria Bamford’s hilarious memoir Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and a Quest to Belong Anywhere blends the honesty and compassion of a memoir about mental health with her unique brand of absurd, laugh-out-loud humor. Bamford joins us to talk about the realities of writing a book, the importance of honesty around tough subjects, some of the books she loves and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford  The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Sacks  Madness by Marya Hornbacher  Marbles by Ellen Forney  Rock Steady by Ellen Forney  Hogbook and Lazer Eyes by Maria Bamford and Scott Marvel Cassidy    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Sleepwalk With Me by Mike Birbiglia  The World’s Worst Assistant by Sona Movsesian 

"There's no higher version of historical fiction to me than that, the feeling of being transported." Zadie Smith’s The Fraud brings all the excitement of a Victorian novel with a cast of characters that will be familiar (Charles Dickens, anyone?) and a wild web of plots that combine the best of historical fiction with themes that still resonate. Smith joins us to talk about the different process she used while writing, the importance of knowing and understanding history, freedom, resistance and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.    This episode of Poured Over was produced and 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 Fraud by Zadie Smith  NW by Zadie Smith  Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel  The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald  The New Life by Tom Crewe  Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf   Great Expectations by Charles Dickens    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys  The Book of Salt by Monique Truong 

“I think that she would have given — to anyone who had been lucky enough to spend time with her — was just this thirst for curiosity.”  Surreal Spaces is Joanna Moorhead’s in-depth and personal biography of her own long-lost cousin, Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. Moorhead joins us to talk about uncovering the truth about her famous relative, Carrington’s eventful life and career, the importance of highlighting women artists and more with guest host, Allie Ludlow. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).      Featured Books (Episode):  Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel 

“I've been asked, why do you blend genres so much? And the simple answer is that it's what I want to read.” Horror meets romance meets historical fiction in Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. This genre-bending novel will have something for any reader — whether they’re looking for spooky, spicy or something in between. Cañas joins us to talk about her research process, the connection between this book and her own family, the importance of genre fiction and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Madyson and Mary.       This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).     Featured Books (Episode):  Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas  The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas  Dracula by Bram Stoker  Lone Women by Victor LaValle  Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia  A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine  Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa  The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro  Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood    Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda  Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison 

Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls is a family drama with an unconventional cast of characters centered around a missing persons case. Kim joins us to talk about disability awareness in fiction, how she started writing, getting into her narrator’s head and more. Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias is a rich novel of secrets, loss and a government coverup set in Costa Rica. Arias joins us to talk about his own family’s connection to the novel, the effects of colonial intervention in Central America, how long it took him to write the book and more.  Listen in as these authors speak separately with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Jamie and Marc.      This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.          Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).          Featured Books (Episode):  Happiness Falls by Angie Kim  Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias  Miracle Creek by Angie Kim  True Biz by Sara Nović  Mystic River by Dennis Lehane  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng  The Art of Death by Edwidge Danticat  The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan  The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy  The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat  La Familia de Pascual Duarte by Camilo Jose Cela  How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz   The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride    Featured Books (TBR Topoff):  Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng  The Apartment by Ana Menéndez 

“I wrote this very simply to stay alive.”  Alice Carrière’s beautiful and intense memoir of her unconventional childhood, her mental health journey through the failings of the psychiatric system and more that eventually led her to a life of reconciliation and reconstruction. Carrière joins us to talk about why she wrote the book now, the connectivity of writing and reading, her love of audiobooks and more with guest host Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.         Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode):  Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey  The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis  Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor  The Giver by Lois Lowry  Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre  The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector  Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler 

“Having that store of memories that history can be, if done well, is a really tremendous form of solace.” Jill Lepore, historian and author of These Truths, returns with The Deadline, a collection of essays ranging from the personal to the political. Lepore joins us to talk about how she came to compile this collection, her connection to Mary Shelley, and the progress to be made in what constitutes the historical record (and who gets to tell it) with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was produced and 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 Deadline by Jill Lepore  These Truths by Jill Lepore  This America by Jill Lepore  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley  The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones  A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn 

“My book is really an attempt to change that conversation and begin to dismantle some of these pressures so that we don't have to be upheld to these standards.” Prachi Gupta’s memoir, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us, combines meticulous research with the challenging and emotional story of her own family to reveal the truth of the model minority myth and those it affects. Gupta joins us to talk about why she wrote this book, the myth of American Exceptionalism, how it feels to put this kind of work out into the world and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was produced and 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):   They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta 

The Detective Up Late is the newest installment in the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty following a detective solving his final case in Northern Ireland in the 90s. This former B&N bookseller joins us to talk about the experience of living through The Troubles, the difference between writing mystery and thriller, the war between vinyl and CDs and more with guest host, Chris Gillespie.   This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Chris Gillespie 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 Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty  The Chain by Adrian McKinty  The Island by Adrian McKinty  Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby  Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby