

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

Dec 13, 2022 • 41min
Maggie O'Farrell on THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT
“They have traveled for most of the day using what little daylight the season offers leaving Ferrara Dawn and riding out to what he had told her was a hunting lodge, far in the northwest of the province. 'But this is no hunting lodge' is what Lucrezia had wanted to say when they reach their destination, a high walled edifice of dark stone flanked on one side by dense forest and on the other by a twisting meander of the Po River. She would have liked to turn in her saddle and ask, 'Why have you brought me here?'” That’s Maggie O’Farrell, reading from her brilliant new novel The Marriage Portrait, a finalist for our 2022 Book of the Year. In front of a live audience at the Barnes & Noble in Eastchester, New York, Maggie takes us to Renaissance Florence and behind the scenes of her page-turning historical novel and its untamable heroine, the writers who inspired her (from Robert Browning and Wilkie Collins to Daphne DuMaurier and Patricia Highsmith), her writing process (including Post-It notes and pinboards), what’s next for her and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker Matrix by Lauren Groff Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Dec 8, 2022 • 42min
Alison L. Strayer and Dan Simon on Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux
“It is an amazing, amazing translation experience….But it took a long time to get to the point where the language started moving because you have to start out sort of in English laying down a rock, rocks, and then a rock and a rock, building a wall. It doesn't move, and it's just right, right next to the ground. And because you can't obviously start translating in full sentences really. My whole idea was this to just stick absolutely close to the earth of her syntax and build up. And you build and you build and you build and finally something starts to move. And then you can gain some of the movement that you — but in English — that you have sensed and been thrilled by in reading the French.” Alison L. Strayer has been reading Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux’s books for 30 years, and has translated the last few, including The Years, nominated for the International Man Booker Prize. Alison and Dan Simon of Seven Stories Press, Annie’s longtime American publisher, join us on the show to talk about working with the iconic French author, the joys of literature in translation, capturing Ernaux’s voice and sensibilities and the emotional truth of her genre-bending prose for English-speaking audiences and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: The Years by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer A Girl’s Story by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison L. Strayer Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Dec 6, 2022 • 53min
Jane Smiley on A DANGEROUS BUSINESS
“One of my favorite places to take a little walk around is the public cemetery, which is on a little hill that overlooks the bay. And you know, if you ever wanted to be buried somewhere, that's the place to be buried. And right across the street from it, and a little ways down the road is this beautiful canyon you can walk up. The trees are covered with Spanish moss, and there's fog. And so it's perfect place — if you believe in ghosts — to see one.” A murder mystery set in 1850’s Monterey, California, Jane Smiley’s latest novel, A Dangerous Business, is a bit of a departure for the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. She joins us on the show to take readers behind the scenes of her new book (as well as some of her earlier work) and talk about the books and writers who’ve inspired her along the way (including what she learned from reading Charles Dickens), what she loves about novels and more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley Moo by Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley The Hundred Years Trilogy (Some Luck, Early Warning and Golden Age) by Jane Smiley The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley The Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Banffy (Vol 1) and (Vol 2 + 3) The Kellys and the O’Kelleys: Or, Landlords and Tenants by Anthony Trollope Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Collective by Alison Gaylin News of the World by Paulette Jiles Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Dec 1, 2022 • 43min
Lauren Graham on HAVE I TOLD YOU THIS ALREADY?: STORIES I DON'T WANT TO FORGET TO REMEMBER
“Storytelling can just be you understanding yourself, but it turns into something else when it's a shared piece — so much of anything in life is practice, and just pure showing up…I think that's just important to remember, you're not always going to feel inspired or inspirational, or you're not going to feel you've done your best. And you just have to ignore that voice and keep going.” Lauren Graham (Talking as Fast as I Can) is an absolute delight on the page and on the screen (Gilmore Girls and Parenthood) and she joins us on the show to talk about her new book, Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember, along with Old Lady Jackson, marmalade, rereading and rewatching, her writing process, what’s next for her and more with guest host Marie Cummings. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Marie Cummings and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Nov 29, 2022 • 60min
Nick Hornby on DICKENS AND PRINCE: A PARTICULAR KIND OF GENIUS
“I loved it more than everybody. And afterwards, I thought for the first time, whatever I do, I've got to get as close to that as I can. Not the noise or the music or being a rock star, but the creativity of it and the energy of it and the way that you affect people, and I knew that my life wouldn't be the same. And it's kind of always been like that.” Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, About a Boy and Juliet, Naked, among others) returns with Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius — a very funny, very "Nick Hornby" look at music, books, fandom and creativity. Nick joins us on the show to talk about how a newly issued deluxe edition of Sign ‘O’ the Times jumpstarted his latest book, why perfectionism is terrible, how an early Springsteen show put Hornby on his path, why Dickens shouldn’t be taught before the age of 18, why test screenings are a good thing and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc, Jamie and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby High Fidelity by Nick Hornby David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Featured Album (Episode): Sign ‘O’ the Times [Super Deluxe] by Prince Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Bowie’s Bookshelf by John O’Connell The Lyrics by Paul McCartney The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

Nov 26, 2022 • 53min
Matthew Quick on WE ARE THE LIGHT
“I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood. And you know, nobody was expected to be a novelist — that was not a thing, that was not a choice in my neighborhood. And when I made that choice, it was very strange to people. And it was a really hard thing for people to accept and my father and my grandfather did not understand that at all. And they discouraged me. But then once I succeeded, they really claimed that, and my grandfather would tell everyone…” Matthew Quick (The Silver Linings Playbook) joins guest host Allyson Gavaletz to talk about his new novel, We Are the Light, along with breaking cycles, writer’s block, connecting with people, collective trauma, running, Jungian analysis, the books and writers he loves to teach, his literary influences, what’s next for him and more. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): We Are the Light by Matthew Quick The Ferryman by Justin Cronin Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Siddhartha by Herman Hesse Featured Books (TBR Topoff): A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Nov 24, 2022 • 49min
Adam Hochschild on AMERICAN MIDNIGHT: THE GREAT WAR, A VIOLENT PEACE, AND DEMOCRACY'S FORGOTTEN CRISIS
"One of the ways you can get into my cast of characters is by leaving a very detailed written record. Because that's what we historians have to work from, you're not allowed to make stuff up like a novelist can… And, of course, it skews, to some extent, the way history is written. Because the rich leave more records than the poor, men leave more records than women, white people leave more records than Black and so on.” Adam Hochschild (King Leopold’s Ghost) joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis. Hochschild connects the dots between our America and an all-too familiar America of a century ago, riffing on power and deception, Woodrow Wilson’s legacy, undercover agents, labor organizers, the Espionage Act of 1917, what’s next for him and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild Rebel Cinderella by Adam Hochschild King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Nov 22, 2022 • 45min
Erika T. Wurth on WHITE HORSE
"When I was a kid, I was super, super geeky, it was so nerdy. And all I read was dragon books, or ghost books, or elf books…someone tried to give me a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I just remember thinking, Where are the dragons? And when I went to do my doctorate in creative writing and literature —especially at the time, and even now, they kind of steamroll that out of you, they sort of train you to think that there are two things called literary and genre… if you're a good writer, and smart, you write literary (later on, I came to understand, that just meant realism). And that literary was a series of conventions that had nothing to do with genre. And then I just missed — I really desperately missed [genre] — especially horror, because it's something that's able to marry the darker, more realistic, gritty parts of fiction that I love so much, with kind of the nerdy stuff like ghosts and monsters." An urban Native of Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent, writer Erika T. Wurth joins guest host Allyson Gavaletz to take readers behind the scenes of her fabulous new novel, White Horse, and to talk about her own family’s story, clairvoyance, nostalgia, heavy metal music, finding comfort in reading horror, her favorite contemporary horror writers and much more. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): White Horse by Erika T. Wurth Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot by Jane K. Cleland Featured Books (TBR Topoff) My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Nov 19, 2022 • 48min
Sue Lynn Tan on HEART OF THE SUN WARRIOR
“They're rooted in our culture as well. And because of all that, I think they feel a little bit more real, even though they are fantastical magical realms…and there's also this timeless quality in a way as well….I do think also there is a lot of room for imagination to grow in these stories.” Sue Lynn Tan joins guest host Kat Sarfas on the show to take readers behind the scenes of her latest epic, Heart of the Sun Warrior, the stunning sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess, from world-building, favorite characters, resilience, to celebrating the mid-Autumn festival, what’s next and much more. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Beneath the Moon by Yoshi Yoshitani The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Nov 17, 2022 • 54min
Jerry Saltz on ART IS LIFE
“We are writing our stories to the world, as opposed to just reading the old stories. And somehow, some way accidentally, intentionally, desperately on the case and caught off guard, Art is Life captures this huge sweep and ends about where we are now in the present—which is an epic place as well.” Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jerry Saltz (How to Be An Artist) is consistently one of the smartest, freshest and liveliest voices in art criticism and he joins us on the show to talk about his new book, Art is Life, and his finger-on-the-pulse perspectives of the art world, including: how art history is being rewritten, the problematic intricacies of the art market, the absolute need for museums and galleries to adapt to the current social climate, the evolution of art critique in social media and much more with guest host Allie Ludlow. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. Featured Book (episode): Art is Life by Jerry Saltz Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Secret Lives of Color by Karissa St. Clair Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Allie Ludlow and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).