Poured Over

"How do you spot a 'we should not be friends' friendship? It's when someone shows you who they are, and you like it." Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club, tells us how an unexpected friendship with a polar-opposite grew into a lifelong journey through love, losses and triumphs. Schwalbe and Chris Maxey, former Navy SEAL and founder of the Island School, join us to talk about Schwalbe's new book, We Should Not Be Friends: A Story of a Friendship, meeting through a Yale secret society, the importance of vulnerability, what they learned about themselves and each other through telling this story and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books (episode): We Should Not Be Friends by Will Schwalbe The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone The Rediscovery of North America by Barry Lopez 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).

"Each time I wrote a story that belonged in this book… It held some pain. It held some love. It held some hope, some longing..." Eloghosa Osunde's debut novel Vagabonds! is an inventive, mythic whirlwind through the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Told through interconnected short stories, this raw, painful, and ultimately hopeful work sheds light on an often-unseen world and its diverse inhabitants. Osunde talks with us about the significance and spark of inspiration behind the title, writing a novel in an uncommon format, the feelings she wants to leave her readers with and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery. Featured Books (Episode): Vagabonds! By Eloghosa Osunde The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 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).

"I feel like we're in a real golden age of fantasy that's exploring diversity from lots of different perspectives, and telling lots of stories that need to be heard at the moment — I feel really honored to be working within that space." A Day of Fallen Night has what readers want in high fantasy: strong women, masterful worldbuilding and, of course, dragons. Samantha Shannon's prequel to her highly acclaimed The Priory of the Orange Tree, is a welcome return to the lands and skies of this mystical world. Shannon joins us to talk about reframing myths, equality in the fantasy genre, how her books get their stunning covers, authors she recommends and more with Poured Over guest host, Kat Sarfas. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri The Unbroken by C.L. Clark Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao Eragon by Christopher Paolini 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)

"When you've been disappointed for that long in your life — what kind of people are you? What do you become?" A Country You Can Leave, the debut novel from author Asale Angel-Ajani, is an unconventional family story following a Russian mother and Black, biracial daughter as they navigate class, trauma and relationships in California's desert. Angel-Ajani joins us in conversation about discovering her characters, the portrayal of motherhood, her literary influences, and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): A Country You Can Leave by Asale Angel-Ajani Strange Trade by Asale Angel-Ajani The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker Another Country by James Baldwin Featured Books (TBR Topoff): I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong 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).

"I'm one of those writers that … I think I know the story I want to write when I'm going in with a novel … but by the time I get into the middle of it, it's like I've discovered a totally different story." Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s A Spell of Good Things explores class, love, and family ties with interwoven narratives of struggle, heartbreak and hope in Nigeria. She joins us to talk about her cast of unforgettable characters, how misogyny permeates life and literature, what surprised her while writing this novel, her literary influences and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri What It Means when a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham Poured Over is 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.

"It's a literary, feminist, boarding school murder mystery — everyone's favorite genre." I Have Some Questions for You is the thrilling and inventive new novel from Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Part murder mystery, part timely take on issues that readers will connect with, this novel will keep you intrigued from cover to cover. Makkai joins us to talk about unreliable narrators, living on a boarding school campus, what keeps a reader turning the pages and more with host Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Trust by Hernan Diaz The Keep by Jennifer Egan The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Vladimir by Julia May Jonas Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko 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).

"No one in this cast believes that they have a home — they have houses, but they don't have homes. They were born into this country, they were born into these places, but they don't feel like their homes." Within the rich setting of 1940s Trinidad, Kevin Jared Hosein's sweeping novel Hungry Ghosts brings readers into the world of two families connected by class, power and mystery. A distinctive new voice in Caribbean literature, Hosein has crafted a story that is gothic, propulsive and will resonate with readers from the first page. He speaks with us on learning the true history of Trinidad firsthand, how the title came to be, his literary influences and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul No Pain Like This Body by Harold Sonny Ladoo The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell Sula by Toni Morrison Poured Over is 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.

"I wouldn't have written the book if I were not hopeful. I mean, the act of writing this book was a prayer for our country — it's making the case that there's another way of looking more deeply under the surface of our country, a way of seeing it that can enlighten us…" From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson, Caste combines history, social commentary and individual narratives into a work that is wholly original, stunningly written and impressively researched. Wilkerson joins us to talk about arriving at the concept of caste in America, The Warmth of Other Suns, the personal stories that connect readers to Caste, her hope for the future and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Stick around after the interview for TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Caste (Adapted for Young Adults) by Isabel Wilkerson Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert Let's Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale 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.

"Maureen's journey is about going to the dark — and when you go right into the dark, you then find the light and the kind of renewal — and of all of them, this book felt to me a book about rebirth, which felt the right place to end." Following The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce's Maureen completes her series of novels revolving around a cast of characters that you can't help but connect with. Whether you've read them all or are ready to meet Maureen for the first time, you'll find something to love. Joyce talks with us about the evolution of the world of her incredibly popular series, her writing process, the authors who have shaped her, what she's working on next and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie. Featured Books (Episode): Maureen by Rachel Joyce The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and wherever you listen to podcasts.

"For us, horror stories are a long, dark, scary tunnel. You hear sounds you don't want to hear; you see things that are going to stick in your head. But if you keep putting one foot after the other, that speck of light at the end is going to grow a little bit bigger and a little bit bigger and one day you step out into daylight." Stephen Graham Jones' second installment in the Indian Lake Trilogy, Don't Fear the Reaper, is a big-hearted, blood-soaked romp that rivals the very best slasher films. Jones joins us to talk about creating his fierce and funny characters, the importance of setting, Native American authors in horror, his favorite scary movies and frightening books and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery. Featured Books (Episode): Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle The Shining by Stephen King Books of Blood by Clive Barker Experimental Film by Gemma Files Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix Road of Bones by Christopher Golden Maeve Fly by CJ Leede Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Carrie by Stephen King Bad Cree by Jessica Johns This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and wherever you listen to podcasts.