Gays Reading

Host Jason Blitman talks to author Lily King about her newest novel, Heart the Lover. Conversation highlights include:👩🏼‍🏫 weird classes we took in college📝 beautiful sentences 🃏 a love of card games💌 a story about letters from an ex-boyfriendJason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader Dustin Thao who shares what he's been reading and talks about his book, You've Found Oliver.Notes from the Episode:HERE is the link to the rule sheet for the book's card game, Sir Hincomb FunnibusterThe Joyce quote that Lily tried to remember:"The cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed"   Lily King is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including Euphoria and Writers & Lovers, and the story collection Five Tuesdays in Winter. Her work has won numerous prizes and awards, including the Kirkus Prize, the New England Book Award for Fiction, the Maine Book Award for Fiction, and a Whiting Award. She lives in Portland, Maine.Dustin Thao is a Vietnamese American writer based in New York City. He graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science and studied critical media literacy at Northwestern University. His debut novel You’ve Reached Sam is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller. His second book, When Haru Was Here, published in September 2024.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Prepare to grow your already overflowing TBR (sorry, not sorry!) with our new series What Are You Reading?. In this episode, host Jason Blitman sits down with Heather Aimee O’Neill—debut author of The Irish Goodbye, this month’s Read with Jenna pick—to chat about the books that have been keeping her company lately.Heather Aimee O’Neill is a poet, a teacher, and the assistant director of the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and two sons. The Irish Goodbye is her first novel.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

⚠️ Quick note: In today’s episode, one of Jade’s answers unfortunately disappears into the ether. It turned out not to be as simple of a fix as we first hoped, but as soon as we’re able to repair it, we’ll update the file. Thanks for listening (and for rolling with the hiccups)Host Jason Blitman talks to author Jade Chang about her newest novel, What a Time to Be AliveHighlights include: 🎶 The Nanny theme song😪 grief as a unifying force in the world🗣️ what Jade's TED Talk would be about🥣 savory oatmealJason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader™️ Rose Dommu who shares what she's been reading and talks about her debut romcom, Best Woman. Jade Chang’s debut novel, The Wangs vs. the World, won the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award and has been published in a dozen countries. Her journalism and essays have recently appeared in The Best American Food Writing, and in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times magazines. She also writes for film and TV. She lives in Los Angeles.Rose Dommu is the author of the Substack newsletter Mall Goth and host of the podcast Like a Virgin. Rose previously managed LGBTQ+ social media editorial strategy at Netflix. A former senior staff writer at Out magazine, Dommu also hosted the magazine’s podcast, The Outcast. As a journalist, she has written for Paper, Vice, Them, Gay Times, Elite Daily, and other publications. She is the co-founder of the queer art collective The Culture Whore, which staged large-scale art events across the United States and Europe. Dommu lives in Brooklyn with her alarmingly large collection of shoes.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Get ready to add to your ever-growing TBR (we're sorry!) because Gays Reading is kicking off the new series What Are You Reading?. On this episode, host Jason Blitman talks to Sarah Dickinson, host of Sarah's Bookshelves Live, about some of the books she's been reading recently. Sarah’s Bookshelves Live is a weekly book podcast featuring real talk about books and recommendations from a featured bookish guest.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Host Jason Blitman talks to 2025 Kirkus and National Book Award longlisted author Angela Flournoy about her newest book, THE WILDERNESS. Highlights include:🪣 Angela's bucket list   🗓️ the 10 year journey of writing this book 🎃 The Candy Corn Community 🤫 secret family recipes  🍽️ "group of 7" dinner party guestsJason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader™️ Rickey Laurentiis, who was ALSO just longlisted for the National Book Award for her book, DEATH OF THE FIRST IDEA. Make sure to stick around to hear Rickey read one of her poems. Angela Flournoy is the author of The Turner House, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, an Indie Next pick, and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, and she has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Flournoy has taught at the University of Iowa, Princeton University, and UCLA. She lives in New York.Rickey Laurentiis is the author of Boy with Thorn, which won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and the Levis Reading Prize. Laurentiis is the recipient of fellowships from the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics (CAAPP), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, among others. Her poems have appeared in The New Republic, BOMB, and poets.org. A 2018 Whiting Award winner, she lives in New Orleans.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Host Jason Blitman talks to Eliana Ramage about her debut novel, TO THE MOON AND BACK, this month’s Reese’s Book Club pick. Highlights include:💭 many childhood ambitions📚 Reading Rainbow contest trauma 🌈 the intersection of queerness and Cherokeeness🧜🏻‍♀️ comparisons to The Little Mermaid Jason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader™️ M.L. Rio, who shares what she’s been reading, gives Shakespeare beginner recommendations, and talks about her new book, HOT WAX.Eliana Ramage holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has been a Lambda Literary fellow and writer-in-residence, a Harpo Foundation Native American Residency Fellow at Vermont Studio Center, a Tin House Scholar, and a Kimmel Harding Nelson resident. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she lives in Nashville with her family.M.L. Rio has been an actor, a bookseller, an academic, and a music writer. She holds an MA in Shakespeare studies and a PhD in English literature. She is the author of the internationally bestselling novel If We Were Villains, the USA TODAY bestselling novella Graveyard Shift, and Hot Wax. She never stays in one place for long, but keeps her books, records, and four-legged sidekick in south Philadelphia.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

In this *spoiler free* conversation, host Jason Blitman talks to author Alejandro Varela, about his book MIDDLE SPOON, the October Gays Reading Book Club pick with Allstora.MIDDLE SPOON unpacks what happens when you’ve got the husband, the kids, the bougie life… AND you’re going through a breakup with your boyfriend. Provocative, witty, and deeply human—this one’s not afraid to challenge the so-called “rules” of love.Alejandro Varela’s debut novel, The Town of Babylon, was a finalist for the National Book Award. His short story collection, The People Who Report More Stress, was one of Publishers Weekly’s best works of fiction in 2023, a finalist for the International Latino Book Awards, and longlisted for the Aspen Literary Prize, the Story Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. Varela is an editor-at-large of Apogee Journal, holds a master’s degree in public health, and is based in New York.What do you get when you join the Gays Reading Book Club?Curated book delivered monthly to your door (at a discount!) – the books we’d call “accessibly literary”30% Off Allstora’s websiteAccess to the book club “Kiki” to talk about the booksExclusive author Q&AsAllstora donates a children’s book to an LGBTQIA+ youthThis club exclusively supports LGBTQIA+ authorsAnd more!Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Get ready to add to your ever-growing TBR (we're sorry!) because Gays Reading is kicking off the new series What Are You Reading?. On this episode, Jason talks to the host of Bookends, the CBC's literary podcast, Mattea Roach, to learn about what they've been reading recently.About Bookends: the CBC's literary podcastWhen the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Host Jason Blitman talks to Patrick Ryan about his new novel, Buckeye, which is this month’s Read with Jenna Book Club selection. They talk about writing inspirations, father-son relationships, and Ryan's love for pinball. Jason is then joined by Guest Gay Reader, Rabih Alameddine (The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)) his perspective on dealing with trauma, devotion, and forgiveness. Patrick Ryan is the author of the novel Buckeye. He is also the author of the story collections The Dream Life of Astronauts (named one of the Best Books of the Year by the St. Louis Times-Dispatch, LitHub, Refinery 29, and Electric Literature, and longlisted for The Story Prize) and Send Me. His work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, the anthology Tales of Two Cities, and elsewhere. The former associate editor of Granta, he is the editor of the literary magazine One Story and lives in New York City.Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels The Wrong End of the Telescope; Angel of History; An Unnecessary Woman; The Hakawati; I, the Divine; Koolaids; the story collection, The Perv; and one work of nonfiction, Comforting Myths. He has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. He received the Dos Passos Prize in 2019 and a Lannan Award in 2021.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

Host Jason Blitman kicks off season 5 with political leader and author Stacey Abrams discussing her latest legal thriller, Coded Justice, the role of AI in healthcare, and what it means to be a professional troublemaker. Later, Jason is joined by Dan Pelosi, beloved for his culinary adventures on Instagram as @grossypelosi, who chats about his new cookbook Let's Party.STACEY ABRAMS is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and political leader. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history.  Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, voting rights, and effective public policy. She has also co-founded successful companies, including a financial services firm, an energy and infrastructure consulting firm, and the media company, Sage Works Productions, Inc.DAN PELOSI is the Italian meatball making meatballs behind GrossyPelosi, the popular Instagram favorite for all things comfort and food. Approachable and tasty, Dan’s recipes are meant to be shared and celebrated with the ones you love. Dan’s first cookbook, Let’s Eat, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and his Big Italian Sandwich Puzzle is the first-ever deli sandwich jigsaw puzzle (as far as he knows!). Dan is a contributor to New York Times Cooking. He splits his time between Brooklyn and upstate New York, but you can always find him online at @grossypelosi.Support the showBOOK CLUB!Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE October Book: Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela SUBSTACK!https://gaysreading.substack.com/ MERCH!http://gaysreading.printful.me WATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreading FOLLOW!Instagram: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanBluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitmanCONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com