FictionMatters

A. Natasha Joukovsky, novelist and critic (The Portrait of a Mirror; Medium Rare), explains her love of choice novels and literary lineages. She explores Frances Burney’s Evelina and its echoes in Austen. Short, lively takes on mythic retellings, reading as craft, and how plot agency shapes women’s fiction.

Welcome to Books That Matters. Today, I’m joined by Anika Jade Levy. Anika is a writer from Colorado, a founding editor of Forever Magazine, and an instructor in the Writing program at Columbia. Her fiction and reporting have appeared in The Paris Review, Vogue, Playboy, GQ, Interview Magazine, and elsewhere. Her debut novel Flat Earth came out from Catapult in 2025.In today’s episode, Anika and I chat about voice in fiction, the male literacy crisis, and why The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger is a book that matters to her. Later we get into Anika’s novel Flat Earth, a raw and funny novel that excels at capturing both voice and place. Anika shares about the novel’s origins as a stream of consciousness exercise, how art and ideas are contagious, and her hopes for her future writing .You can find links to Anika’s work and the books she recommends in the show notes. Alright let’s get into my conversation with Anika Jade Levy.Books and Links* Forever Magazine* Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy* The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger* Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert* The Babysitter at Rest by Jen George* Dorothy Project* Books That Matter with Jade Chang* Taipei by Tao Lin* Leave Society by Tao Lin* NYT Review* Guardian Review* Kirkus Review* UnHerd Review* That text* Female Loneliness Epidemic by Danielle Chelosky* “Worst Friends Forever” - Kazou Robinson’s review of Flat Earth* Anika at Aspen Lit Festival* Anika’s Review of Shadow Ticket* Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon* Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon* Rayne Fisher Kwann and what it means to be woman’d* “I’m Crazy” by J.D. Salinger* Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte* At Home in the World by Joyce Maynard* “The Sentence is a Lonely Place” by Gabrielle Lutz* Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov* A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)* Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt*This post contains affiliate links.For more podcasts from FictionMatters, upgrade to a paid Substack subscription or become a member of the FM Patreon Literary Society. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

This episode needs no introduction. Today Liz and I are share our favorite books of the year--all new releases. This was a weird year in books, but we each managed to come up with lists we feel excited to share and champion before the new year. As always, we hope you’ll let us know about your best books in the Substack comments.If you want to hear Liz and I talking about books all year long, now is a great time to upgrade your subscription. With a paid membership, you’ll get our bonus superlatives episode and This Month in Books, our ongoing book discussion series. Subscriptions are 20% off through the month of December, so it’s the perfect time to join!Alright, let’s get to it!Books Mentioned* Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt* The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré* Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell* The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd* Liz’s Ranking of her 100 Favorite Reads from the past 5 years* James by Percival Everett* Heart the Lover by Lily King* Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy* 21:26 - Mother Mary Come to Me by Arundhati Roy (Liz’s #10)* Hanif Abduraquib* 24:15 - Days of Light by Megan Hunter (Sara’s #10)* 26:56 - The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes (Liz’s #9)* 32:31- Stag Dance by Torrey Peters (Sara’s #9)* Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters* 35:330 - The Antidote by Karen Russell (Liz’s #8)* Swamplandia! by Karen Russell* 40:48 - The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne (Sara’s #8)* Medium Rare by Natasha Jouvkosky* Natasha Joukovsky on “the choice plot”* 44:28 - Ending by Maria Reva (Liz’s #7)* 47:35 - Among Friends by Hal Ebbott (Sara’s #7)* A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter* 51:05 - The Lack of Light by Nino Haratischvili (Liz’s #6)* The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili* 55:10 - Fox by Joyce Carol Oates (Sara’s #6)* 1:00:18 - People Like Us by Jason Mott (Liz’s #5)* Hell of a Book by Jason Mott* 1:05:46 - Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor (Sara’s #5)* 1:11:02 - Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski (Liz’s #4)* House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski* 1:17:41 - Flashlight by Susan Choi (Sara’s #4)* 1:19:12 - Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Liz’s #3)* 1:22:00 - Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian (Sara’s #3)* 1:26:15 - North Sun, or the Voyage of the Whale Ship Esther by Ethan Rutherford (Liz’s #2)* Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky* 1:31:42 - The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken (Sara’s #2)* My Work by Olga Ravn* The Employees by Olga Ravn* 1:37:35 - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Liz’s #1)* 1:42:30 - Audition by Katie Kitamura (Sara’s #1)* The Director by Daniel Kehlman* Tyll by Daniel Kahlman* The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy* The Mobius Book by Catherine Lacey* Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy* Universality by Natasha Brown* The Pilgrimage by John Broderick* Hunchback by Saou Ishikawa, translated by Polly Barton* Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno* One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad* Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith* Original Sins by Eve Ewing* Sarah’s Bookshelves Superlative Episode This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the FictionMatters Podcast. I’m your host Sara Hildreth and this is Books That Matter. In this series, I’ll speak with writers I admire to learn about their lives as readers and deep dive into a book that matters to them.Today, I’m joined by Jade Chang to talk about the nostalgia of childhood reading, the blurring of genres, and why The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston is a book that matters to her. Later we get into Jade’s sophomore novel What a Time to Be Alive, a thoughtful and pacey story about grief, grifting, and growing up set in an LA we don’t often see on the page. Jade shares about losing the original manuscript for this novel (I was shocked!) and why she values writing about how we actually live now.You can listen to today’s episode without having read either book. There are a couple brief audio hiccups in this episode, but please bear with us as they don’t last long! As has become tradition, this episode is overflowing with books so be sure to check out the book list and links in the show notes. You can find What a Time to Be Alive and Jade’s debut The Wangs Vs. the World wherever you browse for books. Alright let’s get into my conversation with Jade Chang.Books and Links* The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga* In the Distance by Hernan Diaz* Girl Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo* Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shosin* Shopsins* My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff* Just Kids by Patti Smith* The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin* The Tattooed Potato by Ellen Raskin* The Mysterious Disappearance of Noel (I Mean Leon) by Ellen Raskin* From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg* Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery* The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien* The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald* The Idiot by Elif Batuman* Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler* Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine* Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Hadix* Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary* Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal* The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston* Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen* The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan* In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado* What a Time to Be Alive by Jade Chang* The Wangs Vs. the World by Jade Chang* Joan Didion* Eve Babitz* The Hours by Michael Cunningham* A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham* Tao Te Ching by Lao TzuAlright readers I hope you enjoyed this episode of books that matter with Jade Chang. You can find links to What a Time to Be Alive, The Woman Warrior, and all the books mentioned in the show notes or substack post. If you want more FM podcast content consider becoming a paid Substack or Patreon subscriber. Paid subscribers get at least two additional podcasts each month, including my ranked reading recap and this month in books with Liz Hein. As always, thanks for listening and I’ll be back soon to help you find more books that matter.*This book contains affiliate links. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the FictionMatters Podcast; this is Books That Matter. In this series, I’ll speak with writers I admire to learn about their lives as readers and deep dive into the books that matters to them.Today, I’m joined by Rickey Fayne. Rickey’s debut novel The Devil Three Times is currently shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and one of my personal favorite debut novels of the year. In this episode, Rickey and I talk about the value of reading classic literature, the books he returned to when he started thinking he wanted to write, and why Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is the book that matters to him. Then we get into his novel The Devil Three Times. Rickey shares where he began with his expansive project, why he isn’t a short story writer, and how a planned dissertation influenced the novel he eventually wrote.You can listen to today’s episode without having read either book. There is one moment where Rickey worries he’s giving away the end of Song of Solomon, but I promise it’s too vague to be a real spoiler! This episode is overflowing with books so be sure to check out the book list and links in the show notes and then pick up your copy of The Devil Three Times at your favorite bookshop. Books Mentioned* Loca by Alejandro Heredia* Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan* Wild Houses by Colin Barrett* Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston* House of Mirth by Edith Wharton* Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton* Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton* Summer by Edith Wharton* Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton* Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Marukami* Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor* A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor* All of Hagar’s Children by Edward P. Jones* The Known World by Edward P. Jones* Jane Austen* Charlotte Bronte* Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison* Sula by Toni Morrison* The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison* The Black Book by Middleton A. Harris* On Morrison by Namwali Serpell* Toni at Random by Dana A. Williams* The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne* Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark* Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi* The End of the Affair by Graham Greene*This post contains affiliate links. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Fiction Matters podcast. This is Books That Matter, an author interview series where we’ll get to know writers as readers and talk about the books that matter to them.Since this is the first in this new series, I’m going to pause our regular intro to give a little bit of background information on the series and how it came to be and what I’m hoping to do here. So for quite some time, I’ve been wanting to do more author interviews on my Substack. First of all, it’s a way to shine a light on writers that I love, and it’s a way for me to get to know more about writing and reading in general and the writers I really admire in particular.But to be quite honest, I’ve always had kind of a complicated relationship with author interviews. I can be a little bit precious about my own reading. As a reader, I really like to do the interpretive work. I like to make meaning out of a book in terms of how I connect with it, how I see it. I guess I’m kind of a self-centered reader in that regard and how I approach reading fiction. And so sometimes I can avoid author interviews because I just I don’t want to know too much that influences how I read the book.But at the same time, I love listening to authors talk and I love talking with authors. I find the conversation so fascinating because I think that writers read a little bit differently than regular readers, or at least I’ve noticed that a lot of writers read differently than I do personally. And so I’m always fascinated to hear about what they read, how they read, and the types of books that they enjoy and how that then translates into their own work.So I have been thinking about how to host author interviews and I thought, maybe I would like to talk to writers, but talk to them more as readers and in particular about the books that have really shaped or influenced or mattered to them in some way. I have actually been doing this similar series and a series that goes by the same name over on Patreon for years where I talk to literary society members of the Patreon group about books that matter to them. And so now, starting today, I’m going to be bringing a similar series called Books That Matter to Substack, where I will be talking with authors about a book that matters to them, and in doing so, hoping to get to learn a little bit more about their reading lives.I’ll also, of course, be talking to them about their writing lives and their own books, but the focus is going to be a little bit more on reading. And I’m still figuring out this whole series, exactly what it’s going to look like, how often it’s going to come out, all of that. Right now, it will just be kind of spontaneously as I find and reach out to authors who I really want to speak with. And you might notice the episode format or at least kind of discussion points shift a bit between episodes as I get into a groove, as I figure out my stride and what really works for these conversations.But the goal is going to remain the same, to get to know writers as readers and writers. discover new to us books that matter or learn about books that maybe we readers already know and love, but learn how they matter to a particular writer in a different way.So I hope you’re excited for this series. I’m so excited. I have some great guests lined up for you over the next few weeks and months and today, for the inaugural episode, I’m joined by Emily Adrian. Emily is the author of Seduction Theory, a metafictional campus novel that explores loyalty, betrayal, and writing craft through a story that’s both extremely clever and highly entertaining. In the first part of this episode, you’ll hear about Emily’s reading life, how learning to read made life snap into focus, and why Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark became an instant favorite. Later we get into her 2025 release Seduction Theory. She shares how the narrator of the book emerged as she wrote and (remarkably without any spoilers!) how she added to the ending right before her book went on submission.You can listen to today’s episode without having read either book, and I hope you will because this was a very fun conversation! Alright after that long preamble, let’s get into my conversation with Emily Adrian.If you prefer to listen in a podcast player, here are instructions to make sure you have linked your FictionMatters subscription to your app of choice. You can also view the entire transcript of our conversation by playing this episode in your desktop browser. Links & Timestamps* Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian* Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark* Sigrid Nunez* Susan Choi* Heart the Lover by Lily King* Vladimir Nabokov* Muriel Spark* Joy Williams* Alice Munro* Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary* The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark* 12:18 - Loitering with Intent Discussion* 32:21 - Seduction Theory Discussion * Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov* Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff* The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides* God and Sex by Jon RaymondTo get even more FictionMatters podcasts, consider upgrading to a paid newsletter subscription or checking out the Patreon Literary Society.*This post contains affiliate links. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit fictionmatters.substack.comIt’s time! Liz Hein and I are here with our annual Best Books of the Year (so far) episode and this one is FUN. The literary landscape looks different and 2025, and we are reveling in it. Last year, a few exceptional books dominated the conversation—and both Liz and my favorite books of the year. This year, our lists have much more variety, and while we’re both still looking for our under-the-radar gem of the year, it was a treat to be surprised by each other’s list and to have favorites that felt like our favorites rather than everyone’s favorites. Free subscribers, you’ll find a 20 minute preview of this episode in your inbox, app, or browser. If you love listening to Liz and me chat about books, considering upgrading your subscription to get our book discussion episodes every month!Because of travel and busy summer schedules, this Best Books episode is our June This Month in Books, but we’ll be back to share all of our thoughts on June and July reading next month! After listening, please do head to the comments to tell us all about your best books of the year (so far). New and shiny or backlist gems, I want to hear about the best things you've been reading in 2025!***As a reminder, you can find the transcript and closed captions for this episode by listening in a browser. You can also find this episode by searching for FictionMatters on Spotify. Thanks for listening!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s special podcast episode, I’m joined by independent bookstore owner, podcaster, and debut author Annie B. Jones. Annie has been a favorite follow and a trusted source for book recommendations for me for years and I was thrilled to get the chance to read an early copy of her debut book Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put back in December. In this memoir in essays Annie reflects on her experiences staying: staying put, staying faithful, and staying herself. If you’re familiar with Annie’s work, it will come as no surprise to you that her memoir in essays is filled with wisdom, intention, and an earnestness. If you’ve yet to meet Annie, I hope this serves as a welcoming introduction to her thoughtful nature.In this conversation, Annie and I talk about her behind the scenes perspective on the book creation process from the vantage point of a bookstore owner turned author. She also shares delightful stories about how American Girl Magazine shaped her writing career and how getting out of her comfort zone in a line dancing class prepared her for upcoming life changes. Of course I couldn’t let her leave without sharing book recommendations, and she graciously brought five new summer books she’s already read and loved.I loved this conversation because just like in her essay collection, Annie has a unique gift for noticing and giving meaning to the little things and while not being afraid to get vulnerable about the big things. I hope you enjoy listening and be sure to get your copy of Ordinary Time, out tomorrow, April 22nd.Purchase Ordinary Time: The Bookshelf | Bookshop | Libro.fmBooks Mentioned:* I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott* Bittersweet by Shauna Niequest* Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequest* I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequest* Take Good Care of the Gardens and the Dogs by Heather Lende* Here for It by R. Eric Thomas* Flashlight by Susan Choi* Trust Exercise by Susan Choi* Among Friends by Hal Ebbott* The Paper Palace by Miranda Crowley Heller* The Dinner by Herman Koch* The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley* A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst* Blessings and Disasters by Alexis OkeowoGet more book recommendations from Annie by subscribing to her Instagram. Keep up with book news, bookstore happenings, and more behind-the-scenes scoop on Ordinary Time by following Annie’s podcast, From the Front Porch. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe