how to win the lottery: a book club podcast

our 1990s module kicks off with vineland by thomas pynchon and an existential dilemma: are we starting off this module with a lie? after talking about getting our hands on media before its release date, we detour to discuss radiohead’s live “hail to the thief” album, which shreds expertly weaves right into the novel description via paul thomas anderson’s upcoming “loose adaptation” of vineland. joey shares his pov coming into this (and how it failed him); we talk about the misdirection of vineland not really being a novel about zoyd and discuss who the main character really is. we talk about the novel being structurally strange, pynchon’s exploration of 60s counter-culture (and the yippie to yuppie pipeline), and the amount of time he’s taken to publish his work. we critique the things that pynchon doesn’t do very well and admire him for what he does. shreds gives tips on reading a book where you get lost within the plot. we ask: please, write in about this book. also: happy halloween. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore

it’s time to unveil our next full-length module, which comes as a surprise to joey, too: we’re heading back to the 1990s. after shreds reveils the ungodly length of the original form of this module, we discuss how the form of this module is yet another one that we could cycle through. shreds announces the titles while confirming what we all know: we needed a win. we share a warning that we may pause to read new books! shreds avers that he is settling some personal business with these titles. joey realizes he gets to do 90s facts. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchon mao ii by don delillo all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy trainspotting by irvine welsh notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin sabbath’s theater by philip roth the atlas by william t. vollmann i love dick by chris kraus the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver from hell by alan moore

the second book in our second great american novel module is the demon by hubert selby, jr. does it pair well with the sound and the fury? that’s what we’re discussing. first, though, we check in with shreds to see if this is the novel that he remembered reading, what his history with it is, and what it inspired him to want to do. we talk about the book’s punctuation and hubert selby jr.’s sort of unorthodox path to a writing career. we explore the novel’s escalation, our feeling of “how bad can it get?”, and how inevitable the plot feels (as well as how it manages to refrain from ever being boring). we dunk on harry for his pedestrian pickup lines, discuss the other works that came to mind while reading this book, and explore the metaphors that worked (and the ones that don’t) in the text. joey shows shreds the insane original cover art. reading list for season sixteen the sound and the fury by william faulknerthe demon by hubert selby, jr.

our second great american novel module kicks off with the sound and the fury by william faulkner. joey explains his difficulties with parsing the text and how he approached it, while shreds talks about the character he identifies with. we explore a time when authors were less afraid to reckon with big ideas — as well as the authors still doing it now. we also ask, with regards to the text’s experimental prose: is faulkner better the more difficult his work gets? we explore the connected faulkner universe and look ahead to connections with hubert selby jr.’s the demon (our next book). shreds talks a bit about the faulkner-penned (though still factually inaccurate) appendix. joey digs up some patreon-exclusive features to apply to this text, which then leads to an offer to you, the listener. we discuss being alone in either appreciating (or not appreciating) art that no one else (or everyone else) seems to appreciate. reading list for season sixteen the sound and the fury by william faulknerthe demon by hubert selby, jr.

we’re back to find out what will be in store in our next great american novel module. also, we wonder: could we run out? does shreds enjoy reading? after a refresher on how this works (and teasing future great american novel modules), we discuss whether or not this is what the podcast “should” be, and if these mini-modules are the purest version of what we do. then, we roll the die, which yields another intense module. reading list for season sixteen the sound and the fury by william faulkner the demon by hubert selby, jr.

after covering her work for the past several episodes, we talked to danielle chelosky. we asked about fiction vs. nonfiction (specifically with regard to the right way to read her work), nonfiction being treated by reviewers as gossip, and how danielle attempts to capture the feeling of specific moments without seeming cringe. she talks about how she chooses which form her writing will take, her thoughts on mixed media, her finsta (and how it helps her catalog digital memorabilia), and writing as a persona. she teases a written but unreleased sequel to pregaming grief and how writing serves as a way to help her keep up with her memories. we talk about covid as an aesthetic backdrop, danielle’s pivot to other points of view in female loneliness epidemic, and the french literature she is most interested in. where’s her kaiju novel? is danielle emo? is cheat a prequel to pregaming grief? we ask. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky

it’s another double dip of danielle chelosky’s writing this episode, as we cover baby bruise and female loneliness epidemic. after lamenting what twitter has become (and what we lost), we talk about the title of chelosky’s short story collection, how frank o’hara’s meditations in an emergency relates to the work, and how we continue to approach her work as though it’s not auto-fiction. we talk about the evolution of stories written about young people, the vivid first lines in female loneliness epidemic, and the benefits of telling technology-agnostic stories. we explore the evolution of chelosky’s writing from cheat through “terror,” and we pivot to discussing baby bruise by discussing how her short-form writing compares to her longer-form stuff. in discussing baby bruise, we talk about teen girl music tastes and the relatability of the musical taste elements in the text, whether the character of dave is very sad or high comedy (or both), and how the book never gets as dark as you imagine it might. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky

our danielle chelosky module continues with pregaming grief, her first published piece of long-form writing. we talk about its ties to cheat, whether it could (canonically) be in the gossip girl universe, and how auto-fiction relates to this novel, her work as a whole, and the wider literature. we explore pregaming grief as a covid-era novel, albeit not a book about the disease itself, as well as how this informs the plot. chelosky’s description of older lovers hit a bit too close to home for us. we talk about her ability to write characters without condemning them (but in a way the reader likely will), her ability to write about a difficult state of mind, and the (limited) use of technology in this novel. shreds praise the very sudden ending. what’s blake middleton been up to? we wonder. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky

our danielle chelosky module kicks off with a pair of chapbooks that she self-published: cheat and show me your face. (it’s our first-ever “two books in one podcast” episode, and we do our best to keep ’em separated.) we talk about how both titles are very sexual and sexualized, but almost devoid of joy and not at all sexy, by design. we explore the similar content told in two very different styles/formats (plus the mixed media found in show me your face), how one text is technology-agnostic (while the other much more “of the time”), and how people of a certain generation learned to write through sites like livejournal and xanga. we talk about putting a version of you (that isn’t really you) online and how elements learned in show me your face make cheat more sad in retrospect. egg writes in to share similar (yet totally opposite) experiences. we imagine how inspiring and empowering it must have been to be a young writer in nyc around 2012. what would happen if chelosky added a kaiju to this narrative? we discuss. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise and female loneliness epidemic by danielle chelosky

we’ve done it. we’ve closed the big account, ghostbusters-style, and landed another author focus module. this time, we’re talking about the work of danielle chelosky. we discuss other authors whom we’ve spoken with who have praised her work and what we believe we can expect from her work. shreds describes how we will put together questions for her to answer. reading list for season fifteen cheat and show me your face by danielle cheloskypregaming grief by danielle cheloskybaby bruise by danielle chelosky

the malady of death by marguerite duras is likely the shortest text we’ve covered on the main feed so far. like suicide last week, it’s also european as all hell. after celebrating the 100th book covered on our show, which we missed, we pivot into the malady of death. horny module alert! we explore the mystery behind this book’s publication, try to determine how much wine could we drink, and express our love for the craziest final four pages. we ask: does everyone picture themselves as the protagonist? we talk about how the second-person twist is captured in this text. shreds wonders if he could make up a banger of a phrase like “the malady of death.” reading list for season thirteen interior chinatown by charles yu if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney suicide by édouard levé the malady of death by marguerite duras how like a god by rex stout the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida the night circus by erin morgenstern a man asleep by georges perec open water by caleb azumah nelson

the next book in our second-person module is suicide by édouard levé, which kicks off a mini-module of shorter writing that is also european as hell. after discussing a gem of a film we discovered on the criterion channel, we talk about suicide‘s up-ending afterward and the manipulation found within the text. we discuss suicide as the defining moment in anyone’s life who dies that way and why it’s hard to reflect on what happens within the book. we explore how (and why) first-person is found more in this book than in our other books this module, the wildly different alt cover, and how the extensive poetry that ends the text reads in french. we talk about wanting to learn more about translators and the act of translation. egg does a great job of articulating thoughts about this text. reading list for season thirteen interior chinatown by charles yu if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney suicide by édouard levé the malady of death by marguerite duras how like a god by rex stout the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida the night circus by erin morgenstern a man asleep by georges perec open water by caleb azumah nelson

welcome back to the penn badgley module. today’s episode is the most “normal” book we’ve read in a while: bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney. we talk about the novel’s deadpan humor, whether it feels tied to the 1980s, and how the main character ends the book while still sort of spiraling. we explore the current irony of a plot about fact-checking and computers making life easier, the arc to cocaine as a drug in the united states, and a time where t.g.i. friday’s was a cool place to hang out. we wonder if there’s a jay mcinerney connected universe and we revisit shreds’s shared bennington literary universe. we discuss how the second-person perspective villainizes amanda, the amount that bret easton ellis seems to take from this writing, and the weird miscasting in the film adaptation. shreds champions a specific element of kevin smith’s movies. reading list for season thirteen interior chinatown by charles yu if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney suicide by édouard levé the malady of death by marguerite duras how like a god by rex stout the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida the night circus by erin morgenstern a man asleep by georges perec open water by caleb azumah nelson

we’re closing out our ohio module with ohio by stephen markley, who honored us by naming this book after our module. we talk about the impact of the title and writing about where you’re from, how the deluge serves as somewhat of a retroactive pre-read for this book, and how markley is one of the best social realist authors of our time. we talk about what the end suggests and why it “must” end this way, as well as markley’s ability to create characters (especially ones who are morally unclear), whether this text could exist about its flashbacks, and the different segments reading as different forms of genre fiction. shreds breaks down the maurice claurett reference, joey shares some final ohio facts, and we get a new author pitch via email. we look back at the ohio module that was. reading list for season fourteen the bluest eye by toni morrison omensetter’s luck by william gass outside in by doug cooper ohio by stephen markley

our ohio module continues with outside in by doug cooper and some “ohio facts” (island facts?) about the town of put-in-bay. after learning about island culture in ohio — we want to go so bad — we talk about an inciting incident that the novel does not reflect on at all, how shep shows no signs of darkness at all (and no flaws), and our issues with dialogue and the female characters in the novel. we explore the q&a found at the end of the text, as well as the noticeable lack of editors. is “the name game” really transgressive? shreds talks about what this novel has in common with 1980s comedies, then makes a twin peaks connection. we compare outside in to bret easton ellis’s less than zero, and we look at doug cooper’s other novels. producer meg “the egg” writes in a damning email. reading list for season fourteen the bluest eye by toni morrison omensetter’s luck by william gass outside in by doug cooper ohio by stephen markley

our ohio module keeps on truckin’ with both a pop quiz about the state and a discussion of omensetter’s luck by william gass. we talk about the difficulty in reading the novel (and how the first two sections sort of fake you out a bit), what william gass is “doing” in this text, and why regional writing tends to be set back in time. shreds explains why the novel made him feel unbearably sad and hopeless — and how surprised he was by the way gass’s life turned out. we discuss the afterward (and whether or not it’s true) and how william gass (among others, including authors we have already read like john barth) pushed the postmodern genre forward. we talk about casting an adaptation and create an ambitious new module idea, because why would we ever want to do anything the easy way? reading list for season fourteen the bluest eye by toni morrisonomensetter’s luck by william gassoutside in by doug cooperohio by stephen markley

our ohio module kicks off with a known quantity: the undeniably great debut novel from toni morrison, the bluest eye. after briefly reflecting on the states so far, we talk about famous people from ohio as well as whether the bluest eye feels specific to ohio. we talk about its thematic ties to ryan coogler’s sinners, as well as the text’s generational trauma and its characters who can afford to be nice. why isn’t joey bothered when his least favorite trope in movie-making pops up in books? we discuss. we admire toni morrison’s mastery of dialogue — especially kid dialogue, as well as kid behavior. we talk about her writing this novel from the perspective of an editor and the merits of introducing great literature to high school students (even if it’s lost on them). egg writes in a great email. reading list for season fourteen the bluest eye by toni morrison omensetter’s luck by william gass outside in by doug cooper ohio by stephen markley

it’s time for another card drawing on lottery pod, and even though we don’t say it in this episode: suck shit, sufjan stevens. after we struggle to remember which states we’ve already covered, we make picks and predictions for both the states that we’re most excited about and the states we think will come up in the drawing. (spoiler: shreds is almost right.) we figure out what we’re reading. shreds recaps fantasy baseball news from eight months ago. (note: after recording this episode, we decided to swap in the bluest eye by toni morrison for beloved.) reading list for season fourteen the bluest eye by toni morrison omensetter’s luck by william gass outside in by doug cooper ohio by stephen markley

we’re closing out our second-person module with one of our strongest books yet: open water by caleb azumah nelson. after talking about the pitt (and the mount rushmore of tv), we talk about the lack of irony in open water and the way its naturalistic style makes you forget it’s written in second-person. we talk about the way nelson writes about media (and how it feels like a barry jenkins movie), how good he is at describing music, and the good lineage of books with “water” in the title. we ask: what would this be like if it was set in the u.s.? we admire the amazing circumstance of the main characters’ meeting, how glad we are at what this book did NOT become, and the shortcut nelson uses to existing art (and the intertextuality it has with other modern media). would this make a good movie? we reflect back on the mixed bag of a module. reading list for season thirteen interior chinatown by charles yu if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney suicide by édouard levé the malady of death by marguerite duras how like a god by rex stout the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida the night circus by erin morgenstern a man asleep by georges perec open water by caleb azumah nelson

our penultimate book in the “you” module is a man asleep by georges perec, which is a return to form as it’s once again french as hell. we talk about how it compares to suicide by édouard levé and the malady of death by marguerite duras, as well as the refreshing nature of variation in the module. shreds talks about the other short story in the collection (things) and the act of lucid dreaming. we discuss perec describing the act of playing solitaire, whether the end is a call to action (or defeatist), and life as a street performer. shreds talks about bosho’s hakus (and how different “english haikus” are), and then he predicts the title of elif batuman’s next novel. reading list for season thirteen interior chinatown by charles yu if on a winter’s night a traveler by italo calvino bright lights, big city by jay mcinerney suicide by édouard levé the malady of death by marguerite duras how like a god by rex stout the diver’s clothes lie empty by vendela vida the night circus by erin morgenstern a man asleep by georges perec open water by caleb azumah nelson