If you already follow Amanda Palmer, author of The Art of Asking, on Twitter, then you probably know that lately she’s been busy grieving, battling Lyme Disease, recording with her father, and preparing to have her first baby with her husband Neil Gaiman. So we were incredibly pleased that she took time out from her nonstop, go-go-go life, to answer a few questions for us via email.
Jess Walter and I sat down and talked about his podcast with his friend and fellow author Sherman Alexie, Beautiful Ruins, and how he’d feel if someone made him into a character in their novel.
We talked to actor and narrator Edoardo Ballerini about Beautiful Ruins, the differences between acting and narrating, and his dream audiobook gig.
We turn to indie booksellers all the time for advice on everything from marketing to what to read. So when I was in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I popped in at Green Apple Books, to chat with co-owner Kevin Hunsanger.
What’s the worst part about narrating an audiobook? For Kathleen Wilhoite, the narrator of Where’d You Go, Bernadette, it’s driving in rush-hour traffic. Wilhoite talks about narrating, how she met Maria Semple, and her favorite parts of the book.
Nobody willingly bares all for the sake of comedy like David Sedaris. Using the mundane and self-deprecation to shine a light on the oft-buried quirkiness of human existence, Sedaris knocks essay after essay out of the park.
Dr. Carol Dweck didn’t limit sharing her research to Mindset. With Dr. Lisa Sorich Blackwell, she founded Mindset Works, an organization that helps schools and teachers to implement growth-minded tools. We chatted with Emily Diehl, Director of Professional Learning and Curriculum Design at Mindset Works, about her best tips and tricks in adapting a growth Mindset. Emily is a former teacher and parent herself, who brought her years of experience as well as Dr. Dweck’s research to our conversation.
Readers love James Patterson for his thrilling plotlines, clever characters, and seemingly never-ending drive that allows him to publish several best sellers each year. But I love him for what he’s done for independent bookstores.
Jack. John. Lila. These are some of the most enduring characters in modern American literature. They speak to us on many levels, particularly, I think, because they provide no clear answers. At times heroic and at times deeply flawed, they are also some of the most human characters in contemporary fiction.
Malcolm Gladwell chases whatever economic curiosity tickles his fancy. Sometimes it’s the birth month of hockey players. Sometimes it’s the story of David and Goliath. Sometimes it’s how it took both Bill Gates and The Beatles 10,000 hours to achieve mastery over their crafts. Whatever it is, it’s always fascinating.