how to win the lottery: a book club podcast "shreds" and joey lewandowski

our eco module continues with another water-related catastrophe as we discuss fever dream by samanta schweblin. after realizing that we missed an anniversary/milestone (or more than one) and wondering how many books people read in their life, we look back to see what the last book we read in translation was. we then discuss how the title of the novel gives a lot away, how fever dream reads like a horror book, and how the narrative slips through your fingers. shreds talks about carnosaur, we make connections to previous books this module, and we recount fever dreams (or the like) that we’ve had. shreds ask questions about major motion picture challengers (dir. 2024, luca guadagnino). we perform a halfway through the module check-in.

reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

after talking about her novel barn 8 last week, we spoke with deb olin unferth about heist stories, teaching literature, and chickens. after deb dubs joey the frontman of the podcast (a topic that we never circle back on), we ask deb about how she combines disparate genres and her time spent at farms and with chickens. she and shreds share lessons learned from teaching literature as deb professes her love for the novel as an art form. we find out where the idea for barn 8 come from, how she got access to these farms and farmers (and how she won them over with booze), and where the character names came from. deb shares her picks for books you should read.


reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

our eco module continues with barn 8 by deb olin unferth as we shift our focus from trees and water toward animal rights. shreds starts the pod like it’s the end of the pod as he explains why this book found itself in the module in this location. we talk about all we need (as a people) for the earth to be okay. we discuss how barn 8 aligns with (and differs from) more traditional heist narratives, and how the story subverts expectations about what these narratives typically include. we talk about barn 8 as a book about (chicken) language and (chicken) religion. we rank our favorite fast food chains. (next week, we talk deb olin unferth about her book, her research process, and much more.)

reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman is the next book up in our eco module, and it continues our run of bleak looks at our near-future. we discuss the book’s structure (and its 3-4 main focuses) and how it kind of bails on a bunch of stuff in an interesting way. we talk about the perspective shifts (and whether or not they work), the unique elements that nora offers as a child, and whether or not celebrities are more interesting than “normal” people. shreds compares this novel to kleeman’s other writing as well as to don delillo. we talk about the real-world insanity of buying bottled water. we talk about ozark and how to adapt this novel — and what might get cut.

reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

our eco module continues with the overstory by richard powers, which marks an early high point in the season as it’s one of our favorite books of all-time, and one of the best books we’ve ever read. first, though, we get into some heavy lotto pod lore. then, we dive into the overstory and wonder: is this the ideal version of this module? we talk about the return of literary magic tricks, our favorite characters and storylines, and the villain of the book. shreds shares some recent related (and unrelated) book reviews and then likens filmmakers to comedians. we talk about how to adapt this book (which may already be in the works).

reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

we’re kicking off our eco module with land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang — as well as some steve harvey talk. we ask: is this book a bummer? also: is the book pro cigarettes? we discuss the inner conflict of the protagonist, whether or not the novel’s depiction of climate disaster and climate repair is realistic, and the queer freudian love story at the heart of the novel. we talk about sacrificing long-term gain for short-term pleasure and our shared lack of ambition on the pod to try insane foods. joey relates this novel to fight club. we talk about how visual the novel is and how ripe for adaptation it feels.

reading list for season nine
land of milk and honey by c. pam zhang
the overstory by richard powers
something new under the sun by alexandra kleeman
barn 8 by deb olin unferth
fever dream by samanta schweblin
square wave by mark de silva
the glacier by jeff wood
the man with the compound eyes by wu ming-yi
the deluge by stephen markley
drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk