Marlon and Jake Read Dead People

Penguin Random House
  • 4.8 (982)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

Marlon and Jake Read Dead People is a podcast hosted by the Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books. In each episode, Marlon and Jake talk about authors—specifically dead authors. Authors they like. Authors they hate. Great books, terrible books, and books they love that you’d never expect them to. As a writer and an editor, Marlon and Jake have read thousands of books between them, and they’re not shy in expressing their opinions about them. Sometimes they’ll agree, sometimes they won’t, but in every episode, they’ll tell you what they think— uncensored and with no holds barred. (That’s why the authors have to be dead.) So, listen along to hear about the spectacularly good, the hilariously bad, and the brutally honest.

  1. 5d ago

    Is Jane Eyre Okay?

    Marlon and Jake explore why we're so eager to revisit the worlds of our favorite stories, asking whether great characters are better left where their authors left them—or if there's value in imagining what came before or after. Tune in as they unpack the appeal of sequels, the pitfalls of origin stories, and why some fictional worlds are more powerful when they remain a mystery. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes Lord of the Flies by William Golding Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser Mansfield Park by Jane Austen To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Lost Horizon by James Hilton Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Little Men by Louisa May Alcott David Copperfield by Charles Dickens The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker The Tempest by William Shakespeare

  2. Jul 14

    Calling B******t on Dystopias

    Marlon and Jake dive into the world of dystopian fiction, unpacking what truly makes a dystopia—and whether some of the genre’s biggest ideas hold up under closer scrutiny. Along the way, they discuss why some dystopias feel more believable than others, how our understanding of these stories changes over time, and the real-world parallels that make them resonate long after the final page. Tune in as they explore how history, power, and human nature shape the worlds we imagine. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. The Giver by Lois Lowry Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow The Last Man by Mary Shelley 1984 by George Orwell Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban Pilgermann by Russell Hoban  The Road by Cormac McCarthy  Lord of the Flies by William Golding Pincher Martin by William Golding Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

  3. Jul 7

    Clearing the Cobwebs

    Welcome back for a new season! Marlon and Jake catch up on what they’ve been reading, writing, and working on, including Marlon’s new novel, and explore the books they return to when it’s time to create. They discuss the stories that inspire rather than intimidate, the surprising value of giving up on a book, and the writers they revisit to clear the cobwebs from their minds. Tune in to hear how reading shapes their creative process, from finding the right voice to discovering what makes great dialogue. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. “A Trifle from Life” by Anton Chekhov Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne War Music by Christopher Logue The Odyssey by Homer The Oresteia by Aeschylus Letters from a Stoic by Seneca Maurice by E. M. Forster Ernesto by Umberto Saba Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar New Hampshire by Robert Frost In Parenthesis by David Jones Civil War by Lucan

  4. 05/02/2023

    The Beach Read

    In the final episode of the season, Marlon and Jake weigh in on their favorite vacation reads, including the ones they started but never finished. Tune in to find out which classic novels Jake took to the beach and which ones Marlon says should have been thrown in the ocean.  Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Goodbye Look by Ross McDonaldWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasChances by Jackie CollinsThe Year of the French by Thomas FlanaganAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueThe Golden Bowl by Henry JamesThe Ambassadors by Henry JamesPortrait of a Lady by Henry JamesPronto by Elmore LeonardHowl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne JonesSmallbone Deceased by Michael GilbertThe Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot by Robert Arthur, Jr.Persuasion by Jane Austen

  5. 04/25/2023

    The Campus Novel

    It was the best of times; it was the worst of times—it was school. In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss books where school is the setting or going to school is central to the plot. They debate which authors got school right and which got school wrong, what makes an inspiring teacher, and what the closed universe of a schoolyard or college campus can feel like. Tune in to hear Marlon and Jake reminisce over their own college experiences and what they were like as students. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter Tom Brown’s School Days by Thomas HughesThe History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry FieldingBrideshead Revisited by Evelyn WaughDecline and Fall by Evelyn WaughVile Bodies by Evelyn WaughScoop by Evelyn WaughThe Crime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel SparkA Separate Peace by John KnowlesLook back in Anger by John OsborneTess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas HardyJude the Obscure by Thomas HardyReturn of the Native by Thomas HardyAbsalom, Absalom! By William FaulknerLove Story by Erich SegalThe Miracle Worker by William GibsonStoner by John WilliamsZuleika Dobson by Max BeerbohmThe Corn is Green by Emlyn Williams

  6. 04/18/2023

    City Settings

    In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about cities in books. Books set in memorable cities, books set in cities you're glad you've never been to and books where the city itself is nearly a character. They talk about the specificity of London of the 19th century British novel, the New York novel, entirely fictional cities in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and don’t miss Marlon’s personal experience with Bloomsday in Dublin! Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletterUlysses by James Joyce  Ulysses by James JoycePortrait of the Artist by James JoyceDubliners by James JoyceThe Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom WolfeThe Age of Innocence Edith Wharton The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell HammettPalace Walk by Naguib MahfouzPalace of Desire by Naguib MahfouzSugar Street by Naguib MahfouzInvisible Cities by Italo Calvino Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred DoblinIn Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor HugoInterview with a Vampire by Anne Rice Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy TooleThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail BulgakovThe Young Unicorns by Madeleine L’Engle

  7. 04/11/2023

    Characters Behaving Badly

    In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about the bad characters we’re not meant to like but do and the good characters we’re meant to like but annoy us. From Dracula to Daisy Buchanan to Oliver Twist and Bambi, the good-to-evil spectrum is vast and no character is safe from commentary. Tune in to find out which classic villain the duo unanimously hate, and which villain gives Marlon the chills and scares Jake to this day.  Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsThe Flashman series by George MacDonald FraserTom Brown’s School Days by Thomas HughesKing Solomon’s Mines by Sir H. Rider HaggardRaiders of the Lost Arc by Campbell BlackDracula by Bram StokerFrankenstein by Mary ShellyOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken KeseyEast of Eden by John SteinbeckThe Awakening by Kate ChopinMadame Bovary by Gustave FlaubertHouse of Mirth by Edith WhartonCrime and Punishment by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Idiot by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldGood Morning Midnight by Jean RhysBambi by Felix SaltenWatership Down by Richard AdamsOliver Twist by Charles DickensMiddlemarch by George EliotThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. SalingerThe Lord of the Flies by William GoldingRailway Children by E. NesbitPeter Pan by J.M. BarrieThe Jungle Book by Rudyard KiplingTreasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonVanity Fair by William Makepeace ThackerayEmma by Jane AustenMansfield Park by Jane Austen

  8. 04/04/2023

    Poetry FOMO

    This episode, Marlon and Jake discuss a new subject for the podcast: poetry! From epic poems to sonnets to the Romantics poets to contemporary (dead) poets. They ponder over why people don’t read poetry as much as prose and recite, on the spot, lines of poetry that are forever engrained in their memories. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey ChaucerThe Faerie Queene by Edmund SpenserWar Music by Christopher LogueThe Gift Outright by Robert FrostEmily DickinsonW.H. AudenT.S. EliotSamuel Taylor ColeridgeWilliam WordsworthRupert BrookeJohn DunnThe Spanish Needle by Claude McKayThe Iliad by HomerThe Aeneid by VirgilOmeros by Derek WalcottThe Arrivants by Kamau BrathwaiteRiddyn Ravings (The Mad Woman's Poem) by Jean “Binta” BreezeAnne SextonDr. Maya AngelouThe Tyger by William BlakeFire and Ice by Robert FrostGwendolyn BrooksJune JordanAudre LordeToni MorrisonOgden NashDorothy ParkerTales From Ovid by Ted HughesInferno from Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

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About

Marlon and Jake Read Dead People is a podcast hosted by the Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books. In each episode, Marlon and Jake talk about authors—specifically dead authors. Authors they like. Authors they hate. Great books, terrible books, and books they love that you’d never expect them to. As a writer and an editor, Marlon and Jake have read thousands of books between them, and they’re not shy in expressing their opinions about them. Sometimes they’ll agree, sometimes they won’t, but in every episode, they’ll tell you what they think— uncensored and with no holds barred. (That’s why the authors have to be dead.) So, listen along to hear about the spectacularly good, the hilariously bad, and the brutally honest.

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