79: The Director - Daniel Kehlmann

Whitney, Chelsea, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Tilt by Emma Pattee.Emma Pattee's first novel is about trying to postpone the inevitable: babies, breakups, earthquakes. The citizens of Portland, Oregon, live in denial that the Cascadia earthquake—which has a 1-in-3 chance of happening within the next 40 years—might strike today. After The Really Big One destroys the IKEA where 37-week-pregnant Annie has been shopping for a crib, she must wend her way through an apocalyptic hellscape to find her husband Dom.Theme music: "Dog-Ear" (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary introduces the 10 novels, published in 2025 and 2026, that will be covered in Season Four of Writers Who Read. In order, they are:S4 #1: Tilt - Emma PatteeS4 #2: Angel Down - Daniel KrausS4 #3: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) - Rabih AlameddineS4 #4: What We Can Know - Ian McEwanS4 #5: Transcription - Ben LernerS4 #6: Yesteryear - Caro Claire BurkeS4 #7: My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein - Deborah LevyS4 #8: Hollywood, Ending - John GreenS4 #9: The Radiance - Ayad AkhtarS4 #10: Partita - Barbara KingsolverDiscussion slides for all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: "Dog-Ear" (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This bonus episode is actually an episode of Jason DeHart’s podcast, “Words, Images, and Worlds” where he interviews authors about their books and their process. You can find his podcast and videos on YouTube @WordsImagesWorlds, where he explores literacy through comics, media, fandom, and scholarship. Gary was Jason’s guest on an episode that dropped back in August of 2026, and, naturally, he talked (a lot!) about the creation of Literary Forensics, and how it arose from his work with Writers Who Read.You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: "Dog-Ear" (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mira Landry, Risë Keller, and Gary McBride talk about King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby, which is Writers Who Read book number 81. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mira, Risë, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby.The Atlanta-based wealthy investment manager Roman Carruthers thinks he knows all about gangstas through his intimate connection with rap recording artists. Roman is a fixer, and he's used to solving any problem his clients present. Unfortunately, when his father is almost killed back home in Jefferson Run, VA, Roman discovers that his magic has no effect on the actual gangs who threaten his brother Dante and his family's crematory business. Should Roman fight fire with fire? And where would that lead?Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Pinion, Chelsea Pennington, and Gary McBride talk about Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is Writers Who Read book number 80. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney, Chelsea, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.Reid writes novels about the “type of woman who I want to talk about, a woman who has naked ambition.” Atmosphere features Joan, an aspiring astronaut in the early 1980s, desperate to get into space, desperate to be one of the guys, who hides a secret she knows will get her kicked out of NASA's budding space shuttle program. We first meet Joan in her career as the steadying voice at mission control, attempting to guide the surviving crew of a harrowing spaceflight safely home.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Pinion, Risë Keller, and Gary McBride talk about The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin in 2025, which is Writers Who Read book number 79. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney, Risë, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: The Director by Daniel Kehlmann.The influential Austrian film director G W Pabst discovered Louise Brooks and Leni Riefenstahl, worked with Greta Garbo and Kurt Weill, and moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. Unfortunately, just as WWII began he returned to Austria to care for his ailing mother, trapping Pabst and his family in Nazi Germany and turning him into a tool of the Reich. The stark soundstage, dark shadows, and sharp camera angles of Expressionist cinema infuse Kehlmann's novel, translated from the German, chilling our bones with the horror of seeing precisely how totalitarianism breaks us.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Flesh by David Szalay, which is Writers Who Read book number 78. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at bookstores everywhere.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.Theme music: “Dog-Ear” (original). Piano: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). Additional sounds: VSCO 2 CE (CC0); MuseScore General / FluidR3 soundfont by S. Christian Collins and Frank Wen (MIT). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.