season two continues onward as we head back in time (for a difficult read) as we talk about the nickel boys by colson whitehead. we talk about the benefits of re-reading books (especially when they contain genre-style twists unusual in a narrative like this), the overly trusting nature of the main character, and how the nickel boys contains all the elements of a traditional prison narrative. we also explore colson whitehead’s work and what it means when black americans do everything “right” (and yet it doesn’t matter) and then talk about tim heidecker for a little while.
reading list for season two
the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4
prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18
the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2
nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16
the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30
my education by susan choi, 1/13
giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27
end zone by don delillo, 2/10
loner by teddy wayne, 2/24
the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10
sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24
college novel by blake middleton, 4/7
real life by brandon taylor, 4/21
the instructions by adam levin, 5/5
the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19