the virgins by pamela erens marks new ground for the podcast: it’s the first book we’ve both read before. does that mean we’ll have more insightful thoughts to share? don’t bet on it! after talking about our new year’s resolutions, bob talks about the movie it’s complicated for a while before we regret not using this book as a backdoor pilot for our inevitable “horny” module. we wonder if there’s a sex move called “the mandalorian,” we lay out how the novel would end if it were a mystery, and we compare bruce bennett-jones to dennis reynolds. bob shares his one issue with the book (as well as the unbelievability of the in-class scene in the text) and we explore the recurring themes we’re beginning to notice this season.
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