Book critic and memoirist Bethanne Patrick sits down with author Dolen Perkins-Valdez to discuss teaching the writing process. Chair of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation Board of Directors, Valdez’s latest novel, Happy Land, comes out this April with Penguin Random House.

This week’s Canon or Can It subject is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Before we ruffle some feathers—just, hear us out.

Bethanne recommends Jim Shepard's The Book of Aaron, Percival Everett's James, Keri Hulme’s The Bone People, Rosa Liksom's Compartment Number Six, Marie NDiaye's Vengeance is Mine, and Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys.

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The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

Jim Shepard's The Book of Aaron, Percival Everett's James, Keri Hulme’s The Bone People, Rosa Liksom's Compartment Number Six, Marie NDiaye's Vengeance is Mine, Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, Tommy Orange's latest book, Wandering Stars, Patric Gagne's Sociopath, and Ludwig Bemelmans's Hotel Splendide.

I sat down with Angie Kim this week to discuss getting inspiration from your location, isolation, and community. Happiness Falls, a Good Morning America Book Club pick, was published in August 2023 by Random House.

This week, our Friday readers are buzzing about Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée Lavoie, Theatre Kids by John DeVore, Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky, and The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei.

The resurrection of Shogun is explained during this week's Pop! Goes the Culture

This week, my Six Recs are: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, March by Geraldine Brooks, James by Percival Everett, and A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads. Follow us on Substack for daily posts about new book releases, commentary, and more.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek by Angie Kim, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée Lavoie, Theatre Kids by John DeVore, Hot Air, Bad Marie, Very Nice, and The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky, The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei, Avengers directed by Joss Whedon, Shogun directed by Jonathan van Tulleken (and others), Orange is the New Black directed by Andrew McCarthy, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, March by Geraldine Brooks, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, James by Percival Everett, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley and King Lear by William Shakespeare.

Tope Folarin joins me to talk about the importance of a name, double-consciousness, and different kinds of privilege. Tope’s book A Particular Kind of Black Man was published by Simon & Schuster in 2019.

Our Friday readers are devouring Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, Like Mother Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight, By the Lake of Sleeping Children by Luis Urrea, and Site Fidelity by Claire Boyles.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is debated in this week’s Canon or Can It. Does this novel about love, friendship, quarrels, and class live up to canon expectations, or should it be canned forever?

This week, my Six Recs are: The Bridgerton Cookbook by Regula Yeswijn, Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen by Rory Muir, The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain by Ian Mortimer, Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, and The Secret History of Georgian London by Dan Cruickshank.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads. Follow us on Substack for daily posts about new book releases, commentary, and more.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: A Particular Kind of Black Man, by Tope Folarin, Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, Like Mother Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight, By the Lake of Sleeping Children by Luis Urrea, Site Fidelity by Claire Boyles, Happiness Falls by Angie Kim, The Devil's Highway by Luis Urrea, The Wedding Singer directed by Frank Coraci, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, All the Year Round by Charles Dickens, Bleak House and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, Bridgerton by Julia Quinn, The Bridgerton Cookbook by Regula Yeswijn, Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen by Rory Muir, The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain by Ian Mortimer, Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, and The Secret History of Georgian London by Dan Cruickshank.

Kay Chronister joins me to talk about bogs and how environments influence a novel, Gothic vs horror elements, and physically experiencing a setting as part of the writing process. Kay’s novel, The Bog Wife, was published earlier this month by Counterpoint LLC.

This week our Friday Readers are glowing about Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings by Joni Mitchell, and American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures, edited by America Ferrera.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is debated on this week’s Canon or Can It. Does this novel about animals rebelling against their human masters in an attempt to improve their lives deserve its place in the literary canon? Or should it be canned forever?

This week, my Six Recs are: Outlawed by Anna North, Gun Love by Jennifer Clement, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea, Harrow by Joy Williams, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, and The Power by Naomi Alderman.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister, Dearest by Jacquie Walters, Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings by Joni Mitchell, American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Outlawed by Anna North, Gun Love by Jennifer Clement, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea, Harrow by Joy Williams, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, and The Power by Naomi Alderman.

Jessica Hendry Nelson joins me to talk about memoir vs. creative nonfiction, ownership over a story, and therapeutic outlets in writing. Jessica’s novel, Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief, came out in September of 2023 with The University of Georgia Press.

In Pop! Goes the Culture, I discuss manmade monsters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, and docuseries Chimp Crazy on HBO Max. These stories call to question what makes a human: communication, community, or creation?

This week, my Six Recs are: Dead in Long Beach California by Venita Blackburn, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian, The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and Shanghai by Joseph Kanon.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief by Jessica Hendry Nelson, The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart, Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, The Thickness of Ice by Gerard Beirne, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Beowulf (unknown), Nosferatu by Bram Stoker and F.W. Murnau, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, Dead in Long Beach California by Venita Blackburn, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian, The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and Shanghai by Joseph Kanon.

Johanna Copeland joins Bethanne Patrick to talk about finding community post pandemic and creation in the time of motherhood. Johanna’s novel, Our Kind of Game, came out this summer with HarperCollins. She is a former corporate attorney and fellow northern Virginia resident.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about guilt, shame, and female sexuality. Bethanne discusses Hawthorne’s famous denouncement of America’s “scribbling women,” and where he falls in early American literary canon.

This week, Bethanne’s Six Recs are: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands and Hark! A Vagrant, both by Kate Beaton, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Berlin by Jason Lutes, Patience by Daniel Clowes, and The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way.

Find Bethanne on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: Our Kind of Game by Johanna Copeland, The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev, Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Will Gluck’s Easy A, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton, Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Berlin by Jason Lutes, Patience by Daniel Clowes, and The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way.

In this episode of The Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Claire Messud to discuss her book, This Strange Eventful History, and the challenges that arise when writing about your kin, good and bad.

So many readers love Jane Austen as an author unreservedly, and the same goes for Emma as a novel. But in today’s “Canon or Can It?” Bethanne deliberates on whether or not the book belongs in the canon.

Can Bethanne beat the clock? She gives us 6 Recs for our To Be Read lists. Titles include The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois by Honoré Fanonne Jeffers, Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich, and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

Find Bethanne on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

Titles mentioned: This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud, Coming to My Senses by Alyssa Harad, Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky, The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, The Lost Dumpling by Kirstin Hepburn, Be You, Mandu! by Kirstin Hepburn, Star Trek: Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno, Emma by Jane Austen, The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois by Honoré Fanonne Jeffers, Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, and Amy Heckerling’s 1995 film Clueless.

In this premiere episode of The Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with AJ Jacobs to discuss his book, The Year of Living Constitutionally, and the dangers of living by potentially outdated texts.

Can Bethanne beat the clock? She gives us 6 Recs for our To Be Read lists. Titles include Family Meal by Brian Washington, The World Doesn't Require You by Rion Amilcar Scott, The Gathering by Anne Enright, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, Real Americans by Rachel Kong, and Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.