Pinky's Paperhaus

Aimee Bender podcast part 3

It's the final installment of the three-part Aimee Bender podcast! In this final podcast with the author of Willful Creatures, Aimee talks about being a professor at the University of Southern California and lots more. She even tries to answer the question Where does creativity come from? In part, she says:

A human being wants to make things, where that's dinner or a story.

Big thanks to Aimee for being the last author to record at the Los Angeles Paperhaus studios, and thanks for making this podcast so much fun.

Aimee Bender podcast, part 2

Aimee Bender is back! It's podcast part 2 of three of the author of the short story collection Willful Creatures, out in paperback in just a few weeks. In part two, Aimee talks about writing about horrible things and more. Hear her gleefully say:

The killing of things in stories is one of my favorite things about writing.

She's awfully nice in person. Really.

Aimee Bender podcast, part 1

As promised, Aimee Bender is here in the form of a podcast. There is more to come, of course; to facilitate bite-sized downloading I think we're looking at 3 or 4 parts. In this, part 1, Aimee talks about plot (she likes it), music (also likes it, but not while writing), scary characters and her hope for the arc of the world.

Willful Creatures, Aimee Bender's second book of short stories, will be out in paperback in August. She is also the author of An Invisible Sign of My Own, a novel, and the collection The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, which was a New York Times Notable Book.

Podcast: Jonathan Ames part 2

Aha! It's the Jonathan Ames podcast Part II; Jonathan is the author of, most recently, I Love You More Than You Know, a book of hilarious, overexposed personal essays. In person Mr. Ames is softspoken, at least in front of my microphone; he's less comfortable saying "her ass was round and firm and white" than he is typing it. In this, the second (and final) part of our interview, Mr. Ames talks about what he's been reading and more. Why give it all away?

Podcast: Jonathan Ames

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Jonathan Ames, all a-podcast-y. In the first half of our conversation, Jonathan answers questions about his novel Wake Up, Sir!, his new book of essays I Love You More Than You Know and then tells a funny story about his non-familial relationship with George Plimpton. He also plays some music. A little Smiths. A little Beatles. Want to know where I got the Beatles? There's more about that here. The second half of the interview with Jonathan Ames will appear here streamophonically and I think as a podcast. I think tomorrow. Possibly the tomorrow after that.

Unusual bedfellows

Simon & Schuster launched a weekly podcast last fall. Typically they take 3 authors, throw parts of their audiobooks together, and voila! It's a smart repurposing of content. Although next week will be Steven King wall to wall.

But the first one I listened to was Sarah Vowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Lewis Black. One of these things is not like the others! Sarah Vowell is funny in all the ways Ellen is unfunny. Vowell is unexpected, wicked and painful all at once. Ellen is plodding, dull and cheesy. To be honest, I couldn't suffer through Ellen to get all the way to Lewis Black. And I love Lewis Black.

Ed points out that Jay McInerney and of course Cory Doctorow are also podcasting. I'd much rather subscribe to a single author I like than have a surprise DeGeneres plop down in the middle of a perfectly good podcast.

Liza Palmer podcast of fun

Liza Palmer visits Pinky's Paperhaus to talk about her debut novel, Conversations With the Fat Girl. It's the story of two best friends who bond over being fat; as they grow up, one gets skinny (gastric bypass-- ew!) and the other doesn't. In case you were wondering, yep, it's chick lit -- not that there's anything wrong with that. She talks about dysfunctional friendships, how big is big, and her subgenre, Fat Girl Lit.

Liza grew up in Pasadena and talks, in the complete online interview, about her experience of working in downtown LA and making the decision to jump off the fast track to middle class and try her hand at being an author. It worked -- her novel is on 5 Spot, a division of Warner Books, and can be found at both your local bookstore and Target.

Podcast: 2 Goldbergs in 1!

Brothers Lee and Tod Goldberg talk about their new books, what their mother sells on eBay and bears without pants. In case you're thinking, wow, how can I tell two podcasting Goldbergs apart, here's a bit of help. Tod is quick to tell you he's the good-looking one (I'm staying neutral); his collection of short stories, Simplify, is the first book published by Other Voices. Lee is a television writer who also writes novels -- the latest, The Man With the Iron-On Badge, is about a wanna-be private eye who learned everything about the profession from TV detectives and suavecitos like Tony Rome.

There's more than could fit in the 15-minute podcast so check out the streaming files in the library  to hear the story of Lee's book with the penis on the cover and to catch Tod saying his (patent pending) word, fucktard.  You also get to listen to the fab sounds of private-eye theme songs and the scary selection that Tod brought in to match his stories (the complete playlist is online, too).

Happy family holiday with the Goldbergs!

Laila Lalami's podcast, part two

Moorishgirl Laila Lalami continues discussion of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, talking about language and the dialogue of her Moroccan characters, writing with music, and litblogging.

The complete interview is also available for streaming, if you're so inclined. Just pop into the library.

Laila Lalami's moorish podcast

Laila Lalami swings by the Paperhaus to talk about her new book Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. Is it a short story collection? Is it a novel? Why aren't the Arabic words in the book italicized? The answers are all in the podcast.

Laila, aka moorishgirl, has gotten lots of terrific reviews of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, her first book, including one in People Magazine (!). My favorite, though, is Junot Diaz's bookjacket blurb: A dream of a debut, by turns troubling and glorious, angry and wise. With her spare elegant prose Lalami has constructed a world remarkable for its resilience, its vibrancy, its motion, and yes, its hope.