Book Fight

We welcome Nadira Goffe (culture writer for Slate) to talk about a Black, Southern noir from S.A. Cosby. We learn about Nadira's love of the Fast and the Furious franchise, her fear of actual driving, and her mixed feelings about an over-the-top metaphor. Plus: Mike gets pedantic about dialogue tags, and Tom realizes there's a limit to how many car-chase sequences he's willing to read in a novel. Vroom vroom! Note: this is the eighth (and final) episode in our noir-themed season, but there's no reason you need to listen to the episodes in order. If you're enjoying the podcast, and want to help support it (while getting yourself some sweet, sweet bonus content) please consider subscribing to our Patreon. For $5 a month you get two monthly episodes, which could also help tide you over until our next season: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight As always, thanks for listening!

We welcome back best-selling crime novelist Tod Goldberg to talk about one of his favorite books, by one of his favorite authors. Daniel Woodrell's 2006 novel was the basis for the 2012 film of the same name, which netted Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar nomination at the age of 20. The movie is a pretty faithful adaptation of the novel, though the book's musical language and rich detail make it worth a read even for those who've seen the film.  We talk about the book's fresh take on a familiar story structure--the "hero's quest"--and how it both fits and doesn't within the "crime" genre. We also talk to Tod about his own work, how he develops the plots of his novels, why he no longer gives readings, and lots more. Including our first-ever Book Fight blind item! You can learn more about Tod, and his many books, at his website: https://todgoldberg.com/ And check out the Hannukah noir anthology he recently edited for Penguin Random House, Eight Very Bad Nights. Thanks for listening!

We're joined by novelist and high-school music teacher Daniel DiFranco (Panic Years, Devil on My Trail) to discuss the Margaret Millar novel Do Evil in Return, a staple of the noir genre. We talk about the line between serious and campy, how to move plot forward in a novel, and the difficulty of endings.  For more about our guest, including where to find his books, check out his website: http://www.danieldifranco.com/ If you like our podcast, and would like more of it in your life, $5 gets you a couple bonus episodes each month plus access to our huge backlog of bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight Thanks for listening! Note: This episode is part of our ongoing season on noir novels, but you don't need to listen to the episodes in order, and you don't need to read the books to enjoy the discussion.

We welcome Joanna Pearson (author, most recently, of Bright and Tender Dark), who makes the case that we should put Mary Gaitskill's short stories in the "noir" category--or at least mark them as noir-adjacent. We discuss two specific Gaitskill stories, "The Other Place" and "The Girl on the Plane," as well as the particular darkness of the Gaitskill universe. We also talk with Joanna about readers' expectations for genre books, and what it's been like to have her own novel placed in various genre boxes. Plus: what's the right way to organize one's bookshelves? To learn more about Joanna, and her work, visit her website: https://www.joanna-pearson.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, subscribe to our Patreon ($5) to get two bonus episodes each month: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight Thanks for listening!