Marlon and Jake Read Dead People
The Literary Hall of Shame
In our last episode of the season, Marlon and Jake take on the worst books by the best authors—or at least, authors they usually love. They discuss why a journalist’s instincts can be both a gift and a curse when writing fiction, the importance of a great editor, writers who seem more interested in ideas than people, and novels that try so hard to be current they end up aging badly. Tune in for a conversation about literary misfires and wasted genius. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches In the Hand of Dante by Nick Tosches The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe Orlando by Virginia Woolf Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing The Golden Bowl by Henry James My Son’s Story by Nadine Gordimer Quicksand by Nella Larsen The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth Hotel by Arthur Hailey Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins Peyton Place by Grace Metalious Whirlwind by James Clavell Gai-Jin by James Clavell The Breast by Philip Roth Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth Humboldt’s Gift by Saul Bellow Mr. Sammler’s Planet by Saul Bellow A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré A Perfect Spy by John le Carré The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee Until August by Gabriel García Márquez Heartburn by Nora Ephron Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer India: A Wounded Civilization by V. S. Naipaul The Power Broker by Robert Caro Terrorist by John Updike
English Teachers, Look Away
Marlon and Jake discuss the books they’d banish from school reading lists—not ban but give a well-earned time out. They consider why the Bible shouldn’t make the cut, why mythology deserves to expand beyond the Greeks and Romans, and what kinds of books actually resonate with high school readers. Plus: why being a great book doesn’t necessarily make something a great book to teach—and whether length should matter. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper Mythology by Edith Hamilton Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Pearl by John Steinbeck “Who Am I This Time?” by Kurt Vonnegut King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard Benito Cereno by Herman Melville The Tempest by William Shakespeare The Radiance of the King by Camara Laye The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy by Douglas Adams The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare As You Like It by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare You Can’t Take It with You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Animal Farm by George Orwell 1984 by George Orwell The Trial by Franz Kafka Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Look Back in Anger by John Osborne Butley by Simon Gray The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis The Circle by W. Somerset Maugham
In Defense of Gratuitous Violence
Marlon and Jake take on violence in fiction: what makes it effective, what makes it gratuitous, and whether “gratuitous violence” is even a useful distinction. Tune in as they discuss the difference between violence on the page and on screen and why extended cruelty can be harder to stomach than violence itself. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. Lord of the Flies by William Golding All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Cities of the Red Night by William S. Burroughs Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy The Godfather by Mario Puzo The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 2666 by Roberto Bolaño Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Hamlet by William Shakespeare King Lear by William Shakespeare Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Most Important Character Isn’t a Character
Marlon and Jake explore the power of setting in novels—and why the best stories feel like they couldn’t have happened anywhere else. They discuss settings that become characters in their own right, fictional worlds they’d love (or absolutely hate) to inhabit, and books that made unexpected places fascinating. Plus: why a modern-day Captain Nemo might just be a tech bro. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. Amerika by Franz Kafka Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall Moby-Dick by Herman Melville Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake Dubliners by James Joyce The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow A Room with a View by E. M. Forster Macbeth by William Shakespeare Dune by Frank Herbert The Last Man by Mary Shelley Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This Got More Personal Than We Expected
Marlon and Jake explore the books that have helped define who they are, choosing four that capture different parts of their personalities and lives. They unpack how reading can shape our understanding of identity, community, and growing up—and change the way we see ourselves and each other. Tune in as they reflect on books they encountered at exactly the right (or wrong) time and the stories that made the world around them feel a little bigger. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. Amadeus by Peter Shaffer Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer The Lion in Winter by James Goldman The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf The Red and the Black by Stendhal The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin The Aspern Papers by Henry James Persuasion by Jane Austen A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange Sula by Toni Morrison The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor X-Men by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
Why Does Great Literature Have Such Bad Sex?
Marlon and Jake dive into one of literature's trickiest subjects: sex. Why do some writers capture intimacy with honesty while others veer into the unintentionally hilarious? Along the way, they discuss why writing about sex is really writing about people, the differences between American and French attitudes toward sexuality in fiction, ghost stories as a vehicle for taboo desires, and the delicate balance between telling the truth and keeping readers engaged. Tune in for a conversation about why the best writing on sex is rarely just about sex. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth “The Diamond Mine” by Nadine Gordimer The Late Bourgeois World by Nadine Gordimer Death of Venice by Thomas Mann The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig Miracle of the Rose by Jean Genet Maurice by E. M. Forster The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Ernesto by Umberto Saba Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller London Fields by Martin Amis The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown G. by John Berger Flashman series Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel The Godfather by Mario Puzo Jaws by Peter Benchley
Writers We'll Never Read Again (Sorry, Faulkner)
Marlon and Jake tackle the writers they have no interest in revisiting, asking when it's worth giving a beloved (or notorious) author another chance and when it's perfectly fine to walk away for good. Tune in as they debate literary canon, books that simply aren't for them, the difference between a difficult author and a difficult book, and why sometimes the most honest review is, "Nobody needs to go back to that" Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. The Executioner series by Don Pendleton Hotel by Arthur Hailey Airport by Arthur Hailey Wheels by Arthur Hailey The Moneychangers by Arthur Hailey Advise and Consent by Allen Drury Shōgun by James Clavell Tai-Pan by James Clavell King Rat by James Clavell Whirlwind by James Clavell Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson Light in August by William Faulkner Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Pylon by William Faulkner In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote Answered Prayers by Truman Capote “Where Is the Voice Coming from?” by Eudora Welty The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy The Return of a Native by Thomas Hardy The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing The Summer Before the Dark by Doris Lessing Children of Violence series by Doris Lessing Pentimento by Lillian Hellman Scoundrel Time by Lillian Hellman An Unfinished Woman by Lillian Hellman The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara Butterfield 8 by John O’Hara A Rage to Live by John O’Hara Sophie’s Choice by William Styron Grendel by John Gardner October Light by John Gardner The Art of Fiction by John Gardner On Moral Fiction by John Gardner The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Giant by Edna Ferber Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman Once Is Not Enough by Jacqueline Susann Burr by Gore Vidal The Godfather by Mario Puzo In the Hand of Dante by Nick Tosches Delina Delaney by Amanda McKittrick Ros Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Stuart Little by E. B. White The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews Jaws by Peter Benchley
Is Jane Eyre Okay?
Marlon and Jake explore why we're so eager to revisit the worlds of our favorite stories, asking whether great characters are better left where their authors left them—or if there's value in imagining what came before or after. Tune in as they unpack the appeal of sequels, the pitfalls of origin stories, and why some fictional worlds are more powerful when they remain a mystery. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes Lord of the Flies by William Golding Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser Mansfield Park by Jane Austen To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Lost Horizon by James Hilton Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Little Men by Louisa May Alcott David Copperfield by Charles Dickens The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Calling B******t on Dystopias
Marlon and Jake dive into the world of dystopian fiction, unpacking what truly makes a dystopia—and whether some of the genre’s biggest ideas hold up under closer scrutiny. Along the way, they discuss why some dystopias feel more believable than others, how our understanding of these stories changes over time, and the real-world parallels that make them resonate long after the final page. Tune in as they explore how history, power, and human nature shape the worlds we imagine. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow The Last Man by Mary Shelley 1984 by George Orwell Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban Pilgermann by Russell Hoban The Road by Cormac McCarthy Lord of the Flies by William Golding Pincher Martin by William Golding Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Clearing the Cobwebs
Welcome back for a new season! Marlon and Jake catch up on what they’ve been reading, writing, and working on, including Marlon’s new novel, and explore the books they return to when it’s time to create. They discuss the stories that inspire rather than intimidate, the surprising value of giving up on a book, and the writers they revisit to clear the cobwebs from their minds. Tune in to hear how reading shapes their creative process, from finding the right voice to discovering what makes great dialogue. Subscribe to our River-herd digital newsletter and our print newspaper, The Eddy, for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content: https://sites.prh.com/the-eddy-newspaper. “A Trifle from Life” by Anton Chekhov Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne War Music by Christopher Logue The Odyssey by Homer The Oresteia by Aeschylus Letters from a Stoic by Seneca Maurice by E. M. Forster Ernesto by Umberto Saba Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar New Hampshire by Robert Frost In Parenthesis by David Jones Civil War by Lucan
The Beach Read
In the final episode of the season, Marlon and Jake weigh in on their favorite vacation reads, including the ones they started but never finished. Tune in to find out which classic novels Jake took to the beach and which ones Marlon says should have been thrown in the ocean. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Goodbye Look by Ross McDonaldWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasChances by Jackie CollinsThe Year of the French by Thomas FlanaganAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueThe Golden Bowl by Henry JamesThe Ambassadors by Henry JamesPortrait of a Lady by Henry JamesPronto by Elmore LeonardHowl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne JonesSmallbone Deceased by Michael GilbertThe Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot by Robert Arthur, Jr.Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Campus Novel
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times—it was school. In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss books where school is the setting or going to school is central to the plot. They debate which authors got school right and which got school wrong, what makes an inspiring teacher, and what the closed universe of a schoolyard or college campus can feel like. Tune in to hear Marlon and Jake reminisce over their own college experiences and what they were like as students. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter Tom Brown’s School Days by Thomas HughesThe History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry FieldingBrideshead Revisited by Evelyn WaughDecline and Fall by Evelyn WaughVile Bodies by Evelyn WaughScoop by Evelyn WaughThe Crime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel SparkA Separate Peace by John KnowlesLook back in Anger by John OsborneTess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas HardyJude the Obscure by Thomas HardyReturn of the Native by Thomas HardyAbsalom, Absalom! By William FaulknerLove Story by Erich SegalThe Miracle Worker by William GibsonStoner by John WilliamsZuleika Dobson by Max BeerbohmThe Corn is Green by Emlyn Williams
City Settings
In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about cities in books. Books set in memorable cities, books set in cities you're glad you've never been to and books where the city itself is nearly a character. They talk about the specificity of London of the 19th century British novel, the New York novel, entirely fictional cities in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and don’t miss Marlon’s personal experience with Bloomsday in Dublin! Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletterUlysses by James Joyce Ulysses by James JoycePortrait of the Artist by James JoyceDubliners by James JoyceThe Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom WolfeThe Age of Innocence Edith Wharton The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell HammettPalace Walk by Naguib MahfouzPalace of Desire by Naguib MahfouzSugar Street by Naguib MahfouzInvisible Cities by Italo Calvino Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred DoblinIn Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor HugoInterview with a Vampire by Anne Rice Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy TooleThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail BulgakovThe Young Unicorns by Madeleine L’Engle
Characters Behaving Badly
In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about the bad characters we’re not meant to like but do and the good characters we’re meant to like but annoy us. From Dracula to Daisy Buchanan to Oliver Twist and Bambi, the good-to-evil spectrum is vast and no character is safe from commentary. Tune in to find out which classic villain the duo unanimously hate, and which villain gives Marlon the chills and scares Jake to this day. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsThe Flashman series by George MacDonald FraserTom Brown’s School Days by Thomas HughesKing Solomon’s Mines by Sir H. Rider HaggardRaiders of the Lost Arc by Campbell BlackDracula by Bram StokerFrankenstein by Mary ShellyOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken KeseyEast of Eden by John SteinbeckThe Awakening by Kate ChopinMadame Bovary by Gustave FlaubertHouse of Mirth by Edith WhartonCrime and Punishment by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Idiot by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldGood Morning Midnight by Jean RhysBambi by Felix SaltenWatership Down by Richard AdamsOliver Twist by Charles DickensMiddlemarch by George EliotThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. SalingerThe Lord of the Flies by William GoldingRailway Children by E. NesbitPeter Pan by J.M. BarrieThe Jungle Book by Rudyard KiplingTreasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonVanity Fair by William Makepeace ThackerayEmma by Jane AustenMansfield Park by Jane Austen
Poetry FOMO
This episode, Marlon and Jake discuss a new subject for the podcast: poetry! From epic poems to sonnets to the Romantics poets to contemporary (dead) poets. They ponder over why people don’t read poetry as much as prose and recite, on the spot, lines of poetry that are forever engrained in their memories. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey ChaucerThe Faerie Queene by Edmund SpenserWar Music by Christopher LogueThe Gift Outright by Robert FrostEmily DickinsonW.H. AudenT.S. EliotSamuel Taylor ColeridgeWilliam WordsworthRupert BrookeJohn DunnThe Spanish Needle by Claude McKayThe Iliad by HomerThe Aeneid by VirgilOmeros by Derek WalcottThe Arrivants by Kamau BrathwaiteRiddyn Ravings (The Mad Woman's Poem) by Jean “Binta” BreezeAnne SextonDr. Maya AngelouThe Tyger by William BlakeFire and Ice by Robert FrostGwendolyn BrooksJune JordanAudre LordeToni MorrisonOgden NashDorothy ParkerTales From Ovid by Ted HughesInferno from Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
