Bookmarks
39 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 46 ratingsGreat writers are great readers. And they have amazing stories to tell. Not just about the books they write, but about the books they read.
Anne Strainchamps and the producers behind “To the Best of Our Knowledge” have been asking authors for years to tell a story about that one book that left a mark. A book they can’t forget. A book that changed everything.
Now they’re sharing these stories with you, delivered in a weekly micro-podcast. New bite-sized episodes every Friday.
Learn more at ttbook.org/bookmarks.
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Episodes
Ebony Thomas on 'Anne of Green Gables'
April 30, 2021 23:14 - 4 minutes - 5.61 MBEbony Thomas is the author of “The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games.” For her the most important word in that title is "imagination." She believes that without imagination we can't change the world because we can't see it. We can't daydream a better world into existence. It's why she's always identified with another literary daydreamer — Anne of Green Gables. Hi, my name is Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I am the author of "The Dark Fantastic:...
Enrique Salmon on 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'
April 30, 2021 23:14 - 3 minutes - 5.3 MB“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is one of the most controversial books in the American literary canon, particularly because of its frequent use of the N word. But for Enrique Salmon, a young Native kid trying to master the English language, “Huckleberry Finn” was the book that launched his lifelong love of reading. I'm Enrique Salmon. I'm a professor of American Indian Studies at California State University East Bay. And I've also written the book, “Eating the La...
Ada Calhoun on 'Street Through Time'
April 30, 2021 23:14 - 3 minutes - 4.74 MBThere’s a book that Ada Calhoun, author of “Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis“ thinks of as both one of her favorites to read out loud with her son, as well as one that has inspired her own writing. It’s “A Street Through Time: The 12,000 Year Journey Along the Same Street,” Illustrated by Steve Noon and written by Anne Millard. The book is the story of one street, leading the reader through historical events and the passage of time, with the street itself starring as t...
Nicola Griffith on 'The Blue Sword'
April 30, 2021 23:14 - 3 minutes - 5.15 MBA girl, a horse, and a magical sword save a kingdom in Robin McKinley's young adult classic, "The Blue Sword" — a book beloved by women of all ages. "Hild" author Nikola Griffith explains why. My name's Nicola Griffith. I am the author most recently of a novel called “Hild.” I'd like to recommend a book. If you haven't read it, then please pick up “The Blue Sword” by Robin McKinley. It is ostensibly for teenagers, but I think I was probably about 25 or so when I read it. And I hav...
Helen Macdonald On 'The Dark Is Rising'
April 30, 2021 23:13 - 3 minutes - 5.01 MBEvery year, at holiday time, Macdonald reads this tale of a boy who finds out he's one of the "old ones," part of a series from author Susan Cooper. She says it reconnects her with a sense of wonder inspired by what might lurk beneath the surface of the seen world. My name's Helen Macdonald — I'm the author of "H Is For Hawk" — and I want to recommend a 1973 children's book called "The Dark Is Rising" by the author Susan Cooper. This funny thing happens in England every year: a wh...
Lulu Miller on 'The Search for Delicious'
April 30, 2021 23:13 - 5 minutes - 6.92 MBLulu Miller, author of “Why Fish Don’t Exist,” first read the young adult book “The Search for Delicious” when she was in that transformative and uncertain stage in between childhood and adulthood. The enchanted fairy tale by Natalie Babbitt taught Miller to still believe in the power and poetry of magic, whatever her age. —This author recommends— The Search for Delicious —More from this author— Interview: We Call Them Fish. Evolution Says They're Something Else.
Quan Barry on 'White Fang'
April 30, 2021 23:13 - 2 minutes - 3.7 MB"White Fang" by Jack London is a classic outdoor adventure story about a wild wolf-dog's struggle to survive in the Yukon Territory during the 1890's Gold Rush. Writer Quan Barry read it for the first time at age 11 and learned just how powerful a book can be. My name is Quan Barry, and I'm the author of “We Ride Upon Sticks.” And the book that I'd like to talk about, that affected me quite a bit as a writer is “White Fang” by Jack London. I have to admit, I haven't read White Fang...
Coming April 30: Bookmarks, Kid's Book Edition
April 23, 2021 20:16 - 1 minute - 2.47 MBNeverland. Wonderland. Magic wands and unicorns. Your escape from COVID-19 is just a wish-upon-a-star away. Season 3 of Bookmarks — the kid’s book edition — is flying in on a fire-breathing dragon. In this ragtag collection, awesome writers share their favorite children’s books from an audio treehouse of hope in tough times. Because you know what you need right now? An orphan on an adventure where she triumphs against all odds! It’s Black Girl Magic meets White Fang on a raft down...
Malcolm Gladwell on 'When Police Kill'
June 18, 2020 21:19 - 3 minutes - 5.49 MBOver the years, author, journalist and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell has written about some notorious cases of police brutality, including the deaths of Amadou Diallo, the African immigrant who was shot 41 times by New York police officers when he reached for his wallet to show them his ID, and Sandra Bland, the black woman who died in a jail cell after being arrested for a routine traffic violation. Gladwell is famous for mining behavioral science for his work — including his books "T...
Robert Macfarlane on 'The Living Mountain'
June 05, 2020 11:00 - 4 minutes - 6.4 MBNature writer and adventurer Robert Macfarlane has given away one book more than any other volume. It's "The Living Mountain," by Scottish writer and poet Nan Shepherd. —This author recommends— "The Living Mountain" —More from this author— Interview: Why We're Drawn To Darkness
Stanley Crouch on 'Reasons of State'
May 29, 2020 17:30 - 3 minutes - 4.82 MBFor decades, Stanley Crouch has cut a singular path through American culture. Once an aspiring jazz musician and later a noted cultural critic, he was friends with Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray, and later an intellectual mentor to Wynton Marsalis. For all of his intellectual virtuosity, we were still surprised to discover the book that Crouch wanted to recommend: Alejo Carpentier’s “Reasons of State.” —This author recommends— Reasons of State —More from this author— Interview:...
Chris Ware on 'Society is Nix'
May 22, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.82 MBWhen he’s not drawing, Chris Ware likes to read and look at vintage comics. He highly recommends a book that defies even his powers of description — a folio-sized reproduction of some of America’s first newspaper cartoons, made long before super-heroes and adventure stories took over the medium. Back then, he says, the medium could be anything — and was. —This author recommends— Society is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy of the Dawn of the American Comic Strip 1895-1915 —More from this auth...
Cheryl Strayed on 'Love & Terror on the Howling Plains of Torment'
May 15, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.19 MBCheryl Strayed’s "Wild" is one of the most famous wilderness memoirs of our time. She especially appreciates writers who combine honesty with emotional intensity — writers who reveal themselves unflinchingly on the page. She recommends a memoir by the writer Poe Ballantine. —This author recommends— Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere: A Memoir —More from this author— Interview: Cheryl Strayed on Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
Orhan Pamuk on 'Anna Karenina'
May 08, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.03 MBThe Turkish writer and Nobel laureate says his favorite novel — the 800-plus-page Russian novel bursting with characters living the life of imperial Russian society — is a complex miracle of a book. —This author recommends— Anna Karenina —More from this author— Interview: Orhan Pamul on 'Snow'—Sonic Sidebar: Orhan Pamuk on The Arabian Nights—Interview: Orhan Pamuk on Fundamentalist Islam—Interview: Why Write? Nobel Prize-Winner Orhan Pamuk Offers His Take—Interview: Istanbul wit...
Jacqueline Woodson on 'If Beale Street Could Talk'
May 01, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.82 MBThe author of "Another Brooklyn" recommends a James Baldwin novel she says belongs on everyone's bookshelf. —This author recommends— If Beale Street Could Talk (Vintage International) —More from this author— Interview: Four Girls Growing Up In 'Another Brooklyn'
Kazuo Ishiguro on 'Prayers for the Stolen'
April 24, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.31 MBFamed novelist Kazuo Ishiguro recommends “Prayers for the Stolen,” by Jennifer Clement —a harrowing tale about young children who are abducted in the midst of Mexican drug wars. —This author recommends— Prayers for the Stolen —More from this author— Interview: Kazuo Ishiguro on 'Never Let Me Go'—Interview: Kazuo Ishiguro on 'The Buried Giant'
Ruth Ozeki on 'Kamikaze Diaries'
April 17, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.98 MBFor her own book, author Ruth Ozeki drew from “Kamikaze Diaries,” a collection of writings left behind by the young soldiers who died on suicide missions. They represent a generation of brilliant, highly educated young students who were conscripted into the army and ordered not just to kill but to die. —This author recommends— Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers —More from this author— Interview: A Diary Becomes A Time Capsule
Petina Gappah on 'Persuasion'
April 10, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.64 MBAuthor Petina Gappah recommends a book she explains is “The most African of Jane Austen’s novels.” Her reason why is a look at women in African today told through the eyes of two novelists: a Zimbabwean in 2020 and English woman in 1818. —This author recommends— Persuasion —More from this author— Interview: The Empire Writes Back: Author Discusses Explorer David Livingstone's Complicated Legacy
Karl Ove Knausgaard on 'The Earthsea Trilogy'
April 03, 2020 11:00 - 4 minutes - 5.52 MBGiven the hyper-realism of author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s "My Struggle," you might be surprised to hear that the formative books of his childhood were filled with magic and imaginary worlds. He says Ursula K. Le Guin’s "Earthsea" fantasy series shaped him as an early reader. —This author recommends— Book: The Earthsea Trilogy —More from this author— Bookmark: Karl Ove Knausgaard on 'The Flame Alphabet'—Interview: Opening A World — an interview with Karl Ove Knausgaard—Interview: ...
Ross Gay on 'Gene Smith's Sink'
March 27, 2020 11:00 - 4 minutes - 5.6 MBBecause he’s fascinated by the process of collecting and by the impulse to document everyday life, poet Ross Gay recommends “Gene Smith’s Sink,” by Sam Stephenson. It’s a portrait of another collector — the legendary documentarian and photographer, W. Eugene Smith. —This author recommends— “Gene Smith’s Sink: A Wide Angle View” —More from this author— Interview: 365 Days Of Delight: A Poet's Guide To Finding Joy
Susan Orlean on 'The Sound and the Fury'
March 20, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.13 MBFor as long as she can remember, Susan Orlean has had a favorite book, "The Sound and the Fury," by William Faulkner. A southern gothic novel set over a period of three decades, the book explores the lives of the members of one family, the Compsons. Told from multiple perspectives and set in several time periods, it’s not a chronological or easy read. —This author recommends— The Sound and the Fury (Third Edition) (Norton Critical Editions) —More from this author— Interview: Th...
Philip Pullman on 'The Pocket Atlas of the World'
March 13, 2020 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.11 MBPhilip Pullman — author of the fantasy classic "His Dark Materials" — is clearly attuned to the imaginative world of children. In fact, he was a middle school English teacher before he became a best-selling novelist. So maybe it’s not surprising that the book that exerted such a pull on his own imagination was "The Pocket Atlas of the World," which he first encountered at the age of nine. —This author recommends— Pocket World Atlas —More from this author— Interview: Why Philip ...
What Books Have Left A Mark On You?
February 28, 2020 12:00 - 1 minute - 2.45 MBWhy does Philip Pullman love maps? How does Petina Gappah see Jane Austen as African? What science fiction stories did a young Karl Ove Knausgaard read before bed? Bookmarks, season 2. Coming March 13. Learn more at ttbook.org/bookmarks
Your Life, Told Through Books
February 21, 2020 12:02 - 3 minutes - 4.28 MBThe next season of Bookmarks starts on March 13. In the meantime, we wanted to share a few stories we've heard from listeners about the books that have shaped them. Have your own story to share? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at the bottom of the page at ttbook.org/bookmarks.
Eula Biss on 'The Argonauts'
January 31, 2020 12:24 - 3 minutes - 5.35 MB"On Immunity: An Inoculation" author Eula Biss recommends a memoir in which author Maggie Nelson asks questions that bend conventions about gender, sexuality, motherhood, family and identity itself. —This author recommends— The Argonauts —More from this author— Interview: The Ethics of Vaccines
Paul Beatty on 'The Nazi and the Barber'
January 24, 2020 12:00 - 2 minutes - 3.32 MBPaul Beatty, the Booker Prize Winning Author of "The Sellout" recommends "The Nazi and the Barber," a novel by Holocaust survivor Edgar Hilsenrath. —This author recommends— The Nazi and the Barber —More from this author— Interview: Daring to Offend: Paul Beatty's Brilliant Satire
Yuval Noah Harari on 'Chimpanzee Politics'
January 17, 2020 12:00 - 4 minutes - 6.15 MBSometimes you stumble upon a book that sets you on a whole new path. For Israeli historian and philosopher Yuval Norah Harari — author of "Sapiens," "Homo Deus," and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" — it wasn’t a novel, a memoir, or even a history book that changed his world. It was a book about chimpanzees. —This author recommends— Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes —More from this author— Interview: What Comes After Homo Sapiens?—Interview: Control The Data, Contro...
Lidia Yuknavitch on 'Borne'
January 10, 2020 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.69 MBThe main character in Jeff VanderMeer’s other-worldly tale is a polymorphous bear who moves in magical and unexpected ways, and keeps secrets in his fur. It’s both a futuristic story and one with deep history, the kind of dystopian fiction that drew Yuknavitch in, again, and again. —This author recommends— Borne: A Novel —More from this author— Interview: Lidia Yuknavitch’s Dream World: How Dreams Shaped Her Dazzling Speculative Novel
George Saunders on 'I Will Bear Witness'
January 03, 2020 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.89 MBThe author of "Lincoln in the Bardo" recommends Victor Klemperer's two-volume diary that reads as a slow-motion picture of what the Holocaust looked like before it was known Holocaust. —This author recommends— I Will Bear Witness, Volume 1: A Diary of the Nazi Years: 1933-1941 —More from this author— Interview: A Haunting Story of Lincoln's Love and Loss
Anne Lamott on 'Pippi Longstocking'
December 27, 2019 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.94 MBWriter Anne Lamott says that the children’s classic made her feel like there was room in the world for imaginative, adventurous girls who just might wear mismatched knee socks. —This author recommends— Pippi Longstocking —More from this author— Interview: Hope Is Faith In Life Itself
Margaret Atwood on 'Wide Sargasso Sea'
December 20, 2019 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.82 MBJean Rhys takes up a "mad" wife’s story in "Wide Sargasso Sea," an overlooked novel recommended by "Handmaid’s Tale" author Margaret Atwood. —This author recommends— Wide Sargasso Sea —More from this author —Interview: Margaret Atwood Blends Dystopia and Social Satire —Interview: 'Handmaid’s Tale' Author Margaret Atwood on the Roots of Dystopia
Lorrie Moore on 'Carried Away'
December 13, 2019 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.8 MBWriter Lorrie Moore says Alice Munro’s book of short stories, "Carried Away," shows mastery of the architecture of the short story that is both brilliant and can’t be imitated. —This author recommends— Carried Away: A Selection of Stories (Everyman's Library) —More from this author— Interview: Lorrie Moore's Bark Stories
Werner Herzog on 'The Peregrine'
December 06, 2019 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.55 MBFilmmaker Werner Herzog, whose films include "Grizzly Man" and "Cave of the Forgotten Dreams," recommends a nonfiction collection of J.A. Baker's observations of peregrine falcons, recorded in the early 1960s. —This author recommends— The Peregrine (New York Review Books Classics) —More from this author— Interview: Why Werner Herzog Is Awe-Struck
Martin Amis on 'The Adventures of Augie March'
November 29, 2019 09:00 - 3 minutes - 5.44 MBMartin Amis has written his fair share of novels and essay collections. For a writer, you expect their favorite books to be a source of inspiration. For Amis, Saul Bellow's 1953 novel is a source of writer's block. —This author recommends— The Adventures of Augie March (Penguin Classics) —More from this author— Interview: When Should An Author Call It Quits?
Jericho Brown on 'The Witches of Eastwick'
November 22, 2019 12:00 - 3 minutes - 4.37 MBAs a black, gay poet, Jericho Brown considers it “hilarious” that he discovered sex through one of the whitest writers in American history — John Updike. —This author recommends— The Witches of Eastwick —More from this author— Interview: Can A Poem Be A Kind Of Prayer?
Alice Walker on 'Disturbing The Peace'
November 15, 2019 12:00 - 2 minutes - 4 MBAlice Walker recommends Richard Yates' novel following an advertising executive whose seemingly successful life quietly fractures under the pressure of mundanity, alcoholism, anger, and recklessness. She says she was drawn to the book because Yates' world was so different from hers. —This author recommends— Disturbing the Peace: A Novel —More from this author— Interview: What To Do With An Arrow In Your Heart
Tommy Orange on 'A Confederacy Of Dunces'
November 08, 2019 12:00 - 2 minutes - 4.02 MBTommy Orange says he wasn't much of a reader in his early years. But a chance encounter with an absurd, experimental novel by John Kennedy Toole showed him a path to writing a novel that was truly his own. —This author recommends— A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole —More from this author— Interview: The Unheard Stories of the 'Urban Indian'
Bookmarks: Books that left their mark on us.
October 18, 2019 21:10 - 1 minute - 2.47 MBBookmarks are stories mined from our secret lives as readers. Stories of intimate relationships and life-changing encounters with books. Stories about the books we can’t forget. In this micropodcast, the producers behind “To The Best Of Our Knowledge” ask writers and creators to share what they’ve read and how it shaped them. New episodes every Friday. For more info, visit ttbook.org/bookmarks
Coming Soon: Bookmarks
October 18, 2019 21:10 - 1 minute - 2.47 MBBookmarks are stories mined from our secret lives as readers. Stories of intimate relationships and life-changing encounters with books. Stories about the books we can’t forget. In this micropodcast, the producers behind “To The Best Of Our Knowledge” ask writers and creators to share what they’ve read and how it shaped them. New episodes every Friday. For more info, visit ttbook.org/bookmarks