Gays Reading

Host Jason Blitman talks to newly minted Oprah's Book Club author Sophie Chen Keller about her new novel, Little Wonder. Conversation highlights includeHow becoming a parent helped shape the storySocial inequalities as added context for the bookCapturing the leaps in technology in China Sophie Chen Keller is the author of The Luster of Lost Things, which was also released in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Her first publication came at the age of fifteen, with a short story in Glimmer Train literary magazine. A classically trained pianist, she was born in China and raised in California; after graduating from Harvard, she lived in New York City and Beijing before moving to Germany, where she currently resides with her husband and two children.

In this special Father's Day episode, host Jason Blitman sits down with Colton Underwood to talk fatherhood and learn about his new book, a letter he wrote (and read) to his son, Dear Bishop. Colton Underwood is an American TV personality, executive producer, philanthropist, entrepreneur and NY Times Best Seller. During his time in the NFL, Colton was inspired by his young cousin Harper to launch the Legacy Foundation and bring awareness to Cystic Fibrosis- a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system.In recent years he has become a Mental Health Advocate, speaking on his own experience in hopes to help others. Because of this and the mental health side effects of CF treatment modalities, Colton transitioned the foundation to mental health awareness. Most recently he has been in Washington DC to introduce new legislation that would provide mental health resources to student athletes and he’s just getting started!

Jason Blitman talks with Pulitzer Prize winer Andrew Sean Greer (Less) about his newest novel, Villa Coco. This conversation was recorded live in Los Angeles at the First Congressional Church sponsored by Book Soup. Conversation highlights include:🇮🇹 How living in Italy inspired aspects of the book👑 His experience with a real-life princess🎶 Intel on the musical adaptation of LessANDREW SEAN GREER is the bestselling author of seven works of fiction, including Pulitzer Prize winner Less and its companion Less Is Lost. He is the recipient of the Northern California Book Award, the California Book Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, the O. Henry award for short fiction, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Public Library. Greer lives in Venice.

Host Jason Blitman is joined by debut novelist Haili Blassingame to hear about what she's been reading and learn about her book, They All Fall in Love at the End. Haili Blassingame is a producer for the NPR program 1A. She has written for publications like The New Republic and The New York Times, in which she published the viral “My Choice Isn’t Marriage or Loneliness” for “Modern Love”. She was one of twelve essayists selected to write a follow-up piece for the column’s 20th anniversary in October 2024. She’s also been a guest on the Modern Love podcast, NPR’s Life Kit, and NPR’s 1A. She previously worked on NPR’s Code Switch and Weekend Edition. She is pursuing an MFA in creative writing from American University. She lives in Washington, DC.

Host Jason Blitman talks to author Matt Haig (The Midnight Library) about his latest novel, The Midnight Train. This conversation was recorded live at University of San Diego presented by Warwick's. Matt Haig was born in Sheffield, England. His novels include The Humans, How to Stop Time, and The Midnight Library, which has been a number one New York Times bestseller and sold more than fourteen million copies world-wide. His non-fiction works include his award-winning mental illness memoir Reasons to Stay Alive and The Comfort Book. His most recent fiction, The Life Impossible, was a New York Times bestseller. He has also written several children’s books, including A Boy Called Christmas, which became a major feature film. His work has been published in fifty-six languages and he is an advocate for literacy, libraries, and better mental health provision for everyone.

Host Jason Blitman is joined by prolific author Melissa Albert to talk about her debut adult novel, The Children, named June 2026's Read with Jenna Book Club pick. Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of The Bad Ones, Our Crooked Hearts, and the Hazel Wood series. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children’s Books. The Children is her first adult novel. 

Host Jason Blitman welcomes Ann Patchett back to the podcast—last heard discussing her annotated Bel Canto in fall 2024—for a conversation about her newest novel, Whistler.Conversation highlights include:⏱️ Changes made to the book moments before it went to print😔 The relationship between missing something and grief 🎭 Whether Ann might ever write for the stageAnn Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.Ann Patchett's New Yorker essay Glowworms

Host Jason Blitman is joined by the most frequent Gays Reading guest, Rasheed Newson, to discuss his latest book, There's Only One Sin in Hollywood.Conversation highlights include:📖 Stories that don't get their due in the history books🎥 Rumors in Hollywood and how they continue today🪞How the understanding of ourselves change as we get olderRasheed Newson is the author of the national bestseller My Government Means to Kill Me, which was selected as a Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of the “100 Notable Books of 2022” by The New York Times. He is also a television drama writer, producer, and showrunner. He codeveloped Bel-Air and worked on The Chi, Animal Kingdom, and Narcos, among other drama series. Newson is a 2025–26 American Library in Paris Visiting Fellow. He currently lives with his husband and their two children in Pasadena.

Host Jason Blitman talks to debut novelist Sonia Feldman about her book Girl's Girl, this month's The Nod™️ by Gays Reading with Aardvark Book Club. Conversation highlights include:👯‍♀️ What it means to be a good friend💧 Why Sonia describes the book as "dewey" 🌎 The universality of specific stories and what it means to loveSonia Feldman lives in Cleveland, Ohio. She won the PEN America PEN/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, and her poetry and fiction have appeared in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and Waxwing. She also runs Sonia’s Poem of the Week, a popular email newsletter. Girl’s Girl is her first novel.