Writers Who Read

Gary and Whitney analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux.19-year-old Eton graduate Eric is off to Burma to police the British Raj. His English father was himself an official in India in the late 19th century at the height of the British Empire, and so the son feels an obligation to do a job that is not at all in his nature. Literature buffs will quickly recognize Eric’s story as taken from real life, knowing that in later years he would go on to pen both short stories about Burma and the most influential totalitarian novel of all time, which is still a best-seller.

Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about James by Percival Everett, which is Writers Who Read book number 68. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing.We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.

Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: James by Percival Everett.What if Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn were retold from the perspective of the slave Jim? American author Percival Everett takes up the challenge in this rollicking novel, at the same time shining a bright light on his country’s never-ending foibles. Of particular delight are Everett’s passages covering signifying and code switching.

A few minutes of outtakes from our most recent full-length book podcast, Good Material, by Dolly Alderton,

Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, Chelsea Pennington, and Gary McBride talk about Good Material by Dolly Alderton, which is Writers Who Read book number 67. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here.In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing.We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers.We do this through Literary Forensics, a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author.We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it.If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter.Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the Boulder Writers Alliance.

Gary, Whitney, Mira, and Chelsea analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Good Material by Dolly Alderton.The British relationship advice columnist Dear Dolly is also memoirist and two-time novelist Dolly Alderton. Her first book, Everything I Know About Love, was a best-seller. This novel, Alderton’s second, is narrated by Andy, a struggling standup comedian who is navigating a devastating breakup by leaning heavily on his friends. How could there not be relationship advice?