Podcast Summary

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Episode: What Are You Reading Right Now?
Air Date: April 29, 2024
Host: Tiffany Hansen (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Jordan Loff (All Of It & Get Lit producer)
Main Theme: Community book recommendations and upcoming literary events; recommendations for books across genres for a diverse range of readers.

1. Episode Overview

This episode of All Of It centers on book recommendations and literary discussion with Jordan Loff, producer of All Of It and Get Lit. With a focus on recent reads, listener recommendations, and upcoming releases, the conversation fosters community engagement around books and current cultural moments. Listeners are encouraged to call or text with their own recommendations, cementing the show's role as a lively hub for New York’s reading community.

2. Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. Current Read & Adaptation: Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey

• [01:12]
  • Jordan Loff shares her love of reading source material before watching adaptations.
  • Under the Bridge is a true crime account of the murder of a teenage girl in a small Canadian town—now a Hulu series with Riley Keough & Lily Gladstone.
  • Insight: Godfrey's immersive reporting brings novelistic style to nonfiction:

    "She really gets into the psyche of these teens...the book almost reads more like a novel than a work of nonfiction because you can't believe some of the stuff these kids are telling her." (Jordan Loff, 01:28)

B. Historical Fantasy: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

• [02:54]
  • Set during Spain’s Inquisition, the story follows Lucia, a secretive Jewish scullion with magical powers, forced to join a miracle-working competition for the king.
  • For fantasy fans and skeptics alike:

    "There's not all of the world building that sometimes you get with a fantasy book that could feel overwhelming... We're grounded in Spain, just with a little bit of a magical flair." (Jordan, 04:08)

C. Complex Narratives: Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

• [04:54]
  • Jordan praises this "puzzle of a book" set in a theater high school, where a boundary-pushing drama professor’s intentions and actions are up for debate.
  • The book’s second half reframes the entire narrative with a new protagonist and narrator:

    "It calls into doubt everything we've read in the first half...Once you get to the end, you kind of want to start over and reread the whole thing..." (Jordan, 05:38)

D. Memoir & Self-Examination: Consent by Jill Ciment

• [06:38]
  • Anticipated memoir reflecting on a relationship that began when the author was a teen and her partner was married and much older.
  • Revisits her earlier memoir to reinterpret past events in light of MeToo and evolving notions of consent and boundaries:

    "It's almost a memoir dissecting her previous memoir." (Jordan, 07:47)

E. Adult Debut: One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

• [08:07]
  • Nicola Yoon’s transition from YA to adult fiction; story set in a utopian Black community in California that turns out to have hidden flaws.
  • For dystopia fans:

    "I'm a sucker for a dystopian novel. And, you know, Utopia is falling apart very quickly..." (Jordan, 08:34)

F. Listener Book Recommendations & Community Picks

• [09:03] - [15:05]
  • Callers and texters contribute a range of recommendations:
    • Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
    • Absolution by Alice McDermott
    • Short War by Lily Meyer (“has everything: teen love, mystery, political history”) (Text, 09:34)
    • The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (“a vacation without leaving my apartment”) (Text, 10:04)
    • The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard (“Central America, some magic in it”) (Caller Tom, 11:39)
    • Clearing set in Scotland (historically themed)
    • End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck (translated German, “the main character dies a different death in each section, spanning 20th-century Central/Eastern Europe”) (Caller Al, 13:28)
• Jordan notes the value of branching into world literature:

  "Every time I pick up a work of translated literature, I'm transported...always good to seek out some translated lit." (15:05)

G. Anticipated & New Releases

• Long Island by Colm Tóibín (sequel to Brooklyn) ([10:22])
  • Picks up with Eilis and Tony now living on Long Island, with a dramatic new family crisis ensuing.
  • Jordan is eager for the novel (and potential film sequel with Saoirse Ronan).
• Knife by Salman Rushdie ([12:30])
  • Rushdie’s memoir on his 2023 assassination attempt.
  • Jordan reflects on its significance:

    "I think the bravest thing you can do in an attack...is to not be silent and to keep writing. And so that's what he's doing..." (Jordan, 13:01)

H. Nonfiction Highlight: The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

• [15:27]
  • Tiffany recommends this true account of five Black ballerinas from Harlem—nearly erased stories reclaimed through Valby’s research.

I. Literary Event Spotlight: “Get Lit” with Stephen Graham Jones

• [16:06]
  • Jordan previews her upcoming live conversation with acclaimed horror writer Stephen Graham Jones at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, featuring his Indian Lake trilogy.
  • The event will also have a performance by Indigenous rapper Frank Waln (free tickets available).

3. Notable Quotes & Moments

• On book-to-screen adaptations:

  "Anytime I see that there is a adaptation of a book coming up, I love to try to read the book before the show comes out." (Jordan, 01:12)

• On writing quality in nonfiction:

  "If you're a good writer, you should be a good storyteller, regardless of whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction." (Jordan, 02:37)

• On Trust Exercise’s narrative structure:

  "The second half...calls into doubt everything we've read in the first half...You kind of want to start over and reread the whole thing because you don't know what's up and what's down." (Jordan, 05:38)

• On memoir and reflecting on consent:

  "Was I excusing things at the time, or can it be true that you can love someone who's much older than you and discover that love at a young age? Those are all sticky, tricky questions to grapple with." (Jordan, 07:18)

• On translated fiction:

  "There's a whole world of writers out there...Every time I pick up a work of translated literature, I'm transported, I'm excited." (Jordan, 15:05)

• On Salman Rushdie’s new memoir:

  "The bravest thing you can do in an attack in which someone is trying to silence you for your writing and your voice is to not be silent and to keep writing." (Jordan, 13:01)

4. Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:08 – Host introduction, segment premise, invitation for listener recommendations
• 01:12 – Jordan introduces Under the Bridge (true crime & adaptation)
• 02:54 – Discussion of The Familiar (historical fantasy)
• 04:54 – Trust Exercise (literary fiction with meta-narrative)
• 06:38 – Upcoming memoir Consent by Jill Ciment
• 08:07 – One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon (adult debut, utopian/dystopian fiction)
• 09:03 – 15:05 – Listener recommendations & texts (varied genres and themes)
• 10:22 – Preview of Long Island (Brooklyn sequel)
• 12:30 – Release of Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife
• 13:28 – Call: End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck (translated fiction)
• 15:27 – The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby (nonfiction, Black ballet history)
• 16:06 – Preview of Get Lit event with Stephen Graham Jones

5. Episode Takeaways

• Wide-ranging recommendations: Listeners and producers discuss fiction, nonfiction, translated works, memoirs, and debuts across genres.
• Engagement: Calls/texts create a vibrant participatory feel.
• Community-building: The show intentionally bridges literary culture with local events and diverse voices, celebrating New York's cultural vibrancy.

For a full list of book recommendations and upcoming events, visit the All Of It website.