Who better to answer the question, “What to read?” than someone who reads for a living? Carolyn Kellogg of the LA Times joined us in studio this week to talk about some notable titles.
Among them is a collection she says is a perfect example to use when someone asks that tired question, “Who needs hard copies of books?” Carolyn showed off the artfully designed six-volume Penguin Horror Series as the answer: classics including FRANKENSTEIN, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, THE RAVEN, THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP, HAUNTED CASTLES, and AMERICAN SUPERNATURAL TALES. The series is edited by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. (Carolyn’s feminist analysis of Frankenstein made me want to actually read the book after so long.)
She also talked about the new novel from popular LA writer Jerry Stahl‘s latest, out next week, with the fantastic title: Happy Mutant Baby Pills. Sounds insane, and, Carolyn says, excellent. Take that, pharmaceutical industry!
And, for a completely different all-true drama, she talked about the forthcoming non-fiction music history book, Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon. It’s the story of the rise and fall of what some consider to be one of the nation’s greatest music studios.
Here’s our conversation: