#204 | July 2024 Recap: Autofiction, Literary Fiction, a Bestselling Memoir, and the Case for Reading Books

episode SUMMARY:

Douglas Vigliotti recaps the month of July 2024, discussing the memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion, the novels "Be Brief and Tell Them Everything" by Brad Listi and “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, and a special edition episode that delves into the debate of listening to audiobooks versus reading books. With quick summaries and key quotes from the episodes, this recap is a great starter for new listeners and readers seeking inspiration.

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Welcome back to “Books For Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do so as always, with the recap episodes, the first thing I like to do is send a big thank you to all of the listeners, especially to those who have shared the podcast with friends and family. And just as a reminder, the best way to support the podcast is to subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on. So if you haven't done that already, I would greatly appreciate it because it's the best way for new listeners to find the show and in return, it inspires more men to read. Also, quickly before I jump into the recap for the month of July, I did want to remind you that this podcast does have a companion newsletter, which just rounds up all of the month's episodes and combines them into one monthly email that goes out on the first of the month.

(01:08)

So it will be going out in a few days. Actually, the one for this month has all the book and author information, all the best quotes from those books, episode summaries, as well as newsletter-only book recommendations. It's really good for people who don't listen to every episode but still want to support the show, or maybe they just want to pick and choose which episodes to listen to because they're short on time. I get it. The newsletter is great for that. So if you're interested, visit books for men.org. Now let's jump into the recap for the month of July 2024. It was a bigger month with four episodes, and it also saw my podcasting history cross the 200th episode mark. So that was a pretty fun treat. Also date-wise, this episode marks the two-year anniversary of “Books for Men”, which is pretty cool. So happy birthday “Books for Men”.

(02:10)

Here's to another year of books, and hopefully you guys enjoy it. With that being said, the first episode for the month of July 2024 was titled “#200 | Autofiction: A Novel (Slash Memoir) on Being a Writer in a Social Media World—Parenting, Podcasting, and More”. So it dives into the book, “Be Brief and Tell Them Everything” by Brad Listi. It focuses on brevity and honesty, explores the uncertainty of a creative life and parenting a child with disabilities, and the challenges of writers and artists living in a modern overexposed world. It explores psychedelics too. That's something I didn't mention in the podcast, and I shared key takeaways, three of them that I found from this work as well as some tips on how to navigate uncertainty in your own life. My favorite quote from the book was, “You never get to where you thought you would go and you never go back to where you thought you were.”

(03:18)

So I thought the next book of the month paired really well with that episode, and it was “#201 | What Can a Year of ‘Magical Thinking’ Do for You?–Joan Didion on Overcoming Adversity, Grief and Loss”. So I discussed the National Book Award-winning memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion, drawing on Didion's heartfelt story of losing her husband and daughter in the same year, her subtle yet piercing writing style. The episode delves into themes of grief loss in the idea that the stories we tell ourselves shape our perceptions, emotions, and lives, raising the importance of crafting positive narratives and embracing the complexities of hope in the face of adversity. My favorite quote from this episode was, “Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant.” And that led us into the first non-book episode of the Month. It was #202. It was a Special Edition titled “Audiobooks versus Books (Or, 7 Reasons Why Listening Is Not Reading)”.

(04:31)

So I delve into the very modern debate, I guess, of listening to audiobooks versus reading actual books, and as the title promises, I share seven compelling reasons why listening is not the same as reading at face value. It seems that would make clear sense to or be intuitive to a lot of people, I should say. But for some reason, there is this notion that audiobooks and books are the same. So this will challenge listeners to consider the unique qualities and intimate experience that only reading books can provide. So whether it's novels or nonfiction, I think that this episode will encourage you to question your own reading habits, perhaps inspiring you to read the next book that you pick up, and ultimately just make the case for doing so. Even if you don't agree with me, a quote that I pulled from the episode, of course, I'm quoting myself, which is kind of a weird thing to do, but here it is: “Reading and listening are not the same thing. That's not to look down on the person who prefers listening, but there are just some very distinct differences between reading the book and listening to the book.”

(05:40)

This brings us now to the final episode of July, which was titled “#203 | The Secret History: Donna Tarts Gripping Debut Novel of Beauty, Deceit, and Tragedy”. So I discussed the captivating world of “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt. The episode explores the book’s mysterious yet suspenseful narrative, masterful characterization by Tartt, and the pitch-perfect embodiment of a Greek tragedy, something I spend quite a bit of time on. In the latter half of that episode, I share takeaways on the dangers of longing for elite status, and the duality of beauty as the quote that I'm about to share with you will remind you, and ultimately, it might even have you questioning or considering what your own fatal flaw might be.

(06:48)

So a fatal flaw, I will spoil it is something essential to a Greek tragedy, and as I already alluded to, it's something that I talk a lot about in that episode. And as I just mentioned, the most, well-known quote from this book is also one of my favorites, so I will share it with you now, and it is “Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.” So that was the four episodes for the month of July 2024. As always, if any of those episodes interested you, I would definitely go back and check them out because I go into a lot more detail in each of the episodes. Also, as I led this off all these books will be featured on the newsletter along with all my favorite quotes from the book. So if you're interested in that, I would head over to BooksforMen.org and sign up because it's going out in a few days.

(07:51)

Lastly, I wanted to remind you that if you are interested in listening to my 2021 poem collection, it is titled “mini heartbreaks (or, little poems about life)”. It's a mini-memoir about writing artistry, women growing up, and moving forward. It's raw. It's unorthodox. And you can listen to it on the podcast Slightly Crooked: Good Stories, Told Well. The link will be in the show notes. Oh, right. And if you want to connect with me, there are two ways to do so. You could either find me on Instagram @douglasvigliotti—it's the only social media that I have. Or visit my website, DouglasVigliotti.com, and send me a note there. All right, that wraps it up. Thank you so much for listening, and as always, for this podcast, if you want more information, just head over to BooksforMen.org.