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Thrilled to announce my April pick for Jeselnik Book Club. This month, I'm going with The Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. It's a beautiful, 177-page book that is begging to be read in one or two sittings. Offill is one of my favorite writers working today. Her writing is intelligent, sparse and easy to read. I honestly don't remember how this one ends, but will never forget that it coined the term "art monster", and it's worth reading for that definition alone. Finish the book and send me your questions by April 24th so I can answer them in my video at the end of the month.

Also, I know these Jeselnik Book Club picks have been hard to come by for a lot of you, so I'm proud to be partnering with BookShop.org moving forward. They are a great organization and are stockpiling copies just for the Jeselnik Book Club. And don't forget to submit your email address above. I'll be sending out bi-monthly announcements, as well as my descriptions and reviews about all the other books I'm reading this year. Enjoy!

I was so excited to announce my Jeselnik Book Club pick for March that I woke up super early in the morning and turned my ring light on as high as it could go! This month we've got Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut is one of the greatest writers of all time. He's also a very easy and pleasant read. This short novel builds to an unforgettable, haunting, and beautiful ending. This book was published in 1962, and I read it 20 years ago, but it is one of my favorite Vonnegut novels and EXTREMELY relevant today. Just think of the main character as your favorite podcaster who got too into politics. Enjoy! Submit your questions to JeselnikBookClub@gmail.com by March 24th. And don't forget to join Jeselnik Book Club by going entering your email address above. Thanks!

February is the shortest month of the year and Jeselnik Book Club feels your pain. This month I've chosen Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes, for two reasons: it's only 112 pages and the ending will tear your stomach out through your mouth. Fernanda Melchor is a Mexican author, famous for her debut novel, Hurricane Season, which won a whole bunch of shit, but I liked Paradais even more. It is a tour de force. The novel builds dread straight through the climax and then does not stop building that dread until the last page. This is the kind of book you finish and then stare off into space for a while. It's a banger. They're all bangers at Jeselnik Book Club. Enjoy your reading and then email me: JeselnikBookClub@gmail.com with any questions or comments and I'll see you at the end of the month. 

Kicking off Jeselnik Book Club this January with The Getaway by Jim Thompson. Thompson was a prolific author, known as "the dime-store Dostoevsky" for bringing brilliant, but simple writing to the crime genre and I believe this is his best work. The Getaway has been made into a film twice: once with Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in 1972, and again with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in 1994. Both films did not even attempt to tackle the insanely dark ending of the novel. This is the kind of book you finish and then immediately go back and reread the final chapter. The Getaway is a brisk 205 pages. I advise you to skip the forward to avoid spoilers. Please email me with any questions or comments at JeselnikBookClub@gmail.com once you have finished this fantastic novel. See you at the end of the month.

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