Marlon and Jake Read Dead People

In the final episode of the season, Marlon and Jake weigh in on their favorite vacation reads, including the ones they started but never finished. Tune in to find out which classic novels Jake took to the beach and which ones Marlon says should have been thrown in the ocean. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Goodbye LookWar and PeaceAnna KareninaMoby DickThe Count of Monte CristoChances The Year of the FrenchAll Quiet on the Western FrontThe Golden BowlThe Ambassadors Portrait of a LadyProntoHowl’s Moving Castle Smallbone Deceased The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot Persuasion

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times—it was school. In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss books where school is the setting or going to school is central to the plot. They debate which authors got school right and which got school wrong, what makes an inspiring teacher, and what the closed universe of a schoolyard or college campus can feel like. Tune in to hear Marlon and Jake reminisce over their own college experiences and what they were like as students. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter Tom Brown’s School DaysThe History of Tom JonesBrideshead Revisited Decline and Fall Vile BodiesScoop The Crime of Miss Jean BrodieA Separate PeaceLook back in AngerTess of the D’UrbervillesJude the ObscureReturn of the NativeAbsalom, Absalom!Love StoryThe Miracle WorkerStoner Zuleika DobsonThe Corn is Green

In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about cities in books. Books set in memorable cities, books set in cities you're glad you've never been to and books where the city itself is nearly a character. They talk about the specificity of London of the 19th century British novel, the New York novel, entirely fictional cities in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and don’t miss Marlon’s personal experience with Bloomsday in Dublin! Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletterUlysses by James Joyce Ulysses Portrait of the Artist DublinersThe Bonfire of the Vanities The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Age of InnocenceThe Maltese Falcon Palace Walk Palace of DesireSugar StreetInvisible CitiesBerlin AlexanderplatzIn Search of Lost TimeThe Hunchback of Notre DameInterview with a Vampire Confederacy of Dunces The Master and Margarita The Young Unicorns

In this episode, Marlon and Jake talk about the bad characters we’re not meant to like but do and the good characters we’re meant to like but annoy us. From Dracula to Daisy Buchanan to Oliver Twist and Bambi, the good-to-evil spectrum is vast and no character is safe from commentary. Tune in to find out which classic villain the duo unanimously hate, and which villain gives Marlon the chills and scares Jake to this day. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Talented Mr. RipleyA Streetcar Named DesireTom Brown’s School DaysKing Solomon’s MinesRaiders of the Lost Arc DraculaFrankensteinOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestEast of EdenThe AwakeningMadame BovaryHouse of MirthCrime and PunishmentThe IdiotThe Brothers KaramazovThe Great GatsbyGood Morning Midnight BambiWatership DownOliver TwistMiddlemarchThe Catcher The Lord of the Flies Railway ChildrenPeter Pan The Jungle Book Treasure IslandVanity FairEmma Mansfield Park

This episode, Marlon and Jake discuss a new subject for the podcast: poetry! From epic poems to sonnets to the Romantics poets to contemporary (dead) poets. They ponder over why people don’t read poetry as much as prose and recite, on the spot, lines of poetry that are forever engrained in their memories. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Canterbury TalesThe Faerie QueeneWar MusicThe Gift Outright The Spanish Needle The Iliad The AeneidOmerosThe ArrivantsRiddyn RavingsThe Mad Woman's PoemThe TygerFire and IceTales From OvidInfernoDivine Comedy

Books assigned in school evoke strong feelings. You either love em’ or you hate em.’ In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss the books they wished they were assigned in school and the ones they suffered through. Accompanying the books taught in school, there are, of course, the teachers who taught them. A teacher can make or break a book read in school. As a literature teacher (as well as Booker prize winning author), Marlon acknowledges there are some novels assigned in school that you have to work to understand that are really good, but sometimes those novels are not good and if it weren’t for being assigned in school, we wouldn’t still be reading it. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter Pride and PrejudicThe Republic Jude the ObscureTess of the D’UrbervillesThe Canterbury TalesInfinite JestTom Jones MiddlemarchCall of the WildBleak HouseGreat Expectations The Pickwick PapersDavid CopperfieldThe WardeWashington SquareThe Turn of the ScrewThe Aspern Papers The AmbassadorsDaisy MillerEthan FromeThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Bondsman’s NarrativeGuerillasMiguel StreetA Bend in the RiverA House for Mr. Biswas Dog SoldiersThe Godfather ShogunTia-panKing RatWhirlwind Julius CaesarKing Lear The Tempest King Solomon’s MinesThe Radiance of the KingHeart of Darkness Tarzan of the ApesThe Lady, or the Tiger?The Discourager of Hesitancy

In this episode, Marlon and Jake weigh in on a question as old as books themselves—can you judge a book by its cover? Spoiler alert: the answer is yes! They discuss good books with bad covers and bad books with good covers, cover art trends (*cough* the woman facing away), books that were recommended to them, and books they read because of peer pressure. Tune in to hear Marlon and Jake opine the myriad ways we judge books. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter One Hundred Years Hotel du LacThe LatecomersThe Joy of Sex Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to AskGeek LoveAncient EveningMiami and the Siege of ChicagoThe Naked and the DeadThe Railway ChildrenBallad of a Sad Café Confederacy of DuncesThe Bridges of Madison CountyAngela’s Ashes The Hound of the BaskervilleAtlas ShruggedThe Night of January 16th Winesburg, OhioRebeccaJamacia InnDon’t Look NowThe French Lieutenant’s WomanDuneStonerOne is Not Enough Valley of the DollsHollywood WivesChances Peyton PlaceEarthly Powers Absalom, Absalom! Butterfield 8A Rage to LiveGrendel Mickelsson’s Ghosts October LightFreddy’s BookThe Gulag Archipelago The Longest JourneyA Passage to IndiaHowards’ EndMauriceSoldier’s PayEverything That Rises Must ConvergeWise Blood

Marlon and Jake are back! And they’re catching up on the dead authors they’ve read since they last spoke—some of which they praise, others they don’t. From comparing Nella Larson’s Passing to the Netflix film, to discussing unsettling stories that linger with you, they cover a lot of literary ground. They also weigh in on longstanding debates like whether they read the book or watch the movie adaption first and the difference between horror and terror. Tune in for the witty book banter you know and love. Subscribe to our River-herd newsletter for sneak peeks of our upcoming books, free giveaways, and exclusive content. https://sites.prh.com/riverhead-reader-newsletter The Letters of Thom GunnPassingA View From a HillThe Turn of The ScrewFrankensteinThe BirdsRebeccaThe Silence of the LambsThe ExorcistJesus’s Son AirshipsLost Illusions Madam BovaryThe Count of Monte CristoSavage DetectivesHell HouseThe Haunting of Hill HouseArsenic and Old Lace

In just one week, Marlon and Jake return with an epic new season discussing the non-living luminaries they love, hate, and will never agree on. Get ready for even more hot takes, hilarious debates, and incisive commentary on dead poets, judging books by their covers, exactly what kind of student Marlon was in college, and which classic novel Jake spoiled the ending for a colleague—among other literary gems.

Marlon & Jake are back to discuss the most indelible and powerful female characters—those written by dead female authors and those written by dead male authors. From Sula Peace to the Wife of Bath, Scout Finch to Janie Crawford—these two gentleman celebrate some of literature’s most ferocious, complicated, guileless, unrepentant and commanding women. The Canterbury TalesRum PunchBleak HouseTo Kill A MockingbirdDouble IndemnityThere Eyes Are Watching God DublinersKindred The Sound and the FuryTwo Serious LadiesSula

Marlon & Jake are back to discuss the narrators they love but can't trust. From the delusional to the uninformed, the sociopathic to the sympathetic, they explore the characters that charm as much as they trick, begging the question: is there such a thing as a reliable narrator? So tune in to hear if Jake has warmed to Great Expectations (spoiler alert: he hasn’t) and so much more! Select titles mentioned in this episode: Great ExpectationsClockwork OrangeOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestThe Good SoldierThe Adventures of HuckleberryThe Tell-Tale HeartTristram Shandy Don Quixote RebeccaWe Have Always Lived in the CastleThe Lottery and Other Stories

We didn't ghost you, dear listeners. Marlon had a novel to finish, which Jake had to edit. But the good news is it's officially out in the world, and so before Marlon—the very living author—takes off on his whirlwind book tour, he and Jake are back together for a brief (but delicious) reunion of discussing what they love most: DEAD AUTHORS. We'll be back for season three later this spring, but until then, stayed tuned for an amuse bouche, a canapé, an appetizer—take your pick!—to the glorious meal on the horizon.

Prepare for what might be Marlon & Jake’s most controversial hot takes yet, as they travel back through the last four hundred years to decide which dead authors from each century stand the test of time and which can be left to gather dust on the shelf. Where do they fall on Paradise Lost? Who triumphs in the battle of the poets v. novelists of the 18th century? How much has the 1930s Hollywood studio system shaped classic stories? Which of them stans Huckleberry Finn, and who thinks it might be overrated? Marlon & Jake answer these questions and more as they discuss the timeless work of the freaky, the rebellious and the groundbreaking. From Mary Shelley to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Paul Laurence Dunbar to Daphne du Maurier—with a healthy dose of Alexander Pope-dissing—tune in to find out where you stand with their picks. The Tale of Genji The Adventures of Amir HamzaParadise Lost The Faerie QueeneThe Canterbury TalesThe Provoked WifeFrankenstein MathildaThe Last ManThe Mysteries of UdolphoNorthanger AbbeyRobinson CrusoeMoll FlandersPamela Bleak House NanaGerminalAdventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Tom SawyerI Know Why the Caged Bird SingsThe AwakeningA Study in ScarletForest of A Thousand DaemonsCaneTheir Eyes Were Watching God BarracoonOne Hundred Years of SolitudeThe Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor Things Fall Apart Arrow of God No Longer at Ease The Gulag Archipelago War and Peace Rebecca A Wrinkle in TimeThe Lord of the RingsGone with the Wind

This week Marlon & Jake discuss the books by dead authors they give as gifts and the very important decision-making that goes into that selection. Whether it’s for a younger, skeptical or pretentious reader, they share the unintentionally comedic and surprisingly engaging books they choose to bestow upon their loved ones. MiddlemarchThe Long ShipsTai-PanThe GodfatherHarriet the SpyKidnappedThe Water-BabiesTreasure IslandThe Black ArrowThe Gold-BugThe Radiance of the KingHeart of DarknessDon QuixoteThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ Lord of the Flies Animal FarmNineteen Eighty-Four Brave New WorldThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The History of Jamaica Nicholas and Alexandra One ThousandThe Death of King Arthur Oreo The Stories of Breece D'J PancakeThe Tale of GenjiLes Liaisons dangereuses

This week Marlon & Jake discuss memorable characters from books by dead authors—who they love, who they despise and everything in between. What exactly makes a character great? Who would they invite to their literary dinner party and why? From Elmore Leonard’s Raylan to Louisa May Alcott’s Jo March, Lady Macbeth to Auntie Mame—tune in to hear which fictional personalities would get a seat at the table, who would be banished forever, and who Marlon and Jake would simply ignore. David Copperfield Wuthering HeightsOliver Twist The Importance of Being Earnest Little DorritCrime and PunishmentThe Talented Mr. RipleyAnna KareninaOne Hundred Years of Solitude Song of SolomonBleak HouseThe Girl with the Dragon TattooProntoLittle WomenSulaLove in the Time of CholeraMacbethThe Divine ComedyThe Merchant of VeniceAuntie MameTinker Tailor Soldier SpyHamletKing LearThe Hunchback of Notre-DameMoby-DickThe Great Gatsby Pride and PrejudiceJane EyreA Tale of Two CitiesGreat ExpectationsThe House of MirthMadame Bovary LolitaThe Count of Monte CristoThe Chronicles of NarniaCharlotte’s Web The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Stuart Little

Marlon and Jake take on literary giants in a grudge match for the ages. This time it's Charles Dickens vs. Anthony Trollope and Louisa May Alcott vs. Laura Ingalls Wilder in a no-holds-barred royal rumble. The two of them pull no punches, whether they're talking about racism or Edith Wharton's snobbery, colonialism or Hugh Grant's hair. So get ready to cheer on your favorite dead author and literary warrior as Marlon and Jake go mano a mano in a street fight you've definitely never come across before. Select titles mentioned in this episode: The Palliser Novels by Anthony Trollope The Warden by Anthony Trollope A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Maurice by E. M. Forster Stuart Little by E.B. White The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck East of Eden by John Steinbeck Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Literary speculation abounds as Marlon and Jake reveal which books they wish they had written and which they think would have been better if they’d been written by someone completely different. Listen in as they explore the questions you never knew you needed answers to. Would The Confessions of Nat Turner have been better if Zora Neale Hurston had written it? Who could have written a funnier Ulysses? Were members of the Bloomsbury Group actually total bores? And perhaps most important: Does Marlon’s mom still have his Tom Jones fan-fiction and if so, how much is Jake willing to pay for it? Tune in for all this and more, including a lively discussion about plays that are as enjoyable to read as they are to see on stage. (And spoiler: Jake is not a fan of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.) Select title discussed: Tom JonesDublinersTai-Pan Wide Sargasso SeaBefore Night FallsThe Quiet AmericanA Bend in the RiverAirshipsJoseph AndrewPamelaThe Luck of Barry LyndonShōgunTrent's Last CaseThe MoonstoneThe Woman in WhiteMiddlemarchA Tale of Two Cities The Obscene Bird of NightThe Confessions of Nat Turner BarracoonTerrorist Jane Eyre A Room of One’s Own UlyssesAngela’s AshesOrlandoMrs. DallowayThe Importance of Being EarnestThe EdwardiansThe Age of InnocenceHouse of Mirth Highland FlingHeart of DarknessDon Quixote The Merchant of VeniceThe Two Gentleman of VeronaA Midsummer Night’s DreamAs You Like It by Romeo and Juliet An Ideal HusbandHis Girl FridayThe Front PageSleuth AmadeusEndgame

Marlon and Jake share their "gateway" books by dead authors, the first books they read that that turned them on—or off—the rest of an author's work. From John Steinbeck to Dorothy Parker, Umberto Eco to Norman Mailer, Ayn Rand to Carson McCullers, Marlon and Jake don't hold back in discussing the imprints, footprints, and thumbprints these books left on them. They also ponder the long-lasting consequences of the high school lit class, whether a gateway book can be assigned, and the enduring power of dullness in a novel, no matter the century. Listen for this and more, including what Marlon and Jake think of The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara, edited by one Toni Morrison. The Pearl The Red Pony Cannery Row East of EdenGrapes of Wrath Ethan FromeThe Old Man and the Sea The Little PrinceMrs. CalibanThe Ballad of the Sad Café SulaFor Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is EnufNight of January 16th The FountainheadAtlas Shrugged A Wizard of EarthseaThe Dispossessed One Hundred Years of Solitude Chronicle of a Death ForetoldNews of a KidnappingLove in the Time of CholeraThe Autumn of the PatriarchEnough RopeThe Name of the RoseFoucault’s Pendulum The Island of the Day BeforeIn the hand of DanteAncient EveningsLady Chatterley's LoverMiami and the Siege of ChicagoHarlot’s GhostAn American DreamWhy Are We In Vietnam? The Executioner’s Song Look Back in AngerLootWhat the Butler Saw Saturday Night and Sunday Morning"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" Anna KareninaJude the Obscure Tess of the d'UrbervillesThe Return of the NativeAlready Dead The Salt Eaters The Lesson Gorilla, My Love

In this episode Marlon and Jake ponder the tricky question of the last books by authors who’ve … um … left this mortal coil. Which last books are actually worth reading? (Not many, it turns out.) From Roberto Bolaño to Penelope Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath to Eudora Welty, Marlon and Jake discuss how an author's last book compares to their previous ones, how success and age changed how and what they wrote, and the wistfulness that comes when some last books are actually good and you wonder what the authors might have written next, if, you know, they hadn't died. Tune in for this and more, including Marlon and Jake’s surprising thoughts on James Thurber's humorous memoir, My Life and Hard Times. Select titles discussed: MauriceGo Set a WatchmanTo Kill a MockingbirdNorthanger AbbeyPride and PrejudiceWe Have Always Lived in the CastleWide Sargasso SeaThe Blue FlowerLolitaThe Savage Detectives2666Exercises in StyleA Room with a ViewPassage to IndiaSomething HappenedThe Bell JarAfter Leaving Mr. MackenzieOne Writer’s BeginningsThe Robber BridegroomThe Optimist’s Daughter“Where is the Voice Coming From?”My Life and Hard TimesTypeeWar and PeaceUncle Tom’s CabinThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Tom SawyerWuthering HeightsThe Salt Eaters

We've heard them rave about their favorites and rant about their least favorites, but Marlon and Jake reveal in this episode their second favorite books by dead authors: the books they love that are the runners-up to the #1 spots in their hearts. From Amos Tutuola to Gabriel García Márquez to John le Carré and more, Marlon and Jake explore why one's favorite book by an author might not always be their best book, what separates an intellectual vs. an emotional response to a book, and the importance of being a promiscuous reader. (That’s right, promiscuous.) And what is the next book by a dead author Marlon and Jake will be reading together for the first time? Tune in to find out! Select Titles Discussed: HamletMacbethA House for Mr. BiswasDarkness Visible Lord of the FliesShardikWatership DownThe Palm-Wine Drinkard My Life in the Bush of GhostsOne Hundred Years of SolitudeLove in the Time of CholeraUnder the VolcanoShōgunAirporThe Moneychangers The Spy Who Came In From the Cold Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyThe Honorable SchoolboySmiley’s PeopleA Perfect SpyPersuasionPride and PrejudiceSulaSong of SolomonPninThe House of the Seven GablesThe Scarlet LetterMiddlemarchTom JonesGreat ExpectationsBleak HouseBarchester TowersGone with the WindBlood on the ForgeMy Life and Hard Times