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Sophie Elmhirst on her bestselling debut about a couple lost at sea...a flashback to 2021 and my conversation with Alexandra Kleeman...Brad & Mira continue to lower the bar...etc.

Thirty-first newsletter of 2026.

▶️ On the podcast: Sophie Elmhirst’s first book is a runaway New York Times bestseller. It’s called A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, now available in trade paperback from Riverhead Books. We had a fascinating conversation about the strange magic of intimate relationships and survival against the odds.

▶️ On the podcast: A flashback to Episode 732, my conversation with Alexandra Kleeman, author of the novel Something New Under the Sun. Original air date: October 13, 2021.

👉🏼 Coming up on Thursday: a brand new installment of Brad & Mira for the Culture. Last week’s episode: ‘Private Equity Hoes.’

🎧 Listen/subscribe via Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1. Jerry Falade’s debut crime novel Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body sold in a 14-way auction for more than $2 million. When questions around his use of A.I. arose, his agents backed out, saying they can no longer authenticate ‘how the manuscript evolved.’ What a mess. Emma Loffhagen reports.

2. This year’s Booker Prize longlist has been revealed.

3. Cynthia Zarin on misreading Doris Lessing.

4. Millions look to Nicole LePera for advice on how to achieve contentment and maintain healthy relationships. But her own story is…complicated.

5. What makes a good comic novel? Andrew Sean Greer on the joy of funny writing.

6. In her memoir The Make-Believe, one-time actor Hannah Murray untangles her time in a wellness cult that resulted in a psychotic break. Fran Hoepfner reports.

7. With smartphones stealing our attention, we’re picking up fewer books than ever. Novelist Naomi Alderman shares her eight-week ‘couch-to-5k’ scheme to get you back into the habit.

8. Molly Young profiles Jackass star Johnny Knoxville, in search of an answer to the question: What moves him to risk his life for our entertainment?

9. Farewell to Glen Hansard, frontman for the popular Irish band The Frames and winner of an Oscar for the song ‘Falling Slowly’ in 2006. He died in a tragic motorcycle accident in Dublin on July 29th.

10. Farewell to Mildred Pitts Walter, groundbreaking author of books for black children. She died on May 19th in Redwood City, CA at the age of 103.

This month the book club is reading All That is Left of Life, the sensational debut novel by Italian author Roberta Recchia.

Three generations of the Ansaldo family grapple with the aftermath of a tragic murder in this sweeping, cinematic debut set in 1980s Rome, perfect for fans of Elena Ferrante.

With more than 200,000 copies already sold in Italy, All That Is Left of Life is a deeply atmospheric and unputdownable family saga that explores love, loss, and the secrets we carry, from a riveting new voice in international fiction.

Available from Scribner.

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