Gays Reading

In this episode of What Are You Reading?, Jason is joined by author Emma Brodie to discuss the books she's been recommending lately and to celebrate her new novel, Into the Blue, this month's Reese's Book Club pick.

Emma Brodie has worked in book publishing for fifteen years, currently as an Executive Editor at Clarkson Potter. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program, and her debut novel, ...

Jason Blitman sits down with Caro Claire Burke to discuss her debut novel Yesteryear, April 2026's Good Morning America Book Club pick.

Conversation highlights include:

🩰 Ballerina Farms

🐳 Why all millennials wanted to be marine biologists 

📱 TikTok, culture at large, and fitting in

CARO CLAIRE BURKE received her Master’s in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Di...

In this episode of What Are You Reading?, host Jason Blitman sits down with Lisa Lee to talk about the books that shaped and sustained her through the decade-long journey to her debut novel, American Han.

Lisa Lee is the recipient of the Marianne Russo Emerging Writer Award from the Key West Literary Seminar, an Emerging Writer Fellowship from the Center for Fiction, and a Pushcart Prize. She has re...

Host Jason Blitman talks to prolific author Yann Martel (Life of Pi) about his latest novel, Son of Nobody. They talk about religion versus art, dreams versus reality, Greek gods like Hades, and Martel’s enthusiasm for CrossFit burpees.

Yann Martel is the author of Life of Pi, the international bestseller that won the 2002 Booker Prize and was adapted to the screen in the Oscar–winning film by Ang Lee. He lives in ...

On this episode of What Are You Reading?, host Jason Blitman sits down with actor, writer, and all-around fandom icon Felicia Day to talk favorite books, current reads, and her brand-new graphic novel, The Last Daughter of Sparta.

Felicia Day has appeared as an actress in numerous television shows and films, including Supernatural, The Magicians, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Howe...

Host Jason Blitman talks to Lauren Groff about her new story collection, Brawler. This conversation was recorded live at Warwick's in San Diego.

Conversation highlights include:

📓 A therapy session about story collections

💡 How Lauren knows an idea is a story and not a novel

🇫🇷 Expectations of Paris

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the nove...

Jason Blitman talks with novelist Saleem Haddad about what he's been reading, his new novel Floodlines, and the story behind its stunning cover.

Saleem Haddad was born in Kuwait City to a Palestinian-Lebanese father and an Iraqi-German mother, and educated in Jordan, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has worked as an aid worker with Doctors Without Borders in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, and has advised on h...

Announcing the April Gays Reading Book Club pick with Allstora 

ALMOST LIFE by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Two young women meet in Paris one sultry summer in a decades-spanning tour de force about the enduring power of young love and the poignant heartbreak of missed chances—perfect for fans of One Day and Normal People.

New to the club? Get your first book for just $1!

When you join the Gays Readi...

Host Jason Blitman is joined by debut novelist Tara Menon to talk about her new book, Under Water. 

Conversation highlights include:

🍦 The food textures that Tara hates

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Chosen family

🐦‍⬛ Venery nouns

Tara Menon was born in India, grew up in Singapore, spent a decade in New York, and now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts where she is an assistant professor of English at Harvard University. Her writing...

Host Jason Blitman is joined by Kate Schatz who lives out her Reading Rainbow fantasy by sharing some of her favorite books. Kate then shares the personal story behind writing her debut novel, Where the Girls Were.

Kate Schatz is a feminist author from California. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book, with W. Kamau Bell, and the “Rad Women” book series (inc...

Host Jason Blitman is joined by T Kira Madden, author of the acclaimed memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, to discuss her debut novel, Whidbey.

Conversation highlights include:

⛴️ T Kira's trip to Whidbey Island

☀️ The trauma of growing up in Florida

📺 Favorite reality TV

T Kira Māhealani Madden is a diasporic Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) writer and author of the acclaimed memoir...

Jason Blitman talks with singer-songwriter and queer icon Ani DiFranco about her reading life and the story behind her new book, The Spirit of Ani.

ANI DiFRANCO is a Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter and musician who has released twenty-three albums, traversing genres and addressing a range of autobiographical, political, and social issues. She is widely considered a feminist icon, and created her own record label, Rig...

Host Jason Blitman sits down with author Amy Jo Burns — who returns to Gays Reading after co-interviewing Abraham Verghese with Jason in summer 2024 — to discuss her latest novel, Wait for Me, the March pick for Read with Jenna's book club.

Conversation highlights include: 

🎶 Amy Jo's relationship to (and the power of) music

🫂 Embracing your authentic self

🖼️ Commercialization of art

Amy Jo Burns is the author ...

Host Jason Blitman talks to RuPaul's Drag Race runner-up and Miss Congeniality, Sapphira Cristál about what she's been reading as well as about what folks can expect from her new comedy tour, One Slue Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Sapphira Cristál (runner-up and Miss Congeniality of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16) is a classically trained opera singer, composer, and drag queen known for her theatrical lip syncs and six-octave...

Host Jason Blitman talks to Oprah's Book Club pick Tayari Jones about Kin, her long-awaited new novel, nearly a decade in the making.

Conversation highlights include:

🔎 A Google-tangent about the etymology of the word "kin"

🌈 On writing an overtly queer book

🍰 The best kind of red velvet cake

Per the conversation, here is the link to Motherhood Beyond Bars:

https://www.motherhoodbeyond.org/

Tayari Jones is the author of fou...

Host Jason Blitman talks to everyone's favorite influencer and bestie, Misha Brown aka @yourbestiemisha, about what he's been reading as well as his new book Be Your Own Bestie: A No-Nonsense Guide to Changing the Way You Treat Yourself

Misha Brown is an undeniable entertainment powerhouse who excels as an influencer, podcast host, and performer. With a knack for captivating audiences, he shot to notoriety on TikTok in 2021...

Host Jason Blitman is joined by prolific author Kate Quinn to talk about her latest novel, The Astral Library. 

Conversation highlights include:

📖 The book Kate would (and wouldn't) want to live in

✨ Sacred spaces

📚 Reading habits and the best books to reread

The Astral Library is out now wherever you get your books. 

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author o...

Announcing the March Gays Reading Book Club pick with Allstora 

SO OLD, SO YOUNG by Grant Ginder

Five parties over the course of twenty years bring six college friends together, exploring the ways we run from and cling to our friends in love, life, and death.

New to the club? Get your first book for just $1!

When you join the Gays Reading Book Club with Allstora, here’s what you get:

• A SIGNED cop...

Host Jason Blitman is joined by debut author Patmeena Sabit to talk about her book, this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club Selection, Good People. 

Conversation highlights include:

♥️ What it means to be a good person

✨ Karma and how we choose to live our lives

🫆 Paying a price to be your authentic self

Good People is out now wherever you get your books. 

Patmeena Sabit was born in Kabul a few years af...