You’ve earned a fresh podcast episode. This summer I’ve been giving you encore episodes from The Paul Wells Show’s modest but action-packed archive. But this week I’ve got new content for you.
On July 15 I sat down with three friends — The Globe and Mail’s star Ottawa feature writer Shannon Proudfoot, veteran Liberal strategist and analyst Scott Reid, and Juno-winning singer-songwriter Donovan Woods — to talk about books. I swiped the basic idea from an episode of the design podcast 99% Invisible, and in fact I’m just realizing now that entirely by coincidence, the same book is discussed in both episodes.
My ground rules were simple: Each panelist (the three guests plus me) got to discuss a book we’re reading this summer, and then another book we’d recommend from all our previous summers of reading. I made a point of encouraging everyone not to try to come up with anything definitive or monumental. Summer reading should be a break from curriculum. But, since each of this week’s panelists makes a living with words, it shouldn’t be a surprise that some weighty tomes got tossed around. Almost every book selected by each panelist was a surprise to the rest of the panel. We had a blast, and I bet you will too.
To help you follow through if you hear about something you might like, here are the books discussed in this episode.
What it Takes by Richard Ben Cramer
The Spiritualist Prime Minister by Anton Wagner
I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally
Going Around: Selected Journalism by Murray Kempton
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Canada by Richard Ford
Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler
Let me know what you think of this unusual episode. And if you like, drop some thoughts in the comments about a book you’re reading now or a summer book you recall fondly. I suspect this won’t be the last time we convene a book club for this show.
Thanks to my executive producer, Suzanne Hancock, for producing this episode. If you like what you hear on the podcast or read in the newsletter, please make sure to tell some friends.
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