Austin Kleon is an enthusiast, a man of joy, who takes great pleasure in contemplating the creative process and who has built a loyal following by sharing his love for books, music, movies, comics, journaling, notebooks, brush-pens, and so much more. He’s a man with eclectic tastes that are both curated and wide-ranging, and so he is an ideal guest for a podcast like this. Kleon joined the show recently to discuss his life in books, his own book writing process, books he reads with his kids, and much more.
Be sure to check out his Substack newsletter at austinkleon.substack.com. You’ll get a joyful dose of all that enthusiasm a few times a week.
And, of course, thanks for listening!
Books Mentioned in this episode:
* Lynda Barry, What It Is
* Anne Patchett, These Precious Days
* James Kochalka, The Cute Manifesto
* Lewis Hyde, The Gift
* Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics
* Journal of Henry D. Thoreau
* Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing
* Alan Jacobs, Breaking Bread with the Dead
* Peanuts comincs
* Calvin and Hobbes comics
* Tove Jansson, History of Moomins
* Jack Kirby comics
* Liana Finck, Passing for Human
* Kristin Radke, Seek You
* James Marshall, George and Martha books
* Jon Klassen’s hat books
* Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy
* Alan Taylor’s Assassin’s Cloak
Close Reads HQ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Graham Greene the Spy, with Christopher Hull
On the Work of the Regional Novelist, with David Joy
Callie Feyen on Teaching Shakespeare
The Summer Reading Episode
Paul Sahre, One of the World's Foremost Book Cover Designers
Discussing the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalists with John Wilson
Christian Kiefer on "Phantoms" and the Writing Life
Dostoevsky's Gambling Problem (featuring Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson)
Eighth Day Book's owner, Warren Farha
The Tragic Story of A Confederacy of Dunces
On Sans Forgetica, a new font to aid memory retention
On the Best Film Adaptations of Books, with Jeffrey Overstreet and Steven Greydanus
Libromania Top 5: The Most Romantic Books
Matthew Zapruder, author of WHY POETRY, on life as a poet
Remembering Mary Oliver (with A.M. Juster and Allison Backous Troy)
Why Do We Love the Smell of Old Books?
S.D. Smith, Jonathan Rogers, & Douglas McKelvey talk process and vocation
Why "To Kill a Mockingbird" is America's most popular novel
The Year in Movies, with Jeffrey Overstreet
John Wilson on his favorite books of 2018
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
50 Tastes Of Gray
Dear Alice | Interior Design
Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast
The Count of Monte Cristo
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
The Magnus Archives
The Moth