We just talked live with acclaimed ex-Washington Post book critic Ron Charles about why it’s okay to judge a book by its cover; the books that are speaking to him now—and that he’s featuring on his new Substack; and also why he finds no pleasure in panning books. Nearly 700 of you joined us as we discussed:
Our mutual love of Tayari Jones’ novel Kin, and that time on the Oprah cruise…
Two debuts Charles is particularly excited about;
Charles’ enduring passion for Anne Tyler;
The pleasures and challenges of reviewing without a net;
Some of the spring/summer books we are looking forward to reading, like Ann Patchett’s Whistler and Douglas Stuart’s John of Johns.
You won’t want to miss any of it. Just click on the video player above to watch our conversation.
We are thrilled to announce that our April Ink Book Club selection is Chain of Ideas: The Origins of our Authoritarian Age, by Ibram X. Kendi. This monumental new work from the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning looks at “great replacement theory” and what we can do to defend our democracy from further erosion by this insidious threat.
Dr. Kendi is a prominent historian and also author of the international bestseller How To Be an Antiracist. He will join us for the first of two live conversations next Wednesday, April 1, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern here on Substack.
And this Friday, March 27, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, join the Ink Book Club and King of Kings author Scott Anderson as we do another deep dive into how we got into the mess with Iran, and where things stand now.
We’re making a preview of this conversation open to all. If you want to watch the whole thing, we invite you to become a supporting subscriber, which includes membership in the Book Club and access to our discussion guides, group chats, and live discussions.
Your support is how we keep the lights on, pay our writers and editors a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people.
Join us today, or if you are already a member, give a gift or group subscription.
And if you haven’t already, please also subscribe to Ron Charles’s newsletter.
How to participate in the Book Club
Each week, we’ll post questions — our discussion guide — on Sunday, and on alternate Wednesdays we’ll meet for a discussion with the Club or a visit from an author or other special guest (occasionally we’ll schedule special events on alternate days or times, but we will let you know). Look out for posts with further details.
In between meetings, we invite you to chat or comment on our posts with your insights and questions. The Book Club will meet next on Friday, March 27, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with Scott Anderson, author of our March pick, King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution—A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation.
To participate in our meetings and author talks on Substack Live, join from your phone or tablet with the Substack app. You can also watch from your computer at The Ink, and comment and ask questions in our chat, but you won’t be able to join the live video discussion. Make sure you enable notifications, and when our meetings begin, you should receive an email alert; if you can’t find the message, just check the notifications tab (the small bell-shaped icon to the upper right of the website or lower right of the app at the time of the event to find a link.
Book Club meetings are open to paid subscribers to The Ink, so if you haven’t become part of our community, join us today!
