Blind Date With a Book

On this episode, we're setting up Sterling Melcher. Sterling is an multidisciplinary artist who lives in Philly. His work investigates the connections between performance, absurd philosophy, hard sciences, and the political landscape. He also manages a restaurant, so his weekends and nights are usually busy. Sterling’s favorite season is fall, for its mood lighting and perfect wardrobe options, and his dream vacation would be backpacking in Scandinavia, then skipping over to St. Petersburg before flying back to the US. He’s a self proclaimed movie snob, especially in that he believes movies should be experienced in a theater with others, and his perfect double feature is watching the slasher film Mandy, starring Nicholas Cage, leading into the 2019 film version of Cats.

The picks

This episode, we're setting up Chelsey Hill, chorus manager and New York City-based illustrator. Chelsey’s work is often inspired by eccentric New Yorkers, as well as legendary musicians and performers. Her work has been featured as part of the LinkNYC Urban Haiku program, the Women Conductor’s Series, and clients include the Met Opera Chorus, Broadway Roulette and more. She recently read and loved Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and she’s a total fan of sweater weather and awesome coats. She adores iced coffee, doesn’t believe in horoscopes, and wouldn’t consider herself a romantic. Her dream vacation would be to Scotland, and she loved Somebody Somewhere on HBO’s nice nod to Midwestern life.

The picks

On this week's show, we're setting up Bria Schirripa. Bria is a product manager by day and a writer and creator by night. She documents the latest happenings in New York’s charming West Village neighborhood on her page, the Bleecker Street Beat. Naturally, her dream Saturday consists of a walk in the neighborhood, in addition to drinking an overpriced latte and hoping for a Timothee Chalamet sighting. 

Bria is an avid reader, and recently loved the novels The Boys Club by Erica Katz, Who is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews, and Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner, but generally doesn’t love fantasy novels. A self-proclaimed snob about pasta, her dream vacation would be in Florence. She thinks she would have thrived in the late ‘70s and ‘80s thanks to big hair and disco.

The guest: Bria Schirripa

The picks:

On this week's show, we're setting up John-Paul Gurnett, a multidisciplinary artist. JP is the co-founder of Queer Nite and serves as communications director for BFF Omaha, both now long-running queer institutions in Nebraska. When not building community through arts engagement, he taught English as a Second Language in a high school. 

JP recently read and loved A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt and Go Home, Ricky! by Gene Kwak, but sometimes struggles with reading fiction since he often reads with a priority to learn. He absolutely believes in astrology, and is a aries sun, sag moon, and gemini rising. He can be a snob about music and art, and he recently adored Yellowjackets.

The guest: JP Gurnett

The picks:

Head over to Montana 

On this week's show, we're setting up Shalita Grant, actress and founder of the company Four Naturals Hair. Shalita is a Tony-award nominated actress whose career on the stage has included runs at The Public Theater and Lincoln Center Theater, including originating the role of Cassandra in Christopher Durang's comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Grant is well known for her recurring character on NCIS: New Orleans, Search Party, the Santa Clarita Diet, and the most recent season of YOU.

She recently read and loved Octavia Butler’s  Bloodchild and other short stories and Brene Brown’s Power of Vulnerability, and says that she loves fall (especially because of the cozy socks) and could spend a whole autumn season in Barcelona. Her perfect day includes a hike with her girlfriend and a cuddle with her dogs, and she’s a snob about pizza.

The guest: Shalita Grant

The picks:

Today, we're setting up Celia Aniskovich, New York City-based director and producer, well known for her co-production of How to Fix a Drug Scandal and her production of Surviving Jefferey Epstein. In 2021, she released a six-part podcast series for Wondery called the Spy Affair about Maria Butina and is working on a feature length film about disability rights. She recently read and loved How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaines. She considers herself a romantic, and her dream Saturday is a loungey morning with pastries and a long walk. If tattoos only lasted one year, she’d get the line “Do it for the Fat Lady” from her favorite book, Franny and Zooey, though she says she doesn’t love classics. She thinks everyone should watch One Tree Hill and she is a snob about snobby people.

The Guest: Celia Aniskovitch

The Picks

Today, we're setting up Molly Armstrong, a social justice analyst who focuses on child welfare issues. She has received the prestigious Kathryn A McDonald Award in Service in the NYC Family Court and was a Root-Tilden Scholar at NYU School of Law. She enjoys relaxing with a long walk, good book, and a delicious meal– but you probably won’t watch her enjoying reality TV, which she thinks is too cringey. She recently loved Michael Lewis’s The Premonition and Louise Penny’s All the Devils are Here. Her favorite season is fall, and if tattoos only lasted one year, she would get a tattoo of Our Lady of Guadalupe because of Our Lady’s strong feminine energy.

The Guest: Molly Armstrong

The Picks: 

This episode, our guest is Aparna Shewakramani. Aparna is a lawyer from Houston, who was a cast member of the Netflix show Indian Matchmaking. Her book, “She’s Unlikeable and Other Lies that Bring Women Down” came out in Spring 2022, and she’s also the founder of the travel company, My Golden Balloon. She recently read and loved Homegoing and The Vanishing Half and has a tattoo that she got during a study abroad in Japan. Her dream vacation would include adventures, with luxury hotels at each stop. She always picks Britney songs for karaoke, and is impressed by other people who are entrepreneurs and can believe in their vision.

The guest: Aparna Shewakramani

The picks: 

On this week's show, the start of season two, we're setting up Pia Wilson, a playwright and writer of the new fiction podcast, If I Go Missing, the Witches Did It. She is the recipient of dozens of awards and fellowships, including being a 2015 Sundance Fellow, receiving a 2020 Newark Creative Catalyst grant, and being playwright in residence at Marshall and Middlebury Colleges. She recently loved Circe and Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?, but is put off by books that are too violent toward women. She’s a self-proclaimed romantic, who is studying Italian and is a snob about coffee, bourbon, and hotel rooms. She loves when people can tell long funny stories and effortlessly host, like Ina Garten.

The guest: Pia Wilson

The picks: 

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're serving up a range of books about love—from the romantic to the erotic thriller. We hope this holds you over until the second season of Blind Date With a Book arrives this spring. Here are the books mentioned during this episode. 

On this week's episode, we set up a literal matchmaker with six books. Yeah, it's meta. This also happens to be the final episode of our first season. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned.

The guest: Matchmaker Maria is a business owner, matchmaker dating coach, host of Ask a Matchmaker Podcast, frazzled super mom, happy wife, mother’s caretaker, an Instagram "dating influencer.”

The picks:

In this episode, we match up Jaime Green, a freelance writer and editor, with six books. Jaime wrote a romance recommendations column for The New York Times and is a series editor for Best American Science and Nature Writing. Her book about the ways we imagine life beyond Earth in science and science fiction. Look will be published by Hanover Square Press in 2023. She recently loved reading The Second Season, The Method, and Nightbitch, and her dream vacation is a beach chair and a book, with a fancy hotel waiting at the end of a sunny day. She prefers not to read classic novels, but she does love singing Avril Lavigne's "Sk8r Boi" at karaoke.

The guest: Jaime Green

The picks:

Looking for a chill to run up your spine? We recommend six of our favorite spooky reads, right in time for Halloween. We've ordered the picks from least to most scary. And keep your ear peeled for three bonus recommendations, too.

Books mentioned

We match up Ben Stein, a communications manager for a public policy think tank in Ohio. Ben’s on the hunt for some smart nonfiction, and tells us a bit about how his MFA program changed him and what it’s like to take up the ukelele.

The guest: Ben Stein

The picks:

Lisa Stardust is a writer and astrologer in New York City. On this week’s episode, we recommend some cultish, occult, and starry reads to help break up her routine, plus you learn the rising signs of all the hosts and why that makes us a good team!

The guest: Lisa Stardust

The picks:

Niko Maragos is a makeup artist and writer. He's drawn to deep, difficult reads—and his taste sometimes means that reading can feel like work, for better or for worse. To meet the challenge, we try to find books that are intellectual and compelling. On this week’s episode, we learn some shocking news about eyebrow trends, plus recommend some books for people who loved Circe or Detransition Baby.

The guest: Niko Maragos

The picks:

Episode 5: Show notes

A senior TV writer at Refinery29, Ariana Romero should be your your go-to person for enthusiastic show recommendations and thoughtful takes on TV's latest on and off-screen drama. She specializes in streaming TV, reality shows like The Bachelor, and Latinx-led entertainment. She loves brunch, does not love classic books, and could give an on-the-spot TED talk about how everything, yes everything, is actually a soap opera. In the show, we talk books like The Bachelor, telenovelas, and why romance novels might induce jealousy (it's a thing).

Episode 4: Show notes

A humor writer and editor for McSweeney’s, Lucy Huber loves pop culture, summer weather, and the kind of reads that pair well with a beach umbrella. We talk audiobooks versus podcasts, what it’s like to edit for one of the most popular humor sites out there, and finding time to read after having a baby.

This is Blind Date With a Book, the podcast that matches guests up with their literary soulmates using dating app questions. In each episode, hosts Kristen Evans, Rachel Mans McKenny, and Elena Nicolaou go head-to-head to give the best recommendation. 

Apologies for the editing weirdness in the first few minutes! I promise, the juice is worth the squeeze. 

This is Blind Date With a Book, the podcast that matches guests up with their literary soulmates using dating app questions. In each episode, hosts Kristen Evans, Rachel Mans McKenny, and Elena Nicolaou go head-to-head to give the best recommendation. This week’s show also features a discussion of Moby Dick in quarantine and what it’s like to be in tech today.

The guest: Carrie Tian

The picks:

This is Blind Date With a Book, the podcast that matches guests up with their literary soulmates using dating app questions. In each episode, hosts Kristen Evans, Rachel Mans McKenney, and Elena Nicolaou go head-to-head to give the best recommendation. 

The guest: Alexa Nicolaou

The picks: