Welcome to episode 15 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

We look at two new Harper Perennial releases in this podcast:

Under a Flaming Sky is Daniel James Brown's gripping account of a little-known American story: the Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. Daniel's own great-grandmother and grandfather narrowly escaped this raging forest fire. Having grown up hearing their stories, he was finally compelled to write about them.

Truck: A Love Story is Michael Perry's warm and funny memoir about a busy year in his life: attempting to get his old International truck running, and trying to grow a garden. Unexpectedly, after 39 years of bachelorhood, he also met the woman who changed everything.

Both Under a Flaming Sky and Truck: A Love Story are available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 14 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Pete Jordan, also known as Dishwasher Pete, is our guest for this episode. His new memoir, Dishwasher, chronicles the twelve years he spent traveling the U.S. on a quest: he sought to wash dishes in all fifty states.

In the course of this quest, Pete takes dishwashing jobs at an Alaskan cannery, on an oil rig on the Gulf of Mexico, on a Rhode Island dinner train, and at countless restaurants and cafes in between. His memoir is filled with funny and insightful stories of working with little responsibility, and quitting whenever the mood strikes.

Dishwasher, is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 13 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

In this episode, we talk with Daniel Handler, who is well-known for his pen-name. Lemony Snicket, and his 'Series of Unfortunate Events' books for children. Handler has just released his third novel for adults, titled Adverbs.

Adverbs is a collection of intertwined short stories, each titled with an adverb, and each exploring a different aspect of the most universal emotion -- love. Handler's storytelling skill and his playful use of language make for a reading experience as delightfully complex as love itself.

Adverbs is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 12 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

The Motel Life is a poignant novel about two working-class brothers living in Reno, Nevada. Their lives are hard, and they have only each other to rely upon as they face tragedy and look for hope.

Author Willy Vlautin grew up in Reno, and infuses The Motel Life with his experiences and favorite haunts. Vlautin is also well-known for his alt-country band Richmond Fontaine, whose music complements this podcast.

The Motel Life is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com, and the Harper Perennial MySpace page.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. All Richmond Fontaine music is Copyright 2007 El Cortez Records, and used with permission.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including Craftypod. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 11 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

This time, we talk with Rishi Reddi, author of Karma and Other Stories. The book is a collection of inter-related short stories that creates a densely-layered picture of the lives of Indian families living in the United States. Rishi herself was born in India, and grew up in the U.S. She has said that she wrote these stories to help her understand how feeling like an outsider in both cultures has influenced her life.

Karma and Other Stories is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, and the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 10 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Chad Kultgen's new novel, The Average American Male, is a hilarious look at love and relationships from an unabashedly male perspective. You won't find a shred of political correctness here, but you will catch a rare glimpse into the masculine mind.

The Average American Male is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, and the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.

Welcome to episode 9 of the Harper Perennial Podcast, a show about the life of books.

Author Amy Bryant discusses her first novel Polly, a story of music, boyfriends, and growing up during the 1980's. The book draws on Bryant's own high school and college experiences during that same decade, and her abiding love of music -- especially hardcore punk. Anyone who experienced the 80's will recognize the music playing in the background of this book.

Amy Bryant's current work as a sex educator for teens also informs this story, as the heroine grapples with confusion over losing her virginity and entering the world of sexual relationships.

Polly is available at bookstores and online retailers now.

Also, be sure to visit HarperPerennial.com, and the Harper Perennial blog, OliveReader.com.

All content copyright HarperCollins Publishers. Music created with Garage Band.

About the producers:
Diane Gilleland produces podcasts including CraftyPod and Spinsterspin. She teaches blogging, podcasting, and zine-making classes in Portland, and organizes creative community groups.

Ken Lyman has a background as a disc jockey, radio news caster, radio actor, is a and producer of radio commercials and books on tape. He is an avid reader and also enjoys community theater, travel, and an occassional attempt at writing fiction.