Today marks one full year of The Stacks, and what an amazing year it has been. The Stacks has every intention of making year two even better. To kick it off we have a real life renaissance man; author, comedian, and podcaster, Ben Blacker. We talk today about the importance of literature as a way to see the humanity in others, the types of anger you can feel toward books, and about Ben's life as a writer of many different mediums, from comic books to teen movies.Everything we talk about on today's episode can be found below in the show notes. The Stacks participates in affiliate programs, and shopping through the links below helps support the show, at no cost to you.BooksIndieBound: Support Independent BookstoresHex Wives by Ben BlackerBallad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullersThe Sailor Who Fell From Grace From the Sea by Yukio MishimaJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Awakening by Kate ChopinMacbeth by William ShakespeareEloquent Rage by Britney CooperHeavy by Kiese LaymonThe Reckonings by Lacy M. JohnsonShrill by Lindy WestRoxane GayNo One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicolTa-Nehisi CoatesFeel Free by Zadie SmithTiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl StrayedWild by Cheryl StrayedYour Black Friend and Other Strangers by Ben PassmoreLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryTerms of Endearment by Larry McMurtryThe Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtryNobody's Fool by Richard RussoEmpire Falls by Richard RussoStraight Man by Richard RussoWonder Boys by Michael ChabonThe Secret History by Donna TartThe Goldfinch by Donna TartThe Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithRaymond ChandlerThe Outsider by Stephen KingThe Destiny Thief by Richard RussoGiovanni's Room by James BaldwinGo Tell it on The Mountain by James BaldwinIf Beale Street Could Talk by James BaldwinDuplicate Keys by Jane SmileyA Thousand Acres by Jane SmileyMoo by Jane SmileyHer Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria MachadoFriday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahThe World Only Spins Forward by Isaac Butler and Dan KoisAll the Pieces Matter by Jonathan AbramsGone Girl by Gillian FlynnLittle Fires Everywhere by Celeste NgEverything I Never Told You by Celeste NgThere There by Tommy OrangeBecoming by Michelle ObamaThe Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany HaddishLorrie MooreBirds of America by Lorrie MooreThe Only Rule Is It Has To Work by Ben Lindbergh and Sam MillerMy Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady HendricksJust the Funny Parts by Nell ScovellLean In by Sheryl SandbergAngels in America by Tony KushnerEuphoria by Lily KingJoin the Resistance by Ben Acker and Ben BlackerUndead by Kristy McKayHunger Games by Suzanne CollinsStranded by Jeff ProbstLess by Andrew Sean GreerThe Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick NessStamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. KendiThe Fire Next Time by James BaldwinJust Mercy by Bryan StevensonThe Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel WilkersonEverything ElseAsk the Stacks-- [email protected] Thrilling Adventure HourPaul F TompkinsPaget BrewsterJosh MalinaBusy PhillipsMarc Evan JacksonJon HammJ.K. SimmonsBeyond Belief- "Wishing Hell" (The Thrilling Adventure Hour, ForeverDog Podcast Network) Dead Pilots Society (Ben Blacker and Andrew ReichMaximum Fun NetworkThe Writers Panel with Ben Blacker (Forever Dog Podcast Network, ATX Television Festival)Episode 2 - Only Child written by John Hodgman (Dead Pilots Society)Pen15 (Hulu)Maya ErskineAnna KonkleThe Second CityBuffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB)Shrill (Hulu)The RumpusNew York Times Book ReviewPaul NewmanNobody's Fool (Robert Benton, 1994)Empire Falls (HBO)Ep. 6 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin — The Stacks Book Club (The Stacks)If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins, 2018)Ep. 48 Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah — The Stacks Book Club (The Stacks)The Wire (HBO)Ozark (Netflix)The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)Grey's...

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