Rumaan Alam Recommends the Music of Leave the World Behind

Rumaan Alam zooms into the online void paradox that is the Damn Library to talk about his new novel, Leave the World Behind. Grocery shopping, writing a glue trap, personal detail, hypertext, and careful language choices all populate a very far-ranging conversation that veers from teeth to Airbnb foibles. Plus, Rumaan brought along Want by Lynn Steger Strong and we talk about why it’s like a ripe fruit, which opens up even further avenues, like literary friendships and books as dreams.

What’d you buy?

Rumaan: Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar // Memorial by Bryan Washington // Self-Portrait by Celia Paul

Christopher: The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman // Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (audiobook)

Drew: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

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This Episode’s Recommendations:

Rumaan: The Music of Leave the World Behind, including:

* Designer by Aldous Harding
* the music of Marlon Williams
* Reward by Cate Le Bon
* Bottle It In by Kurt Vile
* Lust for Life by Lana Del Rey
* “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” by Bob Dylan
* Truth is a Beautiful Thing by London Grammar
* Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest by Bill Callahan
* Jessye Norman singing “Four Last Songs” by Richard Strauss
* Push the Sky Away by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (particularly “Higgs Boson Blues”)

Drew: A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet // The Sundial by Shirley Jackson // The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Christopher: The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

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This week’s themed cocktail: