Show notes
I love this book.I love Susanna Crossman for recommending it.And I love you, my bookish friend. Because why not?Indeed, I’m filled with book love to have discovered both Susanna and John’s work recently and it’s a pleasure to feature them both on the podcast.When Susanna recommended reading John D’Agata’s About A Mountain, I’d never heard of it. To my shame, I’d never heard of John D’Agata.If you find yourself in the same situation… listen to this episode and then go buy About A Mountain.But before you confirm your order or hand over your shillings to the bookseller, add a copy of Susanna’s fascinating memoir Home Is Where We Start too—it’s great. Susanna’s own story will amaze you as much as the story of Yucca Mountain will.Yup. We’re piling on the non-fiction in this episode, so strap in and get ready to have some serious insight inserted into your ears as I welcome you to The Library of Lazy Thinking Podcast, with me, your host, Glenn Fisher.As you may well know by now, in each episode, I'm joined by a guest from the world of books to talk about a specific book they'd like to put in the library.There's no plan and no agenda, just two people lazily thinking about literature.If you enjoy the show and would like to help us (and get your hands on a coveted Library of Lazy Thinking bookmark, sticker, and pin badge), you can become a supporter of the library by upgrading your subscription.But either way, please do like and share the show—it all helps.As I say, in this episode, my very special guest is the brilliant Susanna Crossman discussing her pick for the library, the 2010 essay About A Mountain by John D’Agata.About SusannaSusanna Crossman grew up in an international utopian community in England during the 1970s and 80s. Now based in France, she works internationally as a writer, clinical art therapist, and lecturer. Her recent writing has been featured in Aeon, the Paris Review, and Berfois. She is a published novelist in French and regularly collaborates with artists. She lives with her partner and three daughters.About JohnJohn D'Agata is an American essayist. He is the author or editor of six books of nonfiction, including The Next American Essay (2003), The Lost Origins of the Essay (2009) and The Making of the American Essay—all part of the trilogy of essay anthologies called "A New History of the Essay". He also wrote The Lifespan of a Fact, Halls of Fame, and About a Mountain. D'Agata has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Howard Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation. He is the M.F. Carpenter Professor of Writing in the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa.Links to obscure (and not so obscure) things mentioned in this episode* Order About A Mountain by John D’Agata and Susanna’s fascinating book Home Is Where We Start from my local independent bookshop in Sheffield here.* You can watch snippets of an interview with John D’Agata discussing About A Mountain here.* Find Susanna on Instagram here.* Find Glenn on Instagram here.About the LibraryThe Library of Lazy Thinking is a place to hang out and learn more about books. The library is free—like all libraries should be. But if you’d like to support the library, you can make a small monthly donation by becoming a paid member (and get an exclusive The Library of Lazy Thinking bookmark, sticker, and pin badge). All donations go back into the library, helping to organize live events, exclusive merchandise, and more podcasts.About GlennGlenn Fisher is a writer—wait, Glenn Fisher is me. I’m the one writing this. Let’s drop the third-person act. My writing has been published in online literary journals Lunate, The Paris Bitter Hearts Pit, 3am Magazine, Dogmatika, and Litro Magazine. I am currently working on my first novel. I write about books and interview other writers and creatives here in The Library of Lazy Thinking. I live in Sheffield and work as a freelance copywriter. I have had a best-selling non-fiction book published on the subject called The Art of the Click. It was published by Harriman House and shortlisted for Business Book of the Year. It has been translated into Simplified Chinese and Korean. I also have a dog called Pablo. He is harder to translate. Indeed, most of my life revolves around trying to understand his often unreasonable demands. Get full access to The Library of Lazy Thinking at lazythinking.substack.com/subscribe