Episode 110 || The Virtue of Occasional Sadness

Lots of people asked us why we're always raving about sad books, and they weren't satisfied when we quoted Sally Sparrow and said, "It's happy for deep people." This week, Annie and Chris explain what they call "grief literature" and recommend a bunch of their favorite sad books with justifications for why you should feel sad sometimes. + Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (really, why aren't you reading this one yet?) + A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis + The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion + "The Faery Handbag" from The Faery Reel by Kelly Link + Last Things by Marissa Moss + Rosalie Lightning by Tom Hart + Fun Home by Alison Bechdel + When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi + Gilead by Marilynne Robinson + The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger + Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer + The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson + Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice NEW THIS WEEK: + The Hogwarts Library (expanded) by J. K. Rowling + The Wanderers by Meg Howry + Before the War by Fay Weldon + The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo + The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy + The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Teaches Us About Living Fullyby Frank Ostaseski