Feb 13, 2023
Douglas Bell is a former magician, engineer, and debut author of the novel “Cakewalk,” a novel about a cisgender man in Texas who falls in love with a transgender woman. Douglas and I talked about his unusual spiritual path, how one book changed his life outlook, and how meditation and reading are both paths to empathy. Douglas joined me to talk about Tessa Hadley’s luminous novel “Free Love,” a piercing domestic drama set in London, 1967.
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Host: Julie Strauss
Douglas Bell
Website/Twitter/Instagram/Goodreads
Discussed in this episode:
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by the Dalai Lama
The National Black Book Festival
The Enigma of Clarence Thomas by Corey Robin
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Married Love and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
Side note from Julie: Here are two books about meditation that I’ve really enjoyed. These are both very much beginner books for those of us who don’t think we could possibly meditate because we have fidgety monkey brains:
The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe
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