Comedian Anthony Jeselnik has been quietly building a reputation as a go-to source for book recommendations for years. It began in 2015 with the launch of his show on the NFL Podcast Network. During the podcast, he and his friend Gregg Rosenthal included weekly recommendations segments, which tended to focus on books. “It almost became a competition between us to see who would have the cooler recommendation,” Jeselnik says. They often included timeless books (“We would recommend Lolita or something”), but over time, Jeselnik has become more interested in debut authors and books of the moment. “I compare it to watching Saturday Night Live live as opposed to on DVR,” he says. “There’s just something to it. It’s a conversation starter.”

When his podcast went on indefinite hiatus last

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