Chris Hauty and gift books

Author and screenwriter Chris Hauty joined us to discuss his latest thriller, Dead Ringer, which imagines a conspiracy around the JFK assassination—and if you think you’ve heard it all before on this topic, we assure you this novel will take you somewhere you were not expecting. Chris shared his surprising influences and offered insights about where Hollywood and book publishing overlap (and where they don’t). Then, we ponder why books are such popular gifts when they’re actually rather fraught as an item to give someone else. What if they don’t like it? Or don’t even like books? Or you’re trying too hard? Or … what if we’re overthinking this topic. Hmm.   Dead Ringer by Chris Hauty is out now.   Works cited this episode:   Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen Notes of a Dirty Old Man, Charles Bukowski Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, dir. Quentin Tarantino Sniper: Ultimate Kill, dir. Claudio Fäh Three Days of the Condor, dir. Sydney Pollack Winter’s Bone, dir. Debra Granik Winter’s Bone, Daniel Woodrell The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown The Gift, Lewis Hyde “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton Dog Man, Dav Pilkey Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez Sister Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, Claire Hoffman They Flew: A History of the Impossible, Carlos Eire Why? The Purpose of the Universe, Philip Goff The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead “Don’t Buy Me Books,” Katherine Marciniak, Bookriot