1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris &quot;Bulldog&quot; Collins sits down with actor and comedian Patton Oswalt to discuss This Paradise, a short story collection by Ruby Cowling. Check out Patton's new special, &quot;Tea &amp;amp; Scotch&quot; here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRFgLNxygC4 Oswalt, an evangel for the book, has bought and given away dozens of copies since discovering Cowling's short fiction through a Canadian publisher's Christmas advent calendar of stories. Oswalt traces his relationship with books back to reading Stephen King's The Stand at age 10, and talks about raising his 17-year-old daughter as a reader — from Harry Potter read-alouds to introducing her to graphic novels, and first films by directors who started with nothing but a camera and a script. He also revisits a formative English class argument over Carson McCullers that taught him to defend his opinions on the page. The conversation moves through the terrain of This Paradise itself: stories that grapple with an openly unapologetic billionaire class, the erosion of consequence and accountability, climate collapse, and the daily impossibility of making ethical choices in a world where &quot;every network is connected to something horrifying.&quot; Oswalt and Collins dig into specific stories from the collection — including &quot;The Ground Is Considerably Distorted,&quot; &quot;Eliminate Toxins and Increase Blood Flow,&quot; and &quot;Flamingo Land&quot; — unpacking how Cowling captures the disorientation of modern life without sacrificing humanity or humor. Books That Changed My Life https://www.booksthatchangedmylife.org <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/42157565/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/204352980