Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories about social occasions for introverts and extroverts alike, curated with the Belletrist Book Club, founded by actor Emma Roberts and producer Karah Preiss, and recorded at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Humorist Samantha Irby asks “Please Invite Me to Your Party,” but we’re not sure she means it. The reader is Richa Moorjani. Victoria Lancelotta’s “The Anniversary Trip,” performed by Judy Greer, is, and is not, about the married couple making the trip. And Jen Spyra takes to extremes what it takes to get to the altar in perfect shape in “The Bridal Body,” performed by Erinn Hayes.

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Host Meg Wolitzerpresents two stories about characters who find themselves in a place in which they need to make a choice, something that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic, “Direction of the Road,” an ancient being has to make hard choices in its role as a guardian and a force of nature. The reader is Nikki M. James. In Helen Schulman’s “The Shabbos Goy,” a divorcee and a rabbi develop an interesting relationship around their mutual love of poetry. The reader is Jessica Hecht.

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Today's story is all about what happens when you become infatuated with someone you don't really know. And what strange or scary things you might do in order to make real contact with that person. The story is also about youth, love of language, and what you do with all your passion when you have more energy than you know what to do with. This story is by Jonathan Lethem. He's a writer known for novels such as Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude, as well as short stories, recently collected in his book, A Different Kind of Tension. While he's amazing at crafting great narrative hooks, he's also quite good at recreating the awkward moments of young adulthood, as you'll hear in today's story, "The King of Sentences." The story is read by Brendan Hunt, the longtime writer and theater actor who is best known these days for the series Ted Lasso: Hunt helped to create it, write it, and on the show, he plays Coach Beard. Stay tuned after the story for a fascinating interview between Lethem and host Aparna Nancherla about creative influences, the power and peril of parasocial relationships, and more.

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