When Deesha Philyaw stans see that she’s read and endorsed a book, big chances are, they're buying that book. “The thing I wanna say about blurbing, first, is it could be a full-time job. I’m happy to share these books with you today but for each one there are two that I couldn’t say yes to blurbing, just because I didn’t have time…The blurbs are really important so I try to do as many as I can,” shared Deesha. On this new episode of The Literary Life, you’ll hear Mitchell and Deesha talk about so many great books, perfect timing for the long weekend. So, listen and take a look at the list below, and follow the link to your new favorite book. This episode was recorded in sunny Miami, where Deesha is warming up from Philadelphia winter. Deesha Philyaw's debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize, and the 2020 LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. She is currently adapting The Secret Lives of Church Ladies for HBO Max, working together with Tessa Thompson’s production company, Viva Maude. Deesha was chosen to be the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi in the fall of 2022.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices