Three Percent #19: The Moneyball of Book Publishing

This week’s podcast centers around two things: Gerald Howard’s article in PW about the possible influence of Moneyball ideas on book publishing, and Helen DeWitt’s comments in an interview I did with her about stats in fiction.

We also talk about the World Series, and my unwavering faith in the St. Louis Cardinals. (Which, given last night’s game, doesn’t seems quite as insane as it might have on Wednesday when we recorded this. And speaking of last night’s game, HOLY SHIT. That is why baseball is amazing.) We complain about Tim McCarver and his atrocious announcing, and briefly discuss Tom’s recent engagement . . .

In honor of that, this week’s song in El Ten Eleven’s “Marriage is the New Going Steady.”: El Ten Eleven is a personal post-rock dance band favorite, and if you ever have a chance to see them live, you have to go. It seems impossible that two guys could create such a sonic tapestry.

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