In a vibrant and candid panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Tracy Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast, sat down with award-winning author Imani Perry and acclaimed sports analyst Mina Kimes to discuss the books that shape their lives. The conversation kicked off with Thomas’s signature icebreaker, asking the panelists to name two books they love and one they hate. This prompted hilarious confessions, including Perry’s controversial distaste for Jane Austen and Kimes’s anecdote about reading over Malcolm Gladwell’s shoulder in a New York City coffee shop.
Beyond the playful literary hot takes, the trio delved into the profound role that reading plays in navigating the modern world. Both Kimes and Perry emphasized how fiction serves as an essential tool for empathy and a quiet refuge from the frenzied, toxic nature of the internet. They championed the liberation of setting down books you aren’t enjoying, highlighting that reading should be a source of personal edification, not an elite academic chore.
The discussion featured memorable, laugh-out-loud comparisons, most notably when Thomas likened the unapologetic, masterful confidence of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison in Paradise to the brash energy of NBA star Draymond Green—a comparison Kimes jokingly countered by suggesting Morrison was more of a literary LeBron James.
Closing out the panel, the speakers pushed back against the stigma surrounding audiobooks. Perry and Kimes dismantled the elitism that dictates physical reading is superior, arguing that listening is a vital comprehension skill and an equally valid way to experience storytelling. Ultimately, the panel served as a passionate celebration of literary community, intellectual curiosity, and the simple, enduring joy of gathering to talk about books.
