In this episode of ScribdChat, one of the most celebrated novelists working today, New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman, sat down with novelist and Cosmopolitan Magazine’s editor-at-large John Searles, to chat about creating a new killer genre — femme noir — with Lippman’s new novel, Sunburn.

You can read Sunburn on Scribd for free with your subscription. (You can read John Searles’s books, as well.) If you’re not yet a Scribd member, you can read for free for 30 days by downloading the Scribd app or visiting scribd.com.

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How exactly are elite athletes like Tom Brady, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams still at the top of their games well into their 30s and beyond? Jeff Bercovici, the author of “Play On: The New Science of Elite Performance at Any Age,” explains the exercising, dieting, and recovery techniques that allow older athletes to continue to dominate in their respective sports. Plus, he delves into emerging sports science that can help amateur athletes avoid injury and up their game.

You can read “Play On” on Scribd for free with your subscription. If you’re not yet a Scribd member, you can read for free for 30 days by downloading the Scribd app or visiting www.scribd.com.

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In this episode of ScribdChat, learn how seven exceptional men and women transformed Silicon Valley from an obscure playground for gearhead engineers in the 1970s and '80s to the bustling hub that launched many major tech industries. Leslie Berlin, the author of “Troublemakers: Silicon Valley’s Coming of Age,” talks with Inc.’s San Francisco bureau chief Jeff Bercovici about some of the lesser-known figures that shaped Silicon Valley’s past.

You can read “Troublemakers” on Scribd for free with your subscription. And if you’re not yet a Scribd member, you can read for free for 30 days by downloading the Scribd app or visiting scribd.com.

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From branding to resumé building and beyond, design touches almost every aspect of our lives. In this episode of ScribdChat, editor in chief of The Great Discontent Tina Essmaker sat down with podcast host and author Debbie Millman to chat about design and creativity, and how to get to where you want to be in your career.

You can read several of Debbie’s books, including “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits” and “How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer,” on Scribd for free with your subscription. And if you’re not yet a Scribd member, you can read for free for 30 days by downloading the Scribd app or visiting scribd.com.

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In this episode of ScribdChat, founder of the website Puttylike Emilie Wapnick joined us to chat about her book, “How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up,” which is available on Scribd. What followed was a fun conversation about multipotentialites and how they navigate the world, both in and outside their careers.

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The tech companies in Silicon Valley have changed the world in the past few decades, but one thing that new technology hasn’t solved is sexism. Author and Bloomberg Technology host Emily Chang discovered while writing her book Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley that the gender gap is even worse than she had believed. In this ScribdChat episode, Chang breaks down the numbers and experiences of women in tech with TaskRabbit founder Leah Busque. Together, they talk through the “pipeline problem” and reassert their belief that if Silicon Valley companies can solve many of the world’s problems, it can definitely tackle sexism.

You can listen to Brotopia on Scribd.

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Do you already have tickets to see Annihilation? Have you already reread the novel in anticipation of the movie adaptation? If not, our ScribdChat with author Jeff VanderMeer, who wrote the Nebula Award–winning Annihilation, will surely change your mind. VanderMeer has won many of speculative fiction’s most preeminent awards for his strange science fiction. On this episode, he discusses the environmental themes present in many of his novels, his love for film as a medium, and how he manages working on so many projects at once.

Annihilation and the rest of the Southern Reach trilogy can be read on Scribd.

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Just after the release of “The Underground Railroad” in 2016, we had author Colson Whitehead in for one of our very first ScribdChats. The novel became an instant success, picked for Oprah’s Book Club, praised by President Obama, and then going on to win the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. In this episode, Whitehead sits down with Michael Cohen, a professor of African American Studies at UC Berkeley, to talk about this ambitious, expansive, and important novel.

“The Underground Railroad” is available now on Scribd.

In today’s episode, author Lisa Ko discusses her debut novel, “The Leavers,” which chronicles the powerful and intertwining stories of Deming Guo and his mother, Polly, as both embark on their own search for identity. Early on, Polly is separated from Deming, and shortly thereafter Deming is adopted by a couple of loving — if not somewhat misinformed — American professors. He is then forced to navigate the memory of family and culture he left behind in tandem with his adoptive parent’s desire to raise him as a modern, middle-class American. As such, Ko’s novel explores the themes of identity, culture, and the definition of family.

“The Leavers” was shortlisted for the National Book Award in addition to winning the Pen/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and also named a one of the best books from 2017 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, and Bustle.

In today’s episode, Ko discusses the real-life stories that inspired “The Leavers,” why she felt the story in her book was worth telling, and what she learned while writing her debut novel. We talk about pacing, prose, the importance of listening to a killer soundtrack while writing, and, of course, the many nicknames that Ko as earned throughout her career.

You can read Lisa Ko’s “The Leavers” on Scribd.

Gretchen Rubin, the author of several bestselling books including “Better Than Before,” “The Happiness Project,” and “Happier at Home,” discusses her latest book, “The Four Tendencies,” which explores the many different ways in which is a groundbreaking analysis of personality type, focused primarily on how we respond to expectations, and it is as interesting as it is practical. Check it out to learn whether you’re an Obliger, Upholder, Questioner, or Rebel.

In today’s episode, Rubin discusses her latest book with author Chip Heath, who, along with his brother Dan, is the author of several popular books including his latest, “The Power of Moments.” The book delves into many of the mysteries that most humans experience, including the things we remember as the best or worst moments of our lives, why we feel most comfortable when things are safe, but most alive when things aren't, and why many of our happiest memories are from our youth.

Together, Rubin and Heath engage in a fascinating discussion about managing expectations, creating a work life balance, and discovering the Obliger, Upholder, Questioner, or Rebel within.

You can read both Rubin’s “The Four Tendencies” and Heath’s “The Power of Moments” on Scribd.

In this episode of ScribdChat, Wired editor Adam Rogers joins us to discuss his book, “Proof: The Science of Booze,” which spans fermentation, malting, distillation, aging, and (of course) drinking. You’ll hear Adam’s recommendations for what to order at a bar, you’ll learn what the “bar moment” is, and you’ll find out why sommelier’s don't actually smell or taste wine much better than the average person.

You can read “Proof: The Science of Booze” on Scribd. And if you’re not yet a Scribd member, you can read free for 30 days by downloading the Scribd app or visiting www.scribd.com.