As promised, here is the recording of last week’s Substack Live book talk with Buckeye author Patrick Ryan and his editor, Clio Seraphim. We hung out in my kitchen and discussed Buckeye, his sweeping, nostalgic World-War-II-era novel that follows the lives of two couples connected by a secret. The book was an instant New York Times bestseller, and just last week was named number one (NUMBER ONE!) on Amazon’s Best Books of 2025.
But this is Dinner: A Love Story, so we also dipped peanut butter balls into melted chocolate to make buckeyes, discussed Patrick’s "Gourmet Snack,” invention, answered reader questions (including one about an Ohio regional speciality, the Johnny Marzetti casserole), and discussed what it feels like to publish your first novel at age 60, after a life of writing short stories. We had so much fun — I hope you get a chance to watch. And if you haven’t read Buckeye yet, don’t worry, there are no spoilers!
Enjoy,
Jenny
