Books recommended on SmartLess

Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and guests brought up 14 books across 6 recent episodes, 6 of them explicit recommendations — each with the episode, the minute, and what was said.

Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett · US · YouTube · Jump to episode by episode ↓

Latest mentions

• 
  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl on SmartLessMentioned

Books mentioned on this show

• 1 Alone in BerlinHans FalladaAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 2 CosmosCarl SaganAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 3 Getting Over Your ParentsAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 4 On Being NiceThe School The School of LifeAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 5 Trauma and RecoveryJudith Lewis HermanAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 6 Truth and RepairJudith Lewis HermanAmazon 1 episode · 1 recommended
• 7 Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryRoald DahlAmazon 1 episode
• 8 Hollywood BabylonKenneth AngerAmazon 1 episode
• 9 Prussian bluePhilip KerrAmazon 1 episode
• 10 Sense and SensibilityJane AustenAmazon 1 episode
• 11 Slow HorsesMick HerronAmazon 1 episode
• 12 The Giving TreeShel SilversteinAmazon 1 episode
• 13 The GodfatherMario PuzoAmazon 1 episode
• 14 The search for signs of intelligent life in the universeJane WagnerAmazon 1 episode

Episode by episode

Sandra Bullock | SmartLess · 2026-08-24

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Roald DahlMentioned
  at 5:30 ▶

  “What if the three of us slept like the old people in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in one bed”

Robby Hoffman | SmartLess · 2026-08-10

• Hollywood Babylon — Kenneth AngerMentioned
  at 19:00 ▶

  “Fantastic. That's what I want. I want these stories. That's Hollywood Babylon.”

• The Godfather — Mario PuzoMentioned
  at 26:11 ▶

  “And it's hard to get out because of the family dynamics because they keep pulling you back in the Godfather.”

Professor Brian Cox | SmartLess · 2026-08-03

• Cosmos — Carl SaganRecommended
  at 52:31 ▶

  “Carl Sagan is one of my That's another answer to Will's question about why I got into science. One one of them is Carl Sagan's Cosmos.”

Emma Thompson | SmartLess · 2026-06-29

• Truth and Repair — Judith Lewis HermanRecommended
  at 0:26 ▶

  “the books are truth and repair by a woman called Judith El Herman, author of trauma and recovery”

• Trauma and Recovery — Judith Lewis HermanRecommended
  at 0:26 ▶

  “by a woman called Judith El Herman, author of trauma and recovery”

• Getting Over Your ParentsRecommended
  at 0:46 ▶

  “there's getting over your parents which is a very important book for anyone who is human”

• On Being Nice — The School The School of LifeRecommended
  at 0:46 ▶

  “and then there's on being nice which of course is a very important thing but don't take it too far”

• The search for signs of intelligent life in the universe — Jane WagnerDiscussed
  at 20:10 ▶

  “I admired Lily Tomlin greatly and Jane Wagner, you know, the signs of intelligent life in the universe”

• Sense and Sensibility — Jane AustenDiscussed
  at 23:30 ▶

  “I've seen Saving Mr. Banks like 20 times and I've seen sensibility sensibility”

• Alone in Berlin — Hans FalladaRecommended
  at 26:50 ▶

  “one of my favorite books of all time which is Alone in Berlin, it's one of the best second halves”

• Slow Horses — Mick HerronDiscussed
  at 30:50 ▶

  “Down Cemetery Road which is a quote from a Philip Larkin poem and it's a Mick Herren book, is the slow horses group”

Jennifer Lopez | SmartLess · 2026-06-15

• The Giving Tree — Shel SilversteinMentioned
  at 50:55 ▶

  “You know what I just read the other day? The giving tree, a page of a book.”

RE-RELEASE: Tom Hanks | SmartLess · 2026-06-11

• Prussian blue — Philip KerrDiscussed
  at 8:23 ▶

  “I was reading the 10th book in the Gunter series by Philip Kerr and I noticed your name on the back of it.”