Book Supergroup: O'Neill and McBride

Call it a literary mashup hour. We asked author Joseph O'Neill, whose novel "Netherland" President Obama has been reading, and James McBride — of "The Color of Water" fame — to take a look at one another's books and do a show together. They said, "sure!"

On Monday, we'll have them both on together. "Netherland" is set in New York City, where the writers both live. They don't know one another, but they have been reading one another's work in preparartion for the show, and both say they're looking forward to it. And since both write about themes relating to the difficult quest for identity in America, there should be a lot to talk about.

Have you read O'Neill's "Netherland"? McBride's "The Color of Water"? Both? Do you see the common threads?

(By the way, we tried another "mash up" show recently, with Elmore Leonard and Robert Pinsky.)