Alice McDermott has written one of THE great novels of 2023. Absolution is so many things…a portrait of diplomatic wives carving out lives for themselves in Saigon before the start of the war, a moralistic novel about the dangers of colonialism and good intentions, the story of the complex relationships women have with motherhood, and with each other. Why did she write it? And what has convinced so many that it's going to be a Pulitzer finalist this year? Tune in and find out. Our bookstore this week comes from one of our beloved listeners-The Lost Bookshop in Delhi, NY. Join us, and keep sending in suggestions! Books mentioned in this week's episode: Absolution by Alice McDermott Charming Billy by Alice McDermott Someone by Alice McDermott The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott That Night by Alice McDermott At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott A Bigamist’s Daughter by Alice McDermott After This by Alice McDermott What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott The Quiet American by Graham Greene This is Happiness by Niall Williams The Holy Bible Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Art of Seeing Things by John Burroughs A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So we have come to the last of our horror genre shows…although we have decided we like the moniker 'dark literature’ better. We have a game-changing author to end it with (in time for Halloween): Paul Tremblay. If you read ‘dark literature’ and you haven’t devoured A Head Full of Ghosts on a dark and stormy night, RUN, do not walk, to your nearest independent bookstore. But Kate has read seven of his books (so far) and has not been disappointed in a single one. We also talk to horror writer and Professor Michael Arnzen of Seton Hill University about the courses he teaches in the dark art of writing what scares us. We hope you have enjoyed our ‘dark literature’ series….we might dip back from time to time. Happy Halloween. Books mentioned in this week's episode: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay No Sleep Til Wonderland by Paul Tremblay Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye by Paul Tremblay Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly by Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay The Pallbearer’s Club by Paul Tremblay In the Mean Time by Paul Tremblay Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay Sophie’s Choice by William Styron Absolution by Alice McDermott The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Stand by Stephen King Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates Pet Sematary by Stephen King Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez Psycho by Robert Bloch The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe Dracula by Bram Stoker The Turn of the Screw by Henry James  Ulysses by James Joyce Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Film by Carol Clover Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tan Twan Eng, in some ways, has the perfect bibliography. He has written three books, all novels. All three have been on the short or long list for the Man Booker Prize. That should tell you how talented he is….and this is the first book he has published in more than a decade. The House of Doors is a lyrical and lovely read about the travels of William Somerset Maugham in Malaysia. Don’t know Maugham’s work? Doesn’t matter. Don’t know much about Malaysia? Doesn’t matter. Tan Twan Eng’s books transcend the familiar-getting to the humanity of every conflict, every story. This book transports readers….and its more than worth the price of the ticket. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng This is Happiness by Niall Williams The Letter by William Somerset Maugham Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham The Casuarina Tree by William Somerset Maugham Time for a Tiger by Anthony Burgess Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surely You Can’t be Serious - heard that before? Surely you have, if you have seen the movie Airplane! Made in 1980. The incredibly successful and popular movie was the brainchild of three guys from Milwaukee - then in their twenties - David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. They called themselves ZAZ. And, improbably, they got their movie made against all odds. They admit they didn’t have the slightest idea how to make a movie. Much less direct it. Much less convince Hollywood executives to invest in it. But they did and the rest is history and not to mention, a very funny book, just released. Surely You Can’t be Serious is the story behind the story of one of the funniest movies ever made. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro Ketogenic Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders by Jon Freeman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amanda Gorman is an American treasure. Her inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb, stunned audiences around the world in 2021, and her tome of poetry, Call Us What We Carry, spoke to the pain and powerlessness that the world felt while locked down by COVID-19. What you might not know (and now we hope you do) is that she is also an accomplished children’s author. Her latest, Something, Someday teaches kids to make the world a better place by starting small while thinking big. Illustrated by the talented Christian Robinson (who also joins us), Amanda’s words reach out from the page to say that no one is too small to make a difference. Books mentioned in this week’s episode: Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, Illustrated by Christian Robinson Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, Illustrated by Loren Long The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury Deacon King Kong by James McBride The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride You Matter by Christian Robinson Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renée Watson, Illustrated by Christian Robinson The Last Stop on Market Street by Mark de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate DiCamillo has probably been honored as much or more than any living American children’s author. If her awards were all displayed on a mantle, she’d probably need dozens of fireplaces. And she’s a delightful conversationalist. Her new book is The Puppets of Spelhorst. Her most widely read book, The Tale of Despereaux, is out with a special 20th anniversary edition. Dicamillo's love with telling stories is in everything she has ever written. Since Kate is from Minneapolis, we feature one of the largest independent bookstores in the twin cities - Magers & Quinn.  Books mentioned in this podcast:   The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo  The Puppets of Spelhorst - Kate DiCamillo  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo  The Beatryce Prophecy - Kate DiCamillo  Louisiana’s Way Home - Kate DiCamillo  Paddington - Michael Bond  Hello Lighthouse - Sophie Blackall  If You Come to Earth - Sophie Blackall  Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear - Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall  Wellness - Nathan Hill  Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have two horror genre shows left and this week we bring you Stephen Graham Jones. Although not all of his books fall squarely in horror category, My Heart is a Chainsaw and Don’t Fear the Reaper are beautiful love letters to horror fans who will take much glee in all the genre conventions within which Stephen plays. The final Indian Lake Trilogy novel comes out this fall, The Angel Of Indian Lake. Kate can’t wait. Stephen brings his Blackfoot Native American culture and aspects of social justice to his writings and his writing is all the better for it. If you shy away from horror, try Mapping The Interior or The Only Good Indians. For an independent bookseller this week, we reach out to one of Stephen’s local favorites, the Boulder Bookstore in Colorado. Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones Demon Theory by Stephen Graham Jones Ararat by Christopher Golden Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle Come Closer by Sara Gran Collected Poems, 1947-1980 by Allen Ginsberg Merlin Book 1: The Lost Years by T. A. Barron The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel Biography of X by Catherine Lacey Stars Go Blue by Laura Pritchett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever noticed that when it comes to great writers, Ireland seems to have had more than its fair share? Maybe it’s the difficult history, or the never ending pride for their beautiful island, but Ireland seems to be a country rife with storytellers. This week we have an Irish writer who has been nominated for the Booker Prize more than once…Sebastian Barry! His latest, Old God’s Time, is a lyrical and sprawling tale of Ireland and one man’s desperate struggle to make peace with the past. Pull up a chair by the fire and talk literature with a truly great Irish author, you will be glad you did. Books mentioned in this week's episode: Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry Days Without End by Sebastian Barry A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry The Poems of Catallus by Catallus The Odyssey by Homer The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett Nostromo by Joseph Conrad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We don't want to pigeon hole William Kent Krueger as a mystery writer. He writes terrific mysteries that will keep you guessing, sure, but what will keep you coming back is his talent! His sweeping descriptions of Minnesota landscapes, his unforgettable characters and his roots in cultural anthropology will keep you coming back. His new novel, The River We Remember, is a terrific "who done it" that beautifully weaves in themes of PTSD, the cultures of tribal bands in Minnesota, and the joys and perils of small town living. Our bookstore this week is Page 158 in Wake Forest, NC. Why is that their name? Tune in and find out! Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger The devil’s bed by William Kent Krueger Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger Copper River by William Kent Krueger Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger Red Knife: A Cork O’Connor Mystery by William Kent Krueger Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger Trickster's Point by William Kent Krueger Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger Windigo Island by William Kent Krueger Manitou Canyon by William Kent Krueger Sulfur Springs by William Kent Krueger Destination Mountain by William Kent Krueger Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger Fox Creek by William Kent Krueger The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate often says that if she were a writer she would have trouble reading James McBride. It's hard not to hear a mic drop when you close the back cover. He is a master of storytelling; his sentences so packed with history, humor, and meaning that at times you forget what he was talking about, but you won't mind a bit. His writing often knocks off our socks, and his new novel, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, is no exception. For our bookstore this week? We let James choose one of his favorites, Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, New Jersey. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride Kill 'em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James McBride The Good Lord Bird by James McBride Song Yet Sung by James McBride Five-Carat Soul by James McBride Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride Deacon King Kong by James McBride Moby-Dick by Herman Melville The Bridge Builder by Will Allen Dromgoole Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark A Glimmer of Death by Valerie Wilson Wesley Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Ridker is but 32 years of age - yet already he has written what promises to be his second very successful novel - Hope. The title is an acronym for a medical study, but it is also a feeling that pervades his depiction of a Jewish suburban family, the Greenspans, living near Boston. Each member of the family stumbles, and struggles to find footing. But much as they may transgress, Ridker projects a belief that family of origin has an inexorable pull on all of his characters and all of us. Ridker is wise beyond his years and this book is downright funny at times! And did we mention the book has the best cover photo seen in years? Our bookstore this week is RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, owned by the very entertaining Roxanne Coady. A bookstore that pairs well with Ridker’s novel. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Hope by Andrew Ridker The Altruists by Andrew Ridker The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton The Topeka School by Ben Lerner 10:04 by Ben Lerner Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have three horror shows left. But we are not sure Jennifer McMahon fits within the genre so neatly. If you are dipping your toe into the genre...start with the Children on the Hill, her latest. It's suspenseful, compelling, chilling and the ghoulish gore is at a bare minimum. We talk to her about why she keeps coming back to what scares her. We then talk to horror academic (yes, you heard us) Michael Arnzen, an accomplished writer in his own right. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon The Invited by Jennifer McMahon Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Road by Cormac McCarthy Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Beloved by Toni Morrison Amityville Horror by Jay Anson Jaws by Peter Benchley Grave Markings by Michael A. Arnzen Play Dead by Michael A. Arnzen Dying (With No Apologies to Martha Stewart) by Michael A. Arnzen Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction by Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talked to the renowned bilingual author Esmeralda Santiago a few months about her incredible trilogy of memoirs. So when she sent us her new novel, Las Madres, we couldn’t wait. Turns out she is just as good of a fiction writer as she is a memoirist. This is a searing, funny and fascinating portrait of mothers and daughters, the connection Puerto Ricans feel to their island, whether we are made up of more than our memories….and so much more. It sounds like a lot, but she does it all and she does it all well. We also talk to Lynne Phillips of Wordsworth Books, one of the plaintiffs in the case against Arkansas Act 372. She will give us her recommendations and talk about why her fight is so important. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago America’s Dream by Esmeralda Santiago When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago The Turkish Lover by Esmeralda Santiago Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck The Firm by John Grisham The Art Thief by Michael Finkel The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann Tom Lake by Ann Patchett A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PATCHETT PUBLISHES!! That should be big news in the literary world. Ann Patchett has a new book out as of August 1st.  Tom Lake is the title - a novel influenced by COVID as three daughters come home to be with their mother during the pandemic. What do they want to talk about? Her past. And she has a past - having had a romance with a man who went on to become a famous actor. How much do you tell your kids? “I want them to think I was better than I was, and I want to tell them the truth…those two desires do not neatly co-exist.” Ann Patchett is a wonderful writer - one of America’s best! She’s also a wonderful and amusing talker! And she owns an independent bookstore - Parnassus Books in Nashville. That makes her a perfect guest, we think, for The Book Case. Books mentioned in the podcast: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Commonwealth by Ann Patchett These Precious Days by Ann Patchett Bel Canto by Ann Patchett State of Wonder by Ann Patchett Run by Ann Patchett Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir about Writing and Life by Ann Patchett Our Town by Thornton Wilder Absolution by Alice McDermott Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we take you back in time to a book that is so good it’s ageless. Charlie interviewed author Markus Zusak about his phenomenal novel The Book Thief many, many years ago, and it has been a discovery and an interview that has stayed with him ever since. This week, we interview Markus about the phenomenon of his book and ask him how he came to write such a remarkable modern classic. If you haven’t read The Book Thief, run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore! If you already love it then you are in for a treat as we take a deep dive into the making of one of the great books of our time. Books mentioned in the podcast: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak The Messenger by Markus Zusak Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak Underdogs by Markus Zusak When Dogs Cry by Markus Zusak A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne Cloudstreet by Tim Winton Breath by Tim Winton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historical fiction is the genre this week, and it centers around a lesser WWII phenomenon. During the Blitz, many British families sent their children abroad to live with families in Canada or the United States to keep them safe until the war was over. Beyond That, the Sea by debut novelist Laura Spence-Ash, beautifully weaves the tale of one of these children. Sent abroad by parents torn apart by their decision, Bea lives with an affluent family with whom she falls in love. She spends the rest of her life reckoning with that love how it shapes her sense of self. Our bookstore this week is a Las Vegas Gem (yes, we said Vegas) called The Writer’s Block. We hope you will join us. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News. Books mentioned in the podcast: Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash The Waves by Virginia Woolf Fools of Fortune by William Trevor Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë The Magician by Colm Tóibín Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín A Guest at the Feast by Colm Tóibín The Guest by Emma Cline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The History of a Difficult Child is a beautiful and sprawling family story set in Ethiopia during the Socialist Revolution. It is narrated by a young girl born into a family fighting against the system for their Christian beliefs, while being systematically relieved of their wealth and livelihood due to the oppressive incoming regime. It’s riveting, ambitious, and utterly compelling. And you know what else? It’s funny. Really funny! Take a journey with debut novelist Mihret Sibhat into The History of a Difficult Child, you will be so glad you did. Books mentioned in this podcast: The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz Go as a River by Shelley Read Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg Family Sayings by Natalia Ginzburg All our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid My Garden (Book) by Jamaica Kincaid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Second Horror Thursday on The Book Case! Kicking off our month, we speak to the incredible Josh Malerman. How does one write a best selling horror novel while riding shotgun in a band van blasting Jerry Garcia from its speakers? And how did Josh decide to revisit his most famous work after living through the real life horror of Covid? The second of five deep dives into the horror genre, we invite you to take a step out of your comfort zone, explore what scares us, and learn how writers like Josh keep us up at night. Books mentioned in the podcast: Bird Box by Josh Malerman Inspection by Josh Malerman Malorie by Josh Malerman Daphne by Josh Malerman Pearl by Josh Malerman Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman Foe by Iain Reeid The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Shining by Stephen King The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Animal Farm by George Orwell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are times where Shelley Read’s Go as a River reads less like a novel and more of a philosophical teaching. Grounded in Buddhist philosophy, this is a beautiful story of love, nature, family and changing times. A lyrical journey of epoch proportions this book has a doomed love affair, a flooded town, an illegitimate child, a heartbreaking abandonment….and Shelley Read writes it all beautifully. As first time novelist, Read has created a journey that you will enjoy every mile of. For a bookstore this week we talk to Appletree Books in Cleveland OH. Books mentioned in the podcast: Go as a River by Shelley Read The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten The Magic of Awareness by Anam Thubten Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard An American Childhood by Annie Dillard Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family Time and Place by Terry Tempest Williams When Women Were Birds: 54 Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams Homecoming by Kate Morton Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Henry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you have never heard of Stéphane Breitwieser don’t feel bad, we hadn’t either. Turns out he is one of the most successful art thieves of all time. In his hey day, he could steal more than once a day (museums, cathedrals, chateaus…you name it); billions of dollars worth of art. That’s right, billions. Thank goodness for the writer Michael Finkel who brings us a page turning book that tells the story of the most incredible art thief you’ve never heard of. The book is called, appropriately, The Art Thief. And this book certainly proves that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. We are back with a book store this week, Head House Books. Books mentioned in this podcast: The Art Thief by Michael Finkel True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel The Journalist and Murderer by Janet Malcolm Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann The 12 Live of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Outline by Rachel Cusk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We wanted to affectionately title this episode, Kate and Charlie are really smart and have great taste, but ABC thought that would be a little obnoxious. Maybe it is, but we are and we do. To prove it, this week we have recut Barbara Kingsolver and Hernan Diaz into one episode. Their novels Demon Copperhead and Trust (respectively) are sharing the Pulitzer this year, and deservedly so. We knew these two novels were something special, and so are their authors. We are very happy that these two talented authors share the prize. Their novels are breathtaking-one about extreme wealth, the other about extreme poverty. 2022 was a banner year for fiction, and these two novelists wrote two of the best. Enjoy! Books mentioned in this podcast: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver King Lear by William Shakespeare A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Trust by Hernan Diaz The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Middlemarch by George Eliot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Eggers is a writer who does not want to be put in a box. His writing often defies easy cataloging or genre classification and he doesn’t like to be specific about who his readers should be. His latest, THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE could be loosely described as an animal fable, but it isn’t exactly that. And it could be described as a book that is good for younger readers, but it isn’t exactly that either. Here is what we ARE certain of: It’s wonderful, funny, engaging, original and full of joy! Eggers’ words, his writing and his characters will stay with you long after you close the book. We also talk to his illustrator for EYES, the very talented and prolific Shawn Harris, whose inspirations and technique might surprise you.The Eyes and The Impossible by Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris What Can a Citizen Do? By Dave Eggers, Illustrated by Shawn Harris The Every by Dave Eggers The Circle by Dave Eggers Zeitoun by Dave Eggers The Parade by Dave Eggers The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers The Wild Things by Dave Eggers You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Speaking with the Angel edited by Nick Hornby Corduroy by Don Freeman Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Old Heart by Peter Ferry The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter Busy, Busy Town by Richard Scarry I am a Bunny by Ole Risom Dune by Frank Herbert Christine by Stephen King Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris A Polar Bear in the Snow by Shawn Harris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate is dragging her father by the collar to the horror section of the bookstore and the first Thursday of every month for awhile is going to be Horror Thursday on The Book Case. And do we have a treat for our first episode: Christopher Golden! One of the great Godfathers of Horror Lit, Chris has done it all: short stories, screenplays, graphic novels, novels, fan fic...he is a renaissance talent in horror literature. We talk to him about horror, why it works, how it works and why we love it. Trust Kate, this genre has some terrific talent and if you try some of these books, you won't be sorry (scared maybe, but not sorry). Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Snowblind by Christopher Golden Ararat by Christopher Golden Road of Bones by Christopher Golden All Hallows by Christopher Golden The Ferryman by Christopher Golden The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden Tin Men by Christopher Golden The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden Cemetery Girl Trilogy by Christopher Golden and Charlaine Harris Ocean Dark by Christopher Golden The Stand by Stephen King Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving Bird Box by Josh Malerman The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Different Seasons by Stephen King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our principal guest this week is James Comey. Yes, that James Comey. Ex-FBI Director James Comey. Some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters think he may have cost her the election in 2016. Comey says that Donald Trump, once president, invited him to dinner and asked for a pledge of loyalty. Comey refused. Trump eventually fired him but his administration denied the president ever made the ask. That, in short, is part of the story of Jim Comey who, after being a U-S Attorney and then head of the FBI, found himself out of a job in 2017 and a controversial figure. What did he decide to do? Well, Jim Comey decided he’d like to spend the rest of his life being a novelist. His first book - a mystery, a legal thriller, and a novel demonstrating his inside knowledge of America’s justice system is “Central Park West.” It’s a good one - not just for a first effort, but a good one, period. He’s a good story teller - he’s a good conversationalist. “Central Park West” will be in book stores May 30th - he talked with us just before publication and he is very much worth a listen just as his book is worth your time. Our friend Otto Penzler of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York published the Comey novel. He joined us as well. Books mentioned in this podcast: Central Park West: A Crime Novel by James Comey Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency and Trust by James Comey A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr Desert Star by Michael Connelly I Will Find You by Harlan Coben A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins takes us inside the classroom to show us the daily lives of teachers as they fight against incredible odds to educate our young. An eye-opening, and at times shocking look at the American Education system and its inadequacies. Robbins asks the reader to forget all of their preconceived notions of teaching. The joys you think teachers know? They are bigger than you imagined. The difficulty and pain of operating in a system that doesn’t recognize your importance? Worse than you can fathom. Take a listen, read the book, and thank a teacher in your life today! Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The Teachers: A Year Inside America's Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandra Robbins The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power by Alexandra Robbins The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital by Alexandra Robbins The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Dianne Ravitch It by Stephen King Ararat by Christopher Golden Snowblind by Christopher Golden The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden Road of Bones by Christopher Golden All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henry Grabar is a writer for Slate, the online magazine, and he has written “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.” Now you probably are thinking, “I’ve never read a book about parking. A whole book? Come on.” Well, we thought the same thing but we were intrigued. So we read it and were engrossed. It is fascinating! It is funny! And it tells you so much about a subject on which we all have such strong opinions and about which we all suffer such frustrations. Just some facts he relates - major ones like “more square footage is devoted to parking each car (in America) than to housing each person” - and minor ones like Disney World has 45,000 parking spaces. 10 to 20 families lose their cars there every day.” Intrigued? Read on. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News. Our bookstore this week is a grandaddy of second hand book stores - Second Story Books in the Washington, D.C. area. Books mentioned in the podcast: Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson by Hunter S. Thompson Volumes 1-4 of the Gonzo Papers - Essays by Hunter S. Thompson The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Barry's sense of humor should be on display at the Smithsonian; it is truly one America's great treasures. His latest novel, Swamp Story, is set in the back woods of the Florida Everglades. That's all we are going to tell you, because the plot is so wonderfully wild, you wouldn't believe us anyway. Join us while Dave makes us laugh, and then stick around for our conversation with Mitchell Kaplan at Books & Books. As a Florida bookseller, he has important things to say about why bookstores are on the frontlines in the fight against book bans. Books mentioned in this podcast: Swamp Story by Dave Barry Big Trouble by Dave Barry Best State Ever by Dave Barry Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States by Dave Barry Lessons from Lucy by Dave Barry Insane City by Dave Barry Dave Barry's Complete guide to guys by Dave Barry Tricky Business by Dave Barry Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by Dave Barry Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down! by Dave Barry You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry The Benchley Roundup by Robert Benchley Love Conquers All by Robert Benchley My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How They Grew by Robert Benchley Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen Jeeves in the Offing by P. G. Wodehouse Catch-22 by Joseph Heller The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Go as a River by Shelley Read Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brendan Slocumb is a renaissance man who writes his novels with a mission in mind. A violin virtuoso, music teacher, clarinetist AND oboist, he is also a best selling author who writes brilliantly about the world of music. His books could be classed as mysteries but they also bring into stark, painful relief the still largely white and privileged world of classical music. He reminds his readers that there is talent everywhere and anywhere, and he reminds us to look and listen closely to what we might ignore with his latest novel, Symphony of Secrets . We then talk to Afa Dworkin, President and Creative Director of the “Sphinx Organization.” “Sphinx” is doing amazing work, making sure that the country's orchestras reflect the diversity of our population. We will go back to bookstores next week, but we wanted to honor Brendan by talking to an organization doing work about which he is so passionate. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you aren't seeing the world through the eyes of J. Ryan Stradal's fiction, you are missing out on something truly special. He writes largely about the Midwest, specifically the state of Minnesota as well as food and drink. That may sound limiting, but his talent is without limit and he fills his pages with themes of family and shared humanity. His newest is Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. It is the most personal journey he has ever taken. Take the ride with him, you won't be sorry. Our bookstore this week is Comma, a bookshop, (yes, both the word and the punctuation mark) a new bookstore in the Twin Cities that anyone who lives there should line up to visit. Books mentioned in the podcast: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal The World According to Garp by John Irving Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott The Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles Frazier comes across as a writer in love with America. Beyond the rolling plains and purple mountains majesty, he loves the stories of average Americans in extraordinary times and it comes across in everything he writes. His latest novel, The Trackers, is the most modern novel he has ever written and it takes place 100 years ago. His writing captures the optimism of the American ideal, and his descriptive powers continue to astound. We talk to him about his latest, and what it was about the Great Depression that inspired the book. This week, we also include an interview with Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari, the two founders of 826, a non profit that teaches kids to express themselves through writing. Books mentioned in this podcast: The Trackers by Charles Frazier Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier Varina by Charles Frazier Nightwoods by Charles Frazier The Significance of the Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Has the United States ever had a female president? An easy question to answer. Has it ever had an ‘acting’ female President? Harder to answer. Check out Rebecca Boggs Roberts' very readable biography of Edith Wilson, Woodrow Wilson’s second wife, and make up your own mind. The book is Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson. Following her husband’s stroke in 1919, Edith Wilson decided, for reasons she thought critical to her husband’s well-being, to hide the extent of his incapacities from the public, from the press, from Congress, from his cabinet, even from Wilson himself. She assumed some of the powers of the office herself. Could a First Lady get away with such audacity today in the age of social media and intense news media scrutiny? Not a chance. Was her self-justification reasonable? All those questions are what makes Edith Wilson such a complex and controversial character and a worthy subject for Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Books mentioned in this podcast: Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise of and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson by Rebecca Boggs Roberts The Suffragist's Parade: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote by Rebecca Boggs Roberts My Memoir by Edith Bolling Wilson Wilson by A. Scott Berg Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we turn to non-fiction and events in a decade of U.S. history that is unknown to most Americans. The 1920’s were known for remarkable social change. In the wake of World War I, there was cultural exuberance, the first real skyscrapers, jazz age, flappers, the Charleston, and also prohibition. There was also a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, and surprising to many, it came in the north. As award-winning journalist Timothy Egan writes in his remarkable new book to be released April 4th A Fever in the Heartland, the Klan held a lot of power in the state of Indiana. As a vicious, sadistic, charlatan, Eagan says the KKK leader David C. Stephenson encouraged millions in Indiana alone to join the Klan. Egan says one in three white men in the state, not to mention women and children, took the oath. And this in a state that had lost 25,000 Union soldiers in the Civil War just 50 years previous. Egan writes that Stephenson thought himself above the law - “I am the law” he declared. But his brutal treatment of one woman, largely unknown to history, Madge Oberholtzer, brought him down and began the disintegration of the Klan, not only in Indiana, but in the rest of the country. It’s a sobering story well told by Egan. One, we felt, worthy of attention by all of us. Books mentioned in the podcast: A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith by Timothy Egan Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Timothy Egan Lasso the Wind: Away to the New West by Timothy Egan Breaking Blue by Timothy Egan The Good Rain by Timothy Egan The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Blue Nights by Joan Didion The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harlan Coben is as successful a mystery writer as we have in the country today. He is probably known best for his page-turner plots. In his more than 35 books published to date he keeps you guessing throughout. I Will Find You is his latest - just out. And it’s a bit of a departure for Coben as he will tell you - a little more than half way through the book you find out who the bad guys are. That’s rare for a Coben thriller, but none the less gripping and it will still keep you guessing. Also, as you will find in this podcast, Harlen Coben is not only a good writer, but a good talker to boot. Our book store this week is “[Words]” in Maplewood, New Jersey. By no means is this a typical bookstore - it is one with a highly commendable mission. It has pursued that mission for 15 years and now is participating in a fascinating experiment to further the mission. As a result, it is Harlen Coben’s favorite bookstore and we talk to them this week.I Will Find You by Harlen Coben Books (and articles) mentioned in the podcast: Tell No One by Harlan Coben Win by Harlan Coben Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben The Key To My Father by Harlan Coben https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/opinion/a-work-of-fiction-the-key-to-my-father.html Marathon Man by William Goldman The New York Times Opinion | Opinion | A WORK OF FICTION; The Key To My Father (Published 2003) __ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quite a few of you have written us that you would be interested in hearing from a book editor, so we went out and find one of the best. Beverly Horowitz, Senior Vice President of Delacorte Press which is a division of Random House, joins us for a fascinating talk about what she does and how she does it. She has been editing for decades and recently has taken to adapting popular and important non fiction books for YA readers, a process that also fascinated us. After talking to Beverly, one of her authors joins us to give an author’s perspective on the process: Heather McGhee, the writer of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. The Sum of Us is not necessarily a “simple” book for YA audiences, it presents complex arguments about how institutional racism hurts our policy making and our economy. How did the two of them work with this book and adapt it to YA audiences? What does Beverly do with an author who won’t take her advice? How does a book go from the author’s printer to the book store shelves? We answer all of that on this week’s episode of The Book Case. Don’t miss it! Books mentioned in this podcast: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee Look Homeword, Angel by Thomas Wolfe Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (Born a Crime by Trevor Noah YA edition) My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor by Sonia Sotomayor Beloved by Toni Morrison Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion I Will Find You by Harlan Coben Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Oscar Week! A week we’ll always love… even if we haven’t seen the all the movies. Our guest this week is Michael Schulman, author of Oscar Wars, a definitive bio of the awards ceremony and the organization that created it. From the catfights of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland to the slap heard round the world, this book has it all. Halle Berry, Frank Capra, Steven Spielberg, John Wayne, Dennis Hopper, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Citizen Kanes, they are all here and you don’t want to miss any of them. We loved every moment of this conversation…and we didn’t want you to miss a thing. So, no bookstore again this week, but next week we are back with a bookstore, promise. Books mentioned in the podcast: Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion “Jumpers” by Tad Friend for The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/13/jumpers Hollywood: The Oral History by Sam Wasson Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, The Book Case welcomes journalist Alex Prud’homme! His new book Dinner with the President explores the long history of food and American diplomacy. Did you know that the purchase of Pearl Harbor came about because of the first official state dinner ever? Did you know that many believe our involvement in WWII was predicated on a king and hot dog? These are all great stories and this book is packed with them. Find out why Julia Child played and still plays a central role in White House culinary philosophy and what Nixon ate almost every day for lunch….it’s all fascinating! There were so many great stories we didn’t want you to miss any of them, so we forgo a bookstore this week.Dinner with the President by Alex Prud'homme Books mentioned in the podcast: The French Chef in America by Alex Prud'homme My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme The Cell Game by Alex Prud'homme The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century by Alex Prud'homme Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know by Alex Prud'homme France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child by Alex Prud'homme and Katie Pratt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five years ago Rebecca Makkai was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book award. Now, in what is a treat for readers, Rebecca Makkai has just released a brand new novel, “I Have Some Questions for You”. It is a marvelously plotted mystery/novel about a podcaster, Bodie Kane, who returns to her prep school to teach a mini-course. One of her students wants to reinvestigate, with a podcast, a murder that occurred when Bodie was a student and for which a school staffer may have been wrongly convicted. The novel investigates the vagaries of memory, the realities of violence against women, and the near-impossibility of reversing a years-old conviction. The book has received considerable pre-publication praise, deservedly so. And our bookstore this week has a wonderful story. The brand new Beacon Hill Books and Cafe in downtown Boston, at times, has customers lined up to get in. Find out why. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai Music for Wartime: Stories by Rebecca Makkai The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey Paige of Beacon Hill by Sarah S. Brannen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amity Gaige is our featured author this week - her latest book is Sea Wife. But when we say latest - it’s been out for almost three years. With apologies, we just discovered it. Shame on us. It’s a book about a couple struggling with marital problems who decide (well the husband decides) to buy a sailboat and head for open waters. His wife isn’t crazy about the idea of sailing around the world so they settle on the Caribbean. That proves to be difficult enough. Amity makes marvelous use of foreshadowing. The wife Juliet is writing her remembrances of the sail. Her husband Michael is heard through his log book of the sail. Why? Well that’s part of the mystery incorporated in a good sea yarn. Our bookstore this week is a good one. Book Ends in Winchester, MA under new ownership -- Lauren Tiedemann and Jillian Hartline. Books mentioned in this podcast: Sea Wife by Amity Gaige Shroeder by Amity Gaige O My Darling by Amity Gaige The Folded World by Amity Gaige The Candy House by Jennifer Egan What You are Going Through by Sigrid Nunez The Silent Woman by Janet Malcom Trust Exercise by Susan Choi Rabbit, Run by John Updike  The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton The Little French Bridal Shop by Jennifer Dupee The Paris Bookseller by Keri Maher The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julie Otsuka doesn't just write, she crafts. Trained as a painter, Otsuka took up writing as her second career, and man oh man are we lucky she did. Her latest, The Swimmers, is just coming out in paperback and it is one of the most lyrical rich character portraits we have read. Julie joins us to talk about her unique style, and to tell us how she has kept each one of her novels to less than 200 pages. Trust us, each page is packed with beauty. Our bookstore this week is Book Ends in Winchester Massachusetts with its two brand new owners. Books mentioned in this podcast: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka When the Emporer was Divine by Julie Otsuka The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka Second Place by Rachel Cusk A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk The Outline Trilogy by Rachel Cusk The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway Camino Island by John Grisham A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Art of Cooking by Jacques Pepin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stuart Gibbs is a man who loves his audience and his audience loves him. He has written six series of books for kids and all them offer a glimpse into the glee that Stuart Gibbs takes in the stories he tells. Whether it’s blowing up whales, going to a secretly run CIA training school for kids or a knight who never meant to become one, Stuart Gibbs takes real pleasure in entertaining his readers. One of his newest passions is turning his best selling work into graphic novels. His first series being turned into a paneled masterpiece is the Spy School series. His collaboration with illustrating Anjan Sarkar took a surprising turn. Our bookstore this week is Read Herring (soon to be New South Books) in Montgomery Alabama. Books mentioned in the podcast: Moon Base Alpha Series by Stuart Gibbs Once Upon a Tim Series by Stuart Gibbs Spy School Series by Stuart Gibbs Spy School: the Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs Spy Camp: the Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs The FunJungle Collection by Stuart Gibbs Whale Done by Stuart Gibbs The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers edited by Rose Brock The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton The Deep by Nick Cutter Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham Children of Dust by Marlin Barton Tell the World You're a Wildflower by Jennifer Horne Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ayana Gray doesn't just write books, she creates worlds. At 29 years old, she is already one of the best selling YA authors on the market (yes, it's ok to be jealous). Her series, which became Beasts of Prey and the more recently released Beasts of Ruin, presents a lush Pan-African fantasy world that will suck you in and won't let go. As page turners with mature themes, these books are the perfect way for The Book Case to start talking about fantasy. Books Mentioned in the podcast: Beasts of Ruin by Ayana Gray Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth Little Thieves by Margaret Owen How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal The Belgariad by David Eddings Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Karabian Red by Ashley N. Silver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have noticed that most weeks in our ‘rapid fire’ questions to featured authors, we ask if they have a favorite author. Little secret: Sometimes we are looking for ideas. A few weeks ago, John Irving told us he would read anything John Boyne has written just because Boyne wrote it. So we got busy reading John Boyne. It turns out he has a new book released just this past November, All the Broken Places, that is a continuation of sorts of a book released many years ago that was made into a terrific movie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, that we both saw and admired. All the Broken Places centers around a now 91 year old woman who deals with the shame she feels knowing her father was commandant of Auschwitz, having tried to hide her past for decades. How that haunts her makes for an engrossing read. Thank you to John! Our book store this week is Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.  Books Mentioned in the Podcast: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne All the Broken Places by John Boyne The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne The Absolutist by John Boyne My Brother’s Name is Jessica by John Boyne A History of Loneliness by John Boyne Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne The Boy At The Top Of The Mountain by John Boyne A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne The Echo Chamber by John Boyne The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The Cider House Rules by John Irving The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier Snow by John Banville The Singularities by John Banville The Sea by John Banville Horse by Geraldine Brooks Clay’s Quilt by Silas House Southernmost by Silas House Lark Ascending by Silas House Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond The Date from Hell by Gwenda Bond Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week it is David Sedaris part two - or David Sedaris redux. We loved our conversation with him and as we said last week, were we to limit the conversation to just one podcast, we’d have to cut out some of the good stuff. This week David talks about his empathy for those who come to hear him speak or who ask him to sign a book, his love for reading appearances, how he tries out new material on audiences, and how those audiences don’t seem to remember any of what he read. Listen to the end for a funny anecdote. Our bookstore this week is Arundel Books in Seattle - the store David said was his favorite ‘indie’ in the U-S. Books Mentioned in the Podcast: Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris Calypso by David Sedaris Barrel Fever by David Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020) by David Sedaris SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris Theft by Finding: Diaries (1997-2002) by David Sedaris Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris Naked by David Sedaris Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris The Best of Me by David Sedaris Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff The Collected Short Stories of Tobias Wolff by Tobias Wolff The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Pulp by Charles Bukowski Babel by R.F. Kuang Freshwater for Flowers by Valerie Perrin The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Sedaris is our guest this week and next. Our conversation with him was so delightful and insightful that we could find no way to edit our conversation to just one podcast without leaving out too much of the “good stuff’. David is unique. He writes marvelous essays of observation about modern life drawing much of his material from audiences who come to listen to him read and with whom he spends considerable time interacting. He writes about serious family issues he’s encountered with great humor. He writes about playing a Christmas elf at Macy’s, and how can that fail to draw a chuckle? “Happy-Go-Lucky” is his latest collection of essays. But there are many. We loved everything of his we read. You will too. Books mentioned in this podcast: Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris Calypso by David Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020) by David Sedaris SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris Theft by Finding: Diaries (1997-2002) by David Sedaris Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris Naked by David Sedaris The Best of Me by David Sedaris Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris Barrel Fever by David Sedaris Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It might seem a bit presumptuous to write a three volume autobiography about the first 29 years of your life, wouldn’t you think? But Esmerelda Santiago lived an almost unbelievable first thirty years and writes in such a personal fashion, that reading her story makes you feel as if you’re in the company of a good friend speaking just to you. The first volume, When I was Puerto Rican tells the story of growing up in abject poverty in Puerto Rico with no expectations of anything more. The second volume, Almost a Woman tells of her coming to the United States terrified about what life would be like and through the most improbable of circumstances finding herself in an esteemed school for the performing arts though speaking almost no English. The third volume, The Turkish Lover finds Esmerelda realizing she is a whole lot smarter than the man in her life - applying to Harvard and graduating Magna Cum Laude! How is that for 29 years? If you’re intimidated by three short volumes, just try the first volume and see if you don’t want to go on. And if you’d like to be charmed, listen to Esmerelda’s conversation with us. Books Mentioned in the Podcast: When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago The Turkish Lover by Esmeralda Santiago Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago América's Dream by Esmeralda Santiago The Iliad by Homer The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk Free Puerto Rico by Pedro Albizu Campos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After you’ve bought Sister Sally the alpaca sweater, brother Billy his baseball bat, Mom her mixer and Dad his golf ball retriever, what small presents should you add? A book, of course! Everyone appreciates the thought that goes into giving just the right book. So have no fear, Kate and Charlie are here with what will be our annual “just the right book for everyone’s End-of-year book list.” If you can't find it here, you can’t find it anywhere. Mitchell Kaplan of Florida’s "Books and Books" gives us fiction selections. Bradley Graham of Washington’s "Politics and Prose" on non-fiction, Celia Sack of San Francisco’s "Omnivore Bookstore" on cookbooks, Justin Colussi-Estes of Decatur, Georgia’s 'Little Shop of Stores' on young adult books broken down by age groups, Otto Penzler from New York City’s The Mysterious Bookstore” on mysteries. And best for last, Kate and Charlie ourselves on coffee table books. Why us? Well, we each occasionally drink coffee and we each have a living room table. Oh yeah, and we didn’t want to feel left out. Enjoy! And if you want to give US a present, rate us and write a comment where you get your podcasts. We read ‘em. Happy Holidays listeners! We love you all! We love you all!Non-Fiction: (Bradley Graham) Books mentioned in this podcast: Non-Fiction: (Bradley Graham) Lost and Found: A Memoir by Kathryn Schulz Path Lit By Lightening: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy and the Dawn of American Aviation by John Lancaster Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968 by Thomas E. Ricks Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America by Dahlia Lithwick Mysteries: (Otto Penzler) Desert Star by Michael Connelly A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries Edited by Martin Edwards The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly Coffee Table Books: (Us) Football: Designing the Beautiful Game by James Bird, Sam Handy, Jacques Herzog, Thomas Turner, Eleanor Watson The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan African Art Now by Osei Bonsu The Space Shuttle: A Mission-by-Mission Celebration of NASA’s Extraordinary Spaceflight Program by Roland Miller Cookbooks: (Celia Sack) Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill Leung, Kaitlin Leung, Judy Leung, Sarah Leung What’s for Dessert by Claire Saffitz BUDMO! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen by Anna Voloshyna Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet The Bartender’s Guide to the World: Cocktails and Stories from 75 Places by Lauren Mote Children’s Books: (Justin Colussi-Estes) Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett The Mouse Who Carried a House on His Back by Jonathan Stutzman Everything in Its Place: A Story of Books and Belonging by Pauline David-Sax A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga Thirteen Witches by Jodi Lynn Anderson The Sea of Always (Thirteen Witches Book 2) by Jodi Lynn Anderson Two Degrees by Alan Gratz The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The book is Demon Copperhead , the author is Barbara Kingsolver. That should be enough said. If you read it and don’t come away thinking it is the best book you’ve read this year, it will be among the best. Her book is a prodigious feat on many levels. It is beautifully written. It gives you a sense of a part of America often ignored. It has wonderful characters. It is funny, and she writes it as a parallel to David Copperfield , Charles Dickens' most personal novel. She’s a great writer and a great talker. Give a listen. Our bookstore this week is Rainy Day Books in Kansas City, where the state line runs right through the center of town. Books mentioned in this podcast: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver King Lear by Shakespeare A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Middlemarch by George Eliot Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Love & Saffron by Kim Fay 84 Chairing Cross by Road Helene Hanff Double Agent by Tom Bradby A Single Spy by William Christie I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes The River of Gods by John Speke River of Doubt Candice Millard Radical Kindness: The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Recieving by Angela Santomero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nelson DeMille - to meet him you’d think of him as the prototypical grandfatherly guy, mild-of-manner with a gentle soul. And you’d be right. It would be most unlikely that you’d also spot him as a guy who has written dozens of murder mysteries, spy novels and thrillers that have gained him a devoted audience. He has devised lots of ways to bump off his characters. You must watch out for those grandfatherly types. With 23 books in circulation and over 50 million sold, DeMille still debuts on the bestseller list with each release, and his latest, The Maze, was no exception. The bookstore this week is also an American institution: The Faulkner House Bookstore in New Orleans. The store sells all kinds of books in a space that also happens to be a Faulkner landmark. Books mentioned in this podcast:  The Maze by Nelson DeMille The Gate House by Nelson DeMille The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille The Panther by Nelson DeMille The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille The Charm School by Nelson DeMille The Quest by Nelson DeMille Night Fall by Nelson DeMille Plum Island by Nelson DeMille The Lion’s Game by Nelson DeMille The Lion by Nelson DeMille The Deserter by Nelson and Alex DeMille Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille The Sniper by Nelson DeMille The Hammer of God by Nelson DeMille Spencerville by Nelson DeMille Cathedral by Nelson DeMille By the Rivers of Babylon by Nelson DeMille The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block Superfudge by Judy Blume Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner Some Go Home by Odie Lindsey Welcome to our Senses by Odie Lindsey Collected Stories by William Faulkner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices