The Book Show

The Book Show | Karl Ove Knausgaard – The School of Night

WAMC — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Few contemporary writers have examined the inner life with the intensity and candor of Karl Ove Knausgaard. His latest is “The School of Night.” In it, he interrogates memory, identity, art, and the meaning we try to impose on our lives.

The Book Show | George Saunders – Vigil

WAMC — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

George Saunders is one of the most original voices in American fiction. His new novel, “Vigil,” follows Jill “Doll” Blaine, an afterlife usher summoned to guide an unrepentant oil tycoon toward death. Over one wild night, Saunders confronts power, greed, climate reckoning, and mercy itself.

The Book Show | Patrick Ryan – Buckeye

WAMC — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 20:00:00 +0000

In his newest novel, "Buckeye," Patrick Ryan explores the ways families hold together even as the past threatens to pull them apart. Moving between generations, Ryan explores how we inherit not just our parents’ habits and hopes, but their unfinished business.

The Book Show | Allison Russell – The Antidote [encore airing]

WAMC — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Karen Russell's latest, “The Antidote,” is a dust bowl novel and a reckoning with a nation’s forgetting that enacts the settler amnesia and omissions passed down from generation to generation.

The Book Show | Ron Chernow – Mark Twain

WAMC — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

In his latest biography, “Mark Twain,” Ron Chernow brings to life the man known as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. Chernow peels back the layers of this complex figure, showing us the man behind classics like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Innocents Abroad.”

The Book Show | Ann Packer – Some Bright Nowhere

WAMC — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Ann Packer’s newest novel, “Some Bright Nowhere,” marks a profound return after a decade: it tells the story of Eliot and Claire, married nearly forty years in a quiet Connecticut town, facing the toughest chapter of their lives when Claire’s long-running illness draws toward its end.

The Book Show | Susan Orlean – Joyride

WAMC — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Michael Connelly – The Proving Ground

WAMC — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 20:00:00 +0000

Michael Connelly has long been a master at mapping the evolving landscape of crime and justice in America, and in his latest, "The Proving Ground," he turns his attention to one of the defining questions of the moment: what happens when artificial intelligence crosses dangerous ethical lines—and real people pay the price?

The Book Show | Chloe Dalton – Raising Hare

WAMC — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:00:00 +0000

When Chloe Dalton, a city-dwelling professional with a high-pressure job, finds a newly born hare - endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm - she is compelled to give it a chance at survival. The new book, “Raising Hare,” is the story of their journey together.

The Book Show | John Iriving – Queen Esther

WAMC — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

John Irving has long been one of America’s most distinctive and beloved novelists. With his new novel, “Queen Esther,” Irving once again returns to the questions that have animated his career: What shapes a life? How do we carry the burdens of the past? And how does love anchor us through the most unpredictable turns?

The Book Show | Jeffrey Archer – End Game

WAMC — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Jeffrey Archer's novels have always balanced suspense with insight into the corridors of power. From “Cain and Abel” to “The Clifton Chronicles,” he investigates ambition, betrayal and redemption on an international scale. His latest, “End Game” is swift and elegant and full of moral complexity.

The Book Show | Dan Brown – The Secret of Secrets

WAMC — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Dan Brown’s new novel, "The Secret of Secrets," marks the return of Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbologist. This time, Langdon’s journey takes him to Prague where a lecture on human consciousness quickly unravels into a mystery involving a vanished scientist, an ancient manuscript, and a secret with world-altering implications.

The Book Show | Mona Awad – We Love You, Bunny

WAMC — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Mona Awad’s books walk the line between the surreal and the deeply human. Her latest novel, “We Love You, Bunny,” is a darkly glittering fable about love, obsession, and the masks we wear.

The Book Show | Dan Chaon – One of Us

WAMC — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Author Dan Chaon’s latest, “One of Us,” carries readers into early twentieth-century America where a traveling carnival offers both wonder and menace. At its heart are orphaned twins whose bond is tested as they navigate a world filled with outsiders, performers, and predators.

The Book Show | Fannie Flagg – Something to Look Forward To: Fictions

WAMC — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Fannie Flagg is probably best known as an actress, comedian and author of the classic novel, “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.” Her new book, “Something to Look Forward To: Fictions,” is an interconnected collection of stories. where we encounter voices that are funny, tender, mischievous, and wise.

The Book Show | Elizabeth Strout – Tell Me Everything [encore airing]

WAMC — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout’s latest, “Tell Me Everything,” returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, forge new friendships, make difficult decisions about love, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”

The Book Show | Ken Follett – Circle of Days

WAMC — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 19:00:00 +0000

Author Ken Follett’s career has ranged from Cold War thrillers to sweeping historical sagas, making him one of the world’s most widely read novelists. His latest work, “Circle of Days,” takes us back thousands of years to when communities on the plains of England first attempted to shape the monumental stones we now call Stonehenge.

The Book Show | Sam Sussman – The Boy from the North Country

WAMC — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Sam Sussman’s debut novel, “Boy From the North Country,” is a moving story of love, loss, and identity. When twenty-six-year-old Evan returns home to care for his dying mother, June, he begins to uncover long-kept secrets. Chief among them: the possibility that his father is Bob Dylan.

The Book Show – John Boyne – The Elements

WAMC — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

John Boyne is one of Ireland’s most accomplished contemporary novelists, perhaps best known for “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” His latest, “The Elements,” is structured around the four classical elements—Water, Earth, Fire, and Air—and presents four distinct yet thematically connected stories.

The Book Show | Stacey Abrams – Coded Justice

WAMC — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Stacey Abrams is a nationally recognized political leader, voting rights advocate, and bestselling author whose new novel, “Coded Justice,” delivers a mix of legal investigation, political intrigue, and the high-stakes AI technology shaping our medical future.

The Book Show | Kate Russo – Until Alison

WAMC — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Acclaimed author Kate Russo's latest, “Until Alison,” introduces us to Rachel Nardelli as she investigates the mysterious death of her childhood rival, Alison. As buried secrets resurface, Rachel is forced to confront their complicated past and her own unsettling memories.

The Book Show | Bruce Holsinger – Culpability

WAMC — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Bruce Holsinger’s new novel, “Culpability,” is an emotionally charged story that asks some of the most pressing questions of our time: Who bears responsibility when tragedy strikes? How do guilt and accountability ripple through lives?

The Book Show | Jason Mott – People Like Us

WAMC — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Jason Mott, National Book Award-winning author of “Hell of a Book,” returns with “People Like Us;” a book that confronts the invisible forces shaping our identities and our relationships. Mott now turns his lens to lives where truth is slippery, memory is contested, and the past refuses to stay buried.

The Book Show | Sue Halpern – What We Leave Behind

WAMC — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

It's the perennial question: Are we a product of how we were raised or is our identity hard wired by our genetic inheritance? These questions are explored in Sue Halpern’s new novel “What We Leave Behind.” Halpern is the author of seven books of fiction and non-fiction and scholar in residence at Middlebury College.

The Book Show | Jess Walter – So Far Gone

WAMC — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Jess Walter, the New York Times bestselling author of “Beautiful Ruins” and “The Cold Millions,” returns with “So Far Gone.” The novel centers on Rhys Kinnick, a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren and find his missing daughter.

The Book Show | Alison Bechdel – Spent

WAMC — Tue, 27 May 2025 19:00:00 +0000

Celebrated cartoonist and “Fun Home” author Alison Bechdel returns with “Spent: A Comic Novel,” a sharp, funny, and self-aware look at art, aging, and the absurdity of success. Set on a goat farm in Vermont, Bechdel (both author and character) grapples with writer’s block, late-stage capitalism, and the unintended consequences of cultural fame.

The Book Show | Gary Shteyngart – Vera, Or Faith

WAMC — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:00:00 +0000

Gary Shteyngart’s latest novel, “Vera, or Faith,” is set in a near-future America wrestling with authoritarian politics and cultural anxiety. The story is told through the eyes of 10-year-old Vera - a sharp, observant child navigating a fractured family and a society teetering on the edge.

The Book Show | Ron Chernow – Mark Twain

WAMC — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Wally Lamb – The River is Waiting

WAMC — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:00:00 +0000

In his latest novel, “The River Is Waiting,” Wally Lamb gives us a story about one man’s fall and uncertain redemption. Corby Ledbetter, a married, father of twins, makes a tragic mistake that sends him to prison and shatters his family. Behind bars, he faces the consequences of addiction, grief, and guilt—while searching for a path to forgiveness.

The Book Show – Rick Atkinson – The Fate of the Day

WAMC — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Rick Atkinson has just published the second volume of his American Revolution trilogy, "The Fate of the Day," covering the middle years of the war. Benjamin Franklin was wooing the French while George Washington was pleading with Congress to deliver the money, men, and material he needed to continue the fight.

The Book Show | Richard Russo – Life And Art

WAMC — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo is known for books like “Empire Falls,” “Nobody’s Fool,” and “Straight Man,” having long chronicled working-class America with wit, empathy, and a sharp eye for character. His latest, “Life & Art,” is a thoughtful and very funny collection of essays that explore the deeply personal side of a writer’s life.

The Book Show | Chris Bohjalian – The Jackal’s Mistress

WAMC — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Set during the final stretch of the Civil War, author Chris Bohjalian’s “The Jackal’s Mistress” tells the story of Libby, a woman stuck in the South with a missing husband and a whole lot of moral questions. When she finds a nearly dead Union officer in the woods, she decides to save him. With war raging around them, Libby has to choose between loyalty and compassion.

The Book Show | Helen Phillips – Hum [encore]

WAMC — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:51:15 +0000

Helen Phillips is one of the most interesting and original writers working today. In her latest novel, “Hum,” she turns her eye to marriage, motherhood, and selfhood in a world compromised by global warming and artificial intelligence.

The Book Show | Miranda July – All Fours [encore]

WAMC — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 03:00:00 +0000

“All Fours,” a new novel by Miranda July, tells the story of a semi-famous artist who announces her plan to drive cross-country on a one woman quest for a new kind of freedom. The book is part absurd entertainment and part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist.

The Book Show | Russell Shorto – Taking Manhattan

WAMC — Tue, 27 May 2025 15:00:00 +0000

In 2004, Historian Russell Shorto published “The Island at the Center of the World,” a book about Manhattan and the role of the Dutch in making New York (and America) what it is today. His new book, “Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America,” continues the story.

The Book Show | Adrian McKinty – Hang On St. Christopher

WAMC — Tue, 20 May 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Adrian McKinty’s latest novel, “Hang on St. Christopher,” brings readers to July 1992 when The Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five years. McKinty’s character, Sean Duffy, is assigned to his most violent and dangerous case yet, and the future of the burgeoning “peace process” may depend on it.

The Book Show | Joy Harjo – Washing My Mother’s Body

WAMC — Tue, 06 May 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Poet Joy Harjo’s poems are described as musical, intimate, political and wise, intertwining ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love. Her latest book, “Washing My Mother’s Body: A Ceremony for Grief,” explores the complexity of a daughter’s grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother’s life.

The Book Show | Chris Hayes – The Sirens’ Call

WAMC — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 19:00:00 +0000

Chris Hayes is the Emmy Award-winning host of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.” In his new book, “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource,” he writes about attention as a resource – one that is being drawn away from citizens in ways they don’t even realize. This episode of The Book Show was recorded at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, New York in an event presented by Oblong Books.

The Book Show | Emma Donoghue – The Paris Express

WAMC — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 19:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Karen Russell – The Antidote

WAMC — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 15:00:40 +0000

Karen Russell's latest, “The Antidote,” is a dust bowl novel and a reckoning with a nation’s forgetting that enacts the settler amnesia and omissions passed down from generation to generation.

The Book Show | Colum McCann – Twist

WAMC — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Colum McCann is the New York Times bestselling author of “Let the Great World Spin.” His new novel, “Twist,” tells a propulsive story of rupture and repair in the digital age, delving into a hidden world deep under the ocean.

The Book Show | Julia Alvarez – The Cemetery of Untold Stories [encore airing]

WAMC — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Julia Alvarez, bestselling author of “In the Time of the Butterflies” and “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents,” returns with “The Cemetery of Untold Stories” - a novel about storytelling that reminds us that the events of our lives are never truly finished, even at the end.

The Book Show | Allegra Goodman – Isola

WAMC — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Charlotte Wood – Stone Yard Devotional

WAMC — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Hailed by The Booker Prize judges as a “fierce and philosophical interrogation of human existence,” Charlotte Wood’s “Stone Yard Devotional” chronicles “one woman’s inward journey to make sense of the world and her life when conflicts and chaos are abundant in both realms.”

The Book Show | Robert Crais – The Big Empty

WAMC — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, race to find a terrifying, unidentified killer in "The Big Empty," the 20th Elvis Cole novel. Author Robert Crais delivers Cole and Pike's toughest case yet, testing their loyalty to their clients and themselves.

The Book Show | Scott Turow – Presumed Guilty

WAMC — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Scott Turow’s latest novel is “Presumed Guilty” - a sequel to “Presumed Innocent,” the #1 bestseller that redefined the legal thriller and is the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever. The book examines whether the system can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

The Book Show | Adam Ross – Playworld

WAMC — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Sheila Heti – Alphabetical Diaries [encore airing]

WAMC — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

“Alphabetical Diaries” by Sheila Heti contains a decade’s worth of thoughts, arranged in alphabetical order. The book is a chronicle of the self, of the fundamentals and idiosyncrasies of human experience, that plays out thrillingly in the space that Heti has staked out between life and art, reality and fiction.

The Book Show | Kaveh Akbar – Martyr! [Encore airing]

WAMC — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Poet Kaveh Akbar joins us to discuss his first novel “Martyr!” which follows Cyrus Shams on a journey of introspection and discovery. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet. His obsession with martyrs and dealing with the death of his mother drives him to examine the mysteries of his past.

The Book Show | Pico Iyer – Aflame

WAMC — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Pico Iyer is the acclaimed and bestselling author of more than a dozen books translated into twenty-three languages, most recently “The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise” and “The Art of Stillness.” His latest, “Aflame,” is an exploration of the abiding clarity and calm to be found in quiet retreat.

The Book Show | Tim Matheson – Damn Glad To Meet You

WAMC — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

For the past seven decades, Tim Matheson has been an on-screen favorite in Hollywood. In his new memoir, "Damn Glad to Meet You," Matheson looks at his illustrious career, and reveals what it was like to learn from and work alongside the greats, including Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke, Steven Spielberg, and Aaron Sorkin.

The Book Show | Alafair Burke – The Note

WAMC — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Alafair Burke is the Edgar-nominated, New York Times best-selling author of fourteen novels of suspense. Her latest page-turner is “The Note.” The book follows three longtime friends who, despite their best intentions, don’t always bring out the best in one another.

The Book Show | Percival Everett – James (encore airing)

WAMC — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“James,” by Percival Everett, is a reimagining of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” told from the point of view of enslaved person, Jim. While many narrative set pieces of “Huckleberry Finn” remain in place, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

The Book Show | 1901 – Kristin Hannah – The Women

WAMC — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“The Women,” a novel by Kristin Hannah, is set at a pivotal time in American history: the Vietnam era. It is an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous situation and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics.

The Book Show | Mark Haddon – Dogs and Monsters

WAMC — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Booker Prize finalist Mark Haddon, author of the internationally bestselling novel, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” returns with “Dogs and Monsters: Stories.” The story collection features eight mesmerizing tales exploring what ultimately makes us human.

The Book Show | Billy Collins – Water, Water

WAMC — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Billy Collins is a former Poet Laureate of the United States and is the author of twelve collections of poetry. His latest is Water, Water: Poems. It is a collection of sixty new poems where Collins explores the subtle beauties and ironies of daily life.

The Book Show | Danzy Senna – Colored Television

WAMC — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“Colored Television” by Danzy Senna is a take on love and ambition, failure and reinvention, and the racial-identity-industrial complex. The book follows Jane, a novelist, as she struggles to create a picture-perfect life with her husband and kids. Jane learns being a writer is hard and working in Hollywood is even harder.

The Book Show | Richard Price – Lazarus Man

WAMC — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

In his new novel, “Lazarus Man,” Richard Price presents a rich tapestry of lives intertwining and a portrait of a neighborhood in the midst of change.

The Book Show | Ian Rankin – Midnight and Blue

WAMC — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of John Rebus. His latest, “Midnight and Blue,” is his 25th novel in the Rebus series.

The Book Show | Susan Minot – Don’t Be a Stranger

WAMC — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Susan Minot is an award-winning novelist, short-story writer, poet, and screenwriter. Her new novel, “Don't Be a Stranger,” centers on the relationship between a younger man and an older single mother. It is a story about erotic obsession, the hunger for intimacy, communication, and oblivion.

The Book Show | Edwidge Danticat – We’re Alone: Essays

WAMC — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Edwidge Danticat has enriched and enlarged American literature with her novels and short stories about Haiti. Her latest, “We’re Alone,” is an essay collection that explores her profound and enduring connection to Haiti, as well as a deep concern for her family, her beloved island and the world.

The Book Show | Liz Moore – The God of the Woods

WAMC — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Author Liz Moore transports readers into a thrilling drama richly set against summertime in the Adirondacks in “The God of the Woods.” The novel follows the mysteries of a dynastic American family, the secrets of the summer camp nestled in their estate, the tragic history of a blue-collar community, and the disappearance of a young girl at the center of it all.

The Book Show | Roddy Doyle – The Women Behind the Door

WAMC — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Roddy Doyle’s latest novel, The Women Behind the Door, is a powerful mother-daughter story. At sixty-six, Paula Spencer has finally started to live her life. That is until her eldest daughter turns up on the doorstep one day. She has left her family and come to stay.

The Book Show | Lauren Groff – The Vaster Wilds (encore airing)

WAMC — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author. Her new novel, “The Vaster Wilds,” is at once an adventure story and a penetrating fable about trying to find a new way of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism. It tells the story of America in miniature, through one girl at a hinge point in history.

The Book Show | Richard Powers – Playground

WAMC — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Richard Powers’ bestselling novel, "The Overstory," won the Pulitzer Prize and has more than 1 million copies in print. His new novel, "Playground," captures the beauty and loss of the ocean, following four lives: a marine biologist, an artist, a schoolteacher, and an AI pioneer as they intersect on an island in French Polynesia.

The Book Show | Louise Erdrich – The Mighty Red

WAMC — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 21:00:00 +0000

In her new novel, “The Mighty Red,” Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich tells a story of love, natural forces, spiritual yearnings, and the tragic impact of uncontrollable circumstances on ordinary people's lives.

The Book Show – Amor Towles

WAMC — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 15:29:00 +0000

Amor Towles is the author of New York Times bestsellers “Rules of Civility,” “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and “The Lincoln Highway.” The three novels have collectively sold more than five million copies. His latest is a collection of stories: “Table for Two: Fictions.” He is also editor of this year’s “The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners.”

The Book Show | Elizabeth Strout – Tell Me Everything

WAMC — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Book Show | Peter Heller – Burn

WAMC — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Peter Heller is the best-selling author of "Burn," a novel about two men - friends since boyhood - who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence.

The Book Show | Rachel Kushner – Creation Lake

WAMC — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000

In “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner, Sadie Smith, a 34 year old American undercover agent of ruthless tactics is sent by her mysterious but powerful employers to a remote corner of France. Her mission: to infiltrate a commune of radical eco-activists.

The Book Show | Helen Phillips – Hum

WAMC — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Jodi Picoult – By Any Other Name

WAMC — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Known for her incredible research bestselling author Jodi Picoult brings to life the incomparable Emilia Bassano, the real-life and “too little considered” English poet believed to have authored many of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. Picoult’s new novel is “By Any Other Name.”

The Book Show | Simon Rich – Glory Days

WAMC — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Simon Rich is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. He has written for “Saturday Night Live,” Pixar, and “The Simpsons” and is the creator of the TV shows “Man Seeking Woman” and “Miracle Workers.” His latest story collection, “Glory Days,” mourns the death of youthful innocence and hails the beginning of something approximating wisdom.

The Book Show | Bret Anthony Johnston – We Burn Daylight

WAMC — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

In 1993, in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, Bret Anthony Johnston watched on live TV as flames engulfed a number of buildings in Waco – full of men, women, and children – during the FBI’s siege of the Branch Davidian compound. This time led to his writing the novel, “We Burn Daylight.”

The Book Show | Kevin Barry – The Heart in Winter

WAMC — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“The Heart in Winter” by Kevin Barry is a big-hearted, violent, hypnotic, and lovelorn epic set against the iconic genre of the American Western. If features an unforgettable female protagonist and tackling the dislocation and self-invention of the Irish immigrant experience.

The Book Show | Tana French – The Hunter

WAMC — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

A mystery set in a rural village in the West of Ireland, “The Hunter” is the second novel by best-selling author Tana French novel set in mythical Ardnakelty. It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

The Book Show| Doris Kearns Goodwin – An Unfinished Love Story – Part 2

WAMC — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of America’s most beloved historians. She joins us to discuss her new book “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s,” where she artfully weaves together biography, memoir, and history.

The Book Show | Doris Kearns Goodwin – An Unfinished Love Story (Part 1)

WAMC — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

American historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s latest book is “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s.” The book shares the emotional journey she and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin embarked on in the last years of his life, as the couple examined a tumultuous decade in American history through the lens of their own personal involvement in public service.

The Book Show | Griffin Dunne – The Friday Afternoon Club

WAMC — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“The Friday Afternoon Club” by actor Griffin Dunne is a memoir of growing up among larger-than-life characters in Hollywood and Manhattan. The book finds wicked humor and glimmers of light in even the most painful of circumstances.

The Book Show | Jake Tapper – All the Demons are Here

WAMC — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0000

CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent and New York Times best-selling author Jake Tapper’s third thriller, “All the Demons Are Here,” brings readers to the 1970s underground world of cults, celebrities, tabloid journalism, serial killers, disco, and UFOs.

The Book Show | Lorrie Moore – I

WAMC — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Lorrie Moore is one of the most celebrated living writers in the United States. Her new novel, “I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home,” is her first in 14 years and is an exploration of love and death, passion and grief where a man takes a road trip with the corpse of his dead ex-lover. The book is now available in paperback.

The Book Show | Garrard Conley – All the World Beside

WAMC — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Garrard Conley is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, “Boy Erased.” His debut novel, “All the World Beside,” is the story of two men in love caught between the demands of their families and societal pressures. Conley has coined it “The Queer Scarlet Letter.”

The Book Show | Caroline Leavitt – Days of Wonder

WAMC — Tue, 28 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000

"Days of Wonder" by Caroline Leavitt centers a young mother who, incarcerated as a teenager, now forges a redemptive path forward. It features whirlwind romances old and new, and is a mother-daughter story, a striking testament to the resilience of their love.

The Book Show | Colm Tóibín – Long Island

WAMC — Tue, 21 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000

New York Times bestselling author Colm Tóibín has written a novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love featuring Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of his 2009 novel “Brooklyn,” Tóibín’s most popular work. The new novel is “Long Island.”

The Book Show | Miranda July – All Fours

WAMC — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Chris Bohjalian – The Princess of Las Vegas

WAMC — Tue, 07 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000

In "The Princess of Las Vegas," by best-selling author Chris Bohjalian, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in a twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.

The Book Show | Julia Alvarez – The Cemetery of Until Stories

WAMC — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Anne Lamott – Somehow: Thoughts on Love

WAMC — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Anne Lamott’s new book “Somehow: Thoughts on Love” is her 20th book and published on her 70th birthday. In each chapter, Lamott refracts all the colors of the spectrum. She explores love and the power it has in our lives. The lessons she underscores are that love enlightens as it educates, comforts as it energizes, sustains as it surprises.

The Book Show | Don Winslow – City in Ruins

WAMC — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“City on Fire” by Don Winslow launched an ambitious crime fiction trilogy that has transported readers from the gritty streets of Providence to the glittering screens of Hollywood to the golden casinos of Las Vegas as Danny Ryan, forges a dynasty. Winslow’s latest book is “City in Ruins.” It is also his last.

The Book Show | Tommy Orange – Wandering Stars

WAMC — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The new novel by Tommy Orange, “Wandering Stars,” traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through to the shattering aftermath of Orvil Redfeather’s shooting depicted in Orange’s best-selling debut, “There There.”

The Book Show | Anna Quindlen – After Annie

WAMC — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Anna Quindlen puts her trademark wisdom on family, friendship, and the ties that bind us at the center her new novel, “After Annie.” When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all of their lives.

The Book Show | Amitava Kumar – My Beloved Life

WAMC — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:00:00 +0000

“My Beloved Life” by Amitava Kumar is a father-daughter story that widens into an Indian family saga. It tells the story of an ordinary life made exceptional by the fact that father has loved and has been loved in return. His daughter’s story recasts the past in a new light.

The Book Show | Kaveh Akbar – Martyr!

WAMC — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 03:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Danielle Trussoni – The Puzzle Master

WAMC — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Novelist Danielle Trussoni is the author of the bestsellers “Angelology” and “Angelopolis.” She gives readers a thrilling ride with her latest, “The Puzzle Master.” Reality and the supernatural collide when an expert puzzle maker is thrust into an ancient mystery - one with explosive consequences for the fate of humanity.

The Book Show | Kristin Hannah – The Women

WAMC — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 20:00:00 +0000

“The Women,” a new novel by Kristin Hannah, is set at a pivotal time in American history: the Vietnam era. It is an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous situation and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics.

The Book Show | Ann Napolitano – Hello Beautiful

WAMC — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Ann Napolitano took the literary world by storm with her tear-jerker of a novel “Dear Edward.” Her latest, “Hello Beautiful,” is an homage to Louisa May Alcott’s classic, “Little Women.” “Hello Beautiful” is a portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.

The Book Show | Karl Marlantes – Cold Victory

WAMC — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 15:00:00 +0000

In his new novel, “Cold Victory,” New York Times bestselling author Karl Marlantes delivers a sweeping tale of Cold War intrigue set in post-war Finland in which loyalty, friendship, and love are put to the ultimate test. The book is layered with action, historical detail, and a keen eye for the way totalitarianism and loss of truth and privacy threatens love and friendship.

The Book Show | Sheila Heti – Alphabetical Diaries

WAMC — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The Book Show | Paul Murray – The Bee Sting

WAMC — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 20:00:00 +0000

“The Bee Sting,” a novel by Paul Murray, is about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person at the end of the world.

The Book Show | Paul Lynch – Prophet Song

WAMC — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The winner of the Booker Prize 2023, “Prophet Song” by Paul Lynch, presents a terrifying and shocking vision of a country sliding into authoritarianism and a deeply human portrait of a mother’s fight to hold her family together.