Shows / The Book Case
The Book Case
Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Charlie Gibson and meet fascinating characters who will open your appetite to new categories while deepening your hunger for books. This weekly series will journey cover to cover through the literary world, featuring interviews with best-selling authors, tastemakers, and independent bookstore owners. New episodes post every Thursday…
Episodes
- The Book Case
Horror Greats for Halloween
Charlie challenged Kate to get him to consider horror literature. And she did just that. We assembled Stephen Graham Jones, Jennifer McMahon and Victor LaValle…
- The Book Case
Bonnie Garmus and the Unique World of Peck & Peck
Bonnie Garmus’ follow up to GMA Book Club Pick Lessons in Chemistry, called Peck & Peck, is a wild and funny foray into the world of poetry. Compulsively…
- The Book Case
Yiyun Li and the Music of Writing
When we visited with Ann Patchett a few months ago, she talked almost non stop about Yiyun Li’s newest, MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT, which she called “close the…
- The Book Case
TWO FOR ONE: Robert Kolker AND Chloe Benjamin
This week we have to terrific authors in one show. Robert Kolker’s newest, The Vanishing Family, is a look at a family afflicted with an early onset dementia…
- The Book Case
Catherine Grace Katz: the Hindenburg and the Humanity
Up until now, there hasn’t really been a complete compendium on the Hindenburg disaster. Catherine Grace Katz gives it us in SHADOW BEFORE THE FLAME, and it is…
- The Book Case
Jennifer McMahon and the Allure of Haunted Towns
Jennifer McMahon has been called the Shirley Jackson of her generation. Her newest, Stay Buried, is a fascinating look at what can happen to a small town when…
- The Book Case
Jodi Picoult Talks Hollow Bones
Jodi Picoult’s newest, Hollow Bones, is probably more topical than even she would have wanted. A book that heart wrenchingly twists the anniversaries of 9/11…
- The Book Case
Harlan Coben Gives Us a Writing Class
Plot Twist by Harlan Coben is a non fiction book that focusses on writing: the desperation, the inspiration, the execution…it’s all here. And it’s compulsively…
- The Book Case
Ashley Kahn and the Wonder of Paul Simon’s Graceland
Graceland, by the great Paul Simon, was always a big deal in our house. From the Boy in the Bubble to the Myth of Fingerprints, it was on almost constant…
- The Book Case
Why Catcher in the Rye Still Captures Us
We love doing “classics” episodes. And since The Catcher in the Rye is turning 75 this year, it seems that lots of folks in the book world are talking about it…
- The Book Case
Meg Richardson and the True Voice of Adolescence
This is an interesting show, because the person who really championed the read this week was Arlene Gibson, the matriarch of the Gibson Family. A lifelong…
- The Book Case
Chris Bohjalian Writes His Most Personal Novel
Chris Bohjalian is prolific to say the least. With about 25 novels under his belt, he hits the bestseller list often with his unforgettable characters and…
- The Book Case
Stephanie Soileau and the Richness of Cajun History
Should the Waters Take Us a is a novel of great beauty…centered around the swamp letters in the south of Louisianna. Whereas so many novels focus on story and…
- The Book Case
An Injustice in the Justice System
Pamela Colloff is an accomplished investigative journalist and has written "Catch the Devil" about a frighteningly prolific jailhouse snitch. Paul Skalnik…
- The Book Case
Double Header: Jenny Jackson and Scott D. Reich
Jenny Jackson’s newest, The Shampoo Effect, tells the story of an insular gang of year-round beach residents who have known each other all their lives. Until…
- The Book Case
Paul Tremblay: AI and the Not So Distant Future
Paul Tremblay has written a science fiction book that will prompt all sorts of important questions about AI, the role of consciousness in humanity, and how…
- The Book Case
Kevin Powers and the Art of Writing War
Kevin Powers’ Children of the Wild is a book about Roy and Ennis, two friends on a farm who sign up for WWI, one excited for battle, one a feral child baffled…
- The Book Case
Our Favorites of 2026….So Far
2026 is half over. And Kate turned 50 on June 16th. So in honor of all of this half life, we decided to talk about our favorite books so far of 2026. Tana…
- The Book Case
Carlos Barragan Shows Us Why Online Scams Work
Carlos Barragan’s book The Yahoo Boys schooled us on the huge and terrifying world of online moneymaking scams. From the romance scams (pretending to be a man…
- The Book Case
Martha Raddatz Recognizes the Heroes Next Door
Martha Raddatz is a war correspondent, one of the biggest household names in front line reporting. Her newest book, The Hero Next Door tells the story of the…
- The Book Case
Ann Patchett and an Audience!
Ann Patchett has written a new novel, and if you are a listener to this show, you know we are both huge fans of her work. Her newest, Whistler, is beautiful…
- The Book Case
Jesmyn Ward on Pain and Beauty
Jesmyn Ward is arguably one of the most important writers of our generation. She has won two National Book Awards before fifty (first woman to do that and…
- The Book Case
J. Ryan Stradal Edits and Delivers
It has been quite a few months since we checked in with J. Ryan Stradal, our writer in residence. He is in his editing stage, making sure that the latest draft…
- The Book Case
Laurie Frankel, Impossible Realism and Caroline Bicks’ Childhood Ghosts
Today The Book Case has another two for one. Laurie Frankel’s newest, ENORMOUS WINGS is funny, thought provoking and will have you questioning the vitality of…
- The Book Case
Elizabeth Strout Tries Something New
Elizabeth Strout has departed from Olive Kittredge, Lucy Barton and Burgess Boys; she has even departed from Maine. Her newest, THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY…
- The Book Case
Books for Mother's Day
If you had a mother who was a strong influence in your life, we wanted to honor her with this week’s Book Case episode. Sometimes we want to find all the right…
- The Book Case
Jason Reynolds on Music, Reading and Writing
Jason Reynolds is one of the best young adult writers of our generation. But don’t let the label fool you into thinking that young adult writing hasn’t…
- The Book Case
Why Are Boys Falling Behind On Reading?
The Book Case is largely about talking to authors, yes, but we believe that reading is critical for everyone. We believe it is most important for kids, that…
- The Book Case
Tana French Mixes Ireland and the Old West
We are going full Ireland on this show. First, we talk to the incredible Tana French about her newest, The Keeper. Set in rural Ireland it combines great…
- The Book Case
Jenny Lawson Wants You to Be Okay
Jenny Lawson is Kate’s all time favorite humor author. Obsessed since her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Kate saw she had a new one out, How to…
- The Book Case
Louise Erdrich and the Art of the Seminal Moment
Louise Erdrich is one of the most important writers of our time. Her award-winning words have created modern classics such as Love Medicine, The Night Watchman…
- The Book Case
Elizabeth Berg And a Love Story to Life (Also with Kate DiCamillo and Kelly Yang!)
It’s a TRIPLE header on the Book Case podcast. First, our main guest is Elizabeth Berg, whose newest, Life: A Love Story is a beautifully woven tale of a woman…
- The Book Case
Joan Lunden Says Good Morning Book Case!
Joan Lunden has been a part of the Gibson family for a long time. Her newest memoir, Joan, is an attempt to look back upon the moments of her life, her life…
- The Book Case
For Us, Anna Quindlen is ALWAYS More Than Enough
We have been broadcasting long enough to have what we think of as “authors we always love to talk to” and Anna is one of those. She is a stunning talent and…
- The Book Case
Tayari Jones and the Meaning of Kin
Tayari Jones is one of the country’s most gifted writers, and her newest, Kin, is sure to get everyone talking. Beautiful, wrenching and compelling, this is a…
- The Book Case
Allegra Goodman, Her Stories, and the Messiness of Family
Allegra Goodman’s latest, This is Not About Us is a treasure. Centered around the Rubenstein family, each chapter examines the Rubensteins from a different…
- The Book Case
Belle Burden and the Art of Being Vulnerable
Belle Burden’s Strangers is not your everyday memoir about divorce. After three kids, two decades and two homes, her husband was caught having an affair. When…
- The Book Case
The Librarians: A Must-See Documentary for Book Lovers
This week we dedicate our show to a documentary that we think is important. We have promised our listeners to keep the podcast non-political (no shouting…
- The Book Case
Roger Rosenblatt on the Magic of Books
Roger Rosenblatt wrote a column for the NY Times called Before You Toss that Book… We already loved Roger’s books, and this column moved us to reach out to…
- The Book Case
Susan Orlean Takes a Joyride
Susan Orlean, one of the best journalists of our generation, has written a memoir, along with some great advice about writing. Beyond writing, she has thoughts…
- The Book Case
Janice Page and an Unlikely Memoir
Janice Page’s The Year of the Water Horse is a funny memoir. At times, laugh out loud funny. But it is also about why we tell stories, what we make important…
- The Book Case
Paula McLain Escapes into the Paris Underground
Paula McLain’s Skylark is the GMA book club pick this month and we are so pleased she sat down with us too. This book is a beautifully written, touching and…
- The Book Case
We Pick Our Favorites: 2025
Grab a pen and pencil so you can write down what are some of our absolute favorite reads of 2025. There is something for everyone, fiction, non fiction…
- The Book Case
Getting Books In Their Hands: Stephen and Ayesha Curry
We have devoted several podcasts to the issue of how parents get children to read - off screens and into pages. We talk about it - others DO something about…
- The Book Case
Classics Series: A Jane Austen Discussion
Our next installment in the Book Case Classics series comes from listeners like you. Many of you asked for Austen…you wanted it? You got it! We sat down with…
- The Book Case
Abir Mukherjee and the Beauty of Historical Mysteries
Abir Mukherjee was a revelation to us, even if he is already an international bestseller. The Burning Grounds, the sixth of the Wyndham and Banerjee mystery…
- The Book Case
J. Ryan Stradal SELLS and A Bookstore with a Mission
We are so pleased that our Writer in Residence, J. Ryan Stradal, has sold his newest to Atria Publishing. He is here this week to tell us how he did it, and…
- The Book Case
Megha Majumdar and Moral Ambiguity
Megha Majumdar was on the short list for the National Book Award, and we were rooting hard for her to win. She may not have won THIS year, but her talent and…
- The Book Case
John Irving Creates a Queen
We DO love talking to John Irving. In our winding, wandering and wonderful conversation we cover it all from his newest, Queen Esther, the art of writing…
- The Book Case
Catherine Newman and Bittersweet Motherhood
Catherine Newman’s latest, Wreck, is a beautiful meditation on the act of motherhood. Revisiting the family from Sandwich as they enter a new phase of familial…
- The Book Case
R.L. Stine Loves Scaring Kids
It’s Halloween…so who better to follow up our conversations about middle school reading than R.L. Stine? With over 400 titles to his name (the latest being The…
- The Book Case
Rick Riordan and Katherine Rundell Explore the Middle School Reading Crisis
We knew that reading levels were in fluctuation, but we had no idea there was a Middle School reading crisis. According to the NWEA (The Northwest Evaluation…
- The Book Case
Lily King Writes her Heart
Lily King’s newest, Heart the Lover, is a sparing, funny, painful and beautiful novel about the first loves we have, and how they never really let go. The…
- The Book Case
Angela Flournoy’s Friendship Circle
Angela Flournoy’s newest, The Wilderness was on the long list of nominees for the National Book Award, and we believe if you read it, it’s easy to see why. The…
- The Book Case
The Book Case’s Best of Summer Review
Sometimes we look back on a season of great podcasts (humble podcasts hosts that we are) and consider what we like best within a season. Today, we look at the…
- The Book Case
Leigh Bardugo Makes Magic
Leigh Bardugo has written some masterful fantasy. And, the Six of Crows Duology (that means there is only two books in the series) is about to turn 10 years…
- The Book Case
Joanne Harris and the Literary Beauty of Chocolat
Joanne Harris is the writer of the “Chocolat" series, which began with the famous Chocolat (also made into a movie with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp) which…
- The Book Case
The Reynolds Brothers and International Dot Day
Take a moment to sit down with us to talk to the Reynolds Brothers, Peter and Paul. On Thursday of this week we appeared on GMA to talk about International Dot…
- The Book Case
Virginia Evans and the Art of Writing Letters
Occasionally, a book comes into your life that is a revelation. And The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was one of these books for us. A masterful epistolary…
- The Book Case
Thomas Schlesser and the Art of Art History
Thomas Schlesser is a French Art Historian whose new novel, Mona’s Eyes is a brilliant way of exploring the great museums of Paris. When Mona, his title…