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
J Ryan Stradal is Back in the Book Case
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…
- The Book Case
Charles Frazier Sheds Light on American Optimism
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…
- The Book Case
Rebecca Boggs Roberts Unveils Edith Wilson
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…
- The Book Case
Timothy Egan Rewrites History
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…
- The Book Case
Harlan Coben Will Find You
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…
- The Book Case
Beverly Horowitz Adapts Heather McGhee for YA
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…
- The Book Case
Michael Schulman Goes To the Oscars
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…
- The Book Case
Alex Prud'homme Dines at the White House
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…
- The Book Case
Rebecca Makkai Has Some Questions For You
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…
- The Book Case
Amity Gaige Knows How to Write Tension
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…
- The Book Case
Julie Otsuka is a Master of Memory
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…
- The Book Case
Stuart Gibbs is Back in the Book Case
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…
- The Book Case
Ayana Gray Creates New Worlds
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…
- The Book Case
John Boyne Revisits The Past
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…
- The Book Case
David Sedaris is Back in the Book Case
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…
- The Book Case
David Sedaris Journals Gold
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…
- The Book Case
Esmeralda Santiago Dreams Her Reality
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…
- The Book Case
The Holiday Gift Guide
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…
- The Book Case
Barbara Kingsolver Grapples with American Poverty
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…
- The Book Case
Nelson DeMille Keeps His Readers Guessing
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…
- The Book Case
Kate and Charlie Talk Turkey
Let’s do the math. A human’s average life span: 80 years. Years after Similac and Gerbers: say 75 years. At approximately 1000 meals per year, that’s a…
- The Book Case
Kate Goes to The Brooklyn Book Festival
This week on the Book Case we have two more authors from the Brooklyn Book Festival. You can find Angeline Boulley's The Firekeeper's Daughter on the YA…
- The Book Case
Cleyvis Natera Finds Joy Unexpectedly
Cleyvis Natera took 15 years to write Neruda on the Park, and you can see why when you read the novel. There many pieces of the book that speak to Natera's…
- The Book Case
John Irving is Back in the Book Case
When this podcast was in its infancy, John Irving joined us to talk about his work and what he described as “his last big novel,” that was, at the time, still…
- The Book Case
Jon Meacham Rewrites Abraham Lincoln's Story
A quick Google search will tell you there are over 15,000 books about Abraham Lincoln. Do we need another? Well yes, considering that none of them so far has…
- The Book Case
Doug Bauer Steps Up to Bat
Doug Bauer has written a love story, "The Beckoning World". A man and a woman. A father and son. A love for a more innocent time. A lovely homage to America’s…
- The Book Case
Angie Cruz Teaches How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water
Once again it was a title that caught our eye, leading us to a the book that was even more intriguing than the title. The book is How Not to Drown in a Glass…
- The Book Case
Amy Sarig King Stands Up To Censorship
We have expressed a desire to keep The Book Case non-political. But there is one issue we feel should not be a source of contention - and that is book banning…
- The Book Case
Richard Osman Writes Mysteries You Can Sink Your Dentures Into
So you’re in your mid-50s, you’ve got a great career going as a television personality in Great Britain, so what might be enjoyable to do next? Why write a…
- The Book Case
Elizabeth Strout Hears her Characters' Voices
Elizabeth Strout is our guest this week, and our conversation couldn’t be more timely. First, her novel, Oh William! has just been short listed for the Booker…
- The Book Case
Sue Miller Examines Marriage, Intimately
Sue Miller is one of America’s finest and most admired authors. From the time of her first published novel in 1986, (The Good Mother), to her most recent…
- The Book Case
Nahid Shahalimi Gathers the Voices of Afghan Women
It was just a year ago that the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. On that date, Nahid Shahalimi, an Afghan female writer living in Germany, realized…
- The Book Case
Stuart Gibbs Takes Kids on Wild Journeys
Stuart Gibbs is this week’s guest and begins what we intend to be a periodic look at children's’ literature, or in the parlance of the day, “kids’ books”…
- The Book Case
David Koepp Writes Thrillers Differently These Days
Our author this week is David Koepp. You may not realize it, but you’ve been exposed to David’s writing. Probably many times. Did you see the first two…
- The Book Case
Sidik Fofana Steps Out of the Classroom
Sidik Fofana has written “Stories from the Tenants Downstairs.” This is his first novel and very much worth a reader’s time. His book is eight interrelated…
- The Book Case
Jenny Lawson is Broken (In the Best Possible Way)
Jenny Lawson is a funny writer, but that label doesn’t tell the whole story. In her three books, her "parenthetical ramblings" are hilarious glimpses into her…
- The Book Case
Julia Glass Reimagines the Future
Julia Glass burst on the writing scene in 2002 when her first novel, “Three Junes”, won the National Book Award for fiction. Her newest novel “Vigil Harbor”…
- The Book Case
Hernan Diaz Trusts His Characters
Hernan Diaz is an author, essayist, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award. His newest novel, "Trust," has just this week…
- The Book Case
J. Ryan Stradal Writes From the Heart
J. Ryan Stradal is one of America’s finest young authors. His two novels have been out for some time - both highly acclaimed. Another is releasing next year…
- The Book Case
Anna Quindlen Wants You to Write
Anna Quindlen can write pretty much anything – years of insightful columns for the “New York Times,” wonderful fiction as evidenced by nine widely-read novels…
- The Book Case
Jennifer Egan Plays with Form
Twelve years ago, Jennifer Egan won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad.” It was wildly successful and totally original. Now she has…
- The Book Case
Claire Stanford is Happy For You
What if an app could quantify exactly how happy you are? That's the premise for Clare Stanford's debut novel, "Happy For You," in which a philosopher leaves…
- The Book Case
David Gergen Knows Politics
David Gergen says it's time for new American leadership. As a political advisor who served four presidential administrations, Gergen has a perspective on the…
- The Book Case
Delia Ephron Falls In Love, Again
Delia Ephron went through hell. Her leukemia almost killed her - so did the treatments to cure it. In “Left on Tenth”, her new book that is on many best seller…
The Book CaseIntroducing 'Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley'
You may know the story of Emmett Till. But you might’ve never heard his story if it weren't for one woman: Mamie Till-Mobley. In a new three-part season of ABC…
- The Book Case
Azar Nafisi Reads Dangerously
Azar Nafisi offers you - a reader - a challenge. It is the title of her latest book - “Read Dangerously”. Azar comes with a unique perspective. She was…
- The Book Case
Shelby Van Pelt Makes Her Debut
Odds are you’ve never heard of Shelby Van Pelt. She is a new author, and as we spoke she was just a week away from the publication of her first novel…
- The Book Case
John Irving Reinvents The Classics
John Irving has written fourteen novels, is working on a fifteenth, has been translated into more than thirty languages, and is one of America’s most popular…
- The Book Case
Dr. Carla Hayden is the Top Librarian
Dr. Carla Hayden is the Librarian of Congress. In the 222 year history of the Library of Congress there has never before been a female Librarian of Congress…
- The Book Case
Mary Laura Philpott Writes About Parenting
Calling all parents - you need to listen to Mary Laura Philpott and read her insightful essays that speak to everyone who ever raised a child. In the vein of…
- The Book Case
Niall Williams Tells Irish Tales
Niall Williams is an Irishman who possesses the Irish knack for telling a great story, and he does this in lyrical prose that will take your breath away. He…
- The Book Case
Oprah Shares Her Favorite Books
How better to begin a weekly podcast on books than with Oprah Winfrey who has, in the last quarter century, done more to get Americans to read than almost any…
- The Book Case
Introducing 'The Book Case'
Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case, a new weekly series from ABC Audio launching May 2, makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander…