Just the Right Book with Roxanne Coady

Ron Chernow is the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who wrote the biography which became the inspiration for the record-breaking, hip-hop Broadway musical Hamilton. Chernow joins Roxanne to talk about his latest expository biography on Ulysses S. Grant. Chernow reveals that after getting thrown out of the Army for drinking on payday, Grant must beg his father for a menial job selling leather goods while working below his two younger brothers.

The New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor's Children joins Just the Right Book to discuss her latest novel, The Burning Girl, which explores the unraveling of two adolescent girls' friendship as they set out on a dangerous journey. Roxanne describes Claire as "one of the finest storytellers today about women's friendships."

One of the questions that Roxanne loves to ask all of our guests is "What is the book that changed your life?" "The stories are often poignant, personal or funny", says Roxanne "and inevitably they become a list of books that you are dying to read." On a special edition of Just the Right Book Podcast, we take a look back at some of our favorite stories from the past forty episodes. Looking to start a new book this Labor Day weekend? We have 25 suggestions for you to choose from!

One of Roxanne's favorite authors, Elizabeth Strout joins Just the Right Book Podcast to talk about her latest novel, Anything is Possible. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author also gives us the scoop on the Emmy Award-winning HBO series, Olive Kitteridge (based on Strout's book of the same name) and shares her thoughts on Frances McDormand as the title character. "You read Strout, really for the same reason you listen to a requiem: to experience the beauty in sadness," says Jennifer Senior of the New York Times.  We also talk to our first JTRB book club winner, Kim Nelson-Layman, who got a special surprise when she heard who else was on the phone with Roxanne. Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast We’re trying to get a better demographic handle on the people like yourself who listen to Just The Right Book Podcast. Just go to our website, www.BookPodcast.com, and click on the “Listener Survey,” it should take you about 30 seconds and be most helpful to us. Thank you in advance for this! Books in this episode: Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson  Check out Kim Nelson-Layman's Blog!

Colm Toibin is the bestselling, award-winning author of seven novels, including The Master and Brooklyn. The Irish-born author joins Just the Right Book Podcast to talk about his new novel, House of Names, a retelling of the Greek myth of Clytemnestra, Agamemnon, and their children.  And later in this episode, we hear from Miriam Sontz, CEO of the famous Powell's Books in Portland Oregon for a special installment of "What's on the Front Table."   Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast We’re trying to get a better demographic handle on the people like yourself who listen to Just The Right Book Podcast. Just go to our website, www.BookPodcast.com, and click on the “Listener Survey,” it should take you about 30 seconds and be most helpful to us. Thank you in advance for this! Books in this episode: House of Names by Colm Toibin News of the World by Paulette Jiles Exit West by Mohsin Hamid The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing Marie Curie by Lola M. Schaefer, Wyatt Schaefer, Gail Saunders-Smith (Editor)

Deborah Tannen is a mega bestselling author and renowned Georgetown linguist. Her previous book, You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, was on the NY Times Bestseller List for four years, and as Roxanne puts it, "has become the bible for the differences in the way in which girls and women and boys and men converse." Tannen joins Just the Right Book to discuss her new book, You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships, guiding us to understand the conversational ingredients and behavior that bond or break our friendships with women. Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast Books in this episode: You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships by Deborah Tannen A Connecticut Yankee in King Author's Court by Mark Twain Poem in this episode: Some People by Rachel Field  Isn’t it strange some people make You feel so tired inside, Your thoughts begin to shrivel up Like leaves all brown and dried! But when you’re with some other ones, It’s stranger still to find Your thoughts as thick as fireflies All shiny in your mind!

John Grisham recently sat down with Roxanne in a rare and candid interview as part of his first book tour in twenty-five years! The bestselling author chose RJ Julia for the second stop of his thirteen-city tour to promote his latest book, Camino Island. "If this book doesn't work, I'm quitting this." says Grisham of The Firm, the book that changed his life. The former lawyer also talks book-selling, about his work with the Innocence Project, and even reveals which books are in the works to become TV series.  Later in this episode, we hit the Yale campus to see what students are looking forward to reading this summer.  Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast We’re trying to get a better demographic handle on the people like yourself who listen to Just The Right Book Podcast. Just go to our website, www.BookPodcast.com, and click on the “Listener Survey,” it should take you about 30 seconds and be most helpful to us. Thank you in advance for this! John Grisham's Podcast: Book Tour with John Grisham Books in this episode: Camino Island by John Grisham  The Firm by John Grisham Grace and the Fever by Zan Romanoff Startup: A Novel by Doree Shafrir  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood  The Social Profit Handbook: The Essential Guide to Setting Goals, Assessing Outcomes, and Achieving Success for Mission-Driven Organizations by David Grant

Novelist and television writer Sarah Dunn may be the creator and executive producer of the hit ABC sitcom, American Housewife, but it's her latest novel, The Arrangement that has everyone buzzing. The novel, which Roxanne called "absolutely delicious," tells the story of a couple that embarks on an open marriage while raising a special-needs son. The Arrangement has been called "this summer's must-read" by Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell, but as Sarah warns, "Do not try this at home." Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast Books in this episode: The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author of "The Power of Habit," which has spent over two years on the New York Times best-seller list. The Harvard Business School and Yale graduate, recently joined Just the Right Book Podcast to talk about his latest book, "Smarter Faster, Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity." "People often get tied up in being busy, rather than being productive," says Duhigg. His book explores how to get more done without sacrificing what we care about most. Also in this episode, we hear from Cathy Langer, the director of buying for the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver Colorado for our segment, "What's on the Front Table."  Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast Books in this episode:  Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity By Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business By Charles Duhigg Hiroshima By John Hersey Red Sky at Morning By Richard Bradford American War By Omar El Akkad Trajectory: Stories By Richard Russo Anything Is Possible By Elizabeth Strout My Name Is Lucy Barton By Elizabeth Strout Borne By Jeff VanderMeer Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky A Prayer for Owen Meany By John Irving

RJ Julia recently hosted an event for one of their favorite authors, Dani Shapiro and Just the Right Book Podcast was there every step of the way. The best-selling novelist and memoirist caught up with Roxanne prior to the event to discuss her latest memoir, "Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage." The book, says Roxanne, is an "exquisite jewel" that you will want to read whether you are thinking of marriage, newly married, or have been married for a long time. Shapiro describes the joys and challenges of matrimonial life as, "Just that sense of what it is to go through life together... the all of it, the beauty and the terror. Be sure to like us on Facebook and join our mailing list to hear more news about Just the Right Book Podcast Books in this episode:  Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro  Devotion by Dani Shapiro  Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy by Dani Shapiro