The Book Case

The Interpreter is a beautiful book about the end of the war in Vietnam and one interpreter’s story as his country is torn apart and remade over and over throughout his lifetime.  David K. Shipler is arguably one of the greatest journalists of our time.  A veteran reporter who wrote about Russia, Vietnam, and Israel (to name a few), he has a Pulitzer to his name and his non-fiction books are legendary.  I mean, the man ran a foreign desk for the New York Times and taught at Princeton.  So why write a book of fiction?  We don’t know, but we are so glad he did.  Tune in to find out why.  Our bookstore is Charlie’s local, so you don’t want to miss it.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned on this week's episode:The Interpreter by David K. ShiplerThe Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. ShiplerArab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David K. ShiplerThe Rights of the People by David K. ShiplerFreedom of Speech: Mightier Than the Sword by David K. ShiplerRussia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams by David K. ShiplerA Country of Strangers: Black and White in America by David K. ShiplerRights at Risk: The Limits of Liberty in Modern America by David K. ShiplerDriving Miss Daisy: A Play by Alfred UhryThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldThis is Happiness by Niall WilliamsThe Thursday Murder Club by Richard OsmanThe Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you are a devoted GMA watcher (and you should be), you know that about a month ago we sat down with the great Irish native writing couple of Niall Williams and Christine Breen.  What an amazing twosome they make, and we can’t get enough of talking to them.  So we offer you the extended Niall Williams and Christine Breen interview. It was such fun to discuss why Ireland was vital to their writing careers and how they came into their own ….tune in and have a listen.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:This is Happiness by Niall WilliamsTime of the Child by Niall WilliamsFour Letters of Love by Niall WilliamsHistory of the Rain by Niall WilliamsIn Kiltumper: A Year in an Irish Garden by Niall Williams and Christine BreenO Come Ye Back to Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine BreenAs it is in Heaven by Niall WilliamsBoy and Man by Niall WilliamsOnly Say the Word by Niall WilliamsHer Name is Rose by Christine BreenGreat Expectations by Charles DickensMerchant of Venice by William ShakespeareNorth by Seamus Heaney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harlan Coben has authored close to 40 books with some seriously good writing.  Hislatest, Nobody’s Fool, takes a detective from an already existing book and TVseries, blows up their story and creates mysteries within mysteries.  Great plot twists, memorable characters and page turning action are all here…how does he turn great books out over and over?  Tune in and find out.   Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:Nobody’s Fool by Harlan CobenFool Me Once by Harlan CobenDeal Breaker by Harlan CobenDrop Shot by Harlan CobenFade Away by Harlan Coben Back Spin by Harlan CobenOne False Move by Harlan CobenThe Final Detail by Harlan CobenDarkest Fear by Harlan Coben Promise Me by Harlan CobenLong Lost by Harlan CobenLive Wire by Harlan CobenHome by Harlan CobenThink Twice by Harlan CobenCaught by Harlan CobenJust One Look by Harlan Coben I Will Find You by Harlan CobenThe Stranger by Harlan CobenAurora by David KoeppThe Time of the Child by Niall WilliamsThe Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. CainValediction by Robert B. ParkerInfinite Jest by David Foster Wallace  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a two for one show and do bear with us, because it’s two books we loved, AND you get two authors in one podcast.  One book is a darkly comic novel, All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman, and the other is Homestand, which is a wonderful nonfiction read about the lossof minor league baseball in small town America by Will Bardenwerper.  Please tune in, because we believe that spring is in the air and these two great summer reads came a touch early.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:Homestand: Small Town Baseball and The Fight for theSoul of America by Will BardenwerperAll The Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah HarmanThe Prisoner in His Palace by Will BardenwerperMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisJayne Eyre by Charlotte Bronte  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colum McCann’s newest, Twist, explores how the world of underwater fiber cables has vital physical and metaphoric meaning in our day to day lives.  Sound dull?  We promise you, it’s a literary marvel and a page turner to boot.  The men and women who live to make, repair and find these cables are fascinating characters.  And Twist is a beautiful novel all about how we can tear ourselves apart as we obsess about reparation and healing.  Is instant communication making us one community or ruining our sense of belonging?  Are we making the earth better or burning it slowly to the ground?  Tune in this week to find out.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:Twist by Colum McCannLet the Great World Spin by Colum McCannZoli by Colum McCannEverything in this Country Must by Colum McCannDancer by Colum McCannTransAtlantic by Colum McCannApierogon by Colum McCannThirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCannLetters to a Young Writer by Colum McCannThis Side of Brightness by Colum McCannSongdogs Colum McCannHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kaveh Akbar and Tommy Orange are a writer’s circle of two.  We can’t remember how we first heard they were close friends, but we knew it when we interviewed them and were thrilled when we heard they might be touring together.  Tune in to find out how these two amazing authors encourage and challenge each other.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:There There by Tommy OrangeWandering Stars by Tommy OrangeMartyr! by Kaveh AkbarPortrait of the Alcoholic by Kaveh AkbarCalling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh AkbarPilgrim Bell: Poems by Kaveh AkbarMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleBeowulf by Beowulf Poet      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We love short story collections.  We hope this doesn’t put us in the minority, because when authors do it well the books can be transcendent.  Case in point, Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest is Show Don’t Tell.  We didn’t find one story in there we didn’t like. Each feels like a breath of fresh aired emotional honesty, a glimpse into the lives of memorable characters at various turning points questioning their own choices.  Join us to find out what made Curtis release this collection.  And we sit down with Plot Twist, our first romance-based independent bookstore.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:Show Don’t Tell by Curtis SittenfeldRodham by Curtis SittenfeldAmerican Wife by Curtis SittenfeldPrep by Curtis SittenfeldEligible by Curtis SittenfeldYou Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis SittenfeldSisterland by Curtis SittenfeldA Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no greater classic in Kate’s mind than The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So when our audiences liked our holiday revisit of the Christmas Carol, we knew Gatsby had to be next. Join us as we sit down with two of the country’s greatest Gatsby and Fitzgerald scholars. Find out why the book is still so studied, so beloved, and still so relevant to our lives.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Love of the Last Tycoon by F. Scott FitzgeraldTender is the Night by F. Scott FitzgeraldThis Side of Paradise by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Geraldine Brooks' latest, Memorial Days, is a deeply personal memoir about the sudden loss of her husband Tony Horowitz. In this beautiful and deeply felt book, Geraldine remembers her husband and honors his legacy and their love. She walks us through the days after his death while simultaneously also taking us through her mourning process. Find out why Memorial Days was important to her survival, and how writing the book helped her and her family deal with the impossible task of grieving.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302Books mentioned in this week's episode:Memorial Days by Geraldine BrooksMarch by Geraldine BrooksHorse by Geraldine BrooksCaleb’s Crossing by Geraldine BrooksThe Secret Chord by Geraldine BrooksPeople of the Book by Geraldine BrooksYear of Wonders by Geraldine BrooksNine Parts of Desire by Geraldine BrooksAfter Annie by Anna QuindlenGrief is for People by Sloane CrossleyThe Light of the World by Elizabeth AlexanderA Widow’s Story by Joyce Carol OatesI Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian HallOverstory by Richard PowersGilead by Marilynne RobinsonThe Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Politics are heavily loaded in today’s America; we seem to be so angry at one another.  Jeffrey Toobin’s newest, The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy, is a fascinating and oblique way of examining politics,  studying the history and use of the Presidential pardon.  Both Democrats and Republicans have made huge partisan mistakes with pardons, contributing to the cynical way that pardons are viewed today.  Want to know some of the mistakes that led us to such an angry election?  Tune in and hear why one of the best political journalists in the country thinks it might have all started with Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon.Find books mentioned on The Book Case:https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode:The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy by Jeffrey ToobinThe Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey ToobinAmerican Heiress: The Wild Safa of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey ToobinThe Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey ToobinHomegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism by Jeffrey ToobinA Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President by Jeffrey ToobinThe Oath: the Obama White House and the Supreme Court by Jeffrey ToobinTrue Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump by Jeffrey ToobinToo Close to Call: The Thirty Six Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election by Jeffrey ToobinAll the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices