The Book Case

We wanted to affectionately title this episode, Kate and Charlie are really smart and have great taste, but ABC thought that would be a little obnoxious. Maybe it is, but we are and we do. To prove it, this week we have recut Barbara Kingsolver and Hernan Diaz into one episode. Their novels Demon Copperhead and Trust (respectively) are sharing the Pulitzer this year, and deservedly so. We knew these two novels were something special, and so are their authors. We are very happy that these two talented authors share the prize. Their novels are breathtaking-one about extreme wealth, the other about extreme poverty. 2022 was a banner year for fiction, and these two novelists wrote two of the best. Enjoy!Books mentioned in this podcast: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver King Lear by William Shakespeare A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Trust by Hernan Diaz The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Middlemarch by George Eliot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Eggers is a writer who does not want to be put in a box. His writing often defies easy cataloging or genre classification and he doesn’t like to be specific about who his readers should be. His latest, THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE could be loosely described as an animal fable, but it isn’t exactly that. And it could be described as a book that is good for younger readers, but it isn’t exactly that either. Here is what we ARE certain of: It’s wonderful, funny, engaging, original and full of joy! Eggers’ words, his writing and his characters will stay with you long after you close the book. We also talk to his illustrator for EYES, the very talented and prolific Shawn Harris, whose inspirations and technique might surprise you.The Eyes and The Impossible by Dave EggersA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave EggersHer Right Foot by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn HarrisWhat Can a Citizen Do? By Dave Eggers, Illustrated by Shawn HarrisThe Every by Dave EggersThe Circle by Dave EggersZeitoun by Dave EggersThe Parade by Dave EggersThe Monk of Mokha by Dave EggersHeroes of the Frontier by Dave EggersThe Wild Things by Dave EggersYou Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave EggersA Hologram for the King by Dave EggersLeaves of Grass by Walt WhitmanSpeaking with the Angel edited by Nick HornbyCorduroy by Don FreemanBlueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskeyThe Invisible Man by Ralph EllisonOld Heart by Peter FerryThe Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix PotterBusy, Busy Town by Richard ScarryI am a Bunny by Ole RisomDune by Frank HerbertChristine by Stephen KingHave You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn HarrisA Polar Bear in the Snow by Shawn Harris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate is dragging her father by the collar to the horror section of the bookstore and the first Thursday of every month for awhile is going to be Horror Thursday on The Book Case. And do we have a treat for our first episode: Christopher Golden! One of the great Godfathers of Horror Lit, Chris has done it all: short stories, screenplays, graphic novels, novels, fan fic...he is a renaissance talent in horror literature. We talk to him about horror, why it works, how it works and why we love it. Trust Kate, this genre has some terrific talent and if you try some of these books, you won't be sorry (scared maybe, but not sorry).Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Snowblind by Christopher Golden Ararat by Christopher Golden Road of Bones by Christopher Golden All Hallows by Christopher Golden The Ferryman by Christopher Golden The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden Tin Men by Christopher Golden The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden Cemetery Girl Trilogy by Christopher Golden and Charlaine Harris Ocean Dark by Christopher Golden The Stand by Stephen King Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving Bird Box by Josh Malerman The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Different Seasons by Stephen King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our principal guest this week is James Comey. Yes, that James Comey. Ex-FBI Director James Comey. Some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters think he may have cost her the election in 2016. Comey says that Donald Trump, once president, invited him to dinner and asked for a pledge of loyalty. Comey refused. Trump eventually fired him but his administration denied the president ever made the ask. That, in short, is part of the story of Jim Comey who, after being a U-S Attorney and then head of the FBI, found himself out of a job in 2017 and a controversial figure. What did he decide to do? Well, Jim Comey decided he’d like to spend the rest of his life being a novelist. His first book - a mystery, a legal thriller, and a novel demonstrating his inside knowledge of America’s justice system is “Central Park West.” It’s a good one - not just for a first effort, but a good one, period. He’s a good story teller - he’s a good conversationalist. “Central Park West” will be in book stores May 30th - he talked with us just before publication and he is very much worth a listen just as his book is worth your time. Our friend Otto Penzler of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York published the Comey novel. He joined us as well.Books mentioned in this podcast: Central Park West: A Crime Novel by James Comey Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency and Trust by James Comey A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr Desert Star by Michael Connelly I Will Find You by Harlan Coben A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins takes us inside the classroom to show us the daily lives of teachers as they fight against incredible odds to educate our young. An eye-opening, and at times shocking look at the American Education system and its inadequacies. Robbins asks the reader to forget all of their preconceived notions of teaching. The joys you think teachers know? They are bigger than you imagined. The difficulty and pain of operating in a system that doesn’t recognize your importance? Worse than you can fathom. Take a listen, read the book, and thank a teacher in your life today!Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The Teachers: A Year Inside America's Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandra Robbins The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power by Alexandra Robbins The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital by Alexandra Robbins The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Dianne Ravitch It by Stephen King Ararat by Christopher Golden Snowblind by Christopher Golden The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden Road of Bones by Christopher Golden All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henry Grabar is a writer for Slate, the online magazine, and he has written “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.” Now you probably are thinking, “I’ve never read a book about parking. A whole book? Come on.” Well, we thought the same thing but we were intrigued. So we read it and were engrossed. It is fascinating! It is funny! And it tells you so much about a subject on which we all have such strong opinions and about which we all suffer such frustrations. Just some facts he relates - major ones like “more square footage is devoted to parking each car (in America) than to housing each person” - and minor ones like Disney World has 45,000 parking spaces. 10 to 20 families lose their cars there every day.” Intrigued? Read on. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News. Our bookstore this week is a grandaddy of second hand book stores - Second Story Books in the Washington, D.C. area.Books mentioned in the podcast: Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson by Hunter S. Thompson Volumes 1-4 of the Gonzo Papers - Essays by Hunter S. Thompson The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Barry's sense of humor should be on display at the Smithsonian; it is truly one America's great treasures. His latest novel, Swamp Story, is set in the back woods of the Florida Everglades. That's all we are going to tell you, because the plot is so wonderfully wild, you wouldn't believe us anyway. Join us while Dave makes us laugh, and then stick around for our conversation with Mitchell Kaplan at Books & Books. As a Florida bookseller, he has important things to say about why bookstores are on the frontlines in the fight against book bans.Books mentioned in this podcast: Swamp Story by Dave Barry Big Trouble by Dave Barry Best State Ever by Dave Barry Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States by Dave Barry Lessons from Lucy by Dave Barry Insane City by Dave Barry Dave Barry's Complete guide to guys by Dave Barry Tricky Business by Dave Barry Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by Dave Barry Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down! by Dave Barry You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry The Benchley Roundup by Robert Benchley Love Conquers All by Robert Benchley My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How They Grew by Robert Benchley Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen Jeeves in the Offing by P. G. Wodehouse Catch-22 by Joseph Heller The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Go as a River by Shelley Read Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brendan Slocumb is a renaissance man who writes his novels with a mission in mind. A violin virtuoso, music teacher, clarinetist AND oboist, he is also a best selling author who writes brilliantly about the world of music. His books could be classed as mysteries but they also bring into stark, painful relief the still largely white and privileged world of classical music. He reminds his readers that there is talent everywhere and anywhere, and he reminds us to look and listen closely to what we might ignore with his latest novel, Symphony of Secrets . We then talk to Afa Dworkin, President and Creative Director of the “Sphinx Organization.” “Sphinx” is doing amazing work, making sure that the country's orchestras reflect the diversity of our population. We will go back to bookstores next week, but we wanted to honor Brendan by talking to an organization doing work about which he is so passionate.Books mentioned in this week's podcast:Symphony of Secrets by Brendan SlocumbThe Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Midwest, specifically the state of Minnesota as well as food and drink. That may sound limiting, but his talent is without limit and he fills his pages with themes of family and shared humanity. His newest is Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. It is the most personal journey he has ever taken. Take the ride with him, you won't be sorry. Our bookstore this week is Comma, a bookshop, (yes, both the word and the punctuation mark) a new bookstore in the Twin Cities that anyone who lives there should line up to visit.Books mentioned in the podcast: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal The World According to Garp by John Irving Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott The Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Americans in extraordinary times and it comes across in everything he writes. His latest novel, The Trackers, is the most modern novel he has ever written and it takes place 100 years ago. His writing captures the optimism of the American ideal, and his descriptive powers continue to astound. We talk to him about his latest, and what it was about the Great Depression that inspired the book. This week, we also include an interview with Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari, the two founders of 826, a non profit that teaches kids to express themselves through writing.Books mentioned in this podcast: The Trackers by Charles Frazier Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier Varina by Charles Frazier Nightwoods by Charles Frazier The Significance of the Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices