The Book Case

In this, the second part of our interview with Louise Penny we talk to her about the art of writing, how she stays fresh and what her year looks like as she writes and completes a Gamache mystery. We widen our lens on the art of writing with Louise Penny. Stay with us, you won't want to miss it.Books mentioned in this week's episode:The Grey Wolf by Louise PennyStill Life by Louise PennyA Fatal Grace by Louise PennyThe Cruelest Month by Louise PennyA Rule Against Murder by Louise PennyThe Brutal Telling by Louise PennyBury Your Dead by Louise PennyThe Hangman by Louise PennyA Trick of the Light by Louise PennyThe Beautiful Mystery by Louise PennyHow the Light Gets In by Louise PennyThe Nature of the Beast by Louise PennyA Great Reckoning by Louise PennyGlass Houses by Louise PennyKingdom of the Blind by Louise PennyA Better Man by Louise PennyAll the Devils Are HereThe Madness of Crowds by Louise PennyState of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham ClintonWorld of Curiosities by Louise PennyThe Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan DoyleAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieA Prayer for Owen Meaney by John IrvingThe Devil in the White City by Eric LarsonSolomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai RichlerLeft on Tenth by Delia Ephron Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We read fan comments, and several of you wrote us about Louise Penny.  Charlie has always been a fan (he would want me to say that) but Kate was shamefully new to her work.  But she is now a HUGE fan and has read them all and could not put down The Grey Wolf, Penny’s newest and her 19th Inspector Gamache in the series. Join us for part 1 of a 2 part Book Case podcast with Louise Penny.Books mentioned in this week's episode:The Grey Wolf by Louise PennyStill Life by Louise PennyA Fatal Grace by Louise PennyThe Cruelest Month by Louise PennyA Rule Against Murder by Louise PennyThe Brutal Telling by Louise PennyBury Your Dead by Louise PennyThe Hangman by Louise PennyA Trick of the Light by Louise PennyThe Beautiful Mystery by Louise PennyHow the Light Gets In by Louise PennyThe Nature of the Beast by Louise PennyA Great Reckoning by Louise PennyGlass Houses by Louise PennyKingdom of the Blind by Louise PennyA Better Man by Louise PennyAll the Devils Are HereThe Madness of Crowds by Louise PennyState of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham ClintonWorld of Curiosities by Louise PennyThe Time of the Child by Niall WilliamsOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia MarquezHouse of Spirits by Isabel AllendeMonogamy by Sue Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Niall Williams releases a book, we positively cheer.  His writing feels like coming home to us.  A home full of warm fires, good stories, kind neighbors, strong community and unspoken love.  All of them and more illuminate his latest: The Time of the Child.  We could not recommend this book more.  Buy it.  And then buy it for everyone on your holiday list who loves to read.  And then sit by your holiday fire with all of those folks who read it and listen to this episode of the Book Case.  You will be so glad you did.Books mentioned in this week's episode:The Time of the Child by Niall WilliamsThis is Happiness by Niall Williams History of Rain by Niall Williams Four Letters of Love by Niall WilliamsAs it Is in Heaven by Niall WilliamsO Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare by Niall Williams and Christine BreenThe Fall of Light by Niall WilliamsIn Kiltumper: A Year in an Irish Garden by Niall Williams and Christine BreenBoy in the World by Niall WilliamsJohn by Niall WilliamsWhen Summer’s in the Meadow by Niall Williams and Christine BreenBel Canto: The Annotated Edition by Ann Patchett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We don’t do it often, but we are giving two episodes to one conversation: the Great Ann Patchett talking about the Annotated Bel Canto.  After we wrap our conversation with her we talk to her bookstore, Parnassus and its manager, Cat Bock.  Tune in and find out why we love Ann Patchett so much.  Books mentioned in this week's episode:Bel Canto: The Annotated Edition by Ann PatchettThe Dutch House by Ann PatchettThese Precious Days by Ann PatchettThe Patron Saint of Liars by Ann PatchettState of Wonder by Ann PatchettCommonwealth by Ann PatchettRun by Ann PatchettThis is the Story of a Marriage by Ann PatchettTruth & Beauty by Ann PatchettTom Lake by Ann PatchettTaft by Ann PatchettAbide with Me by Elizabeth StroutCold Comfort Farm by Stella GibbonsBrideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, The Audiobook Version read by Jeremy IronsThe Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ann Patchett burst on the scene with Bel Canto twenty three years ago. Bel Canto was not her first novel, but many still consider it to be her best (although she disagrees). This week she releases an Annotated Edition of Bel Canto and in it she rereads and notes her triumphs and mistakes on every page. Seriously. A great novel, a great writer making insightful comments on her own writing (in her own handwriting)…if you love reading, writing or Ann Patchett, this is a HUGE treat. In this episode, the first installment of our conversation with Ann, we talk to her about the inspirations behind Bel Canto, and so much of what she thinks she could do better if she wrote it today. Listen and nerd out with us on the writing experience.Books mentioned in this week’s podcast: Bel Canto: The Annotated Edition by Ann PatchettThe Dutch House by Ann PatchettThese Precious Days by Ann PatchettThe Patron Saint of Liars by Ann PatchettState of Wonder by Ann PatchettCommonwealth by Ann PatchettRun by Ann PatchettThis is the Story of a Marriage by Ann PatchettTruth & Beauty by Ann PatchettTom Lake by Ann PatchettTaft by Ann PatchettCyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Danzy Senna has written a seriously funny and thought provoking book in Colored Television. It will make you laugh, but also make space for anger, pain and frustration as she skewers race, Hollywood, authentic voice, the publishing industry, the Kardashians, navel gazing, philosophy….you name it, there is satire in this book for everyone. Great writing and a great conversation with the author. We are also joined for our fourth writer in residence conversation with J. Ryan Stradal. He tells us why he is working so hard on the first draft of his new novel. Join us. Books mentioned in this week’s podcast:Colored Television by Danzy SennaCaucasia by Danzy SennaNew People by Danzy SennaYou are Free: Stories by Danzy SennaWhere did you Sleep Last Night by Danzy SennaDavid Copperfield by Charles DickensDisgrace by J.M. CoetzeeColours of the Mountain by Da ChenThe Fire Next Time by James BaldwinThe Year of Magical Thinking by Joan DidionBeloved by Tony MorrisonThe Message by Ta-Nehisi CoatesSaturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan StradalKitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan StradalLager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reginald Dwayne Betts is on a mission is to put a curated library in the cell block of every prison in America. A survivor of the system himself, he has obtained a college degree, a law degree from Yale, and a MacArthur Genius grant. Looking to bring hope to America’s most hopeless places, Bates has founded Freedom Reads, an organization that brings free curated library collections to every prison system that agrees to it. His partner in the endeavor, Debbie Leff, also talks to us about what inspired her about this tremendous organization. No one better personifies the power of reading to change a life, so join us for what we believe is an important discussion about the vitality of libraries and the power of books to heal.Books mentioned in this week’s podcast:The Circumference of a Prison by Reginald Dwayne BettsDoggerel by Reginald Dwayne BettsFelon: Poems by Reginald Dwayne BettsRedaction by Reginald Dwayne BettsBastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paula Hawkins is a master of the mystery, and her new one, The Blue Hour, has one of the best opens and closes to a mystery we have ever read. An author who knows mood and atmosphere, this book will keep you turning the pages long after you told yourself to go to bed. Our bookstore this week is a revisit with one of our favorites, Beacon Hill Books. Join us!Books mentioned in this week’s podcast:The Blue Hour by Paula HawkinsThe Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsInto the Water by Paula HawkinsSlow Fire Burning by Paula HawkinsAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieLife After Life by Kate AtkinsonThe Natural Way of Things by Charlotte WoodThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Osman has one of the most successful literary mystery series of all time: The Thursday Murder Club (just finished filming as a major motion picture too). So why start a new series and why do we love it so much? First, we will read anything this man writes, including his address book, but second, because it’s good, AND funny. We ask Richard what inspired him, why he was crazy enough to start a new series and how. Our bookstore this week is Collected Works in Santa Fe. Join us!Books mentioned in this week's episode:We Solve Murders by Richard OsmanThursday Murder Club by Richard OsmanThe Bullet that Missed by Richard OsmanThe Man who Died Twice by Richard OsmanThe Last Devil to Die by Richard OsmanFade Away by Harlan CobenAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieDavid Copperfield by Charles Dickens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's book case: Emmitt Till’s murder has been a seminal moment in American history ever since it occurred in 1955. Wright Thompson’s new book “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” looks at the horror through a whole new prism. Thompson loves his native land of Mississippi but is haunted by the barn where Emmitt Till was murdered. Why is it that we still know so little about one of the ugliest chapters in the history of American race relations? Tune in and find out.Books mentioned in this week’s podcast:The Barn: The Secret History of A Murder in Mississippi by Wright ThompsonPappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon and the Things that Last by Wright ThompsonThe Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business by Wright Thompson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices