The Book Case

Lawrence Wright’s newest novel, Mr. Texas, revolves around Texas politics and how they relate to our national political conversation, and he knows from where he speaks. Not only is he a native Texan, but he has also written one of the definitive NON fiction books about Texas, (God Save Texas). Both books are insightful, prescient, and, this might surprise you, very funny. Mr. Texas is about modern politics, the price of selling your soul, the importance of Texas politics, how to talk to each other, and whether or not one person can make a difference in this world. Our bookstore this week is Werner Books and Coffee in Erie PA.Books mentioned in this week's episode: Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright The End of October by Lawrence Wright The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid by Lawrence Wright Thirteen Days in September: The Dramatic Story of the Struggle for Peace by Lawrence Wright The Terror Years: From Al Qaeda to the Islamic State by Lawrence Wright Sheets by Brenna Thummler Lights by Brenna Thummler Delicates by Brenna Thummler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You might know the historical fiction of Jennifer Vanderbes, but just wait until you read Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims. Think thalidomide didn’t affect mothers and children in this country? Think again. Wonder Drug is the hidden American story of thalidomide: yes, it did get to pregnant women and yes there were children born effected by phocomelia in this country. Although the system denied their existence for decades, this beautifully researched book tells their story, as well as the deeply disturbing truth about how this drug was distributed behind the backs of the FDA. Join us.Book mentioned in this week's episode: Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims by Jennifer Vanderbes Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes The Secret of Raven Point by Jennifer Vanderbes Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn These are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen Portrait of a Lady by Henry James Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being the president of anything takes vision, ambition, and leadership. Being the president of a leading academic institution takes courage (and a whole lot of smarts). Leading Wellesley College for almost 20 years while it ushered in the new millennium took Dr. Diana Chapman Walsh. In her new memoir, The Claims of Life, she gives you a front row seat to the front office of Wellesley and walks you how she got there. Diana is also one of our nearest and dearest friends….and we loved talking to her. Our bookstore this week is Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, Vermont.Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Claims of Life by Diana Chapman Walsh A Synthesizing Mind: A Memoir from the Creator of Multiple Intelligences Theory by Howard Gardner Death at an Early Age by Jonathan Kozol North Woods by Daniel Mason Save me a Seat!: A Life with Movies by Rick Winston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice McDermott has written one of THE great novels of 2023. Absolution is so many things…a portrait of diplomatic wives carving out lives for themselves in Saigon before the start of the war, a moralistic novel about the dangers of colonialism and good intentions, the story of the complex relationships women have with motherhood, and with each other. Why did she write it? And what has convinced so many that it's going to be a Pulitzer finalist this year? Tune in and find out. Our bookstore this week comes from one of our beloved listeners-The Lost Bookshop in Delhi, NY. Join us, and keep sending in suggestions!Books mentioned in this week's episode: Absolution by Alice McDermott Charming Billy by Alice McDermott Someone by Alice McDermott The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott That Night by Alice McDermott At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott A Bigamist’s Daughter by Alice McDermott After This by Alice McDermott What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott The Quiet American by Graham Greene This is Happiness by Niall Williams The Holy Bible Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Art of Seeing Things by John Burroughs A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So we have come to the last of our horror genre shows…although we have decided we like the moniker 'dark literature’ better. We have a game-changing author to end it with (in time for Halloween): Paul Tremblay. If you read ‘dark literature’ and you haven’t devoured A Head Full of Ghosts on a dark and stormy night, RUN, do not walk, to your nearest independent bookstore. But Kate has read seven of his books (so far) and has not been disappointed in a single one. We also talk to horror writer and Professor Michael Arnzen of Seton Hill University about the courses he teaches in the dark art of writing what scares us. We hope you have enjoyed our ‘dark literature’ series….we might dip back from time to time. Happy Halloween.Books mentioned in this week's episode: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay No Sleep Til Wonderland by Paul Tremblay Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye by Paul Tremblay Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly by Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay The Pallbearer’s Club by Paul Tremblay In the Mean Time by Paul Tremblay Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay Sophie’s Choice by William Styron Absolution by Alice McDermott The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Stand by Stephen King Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates Pet Sematary by Stephen King Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez Psycho by Robert Bloch The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe Dracula by Bram Stoker The Turn of the Screw by Henry James  Ulysses by James Joyce Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Film by Carol Clover Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tan Twan Eng, in some ways, has the perfect bibliography. He has written three books, all novels. All three have been on the short or long list for the Man Booker Prize. That should tell you how talented he is….and this is the first book he has published in more than a decade. The House of Doors is a lyrical and lovely read about the travels of William Somerset Maugham in Malaysia. Don’t know Maugham’s work? Doesn’t matter. Don’t know much about Malaysia? Doesn’t matter. Tan Twan Eng’s books transcend the familiar-getting to the humanity of every conflict, every story. This book transports readers….and its more than worth the price of the ticket.Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng This is Happiness by Niall Williams The Letter by William Somerset Maugham Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham The Casuarina Tree by William Somerset Maugham Time for a Tiger by Anthony Burgess Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surely You Can’t be Serious - heard that before? Surely you have, if you have seen the movie Airplane! Made in 1980. The incredibly successful and popular movie was the brainchild of three guys from Milwaukee - then in their twenties - David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. They called themselves ZAZ. And, improbably, they got their movie made against all odds. They admit they didn’t have the slightest idea how to make a movie. Much less direct it. Much less convince Hollywood executives to invest in it. But they did and the rest is history and not to mention, a very funny book, just released. Surely You Can’t be Serious is the story behind the story of one of the funniest movies ever made.Books mentioned in this week's podcast: Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro Ketogenic Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders by Jon Freeman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amanda Gorman is an American treasure. Her inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb, stunned audiences around the world in 2021, and her tome of poetry, Call Us What We Carry, spoke to the pain and powerlessness that the world felt while locked down by COVID-19. What you might not know (and now we hope you do) is that she is also an accomplished children’s author. Her latest, Something, Someday teaches kids to make the world a better place by starting small while thinking big. Illustrated by the talented Christian Robinson (who also joins us), Amanda’s words reach out from the page to say that no one is too small to make a difference.Books mentioned in this week’s episode: Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, Illustrated by Christian Robinson Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, Illustrated by Loren Long The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury Deacon King Kong by James McBride The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride You Matter by Christian Robinson Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renée Watson, Illustrated by Christian Robinson The Last Stop on Market Street by Mark de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate DiCamillo has probably been honored as much or more than any living American children’s author. If her awards were all displayed on a mantle, she’d probably need dozens of fireplaces. And she’s a delightful conversationalist. Her new book is The Puppets of Spelhorst. Her most widely read book, The Tale of Despereaux, is out with a special 20th anniversary edition. Dicamillo's love with telling stories is in everything she has ever written. Since Kate is from Minneapolis, we feature one of the largest independent bookstores in the twin cities - Magers & Quinn. Books mentioned in this podcast:   The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo  The Puppets of Spelhorst - Kate DiCamillo  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo  The Beatryce Prophecy - Kate DiCamillo  Louisiana’s Way Home - Kate DiCamillo  Paddington - Michael Bond  Hello Lighthouse - Sophie Blackall  If You Come to Earth - Sophie Blackall  Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear - Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall  Wellness - Nathan Hill  Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have two horror genre shows left and this week we bring you Stephen Graham Jones. Although not all of his books fall squarely in horror category, My Heart is a Chainsaw and Don’t Fear the Reaper are beautiful love letters to horror fans who will take much glee in all the genre conventions within which Stephen plays. The final Indian Lake Trilogy novel comes out this fall, The Angel Of Indian Lake. Kate can’t wait. Stephen brings his Blackfoot Native American culture and aspects of social justice to his writings and his writing is all the better for it. If you shy away from horror, try Mapping The Interior or The Only Good Indians. For an independent bookseller this week, we reach out to one of Stephen’s local favorites, the Boulder Bookstore in Colorado.Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones Demon Theory by Stephen Graham Jones Ararat by Christopher Golden Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle Come Closer by Sara Gran Collected Poems, 1947-1980 by Allen Ginsberg Merlin Book 1: The Lost Years by T. A. Barron The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel Biography of X by Catherine Lacey Stars Go Blue by Laura Pritchett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices