Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Debut novelist K Patrick joins us to discuss Mrs. S (Europa Editions, June 20): “Dark academia meets forbidden love as an English boarding school matron [falls for a] headmaster’s wife…An erotic yet high-minded literary achievement,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. Then our editors share their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s inaugural Fully Booked Takeover, we’re thrilled to welcome special guest host Owen King (The Curator, etc.), in conversation with debut novelist Jacqueline Holland (The God of Endings). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On our second annual Pride Episode of the podcast, Amelia Possanza joins us to discuss Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives (Catapult, May 30) Kirkus: “Detailed and immensely readable, this is a generous history of lesbian love” (starred review). Then our editors highlight some of their favorite books by LGBTQIA+ authors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy summertime, readers! S.A. Cosby joins us to discuss All the Sinners Bleed (Flatiron, June 6) on this special Summer Reads episode. Kirkus: “A gripping cat-and-mouse game between a twisted White religious killer and the first Black sheriff of a small Virginia community.” Then our editors highlight some of their favorite books of summer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Luis Alberto Urrea joins us to discuss Good Night, Irene (Little Brown, May 30), a novel inspired by his mother’s service in the Red Cross’ Clubmobile Corps in World War II. Kirkus: “Top-shelf historical fiction delivered with wit and compassion” (starred review). Then our editors share their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Max Porter joins us to discuss Shy (Graywolf, May 2), a slim, introspective new novel from the inventive author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers (2016) and Lanny (2019). Then our editors share their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katherine Heiny joins us to discuss Games and Rituals (Knopf, April 18), her funny, frank sophomore story collection. Kirkus: “With this irresistibly amusing, bighearted collection, Heiny again proves she is a master of the short story form” (starred review). Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novelist Brendan Slocumb joins us to discuss Symphony of Secrets (Anchor, April 18), a vibrant musical mystery from the author of The Violin Conspiracy (2022). Kirkus: “A scholar discovers his favorite composer's secret in this page-turning thriller….Sophomore novels don’t get much better than this” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abraham Verghese joins us to discuss The Covenant of Water (Grove, May 2), a standout sophomore novel from the author of 2009 bestseller Cutting for Stone. “Three generations of a South Indian family are marked by passions and peccadillos, conditions and ambitions, interventions both medical and divine,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. And in a sponsored interview, Megan talks with novelist Nana Kwame Adjei Brenya, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars (Pantheon, May 2; starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jonathan Rosen joins us to discuss The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions (Penguin Press, April 18), “An affecting, thoughtfully written portrait of a friendship broken by mental illness and its terrible sequelae” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.