Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On this special holiday episode, host Megan Labrise looks back on the year in podcasting and reintroduces two of her favorite conversations from 2021: with Kazuo Ishiguro, author of Klara and the Sun (Knopf), and with Mary Roach, author of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law (Norton). Thanks for listening in, and cheers to another great year in podcasting! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On our final Best Books episode, Cynthia Barnett discusses The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans (Norton, July). This “absolutely captivating nature book” is one of Kirkus’ Best Books in young readers’ literature for 2021 (starred review). Then nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau joins Megan to discuss the year in memoir, biography, science writing, history, criticism, and more. 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 Best Books episode, Kelly Loy Gilbert discusses When We Were Infinite (Simon & Schuster, March). Gilbert’s “beautifully, achingly cathartic” YA novel (starred review), is one of Kirkus’ Best Books in young readers’ literature for 2021. Then young readers’ editor Laura Simeon joins Megan to discuss the year in picture books, middle grade, and YA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On our first Best Books episode, Lily King discusses Five Tuesdays in Winter (Grove, Nov. 9), one of Kirkus’ Best Books in fiction for 2021. Kirkus: “The first collection of stories from an acclaimed novelist…. Full of insights and pleasures” (starred review). Then fiction editor Laurie Muchnick joins Megan to talk titles, trends, and the year in fiction. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's the fourth annual Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide! Adrian Miller, author of Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue (UNC Press) and Jacob Gallagher of The Men’s Fashion Book (Phaidon) join editor-in-chief Tom Beer and host Megan Labrise for some good cheer and great stories. And Kirkus’ editors present their top gift book picks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

James Beard Award-winning journalist Mayukh Sen joins us to discuss Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America (Norton, Nov. 16). Kirkus calls this groundbreaking group biography “Well-crafted, engaging portraits of culinary and cultural pioneers.” Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza, Katie Heaney, and Louise Erdrich. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Model, actor, activist, entrepreneur and author Emily Ratajkowski joins us to discuss My Body (Metropolitan Books, Nov. 9). Kirkus calls her standout debut essay collection “a refreshingly candid, fearless look into a model’s body of work and its impact on her identity and politics.” Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Donna Jo Napoli and Naoko Stoop, Harmony Becker, and Claire Vaye Watkins. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cultural critic Rax King joins us to discusses Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer (Vintage, Nov. 2), “an engaging, hilarious, unabashed look at what we love in culture and why we should value it for what it is” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Winsome Bingham and Charles G. Esperanza, Amy Butler Greenfield, Tom Vitale, and Asali Solomon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s time for the 2021 Kirkus Prizes! In a YouTube livestream on Thursday, Oct. 28, we'll reveal our judges' picks for the best books of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and young readers' literature, with each of the winners taking home a $50,000 prize. On this special episode, we go behind the scenes with YRL judge Naomi Shihab Nye, nonfiction judge Masha Gessen, and fiction judge Rumaan Alam to find out what went into making the short lists for this year’s awards. Then our editors join to further discuss the finalists. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novelist Tiphanie Yanique joins us to discusses Monster in the Middle (Riverhead, Oct. 19), “A rich and honest examination of family histories, cultural disconnection, and the way people fall in love” (Kirkus). And in a special segment, we get to know Kirkus’ new Young Readers’ Editor Summer Edward, who will join us on the editors’ roundtable starting in November. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.