Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

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.

New Yorker staffer Susan Orlean joins us to discuss On Animals (Avid Reader Press, Oct. 12), a wide-ranging selection of essays and in-depth profiles of the finned and furred, from a beloved writer and avowed animal lover (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, and Ruby Shamir, Tarana Burke, and Hilma Wolitzer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novelist Chibundu Onuzo joins us to discuss Sankofa (Catapult, Oct. 5), the story of a biracial British woman who begins a quest to find her African father. And in a sponsored interview, Megan talks with Brittney Cooper and Chanel Craft Tanner, authors, with Susana Morris, of guide to girlhood Feminist AF (Norton Books for Young Readers, Oct .5; starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Eugene Yelchin, Daniel de Visé, and John McGregor. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode celebrating Banned Books Week, Qian Julie Wang joins us to discuss Beautiful Country (Doubleday, Sept. 7), an affecting account of her family’s journey from China to the U.S., and her challenging early years as an undocumented elementary schooler in New York’s Chinatown (starred review). Then editors Vicky Smith, Eric Liebetrau, and Laurie Muchnick join us for a spirited discussion of the importance of the right to read whatever you choose. This episode is sponsored by Lake Union Publishing, home of What Passes as Love by Trisha R. Thomas. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.