Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Annabelle Gurwitch discusses her latest memoir ‘You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility’ (Counterpoint, March 2). Kirkus: “Erma Bombeck meets Dorothy Parker in this topical and often laugh-out-loud funny take on our modern malaise.” Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Linda Sue Park and Robert Sae-Heng, Kate Alice Marshall, Bill Gates, and Talia Hibbert. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patricia Engel discusses her latest novel ‘Infinite Country’ (Avid Reader Press, March 2). Kirkus: “Engel’s vital story of a divided Colombian family is a book we need to read” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Traci Sorell and Natasha Donovan, Kelly Loy Gilbert, and Lauren Oyler. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode, editor in chief Tom Beer hosts Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss ‘The Committed’ (Grove, March 2), a new novel Kirkus calls “a quirky intellectual crime story that highlights the Vietnam War’s complex legacy” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Shaw Kuzki and Emily Balistrieri, Anna-Marie McLemore, Walter Isaacson, and Naima Coster. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kazuo Ishiguro discusses his latest novel ‘Klara and the Sun’ (Knopf, March 2), “a haunting fable of a lonely, moribund world that is entirely too plausible” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Juliet Menéndez, Safia Elhillo, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, and Jack Livings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paisley Rekdal discusses ‘Appropriate: A Provocation’ (Norton, Feb. 16), “An astute, lucid examination of an incendiary issue” (starred review). And in a sponsored interview, Megan talks with debut author Kate Albus about A Place to Hang the Moon (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, Feb. 2). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên, Nicole Lesperance, James Nestor, and Lauren Fox. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Atherton Lin discusses ‘Gay Bar: Why We Went Out’ (Little, Brown, Feb. 9), “A vibrant and wistful report on a bygone era in gay culture” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Joyce Sidman, Joy McCullough, Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, and Brandon Hobson. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Edward Carey discusses ‘The Swallowed Man’ (Riverhead, Jan. 26), an author-illustrated retelling of ‘Pinocchio’ from Geppetto’s point of view: “A deep and grimly whimsical exploration of what it means to be a son, a father, and an artist” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Carole Boston Weatherford (illus. by Floyd Cooper), Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Tove Ditlevsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michelle Duster discusses ‘Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells” (One Signal, Jan. 26), an illustrated biography and “warm remembrance of a civil rights icon” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Dovey Roundtree Johnston and Katie McCabe, Tess Sharpe, Jerry Seinfeld, and Sarah Moss. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matthew Salesses discusses ‘Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping’ (Catapult, Jan. 19), “fresh view of teaching craft to writers of diverse backgrounds” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by B.B. Alston, Malinda Lo, Gabriel Byrne, and Anna North. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

George Saunders discusses ‘A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russian Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life’ (Random House, Jan. 12), in which “a master of contemporary fiction joyously assesses some of the best [short stories] of the 19th century” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Helen Yoon, Angie Thomas, Ram Dass, and Torrey Peters. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.