If you haven’t heard of Erik Larson, you don’t read enough non-fiction. A giant in the industry and an immense talent, Erik is turning his attention to the beginnings of the Civil War in his latest, The Demon of Unrest. It’s the nail biting account of how we ended up turning guns against one another, North to South, with a specific focus on the stand off at Fort Sumter. Told through the eyes of rich characters through their unique perspectives, Larson brings new learning to an oft discussed topic…how the Union tore itself apart over slavery. You won’t want to miss this one.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
• Lethal Passage by Erik Larson Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
• The Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities by Erik Larson
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
• In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
• No One Goes Alone: A Novel by Erik Larson
• The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson
• Mary Chesnut's Diary by Mary Boykin Chestnut
• The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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We try not to do books about politics — political discourse in this country is, currently, divisive in the extreme. However, Carlos Lozada, in his new book, The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians, gives us a survey of Washington literature that will surprise, delight and inform you. From Tocqueville to Trump, from The Muller Report to DeSantis’ plea for the presidency, Carlos has read it all, and written about almost everything he has read. This book is a compendium of his best columns about books…why does Carlos think presidents insist on writing their own biographies? Why is George H.W. Bush one of the only presidents without a presidential autobiography? Tune in and find out.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians by Carlos Lozada
• What We Were Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era by Carlos Lozada
• Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
• The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant
• An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter
• Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham
• Heartburn by Nora Ephron
• Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

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Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong writer who has written her family and country’s history through deeply personal prisms. She told the story of her family’s beginnings via her grandmother’s story in The Latehomecomer, shared the life of her father in The Song Poet and now writes her mother’s journey in Where Rivers Part. Told in the first person, Where Rivers Part is the beautiful and compelling story of Tswb, who fled Laos to Thailand, eventually fighting her way to Minnesota to give a better future to her children. It is an epic tale of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, struggle and triumph. Our bookstore this week is a 22-year-old dynamo who has already taken Mendham, NJ by storm…watch out world, it’s Chapter One Books.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• Where Rivers Part by Kao Kalia Yang
• The Song Poet by Kao Kalia Yang
• Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
• A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang
• The Shared Room by Kao Kalia Yang
• From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang
• The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
• Yang Warriors by Kao Kalia Yng
• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
• The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

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Tommy Orange has written a second novel. Although technically a sequel, you can easily read Wandering Stars without having experienced There There. But you should read at least one. Or both. Oh to heck with it, we love Tommy Orange and we will read anything he writes. He is incredibly talented. And we pair him with Birchbark Books & Native Arts, a bookstore that is a beloved Twin Cities landmark, while also serving the national and international Indigenous community. Tune in to find out how.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

• There There by Tommy Orange
• Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
• The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
• James by Percival Everett
• Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich
• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
• Waltzing the Cat by Pam Houston
• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
• The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson
• The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy
• Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart

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Amor Towles is publishing a short story collection (with a novella included) called Table for Two, and we waited with bated breath as it arrived in our mailboxes. Can he bring the same artistry in short form that he does to his novels? Is he equally talented in novella, short story and novel? Short answers are yes, yes and yes. This rich collection of stories are varied, thought provoking, funny and beautiful. Join us to find out how and why he does what he does.

Book mentioned in this week's episode.

• Table for Two by Amor Towles
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
• Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

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This Disaster Loves You is the newest by Richard Roper, which we would probably best describe as a quirky British romcom, sort of... a little. But it’s also hilarious and there is both depth and humanity to it that will surprise you. We both read it in about 48 hours, and you probably will too. Read it, and then listen to this conversation; you’ll understand why we’re so charmed. Our bookstore this week is Roebling Books which has a few locations in Kentucky. Owner, Richard Hunt has some terrific recommendations you won’t want to miss.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper
• When We Were Young by Richard Roper
• Something to Live for by Richard Roper
• Us by David Nicholls
• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
• The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Trust by Hernan Diaz
• Beach Music by Pat Conroy
• The Land of the Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
• Clay’s Quilt by Silas House
• The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry
• Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

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THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE SHOW!

We kick off our new series, Writer in Residence, with our resident writer, J. Ryan Stradal. A great writer, a national bestseller, and a friend of Kate’s for almost thirty years, J. Ryan is going to give The Book Case a front row seat from page one to publication. Join us as he walks us through what he does to get started, and his thoughts on how the book might proceed. What does he do to get past self doubt to be the best writer he can be? He joins us once a month for about fifteen minutes to talk us through every phase. This, our first episode, he gets the whole episode. Enjoy!

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
• Working by Robert A. Caro
• The World According to Garp by John Irving
• Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson
• Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
• Adventures in Screen Trade by William Goldman

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If you are a mystery fan who hasn’t read Tana French, then you have missed one of the great modern mystery writers of our time. American by birth and Irish by residence, her Irish set mysteries will both haunt you and keep you guessing. Her newest, The Hunter, is one of her best, a rousing combination of a murder mystery and heist suspense. She tells us what motivates her and how she does what she does time and time again. Our bookstore is The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• In the Woods by Tana French
• The Likeness by Tana French
• Faithful Place by Tana French
• The Searcher by Tana French
• The Secret Place by Tana French
• Broken Harbor by Tana French
• The Witch Elm by Tana French
• The Trespasser by Tana French
• The Hunter by Tana French
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

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We believe that Anna Quindlen should be declared a national treasure. Her new novel, After Annie, is an intimate look at a family recovering from the loss of their matriarch. Taken too young, she dies suddenly of an aneurism while making dinner. It’s funny, sad, and, like all of Anna’s work, universal in its themes and depictions of family life. We pair her this week with the Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. Join us for some great conversations.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• After Annie by Anna Quindlen
• Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen
• Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
• Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen
• Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen
• Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
• Blessings by Anna Quindlen
• Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen
• A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
• Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
• Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
• Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
• Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen
• One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
• Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
• Ablaze by Christopher Krovatin
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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It’s never a great idea to pigeonhole a talented writer, but you could probably call Sloane Crosley a humorist... most of the time. Her newest, Grief Is for People, is a funny, raw, introspective, and beautiful look at grief from every angle. Rocked by the suicide of her best friend, Crosley dives into her pain and loss in this slim, but effecting book that will make you laugh out loud while you reach for your tissue box. (Yes, a cliche. But, here, a true one.) We also speak with McLean and Eakin books in Petoskey Michigan, run by a husband and wife team who fell in love in the shop they now own.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
• I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
• Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
• Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley
• The Clasp by Sloane Crosley
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
• Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
• The Long Goodbye: A Memoir by Meghan O'Rourke
• Taking a Long Look: Essays on Culture, Literature and Feminism in Our Time by Vivian Gornick
• The Painter by Peter Heller
• The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

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A few weeks ago Kate received an email informing her of a debut author: Diane Oliver. But this debut book stood out because the author had been dead for more than fifty years. Fascinated, we asked for copies...and Diane Oliver's work knocked us out. Her debut collection, Neighbors and Other Stories, is a compendium of her work: insightful, raw, beautiful, intimate, with character's stark and naked humanity jumping off every page. We talk to the writer Tayari Jones, who wrote the book's enthusiastic introduction, as well as Diane's agent, Elise Dillsworth and her publisher, Katie Raissian. How does one release a debut work when the author is long gone? Tune in and find out.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
• Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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