Book Review – Podcast

Episodes

Before you see the movie, sit down and read ‘Small Things Like These’
11 Nov· Book Review
At just over 100 pages, Irish author Claire Keegan’s novel, "Small Things Like These," is deceptively simple. But her carefully crafted story and characters have readers wrestling with essential moral questions.
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'Bear' is a modern fable that explores the nature of sisterhood
4 Nov· Book Review
Author Julia Phillips uses the bones of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale to ground her novel, "Bear," but fleshes it out with modern characters and sensibilities.
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Another option for spooky-season reading: Mason Coile's 'William' explores AI gone awry
28 Oct· Book Review
Mason Coile's 'William' offers a Hitchcock-meets-cyber-noir level of intensity. It’s definitely one of those stories that, once you start, is impossible to put down.
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In 'The Night We Lost Him,' Laura Dave offers suspense along with a bittersweet love story
21 Oct· Book Review
Fans looking for a lightning-paced thriller won’t find that in Laura Dave's "The Night We Lost Him." But what the novel lacks in jaw-dropping plot twists it more than makes up for in soulful romance and family drama.
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Stanley Tucci is back with another delectable memoir
14 Oct· Book Review
Author, actor and famous foodie Stanley Tucci has released another memoire, "What I Ate in One Year (and Related Thoughts," which chronicles one gastronomical year in his life.
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Rivers Solomon's 'Model Home' is literary horror at its finest
7 Oct· Book Review
Book reviewer Suzanne Perez says Rivers Solomon's newest novel, 'Model Home,' confronts heavy topics like race, class, identity and mental health alongside a constant hum of psychological dread.
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‘How easy is that?’ Not very. Ina Garten relates a life of hard work and bold decisions
30 Sep· Book Review
Celebrity chef Ina Garten's new memoir, "Be There When the Luck Happens," is perfect for fans of foodie memoirs and anyone interested in the tricky business of building a brand.
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‘Graveyard Shift’ is classic M.L. Rio, but not the fully-developed follow-up we’ve been waiting for
23 Sep· Book Review
M.L. Rio's new novella, "Graveyard Shift," centers on five friends who work the late shift in a college town. It’s atmospheric and eerie, but at less than 150 pages, it leaves true Rio fans wanting more.
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‘There are Rivers in the Sky,’ explores the transcendent power of water — and humanity
16 Sep· Book Review
In her newest novel, “There Are Rivers in the Sky,” Elif Shafak weaves characters and storylines together with a single raindrop that falls, freezes, evaporates and reappears across time.
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Marcus Kliewer's 'We Used to Live Here' will get your fall reading off to a scary start
9 Sep· Book Review
Marcus Kliewer’s debut novel began life as a serialized short story on Reddit, where it won an award for Scariest Story of 2021. It's a deliciously twisty haunted house tale with nods to Shirley Jackson and Jordan Peele.
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'That Librarian' tells the story of a school librarian who fought back against book banning
26 Aug· Book Review
'That Librarian: The Fight Against Book-Banning in America' tells the story of Louisiana school librarian Amanda Jones, who sued harassers for defamation when they attacked her on social media. Jones has led the fight against efforts to censor books in school and public libraries.
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'Hum' offers an anxious ride through an AI-driven world
19 Aug· Book Review
Author Helen Phillips says plot points in her latest novel, "Hum," are just slightly exaggerated versions of recent facts or statistics. And that's precisely what makes it so terrifying.
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‘All Fours’ explores weighty themes, but in the end it’s more cringey than clever
12 Aug· Book Review
Book reviewer Suzanne Perez says Miranda July's new novel, "All Fours," is a mid-life-crisis story that's part artistic discovery, part bizarre sexcapades — with a whole lot of kinky and sometimes grotesque episodes that are not for the faint-hearted.
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Chris Whitaker's ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ reads like poetry but tells a harrowing tale
5 Aug· Book Review
At about 600 pages, Chris Whitaker's new novel, "All the Colors of the Dark," takes its time to paint detailed characters and a complex story over 25 years. But its dramatic plot and micro-chapters move the story along at a lightning pace.
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Amazon’s ‘Creature Feature’ collection offers six perfect little morsels of horror
22 Jul· Book Review
The Amazon Originals 'Creature Feature' collection includes six short stories from some of today's best horror novelists, including Grady Hendrix, Josh Malerman and Paul Tremblay.
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J. Courtney Sullivan’s ‘The Cliffs’ is a moving novel about digging up family secrets — and ghosts
15 Jul· Book Review
Book reviewer Suzanne Perez says J. Courtney Sullivan's new novel, "The Cliffs," isn’t a ghost story, per se, but the characters dig up and deal with the ghosts of their past.
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‘Pearce Oysters’ explores the personal toll of history's most disastrous oil spill
8 Jul· Book Review
"Pearce Oysters," a new novel by Jocelyn Takacs, offers a better understanding of the interdependence of nature and man, and readers come away with a deeper respect for those who make their livings on the coast.
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Liz Moore’s ‘The God of the Woods’ is the can’t-put-it-down summer read you’ve been craving
1 Jul· Book Review
Author Liz Moore weaves so much into her new 500-page novel, "The God of the Woods," including class struggles and family secrets. But it never feels confusing or overplotted.
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With ‘Middle of the Night,’ Riley Sager offers a suburban thriller with plenty of twists and turns
24 Jun· Book Review
Sager is known for fast-paced thrillers with titles like Lock Every Door and Home Before Dark, and this one stays true to the formula. But it’s a formula that works.
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In ‘Margot’s Got Money Troubles,’ Rufi Thorpe explores motherhood and sex work
17 Jun· Book Review
"Margot's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe tells the story of 20-year-old Margot Millet, the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, who gets knocked up by her community college English professor and decides to keep the baby.
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Episodes

Before you see the movie, sit down and read ‘Small Things Like These’

'Bear' is a modern fable that explores the nature of sisterhood

Another option for spooky-season reading: Mason Coile's 'William' explores AI gone awry

In 'The Night We Lost Him,' Laura Dave offers suspense along with a bittersweet love story

Stanley Tucci is back with another delectable memoir

Rivers Solomon's 'Model Home' is literary horror at its finest

‘How easy is that?’ Not very. Ina Garten relates a life of hard work and bold decisions

‘Graveyard Shift’ is classic M.L. Rio, but not the fully-developed follow-up we’ve been waiting for

‘There are Rivers in the Sky,’ explores the transcendent power of water — and humanity

Marcus Kliewer's 'We Used to Live Here' will get your fall reading off to a scary start

'That Librarian' tells the story of a school librarian who fought back against book banning

'Hum' offers an anxious ride through an AI-driven world

‘All Fours’ explores weighty themes, but in the end it’s more cringey than clever

Chris Whitaker's ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ reads like poetry but tells a harrowing tale

Amazon’s ‘Creature Feature’ collection offers six perfect little morsels of horror

J. Courtney Sullivan’s ‘The Cliffs’ is a moving novel about digging up family secrets — and ghosts

‘Pearce Oysters’ explores the personal toll of history's most disastrous oil spill

Liz Moore’s ‘The God of the Woods’ is the can’t-put-it-down summer read you’ve been craving

With ‘Middle of the Night,’ Riley Sager offers a suburban thriller with plenty of twists and turns

In ‘Margot’s Got Money Troubles,’ Rufi Thorpe explores motherhood and sex work