The Night Tiger (Flatiron Books, 2019) is much more than just a fantasy novel—it’s also a mystery, a historical novel, and a love story. Yang-Sze Choo accomplishes all this in one deft package. Set in Malaysia in the 1930s, in the state of Perak, The Night Tiger closely follows three narrators, mysteriously interlinked by their names. There is a clever orpha ... Show More
Feb 22
Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman, "The Thread Collectors" (Harper Collins, 2022)
The Thread Collectors (Harper Collins, 2022) by Shaunna J Edwards and Alyson Richman takes readers to 1863, where, in a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and joi ... Show More
41m 12s
Feb 20
Sandra Freels, "Anneke Jans in the New World (She Writes Press, 2026)
With the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America fast approaching, a small flood of novels set in the early days of colonization and statehood seems likely. Anneke Jans in the New World (She Writes Press, 2026) stands out because, rather than focus on th ... Show More
29m 25s
Jan 31
Princess Joy L. Perry, "This Here Is Love" (W.W. Norton, 2025)
Three people—two enslaved, one indentured—living beside each other, struggling against their circumstances, trying to bend destiny. As the seventeenth century burns to a close in Tidewater, Virginia, America’s character is wrought in the fires of wealth, race, and freedom. Young ... Show More
53m 2s
Jan 2022
378 Liu Xinwu and the "Scar Literature" of China (with Jeremy Tiang) | Bharati Sneak Preview (with Mira Sundara Rajan)
In this episode, Jacke talks to Jeremy Tiang about his new translation of The Wedding Party, a Chinese classic contemporary novel written in the early 1980s by Liu Xinwu, one of the originators of what has been termed "scar literature." PLUS we feature a sneak preview of our conv ... Show More
49m 26s
Feb 2022
A Spiritual, Dangerous Quest in the Himalayas
<p>Harley Rustad’s new book, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/books/review/lost-in-the-valley-of-death-harley-rustad.html" target="_blank">“Lost in the Valley of Death,”</a> is about an American adventurer named Justin Alexander Shetler, who went on a quest in the Hima ... Show More
55m 3s
Jul 2021
A Heartbreaking Novel About Mothers, Daughters and Secrets
<p>The latest pick for Group Text, our monthly column for readers and book clubs, is Esther Freud's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/books/i-couldnt-love-you-more-esther-freud-group-text.html" target="_blank">“I Couldn’t Love You More,”</a> a novel about three generati ... Show More
56m 44s
Jun 2022
Sensing the World Anew Through Other Species
<p>Ed Yong’s new book, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/books/review-immense-world-animal-senses-ed-yong.html" target="_blank">“An Immense World,”</a> urges readers to break outside their “sensory bubble” to consider the unique ways that dogs, dolphins, mice and other ... Show More
45m 53s
Sep 2023
Interview with Ana Huang
Ana Huang is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author. Best known for her Twisted series, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance with deliciously alpha heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of steam, angst, and swoon sprinkled in. He ... Show More
53m 40s
<p>Chang-rae Lee’s new novel, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/books/review/chang-rae-lee-my-year-abroad.html" target="_blank">“My Year Abroad,”</a> is his sixth. On this week’s podcast, Lee says that his readers might be surprised by it.</p><p>“It’s kind of a crazy bo ... Show More
