Today I talked to Aaron Hamburger about his new novel Hotel Cuba (Harper Perennial, 2023).
Two sisters fleeing the horror of the Soviet Revolution and aftermath of WW1 are disappointed when American policy prevents them from joining their older sister in New York. Older, practical sister Pearl knows they must leave the old world to survive and buys tickets t ... Show More
May 15
K'wan, "House of the Rising Sun" (Akashic Books, 2026)
When Artie Howell moves with his wife back to her sleepy hometown, he must protect their son Nicky from the skeletons coming out of the closets from both of their pasts in House of the Rising Sun (Akashic Books, 2026) When the Howell family moves into a house on Heckler Lane, i ... Show More
27m 42s
May 15
Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, "A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams" (William Morrow, 2026)
So close to the semiquincentennial, it’s great to see a novel focused on the life of Abigail Adams, a woman appreciated even in her own time—especially by her husband of more than half a century, John Adams, the second president of the United States—but not, at the time, for her ... Show More
40m 12s
May 14
Caroline Bicks, "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" (Hogarth, 2026)
My guest is Caroline Bicks, whose new book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King (Hogarth, 2026) became a bestseller shortly after release. After she was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, Caroline Bicks became th ... Show More
53m 29s
Jun 2021
Interview with Kristen Arnett
In this week’s episode, Kendra talks with Kristen Arnett about her most recent novel, With Teeth, which out now from Riverhead.
Check out our Patreon page to learn more about our book club and other Patreon-exclusive goodies. Follow along over on Instagram, join the discussion in ... Show More
47m 33s
May 2022
LAILA LALAMI | The Other American & The Moor's Account | Conversations
<p>Laila Lalami talked about her award-winning books, The Other American, The Moor’s Account, Secret Son, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits & Conditional Citizens.</p><p><strong>Laila Lalami</strong> was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Great Britain, and the United States. ... Show More
56m 16s
May 2022
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE | The Turtle of Oman & Michigan | Book Club
<p>Naomi Shihab Nye talked about her books ‘The Turtle of Oman’ and ‘The Turtle of Michigan<strong>.</strong> The books are about Aref as he travels from Muscat, Oman, to Ann Arbor, Michigan.</p><p>Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian ref ... Show More
57m 42s
Dec 2021
Simon Van Booy, "Night Came With Many Stars" (Godine, 2021)
Night Came With Many Stars (Godine 2021) ebbs and flows with people who only take or destroy, balanced by those who give or heal. And everything centers on a family. A Kentucky father treats Carol, his thirteen-year-old motherless daughter like a servant up to the moment he loses ... Show More
26m 41s
Mar 2023
Juliana Lamy, "You Were Watching from the Sand" (Red Hen Press, 2023)
Playful, kinetic, and devastating in turn, You Were Watching from the Sand (Red Hen Press, 2023) is a collection in which Haitian men, women, and children who find their lives cleaved by the interminably strange bite back at the bizarre with their own oddities. In "belly," a youn ... Show More
34m 41s