All About Books

After a less than stellar undergraduate career, a young man takes an unspecified job with an elderly Italian noblewoman at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills. A breezy and witty novel, “Villa Coco” by Andrew Sean Greer.

At one time it was almost romanticized as an affliction of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty. In his book “Everything is Tuberculosis” author John Green tells the scientific and social history of how the disease has shaped our world- and how our choices will shape the future.

Guinevere and her brother raised themselves in the woods behind their Vermont home. Their mother was busy writing a fantasy series which would later explode in popularity. “The Children: a Novel” by Melissa Albert explores having two childhoods- one known to the public, the other not known.

This week on All About Books, host Pat Leach interviews Christine Lesiak who was a long-time television producer at Nebraska Public Media. They’ll discuss the creation of her newly published novel “Let Me Go”, and the differences between telling stories for TV and writing books.

An awkward guest staying too long in your home seems an unlikely plot for a novel. But it’s best-selling author Hans Christian Anderson visiting Charles Dickens, his 9 children, and his estranged wife. Anderson barely speaks English. “Five Weeks in the Country” by Francine Prose.

Because early Americans thought the resources of this new country were infinite, birds were hunted for food and fashion to the point of extinction. “The Feather Wars” by James McCommons is the history of an unlikely group of individuals and organizations who came together to protect American bird life.

“Cherry Baby” is the latest novel from best-selling Omaha author Rainbow Rowell. It’s a story of relationships failing and arriving, it’s also about navigating weight issues in the era of GLP-1 weight loss drugs.

Host Pat Leach is joined by Dr. Maria Nazos who received her PhD in English at UNL. They’ll talk about her new book of poetry “Pulse”, how she and her editors put together 16 years’ worth of poems, and working with Ted Kooser.

This week on “All About Books” host Pat Leach picks a title far outside her normal reading routine. She reviews “The River Has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar a Nebula Award-winning fantasy novella. Hear how she did with this magic-filled story.

“Ghost Town” by Tom Perrotta is a darkly nostalgic story. It's written from the viewpoint of a middle-aged writer looking back at his teenage friendships in 1970’s suburban New Jersey.

“Killer Potential” by Hannah Deitch is a debut novel that’s being called the “Thelma and Louise” of our times. This combination thriller and murder mystery follows two young women fleeing a bloody murder scene in the Hollywood Hills who become a runaway media sensation.

Kate Marvel is a climate scientist with a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge. But she still has an emotional reaction to the climate models she runs. In her book “Human Nature: 9 Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet” Marvel explores the different emotions evoked by climate change.

In the brief period of hope after the Civil War and Reconstruction, Edward McCabe, a Black businessman and rising political star had an audacious dream. His plan was to create a state governed by and for Black people in Oklahoma. This mostly forgotten history is found in the biography, “Black Moses” by Caleb Gayle.

Jill Blaine’s job is to comfort the dying and usher them into the afterlife- something she’s done hundreds of times since her own death. “Vigil” by George Saunders is a playfully imaginative novel dealing with corporate greed along and absolution

An accomplished actress meets a handsome young man at a restaurant who shares his suspicion that she may be his mother. The acclaimed novel “Audition” by Katie Kitamura explores the roles people play every day.

The family came from Afghanistan as refugees with nothing. They worked hard to become prosperous when a horrible tragedy struck them. “Good People”, a novel by Patmeena Sabit, presents a wealthy, happy family that may have been different behind closed doors.

Artie Dam teaches high school history, makes pleasant small talk with the neighbors, and sails his boat on the weekend. But the Artie no one sees is plagued by despair and isolation. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel “The Things We Do Not Say” is a compassionate look at the human condition.

It’s Summer growing season for Nebraska home gardeners. This week several titles to help gardeners embrace nature for a healthier home landscape. “Essential Guide to Ecological Gardening, from The American Horticultural Society” and “How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard” by Douglas Tallamy.

“The Lilac People” a novel by Milo Todd, begins in 1936 Berlin where a thriving queer community must first hide from Hitler’s concentration camps, then escape Allied forces who were arresting queer prisoners during the liberation.

One Book - One Lincoln has been a community reading project for 25 years. Alyssa Deal, the chair of their selection committee joins host Pat Leach this week to talk about the 3 books readers can vote for.

In her graphic novel, “This Beautiful, Ridiculous City” Kay Sohini tells her story as an immigrant and survivor of an abusive relationship. For her, New York City isn’t just a place of dreams but a source for healing and self-discovery.

Robert McFarland is a naturalist who is also a gifted writer. His latest book is joyful and mind-expanding journey towards an ancient idea- should we think of rivers as living beings? Hear a review of “Is a River Alive?”

Their high school hockey team is so bad, it probably won’t take the ice again next year. This uncertain future is where the main character, Tommy finds himself in the novel “Small Ceremonies” by Kyle Edwards. It’s story of friendships and struggles for a group of Native high students in Winnipeg

The vast American prairie is an ecological marvel- home to bison, elk, wolves and prairie dogs. The changes made on this environment by European settlers and their agricultural methods are the subject of “Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie.”

One hundred years in the future, a lonely British scholar longs for our time as he chases a poem written in 2014. He’s captivated by what he imagines were the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith. It’s the carefully plotted literary novel, “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan.