Book Public

Peter Ames Carlin discusses his latest book— Tonight in Jungleland—about the making of the iconic album Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. The album was released in 1975. Carlin provides us close access to The Boss—and takes us inside the creative processes that rendered this classic collection of essential songs.

This one is for all the lonely voices out there. We’ve got a podcast crossover on this episode. Peter Orner from The Lonely Voice podcast joins Yvette Benavides on Book Public to discuss his already critically acclaimed novel, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter. A little noir, a little true crime, some family drama, friendship—and other kinds of love stories. Peter Orner has been called "the most dar...

In this tender, brave and heartrending memoir, Jill Bialosky shares the story of her mother—in reverse chronology. It is an elegy and a story of her resilience—and the legacy of love she left behind.

Marth Barnette is the host of the public radio show and podcast, A Way with Words. Her latest book, Friends with Words, is a linguistic memoir. We learn about her lifelong passion for languages and her fascination with words.

Bridgett M. Davis shares a tribute to her sister, Rita. The memoir is a family history, social commentary, elegy, and celebration of life.

Fanny Howe passed away on July 9 at the age of 85. Yvette Benavides pays tribute to the author and shares Howe's poem, "Loneliness."

The Slip by Lucas Schaefer is an epic novel, but it tells a very intimate story about the basic human need to belong. Spanning over a dozen years and weaving the intersecting tales of a varied cast of characters, it's a story for right now—about all of us.

Yvette Benavides reflects on the power of short fiction to convey what we might not have the words for. "Birdsong from the Radio" is from the collection The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken.

The Scrapbook is a novel that is a modern-day love story in the shadow of German history—a Germany of artists, philosophers, virtuosos—and World War II. Heather Clark is the guest on this episode of Book Public to discuss her novel, The Scrapbook.

Readers of Geoff Dyer’s books have come to expect his trademark humor and incisive cultural commentary. His new book, Homework, shows us that the more success he had in school, the further he diverged from his parents. But his telling of this story brings us up close to share in his profound appreciation of his past.

In the novel Endling, by Maria Reva, protagonist Yeva joins guided romance tours in Ukraine to help pay for her research as a snail conservationist. Somehow, she becomes part of a kidnapping caper. Then Russia invades Ukraine. And the book shifts to a work of nonfiction with the author herself telling her story. Fiction and reality collide—beautifully.

Richard Bausch discusses his latest story collection, The Fate of Others. This may be the author’s 24th book, but it is a fresh, powerful collection of stories for today’s world with all its resonances of loss and isolation—but also of hope.

The flaws and follies of Cupolo’s characters teach us something about what it means to be human when we make mistakes or when we allow each other mercy. Lisa Cupolo discusses her award-winning story collection.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff is a multigenerational family saga that underscores the ways that a family tries to navigate and survive addiction, grief, shame and the losses that loving deeply can bring to our lives. Secrets and regrets, forgiveness and grace—all figure in this tender story about love in its many forms.

Jock Heidenstein. Anita Lasker. Chana Zumerkorn, Regina Feldman. These young women did not know each other. They never met—not before or after their respective experiences during the Holocaust. What connects their incredible stories? A red sweater. Lucy Adlington discusses her book Four Red Sweaters.

The Imagined Life is a novel about memory, music and longing—and about the bonds between a father and a son. Andrew Porter discusses his latest novel on the latest episode of Book Public.

For author Lauren K. Watel, “potions” are part poem and part fiction. There are 75 prose-like vignettes with the density and intensity of poems in her "Book of Potions."

The novel is set in 2038 in Three Rivers, Texas. A corrupt industrialist is the mayor. Women are indentured laborers in a fish cannery. Reading books is against the law. Protagonist Neftalí is the last literate citizen of the town. What can she do to reclaim and help her city?

The novel is about race and class and about parents trying to raise their sons in our fraught times.

The protagonist is a supremely talented man who is also deeply troubled. He must emerge from his isolation to help a blind, wounded, helpless horse—but can he also save himself?

Edwidge Danticat discusses her essay collection, We're Alone. The essays cover subjects like environmental catastrophe, the traumas of colonialism, motherhood, and the complexities of resilience.

In the novel, Back After This, a podcast producer in Washington D.C. becomes the host of a new podcast—about dating. It’s a break she’s been waiting for. But will this new opportunity destroy her chances at love instead? Linda Holmes discusses her latest novel on the next episode of Book Public.

A young, pregnant mother tries to leave an abusive husband. Obstacles are everywhere for her and her children. Yvette Benavides reviews Nesting—a tense and emotional novel by Roisín O'Donnell.

Tod Lending joins Yvette Benavides for a discussion about The Umbrella Maker’s Son. This World War II novel is a powerful and poignant story about survival and hope in the face of terror and violence. It's an important addition to modern works of Holocaust literature.

A new Little Golden Book biography immortalizes the story of Selena Quintanilla for a new generation of young readers.