Poured Over

"My specialty is digging up obscure stories where there are just enough facts to really stimulate the imagination."  Emma Donoghue's newest novel,  Learned by Heart, tells the story of young, enigmatic Anne Lister and her first love, an orphaned heiress born in India. Donoghue joins us to talk about the role Anne Lister has played in her life, crowdsourcing research, the importance of historical f...

Maria Bamford's hilarious memoir Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and a Quest to Belong Anywhere blends the honesty and compassion of a memoir about mental health with her unique brand of absurd, laugh-out-loud humor. Bamford joins us to talk about the realities of writing a book, the importance of honesty around tough subjects, some of the books she loves and more with guest...

"There's no higher version of historical fiction to me than that, the feeling of being transported." Zadie Smith's The Fraud brings all the excitement of a Victorian novel with a cast of characters that will be familiar (Charles Dickens, anyone?) and a wild web of plots that combine the best of historical fiction with themes that still resonate. Smith joins us to talk about the different process s...

"I think that she would have given — to anyone who had been lucky enough to spend time with her — was just this thirst for curiosity."  Surreal Spaces is Joanna Moorhead's in-depth and personal biography of her own long-lost cousin, Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. Moorhead joins us to talk about uncovering the truth about her famous relative, Carrington's eventful life and career, the import...

"I've been asked, why do you blend genres so much? And the simple answer is that it's what I want to read." Horror meets romance meets historical fiction in Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. This genre-bending novel will have something for any reader — whether they're looking for spooky, spicy or something in between. Cañas joins us to talk about her research process, the connection between th...

Angie Kim's Happiness Falls is a family drama with an unconventional cast of characters centered around a missing persons case. Kim joins us to talk about disability awareness in fiction, how she started writing, getting into her narrator's head and more. Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias is a rich novel of secrets, loss and a government coverup set in Costa Rica. Arias joins us to talk ab...

"I wrote this very simply to stay alive."   Alice Carrière's beautiful and intense memoir of her unconventional childhood, her mental health journey through the failings of the psychiatric system and more that eventually led her to a life of reconciliation and reconstruction . Carrière joins us to talk about why she wrote the book now, the connectivity of writing and reading, her love of audiobook...

"Having that store of memories that history can be, if done well, is a really tremendous form of solace." Jill Lepore, historian and author of These Truths , returns with The Deadline , a collection of essays ranging from the personal to the political. Lepore joins us to talk about how she came to compile this collection, her connection to Mary Shelley, and the progress to be made in what constitu...

"My book is really an attempt to change that conversation and begin to dismantle some of these pressures so that we don't have to be upheld to these standards." Prachi Gupta's memoir, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us ,  combines meticulous research with the challenging and emotional story of her own family to reveal the truth of the model minority myth and those it affects...

The Detective Up Late is the newest installment in the Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty following a detective solving his final case in Northern Ireland in the 90s. This former B&N bookseller joins us to talk about the experience of living through The Troubles, the difference between writing mystery and thriller, the war between vinyl and CDs and more with guest host, Chris Gillespie.    This e...

"Dr. Oppenheimer, Dr. Oppenheimer. I've been waiting decades to meet you!" The inspiration for the new movie Oppenheimer , Kai Bird's incredible biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer , follows the complicated and consequential life of one of the most influential scientists in human history. Bird joins us to talk about the film, the amount of time it took...

What happens to reality when nostalgia and memory become weaponized? Part speculative thriller, part queer romance, all page-turning excitement and intrigue, Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché has something for every reader. The authors join us to talk about how they came to coauthor the novel, writing fun, vibrant and infuriating characters, combining genres and more with Miwa Messer, host...

Las Madres   follows a group of mothers and daughters between Puerto Rico and the U.S. as they face challenges of health, natural disaster and family secrets with rich, warm prose and characters. Esmeralda Santiago joins us to talk about her personal connection to her characters, the challenge of writing real events, representing Puerto Rican history and culture and more. Elizabeth Acevedo's Famil...

"People who love books, we're the last line of reason and discourse…" National Book Award winner James McBride's newest novel, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store  showcases the complicated and compassionate lives of the inhabitants of a small Pennsylvania town. McBride joins us to discuss the research he does, his personal connections to the book, telling stories that need to be told and more with M...

I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani is the story of a young Iranian American boy growing up in the San Fernando Valley with his brothers. With basketball, his family and the influences around him, he begins to understand his identity. Khabushani joins us to talk about the different realities within L.A., the rewriting process, what he learned as a teacher and more.   With ten ric...

"My overarching goal is to enchant people the way I am enchanted." Explore the ocean and its wonders in Susan Casey's The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean . With an eclectic cast of scientists and enthusiasts along with the author's firsthand experience diving into the unknown of the deep, this is a one of a kind look at one of the most important features of our planet. Casey joins...

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a rich, multidimensional story of family, love and summer stock theater. Patchett joins us to talk about the wealth of influences that inspired this novel, wanting to write a happy book, being an author and a bookseller and more.  Jimin Han's The Apology follows a surprising and funny 105-year-old woman as she fends off an intergenerational curse. Han joins us to talk a...

"There's always this thing that makes you kind of gravitate towards an idea… that you just feel this kind of throb or this pulse that's there within it." Colin Walsh's debut novel, Kala , bridges the literary and the thrilling with a group of friends confronting their teenage years as the unraveling of a mystery from their past throws one small Irish town into turmoil. Walsh joins us to talk about...

"The fantastical worlds, the science fiction worlds offer a place where they can explore..." Light Bringer , the 6th installment in Pierce Brown's Red Rising series, will bring fans back to beloved worlds and characters as the space opera saga hurtles forward. Brown joins us to talk about what other works inspired these books, how this genre can offer space for the outsiders, working toward the co...

"If you're going to go to dark places… then you better go armed with humor."  Pulitzer Prize Winner Richard Russo returns to upstate New York with Somebody's Fool , which reunites readers with beloved characters as they continue their lives in North Bath. Russo joins us to talk about the idea of a regional writer, getting the atmosphere of small towns, writing humor and more with Miwa Messer, host...

Writing duo Christine Pride and Jo Piazza return with You Were Always Mine , a timely, tender and thought-provoking novel about race, motherhood and family ties. They joined us to talk about the challenges and surprises of cowriting, how they balance responsibilities and deadlines, the responses of their families to the book and more, live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Miwa Messer, host of P...

"I feel this book is really about America."  David Lipsky's The Parrot and the Igloo is not the climate change story you might expect — with a distinct and even humorous narrative voice and a wild story you'll need to read to believe, this book will change the way we look at one of our most pressing issues. Lipsky joins us to talk about why he decided to approach the topic in this way, the importa...

"And I'm grateful for the times I got to ask questions. I got to be curious, I got to say, Hey, this looks different over there ."  A Renaissance of Our Own  is both memoir and manifesto; a rallying cry to reimagine how we exist and interact with the world and each other. Author and activist Rachel Cargle joined us to talk about ambition and curiosity, imposed expectations, grief and joy, her work...

"Every reader can have a different opinion at the end between admiration and disgust and nobody's wrong." The Art Thief by Michael Finkel is the stranger-than-fiction true story of Stéphane Breitweiser's infamous and incredible career as — you guessed it, one of the world's most notorious art thieves. Finkel joined us to talk about his own interactions with Breitweiser, the notion of obsession, ho...

"That to me is part of the joy … of memoir, which is — it is all about looking back." Beth Nguyen's Owner of a Lonely Heart is a memoir about motherhood, loss and coming-of-age while navigating the refugee experience, told with a vivid and powerful voice. Nguyen joins us to talk about the feeling of writing nonfiction, the importance of names, generational impacts on the way we view life and more...