The Book Case

It's always a pleasure for us to talk to a debut author and we have a good one this week in Heidi Reimer. Her novel, The Mother Act, is the story of mothers and daughters and the heap of complexities that come in those relationships. How do we know we are going to be a good mom? Once we have a child are we ALWAYS a mother first? This book asks these questions and challenges the reader to question...

If you haven’t heard of Erik Larson, you don’t read enough non-fiction. A giant in the industry and an immense talent, Erik is turning his attention to the beginnings of the Civil War in his latest, The Demon of Unrest. It’s the nail biting account of how we ended up turning guns against one another, North to South, with a specific focus on the stand off at Fort Sumter. Told through the eyes of ri...

We try not to do books about politics — political discourse in this country is, currently, divisive in the extreme. However, Carlos Lozada, in his new book, The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians, gives us a survey of Washington literature that will surprise, delight and inform you. From Tocqueville to Trump, from The Muller Report to DeSantis’ plea for the presidency, Carlos ha...

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong writer who has written her family and country’s history through deeply personal prisms. She told the story of her family’s beginnings via her grandmother’s story in The Latehomecomer, shared the life of her father in The Song Poet and now writes her mother’s journey in Where Rivers Part. Told in the first person, Where Rivers Part is the beautiful and compelling story of...

Tommy Orange has written a second novel. Although technically a sequel, you can easily read Wandering Stars without having experienced There There. But you should read at least one. Or both. Oh to heck with it, we love Tommy Orange and we will read anything he writes. He is incredibly talented. And we pair him with Birchbark Books & Native Arts, a bookstore that is a beloved Twin Cities landmark,...

Amor Towles is publishing a short story collection (with a novella included) called Table for Two, and we waited with bated breath as it arrived in our mailboxes. Can he bring the same artistry in short form that he does to his novels? Is he equally talented in novella, short story and novel? Short answers are yes, yes and yes. This rich collection of stories are varied, thought provoking, funny a...

This Disaster Loves You is the newest by Richard Roper, which we would probably best describe as a quirky British romcom, sort of... a little. But it’s also hilarious and there is both depth and humanity to it that will surprise you. We both read it in about 48 hours, and you probably will too. Read it, and then listen to this conversation; you’ll understand why we’re so charmed. Our bookstore thi...

THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE SHOW! We kick off our new series, Writer in Residence, with our resident writer, J. Ryan Stradal. A great writer, a national bestseller, and a friend of Kate’s for almost thirty years, J. Ryan is going to give The Book Case a front row seat from page one to publication. Join us as he walks us through what he does to get started, and his thoughts on how the book might procee...

If you are a mystery fan who hasn’t read Tana French, then you have missed one of the great modern mystery writers of our time. American by birth and Irish by residence, her Irish set mysteries will both haunt you and keep you guessing. Her newest, The Hunter, is one of her best, a rousing combination of a murder mystery and heist suspense. She tells us what motivates her and how she does what she...

We believe that Anna Quindlen should be declared a national treasure. Her new novel, After Annie, is an intimate look at a family recovering from the loss of their matriarch. Taken too young, she dies suddenly of an aneurism while making dinner. It’s funny, sad, and, like all of Anna’s work, universal in its themes and depictions of family life. We pair her this week with the Bookshop Santa Cruz i...

It’s never a great idea to pigeonhole a talented writer, but you could probably call Sloane Crosley a humorist... most of the time. Her newest, Grief Is for People, is a funny, raw, introspective, and beautiful look at grief from every angle. Rocked by the suicide of her best friend, Crosley dives into her pain and loss in this slim, but effecting book that will make you laugh out loud while you r...

A few weeks ago Kate received an email informing her of a debut author: Diane Oliver. But this debut book stood out because the author had been dead for more than fifty years. Fascinated, we asked for copies...and Diane Oliver's work knocked us out. Her debut collection, Neighbors and Other Stories, is a compendium of her work: insightful, raw, beautiful, intimate, with character's stark and naked...

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we just want to talk to each other. And that’s what happened this week. We spent some time reflecting on lessons we have learned from our authors and we go through our favorite love stories of all time (Valentine’s Day and all). It’s nice to pause every once in a while. We hope you will take a pause with us. Books mentioned in this week's episode: Jane Eyre b...

Have you ever heard of William and Ellen Craft? They were an escaped enslaved husband and wife whose stories read like a blockbuster action movies. Symbols in their time, Ellen (who was the daughter of an enslaved woman and her master) passed as a white man and had her husband William pass as her property. A harrowing journey gave way to their leadership in the fugitive slave movement, even though...

Kate revisits her favorite genre: horror (but she prefers the moniker of dark fiction), and this one is taped in front of a live audience! Plus: you get three great guests for the price of one, which should be irresistible. In New Hampshire to celebrate the new novel by Chris Golden (do not miss The House of Last Resort!), Kate was given the opportunity sit down with Paul Tremblay, Victor LaValle...

Kaveh Akbar weighs every word that he writes. An accomplished and published poet, any reader can tell that he understands the undeniable power of language with his first novel, called Martyr! Engaging, funny, fascinating and downright beautiful, Martyr! grabs your attention by the lapels and won’t let go. Read the book and listen to our podcast to hear how Kaveh creates his unforgettable work. Boo...

Inci Atrek is a debut novelist to watch. We recommend going out and picking up a copy of her debut, Holiday Country, a novel it would be easy to overlook and underestimate. It’s much deeper than it appears at the surface. An intimate portrait of multi-generational mother-daughter relationships, it’s also a story about growing up. Growing up is never easy, but adding two countries of origin and two...

Happy New Year! The first episode of the year is a truly terrific mystery. Entertaining in the extreme, this is a whodunnit that breaks the mold. Ashley Elston, its author, has written plenty of quality YA titles, but First Lie Wins is her first adult mystery. In this game of cat and mouse, the reader is constantly asking which character is telling the truth….and we never figured it out. A great s...

Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow's All the Little Bird-Hearts is a novel that will stay with you long after you close the book. It takes place in the 1980’s, and the narrator and heroine is the autistic mother of a teenage daughter. She worries she is on the verge of losing the only person she has ever really loved, and of being seduced by the magnetic social butterflies that are her new neighbors. Viktoria...

Mitch Albom became a household name with his bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie. His new novel, The Little Liar, is an original and fascinating look at the complexities of truth and what motivates us to lie. It takes place during the Holocaust, at the height of which a little boy tells a lie that affects the rest of his life… coloring all that he is and everything he does. We thought this was a fasci...

If you haven’t heard of Patricia Cornwell you’ve never been to a bookstore, or an airport, or a library…heck. She is everywhere and there is a reason for that. Prolific AND talented, she has written 27 mystery novels centered around her medical examiner heroine, Kay Scarpetta, and she shows no sign of stopping. We talk about what it’s like to create and shepherd a character like Scarpetta, and wha...

When we first began the podcast, our main goal was to inspire more folks to read. But we also talked about how we might offer content to help parents inspire their kids become life long readers. It isn’t easy, and there is no magic bullet, but we have some of the best of the best to tell us how to do it and why it’s so important. Emma Lee is the Associate Director of the Fred Rogers Institute at S...

The General and Julia is a wonderful novel, delving deeply into the final days of Ulysses S. Grant. Not many know this, but at the end of his life, Grant was financially destitute and in a race to write his memoirs before his death. He knew that if he wrote his memoirs and did it well, it would leave his family financially stable. His love for his wife and children knew no bounds, and his race was...

Lawrence Wright’s newest novel, Mr. Texas, revolves around Texas politics and how they relate to our national political conversation, and he knows from where he speaks. Not only is he a native Texan, but he has also written one of the definitive NON fiction books about Texas, (God Save Texas). Both books are insightful, prescient, and, this might surprise you, very funny. Mr. Texas is about modern...

You might know the historical fiction of Jennifer Vanderbes, but just wait until you read Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims. Think thalidomide didn’t affect mothers and children in this country? Think again. Wonder Drug is the hidden American story of thalidomide: yes, it did get to pregnant women and yes there were children born effected by phocomeli...