The Bookshelf with Jennifer Morrison

In our season 3 finale of The Bookshelf of Jennifer Morrison, this episode with author E.J. Koh is truly, poetry in motion. Koh joins Jennifer to discuss her novel, "The Liberators", winner of the 2024 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. Though it is a novel covering dark themes spanning several generations through historical tragic events, E.J. continuously manages...

This one is for the true book lovers out there...in this unique episode we discuss our book of the month "The Land of Milk and Honey" by C Pam Zhang with Executive Editor Caroline Bleeke at Flatiron Books. Caroline takes us on a behind the scenes journey into the world of Publishing. What exactly does an Editor do? When do they decide one of the many stories they read needs to be shared...

In this memorable episode of The Bookshelf of Jennifer Morrison, Jennifer has the incredible opportunity to chat with world-renowned author, Danielle Steel, on her newest novel “A Mother’s Love”. Danielle and Jennifer discuss her astounding career including publishing 218 books internationally, her writing process, and what is behind Danielle's technique that makes each of her characters uniqu...

In this unforgettable memoir, Sarah LaBrie opens her novel "No One Gets to Fall Apart" with a devastating phone call from her grandmother—her mother was found on the side of the road, in the midst of a psychotic episode brought on by schizophrenia. Despite the incredulous journey that follows to discover the history of mental health in her family while juggling her own struggles, Sarah remains inc...

Imagine getting a call as a teenager that your mother has gone to rehab and all she's left you is a $20 bill, your little sister, and several pets to take care of. That's only one of the many stories Crysta Bilton tells in her memoir, "Normal Family: On Truth, Love and How I Met My 35 Siblings". Yes, you read that right, along with growing up with her lesbian mother who was an al...

The third time is indeed a charm as author Melanie Finn joins Jennifer once again to discuss one of her earlier novels, "The Gloaming". This story follows Pilgrim Jones after her husband leaves her for another woman, she's involved in an accident in a small town in Switzerland, tragically leaving 3 children dead. Filled with guilt, Pilgrim escapes to Africa, befriending a series of locals dealing...

On this episode, Jennifer is joined by friend and singer-songwriter, Taylor Goldsmith, lead singer of the band Dawes. Brought together by their mutual love of our book of the month, "Pay As you Go", the two have the opportunity to discuss the novel with author Eskor David Johnson. A rollercoaster of an epic, the story follows Slide on his tumultuous journey to find an apartment in the fictional ci...

In this episode, Jennifer is joined by Nora Lange, author of the novel "Us Fools". Auspiciously timely, Nora's story focuses on the relationship between two sisters growing up in the rural mid-west during the farming crisis of the 1980s. Often isolated, the sisters educate themselves and learn from one another as they ultimately escape to Chicago, facing a seemingly failing world. No...

In our Season 3 opening episode, Jennifer Morrison joins her THIS IS US co-star Griffin Dunne to discuss his new memoir, "The Friday Afternoon Club". From getting expelled the day before his stage debut, to memories with Carrie Fisher, you'll find out why 3 years on set with Griffin wasn't enough to hear all the stories he has to tell. With a family interwoven deep into Hollywood history, the behi...

Motherhood, ghosts, intergenerational trauma—find out how these themes serendipitously fit into Jennifer's life while starring in THE PENELOPIAD at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago  and  coming across the novel, MOTHER DOLL by author Katya Apekina. Jennifer and Katya discuss how these themes and storytelling devices help audiences process life decisions, dealing with grief, and taking on new rol...

An avid fan of theatre, each season Jennifer features a play for the book club—stories that transport, inform, and inspire and this selection is no different. Join Jennifer in conversation with barrister-turned-playwright-turned-novelist: Suzie Miller, writer of the Olivier AND Tony Award-winning play, "Prima Facie". Suzie shares how the state of the legal system compelled her to tell th...

Join Jennifer in conversation with author, poet, and screenwriter Fatimah Asghar to discuss their first novel, "When We Were Sisters". A finalist of the 2023 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award, the story follows 3 orphaned sisters who despite losing everything, find home in one another. Fatimah shares their own life experiences as an orphan, and how they have survive...

Join Jennifer this month in conversation with author Christine Lai to discuss her novel, "Landscapes". Through a series of narratives and essays, the story follows Penelope in a not-too-distant and unfortunately, very probable future in the English countryside, now devastated by heat and drought. While most are keen on surviving, Penelope is tasked with archiving works of art that have o...

This month, The Bookshelf with Jennifer Morrison is honoured to welcome our very first returning guest—author Melanie Finn, to discuss her novel, THE UNDERNEATH. The story follows Kay, a former journalist who decides to spend the summer in rural Vermont with her husband and two children. Based on her own experiences as a journalist, Melanie and Jennifer discuss how her own small town influenced th...

It's spooky season and what better month to escape into an epic fantasy novel? This October, Jennifer's pick is "Deep Sea Feline" written by author Dave Hurlow. Join Jennifer and Dave as they explore his process of creating magical realms, the fairy tales that inspired his writing, and find out why Jennifer describes his story as one filled with "hope of biblical proportions...

It's a new year, and in our first episode of 2024, Jennifer sits down with writer and poet Reyes Ramirez, a finalist of the 2023 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. Reflecting his parents' immigration journey, "The Book of Wanderers" is a collection of short stories following several (creatively named) characters facing harrowing but similar experiences. Find...

"All Day is a Long Time" author, David Sanchez, tells Jennifer Morrison the elevator pitch for his novel: a "pseudo-autobiographical book about a young man in Florida who struggles with drug addiction". An incredibly brave tale, written by an equally fascinating person. Jennifer talks with David about his debut novel, how his story differs from most surrounding the theme of add...

On this episode, Jennifer discusses DISORIENTATION, a novel written by Elaine Hsieh Chou, a finalist for the 2023 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. DISORIENTATION follows the story of Ingrid Chou who, while procrastinating writing her thesis, stumbles upon a peculiar note that changes the course of her research and life. Jennifer and Elaine discuss how she was able to tackle...

Welcome to Season 2 of  The Bookshelf with Jennifer Morrison . In this exciting first episode, Jennifer meets with Zain Khalid, author of  Brother Alive , winner of the 2023 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. Jennifer and Zain cover everything from growing up in their hometown libraries, to global affairs that inspired Zain's novel, to the perfect notebook and pen combination e...

In the final episode of our inaugural season, Jennifer discusses  LVOE , an unforgettable collection of poems and illustrations on life sand love with the anonymous poet, Atticus. Jennifer finds out how being vulnerable and posting his poems on instagram sparked a book deal, their shared love of antique typewriters, and the importance of remaining present in our everyday lives.  The Bookshelf with...

This week, Jennifer discusses the dark, feminist thriller  The Hare  with author Melanie Finn. Despite the heavy themes, Melanie hopes the reader will be able to finish the novel feeling empowered by protagonist Rosie’s story. Find out why Jennifer gets a gold star for deciphering  exactly  what Melanie set out to write in this unforgettable journey of discovery, survival, and humanity. The Booksh...

This week, a new friendship blossoms in Jennifer's interview with playwright Amy Berryman. Amy reveals that her interest in the climate mixed with her love of writing planted the seeds for her play, Walden . But as Jennifer and Amy discuss the complicated relationship between the twin sisters in the play, a genuine friendship forms. By the end of the interview, Jennifer not only exchanges numb...

This week, Jennifer discusses The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu with author Tom Lin, finally giving her the opportunity to find out just how Tom was able to tackle such a broad scope of landscapes and characters in his writing that takes the reader on a poetic journey of epic proportions. Tom reveals how his novel began with an idea to feature an Asian protagonist within a traditional western, and r...

This week’s guest, Brandon Taylor, author of Filthy Animals tells us how he went from a PhD scientist researching stem cells to an MFA in creative writing. Tune in as Jennifer and Brandon discuss the similarities in both fields, the importance of critical thinking, and both embracing and challenging your passions. Filthy Animals is a collection of intertwined short stories that covers everything f...

After inviting musician and friend Kristine Flaherty aka “K. Flay” to choose a book for JEN’S BOOKSHELF, Jennifer and K. Flay sit down to discuss her selection,  All My Puny Sorrows  written by author Miriam Toews. The novel follows the bond between two sisters, topics of depression, family dynamics and what it really means to call a place “home”. Find out why K.Flay wants to share this book with...