The Book Case GMA

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 rich characters through their unique perspectives, Larson brings new learning to an oft discussed topic…how the Union tore itself apart over slavery. You won’t want to miss this one.


Books mentioned in this week's episode:

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson

Lethal Passage by Erik Larson Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

The Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities by Erik Larson

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

No One Goes Alone: A Novel by Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

Mary Chesnut's Diary by Mary Boykin Chestnut

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman


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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 has read it all, and written about almost everything he has read. This book is a compendium of his best columns about books…why does Carlos think presidents insist on writing their own biographies? Why is George H.W. Bush one of the only presidents without a presidential autobiography? Tune in and find out.


Books mentioned in this week's episode:

The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians by Carlos Lozada

What We Were Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era by Carlos Lozada

Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor


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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 Tswb, who fled Laos to Thailand, eventually fighting her way to Minnesota to give a better future to her children. It is an epic tale of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, struggle and triumph. Our bookstore this week is a 22-year-old dynamo who has already taken Mendham, NJ by storm…watch out world, it’s Chapter One Books.


Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Where Rivers Part by Kao Kalia Yang

The Song Poet by Kao Kalia Yang

Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang

A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang

The Shared Room by Kao Kalia Yang

From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang

The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang

Yang Warriors by Kao Kalia Yng

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston


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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, while also serving the national and international Indigenous community. Tune in to find out how.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

There There by Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone

James by Percival Everett

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Waltzing the Cat by Pam Houston

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson

The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy

Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart


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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 and beautiful. Join us to find out how and why he does what he does.
Book mentioned in this week's episode.

Table for Two by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust


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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 this week is Roebling Books which has a few locations in Kentucky. Owner, Richard Hunt has some terrific recommendations you won’t want to miss.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper

When We Were Young by Richard Roper

Something to Live for by Richard Roper

Us by David Nicholls

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

The Land of the Laughs by Jonathan Carroll

Clay’s Quilt by Silas House

The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien


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