The Book Case GMA
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- Arts
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Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Charlie Gibson and meet fascinating characters who will open your appetite to new categories while deepening your hunger for books. This weekly series will journey cover to cover through the literary world, featuring interviews with best-selling authors, tastemakers, and independent bookstore owners. New episodes post every Thursday.
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Erik Larson Illuminates History
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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Carlos Lozada Makes the Case for Political Memoirs
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 Captures Her Mother's Story
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 Traces Indigenous Trauma and Triumph
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 Writes a Novella His Way
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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Richard Roper Delights With New British Rom-Com
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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