99 episodes

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.

The Book Case GMA

    • Arts
    • 4.7 • 707 Ratings

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.

    Tana French On Writing An Irish Western Murder Mystery

    Tana French On Writing An Irish Western Murder Mystery

    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 does time and time again. Our bookstore is The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

    Books mentioned in this week's episode:

    In the Woods by Tana French

    The Likeness by Tana French

    Faithful Place by Tana French

    The Searcher by Tana French

    The Secret Place by Tana French

    Broken Harbor by Tana French

    The Witch Elm by Tana French

    The Trespasser by Tana French

    The Hunter by Tana French

    The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

    And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

    The Secret History by Donna Tartt

    The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

    Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

    The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

    Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

    The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

    Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

    I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems

    The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese


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    • 30 min
    Anna Quindlen Explores Life After Death

    Anna Quindlen Explores Life After Death

    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 in Santa Cruz, California. Join us for some great conversations.


    Books mentioned in this week's episode:

    After Annie by Anna Quindlen

    Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen

    Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen

    Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen

    Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen

    Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

    Blessings by Anna Quindlen

    Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen

    A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen

    Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen

    Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

    Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

    Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen

    One True Thing by Anna Quindlen

    Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

    Ablaze by Christopher Krovatin

    The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

    The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride


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    • 40 min
    Sloane Crosley Processes Her Grief With Humor

    Sloane Crosley Processes Her Grief With Humor

    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 reach for your tissue box. (Yes, a cliche. But, here, a true one.) We also speak with McLean and Eakin books in Petoskey Michigan, run by a husband and wife team who fell in love in the shop they now own.


    Books mentioned in this week's episode:

    Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley

    I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

    Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley

    Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley

    The Clasp by Sloane Crosley

    The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

    Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett

    The Long Goodbye: A Memoir by Meghan O'Rourke

    Taking a Long Look: Essays on Culture, Literature and Feminism in Our Time by Vivian Gornick

    The Painter by Peter Heller

    The Last Ranger by Peter Heller


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    • 38 min
    Diane Oliver's Posthumous Debut

    Diane Oliver's Posthumous Debut

    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 humanity jumping off every page. We talk to the writer Tayari Jones, who wrote the book's enthusiastic introduction, as well as Diane's agent, Elise Dillsworth and her publisher, Katie Raissian. How does one release a debut work when the author is long gone? Tune in and find out.

    Books mentioned in this week's episode:

    Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver

    An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

    Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

    Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones

    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

    The Color Purple by Alice Walker


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    • 33 min
    Kate and Charlie Gibson's Favorite Love Stories

    Kate and Charlie Gibson's Favorite Love Stories

    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 by Charlotte Brontë

    This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

    Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

    On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

    Trust by Hernan Diaz

    The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

    Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

    A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

    84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


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    • 25 min
    Ilyon Woo on the Self-Emancipation of Ellen and William Craft

    Ilyon Woo on the Self-Emancipation of Ellen and William Craft

    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 it cost them dearly. Ilyon Woo shares their incredible story in her book, Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom. A great read and a great conversation about American heroes of whom you might never have heard. This week we also talk to Island books in Middletown Rhode Island. Join us.


    Books mentioned in this week's episode:

    Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

    The Great Divorce: A Nineteenth-Century Mother's Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times by Ilyon Woo

    William Wells Brown: An African American Life by Ezra Greenspan

    All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Alicia Miles

    Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

    Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market by Walter Johnson

    The Slave's Cause by Manisha Sinha

    Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp


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    • 39 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
707 Ratings

707 Ratings

shar54889 ,

My review

I have listened to each of your podcasts. I eagerly wait each Thursday to listen to the next one. I appreciate all the great interaction you both have with all the great authors. I have really enjoyed discovering new books. I also really like all the book stores. Keep up the good work. You have a loyal listener.
Sharon Olson
Melbourne, FL

bowman family ,

So Goes a River

I love these book reviews, and look forward to the new book each week. This podcast has helped me reach past the usual great books I read to include a diversity of styles and genres. Keep up the fabulous work!

Colleen Quirky ,

A review and request😊

I am really enjoying this podcast and having the opportunity to listen to authors I admire and being introduced to new authors I’m eager to read. I hope that Louise Penny will be a guest soon! Her Armand Gamache series is so well written and her characters have become beloved by her legion of fans. I have learned so much about Quebecs history and have been moved by her lyrical writing. Please invite her to be your guest. She will not disappoint!

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