The Book Case

We are going full Ireland on this show.  First, we talk to the incredible Tana French about her newest, The Keeper.  Set in rural Ireland it combines great mystery writing with the classic American Western. Does that sound like it is a long shot? Not with Tana’s talent. We then go from a fascinating conversation with a great author to Hodges and Figgis, our first international bookseller, smack in the middle of Dublin. It’s all Irish and on this week’s Book Case, so pull up a pint and join us. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's show: The Keeper by Tana French 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 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith The Secret History by Donna Tart Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Ulysses by James Joyce  Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien The City We Became by N.K. Jemison We by Yevgeny Zamyatin All Systems Red by Martha Wells A Psalm From the Wild Built by Becky Chambers The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jenny Lawson is Kate’s all time favorite humor author. Obsessed since her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Kate saw she had a new one out, How to be Okay When Nothing is Okay, and she actually whooped. Loudly. In this book, Jenny shares the different tools and tricks that she uses to try to right the ship, when she is sinking in depression. But this is not your average advice book. It’s hilarious. Seriously. It is also moving, personal, and, well, helpful. Join us when we talk to one of the great humorists of our generation. She also happens to own an independent bookstore in her hometown of San Antonio Texas, Nowhere Books. We talk to their assistant manager and events coordinator, Vicky. Have a listen for a laugh and some good advice…. Find books mentioned The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books in this week's episode: How to be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson Quietly Hostile by Samantha Kirby Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louise Erdrich is one of the most important writers of our time. Her award-winning words have created modern classics such as Love Medicine, The Night Watchman and The Sentence. Her newest release, Python’s Kiss, is a collection of short stories, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe, her daughter. Each one speaks to turning points…moments that change us and shape us. Louise talks about how her writing shapes her and how she shapes her writing.  Aza then joins us to talk about how she brought her mother’s stories to life through her art. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich The Sentence by Louise Erdrich The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich The Round House by Louise Erdrich The Master Butchers Singers Club by Louise Erdrich The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich LaRose by Louise Erdrich The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler The City We Became by NK Jemison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a TRIPLE header on the Book Case podcast. First, our main guest is Elizabeth Berg, whose newest, Life: A Love Story is a beautifully woven tale of a woman reflecting on what objects she has saved throughout her life and why. Look around your room…are there things in there that means something to you but no one else? Elizabeth Berg writes so deftly that you will want to write your own autobiography in objects. AND, we are joined by the AMAZING Kelly Yang and Kate DiCamillo so they can tell us all about their new podcast, Storykind. JOIN US! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg The Story of Arthur Trulove by Elizabeth Berg The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg Until the Real Thing Comes Along by Elizabeth Berg Joy School by Elizabeth Berg The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg Open House by Elizabeth Berg Say When by Elizabeth Berg Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler Charlotte’s Web By EB White Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Front Desk by Kelly Yang The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo Top Story by Kelly Yang The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joan Lunden has been a part of the Gibson family for a long time. Her newest memoir, Joan, is an attempt to look back upon the moments of her life, her life that she has lived at an almost breakneck speed.  How did she hold down one of the toughest jobs in journalism, raise a bunch of kids and write a bunch of books?  What is life like after GMA?  She answers all those questions and gets a chance to reminisce with her old partner, Charlie.  Join us. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Joan by Joan LundenGood Morning, I’m Joan Lunden by Joan LundenHad I Known by Joan LundenWhy Did I Come Into This Room by Joan Lunden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have been broadcasting long enough to have what we think of as “authors we always love to talk to” and Anna is one of those.  She is a stunning talent and has thoughts about writing that always knock us out.  So sit down with us to discuss Anna’s latest, More Than Enough, and stay tuned for a great interview with Prologue Books in Ohio. Happy Spring! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: More Than Enough By Anna Quindlen 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tayari Jones is one of the country’s most gifted writers, and her newest, Kin, is sure to get everyone talking. Beautiful, wrenching and compelling, this is a period piece that takes place in the South around the 1950’s and 60’s. This is a book that will move you, and almost every sentence is a work of art. Finely crafted, Kin is one of our favorites this year and we were so pleased Tayari agreed to sit with us. We talk to her all about how she pulls off this book, and why it took her so long to get it done.  Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Kin by Tayari JonesAn American Marriage by Tayari JonesSilver Sparrow by Tayari JonesThe Untelling by Tayari JonesLeaving Atlanta by Tayari JonesBeloved by Toni MorrisonSong of Solomon by Tony Morrison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allegra Goodman’s latest, This is Not About Us is a treasure.  Centered around the Rubenstein family, each chapter examines the Rubensteins from a different lens, a different perspective.  The stories are funny, messy, heartbreaking, captivating; all adjectives that describe complex families.  You will laugh, you will be moved, and you will be left with some brilliant tableaus of an American family as they struggle through life.  We also have a terrific bookstore owner, Sarah Lacey (The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs and The Best Bookstore in Union Square, and yes, those are the names of the stores, brilliant right?). Come join us!   Find books mentioned on The Book Case:   ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302   Books mentioned on this week's episode:   This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman Isola by Allegra Goodman Sam by Allegra Goodman Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman The Cookbook Collection by Allegra Goodman The Family Markowitz by Allegra Goodman The Chalk Artist by Allegra Goodman The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman Intuition by Allegra Goodman Total Immersion: Stories by Allegra Goodman Paradise Park by Allegra Goodman The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Resistors by Gish Jen Moby Dick by Herman Mellville Middlemarch by George Eliot The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belle Burden’s Strangers is not your everyday memoir about divorce.  After three kids, two decades and two homes, her husband was caught having an affair.  When confronted, he walked out, saying that marriage and family were not “for him”. It was not about the other woman nor was it about a long bout with depression, it seemed as if he just woke up and decided to begin anew.  Belle is left to search for answers as she questions her reality-did he ever love us?  Did I make him unhappy?  How can I move on with such a mysterious and traumatic narrative?  Written with humor, care and love, this book really is a memoir of marriage and the mysteries often associated with a broken home.  Trust us.  Read it.  Then tune into to our conversation with this amazing author and amazing woman. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we dedicate our show to a documentary that we think is important.  We have promised our listeners to keep the podcast non-political (no shouting talking heads, no books with a political agenda).  But there are some issues that are vitally important that we also believe are non-political.  Book banning is first and foremost among these.  Next week on February 9th, The Librarians documentary starts streaming on PBS stations across the country as part of their beloved Independent Lens series.  Join us as we talk to two brave and brilliant librarians fighting book bans with all their might.  We also talk to Kim A. Snyder, the director of the film about why the stories presented in this documentary are so important.  Book banning is wrong.  And we are talking about it this week. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Library at Night by Alberto MaguelThe Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roger Rosenblatt wrote a column for the NY Times called Before You Toss that Book… We already loved Roger’s books, and this column moved us to reach out to him. We asked if he would come on our show to read the column for our audience and to talk to us about what makes books so important, what keeping books can do to grow your love for the written word. Roger is a national treasure and this conversation was both moving and insightful. If you love books, you must join us. Roger's column: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/opinion/favorite-books-cleaning-out.html Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt Rules for Aging by Roger Rosenblatt The Man in the Water by Roger Rosenblatt The Boy Detective by Roger Rosenblatt Cold Moon by Roger Rosenblatt Unless it Moves the Heart by Roger Rosenblatt Anything Can Happen by Roger Rosenblatt Thomas Murphy By Roger Rosenblatt Life Itself: Abortion and the American Mind by Roger Rosenblatt Where We Stand by Roger Rosenblatt Lapham Rising by Roger Rosenblatt Beet by Roger Rosenblatt The Story I am by Roger Rosenblatt The Book of Love by Roger Rosenblatt Cataract Blues by Roger Rosenblatt A Steinway on the Beach by Roger Rosenblatt Children of War by Roger Rosenblatt Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Far Field by Theodore Roethke Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Susan Orlean, one of the best journalists of our generation, has written a memoir, along with some great advice about writing.  Beyond writing, she has thoughts on the importance of curiosity in these trying times.  Curiosity can break down barriers, and create beautiful stories out of the ordinary.  And Susan does it brilliantly in all of her writing, and especially in her new memoir, Joyride. It is a joy to read Joyride.  And we speak to a new bookstore owner in Charleston, South Carolina, Summer Anderson, who is also a joy and who seems to take joy out of all she does. Join us for a great discussion on writing, the art of curiosity and joy. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Joyride by Susan OrleanThe Orchid Thief by Susan OrleanThe Library Book by Susan OrleanRin Tin Tin by Susan OrleanMy Kind of Place by Susan OrleanThe Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup by Susan OrleanSaturday Night by Susan OrleanAs I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Janice Page’s The Year of the Water Horse is a funny memoir. At times, laugh out loud funny. But it is also about why we tell stories, what we make important in our lives, what we protect and what we share. Full of thoughtful reflection, this is a book that will have you looking at your own life, wondering where the magic is in your story. Janice Page has created magic out of her story through her prose and humor, and we talk to her about it.  Our bookstore this week is Booksmart in San Jose.  Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Year of the Water Horse by Janice Page Where Rivers Part by Kao Kalia Yang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paula McLain’s Skylark is the GMA book club pick this month and we are so pleased she sat down with us too. This book is a beautifully written, touching and suspenseful story centered around the meaning of freedom, and the prices we pay to attain it.  Paralleling two stories in Paris, one in the 17th century, the other on the dawn of WWII, each story takes us into the depths of the Paris underground, exploring hidden tunnels, abandoned quarries and secret rivers.  There is a second Paris that is hidden under the streets that tourists know and love.  And this story explores the lost depths of the city while handing readers unforgettable characters with page turning action. McLain herself is an amazing woman who has taken her challenging life and turned it into a gift for the written word.  She shares her experience and how it shaped her writing.  Join us for an unforgettable conversation with a terrific writer. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Skylark by Paula McLain The Paris Wife by Paula McLain Love and Ruin by Paula McLain LIke Family: Growing up in Other People’s Houses by Paula McLain A Ticket to Ride by Paula McLain Circling the Sun by Paula McLain When the Stars go Dark by Paula McLain Martyr by Kaveh Akbar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grab a pen and pencil so you can write down what are some of our absolute favorite reads of 2025.  There is something for everyone, fiction, non fiction, romance, marooned sea travelers, epistolary greatness, fictionalized examinations of climate change….you name it.  Get yourself a glass of wine or a cup of tea and take a journey with Kate and Charlie through 2025.  We know you will find one of your new favorites in there.  We sure did. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Memorial Days by Geraldine BrooksHeart the Lover by Lily KingThe Interpreter by David K. ShiplerA Marriage at Sea by Sophie ElmbhurstThe Correspondent by Virginia EvansA Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have devoted several podcasts to the issue of how parents get children to read - off screens and into pages.  We talk about it - others DO something about it.  You might not expect to find Stephen Curry, the great pro basketball player, to be among that group.  However, Stephen and his wife Ayesha have a foundation - Eat.Learn.Play - and over the past few years they’ve given books every Christmas to every elementary school child in Oakland, California where Stephen started his pro career.  They invited us to Oakland to see the program in action.  Charlie went and had a chance to talk to the Currys about why they, like the two of us, think this issue is so critical. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Shot Ready by Stephen Curry The Boy Who Never Gave Up by Stephen Curry I Am Extraordinary by Stephen Curry I Have a Superpower by Stephen Curry Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our next installment in the Book Case Classics series comes from listeners like you.  Many of you asked for Austen…you wanted it?  You got it!  We sat down with two of the world’s foremost Austen Scholars, Claudia L. Johnson, Murray Professor of English at Princeton and Devoney Looser, Regents Professor at Arizona State University (both of which have great Austen books on the market) to discuss the facts and fiction surround the great Jane Austen and her unique works.  Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen 30 Great Myths about Jane Austen by Claudia L. Johnson Jane Austen: Women, Politics and the Novel by Claudia L. Johnson Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abir Mukherjee was a revelation to us, even if he is already an international bestseller. The Burning Grounds, the sixth of the Wyndham and Banerjee mystery series will keep readers guessing while dazzling them with terrific writing. His series takes place during turn of the century in Imperialist India, and he exposes the good, bad and ugly, from both a British and native perspective.  He knocked us out, and we bet his Wyndham and Banerjee series will knock out our listeners too.  Join us!  Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 6) A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham & Banerjee Book 1) A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 2) Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 3) Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 4) The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 5) Hunted by Abir Mukherjee Burmese Days by George Orwell Shooting an Elephant (An Essay) by George Orwell The Distant Echo by Val McDermid Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie The Long Drop by Denise Mina Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are so pleased that our Writer in Residence, J. Ryan Stradal, has sold his newest to Atria Publishing. He is here this week to tell us how he did it, and how Atria became his new home (and it apparently involved an auction). We are also joined by the husband and wife team behind Bound and Vine, a brand new bookstore in Fayetteville, North Carolina that brings military families together to share ideas and share community.  Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Megha Majumdar was on the short list for the National Book Award, and we were rooting hard for her to win. She may not have won THIS year, but her talent and her world building skills had us clamoring for more, so we have no doubt you will see her name on the list again. A Guardian and a Thief is a novel that asks (and not didactically) what you would do, what morals would you compromise, to survive. What would you do to ensure your children survive? We talk to Megha and then discuss a new unique Chicagoland Independent Bookseller holiday tradition with a local organizer.  Join us and Happy Thanksgiving. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar A Burning by Megha Majumdar Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens In Other Rooms, Other by Daniyal Mueenuddin This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri Sing to It: New Stories by Amy Hempel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices