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The Book Show

The Book Show

  • Book cover for "Vigil" by George Saunders
    Random House
    George Saunders is one of the most original voices in American fiction. His new novel, “Vigil,” follows Jill “Doll” Blaine, an afterlife usher summoned to guide an unrepentant oil tycoon toward death. Over one wild night, Saunders confronts power, greed, climate reckoning, and mercy itself.
  • Northern Irish novelist Maggie O’Farrell has long been admired for fiction that blends emotional intimacy with sweeping historical scope, and her work has found devoted readers on both sides of the Atlantic. She is the author of several acclaimed novels, including After You’d Gone, The Hand That First Held Mine, and The Marriage Portrait, books that circle questions of love, loss, memory, and the hidden lives that shape history. Her 2020 novel Hamnet—a reimagining of Shakespeare’s family life through the eyes of his wife and son—became a global bestseller and won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Now O’Farrell has entered the film world with remarkable success. Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao, has won the Golden Globe for Best Drama and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
  • In his latest biography, “Mark Twain,” Ron Chernow brings to life the man known as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. Chernow peels back the layers of this complex figure, showing us the man behind classics like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Innocents Abroad.”
  • Ann Packer’s newest novel, “Some Bright Nowhere,” marks a profound return after a decade: it tells the story of Eliot and Claire, married nearly forty years in a quiet Connecticut town, facing the toughest chapter of their lives when Claire’s long-running illness draws toward its end.
  • From Susan Orlean, the beloved New Yorker writer and bestselling author of “The Orchid Thief” and “The Library Book,” comes “Joyride” - a masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose.This episode of The Book Show was recorded at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY in an event co-presented by Northshire Bookstore and WAMC on the Road.
  • Michael Connelly has long been a master at mapping the evolving landscape of crime and justice in America, and in his latest, "The Proving Ground," he turns his attention to one of the defining questions of the moment: what happens when artificial intelligence crosses dangerous ethical lines—and real people pay the price?
  • When Chloe Dalton, a city-dwelling professional with a high-pressure job, finds a newly born hare - endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm - she is compelled to give it a chance at survival. The new book, “Raising Hare,” is the story of their journey together.
  • John Irving has long been one of America’s most distinctive and beloved novelists. With his new novel, “Queen Esther,” Irving once again returns to the questions that have animated his career: What shapes a life? How do we carry the burdens of the past? And how does love anchor us through the most unpredictable turns?
  • Jeffrey Archer's novels have always balanced suspense with insight into the corridors of power. From “Cain and Abel” to “The Clifton Chronicles,” he investigates ambition, betrayal and redemption on an international scale. His latest, “End Game” is swift and elegant and full of moral complexity.
  • Dan Brown’s new novel, "The Secret of Secrets," marks the return of Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbologist. This time, Langdon’s journey takes him to Prague where a lecture on human consciousness quickly unravels into a mystery involving a vanished scientist, an ancient manuscript, and a secret with world-altering implications.
  • Mona Awad’s books walk the line between the surreal and the deeply human. Her latest novel, “We Love You, Bunny,” is a darkly glittering fable about love, obsession, and the masks we wear.
  • Author Dan Chaon’s latest, “One of Us,” carries readers into early twentieth-century America where a traveling carnival offers both wonder and menace. At its heart are orphaned twins whose bond is tested as they navigate a world filled with outsiders, performers, and predators.