Andrew Ridker is but 32 years of age - yet already he has written what promises to be his second very successful novel - Hope. The title is an acronym for a medical study, but it is also a feeling that pervades his depiction of a Jewish suburban family, the Greenspans, living near Boston. Each member of the family stumbles, and struggles to find footing. But much as they may transgress, Ridker projects a belief that family of origin has an inexorable pull on all of his characters and all of us. Ridker is wise beyond his years and this book is downright funny at times! And did we mention the book has the best cover photo seen in years? Our bookstore this week is RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, owned by the very entertaining Roxanne Coady. A bookstore that pairs well with Ridker’s novel.

Books mentioned in this week's podcast:

Hope by Andrew Ridker

The Altruists by Andrew Ridker

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

The Topeka School by Ben Lerner

10:04 by Ben Lerner

Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry


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Andrew Ridker Writes With Hope

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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We love the summer because it means trips the bookstore! We have some of our favorite bookstores recommending their favorite summer titles. If you are in need of a laugh, a thrill or just a great story to read on the beach, this is an episode of The Book Case you don't want to miss.


Books mentioned in this week's episode:
A Short Walk Through the Woods by Douglas Westerbeke
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
James by Percival Everett
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Lo Fi by Liz Riggs
Central Park West by James Comey
Westport by James Comey
Table for Two by Amor Towles
Swamp Story by Dave Barry
The Backyard Book Chronicles by Amy Tan
The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
Different Seasons by Stephen King
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
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Book Store Owners Present Their Top Summer Reads

This episode is a double whammy of extreme talent. First, we have George Stephanopoulos, giving us history through the perspective of one of the most mysterious and powerful rooms in the White House: The Situation Room. It's the title of his new book...and it's an illuminating read. Second, the great J. Ryan Stradal and our second installment of the Writer in Residence series. He says he is doing a lot of writing these days...and he knows most of it won't make it in the book. You don't want to miss this week's Book Case.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

 The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George Stephanopoulos

 All Too Human: A Political Education by George Stephanopoulos

 Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

 Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

 Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

 Think Twice by Harlan Coben

 I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

 Table for Two by Amor Towles


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George Stephanopoulos Takes Us To The Situation Room

It's always a pleasure for us to talk to a debut author and we have a good one this week in Heidi Reimer. Her novel, The Mother Act, is the story of mothers and daughters and the heap of complexities that come in those relationships. How do we know we are going to be a good mom? Once we have a child are we ALWAYS a mother first? This book asks these questions and challenges the reader to question the concepts of motherhood, empathy and family.

Books mentioned in this week’s episode:

The Mother Act by Heidi Reimer

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Dear Life by Alice Munro

Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives by Lori Leibovich

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst


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Heidi Reimer Examines Motherhood, Sacrifice, and Redemption

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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Erik Larson Illuminates History

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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Andrew Ridker Writes With Hope

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