Book Nook

By Vick MickunasArts Books

Book Nook episodes

June 12, 2018 Best of the Book Nook: P is for Peril, by Sue Grafton
After Sue Grafton died last December I put together a special memorial program in her honor. You can locate that program in our podcast archive. I took excerpts from my first interview with Sue for her book "M is for Malice" and my third and final interview with her for "W is for Wasted." Recently we digitized my second interview with Sue for her novel "P is for Peril." This conversation was recorded in 2001 and we find the author in her usual fine form. Her beloved Kinsey Milhone mystery series
51 min
June 09, 2018 Book Nook: The Physics of Star Wars - the Science Behind a Galaxy Far, Far Away by Patrick Johnson
The Star Wars movie franchise is alive and well after all these years and the physicist and Star Wars aficionado Patrick Johnson decided that it was high time Star Wars fans had a handbook to help them understand the physics that come into play in the films. So he decided to write one. In "The Physics of Star Wars - the Science Behind a Galaxy Far, Far Away" the author explains subjects like repulsorlifts, podracers, hover car traffic, hyperspace, lightsabers, ion cannons, death stars, frozen
29 min
June 07, 2018 Book Nook: Beneath a Ruthless Sun, by Gilbert King
Lake County, Florida used to be a very dangerous place to live. It wasn't because there was a high crime rate. In fact Willis McCall, the long-time sheriff of Lake County presented more of a hazard to some residents than any criminals ever would. In his book "Devil in the Grove" the author Gilbert King wrote about a horrible injustice that took place there and the crimes that were perpetrated by that corrupt and violent sheriff. When the author was on a publicity tour in the region for that book
49 min
June 01, 2018 Book Nook: The Fens, by Pamela Wechsler
Pamela Wechsler is a former prosecutor who has taken up a new career writing for television and penning crime novels. Her latest book is her third in a series set in Boston. Her protagonist is Abby Endicott, the chief homicide prosecutor for the city. The author is a former prosecutor in Boston so she is writing about matters that she knows rather well. In this one Boston is rocked by the news that a star player for the Boston Red Sox has been murdered. An investigation that involves Fenway, the
29 min
May 30, 2018 Best of the Book Nook: I Just Kept Hoping, by Gloria Stuart
Gloria Stuart was a movie star in early Hollywood. Back in those days they would have called her a starlet. She left Hollywood and the movie business and began a second career as an artist and a maker of hand-made books. Today her work is in museums. Late in life she was contacted by James Cameron who was working on the casting for his movie "Titanic." He ended up casting Stuart in the role of "Old Rose." The movie went on to become a massive hit film and Stuart was suddenly back in the public
50 min
May 28, 2018 Book Nook: No Immediate Danger-Volume One of the Carbon Ideologies, by William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann writes some massive books. His current offering is so enormous that his publisher had to split it into two volumes. The first installment is "No Immediate Danger-Volume One of the Carbon Ideologies." Volume Two, "No Good Alternative," will be published in June. I spoke to Bill Vollmann about the first volume-we had a sobering discussion about this very important book. Vollmann has written this book by taking the approach that he is leaving this text behind for some reader in
29 min
May 24, 2018 Best of the Book Nook: Bluish, by Virginia Hamilton
In 1999 I had the pleasure of conducting another interview with Virginia Hamilton. The first time I had Virginia on the program it was a rather unique experience because Virginia had been joined in studio for a joint interview with her husband the poet Arnold Adoff. For this second interview Virginia traveled the half mile or so from her home in Yellow Springs to our studios and I had the opportunity to converse with her again about her incredible body of work. At that time Virginia had just
51 min
May 18, 2018 Book Nook: Head On, by John Scalzi
John Scalzi is probably the best known writer who lives in our area. Here's a review of his latest book that I wrote for the Cox Ohio newspapers: John Scalzi just published "Head On," the follow-up novel to his 2014 book "Lock In." Scalzi, who resides in the village of Bradford (OH) is full of surprises and this book contains several. The author has recounted how years ago he determined at random whether to write mysteries or science fiction. Science fiction won out. Even so this new book
29 min
May 16, 2018 Book Nook On The Road: An Interview With Melissa Fay Greene For Her Book "The Underdogs"
We did something rather different recently when we recorded a Book Nook program before an audience at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs in conjunction with the Greene County Public Library. Melissa Fay Greene returned to the program to do another interview for her book "The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love." This is the inspirational saga of 4 Paws for Ability in Xenia, Ohio and the woman who founded the organization, Karen Shirk. "The Underdogs: Children,
50 min
May 14, 2018 Best of the Book Nook: That Dark and Bloody River, by Allan W. Eckert
Allan W. Eckert was a legendary writer. He lived right in our region in Bellefontaine, but I only had this one opportunity to interview him. It was 23 years ago and he was on book tour for his historical novel "That Dark and Bloody River." The river he referred to in his title was of course, the Ohio River. Eckert was an authority on the early history of our region and he wrote numerous books about it. In this interview the author talked about the original inhabitants of our area and how they
29 min

About Book Nook

From the publisher's feed

Listen to the Book Nook with Vick Mickunas for intimate conversations about books with the writers who create them.Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994.…