Books Connect Us

Today we have a conversation between authors J. Kelly Hoey and Maxie McCoy. J. KELLY HOEY is a writer, investor, connector, networking expert, and author of the book BUILD YOUR DREAM NETWORK. In both the book and her podcast of the same name, Hoey presents innovative strategies for forming strong relationships—the genuine, mutually beneficial, long-lasting kind—using all of the social tools at your disposal.

Maxie McCoy is a writer and speaker obsessed with giving women the tools they need to believe in themselves. Her book YOU'RE NOT LOST is the manifesto for a generation of women who don’t have the self-confidence to trust their instincts and go for it.

Let's join J. Kelly Hoey and Maxie McCoy as they discuss networking, business, and just how to maximize your own potential.

On today's show we have a conversation between Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown, authors of WE ARE EVERYWHERE: PROTEST, POWER, AND PRIDE IN THE HISTORY OF QUEER LIBERATION. This book is a a rich and sweeping photographic history of the Queer Liberation Movement from the creators and curators of the massively popular Instagram account @lgbt_history, and traces queer activism from its roots in late-nineteenth-century Europe–long before the pivotal Stonewall Riots of 1969–to the gender warriors leading the charge today. The New York Times calls WE ARE EVERYWHERE “An impassioned photographic tour of an ever-changing, increasingly vocal and insistently resilient LGBTQ community and culture, from nineteenth century ideology to contemporary conversations around intersectionality.”

Please join Matthew and Leighton for a fascinating conversation about LGBTQ history, intersectionality, and activism.

On today's show Max Brooks, the author of World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide, and Minecraft: The Island, talks with his editor Sarah Peed about his writing process, survival, and his newest book, DEVOLUTION. Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, and part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, DEVOLUTION is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it.

This interview originally premiered on Del Reydio---that's D-E-L R-E-Y-D-I-O, the dedicated podcast for Random House's Del Rey imprint. Del Rey is one of the world's foremost publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as media and pop culture titles. And now, here's our conversation with Max Brooks.

On today's show we have author Chanel Cleeton, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA. Her latest book LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST is about three women in 1925 whose lives are forever changed when one of the most powerful hurricanes in history barrels toward the Florida Keys. OprahMag.com says "Cleeton’s beach reads are often lit by the sun of places like Florida and Cuba, and her latest doesn’t disappoint." Now let's join internationally renowned book blogger Vilma Iris Gonzalez in conversation with Chanel Cleeton.

Today's guest is Dustin Lance Black: an author, filmmaker and social activist known for writing the Academy Award–winning screenplay of the Harvey Milk biopic MILK, and for his part in overturning California’s discriminatory Proposition 8. His heartfelt, deeply personal memoir MAMA'S BOY explores how a mother and son built bridges across great cultural divides—and how our stories hold the power to heal. Now please join book editor Anna Kaufman in conversation with Dustin Lance Black.

Praise for MAMA'S BOY:

“A fast read with witty observations, and all the emotions to go along. . . . [A] testament to the powerful impact a good parent has on children. . . . Black and Mama’s Boy show just how far the unlikeliest of children can go with pure, unabashed grit.”

“A fascinating and poignant combination of memoir and family history. . . . Both personal and universal. . . . The most emotional moments come as Black finds himself in personal encounters with those who might be considered obviously antagonistic to his world, including leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and more conservative members of his own family. . . . Finding common ground is indeed the powerful throughline in Mama’s Boy.”

On today's show we have authors Nic Stone and Jodi Picoult discussing topics such as white fragility, the differences in expectations for black women and white women, the problematic nature of colorblindness, and what to do to be a better white advocate. Nic Stone is the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author of DEAR MARTIN, CLEAN GETAWAY and her latest DEAR JUSTYCE.

This originally aired on Nic Stone's Instagram channel, as part of a series of conversations that she is having about race.

Other books discussed in this episode include WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo and HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi.

Today's episode is a discussion between authors Abbi Waxman and Kristan Higgins. Abbi Waxman is the USA Today bestselling author of OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES, THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS, and her latest I WAS TOLD IT WOULD GET EASIER, which follows mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein as their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures.

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times bestselling author of nearly twenty novels, including LIFE AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES and her latest ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW, which examines a family at the breaking point in all its messy, difficult, wonderful complexity. Let's join Abbi Waxman and Kristan Higgins in conversation.

Today we have a conversation between authors Roselle Lim and Soniah Kamal. Roselle Lim is a Filipino Chinese writer who came to Canada from the Philippines as a young teen, and penned the novels Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune, and her latest "Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop". Book Riot says that "similar to the sweet fabulist-romcom style of Lim’s debut, this new book follows a young woman’s culinary and magical adventures.”

Soniah Kamal’s debut novel, An Isolated Incident, was a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction. Her new book UNMARRIAGEABLE is a charming update on Jane Austen’s beloved PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE, and an exhilarating exploration of love, marriage, class, and sisterhood.

Here are Soniah Kamal and Roselle Lim in conversation with Penguin Random House's Senior Campaigns Director Christine Hung.

Praise for VANESSA YU'S MAGICAL PARIS TEA SHOP:

“…similar to the sweet fabulist-romcom style of Lim’s debut, this new book follows a young woman’s culinary and magical adventures.”-BookRiot

Praise for UNMARRIAGEABLE:

“Thoroughly charming.”—New York Post

“[A] funny, sometimes romantic, often thought-provoking glimpse into Pakistani culture, one which adroitly illustrates the double standards women face when navigating sex, love, and marriage. This is a must-read for devout Austenites.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Elizabeth Gilbert is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic, Eat Pray Love, and several other internationally bestselling books of fiction and nonfiction. Her latest entitled CITY OF GIRLS is a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. A novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, it's about a young woman discovering that you don’t have to be a good girl to be a good person. Here is our own Amy Brinker in conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert.

Praise for CITY OF GIRLS:

“A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness.”

“Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger.”

“Pairs well with a cocktail…or two.”

Today's guest is Jonathan Karl, the Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and president of the White House Correspondents' Association. Over his long and award-winning career, he has reported from the White House under four presidents and more than a dozen press secretaries and has covered every major beat in Washington. His New York Times bestselling book is [FRONT ROW AT THE TRUMP SHOW][1], which is an account like no other from the White House reporter who has known President Donald Trump for more than 25 years.

Joining him is Allison Dobson, who is President of the Penguin Publishing Group and oversees Penguin’s adult publishing business in the U.S. Prior to her time in publishing, Allison spent several years on Capitol Hill and on political campaigns. And now let's join Allison Dobson in conversation with author Jonathan Karl.

Included in this episode is an excerpt from the audiobook, courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio.

Praise for [FRONT ROW AT THE TRUMP SHOW][2]:

“No reporter has covered Donald Trump longer and with more energy than Jonathan Karl. It pays off in his account of what he calls the Trump Show with some startling scoops. What did the president scrawl across the rejected resignation letter from his attorney general? He tells us.”—Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief, USA TODAY

“Jon Karl is fierce, fearless and fair. From cub reporter at the NY Post to Chief WH Correspondent for ABC News, he’s covered Donald Trump—and the White House—for a generation. He knows the man, and the office. Front Row at the Trump Show takes us inside the daily challenge of truthful reporting on the Trump WH, revealing what’s at stake with vivid detail and deep insights.”—George Stephanopoulos

“Jonathan Karl is a straight shooting, fair minded, and hardworking professional so it’s no surprise he’s produced a book historians will relish. It’s about good old fashioned news getting—about the process and the rules and how it works. Overlaying it is this most amazing moment in American political history. Underlying it is a story about waking up each morning and trying against the odds to find out what’s true.”—Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal