Books Connect Us

On today's show we have a conversation between authors Vincent Toro and Willie Perdomo. Vincent Toro’s new poetry collection TERTULIA examines immigration, economics, colonialism and race via the sublime imagery of music, visual art, and history. Willie Perdomo is a prize-winning poet, whose new collection THE CRAZY BUNCH chronicles a weekend in the life of a group of friends coming of age in East Harlem at the dawn of the hip-hop era. Now let's join these authors as they discuss their backgrounds, inspirations, and the power of poetry.

Gabriela Herstik is the author of INNER WITCH and BEWITCHING THE ELEMENTS. In her new inspirational journal and spellbook EMBODY YOUR MAGICK will help readers embrace their inner witch, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey. The book offers up powerful meditations and rituals, space for notes and spells, and information on lunar practices, color magick, sacred herbs, tarot suits, and more. Now let's join Penguin Senior Editor Nina Shield in conversation with author Gabriela Herstik.

Toni Jensen teaches in the MFA programs at the University of Arkansas and the Institute of American Indian Arts, and she is a 2020 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her new book CARRY is a powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence. In CARRY, Jensen maps her personal experience onto the historical, exploring how history is lived in the body and redefining the language we use to speak about violence in America. Now let's join Taylor Noel in conversation with author Toni Jensen.

Sophie Kinsella is the author of the bestselling SHOPAHOLIC series as well as the novels CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET, THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS, and many more. Her latest is LOVE YOUR LIFE, an utterly delightful novel about a woman who ditches her dating app for a writer’s retreat in Italy—only to find that real love comes with its own filters. Let's join Madison Dettlinger in conversation with author Sophie Kinsella.

Andrew Child is the author of thrillers such as TOO CLOSE TO HOME and INVISIBLE. Andrew is now embarking on his highest profile work yet, teaming up with his brother Lee Child to co-write the newest entry in the incredibly popular Jack Reacher series, entitled THE SENTINEL. In THE SENTINEL, Jack Reacher finds himself battling bad guys in the murderous world of cybercrime. Let's join Pat Stango as he talks to Andrew Child about working with his world famous older brother, and what it's like to write one of literature's most enduring heroes.

Trung Le Nguyen, also known as Trungles, is a comic book artist and illustrator working out of Minnesota. He is particularly fond of fairy tales, kids’ cartoons, and rom-coms of all stripes. His debut graphic novel THE MAGIC FISH is a beautifully illustrated story that follows a young boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, and shows us how we are all connected. Now let's join Caitlin Whalen in conversation with Trung Le Nguyen.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine is a National Book Award Finalist and the author of SABRINA & CORINA, a moving narrative of unrelenting feminine power and an exploration of the universal experiences of abandonment, heritage, and an eternal sense of home. This magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Now let's join Taylor Noel in conversation with Kali Fajardo-Anstine.

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, OF LOVE AND SHADOWS, EVA LUNA, and IN THE MIDST OF WINTER. Her books have been translated into more than forty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-four million copies worldwide. Her latest is A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA, an epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home. Now let's join literary agent Johanna Castillo and Random House Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Hershey in conversation with author Isabel Allende.

As a screenwriter, Natasha Diaz has been a quarterfinalist in the Austin Film Festival and a finalist for both the NALIP Diverse Women in Media Fellowship and the Sundance Episodic Story Lab. Her personal essays have been published in the Establishment and the Huffington Post. COLOR ME IN is her powerful debut coming-of-age novel about the meaning of friendship, the joyful beginnings of romance, and the racism and religious intolerance that can both strain a family to the breaking point and strengthen its bonds. Let's join Caitlin Whalen in conversation with author Natasha Diaz.

Jose Pimienta was raised in Mexicali, Baja California, and now resides in Los Angeles, CA where he works on comics and storyboards for animation and film. SUNCATCHER is his debut author/illustrator graphic novel. A story filled with music, passion, supernatural secrets, and family, SUNCATCHER brings to life a contemporary story of life in Mexicali with a supernatural twist and a lot of music. Now let's join Senior Editor Whitney Leopard in conversation with Jose Pimienta.