In Episode 189, author Karen Thompson Walker talks with Sarah about her career to date and her newest novel, The Strange Case of Jane O. Karen discusses her writing journey, including each book’s inspiration and research process. She also touches on the challenges of promoting her latest book without giving away too much and her current work in progress. Plus, Karen shares her book recommendations.

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Highlights

• Books by Karen Thompson Walker: The Age of Miracles (2012), The Dreamers (2019), and The Strange Case of Jane O. (2025)
• Karen talks about going from working as an editor to a being published author
• The genre Karen feels her books best fit in
• The real-life inspiration for The Age of Miracles 
• A peek into her research process and which book required the most work
• Karen’s thoughts on writing about an epidemic (in The Dreamers) just before the real-life  COVID-19 pandemic
• A brief spoiler-free overview of The Strange Case of Jane O. and the inspiration behind it
• Some of Oliver Sacks’ interesting case histories that inspired Karen
• The difficulty in trying to promote and talk about a book like The Strange Case of Jane O. without giving too much away
• How Karen sees the relationship between her three published books
• A bit about Karen’s current work in progress

Karen’s Book Recommendations [36:20]

Two OLD Books She Loves

• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (1993) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[37:22]
• The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [39:26]
• Other Books Mentioned:
  • The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (2023) [40:51]  

Two NEW Books She Loves

• The Antidote by Karen Russell (March 11, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[41:20]
• The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:39]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:39]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• Audition by Katie Kitamura (April 8, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:22]
• Other Books Mentioned: 
  • The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (2024) [49:20] 
  • A Separation by Katie Kitamura (2017) [49:35] 
  • Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (2021) [49:39] 

Last 5-Star Book Karen Read

• Trust by Hernan Diaz (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:14]

Books From the Discussion

• Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (2012) [22:54]
• Awakenings by Oliver Sacks (1973) [24:16]