Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On this week’s special episode, recorded live at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Jordan Moblo, Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management at Universal Studio Group, and founder of Jordy’s Book Club, for a conversation about what it takes to develop books for TV series, book clubs, reading recommendations, and more.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Where the Wild Horses Are by Amy Alznauer (Neal Porter/Holiday House)
• World News From Waverly High by Linda Kass
• Hugo by Karl Linden
• Sebastian the Belgian Koala by Jill Charlotte Thomas, illus. by Parks Sadler
• The Hourglass by Michelle Christina

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On this week’s episode, comedian, host, actor, writer, and producer Murray Hill joins us to discuss Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man (Gallery Books, Oct. 6). Kirkus: “A rip-roaring story of Liza-esque unsinkability from a Don Rickles–esque entertainer.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell (Simon & Schuster Audio)
• The Stirling Defense by Gerald Patnode
• Life With Less of Me by Julianna Burmesch
• The Noema Field by Salvatore Cataudella
• The Drop by Iohamil Navarro
• A Stranger in Every House by Richard Carr

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On this week’s special Kirkus Indie Awards episode, C.W. Johnson discusses his award-winning novel, A Life Full of Quarks (Baryon Dreams Press, Sept. 24, 2024). “In Johnson’s novel, a brilliant physicist tries to build a life after narrowly surviving a childhood filled with reanimated dinosaurs, runaway aliens, and mutated Mexican beaded lizards,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Heartbreaking and hilarious.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• The Inner Compass by S.J. King
• Born Sick in the USA by Stephen Bezruchka
• Good Lookin’ by T.L. Bequette
• The Conclusion of the American Experiment by Jonathan Morrow
• Adams Morgan Fugue by Alex Fardon

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On this week’s episode, actor and writer Nadia Bowers joins us to discuss her stunning debut memoir, Dear Dealer (Gallery Books, Sept. 15). “A sister struggles to accept her sibling’s overdose death,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “A moving embodiment of the powerful, creative energy of grief.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• The Big Dream by Owen Thomas
• Indigo, The Deep by Kellye Abernathy 
• A Simple Guide to Being Alive by David M.L. Rabin
• To Be Here Is Immense by Clare Simons
• Rising Waters by Aleatha Romig

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On this week’s episode, undefeated world champion boxer Laila Ali joins us to discuss A Spark of Greatness: The Autobiography of a Fighter, illustrated by Caldecott honoree Cosby A. Cabrera (Crown, Sept. 8). “Boxing champion Ali describes how, growing up in the shadow of a legend, she at last stepped into the ring on her own terms,” Kirkus writes. “[A]n inspiring portrait of resilience and ambition.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm by Julie Ryan McGue, illus. by Mariia Stepanova
• Shallcross by Charles Porter
• Emil by Patrick Matthews

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On this week’s episode,  New York Times bestselling translator and classicist Emily Wilson joins us to discuss Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature (Liveright/Norton, Sept. 1). “Enchanting academic essays about translating the classics,” Kirkus writes in a starred review, calling this insightful, accessible essay collection, “a lively exploration of ancient literature.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Revenge Is the Best Revenge by James A. Scott
• Mall Goddess by Marilee Dahlman
• Revelations of Grimm Lohr by William Potter
• Life and Music by Idil Biret with Dominique Xardel, trans. by Gunesh Guran Gery
• Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany

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On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty joins us to discuss Big Little Truths (Crown, Aug. 25). “Ten years later, the friends from Big Little Lies (2014) have new headaches, traumas, and secrets,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Don’t wait for the TV series—Moriarty’s sparkling writing is worth the read.” 

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• Waymaker by Michael D. Warden
• Maud and Pearl by Pearl Allen Andree
• Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany 
• The Riddle of the Trees by Marc S. Perlman
• Los Rios by Bryan Zimmerman

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On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams joins us to discuss The Missed Connection (Grand Central Publishing, June 16), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: “Desperate to reconnect with the perfect man she met on a plane, a woman hires a private detective with ties to her past…. Flawed yet lovable characters shine in this celebration of human connection.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively
• In His Own Time by Kathy Lemoine
• Awaken Your Sexuality by Stephanie Covington and Vanessa Carlisle
• Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany
• Beauty by Christina Chiu

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On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter joins us to discuss The Secrets We Keep (William Morrow/HarperCollins, Aug. 4), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: ““Every twist in the path to the truth is riveting—especially the final revelation, which puts all the others in the shade—but the most important relationship is between the two investigators, one of whom harbors a secret the other can’t imagine.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively
• The Hypókrisis Mirror and Other Stories by Raymond Fortunato
• Tapestries by Patrick Summers
• Virtuality, Book Two, by Ragnar Kroll
• Avatars of the Pantheon by Jackson Owens

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On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner join us to discuss her latest thriller, You’ll Be Sorry (Grand Central Publishing, Aug. 4). “A small-town sheriff uncovers centuries’ worth of secrets,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review. “Gardner deftly juggles a number of characters, plot threads, secrets, time periods, and motives, delivering a satisfyingly layered novel that interrogates the insular lives and histories of small towns.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: 

• This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively  
• Blood Moon Over Bentonville by Bernard Doucette
• Death on Warriors Way by Dave Pyle
• The Murder Investigation of Adolf Hitler by Peter Clenott
• Dear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura Elliott 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.