Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Rita Zoey Chin joins us to discuss The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern (Melville House, Oct. 4), in which a young woman embarks on a wonder-filled journey across the U.S. and Canada. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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Namwali Serpell joins us to discuss The Furrows (Hogarth, Sept. 27), in which a woman grieves the loss of her younger brother. The sophomore novel is “stylistically refreshing and emotionally intense, cementing Serpell’s place among the best writers going” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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Kirkus Prize winner Christina Soontornvat joins us to discuss The Tryout (Scholastic, Sept. 6), illustrated by Joanna Cacao. Kirkus calls this standout graphic memoir, about going out for the cheerleading squad in a small Texas town in the 1990s, “a funny, relatable, and genuine story of friendship and belonging” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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Debut novelist Carolyn Huynh joins us to discuss The Fortunes of Jaded Women (Atria, Sept. 6), “a funny, sharp, and insightful look at family bonds and the effects of tradition on modern life” (Kirkus). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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Kirkus Prize-winning novelist Ling Ma joins us to discuss her new story collection Bliss Montage (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 13), which Kirkus calls “haunting and artful” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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On this special Work Episode of the podcast, Ellyn Gaydos joins us to discuss Pig Years (Knopf, June 14), a lyrical debut memoir of four years of seasonal farm work in New York and Vermont. Kirkus: “Lyrical and cleareyed insight into farming from a writer devoted to both crafts.” Then our editors recommend some of their favorite books contending with jobs and professions.

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Sidik Fofana joins us to discuss Stories From the Tenants Downstairs (Scribner, Aug. 16), eight interconnected stories set in a fictional high-rise in Central Harlem. Kirkus: “A potentially significant voice in African American fiction asserts itself with wit and compassion” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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Carmen Rita Wong joins us to discuss Why Didn’t You Tell Me?: A Memoir (Crown, July 12). Kirkus: “The gradual unraveling of lifelong deceptions about her parenthood teaches a Dominican Chinese woman unsettling lessons about the mutability of identity” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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On our 2022 Fall Preview episode, Beth Macy discusses Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis (Little, Brown, Aug. 16), “a profoundly disconcerting book that, with luck, will inspire reform to aid the dopesick and punish their suppliers” (starred review). Then our editors highlight a few of their favorite titles from the Fall Preview issue of Kirkus Reviews.

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In this episode, sponsored by Amazon Original Stories, Mohsin Hamid joins us to discuss the novel The Last White Man (Riverhead, Aug. 2), “a provocative tale that raises questions of racial and social justice at every turn” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week.

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