Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Bett Williams discusses The Wild Kindness: A Psilocybin Odyssey (Dottir Press, Sep. 1), a shimmering literary memoir about growing and taking psychedelic mushrooms in the New Mexican desert. Kirkus: “An exuberant endorsement of the use of psychedelics as an instrument of self-discovery.” Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Ruby Bridges, Gloria Chao, and Shirley Hazzard.

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We're just two days away from this year's (virtual) Kirkus Prize ceremony! In a YouTube livestream on Thursday, Nov. 5, we’ll reveal our judges’ picks for the best books of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature; and the winners will each take home a $50,000 prize. In this special Kirkus Prize podcast, we go behind the scenes with fiction judge Chang-rae Lee, nonfiction judge Kiese Laymon, and YRL judge Nicola Yoon to find out what it took to make this year’s six-book shortlists. Then our editors join to discuss all 18 finalists.

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Ruby Hamad discusses White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color (Catapult, Oct. 6), a profound work of cultural criticism that shows how white womanhood is weaponized against Black and Indigenous women, and women of color. Kirkus: “An extraordinary book for anyone who wishes to pay more than lip service to truly inclusive, intersectional feminism” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Bill Nye, Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts, David Attenborough, and V.E. Schwab.

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Novelist emily m. danforth discusses Plain Bad Heroines (William Morrow, Oct. 20), a spooky and substantial queer horror-comedy that opens on two girls in love at a Rhode Island boarding school, in 1902, and swiftly takes a turn for the macabre. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Jon J. Muth, eds. Nova Ren Suma and Emily X. R. Pan, Mariah Carey, and Tana French.

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Journalist Sarah Smarsh discusses She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs (Scribner, Oct. 13), an in-depth consideration of Dolly Parton’s contributions to American culture and evolving role in the popular imagination. “A highly readable treat for music and feminist scholars as well as Parton's legion of fans” (Kirkus). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Christina Soontornvat, Trung Le Nguyen, and Dolly Parton.

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Debut novelist K-Ming Chang discusses Bestiary (One World, Sep. 29), a “visceral book that promises a major new literary voice” (starred review). Rooted in myth and magic, the story is told by the daughter, mother, and grandmother of a Taiwanese American family that settles in California by way of Arkansas. After an altercation with her mother, the daughter grows a tiger tail, heralding a spate of strange occurrences. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Shinsuke Yoshitake, Jon Meacham, and Rumaan Alam.

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Francina Simone discusses Smash It! (Inkyard Press, Sep. 22), a “stellar” YA novel starring 17-year-old Olivia James, who decides it’s time to confront her fear of standing out - starting with auditioning for the school musical. Kirkus: “Readers will find themselves rapt with anticipation and excitement and filled with compassion for Olivia’s journey to self-acceptance and self-love” (starred review). Then our editors join the podcast to discuss the importance of Banned Books Week (Sep. 27-Oct. 3, 2020).

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Anne Helen Petersen discusses Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation (HMH, Sep. 22), “A well-researched and -rendered analysis of why so many millennials feel overwhelmed despite their best efforts” (starred review). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Daniel Pinkwater and Aaron Renier, Justin A. Reynolds, Jeff Benedict, and Louise Penny.

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Vanessa Veselka discusses The Great Offshore Grounds (Knopf, Aug. 26), an exquisite, freewheeling character-driven novel that ponders the possibility of reinvention, the meaning of family, and the American Dream. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, Ben Macintyre, and Sigrid Nunez.

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Award-winning author Claudia Rankine joins editor-in-chief Tom Beer to discuss Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf Press, Sept. 8), a paradigm-shifting cross-disciplinary collection of essays, poems, and images that contend with the perceptual and experiential divide between Black and White Americans. And in a sponsored interview, host Megan Labrise talks with Swedish hip hop star Jason Diakité, author of A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir (Amazon Crossing). Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Mychal Denzel Smith, Yaa Gyasi, and Helen Macdonald.

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