Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Jia Lynn Yang discusses One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965 (W.W. Norton, May 19), an outstanding history of the fight for U.S. immigration reform. Exploring questions of what it means to be an “American,” who gets to be one, and who gets to decide, Yang’s authorial debut is “critical in understanding today’s immigrations issues” (starred review). Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Lauren Soloy, Deb Caletti, Masha Gessen, and Brit Bennett.

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This week’s episode is sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group, publishers of Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/contest/darius-the-great/). In our lead interview, bestselling novelist Max Brooks discusses Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre (Dey Street, June 16). Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Ben Clanton, Abdi Nor Iftin, Robert Kolker, and Connie Schultz.

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TIME national political correspondent Molly Ball discusses Pelosi (Henry Holt, May 5), an intriguing portrait of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking woman in U.S. government history. Ball’s “top-notch political biography” is “a cradle-to-today portrait of a master politician who ‘shattered the “marble ceiling” and blazed a new trail for women’” (starred review). Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Jules Feiffer, Lillian Clark, Willie Mays with John Shea, and Elin Hilderbrand.

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Megha Majumdar discusses her highly anticipated debut novel, A Burning (Knopf, June 2). Set in contemporary Kolkata, A Burning opens with an extraordinary act of domestic terrorism at a train station. Amid mass confusion and alarm, Jivan, a Muslim woman living in a nearby slum, posts a Facebook message that proves incendiary, landing her in prison. Her voice is soon joined by others in a polyphonic tale exploring politics, class, ambition, labor, and love. Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Stella Dreis, Kimberly Drew, and Madeleine St. John.

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Journalist James Nestor discusses Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art (Riverhead, May 26), a deep dive into the history and function of the human respiratory system, and the changes we can make to start breathing better today. Then Kirkus’ editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Jeremy Tankard and Hermione Tankard, Lisa Allen-Agostini, and Ilhan Omar.

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Veteran journalist Jim Newton discusses Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown (Little, Brown, May 12), a brilliant biography of California’s self-reliant, iconoclastic longest-serving governor. Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Sarah S. Brannen and Lucia Soto, Candy J. Cooper and Marc Aronson, and Curtis Sittenfeld

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NYT multimedia reporter Walter Thompson-Hernandez discusses The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America’s Urban Heartland (William Morrow, April 28), chronicling a year in the lives of the men and women fighting to keep black cowboy culture alive in Los Angeles. And in a sponsored interview, we talk with child psychologist Dr. Abigail Gewirtz, author of When the World Feels Like a Scary Place: Essential Conversations for Anxious Parents & Worried Kids (Workman, May 12). Then our editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by

Carlos Hernandez, Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru, Erik Larson, and Joanna Hershon.

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On this episode Tori Amos discusses the powerful new memoir chronicling her journey through music and activism. Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage (Atria, May 5) interweaves song lyrics and wide-ranging personal stories, exploring the artist’s charge in the face of threats to freedom and democracy. In a sponsored interview, we talk with Caldecott-winning author-illustrator Matthew Cordell, whose latest book is Hello, Neighbor! The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers (Holiday House, April 7). Then our editors make their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Carlos Hernandez, Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru, Erik Larson, and Joanna Hershon.

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner joins us this week to discuss Big Summer (Atria, May 5). This delightful fiction features fat acceptance Instagram influencer Daphne Berg, who journeys to Cape Cod to be a bridesmaid in her long-lost, über-privileged best friend’s beachfront wedding and gets mixed up in a murder mystery. Told with signature wit and charm, Weiner’s 14th novel is sure to be one of this summer’s big books. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Leslie Bulion and Robert Meganck, George M. Johnson, Shaun Bythell, and Kevin Nguyen.

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On this week’s episode, New York Times reporter and standup comic Sopan Deb discusses Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me (Dey Street, April 21). Deb’s “refreshing” debut memoir is the story of his journey to India (and select parts of New Jersey) in search of answers to the many questions surrounding his family’s estrangement. Then our editors join with their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Vikram Madan, Deborah Wiles, John Freeman, and C Pam Zhang.