Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

This week we’re thrilled to welcome New York Times-bestselling romance novelist Sarah MacLean, whose artistry and activism are helping to push the genre in exciting new directions. Her latest book, Brazen and the Beast (“Bareknuckle Bastards” series, book two), is the story of Henrietta “Hattie” Sedley, a voluptuous, business-savvy, Victorian-era noblewoman with ambitious plans to claim her due in business and in pleasure. Sarah and Megan talk body positivity, women’s empowerment, genre-specific vocabulary, and more. Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, including books by Gail D. Villanueva, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (adapted by Jean Mendoza, Debbie Reese), and Elizabeth Gilbert.

On this week’s episode, Megan interviews modern noir superstar Laura Lippman, whose latest standalone novel, Lady in the Lake, is inspired by two real-life crimes committed in 1960s Baltimore: the unsolved drowning of 35-year-old Shirley Parker and the murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz. They talk opening sentences, the transgressive nature of watching, Lippman’s recent Washington Post piece (“Is it ok for white authors to write black characters? I’m trying.”), and more. Then our editors offer their weekly reading recommendations, with books by Blair Thornburgh, Cassandra Clare et al, Jeff Gordinier, and Linda Holmes.

In a special segment recorded live at Austin Central Public Library, Clay interviews pioneering novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn about writing women’s lives and the inspiration for her powerful sophomore novel, Patsy, “a profound book about sexuality, gender, race, and immigration that speaks to the contemporary moment” (starred review). Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Brian Floca, Sam Quinones, Jim Ottaviani (ill. Leland Myrick), and Colson Whitehead.

In a special segment recorded live at Austin Central Public Library, Clay interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson, author of the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, etc.), about the first book in his new Revolution Trilogy, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-11777. Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Katherine Johnson, Rory Power, Bill Streever, and Ocean Vuong.

With vim and virtuosity, debut author Lauren Mechling captures the messiness, testiness, comfort, competition, and fun of female friendship. Her novel, How Could She, is the cringingly funny story of swiftly titling dynamics between three New York City thirtysomethings on the cusp of several life-changing events. Mechling joins us on this week’s episode to discuss friends/frenemies, the compromises we make to “have it all,” podcasting, the Toronto-New York cultural exchange, and more. Then our editors recommend books by Sean Williams, Rick Atkinson, and Mary Beth Keane.

On this week’s episode, we’re delighted to welcome Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, to discuss her sparkling debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over (that’s “‘Evvie like Chevy, not Evie like Max Greevey.’”). Evvie is a smart, vibrant thirty-something from small-town Maine who loses her husband and takes a tenant, a handsome Major League Baseball pitcher who’s lost his mojo, maybe for good. We talk the “yips,” platonic soulmates, auditory writing, cultural criticism, and more. Then our editors recommend books by Kwame Alexander, Kat Cho, and Kristen Arnett.

#1 New York Times-bestselling author Blake Crouch (Dark Matter) is our guest on this week’s episode, recorded live at BookExpo America. Crouch met Clay and Megan at an undisclosed location at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City to discuss his mysterious new novel, Recursion, a sci-fi thriller centering on two characters’ complex relationships to time, grief, memory, and one another. And our editors recommend books by Rosanne Parry, Sophie Cameron, Anna Fifield, and Elin Hilderbrand.

This week we’re working blue in an episode that might have you seeing red: Linguist and journalist Amanda Montell joins us to discuss Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, a sparkling analysis of our quirky, biased gendered vernacular. Montell shines a light on curse words, code switching, grammar, pronunciation patterns, and how we might make language more inclusive moving forward. Then our editors present their top picks in books this week.

On this very special episode of Fully Booked, podcast royalty Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (“My Favorite Murder”) join us to discuss their joint memoir, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide, a book that’s funny & fearsome & close to the bone. Then our editors present their top picks in books this week.

On this week’s episode, Oscar Cásares joins Clay and Megan to discuss Where We Come From, a compassionate portrait of life along the Texas-Mexico border at Brownsville and Matamoros, centering on one woman’s reluctant involvement with a human smuggling ring. “In some ways timely, this quiet, delicate book delivers a truly timeless emotional punch,” Kirkus writes (starred review). Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.