British writer Kazuo Ishiguro has been named the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2015, he spoke with WGN Radio’s Steve Bertrand about his novel The Buried Giant: Kazuo Ishiguro, who has won the Man Booker Prize and been awarded the O.B.E., has been called one of Britain’s most important living novelists. His latest, The Buried Giant, examines the frailty of collective memory with the story of an elderly post-King Arthur era couple on their way to […]

The New York Times has called Alan Furst “America’s preeminent spy novelist.” His new book, A HERO OF FRANCE about the French Resistance, is the first in a long time set during the war years, rather than the eve of World War II.   He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the novel and about the importance of learning to look at the world from someone else’s angle.   Love the show or want to reach out to Steve?  Visit: […]

Steve and Amy talk Memorial Day, summer plans, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla story, the idea of ‘being busy’, and more.  

Steve and Amy talk Memorial Day, summer plans, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla story, the idea of ‘being busy’, and more.  

Let’s go back to Boston in 1721. Historian Stephen Coss says it was one of the most influential years in U.S. history. And why not: We meet a young Ben Franklin, a chastised Cotton Mather and the beginning American arguments over faith and science. You’ll be surprised by who is on which side. Coss talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about “The Fever of 1721.” Love the show or want to reach out to Steve?  Visit: Facebook + Twitter

Let’s go back to Boston in 1721. Historian Stephen Coss says it was one of the most influential years in U.S. history. And why not: We meet a young Ben Franklin, a chastised Cotton Mather and the beginning American arguments over faith and science. You’ll be surprised by who is on which side. Coss talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about “The Fever of 1721.” Love the show or want to reach out to Steve?  Visit: Facebook + Twitter

Anna Quindlen has been telling us what we’re thinking,  or maybe how we’re thinking, for decades. First as a columnist for Newsweek and the New York Times and now as a novelist. She talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel “Miller’s Valley,” with stops along the way about what it means to be home, keeping current in the fast-moving world of the internet and, of course, the ubiquitous campaign for president.  

How many bad ideas have you had today? Wharton School of Business professor Adam Grant says the more the merrier, or original anyway. In his book Originals: How Non-conformists Move the World, Grant looks at what makes a truly original thinker. Bad ideas can be a good sign. Much more in this interview with Steve Bertrand on Books.  

Chris Pavone is not your run of the mill espionage writer. Think of it this this way: Pavone writes and about real and compelling people, who happen to be spies. His latest novel, “The Travelers,” proves that point wonderfully. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the novel, about writing, and about being a stay-at-home dad in Europe.

Chris Pavone is not your run of the mill espionage writer. Think of it this this way: Pavone writes and about real and compelling people, who happen to be spies. His latest novel, “The Travelers,” proves that point wonderfully. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the novel, about writing, and about being a stay-at-home dad in Europe.