Once again it was a title that caught our eye, leading us to a the book that was even more intriguing than the title. The book is How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water. The author is Angie Cruz. The book is a fascinating character study of Cara Romero, a Dominican immigrant who came to this country more than 25 years ago. She needs a job. There are 12 chapters— each a transcription of one of Cara’s meetings with a professional job counselor. You come to know Cara - or do you really? As she talks to the counselor and tells her/him not just about herself but about the immigrant community of which she is a part? A reader, we believe, will thoroughly enjoy getting to know Cara. A listener to The Book Case will enjoy getting to know Angie Cruz.

Instead of an independent bookstore this week we talk to each other about books we’ve read this year that we loved, but might not have been suited to a podcast.

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Let It Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz

Soledad by Angie Cruz

Widow Basquiat by Jennifer Clement

Incidents in the Life of a Slave by Harriet Jacobs

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

The Lost Kings by Tyrell Johnson

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Head Full of Ghosts by Paul G. Tremblay

Full Throttle by Joe Hill and Stephen King

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Robert E Lee: A Life by Allen C. Guelzo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have expressed a desire to keep The Book Case non-political. But there is one issue we feel should not be a source of contention - and that is book banning and book challenges. We have been looking for a relatively safe way to approach the issue and think we’ve found it in a book by Amy Sarig King entitled Attack of the Black Rectangles. The "black rectangles" to which she refers are those black stripes that represent redactions of language. Amy writes for young people— target audience probably 11 to 16. But this book reads well for adults as well and addresses an important subject. It is a fictionalized account of an actual book redaction that her son discovered in a school assigned novel about the Holocaust. Amy argues, persuasively we feel, that young people don’t need this kind of ‘protection’ and that it’s a slippery slope from redactions to actual book bans. She has both a lovely book and a powerful argument.

Afterwards we talk with Jonathan Friedman of PEN America who has written a thorough report about how the number of book challenges and bans are growing across the United States at an alarming rate.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So you’re in your mid-50s, you’ve got a great career going as a television personality in Great Britain, so what might be enjoyable to do next? Why write a hugely successful series of mysteries of course. And that is what Richard Osman has done. His novel The Thursday Murder Club is about four bold septuagenarian friends who meet to discuss about unsolved crimes in their retirement village. The Man Who Died Twice and The Bullet That Missed are two riveting extensions of The Thursday Murder Club. Osman talks about casting the film adaptation of his novels and how his mother’s retirement village in England inspired his writing process. The independent bookstore this week is 27th Letter Books and we talk to Erin Pineda, the owner about their incredible story of survival.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizabeth Strout is our guest this week, and our conversation couldn’t be more timely. First, her novel, Oh William! has just been short listed for the Booker Prize - perhaps the most prestigious award for a writer of literary fiction. And second, her latest novel in the Lucy Barton series has just been published - Lucy by the Sea. For those who love her writing, and we are among her greatest admirers, you know that Lucy by the Sea represents a continuation of the series that includes Oh William! The book allows us to see the chaos of the last years through Lucy's eyes, and it's a tumultuous, beautiful journey. The independent bookstore this week is Tattered Cover and we talk to Jeremy Patlen, their head buyer.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sue Miller is one of America’s finest and most admired authors. From the time of her first published novel in 1986, (The Good Mother), to her most recent, (Monogamy), Sue has developed a legion of devoted readers. Her plots often involve major events, but her greatest skill is the intimate understanding she has of her characters. She knows their head and their heart, or maybe it is that they know hers. How she writes, how she develops those characters, and what they mean to her are all subjects of our conversation. Sue Miller is one of our finest practitioners of literary fiction. We feel honored to have her in The Book Case.

 This week, we also talk to the host of “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read," Zibby Owens. She invited us on her podcast, so we returned the invitation.

Books mentioned in this podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was just a year ago that the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. On that date, Nahid Shahalimi, an Afghan female writer living in Germany, realized that she needed to hurry to record the stories of prominent Afghan women who soon would try to escape their country, or stay and risk death. She did so, and compiled their stories in “We Are Still Here.” The world’s attention has turned to the crisis in Ukraine, but Afghanistan is still there and should not be forgotten, particularly the stories of women oppressed by the Taliban. This week, a conversation with Nahid Shahalimi, as she writes, “Listen to these women. See them. See their commitment to freedom and to their rights."

Books mentioned in this podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stuart Gibbs is this week’s guest and begins what we intend to be a periodic look at children's’ literature, or in the parlance of the day, “kids’ books”. Stuart has five different series of kids’s books in print - all successful, each aimed at the middle grades. His latest Spy School book is just out. Kate and I (grown-up who like to believe) loved it, as did our 12-year-old grandson and nephew, Lang (but then Stuart is his favorite author). To be a successful author of kids’ books we believe you have to be a good writer as well as a bit of a kid yourself. Stuart checks both boxes.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our author this week is David Koepp. You may not realize it, but you’ve been exposed to David’s writing. Probably many times. Did you see the first two Jurassic Park movies? Spider-Man? Indiana Jones? Mission Impossible? David has worked on the screenplays of some of the most successful movies ever. Indeed, movies he has written have sold almost $2.5 billion in tickets. He also writes novels. “Aurora” is his latest. It’s an enjoyable, and even thought-provoking read. Why write novels when you’re so successful with screen plays? How do the disciplines differ? Which is more rewarding? All good questions. We ask them.

Our independent bookstore this week is Interabang Books in Dallas, Texas.

Books Mentioned in the Podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sidik Fofana has written “Stories from the Tenants Downstairs.” This is his first novel and very much worth a reader’s time. His book is eight interrelated short stories written by residents of a fictional tenement in New York City in a neighborhood going through gentrification. You root for his characters. You identify with their aspirations. But for each of them it is so tough to realize their dreams. For each of them it is so tough to negotiate the realities of every day life. And Sidik knows from whence he writes—for years he has been a New York City public school teacher. Many of his stories, he tells us, come from his kids. “Stories from the Tenants Downstairs” is an excellent book. One small warning—a couple of the stories are written with the voice of the street, but were that not the case, it would not be as authentic. And every inch of this book is authentic. Our independent book store this week is Women and Children First in Chicago—we talk with one of its owners, Lynn Mooney.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jenny Lawson is a funny writer, but that label doesn’t tell the whole story. In her three books, her "parenthetical ramblings" are hilarious glimpses into her razor sharp wit that keep you laughing long after you put the book down. At the same time, Jenny Lawson deals with deep depression that has her also writing about her struggles - sometimes just to stay alive. She writes of the “monster” that at times takes over her mind. That mind works in wonderous ways - not always helpful to her own well being - but wonderous just the same. Our bookstore this week? Well that’s Jenny Lawson’s too. We talk to Elizabeth Jordon, the general manager of Jenny Lawson’s bookstore, Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio.

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Twice 22 by Ray Bradbury

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky

Florida Woman by Deb Rogers

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

There, There by Tommy Orange

A Visitation of Spirits by Randall Kenan

Stories From the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices