The Book Case

We love short story collections.  We hope this doesn’t put us in the minority, because when authors do it well the books can be transcendent.  Case in point, Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest is Show Don’t Tell.  We didn’t find one story in there we didn’t like. Each feels like a breath of fresh aired emotional honesty, a glimpse into the lives of memorable characters at various turning points questioning their own choices.  Join us to find out what made Curtis release this collection.  And we sit down with Plot Twist, our first romance-based independent bookstore.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving

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There is no greater classic in Kate’s mind than The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So when our audiences liked our holiday revisit of the Christmas Carol, we knew Gatsby had to be next. Join us as we sit down with two of the country’s greatest Gatsby and Fitzgerald scholars. Find out why the book is still so studied, so beloved, and still so relevant to our lives.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Love of the Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Geraldine Brooks' latest, Memorial Days, is a deeply personal memoir about the sudden loss of her husband Tony Horowitz. In this beautiful and deeply felt book, Geraldine remembers her husband and honors his legacy and their love. She walks us through the days after his death while simultaneously also taking us through her mourning process. Find out why Memorial Days was important to her survival, and how writing the book helped her and her family deal with the impossible task of grieving.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

March by Geraldine Brooks

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks

After Annie by Anna Quindlen

Grief is for People by Sloane Crossley

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

A Widow’s Story by Joyce Carol Oates

I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian Hall

Overstory by Richard Powers

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

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Politics are heavily loaded in today’s America; we seem to be so angry at one another.  Jeffrey Toobin’s newest, The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy, is a fascinating and oblique way of examining politics,  studying the history and use of the Presidential pardon.  Both Democrats and Republicans have made huge partisan mistakes with pardons, contributing to the cynical way that pardons are viewed today.  Want to know some of the mistakes that led us to such an angry election?  Tune in and hear why one of the best political journalists in the country thinks it might have all started with Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy by Jeffrey Toobin

The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

American Heiress: The Wild Safa of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin

A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President by Jeffrey Toobin

The Oath: the Obama White House and the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump by Jeffrey Toobin

Too Close to Call: The Thirty Six Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election by Jeffrey Toobin

All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

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Jeff Hobbs is a best-selling author, but the way he listens to his subjects and retells their stories brings a deeply human perspective to really difficult topics.  His newest, Seeking Shelter, is the story of homelessness told through the eyes of Evelyn, a devoted and fierce mother of six, determined to keep her kids out of the welfare system.  Jeff spent hundreds of hours talking to Evelyn and her kids about surviving the streets as a family (though not unscathed).  Jeff is a compelling storyteller, a thoughtful author, and his subjects trust him with some of the toughest moments of their lives.  Tune in to find out why.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America by Jeff Hobbs

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

Children of the State: Stories of Survival and Hope in the Juvenile Justice System by Jeff Hobbs

Show Them You’re Good: A Portrait of Boys in the City of Angels the Year Before College by Jeff Hobbs

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This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer sees love’s complexities, beauties; its selfishness, difficulties, and maddening passions. Jessica Soffer tells us the story of a 50 year marriage between Abe and Jane as Jane lies dying in a hospital bed. The backdrop of their romance is Central Park, and despite the constant presence of love in the story, it is not overly sentimental or maudlin. Tune in and find out how a writer spent years writing a marriage that lasted decades.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

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Adam Haslett’s new novel, Mothers & Sons is a brilliant book examining the relationships between mothers and sons from all sorts of angles.  The story of Peter and his mother Ann, who have so much in common and yet are estranged.  Compelling, original and moving, this a novel that stays with you.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Mothers & Sons by Adam Haslett

Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett

You are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett

Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

King Lear by William Shakespeare

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Tinkers by Paul Harding

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The Booker Prize is awarded each year to the best work of sustained fiction in the English language.   In other words, it doesn’t get any more prestigious than the Booker.  And we are honored this week to have Samantha Harvey who wrote the 2024 Booker winner entitled “Orbital”.   When you read her beautiful prose, you’ll know why she won.  And when you listen to her tell us how and why she wrote “Orbital”, you’ll be as impressed with Samantha Harvey as we are.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

“Orbital” by Samantha Harvey

“The Shapeless Unease” by Samantha Harvey

“Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf

“The Western Wind” by Samantha Harvey 

“The Wilderness” by Samantha Harvey

“Dear Thief” by Samantha Harvey

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If like your drama in a courtroom, Scott Turow is the writer for you.  His newest, Presumed Guilty, is the conclusion to the story of Rusty Sabitch, his best known protagonist.  It’s a wonderfully written page turner that we bet you won’t be able to put down.  If your heart pounds to the sound of a gavel and a bailiff saying ALL RISE, tune in and listen to find out why Scott thinks law is still the noblest pursuit of them all.   

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

Burden of Proof by Scott Turow

One L by Scott Turow

Innocence by Scott Turow 

The Last Trial by Scott Turow

Suspect by Scott Turow

Reversible Errors by Scott Turow

Personal Injuries by Scott Turow

The Laws of Our Fathers by Scott Turow

Identical by Scott Turow

Limitations by Scott Turow

Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow

Testimony by Scott Turow

The Orphan’s Son by Adam Johnson

The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud

The Natural by Bernard Malamud

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud

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Our first book show of the year is a first-time novelist, Karissa Chen.  Her new book Homecoming is a novel a portrait in longing, an epoch love story between two characters torn apart by political unrest at the time of the Communist Revolution in China.  It’s ambitious, it’s beautiful and it’s one of the best historical portrayals of China’s complex histories we have ever read.  Join us!

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

Homecoming by Karissa Chen

Written on the Water by Eileen Chang

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

The Poetry of Derek Walcott 1948-2013 by DerekWalcott

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