The Reading Life

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with Rob Citino, the Samuel Zemurray Stone senior historian at the National World War II Museum and author of "The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand: The German Campaigns of 1944-1945."

This week on The Reading Life: It's Carnival time! Susan talks with Jennifer Atkins about "New Orleans Carnival Balls: The Secret Side of Mardi Gras 1870-1920," and Jack Sullivan, author of "New Orleans Remix."

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with Kalamu ya Salaam about "New Orleans Griot : The tom Dent Reader," a terrific anthology of work by the multi-talented Dent (1932-1998), one of the founders of the Free Southern Theatre and the author of " Ritual Murder" and "Southern Journey: A Return to the Civil Rights Movement." Kalamu will appear at Dillard University on Tuesday, January 16th with Ishmael Reed to discuss the Activist and Creative Legacy of Tom Dent. For more info, please visit

This week on The Reading Life: Nathaniel Rich, whose new novel is King Zeno , set in New Orleans in 1918. We’ll also hear from Peter Marina, author of Down and Out in New Orleans: Transgressive Living in the Informal Economy .

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with James Lee Burke, whose new book is Robicheaux . Also, Susan makes a few recommendations for books about books and finally, another 'Book Song'!

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with UNO professor and poet Niyi Osundare, whose new book is "If Only the Road Could Talk: Poetic Peregrinations in Africa, Asia and Europe. " And The Reading Life looks back at 2017. And more news: Starting December 31 at noon , The Reading Life has its first airing of the weekly show Sunday at noon , then again Tuesday at 1:30 and Wednesday at 8. On December 31 : Susan talks with James Lee Burke, whose new book is "Robicheaux." Audio extra: Niyi

This week on The Reading Life: University of Colorado-Boulder professor Emmanuel David, author of "Women of the Storm: Civic Activism after Hurricane Katrina," talks about the unusual coalition of women who came together in the city's time of need. And GK Darby, publisher of "The Bachelor in New Orleans," by Robert Taylor, with illustrations by Eugenia and Bob Riley, a reissue of a charming tongue-in-cheek guide that first appeared in 1942.

This week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with Tulane University professor Joel Dinerstein , whose new study of cool -- "The Origins of Cool in Postwar America" -- goes back to its start. Chris Champagne, author of Secret New Orleans, a guide to some wonderful and unexpected sights, describes his travels around the city.

The week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with Brian Boyles of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and Nancy Dixon of Dillard University about New Orleans and the World, 1718 - 2018, Tricentennial Anthology . And Cassie Pruyn, previews her new book is Bayou St. John: A Brief History. Audio extra: Brian Boyles and Nancy Dixon talk about what they discovered while putting together New Orleans and the World, 1718 - 2018, Tricentennial Anthology . Audio extra: Brian Boyles and Nancy Dixon

The week on The Reading Life: Susan talks with Brian Boyles of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and Nancy Dixon of Dillard University about New Orleans and the World, 1718 - 2018, Tricentennial Anthology . And Cassie Pruyn, previews her new book is Bayou St. John: A Brief History.