Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Latest Episodes:

Best Fiction Books of 2024 with Elise Bryant Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

We’re kicking off our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to FICTION. First, Elise Bryant joins us to discuss on of Kirkus’ Best Fiction Books of 2024: the tantalizing mystery novel It’s Elementary (Berkley, July 9). Then fiction editor Laurie Muchnick dishes on the year’s best novels and story collections. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Holiday Gift Guide 2024 with Lisa Le Feuvre and Rosie Schaap Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

It’s the seventh annual Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide! On the second of two special episodes, we’re delving art books, travel, fun fresh holiday reads, and more. Special guest cohost Tom Beer joins host Megan Labrise conviviality and good cheer with curator and writer Lisa Le Feuvre (Great Women Sculptors; Phaidon) and Rosie Schaap, (The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country; Mariner Books). Then Kirkus’ editors present their top holiday gift book picks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Holiday Gift Guide: Books for Cooks With Rose Levy Beranbaum and Paola Velez Nov 05, 2024

Show notes

It’s the seventh annual Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide! On the first of two special episodes, we’re delving into Books for Cooks, cookbooks, culinary histories, foodie fiction, and more. Special guest cohost Laurie Muchnick joins host Megan Labrise for spirited conversations with Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible, 35th Anniversary Ed. (William Morrow Cookbooks, Oct. 22) and Paola Velez, author of Bodega Bakes: Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store (Union Sq. & Co., Oct. 1). Then Kirkus’ editors present their top culinary gift book picks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nayantara Roy Oct 29, 2024

Show notes

Debut novelist Nayantara Roy discusses The Magnificent Ruins (Algonquin, Nov. 12). “Lila De’s life in Brooklyn is a success, but a bereavement that pulls her back to her homeland of India forces her to confront her demons” in this “rich” family saga, Kirkus writes. Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abbott Kahler Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

Abbott Kahler discusses Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II (Crown, Sept. 24). Kirkus calls this standout narrative nonfiction, set on a small Galapagos island, “a spirited page-turner.” Then Kirkus’ editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amy Reading Oct 15, 2024

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Amy Reading discusses The World She Edited: Katherine S. White at the New Yorker (Mariner Books, Sept. 3). Kirkus calls this standout biography “an entertaining and expansive study of a pioneering literary editor and the era that shaped her legendary tenure” (starred review). Then Kirkus’ editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kirkus Prize 2024 Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

On this special episode, editor-in-chief Tom Beer and host Megan Labrise dish on the 2024 Kirkus Prize, one week ahead of the 11th Kirkus Prize Awards Ceremony in New York City. Then Kirkus’ editors take us behind the scenes of the monthslong Kirkus Prize process. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Best October Books with Betsy Lerner Oct 01, 2024

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On our Best October Books episode, sponsored by Flying Eye Books, Kirkus’ editors share their top titles for the month. Then Betsy Lerner joins us to discuss her distinctive debut novel, Shred Sisters (Grove, Oct. 3). Kirkus: “A seamlessly constructed and absorbing fictional world, full of insight about how families work” (starred review). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rumaan Alam Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

Rumaan Alam discusses Entitlement (Riverhead, Sept. 17), the scintillating follow-up to his National Book Award-nominated novel Leave the World Behind (2020). “A billionaire philanthropist’s ambitious young protégé wants her slice of the pie,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “[Entitlement] cements Alam’s status as a talented truth-teller willing to tackle tough issues with grace, generosity, and sensitivity.” Then Kirkus’ editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Garth Greenwell Sep 17, 2024

Show notes

Garth Greenwell discusses Small Rain (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 3), a profound new novel in which an unnamed narrator faces a medical emergency in Iowa City at the height of the pandemic. Kirkus: “Greenwell—such a finely tuned, generous writer—transforms a savage illness into a meditation on a vital life” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.