Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Latest Episodes:

Melissa Febos Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Melissa Febos discusses ‘Girlhood’ (Bloomsbury, March 30). Kirkus: “In her latest powerful personal and cultural examination, Febos interrogates the complexities of feminism and the ‘darkness’ that has defined much of her life and career…. Consistently illuminating, unabashedly ferocious writing” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Don Brown, Albert Marrin, and Jonathan Allen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jess Zimmerman Mar 19, 2021

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Jess Zimmerman discusses debut essay collection ‘Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology’ (Beacon Press, March 9), “a sparkling and perceptive critique of ancient ideas that still hold women back” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by María José Ferrada and María Elena Valdez (trans. by Lawrence Schimel), Margarita Engle, Mark Kurlansky, and Andrea Lee. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Annabelle Gurwitch Mar 16, 2021

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Annabelle Gurwitch discusses her latest memoir ‘You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility’ (Counterpoint, March 2). Kirkus: “Erma Bombeck meets Dorothy Parker in this topical and often laugh-out-loud funny take on our modern malaise.” Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Linda Sue Park and Robert Sae-Heng, Kate Alice Marshall, Bill Gates, and Talia Hibbert. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patricia Engel Mar 09, 2021

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Patricia Engel discusses her latest novel ‘Infinite Country’ (Avid Reader Press, March 2). Kirkus: “Engel’s vital story of a divided Colombian family is a book we need to read” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Traci Sorell and Natasha Donovan, Kelly Loy Gilbert, and Lauren Oyler. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Viet Thanh Nguyen Mar 04, 2021

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In this special episode, editor in chief Tom Beer hosts Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss ‘The Committed’ (Grove, March 2), a new novel Kirkus calls “a quirky intellectual crime story that highlights the Vietnam War’s complex legacy” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Shaw Kuzki and Emily Balistrieri, Anna-Marie McLemore, Walter Isaacson, and Naima Coster. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kazuo Ishiguro Mar 02, 2021

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Kazuo Ishiguro discusses his latest novel ‘Klara and the Sun’ (Knopf, March 2), “a haunting fable of a lonely, moribund world that is entirely too plausible” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Juliet Menéndez, Safia Elhillo, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, and Jack Livings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paisley Rekdal Feb 16, 2021

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Paisley Rekdal discusses ‘Appropriate: A Provocation’ (Norton, Feb. 16), “An astute, lucid examination of an incendiary issue” (starred review). And in a sponsored interview, Megan talks with debut author Kate Albus about A Place to Hang the Moon (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, Feb. 2). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên, Nicole Lesperance, James Nestor, and Lauren Fox. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Atherton Lin Feb 09, 2021

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Jeremy Atherton Lin discusses ‘Gay Bar: Why We Went Out’ (Little, Brown, Feb. 9), “A vibrant and wistful report on a bygone era in gay culture” (starred review). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Joyce Sidman, Joy McCullough, Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, and Brandon Hobson. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Edward Carey Feb 02, 2021

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Edward Carey discusses ‘The Swallowed Man’ (Riverhead, Jan. 26), an author-illustrated retelling of ‘Pinocchio’ from Geppetto’s point of view: “A deep and grimly whimsical exploration of what it means to be a son, a father, and an artist” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Carole Boston Weatherford (illus. by Floyd Cooper), Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Tove Ditlevsen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michelle Duster Jan 26, 2021

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Michelle Duster discusses ‘Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells” (One Signal, Jan. 26), an illustrated biography and “warm remembrance of a civil rights icon” (Kirkus). Then our editors offer reading recommendations for the week, with books by Dovey Roundtree Johnston and Katie McCabe, Tess Sharpe, Jerry Seinfeld, and Sarah Moss. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.