The Book Case

Latest Episodes:

Nathaniel Philbrick Brings Us The Rush Nov 05, 2026

Show notes

Nathaniel Philbrick has written a lot of books putting American History into perspective. His latest, The Rush, is about the CA gold rush, which, much to our surprise, was a determining factor in jump starting the Civil War. How was the Gold Rush a reflection of America’s struggle with race? How did it cause the railroad to be built across the country? Exactly how much gold was there and how much fighting occurred as a result? If CA is so huge, why is it not two states? We answer all these fascinating questions and more, learning from Nathaniel Philbrick, one of America’s premiere history authors. We also talk to an old friend of Kate’s, Andrea Carson, who takes independent bookstore road trip trail vacations all over the country. Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

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

Books mentioned in this episode:

The Rush: California Gold, The Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World by Nathaniel Philbrick
Travels with George by Nathaniel Philbrick
Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick
In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick
Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick
Who Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick
A Way off Shore by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Follow Andrea’s Bookstore Travels at @neverendingbookstorecrawl

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Horror Greats for Halloween Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

Charlie challenged Kate to get him to consider horror literature. And she did just that. We assembled Stephen Graham Jones, Jennifer McMahon and Victor LaValle to talk about why horror speaks to them and how they write it so well. It’s an extended and deeper conversation of what aired on GMA a week ago, and we just love this conversation. Join us if you dare!

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:

Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

My Heart is a Chain Saw by Stephen Graham Jones

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

The Ecstatic by Victor LaValle

Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

Burntown by Jennifer McMahon

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Bonnie Garmus and the Unique World of Peck & Peck Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Bonnie Garmus’ follow up to GMA Book Club Pick Lessons in Chemistry, called Peck & Peck, is a wild and funny foray into the world of poetry. Compulsively readable with unforgettable characters, the novel centers around Batter, a poetry editor who ends up at a world renown poetry publication, called Peck & Peck. What is the world of poets and their editors occupy? What do they have to believe in to do well? We ask the author. Also, we are joined by Periwinkle books, a new store in Bronxville NY. Join us!

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:

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Whistler by Ann Patchett

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Yiyun Li and the Music of Writing Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

When we visited with Ann Patchett a few months ago, she talked almost non stop about Yiyun Li’s newest, MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT, which she called “close the perfect novel”. We went right home and read it and booked Yiyun for her earliest availability, because she was right. Yiyun Li, the writer of MUSIC AGSINST THE NIGHT, joins us to talk about her beautifully written new book, and why she felt, at this stage in her career, she felt comfortable tackling a literary trilogy. We also talk to a not for profit, BINC, whose purpose is to financially support independent booksellers for any variety of reasons. Join us!

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:

Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li

Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li

Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li

The Vagrants by Yiyun Li

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li

Whistler by Ann Patchett

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban

The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

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TWO FOR ONE: Robert Kolker AND Chloe Benjamin Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

This week we have to terrific authors in one show. Robert Kolker’s newest, The Vanishing Family, is a look at a family afflicted with an early onset dementia, and how this family could revolutionize the way we think about the aging mind. Chloe Benjamin was GMA’s September Book Club pick, and although we are late to the party, we are proud to get to attend at all. It’s a mind-blowing book about time flowing backwards, and forwards. Join us for a sit down with two great authors and their two great books.

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:

Understory by Chloe Benjamin

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin

The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

Lost Girls by Robert Kolker

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Catherine Grace Katz: the Hindenburg and the Humanity Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Up until now, there hasn’t really been a complete compendium on the Hindenburg disaster. Catherine Grace Katz gives it us in SHADOW BEFORE THE FLAME, and it is a page turner. Filled with top notch research, Katz drops readers squarely in the 1930’s so that they experience the majesty, mystery and looming fascism that cloaked the Hindenburg’s journey from Germany to the US. Something the size of three football fields was destroyed in 34 seconds. What did the people see on the ground? What did the passengers feel and see as it combusted? Did anyone live? These are all questions asked and answered on this week’s podcast. Join us!

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:

Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War by Catherine Grace Katz

The Daughters of Yalta by Catherine Grace Katz

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

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Jodi Picoult Talks Hollow Bones Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Jodi Picoult’s newest, Hollow Bones, is probably more topical than even she would have wanted. A book that heart wrenchingly twists the anniversaries of 9/11 along with a serious look at Post Partem Psychosis, Picoult acknowledges how relevant this story may be in the shadow of the Lindsay Clancy trial. She of course, could not know how riveting and frightening that trial would be for so many Americans to read about and watch, and this book treats the subject with sensitivity and care. Join us as we talk to Picoult about how she feels about PPP as a mother herself (and grandmother) and how the medical system needs to do better for new moms.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

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

Books featured in this episode:

Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Vanishing Act by Jodi Picoult

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult

Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

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Harlan Coben Gives Us a Writing Class Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Plot Twist by Harlan Coben is a non fiction book that focusses on writing: the desperation, the inspiration, the execution…it’s all here. And it’s compulsively readable and wonderfully conversational, just like Harlan. Join us as we ask him about his tips and tricks, and why there is no substitution for getting your heart and mind on the page.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

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

Books featured in this episode:

Plot Twist: Life, Craft and the Messy First Draft by Harlan Coben

Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben and Reese Witherspoon

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

Fade Away by Harlan Coben

Back Spin by Harlan Coben

One False Move by Harlan Coben

The Final Detail by Harlan Coben

Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben

Promise Me by Harlan Coben

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Ashley Kahn and the Wonder of Paul Simon’s Graceland Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Graceland, by the great Paul Simon, was always a big deal in our house. From the Boy in the Bubble to the Myth of Fingerprints, it was on almost constant repeat, the soundtrack of my childhood. Ashley Kahn’s book, Days of Miracle and Wonder, is a thorough, beautifully researched compendium of how the album was made. A real examination of Simon’s genius, this book breaks down the album and its effects on the music industry and the world. Join us as we discuss a seminal moment in music history, and a terrific book.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

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

Books mentioned on this week's episode:

Days of Miracle and Wonder by Ashley Kahn

A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album by Ashley Kahn

The House that Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records by Ashley Kahn

Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece by Ashley Kahn

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Why Catcher in the Rye Still Captures Us Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

We love doing “classics” episodes. And since The Catcher in the Rye is turning 75 this year, it seems that lots of folks in the book world are talking about it and we thought we would hop on board. Our two distinguished guests for this conversation are Kenneth Slawenski, one of the world's foremost historians on J.D. Salinger, and Stephen B. Shepard, a magazine editor who penned a fascinating book on the complexities of Salinger’s character. We hope you will join us in thinking about how our readings of Catcher in the Rye change over the years, and how the novel continues to touch the souls of so many readers.

Find books mentioned on The Book Case:

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

Books mentioned on this week's episode:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski

Salinger’s Soul: His Personal and Religious Odyssey by Stephen B. Shepard

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