The Book Case

• John Irving Creates a Queen

  We DO love talking to John Irving.  In our winding, wandering and wonderful conversation we cover it all from his newest, Queen Esther, the art of writing backwards, skiing in Vienna and the eccentricities of bike pump usage.  If this description doesn’t entice you to listen, we don’t know what will. John Irving is one of the most masterful writers of our time.  Sit down with us for our third conversation with him to find out what motivates his work and makes him tick. 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: Queen Esther by John Irving The Last Chairlift by John Irving Setting Free the Bears by John Irving The Water-Method Man by John Irving The 158-Pound Marriage by John Irving The World According to Garp by John Irving The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving The Cider House Rules by John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Trying to Save Piggy Sneed by John Irving A Son of the Circus by John Irving The Imaginary Girlfriend by John Irving A Widow for One Year by John Irving My Movie Business: A Memoir by John Irving The Fourth Hand by John Irving Until I Find You by John Irving Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving In One Person by John Irving Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Catherine Newman and Bittersweet Motherhood

  Catherine Newman’s latest, Wreck, is a beautiful meditation on the act of motherhood. Revisiting the family from Sandwich as they enter a new phase of familial life. We all know that successful parents raise kids just to lose them to the world, and that this launch into independence is something we all desperately hope for and deeply dread. Funny, touching and compulsively readable this is a novel about the beauty and pain of family, who have so much to lose when they have so much to love. 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: Wreck by Catherine Newman Sandwich by Catherine Newman We all Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers  Heart the Lover by Lily King Moby Dick by Herman Melville Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• R.L. Stine Loves Scaring Kids

  It’s Halloween…so who better to follow up our conversations about middle school reading than R.L. Stine? With over 400 titles to his name (the latest being The Last Sleepover In the Goosebumps House of Shiver series) this man has been scaring kids for decades and decades. And oh wow, are his stories worth the price of admission?! Join us as we talk to Bob (what he asked we call him) about what makes him tick, how he sees writing for middle school audiences and why horror keeps him in stiches. 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 Last Sleepover by R.L. Stine The Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine Give me a K-I-L-L! by R.L. Stine Little Shop of Hamsters by R.L. Stine Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes by R.L. Stine Blind Date by R.L. Stine Bird Box by Josh Malerman The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Rick Riordan and Katherine Rundell Explore the Middle School Reading Crisis

  We knew that reading levels were in fluctuation, but we had no idea there was a Middle School reading crisis.  According to the NWEA (The Northwest Evaluation Association which measures academic and student standards) only 30% of 8th graders are reading at grade level or above.  Why?  How did we get here and how do we get back on track raising great readers who love literature?  We are joined by Miah Daughtery, VP of Academic Advocacy at HMH, NWEA’s parent company, to talk about their policy recommendations.  We also talk to Rick Riordan and Katherine Rundell, two of the bestselling MS writers in the world about how to write for Middle Schoolers and why they think this audience needs attention.  Join us for this important discussion (which expands on our GMA piece that aired on October 10th). 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 Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark OshiroPercy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanImpossible Creatures by Katherine RundellThe Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Lily King Writes her Heart

  Lily King’s newest, Heart the Lover, is a sparing, funny, painful and beautiful novel about the first loves we have, and how they never really let go. The humanity, joy and sadness of the novel will keep you turning pages and keep the characters with you long after you have closed the book.  We talk to her about her inspirations, her struggles in writing this book and how she triumphed over difficulty in how to end the novel (no spoilers, promise). We also talk to Dixon Books in Natchez Mississippi, less than 24 hours from their grand opening, a first for us.  Join us to talk all things books and bookstores... 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: Heart the Lover by Lily King Writers & Lovers by Lily King Euphoria by Lily King Five Tuesdays in Winter: Stories by Lily King Father of the Rain by Lily King The Pleasing Hour by Lily King The English Teacher by Lily King Coconuts for the Saint by Debra Sparks Different Seasons by Stephen King Independent People by Halldor Laxness War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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