Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Char... More
Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Char... More
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James Comey Writes a Thriller
Our principal guest this week is James Comey. Yes, that James Comey. Ex-FBI Director James Comey. Some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters think he may have cost her the election in 2016. Comey says that Donald Trump, once president, invited him to dinner and asked for a pledge of loyalty. Comey refused. Trump eventually fired him but his administration denied the president ever made the ask. That, in short, is part of the story of Jim Comey who, after being a U-S Attorney and then head of the FBI, found himself out of a job in 2017 and a controversial figure. What did he decide to do? Well, Jim Comey decided he’d like to spend the rest of his life being a novelist. His first book - a mystery, a legal thriller, and a novel demonstrating his inside knowledge of America’s justice system is “Central Park West.” It’s a good one - not just for a first effort, but a good one, period. He’s a good story teller - he’s a good conversationalist. “Central Park West” will be in book stores May 30th - he talked with us just before publication and he is very much worth a listen just as his book is worth your time. Our friend Otto Penzler of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York published the Comey novel. He joined us as well.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
Central Park West: A Crime Novel by James Comey
Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency and Trust by James Comey
A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey
Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr
Desert Star by Michael Connelly
I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
5/25/2023
37:45
Alexandra Robbins Studies Teachers
The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins takes us inside the classroom to show us the daily lives of teachers as they fight against incredible odds to educate our young. An eye-opening, and at times shocking look at the American Education system and its inadequacies. Robbins asks the reader to forget all of their preconceived notions of teaching. The joys you think teachers know? They are bigger than you imagined. The difficulty and pain of operating in a system that doesn’t recognize your importance? Worse than you can fathom. Take a listen, read the book, and thank a teacher in your life today!
Books mentioned in this week's podcast:
The Teachers: A Year Inside America's Most Important and Vulnerable Profession by Alexandra Robbins
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandra Robbins
The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins
Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power by Alexandra Robbins
The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital by Alexandra Robbins
The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley
Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch
Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools by Dianne Ravitch
The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Dianne Ravitch
It by Stephen King
Ararat by Christopher Golden
Snowblind by Christopher Golden
The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden
Road of Bones by Christopher Golden
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
5/18/2023
40:03
Henry Grabar Parks That Thought
Henry Grabar is a writer for Slate, the online magazine, and he has written “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.” Now you probably are thinking, “I’ve never read a book about parking. A whole book? Come on.” Well, we thought the same thing but we were intrigued. So we read it and were engrossed. It is fascinating! It is funny! And it tells you so much about a subject on which we all have such strong opinions and about which we all suffer such frustrations. Just some facts he relates - major ones like “more square footage is devoted to parking each car (in America) than to housing each person” - and minor ones like Disney World has 45,000 parking spaces. 10 to 20 families lose their cars there every day.” Intrigued? Read on. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News. Our bookstore this week is a grandaddy of second hand book stores - Second Story Books in the Washington, D.C. area.
Books mentioned in the podcast:
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar
Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson by Hunter S. Thompson
Volumes 1-4 of the Gonzo Papers - Essays by Hunter S. Thompson
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs
5/11/2023
36:44
Dave Barry Makes Us Laugh
Dave Barry's sense of humor should be on display at the Smithsonian; it is truly one America's great treasures. His latest novel, Swamp Story, is set in the back woods of the Florida Everglades. That's all we are going to tell you, because the plot is so wonderfully wild, you wouldn't believe us anyway. Join us while Dave makes us laugh, and then stick around for our conversation with Mitchell Kaplan at Books & Books. As a Florida bookseller, he has important things to say about why bookstores are on the frontlines in the fight against book bans.
Books mentioned in this podcast:
Swamp Story by Dave Barry
Big Trouble by Dave Barry
Best State Ever by Dave Barry
Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States by Dave Barry
Lessons from Lucy by Dave Barry
Insane City by Dave Barry
Dave Barry's Complete guide to guys by Dave Barry
Tricky Business by Dave Barry
Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by Dave Barry
Dave Barry is Not Taking This Sitting Down! by Dave Barry
You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry
The Benchley Roundup by Robert Benchley
Love Conquers All by Robert Benchley
My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How They Grew by Robert Benchley
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
Jeeves in the Offing by P. G. Wodehouse
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Go as a River by Shelley Read
5/4/2023
42:01
Brendan Slocumb Finds Hidden Notes
Brendan Slocumb is a renaissance man who writes his novels with a mission in mind. A violin virtuoso, music teacher, clarinetist AND oboist, he is also a best selling author who writes brilliantly about the world of music. His books could be classed as mysteries but they also bring into stark, painful relief the still largely white and privileged world of classical music. He reminds his readers that there is talent everywhere and anywhere, and he reminds us to look and listen closely to what we might ignore with his latest novel, Symphony of Secrets . We then talk to Afa Dworkin, President and Creative Director of the “Sphinx Organization.” “Sphinx” is doing amazing work, making sure that the country's orchestras reflect the diversity of our population. We will go back to bookstores next week, but we wanted to honor Brendan by talking to an organization doing work about which he is so passionate.
Books mentioned in this week's podcast:
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Charlie Gibson and meet fascinating characters who will open your appetite to new categories while deepening your hunger for books. This weekly series will journey cover to cover through the literary world, featuring interviews with best-selling authors, tastemakers, and independent bookstore owners. New episodes post every Thursday.