All About Books
267 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★ - 18 ratingsA weekly book review and discussion program hosted by Pat Leach. Updated on Thursdays.
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Episodes
“Horse” by Geraldine Brooks
July 26, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.4 MB“Horse” by Geraldine Brooks is a novel that leaps from 1850 to 1950 and finally to our time. It features an extraordinary race horse and the enslaved groom who helps him win and a painting of them both which haunts a modern art historian.
An interview with Michael James about Alzheimer's caregiving.
July 19, 2023 14:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBWhen a Lincoln man and his wife realized they were about to deal with Alzheimer’s together, there wasn’t a book that adequately explained everything they were to face. “Dear Judy: a Love Story Rewritten by Alzheimer’s” is the book Michael James wrote to help others make this journey.
“Trust” by Hernan Diaz
July 12, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes - 7.02 MBThe aptly named novel, “Trust” is about a man who accumulated a fortune in the early 20th century stock market. The flimflam nature of the stock market, its collapse in ’29 and even the unreliable nature of the story the author tells, are elements of this book that won the Noble Prize for Literature. “Trust” by Hernan Diaz
"Easy Beauty" by Chloe Cooper Jones
July 05, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.44 MB“Easy Beauty” is philosophy professor and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Chloe Cooper Jones memoir. It’s a frank depiction of her life with a congenital condition that affects her height, how she moves and her life with continuous pain- both physical, and always being seen as lesser.
"Elsewhere: a Novel" by Alexis Shaitkin
June 28, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 8.06 MBIn a mysterious, isolated town, motherhood has a different dimension- mothers sometimes disappear. In the novel “Elsewhere” author Alexis Schaitkin has written an allegory exploring motherhood, individual and community identity.
An interview with Nebraska author Tosca Lee
June 21, 2023 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBThree good friends leave Alabama to join the Army, eventually they're stationed in the exotic paradise of Manila. Then Pearl Harbor happened. What followed for U.S. servicemen in the Pacific was horrific. Nebraska author Tosca Lee has co-written a work of historical fiction about this time and place, “The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific” by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.
“Take All to Nebraska” by Sophus Keith Winter
June 14, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.78 MBIt’s not often host Pat Leach reviews something other than a recently published book, but a novel from 1936 was mentioned to her that tells part of Nebraska’s story “Take All to Nebraska” by Sophus Keith Winter is the first in a trilogy about a family from Denmark who settled in Nebraska and struggled to adjust to a new land and culture.
"The Rabbit Hutch" by Tess Gunty
June 07, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.53 MBDuring a sweltering week in July, we learn about the people who live in the "Rabbit Hutch", a low-cost housing complex in a decaying Indiana town. The novel “The Rabbit Hutch" by Tess Gunty is a beautiful and funny snapshot of contemporary America.
“Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories” by Sindya Bhanoo.
May 31, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes - 7.23 MB“Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories” by Sindya Bhanoo. A collection of short stories featuring women who’ve emigrated from Southern India. The collection contains themes universal to the immigrant experience- the cost of staying or leaving your home.
Rachel Olsen talks about the 68th Annual Cather Conference
May 24, 2023 14:00 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBSince it's the 150th Anniversary of Nebraska writer Willa Cather's birth, the guest on this week’s program is Rachel Olsen Director of Education and Outreach at the Cather Center. She’ll talk about their upcoming Spring conference which will spotlight both Cather’s story “A Lost Lady” and her essay "Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle."
"The Maid" by Nita Prose
May 17, 2023 14:00 - 6 minutes - 6.32 MBMolly is a maid at a luxury hotel who struggles with social skills and understanding the intentions of others. She’s also the chief suspect of “The Maid” by Nita Prose, an uplifting murder mystery.
“The Blue Window” by Suzanne Berne
May 10, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.56 MBA therapist finds herself caught in the caregiver sandwich of trying to help her elderly mother as well as her college-age son. Both her mother and son refuse to communicate for their own hidden reasons. The novel is “The Blue Window” by Suzanne Berne.
“Under the Skin” by Linda Villarosa
May 03, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.74 MBLinda Villarosa’s new book “Under the Skin” lays out the forces in American healthcare, and society, that cause Black people to “live sicker and die quicker” compared to white Americans.
An interview with history professor and author Jim Downs
April 24, 2023 19:16 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBThis week on “All About Books” an interview with History Professor Jim Downs about his research into how modern disease research began and the unsuspected factors that played a role. His book is, “Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine.”
“The Escape Artist" by Jonathan Freeland
April 19, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 8.01 MBOnly a handful of Jews ever managed to escape the Auschwitz concentration camp. Rudolph Vrba was the first in April of 1944. The remarkable story of how Vrba planned and carried it out is told in the book, “The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World” by Jonathan Freeland. It’s reviewed this week on
“The Furrows” by Namwali Serpell
April 12, 2023 14:00 - 6 minutes - 6.24 MB12-year old Cassandra is unable to save her young brother from a tragic accident and his body is never found. This event rends the family apart and the grown Cassandra sees her missing brother everywhere in the faces of strangers. “The Furrows” by Namwali Serpell is a noel as elegy dealing with memories and grief.
"The Swimmers" by Julie Otsuka
April 05, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.36 MBAlice is just one of the swimmers at the indoor pool who has a private, daily routine. When the pool is shut down for repairs, we learn how valuable this comforting routine was in holding off Alice’s encroaching dementia.,“The Swimmers” a novel by Julie Otsuka.
“Also a Poet” by Ada Calhoun
March 29, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes - 8.28 MBWhen Ada Calhoun came across research her father had collected 40 years ago in his unfinished quest to write a biography of his friend the poet Frank O’Hara, she resolved to finish it herself. The book Calhoun wrote, “Also a Poet” combines literary history, memoir and an honest appraisal of her complicated relationship with her father.
"Bad Actors" by Mick Herron
March 22, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.98 MBIt’s an office of intelligence operatives that will never be mistaken for James Bond. This is the cynical and grubby world of best-selling author Mick Herron. His latest installment in the Slough House spy series is called “Bad Actors”
An interview with "My Nebraska" author Bob Wirz
March 15, 2023 14:00 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBIt’s a journey back to small town life through memories, with Nebraska-native Bob Wirz (weerz). He's written a love-letter to the state he grew up in, “My Nebraska: Rich Memories of Growing Up in Rural Nebraska Decades Ago”. Join "All About Books" host Pat Leach for a conversation with the author,
“Pickard County Atlas” by Chris Harding Thornton.
March 08, 2023 15:00 - 7 minutes - 6.78 MBSet in the Nebraska Sandhills, “Pickard County Atlas” is a slow-burning thriller of 6 fateful days that begin at a murdered boy's tombstone. "All About Books" host Pat Leach has a review of this debut novel by Nebraska author Chris Harding Thornton.
"The Memory of Souls" by Cliff Taylor
March 01, 2023 15:00 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBPonca tribal member Cliff Taylor wanted to give back to his community. He collected stories told to him by members of his family resulting in the book, “The Memory of Souls". Cliff joins “All About Books” to share his motivation for writing and his thoughts on the books that best describe Nebraska to him.
"Ducks" by Kate Deaton and "Acting Class" by Nick Drnaso.
February 22, 2023 15:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBYou’ll find realistic and interesting lives in two new graphic novels introduced by Traci Glass Assistant Library Dir for Lincoln City Libraries. “Ducks: 2 Years in the Oil Sands” by Kate Deaton and “Acting Class” by Nick Drnaso
“Constructing a Nervous System” by Margo Jefferson
February 15, 2023 15:00 - 9 minutes - 8.92 MBCombining cultural examination and autobiography, Pulitzer-Prize winning author Margo Jefferson’s new book pursues many threads at once- music, beauty, celebrity. Hear a review of her new book, “Constructing a Nervous System”
An inverview with Ladette Randolph,author of "Private Way"
February 08, 2023 15:00 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBOnline harassment forces a woman offline for a while. She heads to the place she felt safe as a child- to her late Grandmother’s city of Lincoln, Nebraska. This week’s “All About Books” features an interview with Nebraska author Ladette Randolph, she talks to host Pat Leach about her new novel, “Private Way”
“Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver
February 01, 2023 15:00 - 8 minutes - 7.59 MBThis novel is Charles Dicken’s Victorian epic of grim poverty, cruelty and survival brought to the American rural south. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver is a page turner of a story which follows a resilient boy born into systemic poverty.
“Prairie Up!” by Benjamin Vogt
January 25, 2023 15:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBBecause of extreme weather and drought, landscaping your home with native plants has gone from a niche area of gardening to the sustainable future. Benjamin Vogt, a master gardener and writer here in Nebraska, has just published, “Prairie Up!: an Introduction to Natural Garden Design” It’s a photo-rich guide to reviving plant and wildlife diversity in the neighborhood.
“Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St John Mandel
January 18, 2023 15:12 - 8 minutes - 7.85 MBWith characters from the past and the distant future, the best-selling novel “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St John Mandel is a work of speculative fiction playful and puzzling.
“Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape” by Dana Fritz
January 11, 2023 15:00 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBThe Nebraska National Forest at Halsey is the largest hand-planted forest in the Western Hemisphere. UNL Professor of photography Dana Fritz joins Pat Leach to talk about her new book about this unique ecosystem. “Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape” is filled with environmental essays, maps as well as historical and contemporary photographs.
Guest Don Macke offers his ideas for the This is Nebraska series
January 04, 2023 15:00 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBMany of the books suggested by listeners which describe Nebraska best for them have been literature or history. This week Don Macke joins host Pat Leach to suggest titles that offer a sociopolitical description of our state as part of the series, "This is Nebraska - Books That Tell Our Story"
“Bittersweet" by Susan Cain
December 29, 2022 19:30 - 10 minutes - 9.56 MBIf you’ve wondered why some people find pleasure in sad songs, this week’s program offers some insight. Host Pat Leach talks about the New York Times best-seller, “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole” by Susan Cain.
"The Marriage Portrait" by Maggie O’Farrell
December 21, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes - 8.03 MBTake a trip back to Renaissance Italy and into the family at the center of everything. A new novel by best-selling author Maggie O’Farrell offers a fictional take on a teenage girl who married into the d’Medici family- “The Marriage Portrait”
Clark Whitehorn of UNL Press on books that tell Nebraska's story
December 14, 2022 15:00 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBPat Leach talks with Clark Whitehorn, Senior Editor with the University of Nebraska Press about which books he thinks best describe our state.
Holiday gift suggestions for younger readers
December 07, 2022 15:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBMore holiday gift suggestions but this time aimed at younger readers. Vicky Wood, Youth Services Coordinator at Lincoln City Libraries brings suggestions for kids of different ages.
The annual Holiday Gift Guide for book lovers
November 30, 2022 15:00 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBThe annual Holiday Gift Guide for book lovers airs this week on "All About Books." Special guest Leslie Huerta of "Francie and Finch" book store has suggestions in many categories including: novels, memoirs and history as well as titles for people with an interest in birds, engines or ancient Egypt.
"Confluence" a biography of John Gottschalk by George Ayoub
November 16, 2022 15:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBNebraska journalist, George Ayoub, has written a biography of Omaha World Herald CEO John Gottschalk. Hear an interview with the author about the research and writing of “Confluence: John Gottschalk’s Life or Duty, Service and the Business of News.”
A History / True Crime book, "Hell's Half Acre" by Susan Jonusas
November 09, 2022 15:00 - 9 minutes - 8.26 MBIn 1873, a small community in south eastern Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried in the cabin cellar and property of a family of homesteaders, were the remains of countless bodies. The book, “Hell’s Half Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier” traces the mystery that fascinated the nation after the Civil War.
“The Evening Hero” by Marie Myung-Ok Lee
November 02, 2022 14:00 - 8 minutes - 8.18 MBAfter the Korean War a medical doctor leaves his homeland for rural Minnesota where he works at a hospital living the quiet, American dream for 50 years. Then, a letter arrives from Korea which may expose the lie the doctor’s life was built upon. “The Evening Hero” is a new novel by Marie Myung-Ok Lee.
Dan Nieman offers suggestions for One Book - One Nebraska
October 26, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThis week’s guest isn’t an author or reviewer but a listener. Dan Nieman from South Sioux City wrote in with good suggestions for the “One Book – One Nebraska" series. He’ll be on this week offering several contemporary novels which capture Nebraska best for him.
“The Sweet Remnants of Summer” by Alexander McCall Smith
October 19, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBA good portion of the reading world always looks forward to the next novel from Alexander McCall Smith. You can also count as a fan this week’s guest reviewer, Vicky Wood. She and host Pat Leach have both read his latest Isabel Dalhousie story called, “The Sweet Remnants of Summer”
"Sleepwalk" by Dan Chaon
October 12, 2022 14:00 - 7 minutes - 6.99 MBIn the novel “Sleepwalk” the main character is a man who exists off the grid with no significant relationships. His life of wandering doing shady jobs for a ruthless organization is interrupted by a call on his burner phone from a young woman claiming to be his daughter. A review of this novel of intrigue by Dan Chaon..
“How the Word is Passed” by Clint Smith
October 05, 2022 14:00 - 8 minutes - 8.18 MBNamed the best book of 2021 by almost every outlet, “How the Word is Passed” by Clint Smith is a tour of the landmarks that tell the story of how slavery has been central in shaping this nations collective history and identity.
"Accelerated" by Brian Ardinger
September 28, 2022 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBThis week Pat Leach looks into the world of business innovation with guest Brian Ardinger Director of Innovation at Nelnet and the author of a new book on navigating disruption, "Accelerated: a Guide to Innovating at the Speed of Change."
"French Braid" by Anne Tyler
September 21, 2022 18:00 - 7 minutes - 7.24 MBIn the summer of 1959 a Baltimore family take their first and last family vacation. Best-selling author Anne Tyler’s new novel “French Braid” is both heartbreaking and hilarious.
“Lucy by the Sea” by Elizabeth Strout
September 09, 2022 17:00 - 7 minutes - 6.98 MBEarly in the Pandemic a woman leaves Manhattan to shelter in a small Maine town with her ex-husband. The couple’s complex past is forced upon them trapped in a small house by the swirling sea. “Lucy by the Sea” by Elizabeth Strout
“Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr
September 07, 2022 14:00 - 8 minutes - 7.59 MBPulitzer Prize–winning author of “All the Light We Cannot See”, Anthony Doerr’s new novel is “Cloud Cuckoo Land” An inventive and uplifting novel about children becoming young adults in times of peril.
“Trailed" by Kathryn Miles
August 31, 2022 14:00 - 7 minutes - 6.93 MBIn 1996 two women who were experienced outdoor leaders didn’t return from a week’s remote camping in Virginia. Park rangers found them brutally murdered in their sleeping bags. Journalist and outdoor expert Kathryn Miles discovered many problems with the investigation. “All About Books” has a review of her book “Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders”
Omaha writer Ted Wheeler on contemporary Nebraska authors
August 23, 2022 19:58 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBTed Wheeler- writer, bookseller and college professor from Omaha joins “All About Books” host Pat Leach to talk about contemporary writers and how they describe this region. As part of the ongoing series, “This is Nebraska- Book That Tell Our Story” Wheeler will discuss contemporary authors writing about Nebraska today.
"Rebel with a Clause" by Ellen Jovin
August 17, 2022 14:00 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBIf you have a grammar question, Ellen Jovin is the person to ask. She’s traveled to every state where she sets up a card table on the street, inviting people to bring her their grammar questions. These language adventures became a book, "Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian” Hear an interview with the author
"Deer Season" by Erin Flanagan
August 10, 2022 14:00 - 9 minutes - 9.1 MBIt’s opening day of deer season for a small farming community in Nebraska and a teenage girl goes missing. That’s the setting for this year’s winner of the Edgar Award for best new mystery novel, “Deer Season” by Erin Flanagan published by the University of Nebraska Press.