Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews
370 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★ - 80 ratingsGet the ultimate insider's scoop on the best new books. The editors at Kirkus Reviews interview your favorite authors, tell you whether or not the books on the bestseller list are worth the read, give you behind-the-scenes insights, and introduce you to great books you may otherwise never find.
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Episodes
Laura Lippman
July 23, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 30.6 MBOn this week’s episode, Megan interviews modern noir superstar Laura Lippman, whose latest standalone novel, Lady in the Lake, is inspired by two real-life crimes committed in 1960s Baltimore: the unsolved drowning of 35-year-old Shirley Parker and the murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz. They talk opening sentences, the transgressive nature of watching, Lippman’s recent Washington Post piece (“Is it ok for white authors to write black characters? I’m trying.”), and more. Then our editors o...
Nicole Dennis-Benn
July 16, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 27.2 MBIn a special segment recorded live at Austin Central Public Library, Clay interviews pioneering novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn about writing women’s lives and the inspiration for her powerful sophomore novel, Patsy, “a profound book about sexuality, gender, race, and immigration that speaks to the contemporary moment” (starred review). Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Brian Floca, Sam Quinones, Jim Ottaviani (ill. Leland Myrick), and Colson Whitehead.
Rick Atkinson
July 09, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 31.8 MBIn a special segment recorded live at Austin Central Public Library, Clay interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson, author of the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, etc.), about the first book in his new Revolution Trilogy, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-11777. Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, including books by Katherine Johnson, Rory Power, Bill Streever, and Ocean Vuong.
Lauren Mechling
July 02, 2019 05:00 - 44 minutes - 19.7 MBWith vim and virtuosity, debut author Lauren Mechling captures the messiness, testiness, comfort, competition, and fun of female friendship. Her novel, How Could She, is the cringingly funny story of swiftly titling dynamics between three New York City thirtysomethings on the cusp of several life-changing events. Mechling joins us on this week’s episode to discuss friends/frenemies, the compromises we make to “have it all,” podcasting, the Toronto-New York cultural exchange, and more. Then ou...
Linda Holmes
June 25, 2019 05:00 - 46 minutes - 18.9 MBOn this week’s episode, we’re delighted to welcome Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, to discuss her sparkling debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over (that’s “‘Evvie like Chevy, not Evie like Max Greevey.’”). Evvie is a smart, vibrant thirty-something from small-town Maine who loses her husband and takes a tenant, a handsome Major League Baseball pitcher who’s lost his mojo, maybe for good. We talk the “yips,” platonic soulmates, auditory writing, cultural criticism, an...
Blake Crouch- Live from BookExpo America
June 18, 2019 04:00 - 50 minutes - 21 MB#1 New York Times-bestselling author Blake Crouch (Dark Matter) is our guest on this week’s episode, recorded live at BookExpo America. Crouch met Clay and Megan at an undisclosed location at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City to discuss his mysterious new novel, Recursion, a sci-fi thriller centering on two characters’ complex relationships to time, grief, memory, and one another. And our editors recommend books by Rosanne Parry, Sophie Cameron, Anna Fifield, and Elin Hilder...
Amanda Montell
June 11, 2019 04:00 - 56 minutes - 24.4 MBThis week we’re working blue in an episode that might have you seeing red: Linguist and journalist Amanda Montell joins us to discuss Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, a sparkling analysis of our quirky, biased gendered vernacular. Montell shines a light on curse words, code switching, grammar, pronunciation patterns, and how we might make language more inclusive moving forward. Then our editors present their top picks in books this week.
Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark- hosts of "My Favorite Murder"
June 04, 2019 04:00 - 51 minutes - 22.2 MBOn this very special episode of Fully Booked, podcast royalty Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (“My Favorite Murder”) join us to discuss their joint memoir, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide, a book that’s funny & fearsome & close to the bone. Then our editors present their top picks in books this week.
Oscar Cásares
May 28, 2019 04:00 - 57 minutes - 25.2 MBOn this week’s episode, Oscar Cásares joins Clay and Megan to discuss Where We Come From, a compassionate portrait of life along the Texas-Mexico border at Brownsville and Matamoros, centering on one woman’s reluctant involvement with a human smuggling ring. “In some ways timely, this quiet, delicate book delivers a truly timeless emotional punch,” Kirkus writes (starred review). Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Julia Phillips
May 21, 2019 04:00 - 52 minutes - 20.7 MBIn Julia Phillips’ stunning debut novel, Disappearing Earth, two sisters are taken from a seaside city on a summer day, affecting the lives of women and girls in diverse communities throughout Russia’s majestic Kamchatka Peninsula. She joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss her “unusual, cleverly constructed thriller” (starred review) and race, class, and culture in the Russian Far East. Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
John Burnham Schwartz
May 14, 2019 04:00 - 53 minutes - 25.5 MBJohn Burnham Schwartz joins us on this week’s episode to discuss The Red Daughter, a novel inspired by the remarkable life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin’s youngest child, whose 1967 defection from the Soviet Union to the United States caused an international uproar. A surprising personal connection gave Schwartz unprecedented access to historical documents that helped him tell her intriguing story. After the interview, our editors join with their top book recommendations for the week.
A.S. King
May 07, 2019 04:00 - 57 minutes - 24.8 MBWe’ve never read anything quite like YA star A.S. King’s “stunningly original” new novel, Dig, the meditative saga of a white Pennsylvania family with agricultural roots and a few dirty secrets. On this week’s episode, King discusses confronting racism, classism, and misogyny in an informed and compassionate way, and our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Christian Kiefer
April 30, 2019 04:00 - 37 minutes - 20.8 MBIn Christian Kiefer’s Phantoms, a white American Vietnam vet contends with legacies of racism, violence, and imperialism in a small agricultural town in Placer County, California. Kiefer joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss the incandescent new novel, which Kirkus calls, “certainly anti-war, certainly condemning our country’s dark past ... full of quavering beauty, unbreakable love, and fragile, relentless hope” (starred review). Then our editors join with their weekly book recommendati...
Susan Choi
April 23, 2019 04:00 - 40 minutes - 17.6 MBWhen it comes to Susan Choi’s inventive new novel, Trust Exercise, believe the hype. Set primarily at an exclusive performing arts high school in an unnamed southern city, it’s the story of a steamy, driver-license-less teen love affair … that morphs, via shocking shifts in perspective, into a profound interrogation of how personal mythologies - and perceptions of trauma and abuse - are written and rewritten over time. Choi joins us on this week’s episode for a deep dive into Trust Exercise, ...
Helen Ellis
April 16, 2019 04:00 - 49 minutes - 21.3 MBOn this episode of Fully Booked, American housewife, humorist, professional poker player, and native Alabaman Helen Ellis teaches Clay and Megan all about “Southern Lady Code” (“a technique by which, if you don’t have something nice to say, you say something not so nice in a nice way”) as they discuss her delightful, double-entendre-stuffed essay collection by the same name. Then our editors join with top picks in books this week.
Mary Laura Philpott
April 09, 2019 04:00 - 42 minutes - 18.7 MBWhat happens when a Type A needs a plan B? Essayist and bookseller Mary Laura Philpott joins us on this week’s episode for a funny and frank discussion of I Miss You When I Blink, a memoir-in-essays about reinvention, confirmation bias, and identity crisis at home and abroad. Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Margaret Leslie Davis
March 26, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 26.6 MBThis week’s episode is sponsored by Holiday House, publishers of Music for Mister Moon, a notable new picture book from Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead, the author and illustrator of 2011 Caldecott Medal Book A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Make sure to stay tuned for our intriguing interview with Erin E. Stead later in the podcast. In our lead interview, Margaret Leslie Davis joins Clay and Megan to discuss the most important book in the history of printing, the Gutenberg Bible. Her exciting ne...
Margaret Leslie Davis
March 26, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 26.6 MBThis week’s episode is sponsored by Holiday House, publishers of Music for Mister Moon, a notable new picture book from Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead, the author and illustrator of 2011 Caldecott Medal Book A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Make sure to stay tuned for our intriguing interview with Erin E. Stead later in the podcast. In our lead interview, Margaret Leslie Davis joins Clay and Megan to discuss the most important book in the history of printing, the Gutenberg Bible. Her exciting ne...
Preet Bharara
March 19, 2019 05:00 - 56 minutes - 23.7 MBFormer U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara joins us on this week’s episode to discuss Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law. Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Jacob Tobia
March 05, 2019 07:00 - 58 minutes - 27.8 MBThis week’s episode is sponsored by Scholastic. Check out the details in this week’s episode about the giveaway contest Kirkus and Scholastic are doing for young adult writer Bill Konigsberg’s latest novel, The Music of What Happens, plus our intriguing interview with Bill in this episode. And in our lead interview, we talk to Jacob Tobia. Life as a gender nonconforming person hasn’t always been easy for Jacob Tobia, but it has come with a fair heap of fabulousness. On this week’s podcast, th...
Isaac Mizrahi
February 26, 2019 07:00 - 58 minutes - 26.2 MBThe incomparable Isaac Mizrahi - fashion designer, performer, talk show host, crossword puzzle aficionado, visionary - joins us on this week’s episode to discuss his generous and funny new memoir, I.M. Then our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Dave Cullen
February 19, 2019 07:00 - 1 hour - 29.5 MBAcclaimed journalist Dave Cullen changed the way we think and talk about mass shootings with a definitive account of the 1999 Columbine massacre and its aftermath. On this week’s Fully Booked, he joins us to discuss Parkland: Birth of a Movement, a heartbreaking and hopeful chronicle of the student-led revolution launched just hours after the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Our editors join later in the episode with their top picks in books this week.
Marie Benedict
February 12, 2019 07:00 - 48 minutes - 22.7 MBYou may have heard of Hedy Lamarr … but what you don’t know about the glamorous movie star might shock you. On this week’s Fully Booked, historical novelist Marie Benedict joins us to discuss The Only Woman in the Room, a New York Times bestseller based on the incredible true story of Lamarr’s escape from Austria, journey to Hollywood, and invention of a secret weapon against Nazi Germany that made her a pioneer in wireless communications. Then our editors join with their top picks in books t...
Elizabeth McCracken
February 05, 2019 07:00 - 42 minutes - 18.9 MBIn Elizabeth McCracken’s latest novel, a woman seemingly drops from the sky (she’s discovered in a cemetery, with a bowling ball, a candlepin, and fifteen pounds of gold nearby). On this week’s episode, McCracken drops by the recording studio to discuss Bowlaway, the story of three generations of alley owners in a small Massachusetts town, and touches on genealogy, the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, and nearly life-sized, fully articulated wooden women, in fiction and the home. And our editors...
Pam Houston
January 29, 2019 07:00 - 55 minutes - 23.5 MBWith the money she made from her first book, Cowboys Are My Weakness, 31-year-old Pam Houston bought a 120-acre ranch near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. She joins us on this week’s episode—25 years later—to discuss Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country, a profound new essay collection expressing a deep appreciation for the lessons she learned from the land.
Kristen Roupenian
January 22, 2019 07:00 - 52 minutes - 19.8 MBKristen Roupenian proved short stories can go viral. Soon after publication in the New Yorker, “Cat Person” became a full-fledged cultural phenomenon—the magazine’s second “most popular” piece of 2017, right behind Ronan Farrow’s Harvey Weinstein exposé—forever altering Roupenian’s life. She joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss that experience, power dynamics in a patriarchy, and her debut short story collection, You Know You Want This; and our editors offer their top picks in books thi...
Victoria Loustalot
January 15, 2019 07:00 - 58 minutes - 24.5 MBSelf-proclaimed skeptic Victoria Loustalot’s first encounter with a real-life psychic left her with more questions than answers. But when some of the seer’s predictions came true, Loustalot began an earnest investigation into the “modern mystical complex.” She joins us on this week’s episode to discuss her witty, wondrous third memoir, Future Perfect: A Skeptic’s Search for an Honest Mystic, and our editors share their top picks in book this week.
Brad Meltzer
January 08, 2019 07:00 - 58 minutes - 25.5 MBUltrabestselling novelist Brad Meltzer is back with a thrilling new nonfiction based on little-known fact, The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot Against George Washington and the Birth of American Counterintelligence. On this episode, Meltzer speaks candidly with Clay and Megan about the plot against the General, plot (in general), and working with longtime collaborator Josh Mensch. And our editors join with their top picks in books this week.
Lucy Worsley
January 01, 2019 07:00 - 55 minutes - 24.1 MBOne need not be a royalist to enjoy Lucy Worsley’s radiant new biography of Queen Victoria, the “hard-working, energetic, [and] resilient” woman who saved the status of the British monarchy. Worsley, an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter, joins us on this week’s Fully Booked for a spirited discussion of Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life, and our editors name their most anticipated books and trends of 2019.
Fully Booked End of Year Review 2018
December 25, 2018 07:00 - 53 minutes - 18.3 MBHappy holidays, Fully Booked fans! In this special episode, Clay and Megan reintroduce two of their favorite 2018 interviews — Susan Orlean and David Sedaris. Thanks for listening! We’ll see you in the new year.
Christopher Goffard
December 18, 2018 07:00 - 53 minutes - 22.9 MBInvestigative journalist Christopher Goffard’s stories grab you, shake you, and don’t let go. On this week’s Fully Booked, Goffard joins Clay and Megan to discuss Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders, “a collection of swift-flowing pieces about outliers, liars, victims, and victimizer” (Kirkus) whose unforgettable titular tale inspired a megapopular podcast and Bravo TV show. Nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau rounds out the hour with continuing coverage of the Best Books ...
Karina Longworth
December 11, 2018 07:00 - 52 minutes - 23.1 MBThe first person we meet in Karina Longworth’s Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood *isn’t* Howard Hughes—it’s screenwriter Frederica Sagor— a clue to the true focus of her provocative popular history. On this week’s Fully Booked, Clay and Megan chat with the author and creator of the You Must Remember This podcast about the highly varied experiences of the talented and ambitious women in Hughes’s orbit (1920s-1950s) and nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau signs on for ...
Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide
December 04, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 39.6 MBIt’s the first-ever Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide Extravaganza! The eggnog flows freely as Clay and Megan round up the crème de la crème in photography, cooking, games, health, beauty, and more. Guests include photographer Beowulf Sheehan (Author: The Portraits of Beowulf Sheehan), Brooklyn-based restauranteur Doug Crowell (Kindness & Salt: Recipes for the Care & Feeding of Your Friends & Family), bookseller Abby Fennewald of Book People in Austin, and YA editor Laura Simeon with continuing...
Phoebe Robinson
November 27, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 39.9 MBIn Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, Phoebe Robinson offers readers a beacon of light and hope for these dumpster fire times. This frank and funny second essay collection by the NYT-bestselling author, cultural critic, and 2 Dope Queens cohost tackles feminism, race, class, body image, Bono, and much more. Today’s episode of Fully Booked features a standup set and Q&A by Robinson, recorded live at the Texas Book Festival, as well as continuing coverage of the Best Books of 2018 with children...
Anita Lo
November 20, 2018 07:00 - 51 minutes - 24.1 MBMichelin-starred chef Anita Lo hasn’t always been lucky in love … but the fruit of her solitude is sweet. On this week’s podcast, she joins Clay and Megan for a spirited discussion of Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One, a personal and playful collection of repasts for the unattached. Lo proves to be an unforgettable guest, serving up stories of an only-in-New-York dating disaster and an only-in-Mongolia dining experience, and children’s editor Vicky Smith signs on for continuing cover...
Jonathan Lethem
November 13, 2018 07:00 - 58 minutes - 27.9 MBPart madcap comedy, part post-Election 2016 primal scream, Jonathan Lethem’s The Feral Detective is a veritable carnival of hardboiled delights from the author of Motherless Brooklyn. On this week’s episode, Lethem joins Clay and Megan in eternal debates- East Coast vs. West Coast, Democrat vs. Republican, Rabbits vs. Bears (trust us)- and fiction editor Laurie Muchnick introduces the Best 100 Fiction Books of 2018.
Kirkus Prize Panel- Live from the Texas Book Festival 2018
November 06, 2018 07:00 - 54 minutes - 25.7 MBKirkus Reviews asked the finalists for the 2018 Kirkus Prize—which recognizes excellent literature every year, from picture books to adult books, rewarding three writers $50,000 each—to talk about their new books at the recent Texas Book Festival in Austin. This week’s episode, which is sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group, is a recording of that panel of prominent, nationally known writers of many genres. Join us as the writers talk about their inspirations.
Joseph Fink
October 30, 2018 05:00 - 49 minutes - 20.7 MBJoseph Fink is one of the creators of the popular Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn’t Dead podcasts. Now Alice Isn’t Dead is a suspenseful novel filled with misshapen serial killers, an exhausted long haul trucker who believes her wife isn’t deceased even though there was a funeral for her, and a bunch of missing people. Megan and Clay ask Fink about the inspirations for Alice Isn’t Dead and our editors pipe up with their fave picks!
Glory Edim
October 23, 2018 05:00 - 58 minutes - 25.1 MBGlory Edim is the founder of Well-Read Black Girl, which has blossomed from an online sensation to a book club to a fascinating anthology of essays by well-known and debut writers discussing their lives as readers and thinkers. We ask Edim about the anthology in this week’s episode. And our editors reveal which bestsellers are worth your reading time!
Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
October 09, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 27.9 MBBecky Albertalli and Adam Silvera are two of the most popular young adult writers publishing today; Albertalli’s novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda became the hit movie Love, Simon. The two writers collaborated to write What If It’s Us, a sweet novel about a summer romance between Ben and Arthur. The editors talk about Banned Books Week and reveal which bestsellers are worth your time!
Lisa Unger
October 02, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 29.9 MBBestselling thriller writer Lisa Unger’s new novel, Under My Skin, is about a young woman struggling with the aftermath of her husband’s murder finds herself in escalating danger in this novel of psychological suspense. Unger brings the reader along as her narrator's grip on reality is tested and keeps the twists coming in this standout thriller. Megan and Clay and our children’s and YA book editors Vicky Smith and Laura Simeon talk about the finalists for the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Young Read...
Gary Shteyngart
September 25, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 24 MBThis week, we talk to Gary Shteyngart about his new novel, Lake Success, about a hedge fund manager on the skids who takes a cross-country Greyhound bus trip to reconnect with his college girlfriend, leaving his wife to deal with their autistic 3-year-old. The novel is smart, relevant, fundamentally warm-hearted, and hilarious. Megan and Clay talk about the finalists of the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction and our editors reveal which new bestsellers are worth your time!
Jill Lepore
September 18, 2018 05:00 - 53 minutes - 22.8 MBThis week, we’re asking New Yorker staff writer and Harvard historian Jill Lepore about her great new book of the entire history of the U.S., These Truths, which our reviewer calls “a splendid rendering—filled with triumph, tragedy, and hope—that will please Lepore’s readers immensely and win her many new ones.” Megan and Clay also talk about the new Bob Woodward book, Fear: Trump in the White House, and our editors reveal their picks for the best reads this week!
Sarah Weinman
September 11, 2018 05:00 - 56 minutes - 24.1 MBThis week, we talk to the author of one of the most-anticipated nonfiction books of the fall: Sarah Weinman, whose The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Kidnapping That Scandalized the World is a tantalizing, entertaining true-life detective and literary story whose roots were hidden deep in a novel that has perplexed and challenged readers for decades. This episode is sponsored by Baker & Taylor, a leading distributor of books, video and music to libraries, institutions, an...
DeRay McKesson
September 04, 2018 05:00 - 54 minutes - 23.4 MBThis week, Megan and Clay talk to civil rights activist and Pod Save the People host DeRay McKesson. His new book, On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope, is a compelling account of technology-powered protest. And it’s a fascinating read, full of his personal stories in addition to his ideas about activism. We also preview some of the great interviews on our site right now from our recent Legends Issue and our editors pipe up with their favorite new reads!
Randy Kennedy
August 28, 2018 06:00 - 57 minutes - 25.2 MBIn Randy Kennedy's debut novel, PRESIDIO, two estranged brothers and an unexpected passenger embark on a road trip through Texas to recover stolen money. What starts out as a literary meditation on all that space in West Texas becomes a propulsive literary thriller. Megan and Clay talk about Keanu Reeves' publishing imprint and our editors speak up with their favorite picks for this week!
Kim Brooks
August 21, 2018 06:00 - 57 minutes - 24.5 MBMaking a quick trip into a store, Kim Brooks was only gone for five minutes, leaving her 4-year-old son in his car seat inside the locked car, with the windows ajar. Yet those moments transformed her life in more ways than she could have imagined. Megan and Clay ask Brooks about that day and her investigation of "helicopter parenting," SMALL ANIMALS, which is one of this fall's most anticipated books. Curious to know a few of this fall's other big books? Megan and Clay reveal their best bets ...
Meg Wolitzer & Jewell Parker Rhodes
August 14, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 28.1 MBThe film version of Meg Wolitzer's novel THE WIFE, starring Glenn Close, is being released this Friday, so Megan and Clay are asking Wolitzer in this week's podcast about the adaptation. And beloved children's writer Jewell Parker Rhodes stops by the studio to talk about her tough but touching new novel, GHOST BOYS. And our editors reveal which new books are really worth your time! Visit GetQuip.com/Kirkus to get your first Quip Toothbrushes refill pack FREE! Check out MeUndies.com/Kirkus ...
Guy Branum and Kody Keplinger
August 07, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 27.1 MBThis week's episode is brought to you by Scholastic. Megan and Clay ask comedian Guy Branum about his wickedly smart and funny memoir, MY LIFE AS A GODDESS: A MEMOIR THROUGH (UN)POPULAR CULTURE, including that time in college when he wrote an article about Chelsea Clinton and got a special visit from the Secret Service. And we catch up with Scholastic young adult writer Kody Keplinger, whose new novel, THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED, is a timely page-turner with a fascinating premise: a school sh...
Catherine Coulter
July 31, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 23.7 MBPARADOX is the 22nd mystery by bestseller Catherine Coulter starring detectives Sherlock and Savich but it’s far from the 22nd novel Coulter's written during her career. She’s also written numerous romance novels and co-writes a series of thrillers with J.T. Ellison. We talk to the pro this week about what it’s like writing about the FBI, the writer who taught her well, and living in a politicized America. Our editors also join us to talk about their best bets for new books to read. Visit Ge...