Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On this week’s episode, undefeated world champion boxer Laila Ali joins us to discuss A Spark of Greatness: The Autobiography of a Fighter, illustrated by Caldecott honoree Cosby A. Cabrera (Crown, Sept. 8). “Boxing champion Ali describes how, growing up in the shadow of a legend, she at last stepped into the ring on her own terms,” Kirkus writes. “[A]n inspiring portrait of resilience and ambition.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm by Julie Ryan McGue, illus. by Mariia StepanovaShallcross by Charles PorterEmil by Patrick MatthewsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode,  New York Times bestselling translator and classicist Emily Wilson joins us to discuss Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature (Liveright/Norton, Sept. 1). “Enchanting academic essays about translating the classics,” Kirkus writes in a starred review, calling this insightful, accessible essay collection, “a lively exploration of ancient literature.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Revenge Is the Best Revenge by James A. ScottMall Goddess by Marilee DahlmanRevelations of Grimm Lohr by William PotterLife and Music by Idil Biret with Dominique Xardel, trans. by Gunesh Guran GeryParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland KanySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty joins us to discuss Big Little Truths (Crown, Aug. 25). “Ten years later, the friends from Big Little Lies (2014) have new headaches, traumas, and secrets,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “Don’t wait for the TV series—Moriarty’s sparkling writing is worth the read.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Waymaker by Michael D. WardenMaud and Pearl by Pearl Allen AndreeParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany The Riddle of the Trees by Marc S. PerlmanLos Rios by Bryan ZimmermanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams joins us to discuss The Missed Connection (Grand Central Publishing, June 16), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: “Desperate to reconnect with the perfect man she met on a plane, a woman hires a private detective with ties to her past…. Flawed yet lovable characters shine in this celebration of human connection.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyIn His Own Time by Kathy LemoineAwaken Your Sexuality by Stephanie Covington and Vanessa CarlisleParrot Heaven by Jessica Howland KanyBeauty by Christina ChiuSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter joins us to discuss The Secrets We Keep (William Morrow/HarperCollins, Aug. 4), book two in her North Falls series. Kirkus: ““Every twist in the path to the truth is riveting—especially the final revelation, which puts all the others in the shade—but the most important relationship is between the two investigators, one of whom harbors a secret the other can’t imagine.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyThe Hypókrisis Mirror and Other Stories by Raymond FortunatoTapestries by Patrick SummersVirtuality, Book Two, by Ragnar KrollAvatars of the Pantheon by Jackson OwensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner join us to discuss her latest thriller, You’ll Be Sorry (Grand Central Publishing, Aug. 4). “A small-town sheriff uncovers centuries’ worth of secrets,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review. “Gardner deftly juggles a number of characters, plot threads, secrets, time periods, and motives, delivering a satisfyingly layered novel that interrogates the insular lives and histories of small towns.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively  Blood Moon Over Bentonville by Bernard DoucetteDeath on Warriors Way by Dave PyleThe Murder Investigation of Adolf Hitler by Peter ClenottDear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura Elliott See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Bohjalian joins us to discuss his new novel, The Amateur (Doubleday, Aug. 4). “An accident at the golf course cuts short one life and totally upends another,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “It’s hard to think of any reason not to call this a perfect novel—our critic writes—a hole in one.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: This Never Happened by Kent HeckenlivelyLifers by Keith G. McWalterChemstories by Maya MourshedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode,  novelist Julie Buntin joins us to discuss Famous Men (Random House, July 14). “A personal and professional entanglement with an acclaimed writer shapes a young woman’s life,” kirkus writes in a starred review. Buntin’s stellar sophomore offering is “a searing, brilliant novel about power, and stories, and who gets to tell them.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: The Book of Don by T.B. CalderDear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura ElliottBlood Lasts Forever by Jeff GunhusSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Colson Whitehead joins us to discuss Cool Machine (Doubleday, July 21). “Whitehead’s justly celebrated Harlem Trilogy comes to a triumphant, satisfying conclusion,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of Cool Machine, calling Whitehead “a master novelist in full command of his powers as a storyteller, prose stylist, and social observer.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Finding Our Voice by Adam Castillo American Gyro by Jim Zervanos The Needs of the Heart by Phillip AndersonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, internationally bestselling author Robinne Lee joins us to discuss her new novel, Crash Into Me (St. Martin’s, July 7). “After moving to Los Angeles, a biracial photographer navigates the complexities of celebrity, wealth, race, and her own past,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of Crash Into Me, calling this “sharp and often slyly funny” novel “thoughtful social commentary meets sensual queer awakening among the Beautiful People.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Carrie’s Children by Clarence T. JonesA Slaughter of Iguanas by Anne LoiselleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Knoll joins us to discuss her latest novel, Helpless (Scribner, July 7). “A Hollywood writer returns to her college town for a funeral only to get pulled back into the complicated relationships she left behind,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of a scintillating novel that “puts the ‘erotic’ back in ‘erotic thriller.’”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: A Collection of Brevities by Patrick SummersSurviving Life by Tom SchneiderAn Endless Knot by Joe ElefanteAlbrecht Drue, Ghostpuncher. by Paul D. MillerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, New York Times bestselling novelist Jenny Jackson joins us to discuss The Shampoo Effect (Pamela Dorman Books, June 30). Kirkus: “A beginning author gets in over her head, personally and professionally” in a winning novel that “combines a literary rom-com with an acute portrait of midlife among millennials.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:A Name Unbroken by Donald ProffitAlternate Sources by Lamar BrantleySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Eva zu Beck joins us to discuss The Wilder Way: A Memoir of Adventure, Freedom, and an Uncharted Life (Gallery Books, June 2). In a starred review, Kirkus calls this bold debut by the YouTube adventurer and National Geographic TV host “an inspiring, action-packed journey to find one’s self through perilous adventures in exotic, far-flung destinations.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:Sebastian and the Belgian Koala by Jill Charlotte Thomas, illus. by Parks SadlerDeath and All That Follows by Javier Piñol SerraThe Lodge Women, Their Men and Their Times by Emily LodgeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, sponsored by Cambridge University Press, Deb Olin Unferth joins us to discuss her latest novel, Earth 7 (Graywolf, June 9), which Kirkus calls “a quirky, bold, and endearing masterpiece of climate fiction” (starred review).THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: The Elephants in the Room by Seth Masket (Cambridge University Press)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, comedian and former SNL writer Rosebud Baker joins us to discuss Fully Baked: A Messy Memoir (Gallery Books, June 9. Kirkus: “A scathingly funny memoir about a late-bloomer’s wild ride from debauched youth to motherhood and comedy success.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:Queen of the Styx by Buell HollisterDiamonds and Roses, Vipers and Toads by Clark Thomas Carlton  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling novelist Christina Baker Kline joins us to discuss The Foursome (Mariner Books, May 12). “Famous conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker were married to Sarah and Adelaide Yates, a pair of sisters in the Civil War–era South, where they produced 21 children between them,” Kirkus writes, in a starred review. “A profound and moving treatment of what could have been a tabloid topic.” THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:The Man on the Bench by Hy ConradAn Adventure Log by Jim Doti See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Lisa Lee joins us to discuss American Han (Algonquin, March 31). “A long-simmering tragedy unfolds in the Kim family of California, from the 1980s to the early 2000s,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of this stunning debut novel. “Lee’s self-aware, relentlessly honest narrator feels absolutely real, and her story cuts deep.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Tom Selleck joins us to discuss You Never Know: A Memoir (Dey Street, May 5), out now in paperback with bonus material. “The beloved actor shares his splendid life and career” Kirkus writes in a review of Selleck’s excellent memoir, written with Ellis Henican, calling it “a celebrity memoir worth reading.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:So Many Are the Drowned by Anthony JosephsonConspirator in Chief by Stephen F. KnottAmerican Jap Girl by Richard OkumotoThe Words We’ve Lost and Found by Jody DollMirage by Tony BurnettSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, actress Jamie Lynn Sigler  joins us to discuss And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope (Harper, May 5). Kirkus: “A memoir of pain, recovery, and, of course, an enduring classic TV series.” And in a sponsored interview, author Jeff Gottesfeld and illustrator Matt Tavares discuss their stunning new picture book, Honor Flight: Celebrating America’s Veterans (Candlewick, March 3, starred review). THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:The Big Dream by Owen ThomasEleven Elements by Robby JoshiSay My Name by Jerry LeverettSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, No. 1 New York Times bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell joins us to discuss True Crime: A Memoir (Grand Central Publishing, May 5). “The life of a hugely popular crime novelist has been full of outsized violations and blessings,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of True Crime. “This literary memoir is as good as it gets, with more action and drama than many novels.”THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:Dear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII by Laura ElliottMahatma Among the Revolutionaries by Vivek Verma See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.