PODCAST · arts
The Book Case
by ABC News | Charlie Gibson, Kate Gibson
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. Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.
Episodes
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Bonnie Garmus and the Unique World of Peck & Peck
Bonnie Garmus’ follow up to GMA Book Club Pick Lessons in Chemistry, called Peck & Peck, is a wild and funny foray into the world of poetry. Compulsively readable with unforgettable characters, the novel centers around Batter, a poetry editor who ends up at a world renown poetry publication…
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Yiyun Li and the Music of Writing
When we visited with Ann Patchett a few months ago, she talked almost non stop about Yiyun Li’s newest, MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT, which she called “close the perfect novel”. We went right home and read it and booked Yiyun for her earliest availability, because she was right. Yiyun Li, the writer…
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TWO FOR ONE: Robert Kolker AND Chloe Benjamin
This week we have to terrific authors in one show. Robert Kolker’s newest, The Vanishing Family, is a look at a family afflicted with an early onset dementia, and how this family could revolutionize the way we think about the aging mind. Chloe Benjamin was GMA’s September Book Club pick, and...
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Catherine Grace Katz: the Hindenburg and the Humanity
Up until now, there hasn’t really been a complete compendium on the Hindenburg disaster. Catherine Grace Katz gives it us in SHADOW BEFORE THE FLAME, and it is a page turner. Filled with top notch research, Katz drops readers squarely in the 1930’s so that they experience the majesty, mystery and...
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Jennifer McMahon and the Allure of Haunted Towns
Jennifer McMahon has been called the Shirley Jackson of her generation. Her newest, Stay Buried, is a fascinating look at what can happen to a small town when beset with an almost inhuman pandemic, and how they turn on each other as the diseases claims victim after victim (sound familiar?). Come...
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Jodi Picoult Talks Hollow Bones
Jodi Picoult’s newest, Hollow Bones, is probably more topical than even she would have wanted. A book that heart wrenchingly twists the anniversaries of 9/11 along with a serious look at Post Partem Psychosis, Picoult acknowledges how relevant this story may be in the shadow of the Lindsay Clancy...
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Harlan Coben Gives Us a Writing Class
Plot Twist by Harlan Coben is a non fiction book that focusses on writing: the desperation, the inspiration, the execution…it’s all here. And it’s compulsively readable and wonderfully conversational, just like Harlan. Join us as we ask him about his tips and tricks, and why there is no...
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Ashley Kahn and the Wonder of Paul Simon’s Graceland
Graceland, by the great Paul Simon, was always a big deal in our house. From the Boy in the Bubble to the Myth of Fingerprints, it was on almost constant repeat, the soundtrack of my childhood. Ashley Kahn’s book, Days of Miracle and Wonder, is a thorough, beautifully researched compendium of how...
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Why Catcher in the Rye Still Captures Us
We love doing “classics” episodes. And since The Catcher in the Rye is turning 75 this year, it seems that lots of folks in the book world are talking about it and we thought we would hop on board. Our two distinguished guests for this conversation are Kenneth Slawenski, one of the world's…
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Meg Richardson and the True Voice of Adolescence
This is an interesting show, because the person who really championed the read this week was Arlene Gibson, the matriarch of the Gibson Family. A lifelong school teacher and administrator for girls’ schools, she fell in love with Paradise Pawn by Meg Richardson. And when Arlene tells us to do...
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Chris Bohjalian Writes His Most Personal Novel
Chris Bohjalian is prolific to say the least. With about 25 novels under his belt, he hits the bestseller list often with his unforgettable characters and twisty plots. But his newest, The Amateur, is his most personal novel to date. The narrator, Mira, was a caddy, just as Chris was for most of...
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Stephanie Soileau and the Richness of Cajun History
Should the Waters Take Us a is a novel of great beauty…centered around the swamp letters in the south of Louisianna. Whereas so many novels focus on story and character-this one focusses on place and how this place has shaped the lives of the characters that live there. As climate change shifts…
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An Injustice in the Justice System
Pamela Colloff is an accomplished investigative journalist and has written "Catch the Devil" about a frighteningly prolific jailhouse snitch. Paul Skalnik testified in dozens of cases that inmates in Florida prisons had confessed their guilt to him. Often prosecutors won convictions based largely...
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Double Header: Jenny Jackson and Scott D. Reich
Jenny Jackson’s newest, The Shampoo Effect, tells the story of an insular gang of year-round beach residents who have known each other all their lives. Until one member of their clique begins to date outside of the group-they are generally an exclusive “they go out on and off” type of friends. So...
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Paul Tremblay: AI and the Not So Distant Future
Paul Tremblay has written a science fiction book that will prompt all sorts of important questions about AI, the role of consciousness in humanity, and how writers might have to work around AI in order to keep their work original and sustainable and it’s called DEAD BUT DREAMING OF ELECTRIC…
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Kevin Powers and the Art of Writing War
Kevin Powers’ Children of the Wild is a book about Roy and Ennis, two friends on a farm who sign up for WWI, one excited for battle, one a feral child baffled by war. What does war do to friendship? To the minds of men? We talk to Kevin, a veteran of the war in Iraq, about his ability to write…
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Our Favorites of 2026….So Far
2026 is half over. And Kate turned 50 on June 16th. So in honor of all of this half life, we decided to talk about our favorite books so far of 2026. Tana French, Tayari Jones, Ann Patchett and Allegra Goodman all made the list, but there are so many books we have loved this year that we think we...
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Carlos Barragan Shows Us Why Online Scams Work
Carlos Barragan’s book The Yahoo Boys schooled us on the huge and terrifying world of online moneymaking scams. From the romance scams (pretending to be a man or woman you are not, wooing others into sending you money), to celeb scams (pretending to be a celebrity for money), all the way to...
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Martha Raddatz Recognizes the Heroes Next Door
Martha Raddatz is a war correspondent, one of the biggest household names in front line reporting. Her newest book, The Hero Next Door tells the story of the service men, women and the caregivers who bring honor to the uniform. From celebrations to heartbreak, these are the stories that have…
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Ann Patchett and an Audience!
Ann Patchett has written a new novel, and if you are a listener to this show, you know we are both huge fans of her work. Her newest, Whistler, is beautiful book about grace, kindness, the relationships we can’t let go and what we learn of ourselves in a crisis. When we asked if we could come…
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Jesmyn Ward on Pain and Beauty
Jesmyn Ward is arguably one of the most important writers of our generation. She has won two National Book Awards before fifty (first woman to do that and first Black woman to do that). And in this, her new essay book, ON WITNESS AND RESPAIR, she writes essays on everything from Faulkner to...
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J. Ryan Stradal Edits and Delivers
It has been quite a few months since we checked in with J. Ryan Stradal, our writer in residence. He is in his editing stage, making sure that the latest draft he delivers is the best he can do. AND, he has a title-NEXT WEEK WHEN THINGS CALM DOWN (we love this title). We talk to him about where…
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Laurie Frankel, Impossible Realism and Caroline Bicks’ Childhood Ghosts
Today The Book Case has another two for one. Laurie Frankel’s newest, ENORMOUS WINGS is funny, thought provoking and will have you questioning the vitality of choosing everything in your life from those first steps towards independence to dying with dignity. An incredible read you won’t want to…
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Elizabeth Strout Tries Something New
Elizabeth Strout has departed from Olive Kittredge, Lucy Barton and Burgess Boys; she has even departed from Maine. Her newest, THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY, introduces us to Artie Dam, a teacher in Massachusetts who is just as full of depth, pain and laughter as any character Strout has ever written....
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Books for Mother's Day
If you had a mother who was a strong influence in your life, we wanted to honor her with this week’s Book Case episode. Sometimes we want to find all the right words to tell mom how much she meant to us and we can’t find them. This week we share some great books that would make terrific gifts for...
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Jason Reynolds on Music, Reading and Writing
Jason Reynolds is one of the best young adult writers of our generation. But don’t let the label fool you into thinking that young adult writing hasn’t provided some of the most important books in the American Literary Canon (Catcher in the Rye? To Kill a Mockingbird?). His latest, Soundtrack,...
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Why Are Boys Falling Behind On Reading?
The Book Case is largely about talking to authors, yes, but we believe that reading is critical for everyone. We believe it is most important for kids, that raising readers is one of the most important duties a parent can perform. But we read a study recently that said boys reading scores are…
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Tana French Mixes Ireland and the Old West
We are going full Ireland on this show. First, we talk to the incredible Tana French about her newest, The Keeper. Set in rural Ireland it combines great mystery writing with the classic American Western. Does that sound like it is a long shot? Not with Tana’s talent. We then go from a…
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Jenny Lawson Wants You to Be Okay
Jenny Lawson is Kate’s all time favorite humor author. Obsessed since her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Kate saw she had a new one out, How to be Okay When Nothing is Okay, and she actually whooped. Loudly. In this book, Jenny shares the different tools and tricks that she uses…
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Louise Erdrich and the Art of the Seminal Moment
Louise Erdrich is one of the most important writers of our time. Her award-winning words have created modern classics such as Love Medicine, The Night Watchman and The Sentence. Her newest release, Python’s Kiss, is a collection of short stories, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe, her daughter. Each...
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Elizabeth Berg And a Love Story to Life (Also with Kate DiCamillo and Kelly Yang!)
It’s a TRIPLE header on the Book Case podcast. First, our main guest is Elizabeth Berg, whose newest, Life: A Love Story is a beautifully woven tale of a woman reflecting on what objects she has saved throughout her life and why. Look around your room…are there things in there that means…
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Joan Lunden Says Good Morning Book Case!
Joan Lunden has been a part of the Gibson family for a long time. Her newest memoir, Joan, is an attempt to look back upon the moments of her life, her life that she has lived at an almost breakneck speed. How did she hold down one of the toughest jobs in journalism, raise a bunch of kids and…
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For Us, Anna Quindlen is ALWAYS More Than Enough
We have been broadcasting long enough to have what we think of as “authors we always love to talk to” and Anna is one of those. She is a stunning talent and has thoughts about writing that always knock us out. So sit down with us to discuss Anna’s latest, More Than Enough, and stay tuned for a...
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Tayari Jones and the Meaning of Kin
Tayari Jones is one of the country’s most gifted writers, and her newest, Kin, is sure to get everyone talking. Beautiful, wrenching and compelling, this is a period piece that takes place in the South around the 1950’s and 60’s. This is a book that will move you, and almost every sentence is a...
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Allegra Goodman, Her Stories, and the Messiness of Family
Allegra Goodman’s latest, This is Not About Us is a treasure. Centered around the Rubenstein family, each chapter examines the Rubensteins from a different lens, a different perspective. The stories are funny, messy, heartbreaking, captivating; all adjectives that describe complex families. You...
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Belle Burden and the Art of Being Vulnerable
Belle Burden’s Strangers is not your everyday memoir about divorce. After three kids, two decades and two homes, her husband was caught having an affair. When confronted, he walked out, saying that marriage and family were not “for him”. It was not about the other woman nor was it about a long…
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The Librarians: A Must-See Documentary for Book Lovers
This week we dedicate our show to a documentary that we think is important. We have promised our listeners to keep the podcast non-political (no shouting talking heads, no books with a political agenda). But there are some issues that are vitally important that we also believe are non-political....
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Roger Rosenblatt on the Magic of Books
Roger Rosenblatt wrote a column for the NY Times called Before You Toss that Book… We already loved Roger’s books, and this column moved us to reach out to him. We asked if he would come on our show to read the column for our audience and to talk to us about what makes books so important, what...
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Susan Orlean Takes a Joyride
Susan Orlean, one of the best journalists of our generation, has written a memoir, along with some great advice about writing. Beyond writing, she has thoughts on the importance of curiosity in these trying times. Curiosity can break down barriers, and create beautiful stories out of the…
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Janice Page and an Unlikely Memoir
Janice Page’s The Year of the Water Horse is a funny memoir. At times, laugh out loud funny. But it is also about why we tell stories, what we make important in our lives, what we protect and what we share. Full of thoughtful reflection, this is a book that will have you looking at your own life,...
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Paula McLain Escapes into the Paris Underground
Paula McLain’s Skylark is the GMA book club pick this month and we are so pleased she sat down with us too. This book is a beautifully written, touching and suspenseful story centered around the meaning of freedom, and the prices we pay to attain it. Paralleling two stories in Paris, one in the...
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We Pick Our Favorites: 2025
Grab a pen and pencil so you can write down what are some of our absolute favorite reads of 2025. There is something for everyone, fiction, non fiction, romance, marooned sea travelers, epistolary greatness, fictionalized examinations of climate change….you name it. Get yourself a glass of wine…
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Getting Books In Their Hands: Stephen and Ayesha Curry
We have devoted several podcasts to the issue of how parents get children to read - off screens and into pages. We talk about it - others DO something about it. You might not expect to find Stephen Curry, the great pro basketball player, to be among that group. However, Stephen and his wife…
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Classics Series: A Jane Austen Discussion
Our next installment in the Book Case Classics series comes from listeners like you. Many of you asked for Austen…you wanted it? You got it! We sat down with two of the world’s foremost Austen Scholars, Claudia L. Johnson, Murray Professor of English at Princeton and Devoney Looser, Regents...
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Abir Mukherjee and the Beauty of Historical Mysteries
Abir Mukherjee was a revelation to us, even if he is already an international bestseller. The Burning Grounds, the sixth of the Wyndham and Banerjee mystery series will keep readers guessing while dazzling them with terrific writing. His series takes place during turn of the century in…
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J. Ryan Stradal SELLS and A Bookstore with a Mission
We are so pleased that our Writer in Residence, J. Ryan Stradal, has sold his newest to Atria Publishing. He is here this week to tell us how he did it, and how Atria became his new home (and it apparently involved an auction). We are also joined by the husband and wife team behind Bound and…
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Megha Majumdar and Moral Ambiguity
Megha Majumdar was on the short list for the National Book Award, and we were rooting hard for her to win. She may not have won THIS year, but her talent and her world building skills had us clamoring for more, so we have no doubt you will see her name on the list again. A Guardian and a Thief is…
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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…
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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…
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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...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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.
Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.
HOSTED BY
ABC News | Charlie Gibson, Kate Gibson
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Book Case have?
The Book Case currently has 231 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Book Case about?
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...
How often does The Book Case release new episodes?
The Book Case publishes regularly with 231 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Book Case?
You can listen to The Book Case on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Book Case?
The Book Case is created and hosted by ABC News | Charlie Gibson, Kate Gibson.
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