New Books in Literature
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field.
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1651
Omar El Akkad, “American War” (Knopf, 2017)
Set 50-plus years in the future, Omar El Akkad‘s debut novel American War (Knopf, 2017) has been widely praised, becoming one of those rare books with science fiction themes to make numerous mainstream publications’ Best Books of the Year lists.
37 min
1652
Jason Arnopp, “The Last Days of Jack Sparks” (O...
A modern morality tale lurks under this fast-paced horror novel. Jason Arnopp‘s The Last Days of Jack Sparks (Orbit, 2016) consists of the diary of a fictional character, Jack Sparks, along with a collection of interviews about him.
24 min
1653
Linda Grover, “Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojib...
Onigamiising is the Ojibwemowin word for Duluth and the surrounding area. In this book of fifty warm, wise and witty essays, Linda LeGarde Grover tells the story of the four seasons of life, from Ziigwan (Spring) to Biboon (Winter),
43 min
1654
David Walton, “The Genius Plague” (Pyr, 2017)
Everyone knows that wild mushrooms can be dangerous, but David Walton in his new novel The Genius Plague (Pyr, 2017) raises the dangers to a new plane. While victims of an unusual fungal infection enjoy skyrocketing I.Q.s,
35 min
1655
Angela Davis-Gardner, “Butterfly’s Child” (Rand...
Today I talked with Angela Davis-Gardner, an award-winning North Carolina-based novelist writing about Japan. Her book Butterfly’s Child (Random House, 2011) depicts the journey of a Japanese American boy Benji,
43 min
1656
Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, “Last Christmas ...
When we first meet Thomas Harding in 1968, he is facing what he believes will be his last Christmas and mourning the loss of an unnamed woman who clearly meant a great deal to him. He carries with him bundles of letters,
49 min
1657
Becky Chambers, “A Closed and Common Orbit” (Ha...
Rob Wolf interviews Becky Chambers, author of the Wayfarer series. The first book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Harper Voyager, 2016), was originally self-published then quickly picked up by a traditional publisher,
35 min
1658
Octavia Randolph, “Silver Hammer, Golden Cross”...
Silver Hammer, Golden Cross (Pyewacket Press, 2017) is sixth in the series of the Circle of Ceridwen series. It begins by exploring the friendship of two young heirs, Ceric, of Saxon descent and Hrald, of Danish descent.
25 min
1659
Mindy Fried, “Caring for Red: A Daughter’s Memo...
In her new book, Caring for Red: A Daughter’s Memoir (Vanderbilt University Press, 2016), Mindy Fried shares her experiences with providing care for her father at the end of his life. With rich stories and memories of her father,
49 min
1660
Michelle Kuo, “Reading with Patrick: A Teacher,...
It takes courage to walk into a classroom when students don’t look like you. It takes courage to return every day to teach a class when students devalue education. Media has portrayed the scenario in films like Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds with ...
27 min
1661
Dinty W. Moore, “The Story Cure: A Book Doctor’...
If you’ve ever wondered how your favorite writers go about crafting their written works, or if you’ve ever been interested in writing a book yourself, chances are you’ve wandered into a bookstore or a library,
1 min
1662
Stephen Baxter, “The Massacre of Mankind,” (Cro...
In this episode, Rob Wolf speaks with Stephen Baxter, author of The Massacre of Mankind (Crown, 2017), the alliteratively titled sequel to H. G. Wells‘ alliteratively titled classic, The War of the Worlds. Baxter is the author of over 20 novels and doz...
44 min
1663
Barbary Ridley, “When It’s Over” (She Writes Pr...
For some reason, books occasionally arrive in pairs—meaning that out of nowhere a topic that has received little attention convinces two or more writers that it is novel-worthy, and those authors produce their finished products at more or less the same...
65 min
1664
Judithe Little, “Wickwythe Hall” (Black Opal Bo...
For some reason, books occasionally arrive in pairs—meaning that out of nowhere a topic that has received little attention convinces two or more writers that it is novel-worthy, and those authors produce their finished products at more or less the same...
65 min
1665
Julie E. Czerneda, Ed., “Nebula Awards Showcase...
Since their establishment, the Nebula Awards have proven a trusty guide to what the next generation will consider a classic. Take for example, the inaugural award for Best Novel, which went to Frank Herbert for Dune in 1965.
28 min
1666
Claude Lalumiere, “Venera Dreams: A Weird Enter...
Pungently sensual, Claude Lalumiere‘s Venera Dreams: A Weird Entertainment (Guernica Editions, 2017), is a carnal carnival ride, circling around the central conceit. There’s a city-state by the name of Venera,
27 min
1667
Charlene Ball, “Dark Lady: A Novel of Emilia Ba...
Emilia Bassano loves many things: music, poetry, Latin, herbs. Born to a family of Italian musicians living in sixteenth-century London, Emilia benefits from early fostering in the household of a countess, where she acquires a love of books along with ...
48 min
1668
PJ Manney, “(ID)entity,” (47North, 2017)
Artificial intelligence has long been a favorite feature of science fiction. Every robot or talking computer or starship operating system has contributed to our idealized image of the bits-and-bytes brain. In (ID)entity (47North, 2017),
39 min
1669
Deborah Parker and Mark L. Parker, “Sucking Up:...
Ever since Donald Trump was elected President, he’s created a non-stop torrent of news, so much so that members of the media regularly claim that he’s effectively trashed the traditional news cycle. Whether that’s true or not,
40 min
1670
Megan Haskell, “Sanyare: The Rebel Apprentice, ...
Rie is a more than a hundred years old, and sometimes she feels like it, even if she looks like any other human girl. After uncovering a plot to create war between the nine realms, she and her friends are hunted, and her mentor,
39 min
1671
Malka Older, “Null States,” (Tor, 2017)
Malka Older‘s Centenal Cycle is set in the latter half of the 21st century and yet, like all good science fiction, it speaks to the current moment. Null States (Tor, 2017), the second book in her series, builds on the first, Infomacracy,
37 min
1672
Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, “The Painted Qu...
Even a novelist with thirty-five books under her belt would find it difficult to finish someone else’s series, set in a relatively unfamiliar part of the world and a century earlier than the fictional world one has created for oneself.
48 min
1673
Ben H. Winters, “Underground Airlines” (Mulholl...
Underground Airlines (Mulholland Books, 2016) is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own than we’d like to believe. In an alternative world,
46 min
1674
Beverly Jenkins, “Chasing Down a Dream: A Bless...
The Blessings Series continue with a heartwarming novel, Chasing Down a Dream (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017), about what makes a family when trials test relationships. And in Henry Adams, Kansas, there’s never a dull day. After a horrendous storm,
22 min
1675
Mykola Soroka, “Faces of Displacement: The Writ...
Mykola Soroka’s Faces of Displacement: The Writings of Volodymyr Vynnychenko (McGill-Queens University Press, 2012) is a compelling investigation of the oeuvre of one of the Ukrainian writers whose dramatic literary career offers insights not only into...
48 min