The Book Case

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 bout with depression, it seemed as if he just woke up and decided to begin anew. Belle is left to search for answers as she questions her reality-did he ever love us? Did I make him unhappy? How can I move on with such a mysterious and traumatic narrative? Written with humor, care and love, this book really is a memoir of marriage and the mysteries often associated with a broken home. Trust us. Read it. Then tune into to our conversation with this amazing author and amazing woman. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Book banning is first and foremost among these. Next week on February 9th, The Librarians documentary starts streaming on PBS stations across the country as part of their beloved Independent Lens series. Join us as we talk to two brave and brilliant librarians fighting book bans with all their might. We also talk to Kim A. Snyder, the director of the film about why the stories presented in this documentary are so important. Book banning is wrong. And we are talking about it this week. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Library at Night by Alberto MaguelThe Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 keeping books can do to grow your love for the written word. Roger is a national treasure and this conversation was both moving and insightful. If you love books, you must join us. Roger's column: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/opinion/favorite-books-cleaning-out.html Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt Rules for Aging by Roger Rosenblatt The Man in the Water by Roger Rosenblatt The Boy Detective by Roger Rosenblatt Cold Moon by Roger Rosenblatt Unless it Moves the Heart by Roger Rosenblatt Anything Can Happen by Roger Rosenblatt Thomas Murphy By Roger Rosenblatt Life Itself: Abortion and the American Mind by Roger Rosenblatt Where We Stand by Roger Rosenblatt Lapham Rising by Roger Rosenblatt Beet by Roger Rosenblatt The Story I am by Roger Rosenblatt The Book of Love by Roger Rosenblatt Cataract Blues by Roger Rosenblatt A Steinway on the Beach by Roger Rosenblatt Children of War by Roger Rosenblatt Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Far Field by Theodore Roethke Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 ordinary. And Susan does it brilliantly in all of her writing, and especially in her new memoir, Joyride. It is a joy to read Joyride. And we speak to a new bookstore owner in Charleston, South Carolina, Summer Anderson, who is also a joy and who seems to take joy out of all she does. Join us for a great discussion on writing, the art of curiosity and joy. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Joyride by Susan OrleanThe Orchid Thief by Susan OrleanThe Library Book by Susan OrleanRin Tin Tin by Susan OrleanMy Kind of Place by Susan OrleanThe Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup by Susan OrleanSaturday Night by Susan OrleanAs I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, wondering where the magic is in your story. Janice Page has created magic out of her story through her prose and humor, and we talk to her about it. Our bookstore this week is Booksmart in San Jose. Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Year of the Water Horse by Janice Page Where Rivers Part by Kao Kalia Yang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 17th century, the other on the dawn of WWII, each story takes us into the depths of the Paris underground, exploring hidden tunnels, abandoned quarries and secret rivers. There is a second Paris that is hidden under the streets that tourists know and love. And this story explores the lost depths of the city while handing readers unforgettable characters with page turning action. McLain herself is an amazing woman who has taken her challenging life and turned it into a gift for the written word. She shares her experience and how it shaped her writing. Join us for an unforgettable conversation with a terrific writer. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Skylark by Paula McLain The Paris Wife by Paula McLain Love and Ruin by Paula McLain LIke Family: Growing up in Other People’s Houses by Paula McLain A Ticket to Ride by Paula McLain Circling the Sun by Paula McLain When the Stars go Dark by Paula McLain Martyr by Kaveh Akbar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 or a cup of tea and take a journey with Kate and Charlie through 2025. We know you will find one of your new favorites in there. We sure did. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Memorial Days by Geraldine BrooksHeart the Lover by Lily KingThe Interpreter by David K. ShiplerA Marriage at Sea by Sophie ElmbhurstThe Correspondent by Virginia EvansThe Guardian and the Thief by Megha Majumdar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Ayesha have a foundation - Eat.Learn.Play - and over the past few years they’ve given books every Christmas to every elementary school child in Oakland, California where Stephen started his pro career. They invited us to Oakland to see the program in action. Charlie went and had a chance to talk to the Currys about why they, like the two of us, think this issue is so critical. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Shot Ready by Stephen Curry The Boy Who Never Gave Up by Stephen Curry I Am Extraordinary by Stephen Curry I Have a Superpower by Stephen Curry Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Professor at Arizona State University (both of which have great Austen books on the market) to discuss the facts and fiction surround the great Jane Austen and her unique works. Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen 30 Great Myths about Jane Austen by Claudia L. Johnson Jane Austen: Women, Politics and the Novel by Claudia L. Johnson Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Imperialist India, and he exposes the good, bad and ugly, from both a British and native perspective. He knocked us out, and we bet his Wyndham and Banerjee series will knock out our listeners too. Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 6) A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham & Banerjee Book 1) A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 2) Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 3) Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 4) The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham and Banerjee Book 5) Hunted by Abir Mukherjee Burmese Days by George Orwell Shooting an Elephant (An Essay) by George Orwell The Distant Echo by Val McDermid Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie The Long Drop by Denise Mina Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Vine, a brand new bookstore in Fayetteville, North Carolina that brings military families together to share ideas and share community. Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 a novel that asks (and not didactically) what you would do, what morals would you compromise, to survive. What would you do to ensure your children survive? We talk to Megha and then discuss a new unique Chicagoland Independent Bookseller holiday tradition with a local organizer. Join us and Happy Thanksgiving. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar A Burning by Megha Majumdar Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens In Other Rooms, Other by Daniyal Mueenuddin This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri Sing to It: New Stories by Amy Hempel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 will. John Irving is one of the most masterful writers of our time. Sit down with us for our third conversation with him to find out what motivates his work and makes him tick. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Queen Esther by John Irving The Last Chairlift by John Irving Setting Free the Bears by John Irving The Water-Method Man by John Irving The 158-Pound Marriage by John Irving The World According to Garp by John Irving The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving The Cider House Rules by John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Trying to Save Piggy Sneed by John Irving A Son of the Circus by John Irving The Imaginary Girlfriend by John Irving A Widow for One Year by John Irving My Movie Business: A Memoir by John Irving The Fourth Hand by John Irving Until I Find You by John Irving Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving In One Person by John Irving Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 we all desperately hope for and deeply dread. Funny, touching and compulsively readable this is a novel about the beauty and pain of family, who have so much to lose when they have so much to love. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Wreck by Catherine Newman Sandwich by Catherine Newman We all Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers Heart the Lover by Lily King Moby Dick by Herman Melville Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 stories worth the price of admission?! Join us as we talk to Bob (what he asked we call him) about what makes him tick, how he sees writing for middle school audiences and why horror keeps him in stiches. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Last Sleepover by R.L. Stine The Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine Give me a K-I-L-L! by R.L. Stine Little Shop of Hamsters by R.L. Stine Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes by R.L. Stine Blind Date by R.L. Stine Bird Box by Josh Malerman The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We knew that reading levels were in fluctuation, but we had no idea there was a Middle School reading crisis. According to the NWEA (The Northwest Evaluation Association which measures academic and student standards) only 30% of 8th graders are reading at grade level or above. Why? How did we get here and how do we get back on track raising great readers who love literature? We are joined by Miah Daughtery, VP of Academic Advocacy at HMH, NWEA’s parent company, to talk about their policy recommendations. We also talk to Rick Riordan and Katherine Rundell, two of the bestselling MS writers in the world about how to write for Middle Schoolers and why they think this audience needs attention. Join us for this important discussion (which expands on our GMA piece that aired on October 10th). Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: The Court of the Dead by Rick Riordan and Mark OshiroPercy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanImpossible Creatures by Katherine RundellThe Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lily King’s newest, Heart the Lover, is a sparing, funny, painful and beautiful novel about the first loves we have, and how they never really let go. The humanity, joy and sadness of the novel will keep you turning pages and keep the characters with you long after you have closed the book. We talk to her about her inspirations, her struggles in writing this book and how she triumphed over difficulty in how to end the novel (no spoilers, promise). We also talk to Dixon Books in Natchez Mississippi, less than 24 hours from their grand opening, a first for us. Join us to talk all things books and bookstores... Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Heart the Lover by Lily King Writers & Lovers by Lily King Euphoria by Lily King Five Tuesdays in Winter: Stories by Lily King Father of the Rain by Lily King The Pleasing Hour by Lily King The English Teacher by Lily King Coconuts for the Saint by Debra Sparks Different Seasons by Stephen King Independent People by Halldor Laxness War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angela Flournoy’s newest, The Wilderness was on the long list of nominees for the National Book Award, and we believe if you read it, it’s easy to see why. The story of four friends growing apart and together, it’s a lyrical work of real beauty. Over a series of decades, these four friends tell you in their distinct voices about the important turning points in their lives, giving readers a rich glimpse into what makes them who their are. We talk to Angela about her wonderful novel and then we pivot to Writer’s Block, a bookstore with two locations in Florida. Join us. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy The Turner House by Angela Flournoy Brown Girls, Brownstones by Paule Marshall Beloved by Toni Morrison Workhorse by Caroline Palmer Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes we look back on a season of great podcasts (humble podcasts hosts that we are) and consider what we like best within a season. Today, we look at the summer that was. From the great epistolary novel, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans to non-stop laughs with Dave Barry to the magical world of Leigh Bardugo, there is something for everyone in this episode. Join us as we look back on a truly great summer of reading. Plus we hear from the owners of the recently opened Cranford Bookstore in Cranford, NJ. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Six of Crows Duology: Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Class Clown by Dave Barry Vianne by Joanne Harris The Correspondent by Virginia Evans Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst Queen Esther by John Irving-On Sale 11/4/25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Bardugo has written some masterful fantasy. And, the Six of Crows Duology (that means there is only two books in the series) is about to turn 10 years old. So we celebrate the anniversary of these two great reads with an in depth conversation with their author, Leigh Bardugo. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom tell the story of a small street gang as they pull of the biggest heist of their careers. Full of tension, atmosphere, humor and heart, these two books are some of the best the fantasy genre has to offer. Sit down with us and find out how and why Leigh shapes the genre while also being inspired by it. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Six of Crows Duology: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Shadow and Bone Trilogy: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo King of Scars Duology: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo Demon in the Woods by Leigh Bardugo Alex Stern Series: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo Dune by Frank Herbert Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien The Corrections by Johnathan Franzen And Then There were None by Agatha Christie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices