Books & Literature

Maureen Corrigan reviews 4 mystery and suspense novels

Novelist and nonfiction writer Thomas Mallon has been keeping diaries for most of his life. They've just been acquired by the Library of Congress. A collection of his diary entries for the years 1983 to '94 has just been published under the title "The Very Heart Of It." Book critic Maureen Corrigan says if you're curious about why Thomas Mallon's diaries are a national treasure, just read this book.

In her new memoir, Jong-Fast writes that her mother, Erica Jong — who penned the 1973 feminist novel Fear of Flying — had become addicted to fame and couldn't bear losing it.

author and poet Ocean Vuong on his new novel, "The Emperor Of Gladness." Set in a fading Connecticut town, the book follows a suicidal young man whose life takes an unexpected turn when he becomes the caretaker of an elderly woman with dementia. Loosely inspired by Vuong's own experiences growing up in a working-class immigrant family in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the novel explores themes of chosen family, survival and the quiet resilience of everyday life.

Todd Purdum. He's the author of the new book, "Desi Arnez: The Man Who Invented Television."

In 1971, the year after The Beatles broke up, Lennon and Ono moved from London to New York, where they lived in a small Greenwich Village apartment for 18 months. A new film documents that period.

Patterson's books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide. He says he often gets ideas for them late at night. His latest, The #1 Dad Book, offers advice for fathers.

Journalist Amy Larocca says our society's obsession with optimization and self care has reached a fever pitch. She unpacks what it really means to take care of ourselves in How to Be Well.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Daniel Kehlmann's new novel The Director.

David Grann discusses his book about an 18th-century British warship that wrecked along the coast of Patagonia. Martin Scorsese is slated to direct the film adaptation. Originally broadcast in 2023.

Carolina Miranda reviews The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Reid's book, Medgar and Myrlie, tells the stories of the civil rights leader from Mississippi and his wife, who became an activist after Medgar's 1963 assassination. Originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2024.

In 'The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West', Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and pose as citizens.

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates, who has just released a new book titled, "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward." In it, she reflects on the pivotal moments that have shaped her life - becoming a mother, mourning the loss of her best friend, and learning the complex truths of philanthropy, and navigating a public divorce after 27 years of marriage.

"The Great Gatsby" was published on April 10, 1925, which makes this Thursday its 100th anniversary. Our book critic, Maureen Corrigan, is one of the many people who think it's the great American novel. She has an appreciation.

my guest is Amanda Knox. After serving four years in an Italian prison, Knox wants to reclaim her narrative. In her first book, "Waiting To Be Heard," she focused on the details of her wrongful conviction for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox's new memoir, "Free: My Search For Meaning," goes beyond the events of her trial and imprisonment and explores the realities of reintegrating into society.

In Bad Law, Elie Mystal argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over.

Our book critic, Maureen Corrigan, says she expects Russell's new novel, "The Antidote," will be on a lot of prize lists this year.

Hanif Kureishi's new memoir is titled "Shattered"

When slavery ended in 1865, newly-freed Black Americans began to search for their lost family members, taking out ads, seeking information about children, spouses, siblings and parents. In her new book "Last Seen," historian Judith Giesberg tells some of the stories of people who placed those ads.