Celebrating books as cultural messengers and agents of change as they open our hearts and minds to new worlds. Listen to short commentary and readings (from fiction, non-fiction, YA, middle grade, and poetry). New episodes released twice a month (every other Thursday).
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:The End of the World is a Cul de Sac: Stories by Louise KennedySabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-AnstineGhostroots: Stories by Pemi Aguda
In this episode a few pages of the following books will be read:Alligator & other stories by Dima Alzayat (pub. 2020)Canoes by Maylis de Kerangal, translated from the French by Jessica Moore (pub. 2021; English translation pub. 2024)The Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector and Selected Stories by Nikolay Gogol, translated by Ronald Wilks (translations pub: 1972; revised for Penguin Classics 2005)
In the episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:The Magical Language of Others: A Memoir by E.J. KohTwo Trees Make a Forest: In Search of My Family's Past Among Taiwan's Mountains and Coasts by Jessica J. LeeThe Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, translated from the French by Jessica MooreWhat Strange Paradise by Omar El AkkadThousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata, translated from the Japanese by Edward G. SeidenstickerMy Friends by Hisham Matar
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea, A Memoir by Hannah StoweRiverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water by Kathleen Dean MooreWaterlog: A Swimmer's Journey through Britian by Roger Deakin
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken LiuTales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanislaw LemA Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman: Complete Short Stories by Margaret DrabbleLadies' Lunch and other stories by Lore Segal
In this episode, a few pages from the following books will be read:How To Pronounce Knife: Stories by Souvankham ThammavongsaWhere The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, translated from the Japanese by Polly BartonThe Love Object: Selected Stories by Edna O'Brien
In this episode, a few pages from the following books will be read:Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted GoossenAetherial Worlds: Stories by Tatyana Tolstaya, translated by Anya MigdalWhite Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:Elsewhere, Home, by Leila AboulelaThe Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories, by Yukiko Motoya, translated by Asa YonedaThe Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories, by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell
In this episode. a few pages of the following memoirs will be read:The Invention of Solitude by Paul AusterCountry Girl by Edna O'BrienBoyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life by J.M. Coetzee
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris DralyukWhen I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Sola, translated by Mara Faye LethemSparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings: A Year of Keeping Bees by Helen JukesEarth's Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World by Kathleen Dean MooreOf Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez
In today's episode, three poems will be read from:Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, edited by Joy HarjoThis Is The Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets, edited by Kwame AlexanderThe Ecco Anthology of International Poetry, edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Susan Harris
In this episode, the first few pages of three YA books will be read:Wild Dreamers by Margarita EngleAccountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka SlaterDown And Across by Arvin Ahmadi
In this episode, the first pages of three novels will be read.The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa SeeGo, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Susan BernofskyOptic Nerve by Maria Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead
The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, A Memoir by Shugri Said SalhThe Pianist From Syria: A Memoir by Aeham Ahmad, as told to Sandra Hetzl and Ariel Hauptmeier, translated by Emanuel BergmannA Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire by Emma Southon
In this episode the first pages of three poetry books will be read:True Life by Adam Zagajewski, translated by Clare CavanaghThings You May Find Hidden in my Ear by Mosab Abu TohaTaking the Arrow out of the Heart by Alice Walker
In this episode, the first pages of three Middle Grade STEM books will be read:Clues to the Universe by Christina LiA Field Guide to Getting Lost by Joy McCulloughGirls Who Code: The Friendship Code by Stacia Deutsch
In this episode, the first pages of three non-fiction books will be read:Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki BrinaThe Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay with Nadene Ghouri Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh
In this episode, the first page of three memoirs will be read:The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria by Alia MalekNot I: Memoirs of a German Childhood by Joachim Fest, translated by Martin ChalmersFunny In Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas
In this episode, the first page of three short story books will be read:Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowellFrying Plantain by Zalika Reid-BentaThe City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated by Lucia Graves and Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The first page of three books of short stories will be read:Between My Father and the King, New and Uncollected Stories by Janet FrameThe Consequences by Manuel MunozThe Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:At Dusk by Hwang Sok-Yong, translated by Sora Kim-RussellA Place for Us by Fatima Farheen MirzaMy Heart by Semezdin Mehmedinovic, translated by Celia Hawkesworth
In this episode, the first page of three middle grade books will be read: Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay ZhaoMaybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee
In this episode, the first page of three books of poetry will be read:When The Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through edited by Joy Harjo with Leanne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster, and Contributing EditorsNepantla: An Anthology, Queer Poets of Color edited by Christopher Soto100 Poems to Break Your Heart edited by Edward Hirsch
In this episode, the first page of three young adult novels will be read:Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen ZhaoAs Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa KatouhEchoes of Grace by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:When The Apricots Bloom by Gina WilkinsonThe Museum of Modern Love by Heather RoseOutline by Rachel Cusk
In this episode, the first page of three non-fiction books will be read:Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth by John SzwedBeautiful Country by Qian Julie WangBury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge
In this episode, the first page of three books will be read:Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time by Natalie HodgesNinth Street Women, Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary GabrielPOPS: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout
In this episode, the first page of three books of essays will be read:A Map Is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah DemaryIn Sensorium: Notes for my People by TanaisThe Book of Delights by Ross Gay
In this episode, the first page of three books of fiction will be read:Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri HerreraThe Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko OgawaSkinship by Yoon Choi
In this episode, the first page of three YA novels will be read:Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib KhorramThe Epic Story of Every Living Thing by Deb CalettiPaola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia
In this episode, the first page of three poetry books will be read:All the Flowers Kneeling by Paul TranOn Entering the Sea by Nizar QabbaniHoneybee by Naomi Shihab Nye
In this episode, the first page of three middle grade books will be read: Thirst by Varsha BajajThe Bone Sparrow by Zana FraillonKiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
In this episode, the first page of three non-fiction books will be read: The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise BauerIstanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany HughesCleopatra: The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity by Alberto Angela
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon SilkoThe Gangster We Are All Looking For by Le Thi Diem ThuyThe Other Americans by Laila Lalami
In this episode, the first page of three books of poetry will be read: The Undressing by Li-Young LeeEnchanted Air, Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita EngleThe Darkness Around Us Is Deep by William Stafford
In this episode, the first page of three YA books will be read:1. Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian2. The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga3. Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:Three Daughters of Eve by Elif ShafakThe Friend by Sigrid NunezThe Besieged City by Clarice Lispector
In this episode, the first page of three books of essays will be read: Mothers, Fathers, and Others, Essays by Siri HustvedtFeel Free by Zadie SmithThe Good Immigrant, 26 Writers Reflect on America edited by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman
In this episode, the first page of three middle grade books will be read:The Last Fallen Star by Graci KimBarakah Beats by Maleeha SiddiquiCeCe Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
In this episode, the first page of three books of poetry will be read:fuel by naomi shihab nyeBe With by Forrest GanderRiding The Earthboy 40 by James Welch
In this episode, the first page of three YA books will be read: We Are Witnesses by Jacob BoasA Different Mirror For Young People: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald TakakiThe Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport
In this episode, the first page of three books will be read:Everything Inside by Edwidge DanticatCrooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo FordPalace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
In this episode, I will read the first page of three non-fiction books:Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foerworld wild vet by Dr. Evan AntinNature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
In this episode, the first page of three books of poetry will be read:The Wild Iris by Louise GluckThe Poems of Octavio Paz by Octavio PazSecrets from the Center of the World by Joy Harjo and Stephen Strom
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:Stories From Suffragette City edited by M.J. Rose and Fiona DavisCeremony by Leslie Marmon SilkoHades, Argentina by Daniel Loedel
In this episode, the first page of three young adult books will be read: Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed,the Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan, andDominicana by Angie Cruz
In this episode, the first page of three non-fiction books will be read:Eat The Buddha by Barbara DemickThe Smallest Lights in the Universe by Sara SeagerWind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
In this episode, the first page of three novels will be read:The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen,A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama, andThe Indian Lawyer by James Welch
In this episode, the first page of three books of poetry will be read:WHEREAS by Layli Long Soldier,drawing the line by Lawson Fusao Inada, andTalking Dirty to the Gods by Yusef Komunyakaa
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