All About Books | Net Radio

A novel based on the life of one of the first female African American doctors in the country, “Libertie” by Kaitlyn Greenidge. It’s the story of a young girl born in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn attempting to find a place where she can fully be herself.

17-year old Lilly is a Chinese American girl growing up in San Francisco’s China Town. In the novel “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” 1950’s America during the Red Scare is not a safe place for a Chinese girl like Lily to fall in love with another girl. Hear a review of Malinda Lo’s new novel

Each of the 3 characters is in a different stage of life and each is struggling with loss. “A Town Called Solace” by Mary Lawson is a novel that patiently follows small-town lives.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, it’s the true story of a murder on a South Dakota Indian reservation, and the unforgettable native woman who becomes obsessed with solving it. “Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country” by Sierra Crane Murdoch

It’s a poetic novel of rural, small town life. “Zorrie” by Laird Hunt, is the life story of woman born in Depression-era Indiana and a powerful portrait of longing and community of the American Midwest

Last week we presented book suggestions for kids, this Thursday it’s gift ideas for adult readers. Special guest Leslie Huerta of "Francie & Finch" book store has recommendations for:history, fiction, detective, science and cook books.

The gift of books to children can have a lasting positive impact. This week's program welcomes Youth Services Coordinator for Lincoln Public Libraries, Vicky Wood, who returns with book recommendations for young people. Learn about great holiday gifts ideas for toddlers to middle schoolers.

In the summer of, 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he served fifteen months. With only a younger brother left, he plans for them to go to California and start over. Fate and friends from the work farm have other plans for Emmett. “The Lincoln Highway: a Novel” by Amor Towles

The novel tells the story of family connections across time and place- from 1929 rural India to modern Britain. How a place, or objects in a room, can hold stories of the past waiting to be discovered by a new generation. Hear a review of “China Room” by Sunjeev Sahota

Cokie Roberts was a fixture on NPR and television for 40 years. She was author of 5 bestselling books and inspiration for generations of young female journalists. On “All About Books.” Host Pat Leach talks with Steve Roberts, Cokie's husband of 53 years about his book remembering her friendships and daily acts of generosity. “Cokie: A Life Well Lived.”

Winston Churchill leading the British through the German blitz is well-known history, but a new book uses Churchill’s diaries to offer a fresh perspective of those dark days. Guest reviewer Carl Eskridge looks at, “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larsen.

Artist and writer Alison Bechdel has had a life-long obsession with every exercise craze of the last 50 years. In her new book, “The Secret to Super Human Strength” she examines physical self-improvement, ageing and transcendence.

The setting of this novel is as strange as any you’ll find- a labyrinth of countless statues where sea tides fill rooms and then retreat. This is the otherworldly home of a solitary man. A look at the New York Times best-selling fantasy novel “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke

If you can spare just a few minutes, you can learn something interesting about Nebraska history. That’s the idea behind a new release from the University of Nebraska Press. “Nebraska History Moments” a photo-filled book meant to be browsed. Author David Bristow is the guest on this week’s program.

It’s a story of crime in an unlikely place- the high fashion world of Nazi occupied Paris. UNL English Professor Timothy Schaffert is the guest on this week’s "All About Books" as he talks with host Pat Leach about his new novel, ‘The Perfume Thief”

In the novel “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett, twin sisters fleeing their small town life, head to New Orleans where one sister discovers she can pass as white. Here begins a fracture that will separate them in this story of sisterhood and black personal identity.

Most Nebraskans are familiar with Willa Cather’s novels, but a new book by UNL Professor of English Melissa Homestead reveals new information on how Cather wrote her stories. Her book is, “The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis”

With Labor Day past, there’s little time left for summer reading. This week’s program features guest reviewer Kiersten Hill who looks at 3 modern Romance novels which are both funny and innovative. The “Friend Zone” series by Abby Jimenez.

In rural Louisiana was a place locals called simply, Carville. It was the only Leprosy colony in the United States. There, for generations, afflicted people were isolated, often against their will. A review of, “Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice” by Pam Fessler”

Preparing food is the time-honored way to help young people learn about their family and culture. Guest reviewer Dylan Teut Executive Director of the Plum Creek Literacy Festival, shares a children’s title, “Tomatoes for Neela” by Padma Lakshmi from TV's “Top Chef”