The Book Case

The Book Case

Are you stuck in a reading rut? The Book Case makes the case for books outside of your usual genre. Wander the aisles of your local bookstore with Kate and Charlie Gibson and meet fascinating characters who will open your appetite to new categories while deepening your hunger for books. This weekly series will journey cover to cover through the literary world, featuring interviews with best-selling authors, tastemakers, and independent bookstore owners. New episodes post every Thursday. Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.

Episodes

August 20, 2026 30 mins
Jennifer McMahon has been called the Shirley Jackson of her generation.  Her newest, Stay Unburied is a fascinating look at what can happen to a small town when beset with an almost inhuman pandemic, and how they turn on each other as the diseases claims victim after victim (sound familiar?). Come join us for a great conversation with Jennifer in which we talk abut her ides, her process, and how there is a touch of the scary ...
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This is an interesting show, because the person who really championed the read this week was Arlene Gibson, the matriarch of the Gibson Family. A lifelong school teacher and administrator for girls’ schools, she fell in love with Paradise Pawn by Meg Richardson. And when Arlene tells us to do something, we do it. Paradise Pawn in the story from the perspective of a young 14 year old girl named Jackie who works in a Pawn Shop ...
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Chris Bohjalian is prolific to say the least. With about 25 novels under his belt, he hits the bestseller list often with his unforgettable characters and twisty plots. But his newest, The Amateur, is his most personal novel to date. The narrator, Mira, was a caddy, just as Chris was for most of his high school career. And she is a writer, just like Chris, her sense of humor and feelings about writing are pure Chris. It’s a p...
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Should the Waters Take Us a is a novel of great beauty…centered around the swamp letters in the south of Louisianna. Whereas so many novels focus on story and character-this one focusses on place and how this place has shaped the lives of the characters that live there. As climate change shifts the land beneath our feet and oil companies have raided the Acadian swamps for their natural resources, the Cajun background is ever...
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July 23, 2026 35 mins
Pamela Colloff is an accomplished investigative journalist and has written "Catch the Devil" about a frighteningly prolific jailhouse snitch.  Paul Skalnik testified in dozens of cases that inmates in Florida prisons had confessed their guilt to him.  Often prosecutors won convictions based largely on Skalnik’s testimony including four cases where he was instrumental on putting men on Florida’s death row. &nbs...
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Jenny Jackson’s newest, The Shampoo Effect, tells the story of an insular gang of year-round beach residents who have known each other all their lives. Until one member of their clique begins to date outside of the group-they are generally an exclusive “they go out on and off” type of friends. So how will they handle a new girlfriend they don’t know or with whom they have so little in common? The book is nua...
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Paul Tremblay has written a science fiction book that will prompt all sorts of important questions about AI, the role of consciousness in humanity, and how writers might have to work around AI in order to keep their work original and sustainable and it’s called DEAD BUT DREAMING OF ELECTRIC SHEEP. We love a book that poses important questions like these while still being a good page turner, and this is one of those. This is...
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Kevin Powers’ Children of the Wild is a book about Roy and Ennis, two friends on a farm who sign up for WWI, one excited for battle, one a feral child baffled by war. What does war do to friendship? To the minds of men? We talk to Kevin, a veteran of the war in Iraq, about his ability to write war so well and the effects of PTSD on his characters. We also talk to Bartleby Books in Vermont…join us! Find books mention...
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June 25, 2026 38 mins
2026 is half over. And Kate turned 50 on June 16th. So in honor of all of this half life, we decided to talk about our favorite books so far of 2026. Tana French, Tayari Jones, Ann Patchett and Allegra Goodman all made the list, but there are so many books we have loved this year that we think we mention just about all of them. Then we quiz each other on rapid fire and get sort of gooey about it. Join us! Find books mentioned on...
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Carlos Barragan’s book The Yahoo Boys schooled us on the huge and terrifying world of online moneymaking scams. From the romance scams (pretending to be a man or woman you are not, wooing others into sending you money), to celeb scams (pretending to be a celebrity for money), all the way to adoption scams (send us money, we will get you a baby). As horrible as these schemes are, Barragan takes an in depth look at the scammer...
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Martha Raddatz is a war correspondent, one of the biggest household names in front line reporting. Her newest book, The Hero Next Door tells the story of the service men, women and the caregivers who bring honor to the uniform. From celebrations to heartbreak, these are the stories that have stayed with Martha throughout her decade of brave work, shadowing families and soldiers both on and off the battlefield. We are also talking t...
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June 4, 2026 44 mins
Ann Patchett has written a new novel, and if you are a listener to this show, you know we are both huge fans of her work. Her newest, Whistler, is beautiful book about grace, kindness, the relationships we can’t let go and what we learn of ourselves in a crisis. When we asked if we could come down to Parnassus in Nashville TN, she said yes. So, with great enthusiasm we hopped on planes and did The Book Case in front of a live...
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May 28, 2026 29 mins
Jesmyn Ward is arguably one of the most important writers of our generation.  She has won two National Book Awards before fifty (first woman to do that and first Black woman to do that). And in this, her new essay book, ON WITNESS AND RESPAIR, she writes essays on everything from Faulkner to Hurricane Katrina. This book is in part a look back at some of her most impactful essays, speeches, and book introductions-but this ...
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May 21, 2026 33 mins
It has been quite a few months since we checked in with J. Ryan Stradal, our writer in residence. He is in his editing stage, making sure that the latest draft he delivers is the best he can do. AND, he has a title-NEXT WEEK WHEN THINGS CALM DOWN (we love this title). We talk to him about where he is, why it takes so long to get a book out and how is feeling about this very personal novel. We also talk to The Nook in Lancaster PA a...
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Today The Book Case has another two for one. Laurie Frankel’s newest, ENORMOUS WINGS is funny, thought provoking and will have you questioning the vitality of choosing everything in your life from those first steps towards independence to dying with dignity. An incredible read you won’t want to put down. Caroline Bicks talks to us about her newest, MONSTERS IN THE ARCHIVES. In it, she explores the archives of Stephen Ki...
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Elizabeth Strout has departed from Olive Kittredge, Lucy Barton and Burgess Boys; she has even departed from Maine. Her newest, THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY, introduces us to Artie Dam, a teacher in Massachusetts who is just as full of depth, pain and laughter as any character Strout has ever written. Haunted by the divisiveness that has beset our nation, he searches for meaning in his family and his work, and is upended by a secret he ...
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April 30, 2026 31 mins
If you had a mother who was a strong influence in your life, we wanted to honor her with this week’s Book Case episode. Sometimes we want to find all the right words to tell mom how much she meant to us and we can’t find them. This week we share some great books that would make terrific gifts for Mother’s Day. From Mary Laura Philpott to Niall Wiliams to Whoopi Goldberg, there is something in this week’s Boo...
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Jason Reynolds is one of the best young adult writers of our generation. But don’t let the label fool you into thinking that young adult writing hasn’t provided some of the most important books in the American Literary Canon (Catcher in the Rye? To Kill a Mockingbird?). His latest, Soundtrack, explores the life of teenagers busking great music in New York subway stations. It is also about the fact that even though we ar...
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April 16, 2026 36 mins
The Book Case is largely about talking to authors, yes, but we believe that reading is critical for everyone. We believe it is most important for kids, that raising readers is one of the most important duties a parent can perform. But we read a study recently that said boys reading scores are lower than girls. And not just in the US, boys reading scores are lower internationally as well. Why? What is the key to teaching boys to rea...
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We are going full Ireland on this show.  First, we talk to the incredible Tana French about her newest, The Keeper.  Set in rural Ireland it combines great mystery writing with the classic American Western. Does that sound like it is a long shot? Not with Tana’s talent. We then go from a fascinating conversation with a great author to Hodges and Figgis, our first international bookseller, smack in the midd...
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