All About Books

All About Books

A weekly book review and discussion program hosted by Pat Leach. Updated on Thursdays.

Episodes

“The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans

February 18, 2026 • 8 mins
Many people find solace and understanding in reading literature, a few would also include writing and receiving letters. In the novel “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, we meet a woman who uses letters to make sense of the world and her place in it.
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An interview with the director of the PBS program The Librarians

February 11, 2026 • 17 mins
A PBS documentary called the “Librarians” follows the story of librarians on the front lines of the national battle over restricting access to books that have race-related and LGBTQIA+ content. “All About Books” host Pat Leach talked with the film’s director Kim Snyder and Martha Hickson a librarian featured in the show.
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“Flashlight: a Novel” by Susan Choi

February 4, 2026 • 8 mins
The mysterious circumstances around the disappearance of a young girl’s father begins Susan Choi’s novel, “Flashlight.” A story that spans decades and continents dealing with family, loss, and memory.
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"Next of Kin" by Gabrielle Hamilton

January 28, 2026 • 8 mins
Award-winning chef and author Gabrielle Hamilton came from a family of unsentimental non-conformists. They had charisma, but there was brutality and deep rifts too. In her new memoir “Next of Kin”, Hamilton comes to terms with her family with intense honesty and raucous humor.
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"Memorial Day” by Geraldine Brooks

January 21, 2026 • 9 mins
The writer Geraldine Brooks received the phone call from the ER doctor that her husband, journalist and author Tony Horwitz, had died walking down a sidewalk in Washington D.C. In the scramble to deal with the immediate demands of her husband’s death, Brooks had no chance to truly grieve. Her book "Memorial Day” is a memoir of sudden loss and the journey towards peace.
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"Memorial Day" by Geraldine Brooks

January 16, 2026 • 9 mins
The writer Geraldine Brooks received a phone call from an ER doctor that her husband, journalist and author Tony Horwitz, had died walking down a sidewalk in Washington D.C. In the scramble to deal with the immediate demands of her husband’s death, Brooks had no chance to truly grieve. Her book "Memorial Day” is a memoir of sudden loss and the journey towards peace.
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“Hard by a Great Forest” by Leo Vardiashvili

January 14, 2026 • 8 mins
In the novel “Hard by a Great Forest” by Leo Vardiashvili, two brothers and their father struggle with the past and people they left behind after fleeing the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Hear a review of this story about the collective trauma of war and the unbreakable spirit of the people who survive and remember those who did not.
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“Precipice” by Robert Harris

January 7, 2026 • 7 mins
It’s 1914 in England and all of Europe is on the brink of disaster. This is the setting for “Precipice”, a novel by Robert Harris. In it, an intelligence officer traces leaked documents back to the Prime Minister and his posh 26-year-old mistress. An affair that could topple the British Government.
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An interview with author Dan Chaon on his new novel "One of Us"

December 17, 2025 • 15 mins
Originally from Sydney Nebraska, author Dan Chaon is the guest this week. His latest novel “One of Us”, is a playfully dark thriller about orphaned twins on the run from their murderous uncle who find refuge in a bizarre traveling carnival.
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A holiday gift guide for very young readers.

December 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Last week’s program featured gift ideas for adult readers, this week we’ll look at books for young people. Ali Bousquet, Youth Services and Outreach Coordinator for Lincoln City Libraries has suggestions for books perfect for early readers and their families.
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The annual gift guide for book lovers.

December 3, 2025 • 13 mins
This week it's the annual holiday gift giving guide for book lovers. Local bookseller Leslie Huerta returns with suggestions for every interest. She’ll introduce new fiction, biography, mysteries, and books about Nebraska. Listen before you shop!
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“Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave” by Mariana Enriquez

November 19, 2025 • 16 mins
Recently retired UNL English Professor Steve Buhler returns to All About Books with a guest review of “Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys” by Mariana Enriquez. A book of essays looking at noteworthy cemetery’s history, architecture, saints and ghosts.
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“What Art Does: an Unfinished Theory" by Brian Eno

November 12, 2025 • 9 mins
Making Art seems to be a universal human activity. Why is that, and what does Art actually do? This is explored by composer and music producer Brian Eno in his book “What Art Does: an Unfinished Theory”. It’s a playful and richly illustrated look at Art in our lives.
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“Goethe’s Oak: a Holocaust Memorial” by John Price

November 5, 2025 • 17 mins
The book began with a trip to Buchenwald Memorial near Weimar, Germany. UNO English Professor John Price was inspired by a memorial at a massive oak stump- all that was left of a famous oak tree mentioned in German literature and music. “Goethe’s Oak: a Holocaust Memorial” imagines the history this famous tree experienced over the centuries of its long life. Hear an interview with author John Price
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"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelly

October 29, 2025 • 15 mins
On Halloween week, All About Books welcomes UNL Professor of English Dr. Michael Page who will introduce a Gothic thriller and the era that created them. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
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“Whiskey Tender" by Deborah Jackson Taffa

October 23, 2025 • 8 mins
In her memoir, Deborah Jackson Taffa traces how, as a mixed-tribe native girl growing up in the 70’s and 80’s she came to her own understanding of identity. Hear a review of “Whiskey Tender: A Memoir of Family and Survival on and off the Reservation.”
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“Wilder Weather" by Dr. Barbara Boustead.

October 15, 2025 • 17 mins
The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder painted a vivid sense of place with the weather on the Great Plains playing an important role. Dr. Barbara Boustead is a meteorologist and Wilder scholar who researched the accuracy of these stories’ descriptions of blizzards, tornadoes and floods. Hear an interview with Dr. Boustead about her book “Wilder Weather”
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“Challenger" by Adam Higginbotham.

October 8, 2025 • 9 mins
On January 28, 1986, a little over a minute into flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. The full story of what happened before and after that day is revealed in the new book, “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space” by Adam Higginbotham.
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“I’ll Be Right Here". by Amy Bloom

October 1, 2025 • 9 mins
Beginning with flight from post-World War II North Africa and Paris, right up to our own time; a multi-generational found-family struggles, lives and loves. Best-selling author Amy Bloom’s new novel is, “I’ll Be Right Here".
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“Good Soil:The Education of an Accidental Farmhand” by Jeff Chu

September 24, 2025 • 17 mins
In mid-life, Jeff Chu left his job as a magazine writer for grad school at Princeton Theological Seminary. The school had a 21-acre farm, the “Farminary”, where Chu worked. Pat Leach talked to Jeff Chu about his experiences and his book “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand”
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