All About Books

All About Books

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

Episodes

"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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“James” by Percival Everett

September 19, 2025 • 9 mins
Winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Literature, “James” by Percival Everett is a retelling of Twain’s Huckelberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. The river journey contains the same characters and adventures, but Jim’s intelligence and compassion show them in a radically new light.
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“The Unauthorized Biography of Lincoln, NE” by Matt Steinhausen

September 10, 2025 • 19 mins
No matter how long you’ve lived in your hometown, there's still more to learn. While some of the things you thought were local history, may in fact be myths. Fascinating history, lots of photos, and even some myth-busting are found in “The Unauthorized Biography of Lincoln, Nebraska” by Matt Steinhausen. The author joins host Pat Leach.
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“On the Hippie Trail" by Rick Steves

September 3, 2025 • 10 mins
The backpacker’s journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu was once known as the “Hippie Trail” A 23-year old Rick Steves made that trip and documented everything- the adventures, getting lost, and the people he met. His journal is the basis for his new book “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer”
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“Clutch” An Education at Work”.by Linda Pawlenty

August 27, 2025 • 20 mins
Having a job during school to help ends meet is pretty typical, but UNL PhD student Linda Pawlenty’s side job was on a different level of different. Pawlenty drove a concrete mixer truck while earning her PhD. Her experiences being a woman in construction, and a working-class laborer in academia, is the subject of her first book “Clutch” An Education at Work”
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"The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben

August 20, 2025 • 9 mins
Peter Wohlleben is a forester and author whose book, "The Hidden Life of Trees" was a best-seller. Now, that title has been given a graphical makeover with all 240 pages having color illustrations in this new adaptation that honors the spirit of the original book.
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