Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Jewish women - Fiction
Erica Jong discusses her book, “Inventing Memory: A Novel of Mothers and Daughters.” Jong tells the stories of four generations of Jewish women in America. Sarah, the matriarch, is born in Russia and comes to the United States and works as a...
Ben Sherwood discusses his novel, “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.” He begins by explaining that his book is about a boy who makes a promise to his brother on their deathbeds to take care of each other. He talks about how his main...
Conflict of generations - Fiction; Parent and adult child - Fiction; Brothers and sisters - Fiction; Fathers - Death - Fiction; Trials (Murder) - Fiction; Painters - Fiction; New England - Fiction
George Minot discusses his novel, “The Blue Bowl” He shares the plot of the book, which follows a young painter, Simon Curtis, who becomes the prime suspect in his father’s murder trial. In the novel, Minot portrays children scarred by their...
Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey discusses her novel, “Life Sentences.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a woman who is married to a man who becomes an invalid in an accident. She describes how the woman gets attacked by a man and...
African American boys - Fiction;
Boxers (Sports) - Fiction;
Phoenix (Ariz.) - Fiction
Murad Kalam discusses his book, “Night Journey.” He begins by explaining that his book is about two brothers who choose drastically opposite life paths: one goes to prison, and the other becomes a champion fighter. He discusses the epidemic...
Galicia (Poland and Ukraine) - Ethnic relations; Holocaust survivors - Galicia (Poland and Ukraine); War criminals - Germany; Jews - Persecutions - Galicia (Poland and Ukraine); Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Galicia (Poland and Ukraine)
Simon Wiesenthal discusses his book, “Max and Helen.” He begins by explaining the plot of the book, which chronicles the tale of Max and Helen who are Holocaust survivors who were separated during the war, and both end up in Concentration...
Lisa Zeidner discusses her book, “Layover.” She begins by explaining that the plot follows the character, Claire Newbold who is grieving over the death of her son. Life becomes even more difficult for Claire when her husband admits to having an...
Bronx (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction; Orphans - Fiction; Nannies - Fiction; Rich people - Fiction; Benefactors - Fiction; Jewish families - Fiction; Refugees, Jewish - Fiction; Children of authors - Fiction; Inheritance and succession - Fiction
Cynthia Ozick discusses her book, “Heir to the Glimmering World.” She explains that the story is set in the Bronx during the 1930s, where it follows a family of German refuges, the Mitwisser family, who are provided for by their benefactor...
San Francisco (Calif.) - Biography; San Diego (Calif.) - Biography; Inner cities - California - San Diego; African Americans - California - San Diego - Social conditions; African American families - California - San Diego; African Americans -...
Cupcake Brown discusses her book, “A Piece of Cake.” She begins by explaining that the book is a memoir of her life. Her story starts when she was eleven years old and her mother dies unexpectedly. She is then subjected to a series of abusive...
Russian teachers - Fiction; Mothers and sons - Fiction; Football players - Fiction; Interracial dating - Fiction; Parent and adult child - Fiction; African American families - Fiction; African American women college teachers - Fiction; Pushkin,...
Alice Randall discusses her book, “Pushkin and the Queen of Spades.” She begins by explaining the plot of the novel, which follows Winsor Armstrong who is a Harvard-educated professor of Russian literature whose son, Pushkin-who she named after...
Cuban Americans - Fiction; Cuban American women - Fiction; Women cleaning personnel - Fiction; Cuban American families - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Oscar Hijuelos discusses his book, “Empress of the Splendid Season.” He says that when he writes, he starts out with an emotion. For this book, he wanted to look at the emotionality of classes. He describes the character, Lydia, a young...
Dani Shapiro discusses her book, “Family History.” She begins by sharing the basic plot of the book that follows the narrator, Rachel Jenson who is a housewife and art restorer married to Ned, a former painter. The couple live in a small town...
Denmark - History - German occupation, 1940-1945 - Fiction; Denmark - History - German occupation, 1940-1945 - Juvenile fiction; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Denmark - Fiction; World War, 1939-1945 - Underground movements - Denmark - Fiction;...
Sonia Levitin discusses her book, “Room in the Heart.” She begins by explaining that the book deals with the historic events of the Nazi invasion of Denmark during World War II. To tell the story, Levitin alternates between the narratives of...
John Eliot discusses his book, “Overachievement.” He begins by discussing how he served as a consultant to Rice University’s Baseball team who won the National Championship in 2003. He explains that as the team’s consultant he helped the...
Motion picture actors and actresses - Fiction; Children of physicians - Fiction; British - California - Fiction; Fathers and daughters - Fiction; Physicians - Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Fiction; Los Angeles (Calif.) - Fiction
Geoff Nicholson discusses his book, “The Hollywood Dodo.” He begins by explaining the book’s plot, which follows the exploits of Henry Cadwallader, an English doctor, whose daughter Dorothy is an aspiring actress. Nicholson discusses the...
Theatrical agents - Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Fiction
Mary Sheldon discusses her book, “Pandora Brown.” She begins by describing the plot, which follows the character Pandora who is teased by the other kids at school except for Gary who becomes her love interest. As the novel unfolds Gary and...
Baby boom generation - Fiction; College graduates - Fiction; Class reunions - Fiction; Minnesota - Fiction
Tim O’Brien discusses his book, “July, July.” The book is about the class of 1969 returning for its 30th class reunion, but because the class secretary forgot to make a reservation in June, it becomes the 31st reunion. O’Brien shares...
Motion picture industry - Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Fiction
Bruce Wagner discusses his novel, “Still Holding.” He begins by explaining that he grew up in Hollywood, CA and writes stories that explore the culture and heritage of the area. He describes the psychology of celebrity stalkers, look-a-likes,...
Frances Khirallah Noble discusses her book, “The New Belly Dancer of the Galaxy.” She begins by explaining that the book is about a middle aged Arab-American optician, who becomes infatuated with one of his patients. She talks about an...
