Conduct of life - Humor; Self- destructive behavior - Humor; Health - Humor
Adam Wasson and Jessica Stamen discuss their book, “The Self-Destruction Handbook.” They begin by explaining that there are plenty of books that help readers to avoid self-destructive behavior and that is why they decided to help those who want...
Kasha, Al - Health;
Agoraphobia - Patients - United States - Biography
Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn discuss their book, “Reaching the Morning After.” They begin by explaining that their book is an autobiographical account of their lives, and their success from writing the Academy Award winning song, “The...
Jews - United States - Biography; Lawyers - United States - Biography; Jews - United States - Politics and government; Jews - Politics and government - 1948-; Jews - Identity; Antisemitism - United States; United States - Ethnic relations
Alan Dershowitz discusses his book, “Chutzpah.” Dershowitz talks about Yale Law School and the difficulty finding employment at Wall Street law firms because of antisemitism. He also talks about Supreme Court justices, Elie Wiesel, Ronald...
Teenage boys - United States - Fiction; Hate crimes - United States - Fiction; African American teenagers - Fiction; Basketball stories; Violence - Fiction
Alan Sitomer discusses his book, “The Hoopster.” He begins by stressing the importance of getting teenagers to read. He shares that he is a high school teacher and he feels that the number one factor that keeps students from being at risk is if...
Runners (Sports) - Fiction; Marathon running - Fiction; Middle-aged men - Fiction; Overweight Men - Fiction; Doppelgängers - Fiction; Businessmen - Fiction; New Jersey - Fiction; New York City Marathon - Fiction
Alan Zweibel discusses his book, “The Other Shulman.” He begins with how the novel is incredibly autobiographical with a few minor changes. He talks about the importance of marathon running and its connection with overcoming fears and...
Alecia Beldegreen discusses her book, “The Bed.” She begins by discussing the history of the bed and how it began in Egypt. She explains that the bed has always reflected human believes and rituals. Beldegreen then describes the beds during...
World War, 1914-1918 - Turkey - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Plantation life - Fiction; Women - Turkey - Fiction; Silk industry - Fiction; Dwellings - Fiction; Turkey - Fiction
Alev Lytle Croutier discusses her book, “Seven Houses.” She begins by discussing the plot of the novel, which is set against the backdrop of twentieth century Turkey. The book tells the story of the Ipekci silk-making family that begins during...
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Veterans; Lawyers; Public housing; Vietnam
Alfredo Véa discusses his novel, “Gods Go Begging.” He begins by explaining the plot of the novel, which follows the character Jesse Pasadoble. Jesse is a Vietnam veteran who now works in San Francisco as a defense attorney. Jesse is haunted...
New York (N.Y.) - Fiction; Poets - Fiction; Young men - Fiction; Gay men - Fiction
Allison Burnett discusses his book, “House Beautiful.” He begins by detailing the plot of the novel which tells the story of a summer in New York city in which B.K. Troop, a bipolar, alcoholic, homosexual turns his Manhattan brownstone into a...
Oz, Amos - Childhood and youth; Authors, Israeli - Biography; Israel - Fiction
Amos Oz discusses his book, “Panther in the Basement.” Oz describes the protagonist, twelve-year-old, Proffy, during the British occupation of Palestine. He talks about treason and Proffy’s relationship with his father. Oz goes on to...
Iranian Americans - Fiction; Home ownership - Fiction; Immigrants - Fiction; San Mateo County (Calif.) - Fiction
Andre Dubus III discusses his book, “House of Sand and Fog.” Martinson begins by saying that the story could be an American tragedy of the 1990s. Dubus and Martinson go on to discuss the storyline of the book and how Dubus learned the Persian...
Florida - Fiction; Saudi Arabians - United States - Fiction; Sex-oriented businesses - Fiction; Life change events - Fiction; Older women - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Stripteasers - Fiction
Andre Dubus discusses his book, “The Garden of Last Days.” He begins by discussing the central character of the book, April. April is a single mother who works in a strip club to support her and her daughter. The plot thickens when April...
Ann Louise Bardach discusses her book, “Cuba Confidential.” She begins by explaining that the book is both a history of Cuba and the story of Elian Gonzalez and why she felt the need to tell both stories. Bardach details Elain Gonzalez’ story...
Anna Murdoch discusses her book, “Family Business.” She talks about the characters in the book, members of a newspaper family, and says that her own children hear about the newspaper business. Murdoch says publishers make conscious decisions...
New York (N.Y.) - Intellectual life - 20th century; New York (N.Y.) - Social life and customs - 20th century; Biographers - United States - Biography; Novelists, American - 20th century - Biography; Novelists, American - Homes and haunts - New York...
Anne Bernays and Justin Kaplan discuss their book, “Back Then.” They begin by explaining that they collaborated on the book, which is a double memoir recounting their parallel lives in 1950s New York City. They share how they both grew up in...
Journalists - United States - Diaries; Iraq War, 2003 - Press coverage; Garrels, Anne, 1951 - Diaries
Anne Garrels discusses her book, “Naked in Baghdad” She begins by explaining how the book deals with her time as an NPR news correspondent in Iraq spanning before, during, and after the war. She shares some of her experiences involving...
Anne Rice discusses her novel, “The Vampire Lestat.” Rice begins by discussing the plot of the novel, which chronicles the life of the vampire Lestat; a character that was first introduced in Rice’s book “Interview with the Vampire.” She...
Kaufman, Louis, 1905-1994; Violinists - United States - Biography
Annette Kaufman discusses her book, “A Fiddler’s Tale: How Hollywood and Vivaldi discovered Me,” co-authored with her husband, Louis Kaufman. She shares that Louis started playing the fiddle after hearing Gypsy fiddlers in Romania at his...
Anthony Bourdain discusses his book, “A Cook’s Tour.” He begins by sharing that the book was an opportunity for him to fulfill his greatest desires and fantasies by eating his way around the world. He also briefly discusses his previous book...
Anthony Gallea discusses his book, “Contrarian Investing.” He says that contrarianism is looking at information a different way. After reviewing research studies, Gallea discovered that when a stock drops 50% or more from its year high, it...
