Featuring Erin Lynn Marsh, a poet from Bemidji, whose first book of poetry, "Disability Isn't Sexy" was recently published! Also featuring a great conversation with community member Ruthie Wilson, and a powerful interview with Laurie Halse Anderson on her new memoir "Shout," recounting her story as a sexual assault victim and how we can work together to foster a climate of consent.

E.R. Ramzipoor's The Ventriloquists; Sarah Pinsker's A Song for a New Day; Brad Meltzer children’s book series Ordinary People Change the World, his latest book in the series features Marie Curie; Petina Geppah on her new novel -- Out of Darkness, Shining Light. And a community member review: Carl Sewall on Don DeLillo’s latest novel, Zero K

Washington Post reporter and new Minnesota transplant, Christopher Ingram has written a book about his family's transition from the east coast to rural Minnesota. His new book is "If You Live Here You’d Be Home By Now." Tammy Bobrowsky reviews the book and we hear from Christopher as well.

Kate Winkler Dawson will tell us about the origins of forensic crime solving techniques, her new book is American Sherlock: Murder, forensics and the birth of American CSI.

A sharp, sometimes painful, sometimes funny exploration of aging and friendship.

In 1998, author Sharon G Flake wrote the novel The Skin I’m In. Aimed at young adults, it told the story of 13 year-old Maleeka Madison: tall, skinny, and dark-skinned--she struggles against the burden of low self-esteem that many black girls face when they're darker skinned. To make her life easier, Maleeka befriends the toughest girl in school, Charlese Jones, who only makes life harder for Maleeka until she finally learns to stand up for herself and love the skin she’s in.

Twenty-two years later, Sharon G. Flake has just written a sister novel to this modern classic. It’s called The Life I’m In -- Sharon’s answer to fans who have been wondering what happened to her character, bully Charlese “Char” Jones. Char is failing in school, her home life is tenuous--still in grief over her parents’ death, while her older sister struggles to care for them both. Char is sent to live with her grandparents, but on the bus ride there she is befriended by a young mother who leads Char into the terrifying world of sex trafficking. The Life I’m In is not an easy read--the physical and mental abuse that Char experiences may be traumatic for some readers, but it is an important novel--at its heart is a story of strong girls and survival. 

Janice Kaplan celebrates women geniuses of the past and present, and tells us ways to foster change for women geniuses of the future.

What We're Reading producer and Staff Librarian Tammy Bobrowsky talks with Michelle Zauner, writer and indie rock star known as Japanese Breakfast. Michelle’s new book is called Crying in H Mart. It’s a powerful and vivid memoir about growing up Korean American and Michelle’s often turbulent relationship with her mother before she lost her battle with cancer in 2014.

"Of Women and Salt" takes us from present day to Miami to a family detention center in Texas, to Mexico and then back to a 19th century cigar factory in Cuba. It's a haunting meditation on the choices that mothers make, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots. (~From the Publisher) Gabriela Garcia’s fiction and poetry have appeared in Best American Poetry, Tin House, and the Iowa Review, She received an MFA in fiction from Purdue and lives in the Bay Area. "Of Women and Salt" is her first novel.

Staff Librarian Tammy Bobrowsky talks with writer Sarah Pinsker. Her new novel is called "We Are Satellites." It's about one family and the technology that divides them.

Steven Rowley is the author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor. His new novel is a a warm and deeply funny story about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.

Anthony Doerr is the author of 6 books including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning novel All the Light We Cannot See. His new novel is a masterpiece; sweeping across centuries, time and space. At the heart of the story an ancient tale that somehow connects the lives of 5 unforgettable characters. It’s called Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest . She’s the award-winning author of three novels and her latest one is The Book of Form and Emptiness, which has been called bold, wise, poignant, playful, humane and heartbreaking. The story focuses on 13-year old Benny Oh whose father has just been killed in a accident. While his mother tries to deal with her grief, Benny is drawn to the local library where he meets a host of strange and wonderful characters and his very own book.

Amanda Jayatissa grew up in Sri Lanka, attended college in California, and lived in the UK before moving back to Sri Lanka. She works as a corporate trainer, owns a chain of cookie stores, and is a proud dog mum to her two spoiled huskies. And she’s written one heck of a dark and suspenseful thriller. It’s her debut novel -- it’s called My Sweet Girl.

We hear from Minnesota writer Marlon James, book 2 in his Dark Star Trilogy is now available, it’s called Moon Witch Spider King; Canadian writer Heather O’Neill talks about her victorian age inspired novel When We Lost Our Heads; we’ll hear about a charming new mystery series by Juneau Black; dive into a suspenseful social horror story in Bethany C. Morrow’s new book Cherish Farrah; MN Bookseller Gary Goodman talks about 40 years in the book business in his new book; children’s book writer and illustrator Peter Reynolds on his new book Our Table.