The Avid Reader on WCHE

Interview with Lionel Shriver author of "The New Republic"

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:33:42 GMT

A droll, playful novel, "The New Republic" addresses weighty issues like terrorism with the deft, tongue-in-cheek touch that is vintage Shriver. It also presses the more intimate question: What makes particular people so magnetic, while the rest of us inspire a shrug? What’s their secret? And in the end, who has the better life—the admired, or the admirer?

Interview with Joshua Foer author of "Moonwalking With Einstein"

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:29:15 GMT

Foer’s unlikely journey from chronically forgetful science journalist to U.S. Memory Champion frames a revelatory exploration of the vast, hidden impact of memory on every aspect of our lives.

Interview with Stewart O'Nan author of "The Odds" and "Emily, Alone"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:29:29 GMT

Unlike anyone else, O’Nan delivers a new book every year that speaks directly to the anxieties of our fearful times

Interview with Dana Spiotta author of "Stone Arabia"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:22:36 GMT

"Stone Arabia", Dana Spiotta’s moving and intrepid third novel, is about family, obsession, memory, and the urge to create — in isolation, at the margins of our winner-take-all culture.

Interview with Audrey Schulman author of "3 Weeks in December"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:13:11 GMT

"Remarkably fresh, complex and memorable... Max’s adventure would be enough to fill any book." - New York Times Sunday Book Review

Interview with Liz Moore author of "Heft"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:29:00 GMT

Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn’t left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career–if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel’s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur’s.

Interview with Adam Wilson author of "Flatscreen"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:19:40 GMT

"Flatscreen" tells the story of Eli Schwartz as he endures the loss of his home, the indifference of his parents, the success of his older brother, and the cruel and frequent dismissal of the opposite sex.

Interview with Margot Livesey author of "The Flight of Gemma Hardy"

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:42:33 GMT

A captivating tale, set in Scotland in the early 1960s, that is both an homage to and a modern variation on the enduring classic Jane Eyre.

Interview with Eleanor Brown author of "The Weird Sisters"

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:38:27 GMT

A major new talent tackles the complicated terrain of sisters. A winsome novel that explores sibling rivalry, the power of books, and the places we decide to call home.

Ben Marcus - The Flame Alphabet

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:02:01 GMT

Sam interviews Ben Marcus author of "The Flame Alphabet". Listen as Sam and Ben discuss Ben's new novel about how far we will go, and the sorrows we will endure, in order to protect our families.

Adam Johnson - The Orphan Master's Son

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:39:11 GMT

Join Sam and Adam as they discuss Adam's book "The Orphan Master's Son". An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Interview with Alex Gilvarry author of "From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant"

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:39:04 GMT

Listen to Sam's and Alex discuss Alex's new book "From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant: A Novel". Fashionistas and g-men clash in a masterful debut.

Ryan Boudinot author of Blueprints of the Afterlife

Samuel Hankin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:18:07 GMT

Sam talks with the "wickedly talented" (Boston Globe) and "darkly funny" (New York Times Book Review) Ryan Boudinot, on his new book Blueprints of the Afterlife.

Jill McDevitt - Fighting The Crusade Against Sex

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:18:09 GMT

Take an attractive young blonde, a sex shop, a political candidate, and add a Catholic Church for good measure, and you have the recipe for a riveting controversy that riddled a wealthy Philadelphia suburb and divided a community. Follow the quandaries of Jill McDevitt, a determined recent college graduate with a degree in sexuality and a love of pushing the envelope.

Alexis Smith author of Glaciers

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:59:24 GMT

Isabel is a single, twentysomething thrift-store shopper and collector of remnants, things cast off or left behind by others. Glaciers follows Isabel through a day in her life in which work with damaged books in the basement of a library, unrequited love for the former soldier who fixes her computer, and dreams of the perfect vintage dress move over a backdrop of deteriorating urban architecture and the imminent loss of the glaciers she knew as a young girl in Alaska. Glaciers unfolds internally, the action shaped by Isabel's sense of history, memory, and place, recalling the work of writers such as Jean Rhys, Marguerite Duras, and Virginia Woolf. For Isabel, the fleeting moments of one day can reveal an entire life. While she contemplates loss and the intricate fissures it creates in our lives, she accumulates the stories?the remnants?of those around her and she begins to tell her own story.

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:56:43 GMT

What a pleasure to encounter a first novel as self-assured and effortlessly told as Ayad Akhtar’s “American Dervish.” Mr. Akhtar, a first-generation Pakistani-American, has written an immensely entertaining coming-of-age story set during the early 1980s among the Pakistanis in the author’s hometown, Milwaukee.

Julia Scheeres, author of A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:37:45 GMT

Diana Abu Jaber, author of Birds Of Paradise

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:31:47 GMT

Anne Enright, author of The Forgotten Waltz

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:11:34 GMT

Mitchell Zuckoff, author of Lost In Shangri La

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:25:48 GMT

James Reeves, author of The Road To Somewhere

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:28:16 GMT

Lisa Genova, author of Left Neglected

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:23:52 GMT

Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:05:03 GMT

Michael Byers, author of Percival's Planet

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:38:50 GMT

Nina Burleigh, author of The Fatal Gift Of Beauty

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:35:12 GMT

Jerry Blavat, author of You Only Rock Once

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:34:04 GMT

Lev Grossman, author of The Magician King

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:38:16 GMT

Lev Grossman, author of The Magician King

Amor Towles, author of "Rules Of Civility"

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:41:05 GMT

Stefan Merrill Block author of The Storm At The Door

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:56:12 GMT

Lily King

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:15:31 GMT

Sam talks to Lily King, author of Father of the Rain, a New York Times editor's choice book.

Michael Sims

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:44:30 GMT

Michael Sims, whose new biography of E.B. White, The Story of Charlotte's Web, has been featured on NPR and in USA Today. Also, join us at Wellington Square Bookshop on Thursday, July 28th from 7:00-9:00PM for a signing by Michael Sims and a Charlotte's Web giveaway!

Kate Christensen

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:43:53 GMT

Sam talks to Kate Christensen, author of The Astral (2011) and The Great Man, which won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner award.

David J. Linden

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:54:57 GMT

On this edition of the Avid Reader, Sam talks with David J. Linden, professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He's the author of "The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning and Gambling Feel So Good."

Craig Johnson

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:37:38 GMT

Listen in to the Avid Reader interview with Craig Johnson, author of Hell is Empty and six other Walt Longmire mysteries (coming soon to A&E!).

Erik Larson

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:53:51 GMT

In 2003, Erik Larson published "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America" to an incredible response from critics and readers. His latest book, "In the Garden of Beasts," follows the first American ambassador to Nazi Germany.

Geraldine Brooks

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:00:11 GMT

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks joins Sam on this edition of the Avid Reader. Her newest novel, CALEB'S CROSSING, tells the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard University.

Jean Thompson

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:57:06 GMT

Sam talks to Jean Thompson, whose newest novel, The Year We Left Home, follows an Iowa family over three decades.

Alice Ozma

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:48:00 GMT

When Alice Ozma was in fourth grade, she and her father made a pact: he would read aloud to her every night for 100 nights. 100 nights quickly turned into 1000, and when they saw no reason to stop their tradition, the reading streak continued for nine years-- until Ozma left home for college. Alice talks to Sam about her journey through L. Frank Baum's Oz series, Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, and Dickens. Sickness, sleepovers and teenage rebellion threaten to break the streak, but Alice and her father are up for the challenge.

Adam Haslett

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:21:56 GMT

In his novel Union Atlantic Adam Haslett describes a global economic crisis similar to our own. He and Sam discuss writing and economics in novels on this edition of the Avid Reader.

Peter Mountford

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:22:57 GMT

Sam talks to Peter Mountford, author of A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism.

Arthur Phillips

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:13:22 GMT

Arthur Phillips, author of Prague and The Tragedy of Arthur, joins Sam on the Avid Reader Show.

Lionel Shriver

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:15:07 GMT

On this edition of the Avid Reader, Sam talks Lionel Shriver, whose newest novel So Much for That is now available in paperback. In 2005, Shriver was awarded the Orange Prize for her eighth novel, We Need to Talk About Kevin. She shares her thoughts on writing, social novels, and questionable book covers assigned to female authors.

Jonathan Evison

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:52:39 GMT

Jonathan Evison joins Sam to talk about West of Here, his epic novel of the Pacific Northwest.

David Halperin

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:06:36 GMT

David Halperin talks about his coming-of-age novel Journal of a UFO Investigator. It's a story of aliens, alienation and imagination set in the 1960s.

Bradford Morrow

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:29:56 GMT

Sam talks to Bradford Morrow, author of the Diviner's Tale and editor of Conjunctions literary magazine.

Justin Kramon

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:38:45 GMT

Justin Kramon talks to Sam about his debut novel Finny, a coming-of-age tale set at a Maryland boarding school and featuring a "Dickensian coterie" of secondary characters.

Téa Obreht

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:50:06 GMT

An interview with Téa Obreht, whose debut novel "The Tiger's Wife" has been receiving rave reviews. She's also the youngest member of the New Yorker's list of the 20 best writers under 40!

Open Mic Night: Zak Theis and Jeff Mastroberti

Samuel Hankin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:58:40 GMT

Two regulars from Wellington Square Bookshop's eclectic monthly open mic stop by: Jeff Mastroberti, local poet and Zak Theis, the host of Open Mic and a talented guitarist.

Karen Russell

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:03:03 GMT

Karen Russell talks to Sam about her first novel, Swamplandia!, a family tale set at a shabby tourist attraction in the Everglades.

Kim Edwards

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:22:27 GMT

The author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter joins Sam on this edition of the Avid Reader to talk about her new book, The Lake of Dreams.

Michael Sims

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:04:14 GMT

Sam Hankin is joined by Michael Sims, the author of "Adam's Naval," "Natural And Cultural History Of The Human Form," and "Apollo's Fire: A Day On Earth." He's the editor of "The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime," a new anthology of stories featuring fearless, witty women with a knack for exposing injustice.

Tracy Kidder

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:08:05 GMT

The Avid Reader talks to Tracy Kidder, prolific author of literary non-fiction, about his books Strength in What Remains and Mountains Beyond Mountains.

Charles Yu

Samuel Hankin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:55:15 GMT

Charles Yu, author of How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, talks to Sam about time travel and more.

Thrity Umrigar

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:17:46 GMT

Sam interviews Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of THE SPACE BETWEEN US and THE WEIGHT OF HEAVEN.

Chris Cleave

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:37:00 GMT

Sam talks with Chris Cleave, author of LITTLE BEE and INCENDIARY.

The Bicycle Diaries: A Chapter from the Audio Book

Samuel Hankin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:29:52 GMT

We listen to a chapter from David Byrne's travel memoir the Bicycle Diaries.

Susan Weidener, author of Again in a Heartbeat

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:08:19 GMT

Sam talks to Susan Weidener about memoirs, writing groups, and her book Again in a Heartbeat.

An Interview with Helen Simonson

Samuel Hankin — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:12:14 GMT

Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, talks to Sam about her novel. It's also our book club pick for January!

An Interview with Paul Harding

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:50:45 GMT

Paul Harding, 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner for Tinkers, chats with Sam about writing, belief, and the father-son relationship at the heart of his novel.

An Interview With Jen Bryant

Samuel Hankin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 01:53:43 GMT

Sam talks with Jen Bryant, Caldecott Award Honoree for River of Words and author of young adult novel The Fortune of Carmen Navarro.

Tatiana de Rosnay

Samuel Hankin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:35:45 GMT

The best-selling author and book club favorite talks to the Avid Reader about her novels Sarah's Key and A Secret Kept.