The Weekly Reader

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new novels that explore the delicate dance of girls in group settings and the dangers of getting what you think you want: Clare Beams The Illness Lesson and Kate Weinberg's debut novel The Truants.

Want to get away? On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that take us to exotic locales, replete with intriguing characters and plenty of plot twists. Our book critic Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Isabel Allende's A Long Petal of the Sea and Christopher Bollen's A Beautiful Crime.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, book critic Marion Winik reviews Arcadia by Lauren Groff. The book tells the story of a fictional hippie commune in New York State in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and its slow devolution into a dystopian nightmare.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new books that explore important topics that will appeal to inquisitive readers. Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Peggy Orenstein's Boys and Sex, and Susannah Cahalan's The Great Pretender. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Kiley Reid's debut novel Such a Fun Age. The book is a clever, thoughtful examination of race and racism in America, and, it's our selection for the next meeting of The Weekly Reader Book Club.  

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new, important memoirs that don't shy away from ugly truths: Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill and Chris Rush's The Light Years.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs about the extraordinary lives. Chanel Miller recounts the story of life after she was raped on campus at Stanford University in Know My Name, and Saeed Jones describes his life growing up black and gay in conservative Christian family in Texas in How We Fight for Our Lives.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that might just make you appreciate your own family relationships a little bit more: Jami Attenberg's All This Could be Yours and Jacqueline Woodson's Red at the Bone.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader our book critic Marion Winik reviews the winners of this year's Booker Prize for Fiction, Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other, and Margaret Atwood's The Testaments.

Since news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal broke in 2017, the phrase "Me Too" has become standard shorthand for inappropriate sexual behavior. On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Mary Gaitskills' This Is Pleasure, a new novel with a decidedly "fresh" take on the issue.

On this episode of The Weekly Reader, we preview Myla Goldberg's Feast Your Eyes, our pick for the December meeting of our Book Club, and we also review Kevin Wilson's latest novel, Nothing to See Here.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, two new collections of short stories that run the gamut from funny to sad, and everything in between. We review Etgar Keret's Fly Already and Zadie Smith's Grand Union. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we celebrate the return of one of literature's most memorable recent characters, Olive Kitteridge. Book critic Marion Winik reviews Elizabeth Strout's Olive, Again.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs about growing up in extraordinary circumstances. Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Adrienne Brodeur's Wild Game and Anthony Siegel's Criminals.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review the next selection for The Weekly Reader Book Club, Susan Orlean's The Library Book. It's part investigative journalism, part memoir, and part love letter to libraries, books, and the power of the written word.

For more information about the next meeting of The Weekly Reader Book Club on Thursday, November 14th at 7pm at Bird in Hand, click here. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Stephen King's latest thriller, The Institute. Plus, our book critic Marion Winik recalls two other books by the master of the macabre, the novel 11/22/63, and the indispensable classic On Writing.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, it's all about True Crime! We review Rachel Monroe's Savage Appetites, a new work of narrative non-fiction about women who love true crime stories, plus, we revisit two books inspired by Charlie Manson and The Manson Family, The Girls, by Emma Cline, and Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt.

Who doesn't want to live in a mansion? On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Ann Patchett's latest novel The Dutch House, and we remember Bill Roorbach's Life Among Giants, which came out in 2012.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we feature two new novels that explore the often complicated terrain of motherhood. Our book critic Marion Winik on The Need by Helen Phillips and Strike the Heart by Amelie Nothomb.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, a preview of our 'Weekly Reader Book Club' pick for October, Tope Folarin's A Particular Kind of Black Man. The book is a complex and nuanced story of alienation and identity in America. It's the debut novel by Folarin, a Nigerian American writer based in Washington, D.C.

on this edition of The Weekly Reader, we check in with our "British Cousins." Our book critic Marion Winik reviews Craig Brown's Ninety-nine glimpses of Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's younger sister, and Nick Hornby's State of the Union, a book in ten chapters about a marriage in trouble.

Here at The Weekly Reader, we are big fans of literature, no matter how you choose to consume it. On this edition of the show, our book critic Marion Winik previews two new novels that sound as good as they read: Nicole Dennis-Benn's Patsy, and Curtis Sutterfeld's You Think It, I'll Say It.

What happens when people suddenly disappear, without a trace? On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we look at two new books that address that question. Marion Winik reviews Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips and The Van Apfel Girls are Gone by Felicity McLean.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we are excited to re-introduce you to Rebecca Makkai's beautiful book, The Great Believers. It is our pick for the next meeting of WYPR's Weekly Reader Book Club on September 12th at 7pm at Bird in Hand. We also look back at book critic Marion Winik's First Comes Love, her memoir of love and loss during the early years of the AIDS crisis.

On this episode of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews Campusland, a satirical debut novel by Scott Johnston, and a new one from an old favorite, Chances Are by Richard Russo.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Colson Whitehead's latest novel, The Nickel Boys. Inspired by real events, the story also features "a beautiful, unforgettable young hero who walks right off the page and into your heart."

It’s fun to imagine the real lives of “coming-of-age" book authors – how much do they draw from their own experiences? Today on The Weekly Reader, book critic Marion Winik shares two new novels about family, faith, and growing up. We review Jennifer Weiner's Mrs. Everything and Elin Hilderbrand's Summer of '69.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels about men with complicated lives. Book critic Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Fleishman is in Trouble and James Lasdun's The Afternoon of a Faun.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we travel to "exotic" locales, and commune with the locals, with two new novels. Marion Winik reviews Garth Ginder's Honestly, We Meant Well, and Chip Cheek's Cape May.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we feature two new books that explore the some of the hidden trauma of everyday life in the Middle East in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Marion Winik reviews Correspondents by Tim Murphy and The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye.