Lawrence Block, one of our greatest mystery writers, visits me to talk about his memoir, “Step By Step.” During the course of our interview in which Larry talks about his life of race-walking and having travelled to some 140 countries, he drops a startling revelation. He may have written his last novel. Is this true? I ask Larry, to which he responds that Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbar, and Keller his three novelist heroes may have reached a certain point of equilibrium where Larry himself could just walk away and be happy never writing another novel. Will he do it? Tune in and find out.

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Shanghai was once the Paris of Asia, beautiful women, gangsters, gambling, mystery and adventure. Lisa See sets her elegantly written novel of two sisters, in the Shanghai of 1937 to 1957, the period when the city was at its most glamourous and dangerous. See who wrote Peony In Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, as well as The Interior, and Dragon Bones, reaches new heights with “Shanghai Girls,” We talk briefly about the party her friend Amy Tan will be throwing for her and to which I am invited. Tune in and join our conversation.

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Dave Barry said of Gina Barreca, author of “They Used To Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted,” “Gina Barreca is very, very funny. For a woman.” And she is. Gina could as easily be a great stand-up comic as the writer and scholar she is.  She stops by to chat with me about her new book, “It’s Not That I’m Bitter. . . . Or how I learned to stop worrying about visible panty lines and conquered the world,” and we end up cackling about men and women, aging, and all the other things that tend to bother us about life. Gina is a rarity, the type of woman who actually wonders why there is no King Charming? Join us for a half hour of laughing and banter. She will only make you see the world in a brighter light. . . .. 

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“Atlas of Unknowns” is a sisterhood tale from India like nothing you’ve ever read before.  Sample the bright new fiction of Tania James a young talent Knopf plucked right out of Harvard and Columbia journalism school.  Nathan Englander calls her “The Real Deal.”  Judge for yourself. 

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Flora Fraser, the elegant biographer of Pauline Bonaparte, who incidentally is the stepdaughter of playwright Harold Pinter (Nobel Prize 2005) who married her mother, Lady Antonia Fraser, stops by to discuss Napoleon’s sister who was once considered the most beautiful woman in Europe. Not only was Pauline Bonaparte beautiful, she was also apparently frisky and kinky. . .

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Nelson George chats with me about “CITY KID,” his new book about what it was like growing up black and nerdy in Brooklyn, Nelson who is a talented writer, musician, entrepreneur, etc. eventually moved to Fort Greene where he saw it grow from a relatively seedy area into one of the hot new communities for artists and writers. He regales me with fascinating stories about some of his celebrity friends who also grew up in the hood; Chris Rock, Spike Lee, and others.

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While Adam is probably best known as an essayist and commentator for The New Yorker he is also the author of the widely admired memoirs “Paris To The Moon,” and its sequel “Through The Children’s Gate.” In our interview Adam talks with me about “Angels and Ages,” a recent book about Darwin and Lincoln. Adam is smart and articulate. . . .I think you’ll enjoy our exchange.

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Colson Whitehead’s new novel SAG HARBOR is a departure for the MacArthur fellow and different from previous novels in that it is to a large degree an autobiographical coming of age story set in the tony black Hamptons. Whitehead who is a gifted writer feels comfortable in this new memoirish style and presents a perfect-to-read story for the beach this summer. Featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review.

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