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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Wells Tower is one of those young, much heralded writers who lives up to his promise.  His stories in “Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned,” many of which first appeared in “The New Yorker,” McSweeneys,” and the “Paris Review” are just a little off beat, just a little bit funny, just beautifully crafted.  Meet him now so that you know who he is when he scorches the literary sky’s in the next few years. 

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Rare books, dead women, and fabulously rich benefactors of the Library can all be found in Linda Fairstein’s new suspense novel, “Lethal Legacy,” which takes place on Manhattan’s upper East Side. Given that Linda and I both live there and love books we found a lot to chat about.

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Set in China in the late 1970’s, Yiyun Li has written a stunning debut novel with unforgettable characters that haunt you long after you have finished reading the book. The love story between Nini a crippled girl and Bashi a sinister predator is an example of the unusual way in which Li views life, in a world of oppression and pain and forces us to reconsider our values . Yiyun came to me and impressed me with her high intelligence and fine command of English. This is a very different book with a very different world view. . . listen to our interview. . . I believe you will be hearing much more from this talented author.

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Brad Meltzer is smart as a whip, and a provocative writer. His books are always interesting. You have probably read The Book of Lies; The Book of Fate; The Tenth Justice; The Zero Game; or The Millionaires: Brad just can’t stay away from the Best-Seller lists. Like Grisham, and Baldacci, Brad is also a former lawyer. I always enjoy it when Brad comes in from Florida and visits me.

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His book, In the Shadow of the Master, might just as well refer to Michael who is considered by many to be just that a master of the tough guy crime novels. Check him out.

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Nelson, who is a longtime friend of mine, and one of the great contemporary thriller writers, talks about Gate House, the sequel to The Gold Coast which many consider among his finest books. Nelson in addition to being a fantastic suspense writer is also a riot. Funny as all get out.

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If you are into mathematics, music, and love, you will find Jeanette Turner Hospital’s ORPHEUS LOST, entrancing. We discuss it and literature on this program.

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A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation; the National Endowment For the Arts; and the MacDowell Colony, Roxanna has written fiction for the New Yorker, Harpers, Daedalus, and Vogue. She also has two novels to her credit. . . Sweetwater, and This is My Daughter, a biography of Georgia O’Keefe. Several of her short story collections have become New York Times notable books of the year.

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Larry Block was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1993, but readers everywhere already knew this. Stuart Woods once told me he learned much of what he knows from Larry Block. Larry has written so many books that it is difficult to keep up with them: the Bernie Rhodenbarr series; the Matthew Scudder series: The Evan Tanner series; Chip Harrison books, Keller books, Hitman books, and so on and so on. Larry is just terrific as a writer and as a friend, and I might add funny to boot. Here he talks about a volume of his early stories in which you can already see the magic of his pen. Fun interview.

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