On today’s season finale we welcome the delightful Emily Henry, author of bestsellers Beach Read, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation and, most recently the #1 NYT Bestselling Happy Place. Alyssa and Emily vibe out talking about romcom inspiration, fancasting, the ways art informs life (and vice versa), writing complex, imperfect love interests…

Happy Pride from Books Connect Us! In honor of Pride, today’s guest is Haley Jakobson, author of the astute and funny bisexual debut Old Enough, on sale June 20. Carolina chats with Haley about all things identity: finding ourselves while we’re still “hurtling towards the person we’re becoming,” utilizing language and harnessing stories to explore …

Join us for a super-fun, laugh-out-loud Summer Reading Picks episode! Carolina and Alyssa talk: books they love, books they can’t wait to read, horror movies, celebs they went to high school with, tips for writing, finding inspiration and reading al fresco. CAROLINA RECOMMENDS: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7…

On a very exciting episode of BOOKS CONNECT US, Carolina and Alyssa host their first Roundtable. Joined by Amanda Elliot (author of Sadie on a Plate and Best Served Hot) and Kosoko Jackson (author of I’m So Not Over You and Dash of Salt and Pepper), this roundtable’s theme is romance! We discuss: what it takes to craft romance -- from chemistry to …

Today on the podcast, Carolina and Alyssa interview Chrissy King, author of THE BODY LIBERATION PROJECT, about the way our intersecting identities impact our body image, how and why body and beauty standards are rooted in racism and how we can overcome it all to liberate ourselves and bodies. Chrissy also tells us how she landed a book deal and how…

Today on BOOKS CONNECT US, Lisa Lucas, SVP and Publisher of Pantheon talks about motherhood and mental health with Szilvia Molnar, author of The Nursery. The two share a thought-provoking conversation about the rawness and realness of becoming a mother, and ask the question — does the world make space for new moms? Be sure to stick around for Carol…

On today’s episode, we talk to National Book Award finalist Sarah Thankam Mathews about her debut novel, ALL THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT, a warm, dazzling, and profound saga of queer love, friendship, work, and precarity in twenty-first century America. Carolina talks to Sarah about the political engine that drives the book, the shared nuances of the b…

This week on BOOKS CONNECT US, we welcome Dani Shapiro, author of eleven books , most recently Signal Fires, which won the National Jewish Books Award and Inheritance, which was a New York Times Bestseller. Alyssa and Dani go deep, discussing the intersection of memory and imagination while writing, the importance of self-identity and ancestry in s…

This episode, we welcome Lakiesha Carr and her Knopf editor, Maria Goldverg. Lakeisha is the author of AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SKIN, a profound and tender look at Black womanhood. Maria and Lakiesha discuss the intimacy required to write fiction, the importance of intergenerational connections, and the ways in which we insert ourselves into our art. Yo…

This episode, we welcome Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of the unforgettable and deeply profound TAKE MY HAND, which won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction. Carolina talks to Dolen about her writing and research process, the true-life inspiration behind TAKE MY HAND and the immense importance of historical fiction. Alyssa a…

In today’s episode, we talk to Eleanor Shearer, author of the gripping and beautiful RIVER SING ME HOME, which was a GMA Book Club Pick. Carolina chats with Eleanor about finding time for creative writing (especially within the confines of a day job), traveling to the Caribbean for her novel and unraveling the complicated tapestries of our identiti…

Today, we talk to NYT Bestselling and James Beard Award-winning author of The Korean Vegan Cookbook , Joanne Lee Molinaro. Alyssa chats with Joanne about representation, the writing and publishing process, family stories and how they seep into our writing, and much more! Be sure to stick around for Carolina and Alyssa’s recap at the end. You can fi…

In today’s episode, get to know Alyssa Adler and Carolina Meurkens, the new hosts of BOOKS CONNECT US! We chat about what’s in store for the new season, how authors portray their origin stories and have fun laughing about what books inspired us growing up (and as adults). All new season of author interviews start Wednesday, April 5! Books In Today’…

This brand new season of BOOKS CONNECT US will keep you connected with the authors and stories that inspire you, and bring you the inside scoop on “the story behind the story”. Join hosts Alyssa Adler and Carolina Meurkens in conversation with diverse authors, as they discuss how identity impacts writing, the inspiration behind their books, and how…

The new book EMPIRELAND is an illuminating tour through the hidden legacies and modern realities of British empire that exposes how much of the present-day United Kingdom is actually rooted in its colonial past. In accessible, witty prose, award-winning journalist and best-selling author Sathnam Sanghera traces this legacy back to its source, expos…

George R. R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including those of the acclaimed series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, upon which the iconic HBO series GAME OF THRONES is based. FIRE & BLOOD is his thrilling history of the Targaryans, which is the inspiration for the new HBO series HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. On today's episode fe…

George Saunders is the author of nine books, including the novel LINCOLN IN THE BARDO, which won the Man Booker Prize, and the brand-new short story collection LIBERATION DAY. On today's episode George is in conversation with Matt Rodbard, host of the popular food culture show THE TASTE PODCAST. They discussed Chicago pizza, Santa Cruz coffee, lunc…

Sarah Thankam Mathews is a recipient of fellowships from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and her work has been published in Best American Short Stories. ALL THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT is her electrifying novel of a young immigrant building a life for herself—a warm, dazzling, and profound saga of queer love, friend…

Clancy Martin is the acclaimed author of the novel HOW TO SELL, numerous books on philosophy, and the viral essay, “I’m Still Here.” He is the survivor of more than ten suicide attempts and a recovering alcoholic. His new book HOW NOT TO KILL YOURSELF is an intimate, insightful, at times even humorous exploration of why the thought of death is so c…

Ali Hazelwood is the New York Times bestselling author of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS, as well as the writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever-after is not always happy. Her new romance novel LOVE ON THE BRAIN revolves around a scientist who is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive r…

Susan Elia MacNeal is the New York Times bestselling author of the MAGGIE HOPE mysteries. In her new thriller MOTHER DAUGHTER TRAITOR SPY, a mother and daughter find the courage to go undercover after stumbling upon a Nazi cell in Los Angeles during the early days of World War II. Inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots, …

Laura Warrell's work has appeared in HuffPost, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. SWEET, SOFT, PLENTY RHYTHM is her provocative debut novel about the perennial temptations of dangerous love, told by the women who love Circus Palmer—trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man—as they ultimately discover the powe…

Laura Warrell's work has appeared in HuffPost, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. SWEET, SOFT, PLENTY RHYTHM is her provocative debut novel about the perennial temptations of dangerous love, told by the women who love Circus Palmer—trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man—as they ultimately discover the powe…

Laurie R. King is the award-winning, bestselling author of seventeen Mary Russell mysteries and many other novels. In the new novel BACK TO THE GARDEN, a fifty-year-old cold case involving California royalty comes back to life—with potentially fatal consequences. This gripping tale involves hidden secrets, serial killer The Highwayman, and an inspe…

Ava Glass is a pseudonym for an internationally bestselling author who has sold over two and a half million copies worldwide. Ava's new novel ALIAS EMMA is a breakneck, race-against-the-clock thriller, in which a British spy has twelve hours to deliver her asset across London, after Russia hacks the city’s security cameras. Can she make it without …

Gabrielle Zevin is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY and YOUNG JANE YOUNG. Her exhilarating new novel TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW is about two friends—often in love, but never lovers— who come together as creative partners in the world…

As the legendary director of classic sitcoms such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Will & Grace, Frasier, and Friends—and the co-creator of Cheers—James Burrows has spent five decades making America laugh. His new book DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS is an insightful and nostalgic memoir that offers a bounty of behind-the-scenes moments from our favor…

Grace Li is a Chinese American writer who is currently attending medical school at Stanford University. Her debut novel PORTRAIT OF A THIEF is a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums. Described as "Ocean’s Eleven meets The Farewell", it's a story about diaspora, the colonization of art, a…

Cleyvis Natera was born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the United States at ten years old, and grew up in New York City. Her exhilarating debut novel NERUDA ON THE PARK follows members of a Dominican family in New York City who take radically different paths when faced with encroaching gentrification. The book is a beautifully layered portr…

Vanessa Hua is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of the novel A RIVER OF STARS and a story collection, DECEIT AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES. Her new novel FORBIDDEN CITY is an epic yet intimate portrayal of one of the world’s most powerful and least understood leaders during an extraordinarily turbulent period in modern Chinese h…

Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including THE DOLLHOUSE, THE ADDRESS, THE MASTERPIECE, and THE CHELSEA GIRLS. Her latest is THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions. Today Fiona is in conversation with Xa…

Heather McGhee is an expert in economic and social policy, and now chairs the board of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Her new book THE SUM OF US offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people …

Adriana Trigiani is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty books, including THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE. Among her screen credits, Trigiani wrote and directed the major motion picture adaptation of her debut novel, BIG STONE GAP. Her latest work is THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE, a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one r…

Dr. Benjamin Gilmer is a former neurobiologist turned rural family practitioner, Dr. Gilmer has lectured across the country about medical ethics, rural health, and the intersection of medicine and criminal justice reform. His new book THE OTHER DR. GILMER is a powerful true story about a shocking crime and a mysterious illness that will forever cha…

Kai Harris is a writer and educator from Detroit, Michigan, who uses her voice to uplift the Black community through realistic fiction centered on the Black experience. Her new book WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW is a coming-of-age novel told by an almost-eleven-year-old girl, as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged …

Sarah Polley is an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, director, and actor whose films include AWAY FROM HER and TAKE THIS WALTZ. In her new essay collection RUN TOWARDS THE DANGER, Polley contemplates stories from her own life ranging from stage fright to high-risk childbirth to endangerment and more. In this extraordinary book, Polley explores …

Judd Apatow is one of the most important comic minds of his generation. He directed the films THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and TRAINWRECK. His producing credits include Superbad, Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks, and The Ben Stiller Show. He is the author of the interview collections SICK IN THE HEAD and SICKER IN THE HEAD, in which Apatow sits…

Arthur C. Brooks is the author of the instant bestseller FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, which is a roadmap for finding purpose, meaning, and success as we age. Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and eastern wisdom—as well as dozens of interviews with everyday men and women—Brooks shows us that true life success is well within o…

Diana Gabaldon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular OUTLANDER novels, the basis for the hit Starz series. In her latest novel GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE the year is 1779, and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter Brianna—but the American Revolution threatens to tear them apart. On today’s episod…

As the global pandemic began in March 2020, Todd Doughty knew he needed to do something to help him stay connected to the everyday joys of daily life. So he wrote down a list of things that make him happy. LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE pulls together the best of Doughty’s lists along with essays, musings, prompts, quotes, and playlists that offer solace, c…

Adam J. Kurtz is a designer, artist, and speaker. His previous books, PICK ME UP and THINGS ARE WHAT YOU MAKE OF THEM, have been published in more than a dozen languages. His latest book YOU ARE HERE FOR NOW is an honest and relatable guide to figuring out where you’re headed—and feeling okay in the meantime. This candid collection of essays and ar…

Jeffrey Kluger is editor at large for Time magazine and the author or coauthor of twelve books, including APOLLO 13. He has written more than forty cover stories for Time on topics ranging from space to human behavior to climate to medicine. He consulted on and appeared in the Tom Hanks movie APOLLO 13. His new novel HOLDOUT is a thrilling tale abo…

David Bell is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of novels such as THE REQUEST, LAYOVER, and SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER. In his latest thriller KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, a student disappears and is presumed dead, and her professor passes off her manuscript as his own—only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder. This is a suspensefu…

Zibby Owens is the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Zibby, named “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” by New York Magazine’s Vulture, conducts warm, inquisitive conversations with authors, making her show a top literary podcast as selected by Oprah.com in 2019 and 2020. In her quarantine anthology MOM…

EMMA BRODIE has worked in book publishing for a decade, most recently as an executive editor at Little, Brown’s Voracious imprint. Her debut novel SONGS IN URSA MAJOR is a transporting love story of music, stardom, heartbreak, and a gifted young singer-songwriter who must find her own voice. The book pulses with romantic longing and asks the questi…

Patrick Radden Keefe is the author of the New York Times bestseller SAY NOTHING which received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and was selected as one of the ten best books of 2019 by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and others. His latest book EMPIRE OF PAIN is a grand, devastating portrait of three gener…

MY TIME WILL COME is the inspiring story of activist and poet Ian Manuel, who at the age of fourteen was sentenced to life in prison. He survived eighteen years in solitary confinement—through his own determination and dedication to art—until he was freed as part of an incredible crusade by the Equal Justice Initiative. Full of unexpected twists an…

Elizabeth Letts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE EIGHTY-DOLLAR CHAMPION and THE PERFECT HORSE. Her latest book THE RIDE OF HER LIFE tells the triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when telev…

The New York Times has called Paul Rudnick “one of our preeminent humorists.” As a screenwriter and playwright his work ranges from ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES to JEFFREY, and his books include SOCIAL DISEASE and I'LL TAKE IT. His latest novel is PLAYING THE PALACE, a hilarious romantic comedy about a lonely American event planner who starts dating the ga…

Andy Weir is the author of the best-selling novels ARTEMIS and THE MARTIAN, upon which the blockbuster Matt Damon film was based. In his latest novel PROJECT HAIL MARY, the protagonist is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he can’t even remember hi…