Jenny Lawson Wants You to Be Okay

Jenny Lawson is Kate’s all time favorite humor author. Obsessed since her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Kate saw she had a new one out, How to be Okay When Nothing is Okay, and she actually whooped. Loudly. In this book, Jenny shares the different tools and tricks that she uses to try to right the ship, when she is sinking in depression. But this is not your average advice book. It’s hilarious. Seriously. It is also moving, personal, and, well, helpful. Join us when we talk to one of the great humorists of our generation. She also happens to own an independent bookstore in her hometown of San Antonio Texas, Nowhere Books. We talk to their assistant manager and events coordinator, Vicky. Have a listen for a laugh and some good advice…. Find books mentioned The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books in this week's episode: How to be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson Quietly Hostile by Samantha Kirby Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louise Erdrich is one of the most important writers of our time. Her award-winning words have created modern classics such as Love Medicine, The Night Watchman and The Sentence. Her newest release, Python’s Kiss, is a collection of short stories, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe, her daughter. Each one speaks to turning points…moments that change us and shape us. Louise talks about how her writing shapes her and how she shapes her writing.  Aza then joins us to talk about how she brought her mother’s stories to life through her art. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich The Sentence by Louise Erdrich The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich The Round House by Louise Erdrich The Master Butchers Singers Club by Louise Erdrich The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich LaRose by Louise Erdrich The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler The City We Became by NK Jemison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a TRIPLE header on the Book Case podcast. First, our main guest is Elizabeth Berg, whose newest, Life: A Love Story is a beautifully woven tale of a woman reflecting on what objects she has saved throughout her life and why. Look around your room…are there things in there that means something to you but no one else? Elizabeth Berg writes so deftly that you will want to write your own autobiography in objects. AND, we are joined by the AMAZING Kelly Yang and Kate DiCamillo so they can tell us all about their new podcast, Storykind. JOIN US! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg The Story of Arthur Trulove by Elizabeth Berg The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg Until the Real Thing Comes Along by Elizabeth Berg Joy School by Elizabeth Berg The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg Open House by Elizabeth Berg Say When by Elizabeth Berg Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler Charlotte’s Web By EB White Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Front Desk by Kelly Yang The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo Top Story by Kelly Yang The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joan Lunden has been a part of the Gibson family for a long time. Her newest memoir, Joan, is an attempt to look back upon the moments of her life, her life that she has lived at an almost breakneck speed.  How did she hold down one of the toughest jobs in journalism, raise a bunch of kids and write a bunch of books?  What is life like after GMA?  She answers all those questions and gets a chance to reminisce with her old partner, Charlie.  Join us. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Joan by Joan LundenGood Morning, I’m Joan Lunden by Joan LundenHad I Known by Joan LundenWhy Did I Come Into This Room by Joan Lunden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have been broadcasting long enough to have what we think of as “authors we always love to talk to” and Anna is one of those.  She is a stunning talent and has thoughts about writing that always knock us out.  So sit down with us to discuss Anna’s latest, More Than Enough, and stay tuned for a great interview with Prologue Books in Ohio. Happy Spring! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: More Than Enough By Anna Quindlen After Annie by Anna Quindlen Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen Every Last One by Anna Quindlen Blessings by Anna Quindlen Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen One True Thing by Anna Quindlen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tayari Jones is one of the country’s most gifted writers, and her newest, Kin, is sure to get everyone talking. Beautiful, wrenching and compelling, this is a period piece that takes place in the South around the 1950’s and 60’s. This is a book that will move you, and almost every sentence is a work of art. Finely crafted, Kin is one of our favorites this year and we were so pleased Tayari agreed to sit with us. We talk to her all about how she pulls off this book, and why it took her so long to get it done.  Join us! Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Kin by Tayari JonesAn American Marriage by Tayari JonesSilver Sparrow by Tayari JonesThe Untelling by Tayari JonesLeaving Atlanta by Tayari JonesBeloved by Toni MorrisonSong of Solomon by Tony Morrison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allegra Goodman’s latest, This is Not About Us is a treasure.  Centered around the Rubenstein family, each chapter examines the Rubensteins from a different lens, a different perspective.  The stories are funny, messy, heartbreaking, captivating; all adjectives that describe complex families.  You will laugh, you will be moved, and you will be left with some brilliant tableaus of an American family as they struggle through life.  We also have a terrific bookstore owner, Sarah Lacey (The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs and The Best Bookstore in Union Square, and yes, those are the names of the stores, brilliant right?). Come join us!   Find books mentioned on The Book Case:   ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302   Books mentioned on this week's episode:   This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman Isola by Allegra Goodman Sam by Allegra Goodman Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman The Cookbook Collection by Allegra Goodman The Family Markowitz by Allegra Goodman The Chalk Artist by Allegra Goodman The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman Intuition by Allegra Goodman Total Immersion: Stories by Allegra Goodman Paradise Park by Allegra Goodman The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Resistors by Gish Jen Moby Dick by Herman Mellville Middlemarch by George Eliot The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belle Burden’s Strangers is not your everyday memoir about divorce.  After three kids, two decades and two homes, her husband was caught having an affair.  When confronted, he walked out, saying that marriage and family were not “for him”. It was not about the other woman nor was it about a long bout with depression, it seemed as if he just woke up and decided to begin anew.  Belle is left to search for answers as she questions her reality-did he ever love us?  Did I make him unhappy?  How can I move on with such a mysterious and traumatic narrative?  Written with humor, care and love, this book really is a memoir of marriage and the mysteries often associated with a broken home.  Trust us.  Read it.  Then tune into to our conversation with this amazing author and amazing woman. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we dedicate our show to a documentary that we think is important.  We have promised our listeners to keep the podcast non-political (no shouting talking heads, no books with a political agenda).  But there are some issues that are vitally important that we also believe are non-political.  Book banning is first and foremost among these.  Next week on February 9th, The Librarians documentary starts streaming on PBS stations across the country as part of their beloved Independent Lens series.  Join us as we talk to two brave and brilliant librarians fighting book bans with all their might.  We also talk to Kim A. Snyder, the director of the film about why the stories presented in this documentary are so important.  Book banning is wrong.  And we are talking about it this week. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: The Library at Night by Alberto MaguelThe Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roger Rosenblatt wrote a column for the NY Times called Before You Toss that Book… We already loved Roger’s books, and this column moved us to reach out to him. We asked if he would come on our show to read the column for our audience and to talk to us about what makes books so important, what keeping books can do to grow your love for the written word. Roger is a national treasure and this conversation was both moving and insightful. If you love books, you must join us. Roger's column: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/opinion/favorite-books-cleaning-out.html Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt Rules for Aging by Roger Rosenblatt The Man in the Water by Roger Rosenblatt The Boy Detective by Roger Rosenblatt Cold Moon by Roger Rosenblatt Unless it Moves the Heart by Roger Rosenblatt Anything Can Happen by Roger Rosenblatt Thomas Murphy By Roger Rosenblatt Life Itself: Abortion and the American Mind by Roger Rosenblatt Where We Stand by Roger Rosenblatt Lapham Rising by Roger Rosenblatt Beet by Roger Rosenblatt The Story I am by Roger Rosenblatt The Book of Love by Roger Rosenblatt Cataract Blues by Roger Rosenblatt A Steinway on the Beach by Roger Rosenblatt Children of War by Roger Rosenblatt Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Far Field by Theodore Roethke Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices