Steve Bertrand On Books From Wgn Plus

British writer Kazuo Ishiguro has been named the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2015, he spoke with WGN Radio’s Steve Bertrand about his novel The Buried Giant: Kazuo Ishiguro, who has won the Man Booker Prize and been awarded the O.B.E., has been called one of Britain’s most important living novelists. His latest, The Buried Giant, examines the frailty of collective memory with the story of an elderly post-King Arthur era couple on their way to […]

The New York Times has called Alan Furst “America’s preeminent spy novelist.” His new book, A HERO OF FRANCE about the French Resistance, is the first in a long time set during the war years, rather than the eve of World War II.   He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the novel and about the importance of learning to look at the world from someone else’s angle.   Love the show or want to reach out to Steve?  Visit: […]

Steve and Amy talk Memorial Day, summer plans, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla story, the idea of ‘being busy’, and more.  

Let’s go back to Boston in 1721. Historian Stephen Coss says it was one of the most influential years in U.S. history. And why not: We meet a young Ben Franklin, a chastised Cotton Mather and the beginning American arguments over faith and science. You’ll be surprised by who is on which side. Coss talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about “The Fever of 1721.” Love the show or want to reach out to Steve?  Visit: Facebook + Twitter

Anna Quindlen has been telling us what we’re thinking,  or maybe how we’re thinking, for decades. First as a columnist for Newsweek and the New York Times and now as a novelist. She talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel “Miller’s Valley,” with stops along the way about what it means to be home, keeping current in the fast-moving world of the internet and, of course, the ubiquitous campaign for president.  

How many bad ideas have you had today? Wharton School of Business professor Adam Grant says the more the merrier, or original anyway. In his book Originals: How Non-conformists Move the World, Grant looks at what makes a truly original thinker. Bad ideas can be a good sign. Much more in this interview with Steve Bertrand on Books.  

Chris Pavone is not your run of the mill espionage writer. Think of it this this way: Pavone writes and about real and compelling people, who happen to be spies. His latest novel, “The Travelers,” proves that point wonderfully. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the novel, about writing, and about being a stay-at-home dad in Europe.

Did you know the idea of an average person was unheard of until the 19th century?  Today, we measure ourselves against the average: the average ACT score, the average income, it goes on and on.  Harvard professor Todd Rose, who’s written “The End of Average,” says that’s a big mistake that costs us all.  He wants to do away with college diplomas, among other things, and focus on the science of the individual. He explains it all in this chat […]

Let’s do lunch with the 1960s socialites of  New York City. Truman Capote will be there, so will Baby Paley. Novelist Melanie Benjamin writes about the rise and fall of Capote as seen through his relationships with the very rich  in  “Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel.”  Melanie is the guest on  this edition of Steve Bertrand on Books.

Author Eric Weiner is chasing genius, trying figure out what made Athens or Renaissance Florence tick. For that matter, what does today’s Silicon Valley have in common with Vienna during Mozart’s time or Edinburgh during the Enlightenment? He talks about his book The Geography of Genius in this edition of Steve Bertrand on Books.  

Author Rebecca Makkai talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her short story collection Music for Wartime.    

Novelist Vanessa Diffenbaugh adopted her son when he was 25-years-old. That’s not surprising at all if you know  her. Diffenbaugh writes books but she rescues hearts. She created the Camellia Network after her first novel “The Language of Flowers.” The non-profit  helps children who “age-out” of foster care at 18-years-old and are then left on their own.  She talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel “We Didn’t Ask for Wings,” about her help for abandoned kids and […]

Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel: Saint Mazie.  

Pet coke, crooked politicians and corruption at Wrigley Field: today’s news or a new Sara Paretsky novel? Sara talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about V.I. Warshawky’s latest adventures in Brush Back. She and Steve also discuss her challenges as the president of the Mystery Writers of America.

Ryan Stradal’s debut novel Kitchens of the Great Midwest is getting rave reviews and it’s no wonder.  He walks with Steve Bertrand on Books about growing up in Minnesota and writing the book his mom would have loved.

Michel Faber talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about The Book of Strange New Things, a fantastical novel set in another world, but a story grounded very much on earth.

With the release of Harper Lee’s novel Go Set a Watchman, Steve Bertrand on Books gets the lowdown on Harper and Alice Lee with Marja Mills. Her book The Mockingbird Next Door details her time living next door to the Lee sisters in Monroeville, Alabama.

Brad Meltzer talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about the pull of parents, the secrets of Devil’s Island and Ronald Reagan’s gun. It’s all in Meltzer’s latest political thriller The President’s Shadow.

Steve Bertrand talks Uber with Will Flanagan of Chicago Inno. Then, DNA Info Chicago’s Jon Hansen talks resources and the new gym in Englewood. Tom Gimbel  talks Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews after a week of celebration. And finally, Esther Dairiam unveils and describes what inspired her new cookbook store, Read it and Eat.

Michael Alan Peck is the winner of the 2015 Soon to Be Famous Authors Project. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about his award winning novel and the wonder of librarians. http://cdn.tribtv.com/wgnam/podcasts/stevebertrand/MichaelAlanPeck.mp3