Steve Bertrand On Books From Wgn Plus

Irish novelist Sebastian Barry writes about his maternal grandfather in this latest novel, The Temporary Gentlemen. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about growing up with the man, later alienating him and ultimately writing his story. Barry also considers what it is about Ireland the makes for such great writers.

Joanne Zienty is the winner of the first ever Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author contest.  Her self-published novel beat out more than 100 books, all nominated by Illinois librarians. She talks to Steve Bertrand on Books about the prize and about her novel, The Things We Save.

Bruce Weber talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about his cross country bicycle trip, omnipresent social media and writing obits for the New York Times. His latest book, Life is a Wheel, is an account of his ride from Oregon to New York, with a stop in Chicago in between.

Anne Perry talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel: Death on Blackheath.

Chicago author Alexai Galaviz-Budziszewski talks with Steve Bertrand on Books on growing up in Pilsen, the inner joy of writing and the ghost of Nelson Algren.

What will your legacy be? How much say will you have in it? Those are among the questions posed in Margaret Hawkins’ novel “Lydia’s Party.” She talks with Steve Bertrand on Books on being remembered, on writing and on listening-in on the conversation one table over.

Alice Hoffman’s talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel, “The Museum of Extraordinary Things,” Coney Island’s influence on America and Ray Bradbury’s influence on her.

Kenan Trebincevic was 12-years-old when his small Bosnian town was ripped apart by civil war and ethnic cleansing. He was a Muslim kid, which meant he faced possible death every day. His father and brother were hauled off to camps. They survived and escaped to Queens. Twenty years later, they went back. Kenan talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about his memoir of that trip, “The Bosnia List.”

Novelist Robin Oliveira talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about “I Always Loved You,” a fictional look at the relationship between American artist Mary Cassatt and French Impressionist Edgar Degas. Robin talks about the early days of the Impressionists in Paris, the magic of research and sharing a character with Nancy Horan’s novel “Under the Wide and Starry Sky.”

Author Charles Finch headed to Oxford after his work on Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential run ended well short of the White House. That’s good for us. He got a novel out of it. The Last Enchantments looks back at his days in England as a 20-something American begins to find his way in the world. He talks with Steve Bertrand about that and about his Charles Lenox detective novels, which are set in England during Victorian times.

Ishmael Beah was a boy soldier, forced into the civil war in Sierre Leone. He burst onto the literary scene with his 2007 memoir A Long Way Gone. His latest book is a novel set in a small village as it tries to find a new normal after the brutal fighting. He talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about Radiance of Tomorrow, living with his own memories of atrocities and the promise of fatherhood.

Brad Meltzer, it seems, succeeds with everything he touches: He was the creator of the hit show Decoded on the History Channel, he’s written several best-selling thrillers and now he’s beginning a line of children’s books based on the stories of real-life heroes. He talks about his latest adventure in this interview with Steve Bertrand on Books.

Former Oak Park resident Nancy Horan talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest novel “Under the Wide and Starry Sky,” the story of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife Fanny Van de Grift. It’s an NBC Today show book of the month. Listen to the interview to learn what Fanny and Yoko have in common.

A quilt led Jennifer Chiaverini to Abraham Lincoln. Kind of. Best known for her Elm Creek Quilt series, Chiaverini’s last three books have been historical novels focusing on leading women during the Civil War. She talks to Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest: “Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival.” The story of Kate Chase, the daughter of Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase. Miss Chase and Mrs. Lincoln found themselves in an unlikely rivalry in society. Mrs. Lincoln lived in the White House. Miss […]

Lisa Gardner talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest psychological thriller, Fear Nothing. In the story, Boston detective D.D. Warren deals with debilitating pain while working with psychologist Adeline Glen, who is unable to feel any pain at all. While Warren hunts a serial killer, Glen comes to terms with her past and, more importantly, her present.

Are you a fan of Inspector Lynley? Whether it’s in Elizabeth George’s novels or the PBS television series, Lynley has entertained millions. George talks with Steve Bertrand on Books about her latest in the Inspector Linley series: Just One Evil Act.

Novelist Jo Nesbo is a rock star  in his native Norway and the author of a critically acclaimed series of crime novels featuring detective Harry Hole. His work has been compared to fellow Norwegian Stieg Larson, though Nesbo has been at it much longer. He talked with Steve Bertrand on Books on the same day his band was releasing its latest album.

Historian Reza Aslan talks with Steve Bertrand on Books  about the life and times of Jesus, not from a biblical perspective but from an historical one. He discusses about the politics of Jesus’ times and how we’ve come to know Him as we do. Aslan’s book is  “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.”

Chicago author Lee Sandlin spent his childhood summers in the 60s in downstate Edwardsville in a house shared by four elderly relatives. As a kid, he took them at face value and never considered them as real people with real lives of their own.  In “The Distancers” he tells their stories, each remarkable in its own way. He tracks his family from Germany to Southern Illinois to Chicago’s German Northside in a uniquely Illinois memoir. Sandlin talks with Steve Bertrand […]

Steve Bertrand talks with author Sara Paretsky about her new book, “Critical Mass,” the latest entry in the V.I. Warshawski series.