Journalist Michael Finkel on seeing through the eyes of The Art Thief
Kobo in Conversation
Michael spoke with journalist Michael Finkel, author of , and as well as numerous articles about extreme places and unlikely people for Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, GQ, and the New York Times Magazine. His latest book is the story of Stéphane Breitwieser, a man whose theft of over 200 artworks from the sleepy museums of central Europe showed a singular obsession for possessing works of art that grab his attention—and the talent to bring them home.
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Kiley Reid on writing realistically about people and money
Kobo in Conversation
Nathan spoke with novelist Kiley Reid, author of the 2020 novel, . Her new book, is set on the campus of the University of Arkansas, specifically at a dormitory called Belgrade, and it follows Millie Cousins, a 24-year-old Resident Advisor or RA to folks familiar with dorm life, who’s launching a second run at the final year of her degree after taking time off to look after her mother, while quietly inching towards buying a little house.
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Dr. Jen Gunter on writing books about bodies for people
Kobo in Conversation
Nathan spoke with Dr Jen Gunter, OB/GYN and bestselling author of several books on health, anatomy, and medicine: , , and most recently a new book called .
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R. F. Kuang on seeing herself in Yellowface
Kobo in Conversation
Nathan spoke with R. F. Kuang, author of the epic historical fantasy trilogy , as well as the 2022 novel, also a work of historical fantasy called . R. F. Kuang’s latest novel is . It’s the story of June Hayward and Athena Liu, a pair of writers on the rise—one of whom is rising significantly faster than the other, until a fatal freak accident leaves the survivor holding an unfinished manuscript and facing a very tempting proposition.
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R.H. Thomson on viewing wars by the light of family history
Kobo in Conversation
Michael spoke with R.H. Thomson: actor, director, playwright, and author of . Part memoir, part travelogue, part history, it’s a thoughtful and impassioned consideration of war and the stories we tell one another about it
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Kai Thomas conjures fiction from the history of the upper country (encore)
Kobo in Conversation
In January of 2023 our host and producer Nathan Maharaj spoke with Kai Thomas, author of the novel . It's a story set in the fictional Canadian town of Dunmore, a place where people fleeing slavery in the southern United States build new lives. In our roundup of , Nathan called out In the Upper Country as the book that stayed with him the whole year and which he most wants to read again. And this past November, In the Upper Country won the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. So for all of those reasons, plus it's Black History Month, we're replaying that...
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Ashley Audrain on bringing rage from the group chat to the page
Kobo in Conversation
Nathan spoke with novelist Ashley Audrain, author of the 2021 international bestseller . Her new book is a story about marriage, mothers and motherhood and parenthood generally, and also women’s rage.
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More of the best books we read in 2023
Kobo in Conversation
You can't possibly need more reading recommendations after our last episode featuring the best books read by the staff of Kobo in 2023 but we've never let the height of anybody's TBR pile stop us from singing the praises of our favourite books. Here are a few more, including one you absolutely must read ASAP—plus co-hosts Michael and Nathan talk about what made 2023 a different kind of year in books and why they're optimistic about what's coming next.
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The best books we read in 2023
Kobo in Conversation
We connected with the staff of Kobo over Zoom and in our brand new studio in our new office to ask them about the best books they read in 2023. We learned what made Rebecca Ross a must-read author this year, how one staff member found the right book for remembering his rockstar friend, and what well-known series of thrillers one of our best-read colleagues wishes they'd gotten around to years ago.
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Rowan Jetté Knox on learning from hard times
Kobo in Conversation
Michael spoke with journalist and human rights advocate Rowan Jetté Knox, author of the 2019 memoir , as well as a new memoir that came out this year: .
info_outlineIn her novel Little Threats, Emily Schultz transports readers to the summer of 1993, when a terrible crime was committed -- and possibly a miscarriage of justice. We spoke with Emily about her inspiration for this story of crime and punishment, how she sees the style of this book in connection to her other books, and why she set out not to write just another crime novel about a dead girl.
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