The Weekly Reader
Wednesdays at 2:33 p.m.
For lovers of literary fiction and memoir, The Weekly Reader is a four-minute round-up of the best new books on the national scene. University of Baltimore professor, author, and longtime All Things Considered commentator Marion Winik joins WYPR’s producer Lisa Morgan, former co-host of The Signal, in studio to share two picks each week.
They curate the best of the buzzy books you're hearing about elsewhere, and keeping an eye out for those of special interest to Baltimoreans. When Winik, who reviews for People, Kirkus Review, and the Washington Post, brings her trademark humor, thoughtful insights, and refreshing honesty to book criticism, it’s like having a new best friend with very good taste to guide you on your literary adventures.
Latest Episodes
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Cats From Japan: "The Blanket Cats" by Kiyoshi Shigematsu and "Mornings Without Mii" by Mayumi InabaIn Japan they call it iyashakei – a term that can be applied to anything that is comforting and uplifting: a person, a meal, a walk in the park. These books fit the bill! -
Never trust the teller, trust the tale? Not when the "teller" is as compelling as the "tale!" -
The Weekly Reader's Marion Winik will be in conversation with four local writers who have been receiving raves for their new work in fiction and poetry. -
World War II and its aftermath left an indelible mark on the world and inspired countless artists to try to make sense of such a calamity. -
Joan Didion died in 2021, but interest in her life and work has only increased since then. -
Inheritance: "The Magnificent Ruins" by Nayantara Roy and "Like Mother, Like Mother" by Susan RiegerWe can inherit so many things from our ancestors – physical traits, like hair and eye color, a quick temper, musical talent, a bunch of money, maybe even a big old house! -
Joni Mitchell gets the biographical treatment in a pair of books as unconventional as the artist herself. -
We love short stories, and we're going to make you love them, too. -
Who hasn’t dreamed of running away, leaving it all behind, totally reinventing yourself? -
Great art is often created in the wake of terrible tragedy – think Guernica, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, The Vietnam Memorial.
The Weekly Reader
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On this episode of The Weekly Reader we review a great new biography of Malcolm X, and we share some thoughts about the controversial new biography of Philip Roth. -
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On this edition of The Weekly Reader, two new novels featuring Unforgettable Female Protagonists. Marion Wink reviews Kasuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, and Maggie Shipstead's Great Circle. -
On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we explore three novels that plumb the possibilities -- both good, and bad -- of prep school life. Marion Winik reviews All Girls by Emily Layden, The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont, and Old School by Tobias Wolff.
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On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels about life lessons learned whilst on the job: Mateo Askaripour's Black Buck and Chang Rae Lee's My Year Abroad.
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On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs that explore what it means to be "American" in the current cultural melting pot of the… -
On this edition of The Weekly Reader, two new memoirs that read like adventure stories. Our book critic Marion Winik gives us her take on Vanessa… -
All the world's a stage! This week on The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that take us behind the scenes of stage and screen: Ethan Hawke's A… -
Today on The Weekly Reader, we are marking four years on the air! To celebrate, we are featuring two very different books about babies: Detransition,… -
On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two novels about two rather uncommon families: What Could Be Saved by Liese…
