All About Books

Apr 16 2025 217 ep. 11 mins 436
All About Books Podcast artwork

A weekly book review and discussion program hosted by Pat Leach. Updated on Thursdays.

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“Meditations for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman

Apr 16 2025 9 mins  
There are only so many hours in a day, as the saying goes. That’s the focus of a new book that addresses fundamental questions about how we live. On this week’s “All About Books” a look at, “Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts” by Oliver Burkeman.

“Anita de Monte Laughs Last: a Novel” by Xochitl Gonzalez

Apr 09 2025 7 mins  
A Latina woman attending an ivy league college feels a connection to an artist who died under mysterious circumstances in New York years before. “Anita de Monte Laughs Last: a Novel” by Xochitl Gonzalez is a witty look at power, love and art. Hear a review on

The AI technology race. "Supremacy" by Parmy Olson.

Apr 02 2025 11 mins  
Two pioneering tech companies and their CEOs are competing over the development of artificial intelligence: Sam Altman of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis of DeepMind. Lost in this race for control are the threats their creators are ignoring. That’s the story found in “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World” by Parmy Olson.

“Black Woods, Blue Sky" by Eowyn Ivey

Mar 26 2025 8 mins  
A mother struggling with sobriety moves herself and young daughter to live with a reclusive mountain man of Alaska’s wilds. Author Eowyn Ivey’s new novel “Black Woods, Blue Sky” is about love, the lure of wild places and the dangers found there.

“The Golden Gate” by Amy Chua

Mar 19 2025 6 mins  
A presidential candidate is assassinated at San Francisco’s swanky Claremont Hotel in 1944. Homicide detective Al Sullivan was having a drink in the bar downstairs. This begins the historical thriller “The Golden Gate” by Amy Chua. Hear a review of this best-selling author’s debut novel.

“Reagan: His Life and Legend” by Max Boot

Mar 12 2025 9 mins  
Political columnist Max Boot took on the task of writing a monumental biography of conservative icon Ronald Regan. Combining interviews with the President’s aides, friends and family as well as newly available documents, this new biography details Regan’s life beyond just the political years. Hear a review of “Reagan: His Life and Legend” by Max Boot

“Whale Fall” by Elizabeth O’Connor

Mar 05 2025 7 mins  
On a harsh but beautiful island off the coast of Wales, a young woman looks after the home for her father and younger sister after their mother dies. In the novel “Whale Fall” by Elizabeth O’Connor, the dreams of venturing out into a bigger world come into conflict with community obligations.

“Book and Dagger” by Elyse Graham.

Feb 26 2025 8 mins  
At the start of WWII, the U.S. found itself in desperate need of an intelligence agency. To hire the experts needed,the government looked to academia for recruits. English professors, librarians, and historians were suddenly pulled into spy craft. This history is detailed in the new book “Book and Dagger” by Elyse Graham.

“The Mighty Red”, a novel by Louise Erdrich,

Feb 19 2025 7 mins  
Set in a starkly beautiful North Dakota community, “The Mighty Red”, a novel by Louise Erdrich, reveals ordinary people who are complicated and contradictory as they struggle, dream, and love.

“A Different Metaphor” by Kevin Shinn

Feb 12 2025 17 mins  
This week on All About Books” Pat Leach talks with author Kevin Shinn a former collegiate pastor, chef and restaurateur. His lifelong spiritual journey eventually led him to his typewriter where he worked out his latest book, “A Different Metaphor: Faith That Imagines The Impossible.”