Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Vampires and a happy ending: Three Minnesota romance buffs discuss how the genre is changing

If you’re a romance reader, you won’t be surprised to hear that romance is the biggest genre in publishing. Nearly 40 million romance novels were sold in 2024. Books range from flirty (fade to black) to downright steamy (open door), with myriads of subgenres and tropes to choose from. (Rom-com! Paranormal romance! Historical fiction!)So this week, Big Books and Bold Ideas host Kerri Miller sits down with three Minnesota romance experts to talk about romance writing and reading today. She brings some quizlets and challenges, and each author shares an excerpt of a romance novel that has stuck with them. Big Books and Bold Ideas Romance Roundtable Along the way, they discuss the rules of romance (happy endings are nonnegotiable), what differentiates a love story from a romance novel and how the industry is starting to adapt to the diversity readers want.They also recommend romance novels that have maybe slipped through the cracks but deserve attention. For Richards, that was the book she chose to feature in her excerpt: the historical queer romance “A Shore Thing” by Joanna Lowell. She also recommended anything by writer Cat Sebastian, particularly “It Takes Two to Tumble.” Tschida said readers should check out the wit and charm inherent in any Nikki Payne novel, who is best know for her rewrites of Jane Austen. “Start with ‘Pride and Protest,’” Tschida recommended, “and then move on to ‘Sex, Lies and Sensibility.’” She also prescribed Carly Bloom, who writes books broader than the cowboy romance genre she is often stuck in. Palmer said she’ll “never stop talking” about Naina Kumar. Her most recent book, “Flirting with Disaster,” is similar to the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” — but in this case, a hurricane traps a couple headed toward divorce in the home they built together when their love was young. Guests: Ellie Palmer is the author of “Four Weekends and a Funeral” and the just published “Anywhere With You,” which is set in the north woods of Minnesota. Sam Tschida’s newest romance novel follows a vampire determined to get her own Hallmark movie ending. “Undead and Unwed” comes out in in late October. Sam’s past books include “Siri, Who Am I?” and “Errands and Espionage.” Lauren Richards is the co-owner of Tropes & Trifles, Minnesota’s first romance-only bookstore. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Lonely people find connection in ‘The Satisfaction Café’

Is loneliness something that happens when you’re not looking? And if so, could meaningful connection be found in a simple but purposeful café, where the lonesome are paired with the perfect partners for deep conversation? That’s the fantasy at the heart of Kathy Wang’s new novel, “The Satisfaction Café.” It follows Joan who starts the book as a Chinese graduate students in California in the 1970s. But her life quickly turns, as revealed on page one, when Wang writes: “Joan had not thought she would stab her husband.”From there, Joan is off to the races, marrying an older white man as a second husband, navigating his wealthy world, all while trying to find her own purpose and place.“The Satisfaction Café.” is one of the must-reads of the summer — and this week, Wang joins Kerri Miller on Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about loneliness, the curse (or blessing) of small talk, why some cultures are OK with brazenly talking about money (and some aren’t) and why she truly believes a third place like the Satisfaction Café could benefit us all. Guest: Kathy Wang is the author of “Family Trust,” “Imposter Syndrome” and “The Satisfaction Café.” She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School, and lives in the Bay Area. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.

New England noir chills and thrills in 'The House on Buzzards Bay'

The setting for Dwyer Murphy’s new book, “The House on Buzzards Bay,” is classic New England noir: A large and ancient house along the coast is inherited by protagonist Jim, who decides to use it to host his college friends for a summer reunion, hoping to reignite their bonds. But nothing is quite as it seems.Both the house and the group are out of sorts. One friend mysteriously disappears. The town deals with a series of break-ins. Jim starts to feel like the energy in the house is off — that the spiritualist camp that started the town never really left. And then an eerie stranger arrives.On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas, Murphy joins host Kerri Miller to talk about what makes good noir and what inspired his book. Ghosts abound.Guest: Dwyer Murphy is the editor-in-chief of Lit Hub’s Crime Reads and the author of the new novel “The House on Buzzards Bay.” Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her mother's death

Honoring the dead by washing the body is a ritual nearly as old as humankind. Jews observe taharah, rooting the practice in Ecclesiastes: “As we come forth, so we shall return.” In Islamic tradition, washing the deceased as an act of devotion and love.Joy Harjo, former poet laureate and citizen of the Muscogee Nation, expected to honor her mother’s death and life by washing her body, but as she reveals in the introduction to her new book, the ritual didn’t happen — leaving her to wander through grief without a touchstone. Harjo’s new book is called “Washing My Mother’s Body,” and she joins host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about how this poem was able to bend time for her — and could be used as a model for others walking through grief without the guideposts of ritual. They also discuss the artwork created for the poem by fellow Muscogee citizen Dana Tiger, which adds beauty and vibrancy to a poem about saying good-bye. Guest:Joy Harjo served three terms as the twenty-third Poet Laureate of the United States from 2019 to 2022. She is the author of several poetry collections, plays, children’s books, and memoirs, as well as the editor of multiple anthologies of Native poetry. Her new book is “Washing My Mother’s Body: A Ceremony for Grief.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

A new cross-county memoir: ‘The Last American Road Trip’

When Sarah Kendzior packs up her family for a road trip across America, she makes sure her kids keep their eyes wide open. She wants them to see this country’s wonders and its flaws. Her new memoir, “The Last American Road Trip,” recounts the dozens of drives they’ve taken since 2016. They leave their home in Missouri and crisscross the country, even as earth-shaking events remake it. Along the way, she disentangles venerated American ideals from the mythology of American exceptionalism. She gapes in wonder at the majesty of the national parks and celebrates the forethought that created them — while acknowledging the threat facing them today. Even the great St. Louis Gateway Arch in her hometown represents both “a triumph and a tragedy,” she writes. It’s “a gateway and a memorial, a monolith with no practical purpose that looks dramatically different depending on where you stand.” Kendzior joins host Kerri Miller to take us all on a road trip across America. Grab your favorite snacks, buckle your seatbelt and come along. Guest: Sarah Kendzior is a journalist and best-selling author. Her new memoir is “The Last American Road Trip.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.