Safiya Sinclair grew up in Jamaica with an oppressive Rastafarian father who thought women’s highest virtue was their obedience. She escaped this limited world through her mother’s gift of books, poetry, and education. Her memoir is “How to Say Babylon”Av Nebraska Public Media

The Kaw River runs from the high plains of Colorado, through Nebraska, all the way to Kansas City. The prairie environment and the life the river sustains is the focus of the book “In the Country of the Kaw: A Personal Natural History of the American Plains” by James H. Locklear, director of conservation at Lauritzen Gardens.…

A construction project uncovers a human skeleton in Pottstown Pennsylvania. The mystery of who this person was uncovers the history of a dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived together. Learn more about this New York Times bestseller, “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride.…

What can you learn from tapeworms and lice? A good deal according to Dr. John Janovy emeritus professor of biology at UNL. His new book, “Life Lessons from a Parasite” shows how these remarkable creatures can teach us how to deal with some of humanity’s most difficult problems.Av Nebraska Public Media

A ready-to-retire CIA officer stationed in the Middle East has one final mission- which ends up going dangerously awry. That’s the plot of this year’s Edgar Award for Best First Novel, “The Peacock and the Sparrow” by J.S. Berry, who was herself a CIA officer.Av Nebraska Public Media

This week “All About Books” welcomes Dylan Teut, Executive Director of the Plum Creek Literacy Festival to introduce the children’s picture book, “The Yellow Bus” by Loren Long. This New York Times #1 bestseller is about the long journey of a forgotten school bus that finds happiness and purpose in the most unexpected places.…

Have you ever stopped to wonder who lived in your house before you or, who will inhabit it after you’ve moved on, that’s the idea behind the inventive novel, “North Woods” by Daniel Mason. Starting with a young couple fleeing a puritan colony, a humble cabin in the New England woods welcomes many inhabitants through the years.…

Based on the history of the Black towns that rejected integration as a means of social advancement, the novel “Moonrise Over New Jessup” by Jamila Minnicks follows a family in one of these communities during the late 1950’s.Av Nebraska Public Media

Last week on All About Books it was “The History of Mysteries”. This Thursday, our genre guide, Scott Clark from Lincoln City Libraries, suggests titles and authors for every mystery category.Av Nebraska Public Media

An introduction to the Mystery genre with Scott Clark Lincoln City Libraries' resident mystery novel expert. In part 1, we look at origins and the many sub-genres of the mystery story.Av Nebraska Public Media

For best-selling author Anne Lamott, “Love is our only hope”. That’s the subject of her 20th book, “Somehow: Thoughts on Love”. Drawing on her life and experience, it’s a tour through the many types of love: unexpected, bruised and sustaining. Hear a review this week onAv Nebraska Public Media

Anna and Miranda talk about reading The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall. They muse about nerdy gaming culture, how meaningful honest and mutually loving relationships are and the importance of using your own dice. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/all-queer-here/support…

It’s 1914, and World War I is destroying a generation of youth across Europe. For two young men safely at an idyllic boarding school in the English countryside, the war is heroic and far away. “In Memoriam” by Alice Winn is an epic story about the devastation of war and a forbidden romance that blooms in its midst.…

In the winter of 1978, 14-year old Debora Harding was abducted from an Omaha church parking lot at knife point. “Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime” is her account of the assault and ransom. It’s this year's "One Book - One Nebraska” selection.Av Nebraska Public Media

It’s a book born of the first complete cataloging of the Capitol’s Art. “Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol” reveals the themes driving the art and the people who created it. One of the book’s authors, Kevin Moser, joins host Pat Leach on this week’s program.Av Nebraska Public Media

When there doesn’t seem to be a lot of promising news about our environment, data scientist Hannah Ritchie’s new book makes the case we’re positioned to achieve true sustainability. Hear a review of the book, “Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet” by Hannah Ritchie…

This month Anna & Miranda dive into a "Yes, Daddy" by Jonathan Parks-Ramage and discuss being young and broke and how sometimes that can be leveraged by those with nefarious plans, and how desperation can leave you trapped, maybe literally. #queerbooks --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/all-queer-here/support…

"The Nebraska Sandhills” is an updated perspective on this extraordinary place. Writers, editors, scientists, and photographers all came together to assemble this photo-rich book. 3 of the creators talked with "All About Books" host Pat Leach about the unusual way this book was made.Av Nebraska Public Media