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Books on the Nightstand, Episode 44 (25:55)

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Jenn, over at Jenn’s Bookshelves, wrote a great post about recommending books to strangers in bookstores. For instance, say you’re browsing in your favorite bookstore and two strangers are discussing whether or not to buy a book, and it’s a book you loved. Do you share your opinion?Ann and I tell you our thoughts and the disclaimers we share when we’re recommending a book that our employer published. Hint: we’ll only accost strangers if we’re really passionate about the book!

There are so many amazing fiction books coming out this fall. We’ve talked about some, we’ll talk about others in the weeks and months to come, but today, segment two is all about non-fiction.

I talk about Lost to the West (on sale now), an extremely readable history of the twelve greatest rulers of the Byzantine Empire, A Fiery Peace in a Cold War (on sale 9/22), the new history from Pulitzer Prize-winner Neil Sheehan, and Antarctica 2041 (on sale 10/27), a call to arms to protect Antarctica from development, which might be possible after the treaty protecting it comes up for review in 2041.

Ann tells us about The National Parks (on sale now), the beautifully illustrated companion to the PBS miniseries beginning September 27, Crude World (on sale 9/22), a look at the effects of the world’s addiction to oil, and The Queen Mother (on sale 10/20), the definitive, authorized biography of the beloved monarch.

Gesine Bullock-Prado left behind her life as a high-powered Hollywood executive and moved with her husband to Vermont to open a bakery. Her new book, Confections of a Closet Master-Baker, chronicles a day in her life as a bakery owner, interspersed with remembrances of her childhood and her time in L.A. Accomplished novelist Kazuo Ishiguro returns to bookshelves with Nocturnes, his first collection of short stories, each featuring music as a central theme.
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Antarctica 2041 by Robert Swan and Gil Reavill, Broadway hardcover

The National Parks by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, Knopf hardcover

Crude World by Peter Maass, Knopf hardcover
The Queen Mother by William Shawcross, Knopf hardcover
Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado, Broadway hardcover
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf hardcover