Books

Today on The Sound of Books with Fred Kasten, the award-winning debut novel from New Orleans writer and teacher James Nolan: Higher Ground.

To find out more about James Nolan and Higher Ground please click here .

This week on The Reading Life, artist Thomas Mann talks about his new how-to book, Metal Artists' Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw, and poet Katherine Soniat drops by to read from The Swing Girl.

New Orleans, LA – This week on The Reading Life: Poet Benjamin Morris, interviewed during the final week of his residency at A Studio in the Woods, and Fred Kasten's interview with David Gessner, author of "The Tarball Chronicles: A Journey Beyond the Oiled Pelican and Into the Heart of the Gulf Oil Spill."

New Orleans, LA – It's the season for gratitude, for counting one's blessings. I've been wandering my house, scanning my shelves for the books that have made me who I am. Here are some of the ones I'm grateful for.

1. "The Chronicles of Narnia," by C.S. Lewis.

2. "Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Bronte.

3. "The Golden Notebook," by Doris Lessing.

4. "Everything You Need," by A.L. Kennedy.

5. "Parnassus on Wheels" and "The Haunted Bookshop," by Christopher Morley.

6. "The Harry Potter books," by J.K. Rowling.

By Fred Kasten

New Orleans –
Today - on "The Sound of Books" - with Fred Kasten - the widely praised new collection of articles and essays from award-winning New Orleans writer Tom Piazza - "Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America"...

To learn more about Tom Piazza - and "Devil Sent the Rain" - please click here .

By Fred Kasten

New Orleans – Today - on "The Sound of Books" - with Fred Kasten - the acclaimed debut novel from a New York writer with strong New Orleans ties, Stephen Wetta - "If Jack's In Love"...

To find out more about Stephen Wetta - and "If Jack's in Love" - please click here .