Host Marianne Barisonek speaks with writer Lev Grossman about his new book "The Magician King."

Lev Grossman is the author of the bestselling novels "The Magicians" and "Codex: A Novel". A well-known cultural commentator, he is the book critic for TIME magazine and has written for numerous other publications, including the New York Times, The Believer, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Salon and Wired. He is a graduate of Harvard and Yale and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.

THE MAGICIAN KING is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, filled with high-level spell casting, soothsaying dragons, and interdimensional portals. But at heart, THE MAGICIAN KING is a reimagining of the heroic quest for the 21st century and a reckoning of two young people who set out in search of glory only to find they must make sacrifices they never bargained on and claim a prize very different from the one they set out in search of.

More information on The Magician King is available on Books on KBOO.

Told in the first person, as a narrative of Lilly Bere's life over seventeen days, "On Canaan's Side" opens as she mourns the loss of her grandson, Bill. Lilly revisits her past, going back to the moment she was forced to flee Ireland, at the end of the First World War, and continues her tale in America, a world filled with both hope and danger. At once epic and intimate,

Spanning nearly seven decades, from the Great Depression to World War II and the Vietnam War, "On Canaan's Side" is the heartbreaking story of a woman whose capability to love is enormous, and whose compassion, even for those who have wronged her, is astonishing.

Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955. His plays include Boss Grady's Boys (1988), The Steward of Christendom (1995), Our Lady of Sligo (1998), The Pride of Parnell Street (2007), and Dallas Sweetman (2008). Among his novels are The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998), Annie Dunne (2002) and A Long Long Way (2005), the latter shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His poetry includes The Water-Colourist (1982), Fanny Hawke Goes to the Mainland Forever (1989) and The Pinkening Boy (2005). His awards include the Irish-America Fund Literary Award, The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Prize, the London Critics Circle Award, The Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, and Costa Awards for Best Novel and Book of the Year

More information about On Canaan's Side is available on Books on KBOO

Host Jennifer Kemp interviews young Portland writer Olivia Olivia, who reads from her short story "Charlie Without Violins."

Host Jim Schumock speaks with spiritual teacher Gangaji about her new book "Hidden Treasure: Uncovering the Truth in Your Life Story."

Gangaji, who was born Antoinette (Toni) Roberson Varner, was given the name Gangaji by her teacher Sri H. W. L. Poonja in 1990. Before that meeting, she had pursued many paths to enlightenment. In her book she uses the telling of her own life story to guide readers in telling the truth about their own life stories.