Books

On March 11, 2020 while on the train home from work, Todd Doughty had an idea—put a list on Instagram of “happy-making things in a difficult world." Little did he know on that same day the World Health Organization would declare a global pandemic.

One slight but rather shiny silver lining to the pandemic is that more people are reading more books. Indeed, more of us turned to books for comfort, distraction, escape, education … you name it. The result? The New York Times says print book sales have seen a significant jump.

Idaho Matters talks with the author of a thrilling new summer read.

Steven Feldstein is a Senior Fellow of Democracy, Conflict and Governance at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C. The former Boise State University professor has a new book out titled “The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology Is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance.”

"Brood" is the title of one of the best-reviewed novels in the first half of this year. Author Jackie Polzin attended Boise State University’s creative writing MFA program, and she spoke with Boise State Public Radio Morning Edition host George Prentice about her new book.

Idaho Matters talks with Idaho Falls native Dennis Patterson about his experience living and working in the Gem State as a Black man.

Jackie Polzin, the author of Brood, visited with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about her time in Boise State’s creative writing MFA program, urban chickens and getting a rave review in a rather provocative critique in The New York Times.

Sarah Sentilles is an author, academic, religious scholar and advocate who lives in Idaho's Wood River Valley. Her latest book — called "Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours" — is a personal memoir of her navigation of the foster care system, both in Oregon and here in Idaho.

From pandemics to populism, to the rise of artificial intelligence and gaping inequalities to climate change — humans are facing unprecedented challenges that threaten our very existence. Idaho Matters talks with an author of a new book who is optimistic that we are up to these herculean challenges.

Cate Doty is a former weddings reporter for the New York Times, and has recently written the book titled "Mergers and Acquisitions: Or Everything I Know About Love I Learned On The Wedding Pages." Idaho Matters talks with Doty about the book, which is also a personal account of her own coming of age story.