“The Silent Patient may be a first novel, but it has the pace and finesse of a master” says the BBC.

First-time author Alex Michaelides’ novel which landed #1 on The New York Times best-seller list in its first week is the debut book for Celadon, a new imprint of Macmillan.

Says Roxanne “I knew it was going to be a wild and riveting ride from the opening sentence, ‘Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband.'”

We then learn that Alicia, a well-known painter kills her famous photographer husband Gabriel. Alicia then goes and remains silent through her arrest, trial and ultimate institutionalization at The Grove, a facility for the criminally insane. Enter a psychotherapist named Theo Faber who is obsessed with her case and manages to get a job at The Grove with the hope of uncovering her motive.

Michaelides joined Roxanne to talk about the thriller that has already been optioned for film by Annapurna and Plan B. The labels have already produced “If Beale Street Could Talk”, an Oscar nominated film adaptation of the James Baldwin novel.

If you missed Roxanne’s conversation with Celdaon founders Jamie Rabb and Deb Futter you can listen to it here!

Just the Right Book Podcast will no longer be produced by Collisions Media but will continue! Please follow RJ Julia on Facebook and Twitter for the scoop as we transition. Please email us at [email protected] and let us know what you would like to hear more of when we return. Thank you so much to all of our fans. We look forward to returning very soon.

Rooted in common sense, Robert Reich explains what he believes is the common good and how it constitutes the very essence of our nation.

The former Secretary of Labor, political commentator, and college professor joined Roxanne to talk about his latest book The Common Good. Roxanne and Professor Reich had a far-ranging conversation that included the intersection between capitalism and progressivism, the possibility that if we didn’t have Trump we would have someone just like him, and what the 2020 election might look like.

Roxanne hit the Big Apple last week to sit down with Gwen Glazer and Frank Collerius, the hosts of the New York Public Library’s popular podcast The Librarian Is In, a show all about books, culture, and what to read next.

The bibliophile BFFs talked about how they got their start (one was a political journalist), what books they are loving right now, and even debate e-books vs book books showing us why librarians truly have the most novel ideas.

“Check out” The Librarian Is In here!

Click here to Listen to Roxanne on The Librarian Is In

Books in this episode:

Black Out by Connie Willis

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Foe by Iain Reid

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Blubber by Judy Blume

In this special bonus episode, we take you inside the Q&A session of RJ Julia’s recent live event with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Yale School of Management.

Listen to Roxanne’s exclusive interview with Madeleine Albright here!

Everyone has a story…not everyone can tell it. Roxanne says first-time author Erin Hosier “assuredly can tell her story and does so with the kind of wit, energy, warmth, and honesty that rivets you to the page.”

The New York City native and literary agent kicked off publicity for her memoir Don’t Let Me Down at the Just the Right Book studios for her podcast debut conversation!  

The Beatles provided the soundtrack for the long and winding road from rural Ohio to New York City and we meet Erin’s parents who unpredictably trade their sixties rock ‘n’ roll life for Christian hymns. We meet her dad who was prone to violent outbursts. We also get to know Erin as she navigates her way through the debris and love of a fractured family, in the end reminding us that all you need is love.

Other books in this episode:

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy 

The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner

Is your smart speaker listening to your conversations? Is Google reading your emails? Jaron Lanier, the author of the international bestsellers “You Are Not a Gadget” and “Who Owns the Future?” touches on these topics and more when he recently joined Roxanne to discuss his latest book, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.

The Virtual Reality pioneer and founder of VPL Research (the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves) finds that social media fosters addiction, and generally makes us feel worse and fearful about each other and the world.

So, should we say goodbye to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? While Lanier believes it should be a personal decision, he does warn, “because these things are so sneaky, a lot of people confuse their addiction with an actual benefit.”

Books in this episode:

Rumi Poetry: Rumi Poems on Love and Happiness by Rumi

I and Thou by Martin Buber

Knowledge of Man by Martin Buber

This episode of Just the Right Book is brought to you by Zola.com. To start your FREE wedding website and also get $50 off your registry on Zola, go to Zola.com/book!