Nancy Pearl speaks with author Nick Harkaway, son of the great British espionage novelist John le Carré. Harkaway just released “Karla’s Choice: A John le Carré Novel,” a new installment in the saga that stars le Carre’s most iconic character, Cold War spy George Smiley. Set in the decade between “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” with Smiley as an intelligence agent at the Circus (le Carré’s fictionalized version of Britain’s MI6), this book will have fans sprinting to re-read both. Harkaway talks about the challenges of writing a book in the middle of a series, his relationship with his father, and how the books fit into Cold War and British history.

Leah Hager Cohen joins Book Lust host Nancy Pearl to discuss her latest novel, "To & Fro." The story follows two girls—one in a parable-like world, the other in Manhattan—whose lives both mirror and contrast each other. Cohen reveals that this seventh novel is her most spiritual work yet, which contributed to it being her most challenging book to write.

Jamie Harrison's "The River View" follows archaeologist and private investigator Jules Clement as the people of his small Montana town pull him in mysterious and murderous directions. The returning Book Lust guest told host Nancy Pearl the fictional town of Blue Deer is based on her own hometown, though perhaps with a few more suspicious deaths per capita. They discussed the challenge of returning for this fifth installment of the Jules Clement novels, the fun of writing from the perspective of someone not quite like the author herself, and what she's working on next.

Bill Morris' nonfiction book "The Lions Finally Roar" was nearly titled "Natural-Born Losers," that is, of course, until the Detroit NFL team's record took a turn for the better. Morris told host (and Detroiter herself) Nancy Pearl he found a compelling story in what he called the Lions' "culture of futility," fueled largely by loyalty to the wrong people. The book isn't just about sports, though, as he said, "I didn't want to write a football book. I wanted to write a book about Detroit and the people of Detroit."

The protagonists in Jasper Fforde's "Red Side Story" live in Chromatacia, a place where "The hierarchy is based not on something mundane like voting for people, but on the colors that you can see." A sequel to "Shades of Grey," the book is packed with humor, adventure, murderous plots, and a dash of romance. In this edition of Book Lust, Fforde and host Nancy Pearl delve into Chromatica's reflections of our own world, as well as their views on fantasy, satire, and the wonder of audiobooks.

Marie-Helene Bertino's "Beautyland" is based on the author's short story about "an unnamed alien faxing notes on human beings to who she believes are her superiors." Bertino based the story's structure on the lifespan of a star and lent much of her own story to her protagonist's "Earth life" and "magical vocation." She tells host Nancy Pearl she herself has a folder on her computer called "Notes on Human Beings," where she collects the baffling and charming idiosyncrasies of our kind which are not unlike the character's observations. In fact, that folder helped her write this novel, which, at its core, is an examination of "what it means to be a human on Earth."

The history books may lead us to believe it's the grand successes that shape our world, but what about the failures? The epic disasters, the inventions ahead of their time, and the plain bad ideas – surely they have a place in humanity's tale, too? If you've ever wondered about the wins that weren't, comic artist and editor Kel McDonald has the graphic novel for you. "Failure to Launch: A Tour of Ill-Fated Futures" compiles comic artists' favorite flops throughout history (illustrated in each of their unique styles) into one astonishing anthology.

Author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket of "A Series of Unfortunate Events") discusses his new book, "And Then? And Then? What Else?" He tells host Nancy Pearl that it began as a book about the poems of Baudelaire but transformed into something more personal. It offers a peek behind the scenes of the industry and an explanation of how he went from being "tiresome in every undergraduate way" to the writer he is today. Essentially, he says, it's sort of "how I write."

A "Rosie the Riveter"-hunting serial killer roams World War II Seattle in author Kevin O'Brien's first historical fiction thriller, "The Enemy at Home." He and Nancy Pearl discussed the very real history of murder in Seattle that caught his attention, the gendered dynamics of serial killing, and a bit of publishing drama in this latest episode of Book Lust.

The novel "Dayswork," by the married duo Jennifer Habel and Chris Bachelder, follows a woman navigating the pandemic while using the life of "Moby-Dick" author Herman Melville to examine her own. The pair acknowledges that pitching the book's "strange form and...strange subject matter" to their agent posed a challenge. Despite their concerns, the "Melville Vortex" that captivated the couple had apparently ensnared others in the industry as well and they found an enthusiastic response. On the latest episode of Book Lust with host Nancy Pearl, the couple discusses their journey to the renowned author, their decision not to defend his complex reputation, and their plans for future collaborative writing projects.