The most interesting author interviews delve deeper than just asking the authors about their writing schedules or what advice they'd give to budding scribes. These 10 interviews look at issues and events from around the globe and provide readers with plenty of food for thought.

Kit de Waal talks about her debut novel, My Name Is Leon, a sparkling, big-hearted, page-turning debut set in the 1970s about a young black boy's quest to reunite with his beloved white half-brother after they are separated in foster care. Read the Interview | My Name Is Leon

In this wide ranging and not to be missed interview Olga Grushin discusses her novel Forty Rooms, a mysterious and ultimately emotionally devastating novel. Read the Interview | Forty Rooms

Sally Hepworth discusses The Secrets of Midwives, which tells the story of three generations of women devoted to delivering new life into the world - and the secrets they keep that threaten to change their own lives forever. Read the Interview | The Things We Keep

Ann Hood discusses the story behind The Book That Matters The Most, and how books help us through difficult times. Read the Interview | The Book That Matters Most

Karan Mahajan discusses how a terrorist bomb near his home inspired him to write The Association of Small Bombs. Read the Interview | The Association of Small Bombs

A Conversation with Laurie Notaro about her first historical novel, Crossing the Horizon, about three real-life women who attempted to fly across the Atlantic in the 1920s. Read the Interview| Crossing the Horizon

A Conversation with Stewart O'Nan about City of Secrets, a timely moral thriller of the Jewish underground resistance in Jerusalem after the Second World War. Read the Interview| City of Secrets

Louisa Thomas explains the process behind the research for her biography of the only foreign-born first lady, Louisa Adams. Read the Interview | Louisa

Brad Watson discusses his novel Miss Jane and the woman who inspired it, his great-aunt who suffered from the same birth defect as his character. Read the Interview | Miss Jane

Ben H. Winters discusses his novel Underground Airlines set in a contemporary version of the USA in which the Civil War never happened and slavery is still legal in some parts of the country Read the Interview | Underground Airlines

Feel a movie can never do justice to a book? Or do you wait expectantly for your favorite books to be interpreted on the big screen? Whichever camp you belong to, it's always good to be in the know. With that in mind here are eleven books that you might want to brush up on before seeing them this fall, and twenty more to keep an eye out for in 2017 and beyond. Read

Epistolary novels are not new - Bram Stoker's Dracula, for example, was published in 1879, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein even earlier, in 1818. The form, which is not limited to letters, (nor to horror novels!) also includes journal entries, newspaper clippings, emails, and other forms of correspondence. Perhaps its appeal lies in its inherent hush-hush nature: the main character seems to share a secret with the reader, something meant for his or her own eyes, or one other beloved's eyes. The reader feels lucky to be included in the communication. Whatever the reason, the epistolary novel continues to be written, and enjoyed. Iona Grey's debut novel, Letters to the Lost, is one such novel. Here are 10 others. It is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but a good place to begin investigating this intriguing form. Read

One of the many great things about books is that they reflect the human experience back at us in so many kaleidoscopic ways. There are times we learn about new people and places and at others, seek validation in a story, to see maybe a bit of ourselves mirrored back at us.

This is one of the drivers for creating a list of books featuring real-life women who led life on their own terms. Each and every one of these gems serves to remind us just how much women can -- and have -- achieved over the years. What's more each woman's circumstance will provide ample fodder for your next book club meeting. We hope you  -- guys included -- see the best of your own selves reflected in these capable heroines. Read