Oh, was the sound crappy last week? Well, we've fixed that. New mic! Holy smokes! You're really going to like this. It's so much better. And now that we're done with Newburyport Literary Festival and Independent Bookstore Day, it's all systems go heading into summer, and we've got lots of books to talk about, including:

- "The Lion Women of Tehran," by Marjan Kamali, who was the star at Newburyport, and who really captured the audience. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, a meta sort of novel set in Ukraine and grappling with the Russian invasion and how to make sense of it. - "Heartwood," by Amity Gaige, which Hannah started and stopped and ended up finishing, but isn't convinced is really a "thriller." Also, Amity's understanding of Maine seems ... limited. - "The River Has Roots," by Amal El-Mohtar, which is more of a novella, but is really pretty, and a lovely addition to the faerie canon. And it really gets the musical portion of the plot right. - "The Doorman," by Chris Pavone, which is a little different, not an international spy thriller, and shares some qualities with "Only Murders in the Building," but isn't, like, funny at all. Some twists and turns, though. Next time, Sam reads some blockbusters and Hannah gets literary. Maybe.