Host Kathleen Stephenson speaks with Kenneth Sharpe, co-author with Barry Schwartz of "Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing." In the book, Schwartz and Sharpe make a reasoned appeal for wisdom in a world gone mad with ineffectual rules and rampant bureaucracy: from doctors too bogged down with insurance paperwork and quotas to give patients the time they deserve, to teachers too focused on standardized tests to ensure that their students are really learning.

In part 1 of today's hour long Between the Covers program host Ed Goldberg speaks with Kate Morton, author of "The Distant Hours," a modern gothic, with spooky castle, madness, and a family curse.

Kate Morton is the eldest of three sisters. She was born in South Australia and moved with her family numerous times before settling, finally, on Tamborine Mountain. There she attended a tiny country school and spent much of her childhood inventing and playing games of make-believe with her sisters.

www.katemorton.com/

Host David Naimon speaks with Nicole Krauss about her newest novel, "The Great House," which tells a story haunted by questions: What do we pass on to our children and how do they absorb our dreams and losses? How do we respond to disappearance, destruction, and change?

"The Great House" was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction this year.

Host Ed Goldberg speaks with mystery writer Jeffery Deaver about his book, "The Burning WIre," a thriller about a killer who uses the New York electric grid as a weapon.