Episode 230: "Come for the Skiing, Stay for the Library"

Episode 230 Show Notes

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 2nd Quarter Book – Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! Click here to follow everything Ghost Stories 2025.

There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

The 2nd Quarter Readalong and our Episode 230 Giveaway is The Good House by Tananarive Due. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 8th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

Over the course of the year, we will be reading The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce, one story at a time. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Currently Reading –
The Cliffs – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF)
The Many Lives of Anne Frank – Ruth Franklin (CW)
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW) (audiobook) (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
Love Is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community and Friends – Edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock, illustrated Lisa Congdon (EF)

– Just Read –
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain – Annie Murphy Paul (CW)
Murder Under Her Skin: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery – Stephen Spotswood (EF)
Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel – Claire Kohda (CW)
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout (EF)
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism – Sarah Wynn-Williams (CW)
The Ghostwriter – Julia Clark (EF) release date 6/3/2025
Tilda is Visible – Jane Tara (EF)
The Haunted and the Haunters; Or, The House and the Brain by Lytton from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris had a conversation with Shawn Breathes Books about Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

Emily went on a trip to Colorado. She shopped at White River Books in Carbondale, CO where she picked up a copy of Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham. Next stop was Alpenglow Books and Gifts in Glenwood Springs, where she grabbed a copy of Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Bill Martin Jr, illustrated by Eric Carle. On the way home she shopped at several outposts of Barbara’s Bookstore in O’Hare airport.

Emily started watching the series Long Bright River based on the novel by Liz Moore.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily registered for the All CT Reads 2025 Adult Author Talk with Monica Wood author of How to Read a Book on March 27th at 2pm (ET).

Chris mentioned an Author Talk with Jonathan Losos author of The Cat’s Meow: How Cat’s Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa at the Yale Peabody Museum on Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 pm (ET).

Chris will be attending the Willa Cather Spring Conference in Red Cloud, Nebraska June 4-7, 2024

– Upcoming Reads –
Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff (CW)
Your Brain on Altruism: The Power of Connection and Community During Times of Crisis – Nicole Karlis (EF)
Raising Hare: A Memoir – Chloe Dalton
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Out Now –
Hot Air – Marcy Dermansky

– Also Mentioned –
Why Are There So Many Female Ghosts? By Nathaniel Scharping
Schlesinger Library – Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Other poetry collections edited by James Crews: A Boxful of Poetry
Author Cal Newport
Fortune Favors the Dead: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood
Author Louise Penny
River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury, CT
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 229 - Announcing our 2nd Quarter Readalong in our year of reading Ghost Stories

Episode 229 Show Notes

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 2nd Quarter Book – Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! Click here to follow everything Ghost Stories 2025.

There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

The 2nd Quarter Readalong is The Good House by Tananarive Due. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 8th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

Over the course of the year, we will be reading The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce, one story at a time. If you would like to join us there is a schedule is available on the Ghost Stories 2025 tab on the website.

– Currently Reading –
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW) (audiobook)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
Tilda is Visible – Jane Tara (EF)
The Song of the Lark – Willa Cather (CW)
Learn more about Colleen’s Cather reading challenger here and follow her at https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/.
The Wrong Way to Save Your Life – Megan Stielstra (EF)

– Just Read –
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now…A Love Story – Jason Reynolds (EF) (audiobook)
A Web of Obsidian –Lydia M. Hawke (CW) (audiobook)
Lone Women – Victor LaValle (EF) (audiobook)
How Birds Sleep – David Obuchowski, illustrated by Sarah Pedry (CW)
The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest – Heather Lang, illustrated by Jana Christy  (CW)
The Fishwife Cookbook: Delightful Tinned Fish Recipes for Every Occasion – Becca Millstein and Vilda Gonzalez (EF)
The Hebridean Baker: At Home – Coinneach MacLeod (EF)
Check out Emily’s Ingredient One post about these two cookbooks
Swept Away – Beth O’Leary (EF) release date 4/1/25
What Was It? – Fitz-James O’Brien from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended a Buzz Books 2025 Horror panel with authors and editor in conversation. Including Ivy Pochoda and her editor Daphne Durham, Markus Redmond and his editor Leticia Gomez, Hester Steel with editor Alexandra Murphy, and Daphne Fama with editor Candice Coote. You can watch the video here.  

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure with the Gentleman Caller watching the movie The Call of the Wild based on the book by Jack London.

Emily attended an event at Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT with Elissa Altman and her book Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create. She was in conversation with Kerri Arsenault, Author of Mill Town featured on Episode 123. The genesis of the book began with a guest post on Krista Tippett’s On-Being, read it here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
March 19 at 6pm, Chris is registered for an event via American Ancestors. Megan Marshall will be sharing her new book After Lives, featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 227, in conversation with Janice Nimura, author of The Doctor’s Blackwell featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 139. Register for the event here.

April 3 at 4pm, Chris is registered to participate in a virtual book club event via The Mount discussing Edith Wharton’s A Son at the Front and Willa Cather’s One of Ours. Register for the event here.  

April 9, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt via the Mark Twain House to hear Amy Bloom in conversation with Amity Gaige about her novel Heartwood. You can register for this in-person event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The Haunted and the Haunters; Or, The House and the Brain by Lytton. If you would like to join us there is a schedule is available on the Ghost Stories 2025 tab on the website.
Bright Circle: Five Remarkable Women in the Age of Transcendentalism – Randall Fuller
Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh – Joan Fernandez (EF)
Murder Under the Skin: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery – Stephen Spotswood (EF)
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
A Tangle of Obsidian by Lydia M. Hawke
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Montana Women Homesteaders: A Field of One’s Own by Sarah Carter
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
Poltergeist movie
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
March on the Moors: A Brontë Reading Event with Melinda of A Web of Stories
The Flatshare by Beth O’ Leary
Evie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls by Robert Thorson
Hannah’s Books
She Writes Press
Fortune Favors the Dead: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 228 - Q1 Readalong: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Episode 228 Show Notes

Click here to follow everything Ghost Stories 2025.

– Currently Reading –
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
Hungerstone – Kat Dunn (CW)
Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create – Elissa Altman (EF) release date 3/11/25
A Web of Obsidian –Lydia M. Hawke (CW) (audiobook)
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now…A Love Story – Jason Reynolds (EF) (audiobook)
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin (EF)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (CW)(EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched the movie Lee starring Kate Winslet about photographer Lee Miller. It reminded Emily of reading Whitney Scharer’s novel The Age of Light. Whitney designed the Book Cougars logo and was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 130.

Chris watched Season One, Episode Four of Roar: The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin based on the Roar, a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern.

Emily attended an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers in Madison, CT. Kristan Higgins was in conversation with Charmaine Wilkerson and her new novel Good Dirt.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
March 19 at 6pm, Chris is registered for an event via American Ancestors. Megan Marshall will be sharing her new book After Lives, featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 227, in conversation with Janice Nimura, author of The Doctor’s Blackwell featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 139. Register for the event here.

April 3 at 4pm, Chris is registered to participate in a virtual book club event via The Mount discussing Edith Wharton’s A Son at the Front and Willa Cather’s One of Ours. Register for the event here.   

March 1 at 5pm, Emily will be attending an event at Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT with Elissa Altman and her book Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create. She will be in conversation with Kerri Arsenault, Author of Mill Town featured on Episode 123.

– Upcoming Reads –
Built of Books: How Reading Defined the Life of Oscar Wilde – Thomas Wright (CW)
Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America – Martin Duberman (CW)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is What Was It? by Fitz-James O’Brien. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.
Lone Women – Victor LaValle (EF)
Swept Away – Beth O’Leary (EF) release date 4/1/25

– Out Now –
Three Days in June – Anne Tyler

– Also Mentioned –
The Crone Wars by Lydia M. Hawke
Judy Blume Forever documentary
Forever by Judy Blume
The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
Pamela by Samuel Richardson
The Militia House by John Milas
Adaptations of The Haunting of Hill House:
The Haunting (1963)
The Haunting (1999)
The Haunting of Hill House serialized (2018)
On the Road with Penguin Classics: The Haunting of Hill House
On the Road with Penguin Classics: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Flatshare by Beth O’ Leary
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 227 - Spotlight with Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Megan Marshall

Episode 227 Show Notes

Click here for information about our year of reading Ghost Stories and to download your Bingo card!

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 1st Quarter Book –
Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

The 1st Quarter Readalong is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, February 16th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

We will also be doing a companion read of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.

Over the course of the year, we will be reading The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce, one story at a time. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Currently Reading –
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
O Pioneers! – Willa Cather (CW)
Learn more about Colleen’s Cather reading challenger here and follow her at https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/.
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin (EF)(audiobook)
Good Dirt – Charmaine Wilkerson (EF)

– Just Read –
The Grey Wolf – Louise Penny (CW)
I’ll Be Right Here – Amy Bloom (EF) release date 6/24/25
Bloom was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 153
A New Home, Who Will Follow? – Caroline Kirkland (CW)
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave – Elle Cosimano (EF) release date 3/4/25
The Vanishing Kind – Alice Henderson (CW) release date 3/4/25
Henderson was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 141
Fortune Favors the Dead – Stephen Spotswood (EF)
How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith – Mariann Edgar Budde (CW)(audiobook)
My Life in France – Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme (EF)(audiobook)
The Inn – Guy De Maupassant (CW)
After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart – Megan Marshall (CW)(EF)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce year-long read, first short story “The Old Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell (CW)(EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
The Left Hand by Brittnay J. Sears
Learn more about Brittnay and the novel here.

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched the film The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse based on the book by Charlie Mackesy.

Chris participated in the Women’s Prize Book Club book club with Sarah Waters in conversation with Simon Savidge about her novel Fingersmith.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to The New York Society Library where they participated in a virtual event via the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism featuring Ruth Franklin in conversation about her new book The Many Lives of Anne Frank. Then they attended the in-person event with The New Relic Theatre presenting Lord Byron’s Manfred.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On February 12, Emily is registered to attend an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers in Madison, CT. Kristan Higgins will be in conversation with Charmaine Wilkerson and her new novel Good Dirt. You can register here.

On February 17, Chris is registered for an event via Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library: Belle da Costa Greene and Modern Art with Deborah Parker. Learn more and register here.

On February 20, Jenn Bouchard will be signing copies of her book Considering Us at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT.

– Upcoming Reads –
Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing – Abigail Thomas (EF)
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (CW)(EF)
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now…A Love Story – Jason Reynolds (EF)      
The Cheesemaker’s Daughter – Kristin Vukovic (EF)
The Secret of Secret’s: A Novel – Dan Brown (CW) release date  
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy – Ta-Nehisi Coates (CW)
Tales from the Haunted South: Dark Tourism and Memories of Slavery from the Civil War Era – Tiya Miles CW)

– Author Spotlight with Megan Marshall –
We chat with Megan about her book After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart.
Learn more about Megan and her writing here.

– Also Mentioned –
Learn more about Bookshop.org e-books
Black Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
In Love by Amy Bloom (audiobook)
Author Roxane Gay
Learn more about Alice Henderson’s Alex Carter series
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Author Rachel Held Evans
Next Penguin Ghost Story: “What Was It?” by Fitz-James O’Brien
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
The Singular Tragedy of Anne Frank – Guest Op-Ed in the NY Times by Ruth Franklin
The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition
The Oneg Shabbat Archive
A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
Author Octavia Butler
John Updike’s Rabbit Series
The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romantism by Megan Marshall
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (LOA #388) co-edited by Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 226 - A Book-Packed Episode including Listener Top Ten Reads of 2024

Episode 226 Show Notes

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 1st Quarter Book –
Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

Our 1st Quarter Readalong is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, February 16th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

We will also be doing a companion read of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.

Over the course of the year, we will be reading The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce, one story at a time. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

Listener Top Tens! There were a few ties so we have a listener top fourteen. There is a list on Bookshop.org where you can learn more about the books. (*We are an affiliate of Bookshop.org and receive a commission when you purchase books through our affiliate links.)
1.     James by Percival Everett
2.     The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
3.     The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
4.     The Women by Kristin Hannah
5.     Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
6.     North Woods by Daniel Mason
7.     Clear by Carys Davies
8.     Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
9.     Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
10.   Go As a River by Shelley Read
11.   The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
12.   My Friends by Hisham Matar
13.   Sandwich by Catherine Newman
14.   The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

– Currently Reading –
Winter Swimming: The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life – Susanna Søberg (EF)
A New Home, Who Will Follow? – Caroline Kirkland (CW)
Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories – Jeanette Winterson (EF)(audiobook)
The Vanishing Kind – Alice Henderson (CW)
Alice Henderson was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 141
Three Days in June – Anne Tyler (EF) release date 2/11/2025

– Just Read –
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout – Cal Newport (CW)(audiobook)
Getting Unstuck: Breaking Your Habitual Patterns and Encountering Naked Reality – Pema Chödrön(EF)(audiobook)
The Book of Shadow Work: Unlock the True You: The Must-Have Guide to Inner Healing and Authenticity – Keila Shaheen (CW) (audiobook)
Speak to Me of Home – Jeanine Cummins (EF) release date 5/13/2025
The Last Room on the Left – Leah Konen (CW)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy (EF)
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White (CW)
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern – Lynda Cohen Loigman (EF)(audiobook)
The Militia House – John Milas (CW)
Heartwood – Amity Gaige (EF) release date 4/1/2025
A Son at the Front – Edith Wharton (CW)
What Are You Going Through – Sigrid Nunez (EF)(audiobook)
Alexander’s Bridge – Willa Cather (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Emily watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger.

Chris went to see the film Nosferatu loosely based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Emily listened to a conversation between Charlotte Wood and Sigrid Nunez via the American Writer’s Museum. The video is available here.

Chris went to Chicago and had two Biblio Adventures. The first was a resale shop with lots of books where her mom purchased a copy of Envy by Sandra Brown. Next, she met Colleen at Anderson Bookshop in Naperville. She got a copy of Woodworm by Layla Martinez, translated by Annie McDermott.

Emily and The Gentleman Caller watched the six-part series American Primeval on Netflix written by Mark L. Smith, who also wrote The Revenant.

Chris participated in the first Zoom conversation with Colleen and her monthly Willa Cather reading challenge, starting with Alexander’s Bridge. Follow Colleen: https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/ to learn more.

Chris and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt to Providence, Rhode Island to visit the Providence Athenaeum. They also popped into the Rockefeller Library on Brown University campus.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is going to see the movie The Room Next Door based on the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez.

On January 28, Chris is participating in the Women’s Prize Book Club book club with Sarah Waters in conversation with Simon Savidge about her novel Fingersmith. You can register for the event here.

On February 5, Chris and Emily are registered for the virtual event: The Many Lives of Anne Frank. Learn more and register here.

On February 5, Chris and Emily are registered for an in-person event at the New York Society Library. The New Relic Theatre presents Lord Byron’s Manfred. You can purchase register for the event here. 

On February 12, Emily is registered to attend an event at RJ Julia’s in Madison, CT. Kristan Higgins will be in conversation with Charmaine Wilkerson and her new novel Good Dirt. You can register here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Good Dirt – Charmaine Wilkerson (EF)
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (CW)(EF)
O Pioneers! – Willa Cather (CW)
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
The Grey Wolf – Louise Penny (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Author Louise Erdrich
Author Richard Osman
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Author Edith Wharton
Author S.A. Cosby
Author William Kent Kreuger
Author Willa Cather
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Author Pat Conroy
Author Edgar Allan Poe
Author Nevada Barr
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
American Dirt by Jeannine Cummins
The Shining by Stephen King
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
Also by Willa Cather: One of Ours and O Pioneers!
Also by Sigrid Nunez: The Friend and The Vulnerables
Charlotte Wood novels: The Weekend and Stone Yard Devotional
Oh Reader Magazine

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 225 - Top Ten Books of 2024 with Russell from Ink and Paper Blog

Episode 225 Show Notes

Top Ten Reads of 2024 with Russell from Ink and Paper Blog

– Russell’s Books –
The Most – Jessica Anthony
Sipsworth – Simon Van Booy
Real Americans – Rachel Khong
Hombrecito – Santiago Jose Sanchez
The Safekeep – Yael Van Der Wouden
Our Evenings – Alan Hollinghurst
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout
Universality -Natasha Brown
Intermezzo – Sally Rooney
Small Rain – Garth Greenwell
James – Percival Everett

– Chris’s Books –
Thirst – Marina Yuszczuk, translated by Heather Cleary
Summer – Edith Wharton
We Got the Beat – Jenna Miller
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy
Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall (audiobook)
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile – Candice Millard
The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells – Rebecca Rego Barry
Finding Margaret Fuller – Allison Pataki
Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham – Marcia Clark
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White
The Gathering – C.J. Tudor
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë

– Emily’s Books –
An Exact Relica of a Figment of My Imagination – Elizabeth McCracken
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted – Suleika Jaouad
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon
The Women – Kristin Hannah
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle  – Matt Cain  (audiobook)
How to Read a Book – Monica Wood
The One-In-A-Million Boy – Monica Wood
Sandwich – Catherine Newman
We All Want Impossible Things – Catherine Newman
The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours: A Cookbook – Nancy Silverton and Carolynn Carreno
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension – Hanif Abdurraqib

Listener Top Tens! We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year. You can find the form here fill it out by January 15, 2025.

– Also Mentioned –
Powell’s Books
Read By Ryan on Instagram
American Symphony documentary
Shawn Breathes Books
A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
The Ghost Writer – Phillip Roth
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Author Agatha Christie
Find all of the novels by Elizabeth Strout here
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings (Loa #388) by Margaret Fuller, edited by Noelle A. Baker and Megan Marshall
Normal People by Sally Rooney
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Armadale – Wilkie Collins
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
My Ántonia – Willa Cather

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 224 - Author Spotlight with Pamela D. Toler

Episode 224 Show Notes

Listener Top Tens! We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year. You can find the form here.

– 2024 Reading Intentions Recap –

Emily:
· Read 9 out of 12 Maggie O’ Farrell books
· Enjoyed the Monday Short Story Reading Project
· Met the Goodreads goal of 52 books read
· Book to film adaptation goal of one/month didn’t go well
· Successfully read one new cookbook/month and cooked from them but didn’t document well
· Fun year of Biblio Adventures but didn’t get to some of the hoped for bookstores focused on cookbooks

Chris:
· Met the Goodreads goal of 52 books read
· Finished the Willa Cather Short Story Project
· Read what she wanted to read at the time she wanted
· Read two 19th Century novels: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
· Delayed The Year of Margaret Fuller to 2025, but successfully focused on Moby Dick by Herman Melville
· Read more Romance than she expected

– 2025 Reading Intentions –

Chris
· Open to Buddy Reads but try not to overcommit
· Read more 19th Century novels including Old New York by Edith Wharton, Silas Marner by George Eliot, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and The Red and the Black by Stendhal
· It will be the Year of Margaret Fuller, including reading within Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (Library of America #38)
· Read fewer books and write about them including journaling, blogging, and professional reviews (Read Chris’s review of Trial by Ambush in Criminal Element)

Emily:
· Explore becoming a completist with favorite authors including Anna Quindlen, Alice Hoffman, Erica Wood, Catherine Newman, and Jeanine Cummins
· Consider a Monday essay reading project
· Write about cookbooks and food memoirs on Ingredient One
· Combine reading with Biblio Adventures including museum exhibits
· Set Goodreads goal to 52 books
· Start a book to film adaptation club

Two listener projects:
1. Colleen is starting a monthly Willa Cather reading challenge beginning with Alexander’s Bridge in January. Learn more about it here. And follow Colleen: https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/
2. Robin is doing a buddy read of Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust. Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject 

– Currently Reading –
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White (CW)
Speak to Me of Home – Jeanine Cummins (EF) release date 5/13/2025
Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create – Elissa Altman (EF) release date 3/11/2025

– Just Read –
Emily read two short stories from her Hingston and Olson Advent Calendar: (watch the video)
“In the Stacks” by Robin Sloan and “The Hookup” by Katherine Heiny
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW) (audiobook)
We All Want Impossible Things – Catherine Newman (EF)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë (CW)
You can watch Tina’s video here. 
Little Great Island by Kate Woodworth (EF) release date 5/6/2025
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey – Ngozi Ukazu (EF)

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily enjoyed the December reading salon with Patreon’s discussing their top reads of 2024. We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year, you can find the form here.

Chris watched Conclave based on the novel by Robert Harris.

Emily binged season six of Virgin River based on the novels by Robyn Carr.

Emily listened to an interview with Miranda July on Fresh Air and is not sure if she will finish the novel All Fours.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The next Patreon Reading Salon will take place on January 26th at 7pm (ET) we will be discussing reading intentions.

Chris is heading to Chicago for a visit.

Chris and Emily have purchased in-person tickets for Selected Shorts: Classics with a Twist with Meg Wolitzer and Friends taking place on April 30th. There are virtual tickets available.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Creative Act: A Way of Being – Rick Rubin (EF)
The Heart of Winter – Jonathan Evison (EF) release date 1/7/2025
Alexander’s Bridge – Willa Cather (CW)
A New Home, Who Will Follow? – Caroline Kirkland (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Pamela Toler –
We talk with Pamela about her book The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany.

Check out Pamela’s website.

– Also Mentioned –
Georgia O’ Keeffe: A Life by Roxana Robinson
Georgia by Dawn Tripp
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing by Elissa Altman
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Andrew George
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Sybilline Press
Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 223 - Author Spotlight with Brian D. Kennedy

Episode 223 Show Notes

ALLOWABLES by Nikki Giovanni

I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black widow
And if the truth were told this
Was only a small
Sort of papery spider
Who should have run
When I picked up the book
But she didn’t
And she scared me
And I smashed her
I don’t think
I’m allowed
To kill something
Because I am
Frightened

– Currently Reading –
All Fours – Miranda July (EF)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom – Ilyon Woo (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
The God of the Woods – Liz Moore (CW)
Into the Uncut Grass – Trevor Noah, illustrated by Sabina Hahn (EF)
Hanukkah Pajamakkahs – Dara Henry, illustrated by Olga & Aleksey Ivanov (CW)
Momma’s Going to March – Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas (CW)

Emily read short stories:
“A First-Rate Material” by Sayaka Murata from Life Ceremony: Stories translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
“The Christmas Book Hunt” by Jenny Colgan

A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris was in Chicago and had a browse at the Frugal Muse Books where she snagged a copy of Studies in Classic American Literature by D.H. Lawrence. She also spotted a little free library in Downer’ Grove that was designed, constructed, and installed by an elementary school class.

Emily and her granddaughter Neena had a great adventure traveling from Michigan to Connecticut via plane. Once in Connecticut, they visited the West Hartford, Cromwell, and Wallingford Public Libraries.

Chris and Emily enjoyed the 4th quarter readalong discussion with listeners and readers about A Little Bit Country.

Chris was a guest on Shawn Breathe’s Books about DNF’ing books. You can watch the video here.

Emily DNF’d the new serialized version of Like Water for Chocolate based on the novel by Laura Esquivel.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are planning to attend a conversation between Juliet Grames and Luanne Rice at the Essex Public Library talking about their books The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia and If Anything Happens to Me.

The next Reading Salon will be on Sunday, December 22 at 7PM (ET), we will be chatting about our favorite reads of 2024. You can join our Patreon Community here.

Chris and Emily are both excited to see Laura Thoma’s play Miss Margaret Barton’s Cottage Christmas Surprise. The show runs from December 13-21, you can purchase tickets here.  

– Upcoming Reads –
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (CW)(EF)
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin (CW)(EF)
“The Inn” short story from the collection The Necklace and Other Tales – Guy de Maupassant (CW)
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey – Ngozi Ukazu (EF)
“In the Stacks” by Robin Sloan from the Hingston & Olsen Short Story Advent Calendar (EF)

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 1st Quarter Book –
Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories!
The 1st Quarter Readalong is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
We will also be doing a companion read of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.

Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

– Author Spotlight with Brian D. Kennedy –
We talk with Brian about his debut novel A Little Bit Country.
Check out Brian’s website.

– Also Mentioned –
The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Also by Jennifer Colgan: The Bookshop on the Corner and Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Stevenson
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Chocolat by Joanne Harris and the movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche
Montgomery and Taggert Bookstore
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and the movie Love, Simon
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
My Fair Brady by Brian D. Jenkins
Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!
If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Join our Goodreads Group!
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Episode 222 - 2024 Holiday Gift Ideas

Episode 222 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)(audiobook)
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers – Betsy Lerner (CW)
Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves – Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert (EF)
The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler (EF)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
Complete Starter Guide to Bonsai: Growing from Seed or Seedling--Wiring, Pruning, Care, and Display – David Squirer (CW)
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary – Alice Hoffman (EF) (audiobook)
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote – Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Sarah Green (CW)
I Am Book – Joren Cull (CW)
Trouble Island – Sharon Short (EF)
Check out the conversation we have with Sharon over on BookTube.
The Weekend – Charlotte Wood (EF)

Emily read short stories:
“Johnny Christmas” by Ivy Pochoda from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg
“Cat Brushing” from the collection Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily had a great time chatting with Patreon Members during the monthly Reading Salon. The next Salon will be on Sunday, December 22 at 7PM (ET), we will be chatting about our favorite reads of 2024. You can join our Patreon Community here.

Chris and Emily went on a double date to see a production of the play Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon.

Chris visited The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT.  

Emily joined the Cherry Bombe member book club discussion of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook) featuring Ina’s co-writer Deborah Davis.

Chris watched the first season of Truth Be Told based on the novel Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber and she went to a showing of the movie Wicked based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are both excited to see Laura Thoma’s play Miss Margaret Barton’s Cottage Christmas Surprise. The show runs from December 13-21, you can purchase tickets here. 

Emily is joining Katherine May’s readalong of The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston. You can learn more here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
The Braille Encyclopedia: Brief Essays on Altered Sight - Naomi Cohen (CW)
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (EF)
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon – Kevin Fedarko (EF)

– Holiday Gift Ideas 2024 –
1.       Gift card to a bookstore. You can purchase a Bookshop.org gift card here.
2.       Novel Teas: Loose Leaf Literature
3.       Nerdwax Jinkies eyeglass cleaner (watch the video with Chris showing off her Dracula cleaner)
4.       Hingston & Olsen Short Story Advent Calendar
5.       Give a gift of an experience to a special literary site (read Chris’s blog post about the Library of Congress)
6.       Girl of All Work page flags and book buddies
7.       Autographed copy of a book
8.       Gift Membership to Patreon
9.       Libro.fm gift membership follow this link.
10.   For the cook in your life, an Ina Garten trifecta: an Ina Garten cookbook (she has 13!), Issue #28 of Cherry Bombe Magazine featuring Ina, and Ina’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook)
11.   Author society membership: for example Barbara Pym or Willa Cather  
12.   Book a Date with a friend to read a book together, see the author in person, or watch an interview.
13.   Glocusent Neck Reading Light
14.   Soofa Soft Ring Notebook from Kinokuniya Bookstore
15.   Noise canceling earbuds. Chris uses Apple Airpods.
16.   DreamWrap Bluetooth Sleep Headphones
17.   Make a donation to an organization like BINC Foundation or EveryLibrary
18.   Book subscription to a curated box, for example Honest Dog Books
19.   Go on a Biblio Adventure

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Widows by Jess Montgomery
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner 
Blackwell’s Books
Greener: Can Old Friends Let Us Become New People? by Gráinne Murphy  (Watch a conversation about the novel between Shawn Breathes Books and novelist Barb Howard)
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
National Outdoor Book Awards 2024
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
White River Books

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!
If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Join our Goodreads Group!
Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 221 - Trial by Ambush with Marcia Clark and John Valeri

Episode 221 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
Be Ready When the Luck Happens – Ina Garten (EF)(audiobook)
Advice for New Faculty Members – Robert Boice (CW)
Walking Well: A New Approach for Comfort, Vitality, and Inspiration in Every Step – Michael J. Gelb and Bruce Fertman

– Just Read –
Emily read short stories:
“The Statue and the Bust” from The Collected Short Stories of Shirley Hazzard edited by Brigitta Olubas
“Let the Chips Fall” by Emily Ross from the collection Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories by 2024 edited by Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, and Susan Oleksiw
“Debris” from the collection A Kind of Madness by Uche Okonkwo
“Good Enough” from the collection A Small Thing to Want by Shuly Cawood

This Cursed House – Del Sandeen (CW)
Shred Sisters – Betsy Lerner (EF) (audiobook)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts – Mary Claire Haver, MD (EF)
Read the recent article about Dr. Mary Claire Haver in the New York Times.
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (CW)
Where They Last Saw Her – Marcie R. Rendon (EF)
What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking – Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft (CW)
Something, Someday – Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Emily went with her daughter Rachel and granddaughter Neena to the Guilford Free Library. Where they picked up a copy Miss MacDonald Has a Farm by Kalee Gwarjanski, illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic.

Chris virtually attended an event via Concord Festival of Authors, “The Scrolls of the Past Burn My Fingers”: Reviving Margaret Fuller with Professors Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall co-editors of the forthcoming Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (LOA #388).

Chris went to Breakwater Books where the owner gave her a copy of The Lilac People by Milo Todd.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be attending the Cherry Bombe member book club of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

On Wednesday, November 20th, Chris is planning to attend an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with Karen Olson in conversation with Elizabeth Hobbs and her novel Misery Hates Company: A Novel.

– Upcoming Reads –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Night Side of the River – Jeanette Winterson (EF)

– Spotlight with Marcia Clark and Our Mystery Man –
You can learn more about Marcia Clark here.
Her new book is Trial By Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham.
You can learn more about John here.
You can also follow his interviews with mystery authors on his YouTube Channel Central Booking.

– Poem Read by Emily –

Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want – Ruha Benjamin
Check out the Book Cougars Nonfiction November Video
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Drafting the Past podcast
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
Also by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White and The Moonstone
Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon
O Beautiful by Jung Yun
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Proof of Guilt: Barbara Graham and the Politics of Executing Women in America by Kathleen A. Cairns

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

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