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

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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!

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

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Book Cougars Episode 228

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 223 - Author Spotlight with Brian D. Kennedy

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Author 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!
Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 220 - A Shocking Buddy-Read with Our Mystery Man John Valeri

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Book Cougars Episode 220

Episode 220 Show Notes

– Giveaways –
Patreon:
Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg

Tenth Episode:
The Gardener’s Plot: A Mystery by Deborah J. Benoit
The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

– Currently Reading –
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary – Alice Hoffman (EF) (audiobook)
“The Bolted Door” from the collection Tales of Men and Ghosts – Edith Wharton (CW)
A Bit Much: Poems – Lyndsay Rush (EF)

– Just Read –
Birding with Benefits – Sarah T. Dubb (EF) (audiobook)
The Dead Romantics – Ashley Poston (EF)
Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall (CW) (audiobook)
The Rom-Commers – Katherine Center (EF) (audiobook)
“Afterward: A Ghost Story for Christmas” or from the collection Tales of Men and Ghosts– Edith Wharton (CW)
Real Americans – Rachel Khong (EF) (audiobook)
What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking – Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft (EF)

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris took an unexpected trip to Nebraska for a funeral. She happened upon a lovely bookstore at the Charlotte airport with a nice sitting area. She also found a little free library in Omaha, Nebraska.

Both Chris and Emily enjoyed the monthly Patreon Reading Salon discussion about recently read books. In November we will be chatting about our favorite author.

On National Louise Penny Day, Chris purchased her copy of The Grey Wolf at Breakwater Books in Guilford, CT.

Emily attended the virtual event "Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: Examining the Truths and Fictions we Tell Ourselves with Lori Gottlieb" via the North Haven Memorial Library. You can watch the video here.

Sue Jackson shared a vlog of her Biblio Adventure to two bookstores in New York. You can watch it here.

Emily binged season three of The Lincoln Lawyer based on the novel The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly. 

Emily and The Gentleman Caller stopped at Bennett’s Books in Deep River, CT where she got a copy of Girl at War by Sara Nović.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
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.

Emily is planning to attend the Connecticut Book Festival on Saturday November 23rd from 10-4.

– Upcoming Reads –
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts – Mary Claire Haver (EF)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
The Illustrated Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood - In Two Volumes - Volume I: Original Title: Varney the Vampyre – James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Preskett Prest, edited by Finn J. D. John (CW)

– Spotlight with Our Mystery Man –
A conversation with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, about our buddy read of the novel Murder in the Smithsonian by Margaret Truman.

You can learn more about John here. Follow his informative and fun interviews with mystery authors over at Central Booking.

– 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 –
Author Shuly Cawood
Author Jessica Pryde
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
One Bright Book podcast
Author Donald Bain
Also by Margaret Truman: Murder at Ford’s Theatre and Murder at the Library of Congress

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 217 - Author Spotlight with James R. Benn

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Author James R. Benn

Episode 217 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (CW)
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Bookseller’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend – Rebecca Romney (CW)
Listen to our conversation with Rebecca Romney on Episode 207.
That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in American – Amanda Jones (CW) (audiobook)
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich (EF) release date 10/1/2024

– Just Read –
Envy – Sandra Brown (CW)(EF) (audiobook)
The Most – Jessica Anthony (EF)
The Gathering – C.J. Tudor (CW)
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver (EF) (audiobook)
Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story – Lynn Ames (CW)

Emily read two short stories:
“The Miracle Years of Little Fork” by Rebecca Makkai from the collection Music for Wartime and published in Summer 2015 Ploughshares literary magazine. “Why Were They Throwing Bricks?” by Jenny Zhang from the collection Sour Heart and published in Spring 2017 n+1 literary magazine.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Laura continue to rewatch the Harry Potter movies.

Emily had two couch biblio adventures, Slow Horses season four based on the book Spook Street by Mick Herron and she finished Presumed Innocent based on the novel by Scott Turow.

Emily visited the New Canaan Public Library.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily will be attending portions of the Windham Campbell festival. The Lydia Davis lecture “Why I Write” is available to watch here.  

Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt to Chester, CT for the grand opening of Montgomery & Taggert, Connecticut’s first Romance Bookstore!

On October 9th Chris and Emily are heading to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA.

– Upcoming Reads –
Murder in the Smithsonian – Margaret Truman (CW)(EF)
Swan Song – Elin Hildebrand (EF)
Classic’s Club is doing a “sync read” of all of Jane Austen’s novels. Learn more here.

– Out Now –
Death at the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book – Kate Atkinson
So Thirsty – Rachel Harrison
If Anything Happens to Me – Luanne Rice

– Author Spotlight with James R. Benn –
We talk with James R. Benn about his new novel The Phantom Patrol
Learn more about James and his book tour here.

– Also Mentioned –
Download the Romance Bingo Card!
Author Marcie Rendon
Author Cal Newport
Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony
James by Percival Everett
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Broadstairs in Kent
McNally Jackson booksellers
The New Yorker Magazine
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust [check out #ProustPilotProject and ]
Why I Write by George Orwell
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Author David Niven
Author J.D. Salinger; The Stranger short story and Catcher in the Rye
Author Jean Conan Doyle
Author Philip Kerr
Author Ian Fleming

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 210 - Getting Cozy with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri

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Episode 210 Show Notes

Two long-running mystery series are coming to end: Maisie Dobbs written by Jaqueline Winspear and Maggie Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal.

– Episode 210 GIVEAWAY! –
The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
Mind Games by Nora Roberts
Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
Skirted by Julie Marie Wade
The winner will be chosen on July 1st. Subscribe to the newsletter to be entered to win.

– Currently Reading –  
Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean – Jonathan White (CW)(audiobook)
Pearce Oysters – Joselyn Takacs (EF)  release date 6/25/2024
Otherwise: Essays – Julie Marie Wade (CW)
Check out our Friday Reads video with John Valeri to see the visual and hear Chris talk about the first essay in the collection.
The Women’s Room – Marilyn French (CW)

– Just Read –
The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One – Nora Roberts (CW)(audiobook)
This is How It Always Is – Laurie Frankel (EF)
Read the Modern Love piece by Frankel in the NY Times: From He to She in First Grade
Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places – Claire Kann (CW)
The Mystery Guest – Nita Prose (EF)

Emily read three short stories:
“Lucky Girls” from the collection Lucky Girls: Stories by Nell Freudenberger.
“That of Which We Cannot Speak” from the collection I Knew You’d Be Lovely: Stories by Alethea Black.  

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt sponsored by the Mark Twain House to see Percival Everett discuss his new novel James in conversation with Michael Harriot, author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. You can watch the video of the event here.

Chris did a Couch Biblio Adventure watching a live poetry reading via Cultivating Voices: Live Poetry via Facebook or you can watch the video here.

Emily had a watch-a-thon of Presumed Innocent, the film, and the upcoming tv series, based on the novel by Scott Turow.

Emily and the Gentleman Caller went to the Book Barn in Niantic, CT where she found a copy of Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark and purchased a gift for Chris, Cather's Kitchens: Foodways in Literature and Life by Roger Welsch and Linda K. Welsch.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On July 23 at 7 pm (ET), Juliet Grames will be in conversation with Sarah Weinman about her new novel The Lost Boy of Santa Chiona at Books Are Magic. There is an in-person or virtual option, tickets are available here.

On August 10 at 2:30 pm (ET), Kimberly McCreight will be in conversation with Vanessa Lillie about her new novel Like Mother, Like Daughter hosted by BookClub on the Go at Resort Lifestyle Communities in South Windsor, CT. You can reserve your seat here.

Emily is excited to see Ann Leary at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT on Thursday, June 20th at 6:30 discussing her new book of essays, I’ve Tried Being Nice.

Dawn Tripp is on tour with her novel Jackie.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Whole Enchilada – Diane Mott Davidson (EF)
Arsenic and Adobo – Mia P. Manansala (EF)
The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo García – Laura Tillman (EF)
The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal – edited by James Crews (CW)
Death by Dumpling: A Noodle Shop Mystery - Vivien Chien (CW)
On What Grounds – Cleo Coyle (CW)

– Out Now –
The God of the Woods – Liz Moore
Same As It Ever Was – Claire Lombardo
Shadow Heart – Meg Gardiner

– Our Mystery Man John Valeri – |
Head to our Guests Page to see prior appearances by John.         
You can learn more about John here and be sure to check out his BookTube channel, Central Booking.           
Books John mentions:
The Dredge by Brendan Flaherty
Dick Tracy Vol. 1 by Alex Segura and Michael Moreci, illustrated by Geraldo Borges and Mark Englert
Middle of the Night – Riley Sager
The Lost Boy of Santa Chiona by Juliet Grames

A cozy mystery conversation inspired by reading Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan.
Rules of cozy mysteries:
· No graphic violence, language, or sex.
· There is an Amateur Sleuth that often has friction between local law enforcement.
· Usually there is a pet.
· Justice will prevail.
· As the series progresses the story often takes place in a new setting; they travel to keep the series fresh.

– Also Mentioned –
The other books in the Dragon Heart Trilogy by Nora Roberts: The Becoming and The Choice
Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection – edited by Madeline Dyer
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn Tripp
Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
Author Jane K. Cleland
Murder She Wrote: Domestic Malice by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Author Leslie Meier writes the Lucy Stone Mysteries

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 203 - Romance Readalong with INDIGO by Beverly Jenkins

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Episode 203 Show Notes

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Patreon Giveaway –
If you are a member of our Patreon Community by March 15th you will be automatically entered to win a copy of The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy.

– Currently Reading –  
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon (EF)
We Got the Beat – Jenna Miller (CW)
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 (EF)

– Just Read –
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells – Rebecca Rego Barry (CW) (audiobook)
Emily read three short stories: “Itinerary” by Lucia Berlin in Evening in Paradise and “Los Angeles” and “Office Hours” by Ling Ma in Bliss Montage: Stories.  
Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton (CW)
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted – Suleika Jaouad (EF) (audiobook)
Summer – Edith Wharton (CW)
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice – Elle Cosimano (EF)
Indigo – Beverly Jenkins (CW)(EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris took a trip to Washington DC and visited The Library of Congress where she purchased a copy of American Libraries 1730-1950 by Kenneth Breisch.

Over on Ingredient One, Emily had a conversation with Louise Miller author of The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living and The Late Bloomer’s Club. You can listen to the conversation, find a copy of the recipe for Burnt Sugar Cake with Maple Icing, and more.

Emily attended a virtual retreat with Katherine May author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times and Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age. Learn more about her Substack at The Clearing.

Emily watched a conversation via Live Talks Los Angeles between Jennifer Garner and Adam Grant about his new book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Unfortunately, Chris is a little under the weather, she and Emily were supposed to go on a joint jaunt to An Unlikely Story to meet Jenna Miller author of the new novel We Got the Beat in conversation with Alecia Dow, Jennifer Dugan, and Jenny L. Howe, but had to cancel.

Chris was also supposed to attend an event at Mystic Seaport Museum with Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos about her book The Pirate’s Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd.

Emily is heading to Wilmington, NC and hopes to visit independent bookstores.

– Upcoming Reads –
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW) send an email if you want to join the buddy read
Women of the Anarchy – Sharon Bennett Connolly (CW)
Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes – Chantha Nguon and Kim Green (EF)

– Out Now –
After Annie – Anna Quindlen
Becoming Madam Secretary – Stephanie Dray
The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels – Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans

– Also Mentioned –
Trespasses – Louise Kennedy
The Women’s Prize for fiction longlist / nonfiction longlist
New publisher: Author’s Equity
The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
Emily’s substack is Ingredient One
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
Severance by Ling Ma
The film American Symphony
Learn more about Elle Cosimano. Other books in the series: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead, and Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun.

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