Episode 214 - Biblio Adventure Extravaganza

Episode 214 Show Notes

August 17th is Bookstore Romance Day! Check your local bookstore to see if they have any special events planned.

– Currently Reading –
So Thirsty – Rachel Harrison (CW) release date 9/10/2024
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)
One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter: Essays – Scaachi Koul (EF)

– Just Read –
The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey (EF)(audiobook)
How to End a Love Story – Yulin Kuang (CW)(audiobook)
Yulin was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 205.
Within Arm’s Reach – Ann Napolitano (audiobook)
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW)

Emily read two short stories by Alice Hoffman:
The Bookstore Sisters and The Bookstore Wedding

The Rose Arbor – Rhys Bowen (CW)
Chris requested this book via BookBrowse. Listen to our conversation with the Founder & Publisher, Davina Morgan-Witts on Episode 193.
The Whale: A Love Story – Mark Beauregard (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris went on a fantastic biblio adventure accompanied by Colleen. They stopped at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead, Edith Wharton’s The Mount, the Emily Dickinson Museum, The Evergreens, Amherst Books, and the Yiddish Book Center.

Books Chris purchased:
The Letters of Emily Dickinson edited by Cristanne Miller and Domhall Mitchell
Emily Dickinson Poem’s: As She Preserved Them edited by Cristanne Miller
Margaret Fuller and Her Circles edited by Brigitte Bailey, Katheryn P. Viens, and Conrad Edick Wright
Bram Stoker: A Biography of the Author of “Dracula” by Barbara Belford
Myself with Others: Selected Essays by Carlos Fuentes
Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse edited by Grace Bauer and Julie Kane
Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books by Aaron Lansky
The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

Emily went to Horizon Books in Traverse City, MI and purchased The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon and the most recent issue of Oh Reader magazine.

Emily has been enjoying the little free libraries sprinkled throughout neighborhoods in Traverse City, MI and she has been spending time at the Traverse City Library.

Chris participated in the Mystic Seaport Museum’s annual Moby Dick marathon.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily plans to shop at the Friends of the Library Book Sale at Peninsula Community Library in Traverse City, MI.

On August 24th Peter Heller will be in Traverse City to chat about his new book Burn. He will be in conversation with Doug Stanton, the author of In Harm’s Way and 12 Strong.

Chris is heading to Chicago where she might find some bookish mischief.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Dragon From Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler (CW)
American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond - Jeremy Dauber (CW) release date 10/1/2024
Hot Air – Marcy Dermansky (EF) release date 3/18/2025
Envy – Sandra Brown (CW)(EF)

– 3rd Quarter Readalong –
Envy by Sandra Brown.
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, September 15th at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Also Mentioned –
Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
Also by Ann Napolitano: Hello Beautiful, A Good Hard Look, and Dear Edward
Author Caroline Leavitt
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
Author Nathaniel Hawthorne
Poet Sandra Yannone
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
New Bedford Whaling Museum

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 208 - Author Spotlight with Sara B. Franklin

Episode 208 Show Notes

– 2nd Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One by Nora Roberts. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join The Awakening Goodreads Discussion anytime and we’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Currently Reading –
The Glass Studio – Sandra Yannone (CW)
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma – Dr. Mariel Buqué (EF)(audiobook)
The House That Horror Built – Christina Henry (CW)
The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook: Dishes and Dispatches from the Catskill Mountains – Chris Bradley, Sara Franklin, and Mike Cioffi (EF)
Head over to Ingredient One for Emily’s conversation about the Lemon Meringue Pie.

– Just Read –
The One-In-A-Million Boy – Monica Wood (EF)
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW)
Emily read two short stories:
“Ernie’s Ark” from the collection Ernies’s Ark: The Abbott Falls Stories (audiobook) by Monica Wood.
“Chapter Two” by Antonya Nelson from Best American Short Stories 2013 edited by Elizabeth Strout.  
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport (CW)
The Paris Novel – Ruth Reichl (EF)
James – Percival Everett (CW)(audiobook)(narrated by Dominic Hoffman)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to New York City to visit Aunt Ellen and The Ripped Bodice bookstore.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is heading to RJ Julia Booksellers to see Our Mystery Man John Valeri in conversation with Tom Straw about his new novel The Accidental Joe.

Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt to the Acton Public Library in Old Saybrook to see Sandra Yannone read from her new poetry collection The Glass Studio.
Check out our video about Ann Petry, the James Pharmacy, and featuring “the bug” in front of the Acton Public Library in Old Saybrook.

Chris and Emily are planning to attend The Cape Cod Book Festival from November 1-3, 2024.

– Upcoming Reads –
In Memoriam reads in honor of Jenny Colvin from the Reading Envy podcast.
Chris is reading Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean by Jonathan White
Emily is reading: This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Please join the readalong and share your memories of Jenny on this Goodreads thread.

Neighbors and Other Stories – Diane Oliver (CW)
Wrapped in Red: Thirteen Tales of Vampiric Horror – edited by Jennifer L. Green (CW)
The Secret, Book & Scone Society – Ellery Adams (EF)
The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One – Nora Roberts (EF)(CW)

– Out Now –
Flyboy – Kasey LeBlanc
The Guncle Abroad – Steven Rowley
Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir – Zoë Bossiere

– Author Spotlight with Sara B. Franklin –
Learn more about Sara here and follow her book tour.
Books by Sara:
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America release date 5/28/2024
The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook: Dishes and Dispatches from the Catskill Mountains
Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original

Read Chris’s blog post about seeing Judith Jones in conversation with Adam Gopnik.

If you’re interested in reading a book written by Judith Jones, Sara recommends starting with The Pleasures of Cooking for One: A Cookbook.

– Also Mentioned –
How to Read A Book by Monica Wood
Ulysses by James Joyce
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
Dear Life by Alice Munro
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
Shakespeare & Company Bookstore
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Also by Percival Everett: Erasure and The Trees
American Fiction movie
Author Anne Rice
Mystery Writers of America NY chapter
Julie & Julia film
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Foods by Judith Jones
The Diary of Anne Frank
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck

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 205 - Author Spotlight with Yulin Kuang

Episode 205 Show Notes

– Giveaways –
Patreon: Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan. You have until April 14th to become a Patreon member.

Newsletter Winner: Congratulations to Calloway, who won The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One by Nora Roberts.

– 2nd Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One by Nora Roberts. 

Our Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join The Awakening Goodreads Discussion anytime and we’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Currently Reading –  
Chris dnf’d The Maiden – Kate Foster (CW)
Emily dnf’d Interesting Facts about Space – Emily Austin (EF)
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW)
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World – edited by Ada Limón (EF)
Emily read the poem “Canine Superpowers” by Michael Kleber-Diggs
Boats for Women – Sandra Yannone (CW)
Chris read “Providence April 14, 1998”
Piglet – Lottie Hazell (EF)
The Highest Apple: Sappho and the Lesbian Poetic Tradition – Judy Grahn (CW)
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Breaking Intergenerational Trauma – Dr. Mariel Buqué (EF)(audiobook)
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential – Tiago Forte (CW)
Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stuart Gardner – Natalie Dykstra (EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
This episode is sponsored by Clitapalooza: Her flower blooms power by Billie Best.
You can learn more about Billie here.

– Just Read –
Wake Up With Purpose! What I’ve Learned in my First Hundred Years – Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt (CW)(audiobook)
You can read Chris’s review here.
Intimacies – Katie Kitamura
Deprog: Volume 1 – Tina Horn, Gab Contreras, Dani Strips, and Lisa Sterle – (CW)
A Baker’s Year: Twelve Months of Baking and Living the Simple Life at the Smoke Signals Bakery – Tara Jensen (EF)
Chris read a preview of River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
When Cicadas Cry – Caroline Cleveland (EF) release date 5/7/2024

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily went to RJ Julia’s Bookseller to see Rachel Slade discussing her new book Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (and How It Got That Way).

Chris had a lovely conversation with a student at the library about The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Emily watched the movie Adaptation, about a screenwriter trying to adapt the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris has purchased a ticket for the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place April 4-7.

Thank you to a listener who called in to tell us about the movie Shirley a biopic about the author Shirley Jackson, Chris and Emily are both planning to watch it.

Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt to Nyack, NY to see the home of Carson McCullers. They are also planning to read the short story “Reflections in a Golden Eye” and the new Mary Dearborn biography Carson McCullers: A Life.

– Upcoming Reads –
Bride – Ali Hazelwood (CW)
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon (CW)
The Twilight Garden – Sara Nisha Adams (EF)

– Out Now –
The Sicilian Inheritance – Jo Piazza
The Husbands – Holly Gramazio
Victory Parade – Leela Corman
A Killing on the Hill: A Thriller – Robert Dugoni

– Author Spotlight with Yulin Kuang –
We chat with Yulin about her new novel How to End a Love Story.
You can learn more about Yulin here and here, and be sure to check out her book tour.

– Also Mentioned –
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Gracy Hendrix
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Worldly Things by Michael Kleber-Diggs
The Glass Studio by Sandra Yannone
Salmon Poetry Press
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Flour Power: The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread by Tara Jensen
Tara Jensen
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
NaNoWriMo
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
North & South Elizabeth Gaskill adaptation with Richard Armitage

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 204 - Author Spotlight with Allison Pataki

Episode 204 Show Notes

– 2nd Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One by Nora Roberts.  The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join The Awakening Goodreads Discussion anytime and we’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Currently Reading –  
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW) send an email if you want to join the buddy read
The Women – Kristin Hannah (EF) (audiobook)
The Maiden – Kate Foster (CW)
Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution – Roxana Jullapat (EF)
Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out – Shannon Reed (CW)
Wake Up With Purpose! What I’ve Learned in my First Hundred Years – Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt (CW)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
Emily read two short stories: “Lot” by Bryan Washington from the story collection Lot: Stories and “Postcards from Heaven” from Reunion Beach: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank.
Chris read the short story “Consequences” by Willa Cather from the story collection Uncle Valentine and Other Stories. Learn more about the Willa Cather short story project.  
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon (EF)
We Got the Beat – Jenna Miller (CW)
Jenna was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 174 talking about her debut novel Out of Character.
Finding Margaret Fuller – Allison Pataki (EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis by Greg Wrenn.

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris had a Couch Biblio Adventure watching Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave and Mary Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan based on John Guy's biography Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart.

Emily took a trip to Wilmington, NC where she tried unsuccessfully to shop at Papercuts Bookshop because it was closed for inventory. She did find two little free libraries where she found Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, Intimacies by Katie Kitamura, and Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

Emily went to the North Haven public library where she purchased Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington and Who’s Irish?: Stories by Gish Jen from the Friends of the Library sale and attended a presentation with Linda Civitello author of Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight That Revolutionized Cooking.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris has purchased a ticket for the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place April 4-7.

Emily plans to attend an event with Anna Quindlen, author of After Annie, in conversation with Beatriz Williams hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers on Tuesday, March 26th at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available here.

– Upcoming Reads –
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World – edited by Ada Limón (EF)
Filthy Rich Vampire – Geneva Lee (CW)
Public in Name Only: The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In Demonstration – Brenda Mitchell-Powell (CW)
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)

– Out Now –
James – Percival Everett
Memory Piece – Lisa Ko
Next Stop: A Graphic Novel – Debbie Fong

– Author Spotlight with Allison Pataki –
We chat with Allison about her new novel Finding Margaret Fuller.
You can learn more about Allison’s books here.

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Kristin Hannah: Firefly Lane and The Nightingale
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024
New England Quarterly Margaret Fuller Prize for New England Literary Studies
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work - Susan Cheever
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Books written by Margaret Fuller include: Summer on the Lakes and Woman in the Nineteenth Century
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

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.

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 202 - Author & Editor Spotlight with Jessica Pryde

Episode 202 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –  
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells – Rebecca Rego Barry (CW) (audiobook)
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted – Suleika Jaouad (EF) (audiobook)
Indigo – Beverly Jenkins (CW) (audiobook)
Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters – Jessica P. Pryde (CW)(EF)

– Just Read –
Emily tried to read two short stories but accidentally read a chapter from the novel That Old Ace in the Hole and the short story “Referential” by Lorrie Moore in The Best American Short Stories 2013 guest edited by Elizabeth Strout.
Vampires of El Norte – Isabel Cañas (CW) (audiobook)
Mrs. Caliban – Rachel Ingalls (EF)
Finding Margaret Fuller – Allison Pataki (CW) release date 3/19/2024
How To End a Love Story – Yulin Kuang (EF) release date 4/9/2024

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily stopped at Breakwater Books expecting to pick up a book for the Gentleman Caller and was surprised to receive a copy of Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook by Sohla El-Waylly.

Chris spent a day in Manhattan at the New York Society Library doing research in the archives and searching for books by Sophia Belzer Engstrand. She couldn’t find Wilma Rogers but there was a well-loved copy of Miss Munday. There were also books on the shelf by her husband Stuart Engstrand including The Sling and the Arrow. A highlight of the day was finding a first edition of Emily Dickinson Face to Face.

Chris and Emily had two joint jaunts the first was in Book Cougars HQ chatting with Booktuber Melinda Ott. The second was a trip to Chester, CT to see Chris’s wife, Laura Thoma, read from her work-in-progress at the Chester Arts & Literary Weekend.   

Chris participated in a virtual event with Rebecca Rego Barry about her new book The Vanishing of Caroline Wells : Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author sponsored by The Ohio State University’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Library. Rebecca recommended two favorite books by Carolyn Wells: Murder in the Bookshop and Vicky Van.

Emily is looking forward to watching a video with Roxane Gay (The Audacity Newsletter) in conversation with Sohla El-Waylly about her new cookbook Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook.

– Episode Sponsor –
If Her Love Was Enough by Catherine Oni

Catherine will be signing books at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT on Saturday, March 2nd from 1-3pm (ET).

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to An Unlikely Story to meet Jenna Miller author of the new novel We Got the Beat. Wednesday, March 6 at 7PM (ET). She will be in conversation with Alecia Dow, Jennifer Dugan, and Jenny L. Howe.

– Upcoming Reads –
Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories – edited by Hannah Tinti (EF)
Shark Heart: A Love Story – Emily Habeck (EF)
Church on the Screen – Julie Fitzpatrick (CW)
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW) send an email if you want to join the buddy read

– Out Now –
Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story – Leslie Jamison
We Got the Beat – Jenna Miller
Grief Is for People – Sloane Crosley
Thirst – Marina Yuszczuk, translated by Heather Cleary
Summer at Squee – Andrea Wang  

– Editor Spotlight with Jessica Pryde –
We chat with Jess about Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters. She recommends the book Well-Read Black Girl edited by Gloria Edim.

Learn more about Jessica here. You can find her writing on Book Riot.

– 1st Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. 

Our Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, March 3rd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join the Indigo Goodreads discussion here. We’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

– Also Mentioned –
Information about the remote control page turner shared by Sigrid (https://www.instagram.com/hatcherstacks):
This one works on the Kindle App, this one costs $10 more but works on the Kindle, Kobos, and more!
The movie American Symphony
Also by Annie Proulx: Brokeback Mountain and The Shipping News
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Carmilla Sheridan Le Fanu
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
The Ice Storm by Rick Moody
Also by Emily Henry: Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Also by Michael Fink (Episode ): The Stranger in the Woods and The Art Thief

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.