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

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Episode 188 - Author Spotlight with Erin Flanagan and Katrina Kittle

Episode One Hundred Eighty Eight Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

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– Currently Reading – [1:42]
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (CW)(EF) (audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – Sangu Mandanna (EF)
The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (CW)
Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature’s 50 Greatest Hits – Jack Murnighan (CW)
Deer Season – Erin Flanagan (CW) (audiobook narrated by Sarah Welborn)

– Just Read – [11:58]
Let Us Descend – Jesmyn Ward (EF) release date 10/3/2023
The Vanity Fair article written by Jesmyn Ward: “On Witness and Repair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic”
A Head Full of Ghosts – Paul Tremblay (CW)
The Last Ranger – Peter Heller (EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [28:02]
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Boston where they worked at Simmon’s University Library. The day ended with an event at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA where Laura Sims (How Can I Help You) will be in conversation with Paul Tremblay (The Beast You Are: Stories).

Chris and Emily went on another joint jaunt closer to home in Old Saybrook where they lunched at the French bistro Cocotte located in the original James Pharmacy. Then they went across the street to the Hart House Museum to visit the exhibit “Family Matters: Inspiration and Insights from the Lives of Anna Louise James and Ann Petry.”

– Upcoming Jaunts – [39:31]
Chris and Emily are heading up to The Berkshires in Massachusetts for an overnight where they will be following in the footsteps of Nathaniel Hawthorn who lived there from 1850 - 1851.  They will visit Edith Wharton’s estate, The Mount to attend a conversation between Stacy Schiff and André Bernard. Schiff is known for her biographies including Cleopatra: A Life, The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem, and her most recent The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams.

On Sunday, August 27th at 7PM (ET) we are hosting a watch party of the 1934 movie adaptation of The Scarlet Letter. Please send an email if you would like to join and we will send you instructions on how to log-in and watch along.  

On September 10th at 7PM (ET) will be our Scarlet Summer Zoom discussion. Send an email if you would like to join the conversation.

– Upcoming Reads – [44:23]
Weyward – Emilia Hart
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor – Bianca Marais
Hour of the Witch – Chris Bohjalian
The Once and Future Witches – Alix E. Harrow
The Red Garden – Alice Hoffman
Tituba of Salem Village – Ann Petry

– Author Spotlight with writing duo Erin Flanagan and Katrina Kittle – [46:50]
We chat with Erin Flanagan and Katrina Kittle about their new book’s Come with Me (8/22) and Morning in this Broken World (9/1).  
Learn more about Erin and her upcoming events.
Learn more about Katrina and watch her Ted Talk Strong At Our Broken Places.

– 3rd Quarter Readalong our Scarlet Summer –
For more details and to download the Bingo card follow this link.
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (July)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (August)
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (September)
Send an email if you would like to join the Zoom conversation on Sunday, September 10th at 7pm (ET).

– Also Mentioned –
Writers Digest Magazine
Author Sharon Short (aka Jess Montgomery)
Ulysses – James Joyce
National Willa Cather Center
Books by Nicholas Evans: The Loop and The Horse Whisperer
The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E. Harrow
Author Anne Tyler
Author Christina Consolino

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!

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.