Episode 200 - Two Books We Can't Wait for You to Read (times 18!)

Episode Two Hundred Show Notes

– 1st Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins.  The 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 also join the Indigo Goodreads discussion online anytime!

We’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

– Listener Top Ten –
You can find these books on the Listener Top Ten of 2023 list on our Bookshop.org page
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese
Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store – James McBride
Yellowface – R.F. Kuang
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt
The Fraud – Zadie Smith
Unlikely Animals – Annie Hartnett
Signal Fires – Dani Shapiro
Absolution – Alice McDermott
The Postcard – Anne Berest

– Currently Reading –
The Iliad – Homer (translated by Emily Wilson) (CW)(audiobook)
River of the Gods: Genius Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile – Candice Millard
The Sicilian Inheritance – Jo Piazza (EF) release date 4/2/24
Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines – Joy Buolamwini (CW)
Upstream: Selected Essays – Mary Oliver (EF)

– Currently Reading –
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination – Elizabeth McCracken (EF)
Thirst – Marina Yuszczuk (CW) release date 3/5/2024
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett (audiobook) (EF)
Chris read the short story “Behind the Singer Tower” by Willa Cather. Learn more about the Willa Cather Short Story Project.
Emily read the short story “These are the Meditations of My Heart” from the collection Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks and “Old Crimes” from the collection Old Crimes: And Other Stories by Jill McCorkle
Erasure – Percival Everett (EF)
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris went to Illinois to pay her respects and bid farewell to the Barnes and Noble in Naperville that is closing. She also got a good browse at her favorite used bookstore, The Frugal Muse. She picked up Hudson River Bracketed by Edith Wharton, Writing a Jewish Life: Memoirs by Lev Raphael, and The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel by Kati Marton.

Emily went to Colorado and attended an event via Aspen Words featuring Ann Patchett in conversation with Elizabeth McCracken.

Books recommended by Elizabeth:
Night Wherever We Go – Tracey Rose Peyton
Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It – Greg Marshall
Mrs. Caliban – Rachel Ingalls

Books recommended by Ann:
So Big – Edna Ferber
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year – Margaret Renkl
Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar
James – Percival Everett
This is Happiness – Niall Williams

Emily visited White River Books in Carbondale, CO where she picked up a copy of The Last Ranger by Peter Heller and the Carbondale Public Library.

Chris watched the movie The Princess Bride based on the novel by William Goldman.

Emily watched the movie Boys in the Boat based on the novel by Daniel James Brown. The audiobook is narrated by Edward Herrmann.

Chris participated in an online forum about craft via the Biography Lab. There was a panel with Janice P. Nimura, “Nasty Women: Making a Good Story out of Bad Behavior.” Janice is the author of The Doctors Blackwell and was a guest on Episode 139. Other panels included James McGrath Morris and Ray A. Shepard. You can watch the video with the keynote speaker, Kai Byrd.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are going on a Joint Jaunt to Bank Square Books for the launch of Luanne Rice’s new book Last Night.

Emily is planning to see the movie American Fiction at Madison Art Theatre based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett.

Chris will be attending a reading of her wife Laura’s work-in-progress at the Chester Arts & Literary Weekend on February 11th at 5pm

– Two Books We Can’t Wait for You to Read –

Chris Wolak
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin release date 2/6/24
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy – Cait West release date 4/30/24

Emily Fine
How to End a Love Story – Yulin Kuang release date 4/2/24
The Paris Novel – Ruth Reichl release date 4/23/24

Michael Kindness
The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels by Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmerans release date 3/12/24
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore release date 6/11/24

Ann Kingman
Service by Sarah Gilmartin release date 6/4/24
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister release date 10/1/24

Author Amy Tector
Death At the Sign of the Rook: A Jackson Brodie Book by Kate Atkinson release date 9/3/24
Honor the Dead: A Dominion Archives Mystery  by Amy Tector release date 4/16/24

Author Andrea Wang
Summer at Squee by Andrea Wang release date 3/5/24
Next Stop: A Graphic Novel by Debbie Fong release date 3/19/24

Author Bianca Marais
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio release date 4/2/24
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rawley release date 5/21/24
Same as It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo release date 6/18/24
Weird Black Girls by Elwin Cotman release date 4/16/24

Author Caroline Leavitt
Splinters by Leslie Jamison release date 2/20/24
Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt release date 4/23/24

Davina from BookBrowse
Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray release date 3/12/24
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung release date 5/7/24

Author Fiona Davis
Anna Bright is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall release date 6/4/24
A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner release date 7/16/24

Author Hank Phillippi Ryan
One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan release date 2/6/24
Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter and her DI Fawley series starting with Close to Home

Author Jennifer Savran Kelly
Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir by Zoe Bossiere release date 5/21/24
Memory Piece by Lisa Ko release date 3/19/24

Author Jenna Miller
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller release date 2/20/24
Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao release date 4/`16/24

Author Rachel Barenbaum
Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc release date 5/14/24

Author Kelcey Ervick
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris release date 5/28/24
Victory Parade by Leela Corman release date 4/2/24

Author Luanne Rice
Last Night by Luanne Rice release date 2/1/24
If Anything Happens to Me by Luanne Rice release date 9/17/24
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames release date 7/23/24

Author Jung Yun
Memory Piece by Lisa Ko release date 3/19/24
Bear by Julia Phillips release date 6/25/24

Our Mystery Man John Valeri
A Killing on the Hill: A Thriller by Roberrt Dugoni release date 4/9/24
Shadowheart by Meg Gardiner release date 6/18/24
An Upcoming Release from Marcia Clark….

Also Mentioned
The Giant’s House – Elizabeth McCracken
Vlad – Carlos Fuentes translated by Alejandro Branger
Telephone – Percival Everett
My Last Duchess – Robert Browning
Also by Lev Raphael: The Edith Wharton Murders
Also by Ann Patchett: Bel Canto and The Patron Saint of Liars
Jacqueline Woodson
Viral Justice – Ruha Benjamin
Long Bright River – Liz Moore
Dinner Party – Sarah Gilmartin
Sweetbitter – Stephanie Danler
We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
The Water Cure – Sophie Mackintosh
The Virgin Suicides – Jefrey Eugenides|
99% Invisible podcast Episode 445 – The Clinch
Louise Penny
The Most Fun We Ever Had – Claire Lombardo
Disappearing Earth – Julia Phillips

Episode 183 - Author Spotlight with Sara Nisha Adams

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

Patreon Giveaway in June is The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller become a Patreon by June 15th to be entered to win.

– Currently Reading – [1:00]
Tiny Beautiful Things Advice from Sugar – Cheryl Strayed (CW)
Quietly Hostile – Samantha Irby (EF)
Voyager – Diana Gabaldon (CW)
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of New America – Gilbert King (EF) (audio)  
(check out the Buddy Read link on Goodreads)
Ulysses – James Joyce (CW)
(check out the Buddy Read link on Goodreads)

– Just Read – [13:40]
Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir – Iliana Regan (EF)
Wilma Rogers – Sophia Belzer Engstrand
My Murder – Katie Williams (EF)
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams (CW)(EF)(audio)

– Episode Sponsor – [38:07]
Episode 183 is sponsored by The Marriage Box by Corie Adjmi. Learn more about Corie here.

– Biblio Adventures – [39:04]
Chris went to the Book Barn in Niantic, CT where she found a copy of Travels without Charley by Bill Goralski. She also attended a fall preview event with Simon and Schuster featuring authors in conversation with their editors, books discussed:
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir – Safiya Sinclair release date 10/3/2023
Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba release date 9/5/2023
Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education – Stephanie Land release date 11/7/2023
Nothing is Missing: A Memoir of Living Boldy – Nicole Walters release date 10/10/2023
Death Valley – Melissa Broder release date 10/24/2023

Chris suggests the podcast Nations of Writers, Episode 27 on Edith Wharton, from the American Writers Museum. The conversation included Anne Schuler, Director of Visitor Services at The Mount and Emily J. Orlando Professor of English at Fairfield University.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [48:18]
Chris and Emily are planning a joint jaunt to Charter Books in Newport, RI to see Claire Fuller on Thursday, June 8th at 6pm. You can register for the event here. They will also visit the Redwood Library and Athaneum.

Chris is heading to the New Haven Free Public Library on Wednesday, June 7th at 6pm to attend the event Preserving Your History: Getting Started with Your Own Archives. Learn more about the event here.

– Upcoming Reads – [50:18]
Life B: Overcoming Double Depression – Bethanne Patrick (CW)(EF)
Julie Morrow – Sophia Belzer Engstrand (CW)

– Out Now – [54:54]
Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America – Krista Burton

– Author Spotlight with Sara Nisha Adams – [54:54]
Sara is the author of our 2nd quarter readalong: The Reading List
You can follow her on Instagram (@saranishaadams) and Twitter(@saranishaadams).
Her next book, The Twilight Garden, is available from the UK now and will be available for purchase in the United States in April 2024.

– 3rd Quarter Readalong – Scarlet Summer – [54:54]
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (July)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (August)
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (September) release date 10/15/2023

– Also Mentioned –
David Sedaris
Moonrise Over New Jessup – Jamila Minnicks
Britta Bohler Booktube channel: The Second Shelf
The Odyssey – Homer
Burn the Place – Iliana Regan
American Library Association Podcast: Call Number
Marian Engel
The Final Girl Support Group – Grady Hendrix
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
Books on The Reading List:
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Beloved – Toni Morrison
A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive – Stephanie Land
The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize
Ruth Ware
Jo Nesbo
Denise Mina
The Red Garden – Alice Hoffman
The Peabody Sisters – Megan Marshall

You can 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 182 - Biblio Adventure Bonanza: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

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

– Currently Reading – [1:00]
Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America – Krista Burton (CW) release date 6/6/23
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams (CW)(EF)
Cat Brushing – Jane Campbell (CW)

– Just Read – [8:37]
Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen – Anna Voloshyna (EF)
Shakespeare and Company – Sylvia Beach (CW)

– Biblio Adventures – [17:31]
Chris and Emily went to see the movie Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret based on the book by Judy Blume.  

Chris watched Fried Green Tomatoes based on the book by Fannie Flagg.

Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers to see Mary Beth Keane talk about her new book The Half Moon.

Chris went to Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. She also visited Monroe Street Books in Middlebury where she purchased: New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton, A Manual of Archive Administration by Hilary Jenkinson, and So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance by Gabrielle Zaid. On the drive home she made stops at Rodgers Book Barn in Hillsdale, NY and Oblong Books in Millerton, NY.

– Episode Sponsor – [38:58]
Episode 182 is sponsored by Rewriting Illness by Elizabeth Benedict. Learn more about Elizabeth here.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [39:52]
Chris will be celebrating World Dracula Day on May 26th with plans to work on a puzzle and listen to an audiobook of the book.

Emily is going to try watching the television series Bridgerton based on the books by Julia Quinn.

– Our Big Book Summer Reading Challenge – [43:05]
We are joining our friend Sue Jackson’s summer reading challenge by reading a book that is over 400 pages. The challenge runs from May 25 – September 4. Learn more on her blog.

Ulysses – James Joyce (CW)
(check out the Buddy Read link on Goodreads)

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of New America – Gilbert King (EF) (audio)  
(check out the Buddy Read link on Goodreads)

Novels that Emily is considering:
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliott Dark
The Great Reclamation – Rachel Heng
Three – Valérie Perrin
Properties of Thirst – Marianne Wiggins

Chris might read The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American American Romanticism by Megan Marshall.

– Out Now – [54:54]
Life B: Overcoming Double Depression – Bethanne Patrick
Summer Stage – Meg Mitchell Moore

– Also Mentioned –
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffeneger
Bison Books
Joyce Maynard
Katherine May: Enchantment and Wintering
Ask Again, Yes – Mary Beth Keane
Marian Engel
Fresh Water for Flowers – Valerie Perrin
Horace Mann
Nathaniel Hawthorne

You can 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 181 - Author Spotlight with Sharon Salzberg

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

– Currently Reading – [1:31]
Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen – Anna Voloshyna (EF)
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again – Rachel Held Evans (CW)
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age – Katherine May (EF) (audio)
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times – Katherine May (narrated by Rebecca Lee) (CW)

– Just Read – [13:11]
Luli and the Language of Tea – Andrea Wang, Hyewon Yum (illustrator) (EF)
The Smart Cookie – Jory John, (illustrated by Pete Oswald)
Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver – narrated by Sophia Bush (EF)
Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom – Sharon Salzberg (CW)(EF)(audio)

– Episode Sponsor – [25:56]
Episode 181 is sponsored by The Cost of Electricity by Kathryn Holzman. Learn more about Kathryn here.

– Biblio Adventures – [26:41]
Chris attended the first of a four-part virtual series with author Benjamin Taylor through the National Willa Cather Center. Taylor’s new book, Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather, publishes on November 14, 2023. Learn about Taylor’s virtual study series here.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure watching Judy Blume Forever via Amazon Prime.

Chris completed a Jane Austen puzzle.

Emily had a weekend of fun at the Newburyport Literary Festival where she moderated two panels, one about The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us about Love, Life, and Mortality with Karen Fine, DVM and the other discussing Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives by Robert D. Richardson. Emily talked with Megan Marshall who wrote the foreword. She also attended a panel about the short story with Ann Hood, Richard Russo, Andre Dubus III, and Joshua Bodwell discussing the new collection, Reaching Inside: 50 Acclaimed Authors on 100 Unforgettable Short Stories. She enjoyed a conversation between Liberty Hardy and Kamila Shamsie chatting about her novel Best of Friends and got time to browse through Jabberwocky Bookshop where she picked up the Spring 2023 Edition of Ploughshares edited by Alice Hoffman.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [43:23]
Chris will be going on a jaunt to Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT for Booktopia 2023.

Emily is heading to Savoy Bookshop & Café on May 17th to see Mary Beth Keane discuss her new novel The Half Moon.

– Upcoming Reads – [46:02]
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams (CW)(EF)
May 26th is World Dracula Day, so Chris is thinking of re-reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

– Out Now – [47:17]
The Collected Regrets of Clover – Mikki Brammer

– Author Spotlight with Sharon Salzberg – [47:30]
We speak with Sharon about her book Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom. Learn more about Sharon Salzberg and her Metta Hour podcast here.

– Also Mentioned –
Judy Prescott Marshall
Watercress – Andrea Wang (featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 158)
Pushkin Studios
Metta Hour podcast
EveryLibrary
American Library Association
Ask Again, Yes – Mary
Barbara L. Frederickson, Ph.D.
bell hooks

You can 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 180 - Travels with Chris, Emily, and Charley

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

– Giveaway News –
Every tenth episode we give books away! We have two books this time: Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly and Night Flight to Paris by Cara Black. To be automatically entered to win, become a newsletter subscriber by May 1st. The upcoming Patreon giveaway is The Dig by Anne Burt. To be automatically entered to win, become a Patreon by May 15th.

– Currently Reading – [4:14]
Writing for Impact: 8 Secrets from Science That Will Fire Up Your Readers’ Brains – Bill Birchard (CW)
Follow this link to find his articles on Psychology Today.
The East Indian – Brinda Charry (EF)
Creating Rain Gardens: Capturing the Rain for Your Own Water-Efficient Garden – Cleo Woelfe-Erskine and Apryl Uncapher (CW)
Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives – Robert D. Richardson with a foreword by Megan Marshall (EF)

– Just Read – [13:15]
The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us about Love, Life, and Mortality – Karen Fine, DVM (EF)(audio)
Chase of the Wild Goose – Mary Gordon (CW)
Summer Stage – Meg Mitchell Moore (EF) release date 5/23/2023
Travels with Charley in Search of America – John Steinbeck (CW)(EF)(audio)

– Episode Sponsor – [38:14]
Episode 180 is sponsored by The Peak Experiment. Learn more about Diana here.

– Biblio Adventures – [39:03]
Emily started listening to the Women’s Prize for Fiction podcast. So far she has listened to Season 5, Episode 12, with Maggie O’Farrell who recommended Where the God of Love Hangs Out Amy Madeline Season 5, Episode 15 Madeline Miller recommended Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.

Chris went to the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library to get her hands on a copy of The Way it Was by Harold Loeb and a first edition of Dracula. Learn more about the Poison Book Project: how it started and how it is going.

Emily went to the Madison Cinemas to see The Quiet Girl based on the novella Foster by Claire Keegan.

Chris and Emily went on a two-day joint jaunt to New York City. Chris worked at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. Emily volunteered at Cherry Bombe Jubilee. On the second day, Chris wandered from the Lower Eastside to Midtown and stopping at Codex Books, NYU Bookstore, and The Strand.

Emily binged Tiny Beautiful Things on Hulu based on the book by Cheryl Strayed.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [59:17]
On April 26th, Emily will be attending a virtual conversation with Maggie Smith and Elissa Altman about Maggie’s just released memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful; co-sponsored by Barrett Bookstore and Main Street Books.

Chris is planning to attend a series of four virtual events with author Benjamin Taylor that the National Willa Cather Center is offering beginning on April 27th. Taylor’s new book, Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather, publishes on November 14, 2023. Learn about Taylor’s virtual study series here.

Willa Cather’s birthplace is for sale: learn more here.

Emily is heading to the Newburyport Literary Festival April 28-30 where she will be moderating two author sessions:
Fur, Feathers, and Scales: A Lifetime of Caring for Pets with author Karen Fine and Shaped by Loss: How Tragedy Changed the Lives of Emerson, Thoreau, and William James with author Megan Marshall.

May 4-5th, Chris and Emily will be going on a joint jaunt to Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT for Booktopia 2023.

– Upcoming Reads – [01:04:39]
Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom – Sharon Salzberg (CW)(EF)

– Out Now – [01:05:59]
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club – J. Ryan Straddal

– Our 25th Readalong –
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. Order from Bookshop.org, the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars. Join the online conversation on Goodreads. Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom readalong discussion will take place on May 21st at 7PM (ET), Chris and Emily will discuss it on Episode 183.

– Also Mentioned –
West with Giraffes – Lynda Rutledge
Books by Robert Richardson: William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism, Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind, and Emerson: The Mind on Fire.
Margaret Fuller: A New American Life – Megan Marshall
The Islanders – Meg Mitchell Moore
Ann Petry
The Sunwise Turn Bookshop
The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
The Poison Book Project
Grove Press
Brokeback Mountain – Annie Proulx
Brokeback Mountain movie
Kitchen Arts & Letters Bookstore
Jabberwocky Bookshop

You can 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 178 - Author Spotlight with Jennifer Savran Kelly

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

– Announcing our 25th Readalong –
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. Order a print copy from Bookshop.org or the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars. Join the online conversation on Goodreads. Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom readalong discussion on May 21st at 7PM (ET), Chris and Emily will discuss it on Episode 183.

– Giveaway News –
Thank you to William Morrow, we have one copy of The Reading List to giveaway. Join our newsletter by March 29th to be automatically entered to win.
The upcoming Patreon giveaway is The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly by Katherine A. Sherbrooke To be automatically entered to win, become a Patreon by April 15th.

– Currently Reading – [4:30]
Chase of the Wild Goose – Mary Gordon (CW)
Life B: Overcoming Double Depression – Bethanne Patrick (EF) release date 5/16/2023
Why Am I So Anxious: Powerful Tools for Recognizing Anxiety and Restoring Your Peace – Tracey Marks (CW)(audio)
You can find her on YouTube.
Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks, and Messy Kitchens: A Cookbook – Ruby Tandoh (EF)
Voyager – Diana Gabaldon (CW)

– Just Read – [15:15]
“Jack-A-Boy” – Willa Cather (CW)
Join the Willa Cather Short Story Project with Chris Wolak.
The Memory of Animals – Claire Fuller (EF) release date 6/6/2023
Dragonfly In Amber – Diana Gabaldon (CW)
Our Best Intentions – Vibhuti Jain (EF)
The Warden – Anthony Trollope (CW)
I Have Some Questions for You – Rebecca Makkai (EF) narrated by Julia Whelan and JD Jackson
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe – Mark Dawidziak

– Episode Sponsor – [41:38]
Episode 177 is sponsored by FREEGIFT by James Benn; watch the book trailer. Learn more about James here.

– Biblio Adventures – [42:47]
Chris went on a jaunt to New Haven and visited the Institute Library hoping to find a copy of The Sunwise Turn: A Human Comedy of Bookselling by Madge Jenison, Atticus Bookstore Cafe, and Sterling Memorial Library.  

Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT to hear Ann Napolitano author of Hello Beautiful in conversation with Soon Wiley author of When We Fell Apart.

Chris attended two virtual events via the Biographer’s International Organization podcast (Bio):
Podcast #124 – Eliza Scidmore: The Trailblazing Journalist Behind Washington’s Cherry Trees by Diana P. Parsell.
Podcast #125 – Inventing the It Girl: How Elinor Glyn Created the Modern Romance and Conquered Early Hollywood by Hilary A. Hallett.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [54:15]
Chris and Emily are planning a trip to Simmons University Library in Boston and Flour Bakery in Boston.

Chris is heading to New York City to meet a fellow writer and visit the new McNally Jackson bookstore in Rockefeller Center.

– Upcoming Reads – [55:40]
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret – Judy Blume (CW)(EF)
Watch the video with us talking about the book on YouTube.
Properties of Thirst – Marianne Wiggins (EF)
Travels with Charley in Search of America – John Steinbeck (CW)(EF)
Learn more about the Vintage Book Club.

– Author Spotlight with Jennifer Savran Kelly – [1:00:55]
We speak with Jennifer about her debut novel Endpapers. Learn more about Jenn here.

– Also Mentioned –
Bright and Deadly Things – Lexie Elliott
Speak for the Dead – Amy Tector
Leaving Coy’s Hill – Katherine Sherbrooke
Pegasus Books
Lurid Editions
Sarah Waters
Also by Ruby Tandoh: Eat Up!: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want and Flavour: Eat
What You Love
Tin House
Charles Dickens
Matthew Pearl
Drafting the Past podcast
Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
Ann Petry – watch a video of Chris and Emily in front of Ann’s house in Old Saybrook, CT
Jenny Holzer
Cornell University Press
Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
9 to 5 movie

You can 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 177 - Author Spotlight with Amy Tector

Episode One Hundred Seventy Seven Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Giveaway News –
The upcoming Patreon giveaway is Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott. Check out Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, in conversation with Lexie on Episode 128 of Central Booking. To be automatically entered to win, become a Patreon by March 15th.  We also have a copy of Speak for the Dead by Amy Tector for our newsletter subscribers. To be automatically entered to win, become a newsletter subscriber by March 15th.

– Currently Reading – [2:35]
My Kitchen Wars – Betty Fussell (EF)
The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarian, and Others – Sidney E. Berger (CW)
The Memory of Animals – Claire Fuller (EF) release date 6/6/2023
The Warden – Anthony Trollope (CW)

– Just Read – [10:53]
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun – Elle Cosimano (EF)
Parnassus on Wheels – Christopher Morley (CW)(EF) (audio) Join the conversation on Goodreads thread.
Watch Ann Patchett on The Colbert Report.
Watch Ann Patchett with Reese Witherspoon.

– Episode Sponsor – [35:44]
Episode 177 is sponsored by The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton. Learn more about Julie here.

– Biblio Adventures – [36:25]
Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT to hear Will Schwalbe talk about his new book We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship.

Chris attended a virtual event via the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, “Understanding Katherine S. Days Identity: Interpreting Sexuality in Early 20th Century New England, Four Case Studies in LGBTQIA+ History.”

Emily had a great trip to California to see Aunt Ellen. They walked through Berkeley visiting loads of little free libraries, visited the Main Branch of the Berkeley Public Library and Ellen’s local branch. They visited ten bookstores: Half Price Books, Sleepy Cat Books, Books Inc., Black Swan Vintage Books, Owl & Company Bookshop, Pegasus Books, Moe’s Books, Spectator Books, Out of the Closet Thrift Store, and Friends of the Berkeley Public Library.  

– Upcoming Jaunts – [51:19]
Emily hopes to join in on an Instagram Live on March 14th with Idra Novey via Golden Notebook Bookstore in Woodstock, CT discussing her novel Take What You Need.  

– Upcoming Reads – [52:13]
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader – Anne Fadiman
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret – Judy Blume

– Announcing our 25th Readalong –
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. Order from Bookshop.org, the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars. Join the online conversation on Goodreads. Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom readalong discussion will take place on May 21st at 7PM (ET), Chris and Emily will discuss it on Episode 183.

– Author Spotlight with Amy Tector – [57:23]
We speak with Amy about the second novel in the Dominion Archives Mystery series Speak for the Dead, available now! Amy’s other two novels are The Foulest Things and The Honeybee Emeralds. Learn more about Amy here.

– Out Now – [01:26:24]
Pineapple Street – Jenny Jackson
Hello Beautiful – Anne Napolitano
Take What You Need – Idra Novey
All That Is Mine I Carry With Me – William Landay

– Also Mentioned –
Unsettled Ground – Claire Fuller
Charles Dickens
Wilkie Collins
Bleak House – Charles Dickens
The Awakening – Kate Chopin
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Mad Women’s Ball – Victoria Mas
Louise Penny
Tin House Publisher
Alice Hoffman
True Grit – Charles Portis
Thirst – Amélie Nothomb
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – Anne Fadiman
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – Samin Nosrat
Heart Is A Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers
Sapphira and the Slave Girl – Willa Cather
Defending Jacob – William Landay

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