Episode 216 - Guest Spotlight with Michael Kelleher, Director of the Windham Campbell Prizes

Episode 216 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh – Claudia Gray (CW)
Envy – Sandra Brown (EF) (audiobook)
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading – James Patterson and Matt Eversmann (CW)

– Just Read –
Envy – Sandra Brown (CW)
Just for the Summer – Abby Jimenez (EF) (audiobook)
The Truth’s We Hold: An American Story – Kamala Harris (CW) (audiobook)
Big – Vashti Harrison (EF)

Chris and Emily did a buddy read of the short story “Double Birthday” by Willa Cather from the collection The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike.

You can read Chris’s blog post here.

Emily also read “Disaster Stamps of Pluto” by Louise Erdrich from the collection The Best American Mystery Stories 2005 edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Otto Penzler.

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives – Julie Lawson Timmer (EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
Deadly Ripples by Penny Goetjen publishes on 9/17/2024.
Learn more about and follow Penny’s book tour here.

– Big Book Summer Reading Challenge Reflection –
Emily read:
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
The Awakening by Nora Roberts

Chris read:
The Awakening by Nora Roberts
Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition by the American Psychological Association
MLA Handbook, 9th edition by The Modern Language Association of America

Chris wrote a blog post about her Big Book Summer Challenge 2024 plans.

Watch our BookTube video about our Big Book Summer Hopefuls.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris had a lunch date with Kate at Knot Norm’s in Norwalk, CT to talk about their Moby Dick buddy read.

Emily watched the film The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat based on the novel by Edward Kelsey Moore via Hulu.

Chris and Laura are enjoying rewatching the Harry Potter movies; helping Chris get reacquainted with the stories.

Chris is on the search for the episode and book The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is planning a trip to the Sterling Library at Yale to see the exhibit Whaling Logbooks: Records of a Maritime Industry. She is also studying the new tri-fold pamphlet in preparation for the upcoming Guilford, CT library book sale from September 27-29th.

Emily is signed up to attend "Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: Examining the Truths and Fictions we Tell Ourselves with Lori Gottlieb"! via the North Haven Memorial Library on October 22 at 2pm (ET). Register here.

We will be in conversation with James R. Benn about his new novel The Phantom Patrol, on Thursday, September 19th, at 6 pm (ET)! Bank Square Books is hosting the event, and because they are in the middle of a move, it will be held at the gorgeous Mystic Noank Library in Mystic, CT. The event is free, register here to save your spot.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Most – Jessica Anthony (EF)
The Mesmerist – Caroline Woods (EF)
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich (EF) release date 10/1/2024
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Old New York – Edith Wharton (CW)
Silas Marner – George Elliot (CW)
The Turn of the Screw – Charles Dickens (CW)
The Red and the Black - Stendhal (CW)
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (CW)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW) [check out #ProustPilotProject]
Murder in the Smithsonian – Margaret Truman (CW)(EF)

– Guest Spotlight: Michael Kelleher with the Windham Campbell Literary Awards –
Learn more about the Windham Campbell Prizes.
The 2024 Festival takes place from September 17-20. You can find the schedule here. 
You can follow the awards on Instagram and YouTube

– 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 –
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Also by Abby Jimenez: Part of Your World and Yours Truly
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky release date 3/18/2025
Also by Willa Cather: One of Ours and The Song of the Lark
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA for the exhibit Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick running through January 4, 2026
The Supremes Sing The Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore
The Lunar Housewife by Caroline Woods
Books and Things host of Victober 2024
Also by Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone and The Woman in White
Murder in the CIA by Margaret Truman
The Book Barn in Niantic, CT
Babel Literary Series

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!

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Episode 213 - "I'll Have What You're Reading" with Booktuber Shawn Breathes Books

Episode 213 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey (EF)(audiobook)
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)

– Just Read –
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliott Dark (CW)(EF)(audiobook)
This was a buddy read, if you’re interested in reading along join the Goodreads discussion thread.
Emily read three short stories:
“Janus” by Ann Beattie and “In the Gloaming” by Alice Elliott Dark both from the collection The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike and Katrina Kenison.
“A Blind Man Could See How Much I Love You” by Amy Bloom from the collection A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You: Stories.

Chris read two short stories:
“Uncle Valentine” by Willa Cather from the collection Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather’s Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929, edited by Bernice Slote. You can learn more about the Willa Cather short story project here.
“The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier from the collection The Birds and Other Stories [This collection was first published in the UK in 1952 with the title, The Apple Tree: A Short Novel and Several Long Stories] 

– Episode Sponsor –
I Left My Hormones in Another World by Angela Wicke
You can read the first chapter of the book here.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Long Island, NY. You can watch a video recap of the day. They ate lunch at Armin & Judy, visited the Barnes and Noble in Bridgehampton, John Steinbeck Waterfront Park in Sag Harbor, Sag Harbor Books, Black Cat Books on Shelter Island, and Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure, thanks to listener Kathy who told us about a conversation with Percival Everett, Cord Jefferson, and Jelani Cobb via City Arts & Lectures.

Chris visited the East Lyme Public Library where she purchased the first season of the television series China Beach which reminded her that she hopes to read Kristin Hannah’s novel The Women.

Chris checked off another box on her Romance Bingo Card by watching the movie Letters to Juliet based on the novel Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love by Lise Friedman and Ceil Friedman.

While in NYC Chris had a great book haul at the McNally Jackson bookstore at Rockefeller Center where she purchased a copy of Valentino and Sagittarius by Natalie Ginzburg.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is on the hunt for a copy of The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon in Traverse City, MI. There are two lovely independent bookstores to choose from on the same block, Brilliant Books and Horizon Books.

Emily plans to watch the video recap of Juliet Grames in conversation with Sarah Weinman featuring the book launch of The Lost Boys of Santa Chionia via Books are Magic bookstore. 

Chris is heading to the Mystic Seaport Museum to participate in the Moby Dick marathon.

– Upcoming Reads –
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings – edited by Brigitte Bailey, Noelle Baker, and Megan Marshall (CW)
The Grey Wolf – Louise Penny (CW) release date 10/29/24
The Phantom Patrol – James Benn (CW)(EF)
Chris and Emily will be in conversation with James at the Mystic-Noank library on September 19th at 6:00. You can register for the event here.

– 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.

– Out Now –
Bear – Julia Phillips
A Novel Summer – Jamie Brenner
The Goodbye Process – Mary Jones

– “I’ll Have What You’re Reading” with Booktuber Shawn Breathes Books –
BookTuber Shawn Breathes Books joins us to celebrate Jenny Colvin and “I’ll Have What You’re Reading,” the memorial buddy read we jointly hosted. Subscribe to Shawn’s BookTube channel here. Join the I’ll Have What You’re Reading Goodreads thread.
Watch our discussion of the memorial readalong on Shawn’s channel.

Jenny’s two blogs: Reading Envy &Jenny Bakes

“Sweetgrass is Around Her” by Salli M. Kawennotakie Benedict from the collection When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Joy Harjo.

Shawn read Music & Silence by Rose Tremain.
Emily read This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel.
Chris read Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean by Jonathan White.

Listen to Jenny Colvin read the poem “My Religion is the Sea” by Adebe DeRango-Adem.

Chris and Emily read the short story “Train” by Alice Munro. Soon after an essay was published by Alice’s daughter Andrea Robin Skinner revealing sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. We discuss how it has impacted us as readers. You can watch Shawn’s video where he shares his reaction.

– Also Mentioned –
Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave
Camelot starring Vanessa Redgrave
In the Gloaming starring Glenn Close
The Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price
The Omega Man starring Charleton Heston
I Am Legend starring Will Smith
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Also by Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel
John Steinbeck Books: Travels with Charley, The Grapes of Wrath, and In Dubious Battle
Cape Henlopen ferry
Author James Benn
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Litsy
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer

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 211 - Deep Dive Into Summer Reading

Episode 211 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –  
Instructions for a Heatwave – Maggie O’ Farrell (EF)
The Women’s Room – Marilyn French (CW)
Hot, Hot Chicken: A Nashville Story – Rachel Louise Martin (EF) (audiobook)
Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean – Jonathan White (CW)(audiobook)
Jenny Colvin’s Tides YouTube playlist.

– Just Read –
Pearce Oysters – Joselyn Takacs (EF)
The Guncle – Steven Rowley (CW)
Arsenic and Adobo – Mia P. Manansala (EF)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition by the American Psychological Association (CW)
MLA Handbook, 9th edition by The Modern Language Association of America (CW)
Love and Hot Chicken: A Delicious Southern Novel – Mary Liza Hartong (EF)
Dive! The Story of Breathing Underwater – Chris Gall (CW)

Emily read two short stories:
“Idle Hands” from the collection Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima
“Why Won’t You Die?” from the collection Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame. (audiobook)

Chris read a short story for the Willa Cather short story project, “Her Boss” from the collection Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather’s Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929 edited by Bernice Slote. Learn more about the project here.

The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Romance – Robin Bradford (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the Lyme Arts Association where they enjoyed the Young Artists Exhibition: Hope is the Thing with Feathers featuring kids ages 5-18 reacting to Emily Dickinson’s poem. Then they had lunch at Haring’s on the shoreline in Noank, found a little free library at Noank Park, and then took a browse at Bank Square Books in Mystic.

Emily went to RJ Julia’s Booksellers in Madiosn, CT to see Ann Leary talk about her new essay collection I’ve Tried Being Nice. Read her Modern Love Piece in the NY Times.

Chris attended a virtual panel discussion of New Seeds of Contemplation by the North Central Connecticut Chapter of The International Thomas Merton Society.

Emily found a new little free library built into a tree stump.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On July 17at 6:30 pm (ET), J. Courtney Sullivan will be in conversation with Amy Bloom about her new novel The Cliffs at RJ Julia Booksellers.

July 10-14 Chris will be attending a portion of the Annual Gathering of the Thoreau Society. 

– Upcoming Reads –
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliot Dark (CW)(EF)
Join the buddy read conversation on Goodreads.
The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us – Rachelle Bergstein (CW) release date 7/16/2024
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia – Juliet Grames (EF)

– 3rd Quarter Readalong –
Envy by Sandra Brown is the book we have chosen for third quarter in a our year of reading Romance. Have you downloaded the Romance Bingo Card?

Join the online conversation on Goodreads.

– Also Mentioned –
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’ Farrell
Old Crimes: And Other Stories by Jill McCorkle|
That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Silas Mariner by George Eliot
The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Woman in the Nineteenth Century by Margaret Fuller
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
Pride & Preston Lin by Christina Hwang Dudley
Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

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 209 - Author Spotlight with Sara Paretsky

Episode 209 Show Notes

Head to this video to see what Big Books we hope to read this summer.

Learn more about Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer Reading Challenge. Or read her blog post.

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

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Currently Reading –  
The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One – Nora Roberts (CW)(audiobook)
I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essays – Ann Leary (EF)
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America – Sara Franklin (CW)
This Is How It Always Is – Laurie Frankel (EF)

– Just Read –
The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One – Nora Roberts (CW) (audiobook)
The House That Horror Built – Christina Henry (CW)
Pay Dirt: A V.I. Warshawski Novel – Sara Paretsky (EF)
To enter the giveaway for Sara’s books including Dead Land, Overboard, and Shell Game, subscribe to our newsletter by June 14th.

Chris & Emily both read a short story in honor of Alice Munro who recently passed away: “Train.” You can read the story online in Harper’s Magazine.

Emily read three short stories:
“From Outside I Could See” and “The Next Husband Game” from the collection The Goodbye Process by Mary Jones. release date 7/30/2024
“Origin Story” from the The Ill-Fitting Skin by Shannon Robinson.  

Chris read a short story called “Ardessa” by Willa Cather. Join Chris’s Willa Cather Short Story project.

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers to see Our Mystery Man John Valeri in conversation with Tom Straw about his new novel The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef.
You can read John Valeri’s review of the novel online at Criminal Element.

Chris and Emily went 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.

Emily went to “On Writing: A Panel Discussion with Authors on Their Craft” hosted by Bank Square Books and Westerly Library. She also stopped in at the newly opened, Martin House Books.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is heading to Bridgeport, CT to visit Kindred Thoughts bookstore.

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

Emily is looking forward to seeing Kathy Gunst in conversation with Sara Franklin about her book The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America at Harvard Bookstore on June 4 at 7pm.

On June 5th Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt sponsored by the Mark Twain House to see Percival Everett discuss his new novel James. There is a free livestream of the event, register here.

Chris will be attending the 69th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference from June 6-8, 2024 online via Whova. You can register for it here. 

– Upcoming Reads –
The Women’s Room – Marilyn French (CW)
A Divine Language: Learning Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus at the Edge of Old Age – Alek Wilkinson (CW)
A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness (EF)
The Mystery Guest – Nita Prose (EF)
Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology – edited by Elaine Ellis and Amber Flame (EF)

– Out Now –
My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two – Emil Ferris
Service – Sarah Gilmartin
Anna Bright is Hiding Something – Susie Orman Schnall

– Author Spotlight with Sara Paretsky –
Learn more about Sara here.
Pay Dirt is the most recent book in the V.I. Warshawski series.

– Also Mentioned –
Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry
Old Crimes: And Other Stories by Jill McCorkle
Regalo Press
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Hark
Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters by Edited by Jessica P. Pryde
Generous Press
Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
Sisters in Crime
This is Not Dixie by Brent M.S. Campney
The Seminary Co-op Bookstore
Women & Children First Bookstore
Author Sue Grafton
Bouchercon World Mystery Convention

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

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

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!|

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Episode 197 - Author Spotlight with Pip Williams

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

– Update on Chris and Emily’s 2023 Reading Intentions – [1:23]
· Both Chris and Emily set their Reading Challenge on Goodreads to 52 books. To date, Chris has read 62 and Emily has read 84.

· Emily’s 2023 year-to-date Cookbook List:
o   Cooking with Mushrooms – Andrea Gentl
o   Snacking Cakes – Yossy Arefi
o   The Wok – J. Kenji López-Alt
o   Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico – Rick Martínez
o   What’s for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People – Claire Saffitz
o   Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen – Anna Voloshyna
o   Dark Rye & Honey Cake: Festival Baking from Belgium, The Heart of Low Countries – Regula Ysewjin
o   Yogurt & Whey: Recipes from an Iranian Immigrant Life – Homa Dashtaki
o   Bavel: Modern Recipes Inspired by the Middle East – Ori Menashe, Genevieve Gergis, and Lesley Sutter
o   Big Heart Little Stove – Erin French
o   Tenderheart: A Cookbook about Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds – Hetty McKinnon
o   Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Food to Warm the Soul – Diana Henry

· Chris’s progress on Adam’s TBR challenge:
o   People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
o   The Warden – Anthony Trollope
o   A Head Full of Ghosts – Paul Tremblay

· Find out more about the Willa Cather Short Story Project.
o   A Reader’s Guide to the Short Stories of Willa Cather by Sheryl L. Meyering
o   Uncle Valentine and Other Stories by Willa Cather

· Check out the 2023 Reading Intentions Thread on Goodreads

– Currently Reading – [10:00]
The Hand That First Held Mine – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)
The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love – Rachel Feder (CW)
The Kamogawa Food Detectives – Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (EF) release date 2/13/2024

– Just Read – [14:03]
The Helsinki Affair – Anna Pitoniak (CW)
The Queen of Dirt Island – Donal Ryan (EF)
Unnatural Death – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Maid – Nita Prose (EF)
The Bookbinder – Pip Williams (CW)(EF)

– Episode Sponsor – [34:55]
Book of the Month curated monthly book subscription service
Chris chose a hard cover: No One Can Know – Kate Alice Marshall release date 1/23/2024
Emily chose a hard cover: A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Use the code FORYOU to receive your first delivery for $5.

– Biblio Adventures – [37:36]
Chis and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt in celebration of their seventh anniversary. They had lunch at Chez Ben Diner in Manchester, CT and went shopping at River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury, CT. They also strolled through the newly renovated Welles-Turner Memorial Library.

Emily visited Bay Books in Suttons Bay, MI where she purchased a copy of The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman.

Chris attended a virtual Author Talk via the Boston Athenaeum, “Robert Darnton: The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1790.”

Chris is joining an online event via the Harry Ransom Center titled “Lost Books: The Dark Matter of the Early Modern English Book Trade” featuring Alan B. Farmer. The video is available here.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [48:55]
Chris is planning a trip to NYC to visit the current exhibits, The Best-Read Army in the World and Whodunit? Key Books in Detective Fiction, at  The Grolier Club and to dig into more archival research at The New York Society Library.

Emily is planning to catch up on two virtual author interviews:
Crime Time with host Hank Phillippi Ryan interviewing Nita Prose about The Mystery Guest, the second book in the Molly Maid series. Watch it here.
Launch of Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island via the Glucksman Ireland House at New York University. Watch it here.

– Upcoming Reads – [51:10]
Good Taste: A Novel in Search of Great Food – Caroline Scott (EF)
Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science – Catherine McNeur (CW)

– Announcing our 2024 Readalong Theme – [56:22]
We are excited to share that our readalong theme for 2024 is ROMANCE!
Read the NY Times article about Nora Roberts here.

– Author Spotlight with Pip Williams – [01:01:45]
We had a chance to chat with Pip about her two companion novels The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder.
Learn more about Pip here.

The video referred to in the conversation: Oxford University Press and The Making of a Book.

– Also Mentioned –
Sapphira and the Slave Girl – Willa Cather
Maggie O’ Farrell
The Spinning Heart – Donal Ryan
Sue Grafton
The Mystery Guest – Nita Prose
Parnassus on Wheels – Christopher Morley
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman
Drafting the Past podcast
The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine – Janice P. Nimura
Russell at Ink and Paper Blog
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary – Simon Winchester

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 194 - Author Spotlight with Sarah MacLean

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

Emily read the poem “Only Love” by James Crews. The poem is available in the collection The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy. Follow this link to learn more about the collection and the poem.

– Currently Reading – [1:50]
The Paradiso – Dante Alighieri (CW)
The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-First Century – Josh Cook (CW)
Family Lore – Elizabeth Acevedo (CW)
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire – Kerrelyn Sparks (CW)

– Just Read – [5:22]
The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams (EF)
Starling House – Alix E. Harrow (CW)
The Golden Gate – Amy Chua (EF)(audiobook narrated by Robb Moreira)
Country Place – Ann Petry (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [20:45]
Chris and Emily both had a Couch Biblio Adventure: Emily binged the second season of Slow Horses based on the novel Dead Lions by Mick Herron on Apple TV+. Chris watched Renfield loosely based on the classic Dracula story.

Emily went to see Killers of the Flower Moon based on the novel by David Grann. You can watch a conversation with the cast at the Cannes Film Festival. Two books that are written from the Osage point of view: A Pipe for February by Charles H. Red Corn and Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1991.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [32:27]
Chris is excited to attend some of the events celebrating Willa Cather’s 150th Birthday on December 7th. The Willa Cather Center has a list of events celebrating her sesquicentennial.

Emily is going to Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT on Thursday, November 9th to see Sigrid Nunez in conversation about her new book, The Vulnerables.

– Upcoming Reads – [34:13]
Julia – Sandra Newman (EF)
Old Crimes – Jill McCorkle (EF) release date 1/9/2024
Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather – Benjamin Taylor (CW) release date 11/14/2023
A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers – edited by Joyce Carol Oates (CW)

– Out Now – [38:40]
Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education – Stephanie Land
You can find the recent NY Times article about Stephanie’s experience in publishing here.

– Author Spotlight with Sarah MacLean – [39:15]
Learn more about Sarah MacLean here. Her newest book is Knockout: A Hell’s Belles Novel, the third book in the Hell’s Belle’s series. The first book is Bombshell, and the second is Heartbreaker.

Check out this vast list of recommended reading on Sarah’s website.

Sarah co-hosts the podcast Fated Mates with romance critic Jen Prokop.

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
The Bookbinder by Pip Williams is the official book for the last quarter of the year reading within our theme of Books about Books. Our Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, December 3rd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join the Goodreads discussion here.

Watch the video of Pip talking about the inspiration for The Bookbinder. If you are interested, her debut novel is The Dictionary of Lost Words.

– Also Mentioned –
John Valeri Central Booking
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
Other books by Ann Petry: The Street, The Narrows, and Miss Muriel and Other Stories
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
Other books by Sarah Maclean: The Rogue Not Taken and Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner
My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Lee Child
Stephen King
John Irving

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
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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.

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Episode 189 - Author Spotlight with Laurie Lico Albanese

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

– 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).

– Currently Reading – [1:58]
The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (CW)
Properties of Thirst – Marianne Wiggins (EF)

– Just Read – [4:38]
Deer Season – Erin Flanagan (CW) (audiobook narrated by Sarah Welborn)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – Sangu Mandanna (EF)
The Red Garden – Alice Hoffman (CW)
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor – Bianca Marais (EF) (audiobook narrated by Amy Landon)
The Profile – Willa Cather (CW) (Learn more about the short story project.)
The Wehrwolf – Alma Katsu (CW)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (CW)(EF) (audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld)

– Episode Sponsor – [30:40]
The Brickworks by Lucy E.M. Black
Learn more about Lucy and her books here.

– Biblio Adventures – [31:30]
Chris and Emily spent two days in the Berkshires in Massachusetts where they followed in the footsteps of Nathaniel Hawthorn who lived there from 1850 - 1851.  They did a house tour of Edith Wharton’s estate, The Mount, spent time with librarian Nynke Dorhout, walked the grounds where there is currently an outdoor sculpture exhibit, and attended 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. They also shopped at The Bookstore. (Watch the documentary about how the store survived the COVID pandemic.)  
Check out the video of our two-day adventure.

Emily had a couch biblio adventure watching Slow Horses on Apple TV based on the Slough House series by Mick Herron.

Chris went on a visit to Chicago where she stopped at Galena Book & Paper where she purchased A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen, and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell. She also made a stop at The Book Cellar.

Emily was a guest on Shawn the Book Maniac’s Booktube channel where they talked about polygamous reading.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [52:34]
Chris and Emily are heading on a full day joint jaunt to Salem, MA where they will see The House of the Seven Gables, and other Nathaniel Hawthorne historic sites.

Chris and Emily are planning to attend Popular Romance Fiction: The Literature of Hope conference at Yale University September 8-9, 2023. Learn more and sign up here.

– Upcoming Reads – [54:34]
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (CW)(EF)
September 10th at 7PM (ET) we will host our Scarlet Summer Zoom discussion. Send an email if you would like to join the conversation.

– Out Now – [55:33]
The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth – Elizabeth Rush
Come with Me – Erin Flanagan
The Breakaway – Jennifer Weiner

– Author Spotlight with Laurie Lico Albanese – [55:57]
We chat with Laurie about her book Hester, the second book in our Scarlet Summer.
Learn more about Laurie and her books here.
Laurie will be on a panel at the Salem Literary Festival on September 8, 2023.

– Also Mentioned –
Evidence of Things Unseen – Marianne Wiggins
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Birthmark – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ulysses – James Joyce
The Marble Faun – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Summer – Edith Wharton
Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton
The Library Book – Susan Orlean
Margaret Fuller
The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine – Rozsika Parker
House of Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliott Dark
Euphoria – Lily King
Book cover designer Olga Grlc

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 168 - Author Spotlight with Blair Braverman

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

– Announcing our 23rd Readalong –
Murder on the Red River – Marcie R. Rendon
You can purchase an e-book directly from Soho for $7.99, the paperback from Bookshop.org or the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars.

Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom conversation on Sunday, December 4th at 7 PM (ET). And we would love for you to join the online conversation on the Goodreads thread.

– Currently Reading – [3:12]
Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics – Marion Nestle (EF)
Outlander – Diana Gabaldon (CW)
On Writing: A Memoir Of the Craft – Stephen King (EF)
A Scatter of Light – Malinda Lo (EF)
Sweet Thursday (Cannery Row #2) – John Steinbeck (CW)

– Just Read – [10:56]
The Midcoast – Adam White (EF)
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake – Tiya Miles (CW)
Flight – Lynn Steger Strong (EF)
The Bookstore Sisters – Alice Hoffman (EF)
Eric Hermannson’s Soul – Willa Cather (CW)
You can join the Willa Cather short story project on Chris’s blog.

– Biblio Adventures – [31:24]
Chris and Emily visited The Mount in Lenox, MA. In preparation for our visit we read three ghost stories from Wharton’s New England: Seven Stories and Ethan Frome: The Triumph of Night, Bewitched, and All Souls. Chris purchased a copy of The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton in The Mount’s gift shop.
You can view the video we took of her library on our YouTube channel.
We also visited the The Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar in Lenox, MA that was featured in the documentary. Hello Bookstore.

Emily made a tip to Maine and visited Elements Books Coffee Beer in Biddeford and Longfellow Books in Portland.

Chris stopped at Barbara’s Bookstore when she was walking through O’Hare airport in Chicago.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [46:51]
Emily is looking forward to watching the series From Scratch based on the book by Tembe Locke that was one of her top reads of 2020. Emily talked about the book on Episode 97 and Episode 120.

Chris is headed to Loyola University’s Library at the Lakeshore Campus to do some archival research.

– Upcoming Reads – [48:31]
Murder on the Red River – Marcie R. Rendon (CW)(EF)
The Seas – Samantha Hunt (EF)
Guarded by Dragons: Encounters with Rare Books and Rare People – Rick Gekoski (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Blair Braverman – [51:20]
We talk with Blair about her debut novel Small Game.
You can learn more about Blair here.
Here’s the link to the Outside Magazine article that Blair wrote about her experience on Naked and Afraid.
You can keep up with Blair and her BraverMountain mushing team on Twitter. If you are interested in supporting her team financially, check out her Patreon page.

– Also Mentioned –
Librovox public domain audiobooks
Bookshop.org gift cards
University of California Press
Last Night at the Telegraph Club – Malinda Lo
A Thin Ghost and Others – M R James
In a Glass Darkly – Sheridan Le Fanu
Henry James
Theodore Roosevelt
The Ballad of Reading Gaol – Oscar Wilde
Herman Melville’s Arrowhead
Honest Dog Books
Parnassus Books
The Concord Bookshop
Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer

You can help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link for the monthly membership. (promo code: bookcougars)
We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café, click HERE to start shopping.
Bookshop.org – support us and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please email bookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

We have a BookTube Channel – please check it out here, and be sure to subscribe!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter.

Episode 165 - Author Spotlight with Diane Wilson

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

– Announcing our 23rd Readalong –
Murder on the Red River – Marcie R. Rendon
You can purchase an e-book directly from Soho for $7.99, the paperback from Bookshop.org or the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars.
Join the Goodreads conversation here.

– Currently Reading – [1:09]
How to Read Now: Essays – Elaine Castillo (CW)
The Rabbit Hutch – Tess Gunty (EF) (audiobook)
Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, an Address Book, a Life – Brigitte Benkemoun, translated by Jody Gladding (CW)

– Just Read – [6:43]
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano (EF)
The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson (CW)(audiobook)
“Pig” the short story in The Best of Roald Dahl – Roald Dahl (EF)
The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women’s Lives – Kelcey Ervick (EF)
The Seed Keeper – Diane Wilson (CW)(EF)(audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures – [29:55]
Chris attended a virtual event with Jenn Shapland discussing her book My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir with Robert Kesten, Executive Director of the Stonewall National Museum & Archives. You can watch the video here.

Emily visited Pop! Art Books Culture in Boardman, Ohio where the Gentleman Caller picked up a copy of Magic Terror: 7 Tales by Peter Straub.

Chris watched an episode of Lovecraft Country based on the novel by Matt Ruff.

Emily attended an event at Madison Art Cinema sponsored by R.J. Julia Booksellers, a showing of the documentary Hello, Bookstore.

Chris and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt to the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library for some worktime together. Emily picked up a copy of Simply Julia: 110 Recipes for Easy Comfort Food by Julia Turshen.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [40:53]
Emily is heading to Martha’s Vineyard and hopes to visit Bunch of Grapes Bookstore and Edgartown Books as well as Eight Cousins Bookstore in Falmouth, MA.

Chris is planning to attend an event at the Mark Twain House& Museum on September 27th at 7pm with Nikki Woolfolk in conversation with Alex Jennings discussing the novel The Ballad of Perilous Graves.  

– Upcoming Reads – [44:27]
Small Game – Blair Braverman (CW)(EF) release date November 1, 2022
The Believer: Encounters with the Beginning, the End, and Our Place in the Middle – Sarah Krasnostein (EF)
All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake – Tiya Miles (CW)
After Sappho – Selby Wynn Schwartz (CW)
The Bread the Devil Knead – Lisa Allen-Agostini (EF)

Out Now:
Lucy by the Sea – Elizabeth Strout

– Author Spotlight with Diane Wilson author of The Seed Keeper Our 22nd Readalong – [49:39]
We chat with Diane Wilson author of our Third Quarter readalong, The Seed Keeper.
Learn more about Diane.

Her new picture book, Where We Come From, publishes on October 4th.

Reminder that you can join the Goodreads discussion here, anytime.

– Also Mentioned –
The Ski Jumpers by Peter Geye
National Book Awards
The Booker Prizes
Shutter – Ramona Emerson
James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl
Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Provincetown Book Festival
The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis – Melissa Homestead
Also by Blair Braverman: Dogs on the Trail: A Year in the Life and Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube:
Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North

You can help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link for the monthly membership. (promo code: bookcougars)
We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café, click HERE to start shopping.
Bookshop.org – support us and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please email bookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

We have a BookTube Channel – please check it out here, and be sure to subscribe!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.