Episode 107 - Author Spotlight with Dr. Maysa Akbar

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

We are excited to announce that we are now an affiliate of Libro.fm audiobook platform: Listeners can receive two audiobooks for the price of one. Follow this link to learn more. (promo code: bookcougars)

– 14th Readalong discussion–
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)
The discussion will drop on August 4 via Episode 108, please get questions/comments to us by July 31.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Currently Reading –
Night – Elie Wiesel (CW)(audio)
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Most Dangerous Man – Mary Trump, Ph.D. (CW)
Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey – Kathleen Rooney (EF) release date 8/11/20

– Just Read –
With or Without You – Caroline Leavitt (EF)
Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder – Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey (CW)
Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi (EF)
The Deep – Alma Katsu (CW)
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World – Melinda Gates (EF)(audio)
Amityville Horror – Jay Anson (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the Durham Public Library. Emily picked up a copy of Cooperstown by Eugena Pilek. Chris picked up The Marrow Thieves by Cheri Dimaline.

Emily tuned into A Mighty Blaze to hear an interview with Anna Quindlen author of Nanaville. and bookclub read The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose and she attended their Zoom conversation.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The Book Cougars are hosting a biblio adventure! We will be having a virtual readalong discussion of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

Tuesday, July 21, a virtual event at The Strand with Amy Poeppel author of Musical Chairs in conversation with Marcy Dermansky. You can register for the event here.

Tuesday, July 28, a virtual event at Books are Magic with Sarah Weinman author of Unspeakable Acts in conversation with Casey Cep. You can register for the event here.

Monday, August 3, a virtual event at The Strand with Laura Lippman author of My Life as a Villainess: Essays in conversation Tafy Brodesser-Akner. You can register for the event here.

Wednesday, August 5 the Schomburg Center will be hosting Isabel Wilkerson author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and The Warmth of Other Suns. You can register for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata (CW)
Saving Ruby King – Catherine Adel West (EF)
Beyond Ally: The Pursuit of Racial Justice – Dr. Maysa Akbar (CW)(EF)

– Author Spotlight with Dr. Maysa Akbar –
You can learn more about Dr. Akbar and her books on her website.
Beyond Ally: The Pursuit of Racial Justice and Urban Trauma: A Legacy of Racism

– Also Mentioned –
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk – Kathleen Rooney
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
Also by Alma Katsu: The Hunger, and The Taker Trilogy
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager
Empire of Wild – Cherie Dimaline
Alice Hoffman
The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones
Russell at Ink and Paper Blog
The Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough
Lady in the Lake – Laura Lippman
14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
Poet Tracy K. Smith

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!
We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.
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!
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Episode 106 - Author Spotlight with Anne Oman

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

We are excited to announce that we are now an affiliate of Libro.fm audiobook platform: Listeners can receive two audiobooks for the price of one. Follow this link to learn more. (promo code: bookcougars)

– 14th Readalong discussion–
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)
The discussion will drop on August 4 via Episode 108, please get questions/comments to us by July 31.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.

– Currently Reading –
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto – George M. Johnson (CW)
The Museum of Modern Love – Heather Rose (EF) (audio)
Night – Elie Wiesel (CW)
Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices  - Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford (EF)

– Just Read –
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close – Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (EF) release date 7/14/20
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts – Kate Racculia (CW)
The Last Flight – Julie Clark (EF)
My Sister the Serial Killer -  Oyinkan Braithwaite (CW)(audio)
Last Day – Luanne Rice (EF)
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager (CW)
The Revisioners – Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (EF)
Blacktop Wasteland – S.A. Crosby (CW) release date 7/14/20

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended a virtual event through RJ Julia Booksellers Richie Jackson author of Gay Like Me in conversation with Matthew Reimer author of We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation.

Emily attended a virtual event via Books are Magic with Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Rodham, in conversation with J. Courtney Sullivan to discuss the release of her book Friends and Strangers.

Emily listened to the Women’s Prize podcast, which can be found HERE.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is going to scout out and make donations to some of the little free libraries created via the organization Help Your Shelves.

Wednesday, July 15 – Chris plans to attend a virtual event via The Center for Fiction with Victor Lavalle in conversation with Stephen Graham Jones about his book, The Only Good Indians.

The Book Cougars are hosting a biblio adventure! We will be having a virtual readalong discussion of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Topeka School – Ben Lerner (EF)
Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey – Kathleen Rooney (EF) release date 8/11/20
With or Without You – Caroline Leavitt (EF) release date 8/4/20
The Quarry Fox and Other Critters of the Wild Catskills – Leslie T. Sharpe (EF) (audio)
Fludd – Hilary Mantel (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Anne Oman –
Anne is the author of Mango Rains out from Galaxy Galloper Press.
The book can be found on her website: http://www.mangorains.net/
And bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/MangoRains

– Also Mentioned –
Other books by Elie Weisel: Dawn and Day
Amityville Horror – Jay Anson
The Okra Project
Tayari Jones
Ann Patchett
Paul Tremblay
Tommy Orange
Hilary Mantel Trilogy: Wolf Hall, Bringing Up the Bodies, and The Mirror & the Light

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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!
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Episode 105 - Book of the Month Club Deal and lots of Bookish Banter!

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

We are excited to announce that we are now an affiliate of Libro.fm audiobook platform: Listeners can receive three months for the price of one. Follow this link to learn more. (promo code: bookcougars)

– 14th Readalong discussion–
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)
The discussion will drop on August 4 via Episode 108, please get questions/comments to us by July 31.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.

– Currently Reading –
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts – Kate Racculia (CW)
Last Day – Luanne Rice (EF)
How To Be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi (CW)
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies – Resmaa Menakem (EF)  
My Sister the Serial Killer -  Oyinkan Braithwaite (CW)(audio)

– Just Read –
The Dance of Anger: A Woman’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships – Harriet Lerner (EF)(audio)
Chris is spending time with the magazines Fine Books & Collections
The Lions of Fifth Avenue – Fiona Davis (EF) release date August 4, 2020
The Book of V. – Anna Solomon (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily browsed inside Savoy Bookstore & Café in Westerly, RI. She picked up a copy of Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui.
Chris was able to go to Guilford Free Library for a curb side pick-up!
Chris attended two virtual events:
Irene Butter discussing her book Shores Beyond Shores with Donna Apidone via CapRadio Reads. You can watch the conversation here.
Erica Ruth Neubaur in conversation with Juliet Grames, discussing her book Murder at Mena House through Bank Square Books.  Read Chris’s review here.

Emily enjoyed several episodes of Brené Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, including a two-part conversation with Harriet Lerner, author of Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts and Ibram X. Kendi, author of  How To Be an Antiracist. Brené Brown is the author of Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone.

Emily listened to and recommends Episode 129 of Terrible, Thanks for Asking with Nora Borealis – Policing and Racial Trauma with Angela Davis.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
June 25 at 7pm – Chris will be attending a virtual event through RJ Julia Booksellers Richie Jackson author of Gay Like Me in conversation with Matthew Reimer author of We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation.

Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to the Guilford Free Library for an outdoor fair featuring new book releases. Watch the video of our adventure here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager (CW)
The Last Flight – Julie Clark (EF)

– Book of the Month Club –
In order to get your first month at the discounted rate of $9.99 go to www.bookofthemonth.com and use promo code: bookcougars.
The June Book of the Month Club picks are:
The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager
A Burning – Megha Mujumdar
One to Watch – Kate Stayman-London
The Last Flight – Julie Clark

– Also Mentioned –
Book By Book Blog
Urban Trauma: A Legacy of Racism – Dr. Maysa Akbar
True Grit – Charles Portis
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
The Dance of Intimacy – Harriet Lerner
The New Yorker
Madeline Miller
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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.

Episode 104 - Author Spotlight with Jung Yun

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

We are excited to announce that we are now an affiliate of Libro.fm audiobook platform: Listeners can receive three months for the price of one. Follow this link to learn more.

– 14th Readalong discussion–
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.

– Currently Reading –
Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers – edited Natalie Eve Garrett (EF)
Empire of Wild – Cherie Dimaline (CW) release date July 28, 2020
Building Your Ideal Private Practice – Lynn Grodzki (CW)(audio)

– Just Read –
Friends and Strangers – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF) release date June 30, 2020
Mother Land – Lea Franqui (EF) release date July 14, 2020
Shelter – Jung Yun (EF) (audio)
Urban Trauma: A Legacy of Racism – Dr. Maysa Akbar (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
We had a joint jaunt as GUESTS on Our Mystery Man John Valeri’s YouTube channel, Central Booking. You can watch the interview HERE.

Emily attended an event through Strand Bookstore. Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half, was in conversation with Gloria Edim, author of Well-Read Black Girl.

Chris attended the 65th Annual Willa Cather spring conference: Untethered Cather on the Cusp of the 1920’s. The focus this year was on Cather’s book of short stories Youth and the Bright Medusa. She enjoyed sessions that included author Erica Ryan discussing her book When the World Broke in Two: The Roaring Twenties and the Dawn of America’s Culture Wars and Alex Ross discussing his book releasing on September 15, 2020, Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music.  

Chris browsed inside two bookstores, Breakwater Books in Guilford,CT where she purchased How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson. She also visited Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be attending a virtual event via Politics & Prose with Megha Mujumdar, author of A Burning, in conversation with C. Pam Zhang, author of How Much of These Hills is Gold.

Chris will attend a virtual event on June 10 at Savoy Bookshop & Café. Erica Ruth Neubaur will discuss her book Murder at Mena House with Juliet Grames. Read Chris’s review here.

On June 11, Chris will tune in to hear author Irene Butter discuss her book Shores Beyond Shores via CapRadio Reads. You can register here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts (EF)
How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge Into Words – Joana Penn (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Jung Yun –
We were thrilled to welcome author Jung Yun to discuss her book, Shelter.
You can learn more about Jung here including news about her forthcoming novel, O Beautiful.

– Also Mentioned –
All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
The Marrow Thieves – Cherie Dimaline
Twelve Months To Your Ideal Private Practice: A Workbook – Lynn Grodzki
Matterhorn – Karl Marlantes
The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century – Alex Ross
Kramerbooks
Book By Book Blog
The Creative Pen podcast

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.
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.

Episode 103 - Author Spotlight with Emma Viskic

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

– Currently Reading –
Chris dnf’d The Keep – Jennifer Egan (CW)
Resurrection Bay (Caleb Zelic #1) – Emma Viskic (EF)
Friends and Strangers – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF) release date June 30, 2020
The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York – Matthew Goodman (CW)
A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion – Fay Bound Alberti (CW) (audio)

– Just Read –
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen – Lucy Knisley (EF)
Redhead by the Side of the Road – Anne Tyler (EF)
Three-Fifths – John Vercher (EF)

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
James Wood’s review can be read here.
Jenny Erpenbeck and Claire Messud in conversation.

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
We hosted our own biblio adventure, a virtual readalong discussion of Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. If you would like to join us for future discussions please subscribe to our newsletter.

Emily attended a Zoom event via RJ Julia Bookseller’s talking with Anna Solomon about her new novel The Book of V.

Chris attended two virtual events: A Q&A with Jennifer Egan and Johnny Temple about her novel The Keep, you can watch it here. A conversation with Tim Gunn and Stacy Schiff about her book Cleopatra.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be attending a virtual event via the Center for Fiction: Roxane Gay in conversation with Nicole Dennis-Benn about the paperback release of her novel Patsy.
Roxane Gay is offering a free digital care package – check it out here.

Chris will be attending the 65th Annual Willa Cather spring conference: Untethered Cather on the Cusp of the 1920’s on June 4-6, 2020. The focus is on Cather’s book of short stories Youth and the Bright Medusa.

– Upcoming Reads –
Chris is joining in The Sandy Point Correspondence Club and will be reading O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir – Natasha Trethewey (EF) release date 7/28/20
Dear Emmie Blue – Lia Louis (EF) release date 7/14/20
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close – Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (EF) release date 7/14/20

– Author Spotlight with Emma Viskic –
Emma is the author of the Caleb Zelic series: Resurrection Bay, And Fire Came Down, and Darkness for Light
You can learn more about Emma Viskic HERE.

Emma toured the United States with fellow Aussie writers: Jock Serong, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad and Manhattan Beach
Also by J. Courtney Sullivan: Maine, Saints for All Occasions, The Engagements, Commencement
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
Claire Messud
The Trial – Kafka Franz
Call Your Girlfriend Podcast
American Writers Museum
Australian Women Writers Challenge

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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.

Episode 102 - Author Spotlight with Rachel Barenbaum

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

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE
Our conversation about the book will air on May 26th

– Currently Reading –
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky) (EF)

– Just Read –
Modern Scholars Series: The Author at Work: The Art of Writing Fiction – Jenna Blum (CW)(audio)
Want – Lynn Steger Strong (EF) release date July 7, 2020
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life – Joan D. Hedrick (CW)
The Late Bloomer’s Club – Louise Miller (EF)
The Country of the Pointed Firs – Sarah Orne Jewett (CW)
Real Life – Brandon Taylor (EF)
Me and Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline – Loretta Young, Patsy Lynn Russell (CW)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended a virtual event through The Center for Fiction: Crime Fiction Writers talk Favorite Films and Books with Megan Abbott, Alison Gaylin, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski, Lauren Wilkinson

Emily attended a virtual event at Reads & Company Bookshop with author’s Mary Beth Keane and Juliet Grames

The Books on the Nightstand: Trapped at Home video can be watched HERE

Emily recommends three podcasts:
Unlocking Us – Brené Brown
Sugar Calling – Cheryl Strayed
Home Cooking – Samin Nosrat

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The Book Cougars are hosting a biblio adventure! Join us for a virtual discussion of our 13th readalong, Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. The Zoom event will take place on Sunday, May 17th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to reserve your spot.

– Upcoming Reads –
A Small Thing to Want: stories – Shuly X. Cawood (CW)
The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York – Matthew Goodman (CW)
Redhead by the Side of the Road – Anne Tyler (EF)
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen – Lucy Knisley (EF)
A Bend in the Stars – Rachel Barenbaum (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Rachel Barenbaum –
A Bend in the Stars released in paperback on May 12, 2020
You can learn more about Rachel Barenbaum HERE
Rachel recommends Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy release date August 4, 2020

– Also Mentioned –
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
The Stand – Stephen King
Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry
Newburyport Literary Festival
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe
Catherine Beecher
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
William Gilmore Simms
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living – Louise Miller
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
R.J. Julia Booksellers
Loretta Lynn: Coalminer’s Daughter
Judy Blume
Margaret Atwood
The Secrets We Kept – Lara Prescott
GrubStreet

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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.

Episode 101 - Author Spotlight with Will Schwalbe

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

– Currently Reading –
Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count – Phil Buchanan (EF)
The Late Bloomer’s Club – Louise Miller (EF)
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life – Joan D. Hedrick (CW)
The Country of the Pointed Firs – Sarah Orne Jewett (CW)
Modern Scholars Series: The Art of Writing Fiction – Jenna Blum (CW)(audio)

– Just Read –
Night Theater – Vikram Paralkar (EF)
Kill Creek – Scott Thomas (CW)
Valentine – Elizabeth Whetmore (EF)
You Let Me In – Camilla Bruce (CW)
you can read Chris’s review on Criminal Element here
Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Religious Roots – Deborah Feldman (EF)(audio)
The Snow Collectors – Tina May Hall (CW)
The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age – David Callahan (EF)
The Old Beauty – Willa Cather (CW)
Xingu – Edith Wharton (CW)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched Unorthordox on Netflix and Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu.

Both Chris and Emily attended the virtual Newburyport Literary Festival
Emily sat in on two multi-author sessions: Cooking the Books and Afternoon Delight
Chris sat in on two sessions: Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper’s Life Among the Herd with author Melissa Crandall and a multi-author panel titled What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About.
You can watch the Newburyport Literary sessions anytime on A Mighty Blaze Facebook Page.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Newburyport Literary Festival – May 3, 2020

Small Things & Ancient Houses: A Two Book Launch – A Press 53 Launch with authors Shuly Cawood and Clifford Garstang – May 3, 2020

– Upcoming Reads –
Forever Amber – Kathleen Winsor (CW)
Real Life – Brandon Taylor (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Will Schwalbe –
Will is the author of: Books for Living, The End of Your Life Bookclub, and Send: Why People Email So Badly and How To Do It Better, he started the cooking site Cookstr, is the Podcast host of But That’s Another Story, and is an editor at Macmillan Publishers.

He recommends the book Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.

– Also Mentioned –
Jennifer McMahon
The Moment of Lift – Melinda Gates
Jamie Oliver
Nigella Lawson
Sydney Sheldon
Shelley Winters
John Irving
Spiro Agnew
The Onion Field - Joseph Wambaugh
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Busines is Selling Less of More – Chris Anderson
Fish! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results – Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul, Ken Blanchard
Perfect Tunes – Emily Gould
Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs – Jennifer Finley Boylan  
Min Jin Lee
Pamela Paul
The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
The Moon is Down – John Steinbeck
How We Fight for Our Lives – Saeed Jones

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE
Our conversation about the book will air on May 26th

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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

Episode 100 - Bookstore Owner Annie Philbrick and Author Shuly Cawood

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

– 100th Episode Giveaway –
We are giving away four $25 gift certificates
To be entered into the giveaway subscribe to our newsletter here.

– Currently Reading –
Kill Creek – Scott Thomas (CW)
Valentine – Elizabeth Whetmore (EF)
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life – Joan D. Hedrick (CW)
The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age – David Callahan (EF)

– Just Read –
The Secrets We Kept – Lara Prescott (CW)(EF)
See our BookTube video discussion here
Read Chris’s review of the book on her blog here
Separation Anxiety – Laura Zigman (EF)

– Interview with Annie Philbrick –
Owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT and Savoy Bookshop and Café in Westerly, RI and Board Member of the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC)
If you want to see Reese’s Bookclub announcement about her partnership with BINC on Instagram click here
To contribute to the bookstore’s Go Fund Me campaign click here.

– Author Spotlight with Shuly Cawood –
For more information about Shuly’s book, A Small Thing to Want: stories, click here.
You can sign up for her newsletter here
You can sign up for her blog here.

– Also Mentioned –
American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins
Animal Husbandry – Laura Zigman
Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel and The Men We Reaped: A Memoir – Jesmyn Ward
Roman Fever – Edith Wharton

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE
Our conversation about the book will air on May 26th

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!
We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.
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.

Episode 99 - You Can't Keep Us Apart!

Episode Ninety Nine Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE
Our conversation about the book will air on May 26th

– Currently Reading –
The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett (EF) release date June 2, 2020
The Odyssey – Homer (translated by Emily Wilson) (CW)
the audio version by Clare Danes can be found here

– Just Read –
One Moonlit Night – Caradog Prichard (translated by Philip Mitchell) (CW)
You can learn more about the Wales Readathon 2020 HERE
Hide Away – Jason Pinter (EF)
The Woman in the Dark – Vanessa Savage (CW)
I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives – Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch (EF)
Two Friends – Willa Cather (CW)
Be a part of the Willa Cather Short Story Project HERE
The Giant’s House – Elizabeth McCracken (EF)
Murder at the Mena House – Erica Ruth Neubauer (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris did some curbside book shopping at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison and Breakwater Books in Guilford and drove by the renovation project of the Scranton Public Library in Madison.
Emily has been enjoying listening to various authors on social media reading aloud and reminisced about reading Summerland by Michael Chabon to her children back in the day.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily plans to start Little Fires Everywhere streaming on HULU based on the novel of the same name by Celest Ng.
Chris is meeting with her bookclub virtually to discuss The Gardens of Emily Dickinson by Judith Farr and also Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life: The Plant’s and Places that Inspired the Iconic Poet by Marta McDowell.
A Mighty Blaze virtual book tour brought to you by Caroline Leavitt and Jenna Blum

– Upcoming Reads –
U-505: The Final Journey – James E. Wise (CW)
The Secrets We Kept – Lara Prescott (CW)(EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Try a free 30 day trial to Scribd
The Mothers – Brit Bennett / Emily discussed this book on Episode 8 and Episode 35
Ain’t Nobody Nobody – Heather Harper Ellett
You can learn more about Jason Pinter’s Henry Parker series HERE
Amityville Horror – Jay Anson
Grey Matter Books
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

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Episode 98 - Emily Visits Arizona and Chris Takes a Journey Through the Literature of Wales

Episode Ninety Eight Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion–
Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE
Our conversation about the book will air on May 26th

– Currently Reading –
One Moonlit Night – Caradog Prichard (translated by Niall Griffiths) (CW)
You can learn more about the Wales Readathon 2020 HERE
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed – Lori Gottlieb (EF)(audio)
The Odyssey – Homer (translated by Emily Wilson) (CW)
the audio version by Clare Danes can be found here
Tipping the Velvet – Sarah Waters (CW)

– Just Read –
The Literature of Wales – Dafydd Johnston (CW)
You can read Chris’s review of the book HERE
A Small Thing to Want – Shuly X. Cawood (EF) release date May 3, 2020
This Town Sleeps – Dennis E. Staples (EF)
Who Is Vera Kelly? – Rosalie Knecht (EF)
Big Summer – Jennifer Weiner (EF) release date May 19, 2020
Dominicana – Angie Cruz (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily visited Peregrine Book Company in Prescott, AZ and The Literate Lizard in Sedona, AZ

Oprah SuperSoul Sunday interview with Malcolm Gladwell can be found HERE

Apple TV – Oprah Bookclub American Dirt

Chris spent three days in the archives of the New York Public Library

– Upcoming Jaunts –
A Mighty Blaze virtual book tour brought to you by Caroline Leavitt and Jenna Blum
Caroline Leavitt’s Blog has a lot of author interviews

Chris and Emily are hoping to watch the film, Pokot (Spoor), based on the novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

It’s a great time to start a book series, read a book and watch the movie adaptation. Some examples:

Tipping the Velvet mini-series

Slumdog Millionaire based on the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup

– Upcoming Reads –
The Whole Fish: New Ways to Cook, Eat, and Think – Josh Niland (CW)
Two Friends – Willa Cather (CW)
What are We For?: The Words and Ideals of Eleanor Roosevelt – Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Pelosi (EF)
Dare to Be You: Inspirational Advice for Girls on Finding Your Voice, Leading Fearlessly, and Making a Difference – Marianne Schnall (EF)
Leading the Way: Inspiring Words for Women on How to Live and Lead with Courage, Confidence, and Authenticity –  Marianne Schnall (EF)
The Feminist Handbook: Practical Tools to Resist Sexism and Dismantle the Patriarchy – Joanne L. Bagshaw (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Becoming – Michelle Obama
The Cambridge History of Welsh Literature – Geraint Evans
The Davinci Code – Dan Brown
Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America – Erik Larson
Printer’s Row Lit Fest
American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins
Cruel Beautiful World – Caroline Leavitt
With or Without You – Caroline Leavitt
Newburyport Literary Festival
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.

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.