Episode 125 - Poetry Spotlight with Shuly Cawood

March 16, 2021 by Emily Fine

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

Emily read a poem by Shuly Xóchitl Cawood titled “If” from her new collection Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning.

– Currently Reading –
The Hare – Melanie Finn (EF)
Everything I Found on the Beach – Cynan Jones (CW)
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen – Laurie Colwin (EF)
A House at the Bottom of the Lake – Josh Malerman (CW)
Reading Rooms – edited by Susan Allen Toth and John Coughlan (CW)

– Just Read –
We Run the Tides – Vendela Vida (EF)
The Drowning Kind – Jennifer McMahon (CW)(EF) release date 4/6/2021
The Stills – Jess Montgomery (EF)
Women and Other Monsters Building a New Mythology – Jess Zimmerman (CW)(audio)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended a session of the Yale Biography Symposium with Ruth Franklin Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life and Imani Perry author of Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry

Emily attended an event via Politics & Prose and Harvard Bookstore with Kazuo Ishiguro and Kat Darling, author of The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots, about his new book Klara and the Sun.

Chris attended a conversation with Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, with Lynn Wooton, President of Simmons University.

Emily tuned into a conversation with Gregory Brown, author of The Lowering Days, and Kerri Arsenault via Print: A Bookstore. Check out Kerri’s review of the book in the Boston Globe.

Chris had a Couch Biblio Adventure and watched Bridget Jones’s Baby based on the book Bridget Jones’s Baby: The Diaries by Helen Fielding.

Emily watched the movie News of the World based on the book by Paulette Jiles.

Emily attended a joint event with Savoy Bookshop & Cafe, The Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery and Dan Pucci and Greg Cavallo the authors of American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is attending an event on March 25th with Julia Alvarez in conversation with Sarahi Almonte Caraballo through the Hartford Public Library’s Big Read. You can register for the event here.

Emily plans to attend the book launch for We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida via the Sausalito Books by the Bay Wednesday, March 24th 8:30 EST. You can register for the event here.

Chris is attending a fundraiser through the Willa Cather Center with Dr. Melissa J. Holmstead in conversation with Alex Ross, author of Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music, to discuss Holmstead’s new book, The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis. Tickets are available here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Klara and the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro (EF)
The Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead (EF) release date 5/4/2021
What’s Mine and Yours – Naima Coster (EF)
These Women – Ivy Pochoda (CW)
The Shipping News – Annie Proulx (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Shuly Xóchitl Cawood –
Shuly’s new poetry collection is Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning
You can learn more about Shuly here.
Shuly reads her poem “Cooking.” You can read it online at Rust + Moth.

– 17th Readalong discussion –
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The discussion will drop on June 8th via Episode 131, please get questions/comments to us by June 2nd.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, May 30th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join in please send an email to save a spot.
You can find the beautifully bound anniversary edition of the book here. Note: this is in celebration of Milkweed Editions 40th anniversary, not the anniversary of the book which was originally published in 2013.

More details about the readalong can be found on the Reading Envy Goodreads discussion thread.

Extra Credit: A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

– Also Mentioned –
Two Dollar Radio Press
Cove – Cynan Jones
Matthew Goodman
Bird Box – Josh Malerman
Amy Tan
Believer Magazine
Also by Jess Montgomery who was on Episode 93 – The Widows and The Hallows
Halsey Street – Naima Coster
The Sun Magazine
Wildness from Platypus Press
Poetry Foundation

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.

Episode 124 - Dr. Charlotte Markey Is Helping Girls Grow Up Fearless

March 02, 2021 by Emily Fine

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

Chris read a poem by Sitara Gnanaguru titled “Mulling Spices” from the Connecticut Literary Anthology.

– Currently Reading –
Today’s Special: 20 Leading Chefs Choose 100 Emerging Chefs – Phaidon Editors (EF)
Connecticut Literary Anthology – Charles V. Belson and Susan Cinoman (CW)
They are taking submissions through April 15 for the 2021 anthology. Learn more here.
The Drowning Kind – Jennifer McMahon (CW) release date 4/6/2021
Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West – Lauren Redniss (EF)

– Just Read –
The Little French Bridal Shop – Jennifer Dupee (EF) release date 3/9/2021
Little Comfort – Edwin Hill (CW)
Milk Fed – Melissa Broder (EF)(audio)
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 – P Djèlí Clark (CW)
With Teeth – Kristin Arnett (EF) release date 6/1/2021
The Lowering Days – Gregory Brown (EF)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended an event via the National Willa Cather Center’s Author Series with Julie Olin-Ammentorp discussing her book Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and the Place of Culture.

Emily watched The Dig on Netflix based on the novel The Dig by John Preston.

Emily also attended two Couch Biblio Adventures with Melissa Broder discussing her book Milk Fed. Watch the videos by following the links; one was via Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY the other was with Books & Books in Miami, FL.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is planning on watching Nomadland via HULU based on the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder.

– 17th Readalong discussion –
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The discussion will drop on June 8th via Episode 131, please get questions/comments to us by June 2nd.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, May 30th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join in please send an email to save a spot.
You can find the beautifully bound anniversary edition of the book here. Note: this is in celebration of Milkweed Editions 40th anniversary, not the anniversary of the book which was originally published in 2013.

With Jenny / Reading Envy Podcast – we will be reading When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry – edited by Joy Harjo, Jennifer Elise Foerster, and Leanne Howe
More details will be coming about this readalong.

Extra Credit: A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

– Upcoming Reads –
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen – Laurie Colwin (EF)
Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning: Poems – Shuly Xóchitl Cawood (EF)
Reading Rooms – Susan Allen Toth (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Dr. Charlotte Markey –
The Body Image Book for Girls: Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless
You can learn more about Dr. Markey here.

– Also Mentioned –
The Pisces – Melissa Broder
The Black God’s Drum – P Djèlí Clark
Mostly Dead Things – Kristin Arnett
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains – Kerri Arsenault

You can help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link for the monthly membership. Follow this link for the 3, 6, or 12 month 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!

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

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 123 - Author Kerri Arsenault Promises to Make Us Cretons!

February 16, 2021 by Emily Fine

Episode One Hundred Twenty Three Show Notes

KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

Emily read a poem by Khadijah Queen titled “Of All the Things I Love” from her collection Anodyne.

You can learn more about the Elliot Bay Book Company sub(Text) poetry subscription here.

– Currently Reading –
On hold: The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx (CW)
The Office of Historical Corrections – Danielle Evans (EF)
Little Comfort – Edwin Hill (CW)
Dream Work – Mary Oliver (EF)

– Just Read –
My Grandmother’s Braid – Alina Bronsky, translated by Tim Mohr (EF)
DNF / On hold: The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones (CW)
The Islanders – Meg Mitchell Moore (EF)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Emily attended an event via Boswell Book Company with Lauren Fox, author of Send for Me, in conversation with J. Courtney Sullivan.

Chris went on a drive up to Amherst, MA to visit Emily Dickinson’s grave and Jones Library. Read her blogpost about the trip here.

Emily attended an event via Murder by the Book with Elle Cosimano, author of Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery, in conversation with Megan Miranda, author of The Girl from Widow Hills. You can watch a video of the event here.

Chris started watching the series, Dickinson, featuring Emily Dickinson and her poetry. She also watched Enola Holmes based on the YA novels by Nancy Springer starting with Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess.

Emily listened to the TTFA podcast (Feb 2nd episode) with Nora McInerney, author of It’s Okay to Laugh, and Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live).

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris will be participating with Simmons University’s Spring Community Reads event with Professor Ibram X. Kendi’s and his book How to be An Antiracist.

Emily is registered for a joint event on March 3rd with Politics & Prose and Harvard Bookstore featuring Kazuo Ishigiro, author of Klara and the Sun, in conversation with Kate Darling. You can purchase a ticket here.

On March 10th, Emily will be attending a joint event with Savoy Bookshop & Cafe, The Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery and Dan Pucci and Greg Cavallo the authors of American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage. You can register for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
How to be An Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi (CW)
To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf (CW)
Milk Fed – Melissa Broder (EF)
Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) – Eve Rodsky (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Kerri Arsenault –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains
You can learn more about Kerri here.
This was our 16th readalong – you can join the online discussion on our Goodreads discussion thread found HERE.

– Also Mentioned –
Tin House Books
The Silence of the Lambs film
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
JA Konrath author of the Jack Daniels series
Everywhere That Mary Went - Lisa Scottoline
Also by Kazuo Ishigiro: Never Let Me Go and Remains of the Day
The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition – William J. Rorabaugh
The Danger of a Single Story – TED Talk with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
“Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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 122 - A Visit with Our Mystery Man John Valeri

February 02, 2021 by Emily Fine

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

Chris read a poem by Sylvie Baumgartel titled “Purple” from her collection Pink.

If you are interested in joining Colleen for her readalong of These Women by Ivy Pochoda reach out to her on Instagram @colleenka or email us for more information.

The next Louise Penny book releases on August 24, 2021 and is titled The Madness of Crowds.

– Currently Reading –
The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx (CW)
You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters – Kate Murphy (EF)
The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones (CW)
Laziness Does Not Exist – Devon Price (CW)(audio)
The Best American Mystery Stories of 2020 – edited by C.J. Box and Otto Penzler (CW)

– Just Read –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains – Kerri Arsenault (EF)
The Survivors – Jane Harper (CW)
Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano (EF)
The Great Gatsby with an Introduction by Min Jin Lee – F. Scott Fitzgerald (CW)
This Is Your Time – Ruby Bridges (EF)
The Other Mother – Matthew Dicks (EF)
Cuyahoga – Pete Beatty (EF)
The Shadow Box – Luanne Rice (EF)
check out our video where we reveal the cover for the book

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily attended a conversation between Min Jin Lee & Jennifer Buehler focused on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The event was hosted by Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn.

Emily watched the HBO series Olive Kitteridge based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout.

Emily attended an event via Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT with Luanne Rice, author of The Shadow Box, in conversation with Rick Koster, author and journalist with The Day.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is signed up to attend an event via Murder by the Book with Elle Cosimano, author of Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery, in conversation with Megan Miranda, author of The Girl from Widow Hills on Tuesday, February 2 at 7 pm.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Islanders – Meg Mitchell Moore (EF)
The Best of Brevity – edited by Zoe Bossiere and Dinty Moore (CW)
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains – Kerri Arsenault (CW)
To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf (CW)

– Our Mystery Man John Valeri –
Check out John’s YouTube channel: Central Booking
John also writes reviews in Mystery Scene Magazine
The Twin – Natasha Preston
Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel – Elizabeth George
Careless in Red – Elizabeth George
Behind the Red Door – Megan Collins
The Nothing Man – Catherine Ryan Howard
Piece of My Heart – Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke
Where Are the Children – Mary Higgins Clark
Moonlight Becomes You – Mary Higgins Clark
All Around the Town – Mary Higgins Clark
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Mary Higgins Clark
The Cinderella Murder – Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke

John also recommends these two authors:
Edwin Hill – Hester Thursby Series
Karen Katchur – River Bodies, Cold Woods, Spring Girls

– 16th Readalong discussion –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
The discussion will drop on February 16th via Episode 123, please get questions/comments to us by February 9th.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, Feb 7th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Also Mentioned –
Kathleen Rooney
American Writers Museum
The Archivist – Martha Cooley
T.S. Eliot
Emily Hale
Simmons University
Dead to Me
The Last Day – Luanne Rice
#disrupttexts is a movement to rebuild the literary canon using an antibias, antiracist critical literacy lens.
Also by Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway and Orlando
Marcia Clark

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 121 - Author Spotlight with Jason Pinter

January 19, 2021 by Emily Fine

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

You can read our Blog Post with Jungle Red Writers, Standing Ovation for The Book Cougars, here.

Check out a conversation with author Penny Goetjen on John Valeri’s Central Booking, episode 35.

You can see the amazing list of our LISTENER TOP TENS on our bookshop.org page.

– Currently Reading –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains – Kerri Arsenault (EF)
The Shipping News – E. Annie Proulx (CW)
Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing: Essays – Lauren Hough (EF) release date 4/13/2021

– Just Read –
Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano (EF) release date 2/2/21
The House on Vesper Sands – Paraic O’ Donnell (CW)
Hamnet – Maggie O’ Farrell (EF)
The Archivist – Martha Cooley (CW)
Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe: A Novel in Recipes – Jenny Colgan (EF)
Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman (CW)
Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life – Christie Tate (EF)
Country Place – Ann Petry (CW)
Come to Me – Amy Bloom (EF)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched the movie In the Name of the Father based on the book Proved Innocent: The Story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four by Gerry Conlon and David Pallister.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is attending the book launch for author Matthew Dicks new novel, The Other Mother.

January 21, 2020 – Chris plans to attend a Zoom event via Breakwater Books with author Anne Gardner Perkins discussing her book Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant.

January 28, 2020 10pm (EST) – Chris has signed up for an event via Copperfield Books with Barbara Lane in conversation with Jane Smiley about her new book Perestroika in Paris.

– Upcoming Reads –
A Thousand Acres – Jane Smiley (CW)
The Survivors – Jane Harper (CW) release date 2/2/21
Cuyahoga – Pete Beatty (EF)
Still Crazy – Judy Prescott Marshall (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Jason Pinter –
Jason is an author and editor / founder of Polis Books.
The newest book in his Rachel Marin series, A Stranger at the Door, is available now!
You can learn more about Jason and his book events here.

When responding to our question regarding Thomas & Mercer Publishing, Jason mentions the following authors:
Mark Osaki
Sean Chercover
Christopher Rice
Hilary Davidson

– 16th Readalong discussion –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
The discussion will drop on February 16th via Episode 123, please get questions/comments to us by February 11th.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, Feb 7th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Also Mentioned –
Jungle Red Writers
The Dutch House – Ann Patchett
Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi
O’ Pioneers – Willa Cather
Also by Louise Penny: All The Devils Are Here, How the Light Gets In, Still Life
T.S. Eliot
Also by Alice Hoffman: The Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Rage – Ijeoma Oluo
White Houses – Amy Bloom
New Haven Noir – edited by Amy Bloom
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland – Patrick Radden Keefe

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

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 120 - Our 2020 Top Ten Books with Special Guest Russell Gray

January 05, 2021 by Emily Fine

Episode One Hundred Twenty Show Notes

KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Chris Wolak Top Ten –
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics – Olivia Waite
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life – Joan D. Hedrick
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix
Blacktop Wasteland – S.A. Cosby
Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry – Imani Perry (the audiobook)
We Need to Talk: A Memoir about Wealth – Jennifer Risher
Forever Amber – Kathleen Winsor
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 – R.A. Scotti
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America – Ijeoma Oluo
Ring Shout – P. Djèlí Clark

– Emily Fine Top Ten –
The Revisioners – Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi
The Prettiest Star – Carter Sickels
Shelter – Jung Yun
Separation Anxiety – Laura Zigman
A Small Thing to Want: Stories – Shuly Xóchitl Cawood
Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger: A Memoir – Lisa Donovan
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home – Tembi Locke (the audiobook)
Everything is Under Control: A Memoir with Recipes – Phyllis Grant
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times – Katherine May (the audiobook)

– Russell Gray Top Ten –
[You can find Russell on his YouTube channel Ink and Paper Blog]
Interior Chinatown – Charles Yu
Cleanness – Garth Greenwell
The Great Offshore Grounds – Vanessa Veselka
Museum of Modern Love – Heather Rose
The Prettiest Star – Carter Sickels
The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories – Danielle Evans
The Street – Ann Petry
Call Me by Your Name – André Aciman
Memorial – Bryan Washington
Real Life – Brandon Taylor

– Also Mentioned –
Hub City Press
My Best Friend’s Exorcism – Grady Hendrix
Reading Women Podcast
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts
Shōgun – James Clavell
Matthew Goodman
Lot: Stories – Bryan Washington
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 – P. Djèlí Clark

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 119 - Author Spotlight with Bill Goldstein

December 22, 2020 by Emily Fine in Author Interview, Podcast Episode, Biblio Adventure

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

You can read our Blog Post with Redfin Real Estate on How to Create the Perfect Home Reading Nook here.

– Currently Reading –
Faviken: 1415 Days Beginning to End – Magnus Nilsson (EF)
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day – Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (CW)
Hamnet – Maggie O’ Farrell (EF)
The House on Vesper Sands – Paraic O’ Donnell (CW) release date 1/12/2021

– Just Read –
Legends of the North Cascades – Jonathan Evison (EF) release date 6/8/21
Hide Away – Jason Pinter (CW)
Send for Me – Lauren Fox (EF) release date 2/2/21
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead – Brené Brown (CW) (audiobook)
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times – Katherine May (EF) (audiobook)
A Granted Prayer – Edith Wharton (CW)
Olive, Again – Elizabeth Strout (EF)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched two conversations with Elizabeth Strout in conversation with Meg Wolitzer through The Strand, watch it here and with the Book Maven (Bethanne Patrick) via Politics and Prose Bookstore, watch it here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
January 14, 7:30 pm (EST) - Chris and Emily both plan to attend a conversation between Min Jin Lee & Jennifer Buehler focused on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The event is being hosted by Greenlight Bookstore and is free but you need to register here.

Emily is planning to watch the television series Olive Kitteridge starring Frances McDormand based on the book by Elizabeth Strout.

– Upcoming Reads –
Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano (EF) release date 2/2/21
Breast and Eggs – Mieko Kawakami (translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd) (EF)
Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Bill Goldstein –
Bill is an author, book critic, editor, journalist, and moderator extraordinaire. His book is
The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster, and the Year that Changed Literature.
You can learn more about Bill here.

– Also Mentioned –
A Stranger at the Door - Jason Pinter
Xingu – Edith Wharton
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
The Wife – Meg Wolitzer
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
Norman Mailer
Lolita – Vladimir Nobokov
Lincoln – Gore Vidal
Robert Caro
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Larry Kramer
Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf

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 118 - Hooray, It's Our 4th Anniversary of Talking Books and Going on Biblio Adventures!

December 08, 2020 by Emily Fine

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

– Currently Reading –
In the Garden of Spite – Camilla Bruce (CW) release date 1/19/21
Legends of the North Cascades – Jonathan Evison (EF) release date 6/8/21
How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons): Poetry – Barbara Kingsolver (EF)

– Just Read –
Let Him Go – Larry Watson (EF)
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America – Ijeoma Oluo (CW)
The Great Offshore Grounds – Vanessa Veselka (EF)
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World – Patrik Svensson (CW)
Just Like You – Nick Hornby (EF)
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman (CW)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched David Chang (Eat a Peach) and Lisa Donavan (Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger) discuss their books at the Texas Book Festival. You can watch the discussion here.
Emily attended an event with Katherine May discussing her book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times via Skylark Bookshop.
Chris and Emily hosted a Joint Jaunt via Book Club On the Go with author Kimberly McCreight about her book A Good Marriage.
Emily watched Vanessa Veselka (The Great Offshore Grounds) in conversation with Kristin Arnett (Mostly Dead Things) via Powell’s Books. You can watch the video here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Dec 8th 5pm (ET) – Chris is signed up to attend an event via Northshire Bookstore with Jane Smiley discussing her new book Perestroika in Paris. You can sign up for the event here.

Dec 11th 7pm (CT) – Chris is registered to attend an event via the Willa Cather Foundation Author Series featuring Lydia Kang, Theodore Wheeler, James Cihlar, and Saddiq Dzukogi. You can register for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Country Place – Ann Petry (CW)
Faviken: 1415 Days, Beginning to End – Magnus Nilsson (EF)
The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H Lawrence, E.M. Forster, and the Year That Changed Literature – Bill Goldstein (CW)(EF)

– 16th Readalong discussion –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
The discussion will drop on February 16th via Episode 123, please get questions/comments to us by February 11th.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, Feb 7th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Also Mentioned –
You Let Me In – Camilla Bruce
Also by Jonathan Evison: Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, West of Here, All About Lulu, and Lawn Boy
Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver
Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson
Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
Also about Nick Hornsby – About a Boy, High Fidelity, and Juliet, Naked
Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Project Gutenberg
Harriet Beecher Stowe
A Thousand Acres – Jane Smiley
The Street – Ann Petry
RJ Julia Booksellers
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938
Not Under 40 – Willa Cather
Books by Jason Pinter: Hide Away and A Stranger at the Door

You can help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link for the monthly membership. Follow this link for the 3, 6, or 12 month membership. (promo code: bookcougars) We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café, click HERE to start shopping.
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Episode 117 - Our Conversation with Patrick Sweeney about EveryLibrary

November 24, 2020 by Emily Fine

Episode One Hundred Seventeen Show Notes

KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– 16th Readalong discussion –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
The discussion will drop on February 16th via Episode 123, please get questions/comments to us by February 11th.
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, Feb 7th at 7:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to join us please send an email to save a spot.

– Currently Reading –
The Best American Food Writing 2020 – J. Kenji López Alt (EF)
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World – Patrik Svensson (CW)
Let Him Go – Larry Watson (EF)
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America – Ijeoma Oluo (CW) release date 12/1/2020

– Just Read –
The Photographer of Mauthhausen – Salva Rubio, Pedro J. Colombo, and Aintzane Landa (CW)
The Cold Millions – Jess Walter (EF)
The Pull of the Stars – Emma Donoghue (EF)(CW)

– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended an event via Northshire Bookstore with Thomas Frank author of The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism.

Emily attended the book launch for Ron Nyren’s The Book of Lost Light via Booksmith in conversation with his writing group including authors: Ann Packer, Angela Pneuman, Ann Cummins, Lisa Michaels, Cornelia Nixon, Sarah Stone, Rafael Yglesias, and Vendela Vida.

Chris attended the virtual mystery event, CrimeCONN Express, sponsored by Mystery Writers of America New York and Connecticut Chapters and Ferguson Library. Session Four included John Valeri and Charles Salzberg in conversation with Lauren Bright Pacheco and Barbara Peters. You can watch it HERE. Session Five included Walter Mosley in conversation with S.A. Cosby. You can watch it HERE.

Emily watched The National Book Foundation Awards hosted by Jason Reynolds you can watch the recorded ceremony here. Here are the winners:
Interior Chinatown – Charles Yu
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X – Les Payne and Tamara Payne
DMZ Colony – Don Mee Choi
Tokyo Ueno Station – Yu Miri (translated by Morgan Giles)
King and the Dragonflies – Kacen Callender

Chris attended an event via the Texas Book Festival with Nazanine Hozar, author of Aria, and P. Djèlí Clark, author of Ring Shout. You can watch the event HERE.

Chris saw her favorite gardener, Monty Don, via the Charleston to Charleston literary festival. He was discussing his newest book, Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom, with Sue Stewart Smith author of The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature.

Chris tuned into The National Willa Cather Center book talk with Daryl W. Palmer author of Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Dec 3rd – Emily is signed up to hear Katherine May discuss her book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times via Skylark Bookshop.

Dec 8th – Chris is signed up to attend an event via Northshire Bookstore with Jane Smiley discussing her new book Perestroika in Paris. You can sign up for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
What We Lose – Zinzi Clemmons (EF)
The Butcher’s Blessing – Ruth Gilligan (CW)
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop – Fannie Flagg (CW)
A Promised Land – Barack Obama (CW)(EF)(audio)

– Interview with Patrick Sweeney –
Patrick Sweeney is the Political Director, of everylibrary and Every Library Institute
His books: Patrick’s Books:
Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding
Before the Ballot Building Political Support for Library Funding
One Book One Library campaign information here
Walter the Farting Dog – William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, and Audrey Colman
Donate via https://www.everylibrary.org/maskmonthly to get your library mask!
Or you can donate via Everylibrary.org

– Also Mentioned –
Peter Geye
What’s The Matter with Kansas? – Thomas Frank
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier – Ann Packer
Roxane Gay
Terry Tempest Williams
Dr. Zhivago movie
Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
A Thousand Acres – Jane Smiley
My Life – Bill Clinton
An American Life – Ronald Reagan
A World Transformed – George H.W. Bush, Brent Scowcroft
Decision Points – George W. Bush
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety – Jimmy Carter
American Library Association
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Blacktop Wasteland – S.A. Cosby

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Episode 116 - Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi Readalong

November 10, 2020 by Emily Fine

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

– Currently Reading –
The Route of Ice and Salt – José Luis Zárate (CW) release date 1/21/21
The Office of Historical Corrections – Danielle Evans (EF)(audio)
Chris did not finish: Cardiff by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense – Joyce Carol Oates (CW)
The Cold Millions – Jess Walter (EF)
The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing – edited by Kevin Young (CW)

– Just Read –
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint – Nadia Bolz-Weber (CW)(audio)
We, The Jury – Robert Rotstein (EF)
Eat a Peach – David Chang (EF)(audio)
The Fourteenth of September – Rita Dragonette (EF)
Leave the World Behind – Rumaan Alam (EF)(audio)
Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger: A Memoir – Lisa Donovan (EF) She also wrote an essay, Dear Women: Own Your Stories

– Biblio (Couch) Adventures –
Chris logged into a Zoom conversation hosted by Scared Straight Reads with a group of thriller writers:
Jennifer Pashley - The Watcher: A Novel (A Kateri Fisher Novel #1)
Heather Levy – Walking Through Needles release date 6/29/21
John Copenhaver – Dodging and Burning
Kelly J. Ford – Cottonmouths: A Novel
Layne Fargo – They Never Learn

Emily went shopping at Puck’s Books, an antiquarian and used bookstore in Essex, CT. She bought Being Mortal: Medicine and What Happens in the End by Atul Gawande and The Passion of Reverend Nash by Rachel Basch.

Chris attended the beginning of the virtual mystery event, CrimeConn Express, sponsored by Mystery Writers of America New York and Connecticut Chapters and Ferguson Library. You can sign up for more sessions of the event here.

Chris attended Brandeis University’s annual novel symposium: Willa Cather, Settler, Colonialism, Indigeneity.

Emily attended an event at Politics & Prose with Dan Rather in conversation with Jennifer Steinhauer about his book What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. You can watch the recording here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Monday, November 16 book launch for Ron Nyren’s The Book of Lost Light via Booksmith in conversation with his writing group including authors: Ann Packer, Angela Pneuman, Ann Cummins, Lisa Michaels, Cornelia Nixon, Sarah Stone, Rafael Yglesias, and Vendela Vida

December 1 at 7 pm (EST) we are co-hosting a virtual event via Bookclub on the Go with Kimberly McCreight author of A Good Marriage. Sign up for the event and purchase the book here.

Chris is attending events via the Texas Book Festival and Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival.

November 11 at 6 pm (EST) Chris is attending an event via Northshire Bookstore with Thomas Frank author of The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism. You can register for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Pull of the Stars – Emma Donoghue (EF)(CW)
Cuyahoga – Pete Beatty (EF)
Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom – Monty Don (CW)
Almanac of the Dead – Leslie Marmon Silko (Jenny from Reading Envy is doing this as a readalong. You can join the conversation here.)

– 15th Readalong discussion –
Celestial Bodies – Jokha Alharthi (translated by Marilyn Booth)
The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE. It includes a link to the family tree and author interviews.

– Also Mentioned –
Mexican Gothic – Silvia Morena-Garcia
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Beautiful Ruins – Jess Walter
Also by Nadia Bolz-Weber: Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People and Shameless: A Sexual Reformation

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