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.

Episode 164 - Talking About the Booker Prizes with Russell Gray from Ink and Paper Blog

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

– 22nd Readalong –
Our Third Quarter readalong is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join in. You can join the Goodreads discussion here. You can purchase directly from Milkweed Press with free shipping using the Promo Code: SEEDKEEPERCOUGARS

– Currently Reading – [1:27]
How to Read Now: Essays – Elaine Castillo (CW)
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano (EF)
Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, an Address Book, a Life – Brigitte Benkemoun, translated by Jody Gladding (CW)

– Just Read – [6:52]
We Are Water Protectors – Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade (EF)
A Ghost of Caribou – Alice Henderson (CW) release date 11/6/2022
Listen to our conversation with Alice Henderson on Episode 141
Small World – Laura Zigman (EF) release date 1/10/2023
Are They Women?: A Novel Concerning the Third Sex – Aimée Duc, translated and edited by Margaret Sönser Breen and Nisha Kommattam (CW)
Black, White, and the Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant – John O. Morisano and Mashama Bailey (EF)
Miss Nobody from Nowhere – Elizabeth Jordan (CW)
Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen: A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship – Annabel Abbs narrated by Ell Potter, Bianca Amato (EF)
The Displacements – Bruce Holsinger (EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [40:00]
Chris met Kate in Norwalk to eat lobster rolls and discuss Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Kate gave her a copy of Exiles by Jane Harper (release date 1/31/2023).

Emily and The Gentleman Caller visited several little free libraries by foot and by bike.

Chris is watching The Outlander series on Netflix based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [44:36]
Chris and Emily are looking forward to The Zoom discussion of the The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson which will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join in.

Emily is hoping to get to Pop! Art Books Culture in Boardman, Ohio.

Chris is planning to attend the Provincetown Book Festival, particularly the session with Melissa Homestead and Scott Bane discussing his book A Union Like Ours: The Love Story of F.O. Matthiessen and Russell Cheney.

– Upcoming Reads – [47:20]
The Seed Keeper – Diane Wilson (CW)(EF)
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures – Merline Sheldrake  (EF)
On the Rooftop – Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (EF)

Out Now:
Sweet and Sour – Debbi Michiko Florence
Lucky Girl: How I Became a Horror Writer – M. Rickert

– The Booker Prize conversation with Russell Gray – [50:10]
You can watch Russell on his YouTube channel.

Learn more about The Booker Prizes.

The 2022 Short List of Books:
Glory – Noviolet Bulawayo
Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan
Treacle Walker – Alan Garner
The Trees – Percival Everett
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – Shehan Karunatilaka
Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout

– Also Mentioned –
The Ski Jumpers by Peter Geye
University of Minnesota Press
Finlay Donovan is Killing It: A Mystery – Elle Cosimano
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power – Deirdre Mask
Also by Alice Henderson: A Solitude of Wolverines and A Blizzard of Polar Bears
Broadview Press
Miss Nobody From Nowhere – Elizabeth Ashton
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration – Isabel Wilkerson
The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis – Melissa J. Homestead
The Revisioners – Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Trust – Hernan Diaz

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 163 - Author Spotlight with Shelley Puhak

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

 – 22nd Readalong –
Our Third Quarter readalong is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET).
Send us an email if you would like to join.
Find the Goodreads discussion here.
You can purchase directly from Milkweed Press with free shipping using the Promo Code: SEEDKEEPERCOUGARS


– Currently Reading – [2:06]
A Ghost of Caribou – Alice Henderson (CW) release date 11/6/2022
The Electricity of Every Living Thing – Katherine May (EF)(audio)
Young Mr. X – Elizabeth Jordan (CW)
Small World – Laura Zigman (EF) release date 1/10/2023

– Just Read – [6:20]
Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout (EF)
Lucy by the Sea – Elizabeth Strout (EF) release date 9/20/2022
The Barrens – Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson (CW)
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt (EF)
Mansfield Park – Jane Austen (CW)
The Battle of Little Bighorn – Mari Sandoz (CW)

– Biblio Adventures – [36:09]
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to New Hampshire to visit all three Toadstool Bookshops.
They also stopped at the Peterborough Public Library and their Friends of the Library Used Bookstore, the
Dublin Public Library, and Yankee Publishing.

Emily attended a virtual event with Elizabeth Strout and Cynthis D’Aprix Sweeney author of The Nest via Harvard Bookstore, Politics and Prose, and Books & Books. You can watch it here.

Emily had a Couch Biblioadventure via Episode 133 of Friends & Fiction with Jamie Ford author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy and Jason Mott author of Hell of a Book.

Chris has been doing some accessioning work at the Coast Guard Academy Library and came across a copy of My Heart Leaps Up and Other Poems by William Wordsworth. (The poem “My Heart Leaps Up”) She also went to the Institute Library in New Haven to search for books by Elizabeth Jordan where she found a copy of Young Mr. X.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [59:23]
The Newberry Library in Chicago is offering a course Contemporary Native American Detective Fiction starting on October 5th. Learn more about it here. The reading list includes Murder on the River by Marcie R. Rendon.

Coming up on September 10th at 3:00 pm (ET),  Bank Square Books is hosting a book launch for Sweet and Sour by Debbi Michiko Florence.

Grab tickets for the world premiere of Magpie by Laura Thoma on September 9-11 at Drama Works Theatre in Old Saybrook. Purchase tickets here.

– Upcoming Reads – [1:03:02]
The Seed Keeper – Diane Wilson (CW)(EF)
Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen: A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship – Annabel Abbs (EF)
Buffalo Calf Road Woman: The Story of a Warrior of the Little Bighorn – Rosemary Agonito and Joseph Agonito (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Shelley Puhak – [01:09:09]
We had the opportunity to chat with Shelley about her book The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World.

You can learn more about Shelley here.

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Alice Henderson: A Solitude of Wolverines and A Blizzard of Polar Bears
Separation Anxiety – Laura Zigman
My Name is Lucy Barton – Elizabeth Strout
Mansfield Park directed by Patricia Rozema
The Killer Angels – Michael Shaara
Entangled Life: How Funghi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures – Merlin Sheldrake
Edith Wharton’s House – The Mount
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts – Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez

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 162 - Just Us and the Insects (or not)

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

– 22nd Readalong –
Our Third Quarter readalong is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join in.
Join the Goodreads discussion here.
Purchase directly from Milkweed Press with free shipping using the Promo Code: SEEDKEEPERCOUGARS

– Currently Reading – [:22]
Lucy by the Sea – Elizabeth Strout (EF) release date 9/20/2022
The Warmth of Other Suns – Elizabeth Wilkerson (CW)(audio narrated by Robin Miles)
You can join Chris’s buddy read here.
The Electricity of Every Living Thing – Katherine May (EF)(audio)
The Electricity of Every Living Thing dramatic adaptation – Katherine May (EF)(audio)
Mansfield Park – Jane Austen (CW)
Read Chris’s guest blog post on Roof Beam Reader.

– Just Read – [9:26]
Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus (EF)
Vampire Slayer, The Vol. 2 – Sarah Gailey, Michael Shelfer (Illustrations), Sonia Liao (Illustrations) (CW)
When Women Could Fly – Megan Giddings (EF) (audiobook narrated by Angel Pean)
A Lost Lady – Willa Cather (CW)
You can listen to Chris chat about the book on The Mooks and The Gripes – Episode 34
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy – Jamie Ford (EF)(audio)
Natures Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard – Douglas W. Tallamy (CW)
Learn about his event at Guilford High School here.

– Biblio Adventures – [35:11]
Chris and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt to the Madison Art Cinemas to see the movie Where the Crawdads Sing based on the novel by Delia Owens.

Emily took the Gentleman Caller to the Book Barn in Niantic to search for Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Which they didn’t find but Emily found a copy of Black, White, and the Grey by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano.

Chris and Laura went on a road trip to New Hampshire where she came across an historical marker for Sarah Josepha Buell Hale located in Newport, New Hampshire.

Emily went to Barnswallow Books in Rockport, Maine for a workshop with Elissa Altman and Katherine May authors of Wintering and Motherland.  She also spent a workday at the Camden Public Library.

Chris attended a virtual event through Savoy Bookshop & Café with Dr. Mark Harper about his book Chill: The Cold Water Swim Cure. You can watch the video here.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [1:07:04]
Chris and Emily are heading to Mystic to work at the Mystic & Noank Library and an in-person event at the Westerly Library sponsored by Bank Square Books, Savoy Bookshop & Café, and The New London Day with Jamie Ford discussing his book The Many Daughters of Afong Moy.

– Upcoming Reads – [1:09:27]
The Great Bridge – David McCullough (EF)
Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six  – Maya Payne Smart (EF)
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Also in the Amgash Series by Elizabeth Strout: My Name is Lucy Barton, Anything is Possible, and Oh William!
Roof Beam Reader
Buffy comics fan world: https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_comics
Dark Star Comics
Lakewood – Megan Giddings
Margaret Atwood
Octavia Butler
A Lost Lady 1934 film
Bringing Nature Home – Douglas W. Tallamy
Pat Conroy
Katherine May’s the Wintering Sessions
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age – Katherine May

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 161 - Rachel Barenbaum Author of ATOMIC ANNA

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

– 22nd Readalong –
Our Third Quarter readalong is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join in.
Join the Goodreads discussion here.
Purchase the book directly from Milkweed Press with free shipping using the Promo Code: SEEDKEEPERCOUGARS

– Currently Reading – [5:11]
Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology – edited by Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason (CW)
Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum (author), Traci Odom, Natalie Naudus, Emily Lawrence & Zachary Johnson (narrators) (CW)(audio)
Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus (EF)

– Just Read – [7:11]
The Mermaid of Black Conch – Monique Roffey (EF)
East of Eden – John Steinbeck (CW)
Vintage Book Club will meet next October 20tht at 1:00pm (ET) at the Wood Memorial Library & Museum in South Windsor. For more information send an email. We will be reading Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck.
Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum (author), Traci Odom, Natalie Naudus, Emily Lawrence & Zachary Johnson (narrators) (EF)(audio)
Bear – Marian Engel (CW)
Vampire Slayer, The Vol. 1 – Sarah Gailey, Michael Shelfer (Illustrations), Sonia Liao (Illustrations) (CW)

– Biblio Adventures – [31:04]
Emily attended an author event at RJ Julia’s Bookstore with Gabrielle Zevin author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. You can watch the video here and read Zevin’s Modern Love piece here.

Chris visited the Brookfield Public Library when she was visiting Chicago.

Emily attended the virtual Buzz Books Romance Editor Panel with the following authors:
Jasmine Guillory – Drunk on Love release date 9/20/2022
Kennedy Ryan – Before I let Go release date 11/15/2022
Amber D. Samuel – The Many Dates of Indigo release date 9/27/2022
Kate Clayborn – Georgie, All Along release date 1/24/2023
Kylie Scott – End of Story release date 2/14/2023

Emily had a whirlwind trip to Vermont and found a lovely book-themed coffee shop with a little free library out front. Uncommon Coffee Co., and the coffee was delish, too.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [45:03]
Chris is planning to attend a virtual event through Savoy Bookshop & Café on August 8th at 6Pm (ET) with Dr. Mark Harper about his book Chill: The Cold Water Swim Cure. Learn more about the event here.

Chris and Emily are hoping to attend an in-person event at the Westerly Library sponsored by Bank Square Books, Savoy Bookshop & Café, and The New London Day with Jamie Ford discussing his book The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. The event takes place on August 12th from 4:30-5:30 (ET), learn more here.

Emily is heading up to Barnswallow Books in Rockport, Maine for a workshop with Elissa Altman and Katherine May on August 8th. There is also a book signing and conversation with the two authors on August 9th. Follow this link to learn more about the events.

– Upcoming Reads – [49:08]
The Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters – John Steinbeck (CW)
The Displacements – Bruce Holsinger (EF)
The Keeper – Kelsey Ervick (EF) release date 9/20/2022
Mansfield Park – Jane Austen (CW)

Out Now:
Shutter – Ramona Emerson

– Editor Spotlight with Rachel Barenbaum – [53:30]
You can learn more about Rachel here.
Read her article about the history of the sports bra here.

– Also Mentioned –
Hamnet – Maggie O’ Farrell
Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
East of Eden television mini-series
Just Like Home – Sarah Galley
Wattpad.com   
The Mookse and the Gripes podcast
Soho Crime
Cartoonist Trina Robbins

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 160 - A "Horrifying" Chat with the Editors of OTHER TERRORS: Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason

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

– 22nd Readalong –
Our Third Quarter readalong is The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.
The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, September 18th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join in.
Join the Goodreads discussion here.
Purchase directly from Milkweed Press with free shipping using the Code: SEEDKEEPERCOUGARS

– Two Giveaways –
Milo and Marcos at the End of the World – Kevin Christopher Snipes (CW)
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy
Sinister Graves – Marcie R. Rendon
Shutter – Ramona Emerson (EF)

We are doing a second giveaway of one copy of The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.

Subscribe to our newsletter by July 25th to be entered to win both giveaways!

– Currently Reading – [8:02]
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (CW)
You can join Chris’s Buddy Read here.
As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis Devoto – edited by Joan Reardon (EF)
East of Eden – John Steinbeck (CW)
Vintage Book Club will meet on July 21st at 1:00 at the Red Tavern in South Windsor. For more information send an email.
The Poet’s House – Jean Thompson (EF)
A Writer’s Diary – Virginia Woolf (CW)
¡Hola Papi! How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons – John Paul Brammer (EF)

– Just Read – [21:24]
The Buddha in the Attic – Julie Otsuka (EF)
Death by Dumpling: A Noodle Shop Mystery  Vivien Chien (CW)  
You can read Chris’s blogpost about the book here.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin, Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi (narrators) (EF)
Surprise! Surprise! - Lothar Meggendorfer (CW)
Fresh Water for Flowers – Valérie Perrin, Hildegarde Serle (Translator), Sara Young (narrator)
Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer in Cape Cod – Casey Sherman (reviewed by Karen)

– Biblio Adventures – [38:01]
Chris got the chance to visit bookstores while she was in Chicago including:
Prairie Path Books where she bought Emily a copy of Hot, Hot Chicken: A Nashville Story by Rachel Louise Martin.
Anderson’s Bookstore in Naperville then ate a delicious meal at Seoul Taco.
The Frugal Muse Books where she found a copy of The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: And Other Stories by
Carson McCullers and Editor to Author: the Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins.

Emily watched Episode 101 of Central Booking with John Valeri chatting with Joey Hartstone about his book The Local.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [46:26]
Emily is planning to attend an author event at RJ Julia’s Bookstore with Gabrielle Zevin author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on July 13th.

Emily is planning to attend a virtual event Buzz Books Romance Editors Panel with authors Kate Clayborn, Jasmine Guillory, Kennedy Ryan, Amber D. Samuel, and Kylie Scott.

– Upcoming Reads – [47:26]
East of Eden – John Steinbeck (EF)
Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum (author), Traci Odom, Natalie Naudus, Emily Lawrence & Zachary Johnson (narrators) (EF)
The Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters – John Steinbeck (CW)
Milo and Marcos at the End of the World – Kevin Christopher Snipes (CW)
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (CW)
Out of the Blue – Jason June (CW)
Only on the Weekends – Dean Atta (CW)

Out Now:
Brother Alive – Zain Khalid

– Editor Spotlight with Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason  – [54:34]
We had the opportunity to chat with the editors of Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology.
Learn more about Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason.

– Also Mentioned –
Soho Press
Milkweed Press
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Margaret Renkl
Ada Limón
Bliss – Katherine Mansfield
The Swimmers – Julie Otsuka
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon
The Devil in the White City – Erik Larson
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius – A. Scott Berg
Horror Writers Association

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 159 - On the Prowl Summer 2022

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

– Currently Reading – [1:04]
Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World – Maya Jasonoff (CW)
The Catch – Alison Fairbrother (EF)
Death by Dumpling: A Noodle Shop Mystery – Vivien Chien (CW)

– Just Read – [7:11]
Eventide and Benediction – Kent Haruf (EF)
The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova (CW)
Vacationland – Meg Mitchell Moore (EF)
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir – Jenn Shapland (CW)
Read Chris’s blogpost here.
Signal Fires – Dani Shapiro (EF) release date 10/18/2022
Cat’s in the Navy – Scot Christenson (CW)
Read Chris’s blogpost here.
The Local: A Legal Thriller – Joey Hartstone (EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [37:03]
Emily was thrilled to get a library card from the Basalt Regional Library. She also found a copy of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith at a little free library in Aspen, CO and was happy to discover a newly opened store White River Books in Carbondale, CO.

Chris stopped at The Bookery in Lexington, VA. She also visited Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe and Downtown Books & News in Asheville, NC. She was thrilled to find copies of Slightly Foxed Magazine.

Emily visited Atticus Coffee, Teahouse, & Books in Park City, UT.

Chris attended the 68th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference including a conversation with Dr. James English: “The Literary Award as Judgement Device.” You can watch the video here.

Emily listened to an interview with Kent Haruf on The Book Nook with Vick Mickunas who recommended the author James Welch. When she visited Pioneer Book in Provo, UT she was thrilled to find copies of Fools Crow and The Heartsong of Charging Elk.
Upon arrival in Salt Lake City, UT the Gentleman Caller’s son, Liam, took her on a mad dash of bookstores including:
Marissa’s Books & Gifts
Central Book Exchange in the Sugar House neighborhood where she purchased a copy of Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic.
The King’s English Bookshop
Ken Sander’s Rare Books – Ken Sanders, an antiquarian book dealer, is famous for the role he played in helping to capture book thief John Charles Gilkey. The book based on this incident is called The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett.       
– Upcoming Jaunts – [01:03:21]
Emily is hoping to attend an author event at RJ Julia’s Bookstore with Gabrielle Zevin author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on July 13th.

Chris is planning to shop at The Frugal Muse Books in Chicago.

– Upcoming Reads – [01:05:20]
Fool’s Crow – James Welch (EF)
As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis Devoto – edited by Joan Reardon (EF)
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (CW)
You can join Chris’s Buddy Read here.

Out Now:
Hurricane Girl – Marcy Dermansky
Blood Orange Night: My Journey to the Edge of Madness – Melissa Bond
The Lies I Tell – Julie Clark

– Also Mentioned –
Windham Campbell Prizes
Plainsong – Kent Haruf
Marilynne Robinson
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers
The Member of the Wedding – Carson McCullers
The Lincoln Lawyer – Michael Connelly
Scott Turow
The Swimmers – Julie Otsuka

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!

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Episode 158 - Author Spotlight with Andrea Wang and Debbi Michiko Florence

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

– Author Andrea Wang –
Check out Andrea’s award-winning book Watercress.

Learn more about Andrea here.

– Author Debbie Michiko Florence –
Debbie’s book Sweet and Sour is available for pre-order now.

Debbie has a large back list of books, learn about them here.

– Also Mentioned –
Savoy Bookstore & Café in Westerly, Rhode Island
Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut
United Theatre
Big Hero Six
Divergent Series
Illustrator Jason Chin
We Need Diverse Books
Illustrator Hyewon Yum
Scrivener writing software

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 157 - A Chat with AudioBook Narrator Simon Vance

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

Emily starts with a reading of the poem “Aubade with a Chance of Rain” by Danusha Lameris from her collection Bonfire Opera: Poems.

If you would like to make a charitable gift in Jenny Colvin’s memory, these two organizations have been suggested by those who knew her well: Greenville Animal Care promoting the compassionate treatment of animals was something that Jenny cared deeply for. Friends of the Furman Libraries is planning to make Jenny’s long-held dream of establishing a “mindfulness space” in the Duke Library a reality. Under comments please write “in memory of Jenny”.

– Currently Reading – [2:50]
Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For) – Ella Risbridger, Elisa Cunningham (Illustrator) (CW)
Under the Sea-Wind – Rachel Carson (CW)
That Sounds So Good – Carla Lalli Music (EF)
The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova (CW)
Eventide – Kent Haruf (EF)

– Just Read – [11:30]
Plainsong – Kent Haruf (EF)
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American – Laura Gao (CW)
Hidden Pictures – Jason Rekulak (EF)
Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau – Jennifer Berne, Éric Puybaret (Illustrator) (CW)
On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson – Jennifer Berne, Becca Stadtlander (Illustrator)
Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie – Jennifer Berne, Keith Bendir (Illustrator) (CW)
Shutter – Ramona Emerson (EF) release date 8/2/2022

– Biblio Adventures – [24:20]
Chris and Emily went on a joint couch biblio adventure via the Mark Twain House with Shelley Puhak, the author of The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World. Watch the video here.

Chris and Emily went to Rhode Island, visited the Cross Mills Library on the way to a bookseller event with Soho Press at Sly Fox Den Too with authors Ramona Emerson, author of Shutter, and Marcie Rendon, author of the Cash Blackbear Series including Murder on the Red River, Girl Gone Missing, and Sinister Graves (release date 10/11/22).

– Upcoming Jaunts – [35:09]
Emily is heading to Colorado and Utah to hunt for bookstores.

Chris is preparing for Austen in August via Roof Beam Reader.

– Upcoming Reads – [36:44]
Mansfield Park – Jane Austen (CW)
Franny, the Queen of Provincetown – John Preston (CW)
Fresh Water for Flowers – Valérie Perrin, Hildegarde Serle (Translator) (EF)
Vacationland – Meg Mitchell Moore (EF) release date 6/14/2022

– Audiobook Narrator Simon Vance – [39:50]
Learn more about Simon here.

– Also Mentioned –
Impossible Fortress – Jason Rekulak
Quirk Books
Arsenal Pulp Press
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson (audiobook narrated by Simon Vance)
Bleak House - Charles Dickens (audiobook narrated by Simon Vance)
Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving – Bram Stoker (audiobook narrated by Simon Vance)
Blackstone Audiobooks
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo
Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie
Guy Gavriele Kay
Bring Up the Bodies – Hilary Mantel (audiobook narrated by Simon Vance)
Books narrated by Sissy Spacek
The King’s Speech – Peter Conradi & Mark Logue (audiobook narrated by Simon Vance)
The Sandman Book One – Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth (Illustrator)
Shadow & Claw: The First Half of the Book of the New Sun – Gene Wolfe

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 156 - Announcing Our Big Summer Books with Sue Jackson

Episode One Hundred Fifty Six Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine
– Currently Reading – [:59]
Under the Sea-Wind – Rachel Carson (CW)
Why We Cook: Women on Food, Identity, and Connection – Lindsay Gardner (EF)
That Noodle Life: Soulful, Savory, Spicy, Slurpy – Mike Le, Stephanie Le (CW)

– Just Read – [4:00]
The Lies I Tell – Julie Clark (EF) release date 6/21/22
The Fervor – Alma Katsu (CW)
Raising Ourselves: A Gwitch’in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River – Velma Wallis (EF)
Shutter – Ramona Emerson (CW) release date 8/2/22
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal – Velma Wallis (CW)(EF)
Bird Girl and The Man Who Followed the Sun – Velma Wallis (CW)

– Biblio Adventures – [32:24]
Chris and Emily went to Booktopia 2022 at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. Along the way they stopped in Brattleboro, VT at Everyone’s Books and Brattleboro Books. Next stop was the Newfane Public Library in Newfane, VT. (You can read Chris’s blog post about the library here.) On the way home, stops included Bartleby’s Books in Wilmington, VT and Roundabout Books in Greenfield, MA.

Chris attended an event with the Maine Women Writers Collection Found in the Archives: Stories of Buried Treasure with Dawn Potter, author of Accidental Hymn,  The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories by Elizabeth De Wolfe, and Carol A. Dana one of the authors of Still They Remember Me: Penobscot Transformer Tales.

Chris attended a Mondays at Beinecke presentation by Gabrielle Colangelo, We Are Everywhere Lesbians in the Archive.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [46:22]
Chris and Emily are heading to a bookseller event with Soho Press at Sly Fox Den Too with authors Ramona Emerson and Marcie Rendon.

Chris will be attending the Willa Cather Spring Conference from June 2-4. The theme is The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value.

– Upcoming Reads – [47:54]
Plans for the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge 2022: (May 27 – September 5, 2022)
Chris’s Buddy Read is The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (CW)
The buddy read can be found here.
Emily’s Buddy Read is the trilogy Plainsong, Eventide, and Benediction by Kent Haruf (EF)
The buddy read can be found here.

Vintage Book Club buddy read East of Eden – John Steinbeck (CW)(EF)
(In person book club at Red Heat Tavern on July 21st at 1pm)

Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum
Rachel was a guest on our YouTube channel talking about her debut novel, A Bend in the Stars, watch the video here.

Out Now:
This Time Tomorrow – Emma Straub
With Prejudice – Robin Peguero
She Is Haunted – Paige Clarke (EF)
You Have a Friend in 10a: Stories – Maggie Shipstead (EF)

– Author and Blogger Sue Jackson  – [53:55]
You can follow Sue on Book by Book and Live with ME/CFS and on her YouTube Channel.
Learn more about her book Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness.

– Also Mentioned –
The Last Flight – Julie Clarke
Also by Alma Katsu: The Hunger and The Deep
Maureen Corrigan
The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
This Tender Land – William Kent Krueger
Bleak House – Charles Dickens
David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

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.