Episode 54 - Reading Through A Heatwave!

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Episode Fifty Four Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Upcoming Readalongs
March – Geraldine Brooks – have comments to us by July 19th

Upcoming Book Release and Event
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (release date August 21st)
Check out upcoming events for the 150th anniversary of Little Women at Orchard House.

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

– Currently Reading/Listening –
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After – Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil (EF)
One of Ours – Willa Cather (CW)

– Just Read –
Hope Never Dies – Andrew Shaffer (CW)
Providence – Caroline Kepnes (EF)
Women & Power: A Manifesto – Mary Beard (CW)
They May Not Mean To But They Do – Cathleen Schine (EF)
One Possible Life - Hannes Köhler (CW)
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing – Marie Kondō (CW) (audio)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily saw Matthew Dicks at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison with his new book Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling

Chris visited the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT and saw a copy of the Declaration of Independence on display.


– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily will be heading to Orchard House – the home of Louisa May Alcott – on July 16th

July 19th Chris will be hosting the Willa Cather Book Club at Bookclub Bookstore & More

Emily is planning to attend Savoy Bookshop &  Café Harry Potter 20th Anniversary party on July 31st

The Book Cougars will be hosting an historical fiction author event in partnership with Bank Square Books at Mohegan Sun on September 27, 2018.

– Upcoming Reads –
March – Geraldine Brooks (CW)(EF)
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (CW)(EF) release date August 21st
The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House – Ben Rhodes (CW)
The Kiss: Intimacies from Writers – edited by Brian Turner (CW)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver (EF) (audio)

– Also Mentioned –
The new library Libby App to download E-books and Audiobooks
Center for Fiction first novel prize list can be found here.
A Place for Us – Fatima Farheen Mirza
There There – Tommy Orange
Sadness is a White Bird – Moriel Rothman - Zecker
Man Booker Golden 50th Book Award
Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Willa Cather Novels: My Ántonia, The Song of the Lark, and O Pioneers!
Orchard House Conversation Series
Gwendolyn Brooks Statue in Chicago
57th Street Books
American Writers Museum

Poet Philip Larkin

This Be The Verse
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
      They may not mean to, but they do.   
They fill you with the faults they had
      And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
      By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
      And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
      It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
      And don’t have any kids yourself.

Episode 53 - Chris Talks Bone Fragments AND Our Little Women Readalong!

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Episode Fifty Three Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Upcoming Readalongs
March – Geraldine Brooks – have comments to us by July 19th

Upcoming Book Release and Event
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (release date August 21st)
Check out upcoming events for the 150th anniversary of Little Women at Orchard House.

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment – Robert Wright (CW)
Providence – Caroline Kepnes (EF)
The American Byron: Homosexuality The Fall of Fitz-Green Halleck – John Hallock (CW)

– Just Read –
Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver (EF) release date October 16, 2018
Chris DNF’d Fatal Crossing (Nora Sand #1) – Lone Theils, Translated by Charlotte Barslund (CW)
and she attempted to watch an adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock
It Happened at Two in the Morning – Alan Hruska (EF)
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II – Liza Mundy (CW)(audio)
A Place for Us – Fatima Farheen Mirza (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris met John Valeri, Our Mystery Man, at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore

Chris attended Crime Conn at Ferguson Library on Saturday, June 23, 2018
Author panelists included:
China Trade – S.J. Rozan
Katie Torpey
Tom Straw
David Rich
David Handler
James Benn
Jane Cleland
Sacred Cows – Karen E. Olson
Charles Salzberg
Dr. Kristen Hartnett-McCann
Bill Curatolo
Jill Fletcher
Jeff Markowitz
Chris Knopf
Neil Nyren
Gina Panettieri
Sheryl Kayne

June 19, 2018 Emily saw Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach, sponsored by Bank Square Books at Wheeler Library in North Stonington, CT.

Book Cougars - Jennifer Egan.jpg

Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach

June 20, 2018 Emily and Chris went to see Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl, sponsored by Bank Square Books. Sadly, the event was postponed.

NYPL event archive of Roxane Gay in conversation with Aja Monet: https://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/live-nypl-roxane-gay-aja-monet-not-bad

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Matthew Dicks will be at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison with his new book Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling.

Chris and Emily will be heading to Orchard House – the home of Louisa May Alcott.

– Upcoming Reads –
March – Geraldine Brooks (EF)
They May Not Mean To, But They Do – Cathleen Schine (EF)
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938 – R.A. Scotti (CW)
Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear – Kim Brooks  (EF) release date August 21, 2018

– 5th Read Along –
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (EF) (CW)
The Goodreads discussion can be found here.

– Also Mentioned –
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver

Also by Robert Wright:
The Evolution of God
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
The Moral Animal: Why We Are The Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology

The Overstory – Richard Powers

Also by Barbara Kingsolver:
Bean Trees
Prodigal Summer
The Poisonwood Bible

The President Is Missing – Bill Clinton, James Patterson
The Pilgrims Progress – John Bunyan
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
Henry David Thoreau
Margaret Fuller
Hospital Sketches – Louisa May Alcott

Episode 52 - What Does 70 Pounds of Books Look Like?!

We brought home 70 pounds of books from Book Expo 2018!!!

We brought home 70 pounds of books from Book Expo 2018!!!

Episode Fifty Two Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Upcoming Readalongs
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott – have comments to us by June 21st
March – Geraldine Brooks – have comments to us by July 19th

Congratulations to our 5oth Episode Giveaway winner – Jennifer and her daughter Lilly!

Upcoming Book Release and Event
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (release date August 21st)
Check out upcoming events for the 150th anniversary of Little Women at Orchard House.

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Fatal Crossing (Nora Sand #1) – Lone Theils, Translated by Charlotte Barslund (CW)
Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver (EF) release date October 16, 2018
The American Byron: Homosexuality The Fall of Fitz-Green Halleck – John Hallock (CW)
It Happened at Two in the Morning – Alan Hruska (EF)
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II – Liza Mundy (CW)(audio)
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (EF) (audio narrator Lorelei King) (upcoming narrator Justine Eyre) (EF)

– Just Read –
Dream More – Dolly Parton (EF) (audio)
District VIII – Adam LeBor (CW)
From the Wreck – Jane Rawson (CW)
Gift from the Sea – Anne Morrow Lindbergh (CW)
Trench Dogs – Ian Densford (CW) – See other graphic novels being released from Naval Institute Press new imprint Dead Wreckening

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went to NYC for Book Expo 2018, May 30-June 1, 2018.
Check out our YouTube videos from Book Expo.
Some authors, imprints, etc. from the week:
     Blackwing Pencils
     Out of Print Clothing
     But That’s Another Story – Will Schwalbe’s podcast
     Leigh Bardugo
     Wayetu Moore
     Rich Benjamin
     Susan Orlean
     Caroline Fraser
     Deborah Harkness
     Ibi Zoboi
     Sally Field
     Tony Kushner
     Michelle Obama
     Fiona DavisThe Masterpiece, The Dollhouse and The Address
     Tommy OrangeThere, There          
     Minotaur Books
     Alison Law – Literary Atlanta Podcast
     Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman – The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
     Abbi Jacobson
     Chris Gethard
     Len Riggio – CEO of Barnes and Noble

We brought home 70 pounds of books!

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The Book Cougars will be hosting an historical fiction author event in partnership with Bank Square Books at Mohegan Sun on September 27, 2018.

June 16, 2018 Chris will be attending a Behind the Scenes Tour of The Blackstone Library in Branford, CT.

Chris and Emily are hoping to head to the Noah Webster House in West Hartford, CT

June 19, 2018 Emily is planning to see Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach, sponsored by Bank Square Books.

June 20, 2018 Emily is planning to see Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl, sponsored by Bank Square Books.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Lost Family – Jenna Blum (EF)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly – Anthony Bourdain (EF)
Middlemarch – George Eliot (CW)
Little Women – Louise May Alcott (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Book Women Magazine             
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver
Lydia Maria Francis Child
Moby Dick
Autobiography of Malcolm X – Malcolm X, Alex Haley
Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy
Literary Disco podcast
A Visit from the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan
The Woman Upstairs
The Thurber House
Adam Bede – George Eliot
Book By Book blog – Sue Jackson – Join her Big Book Summer Challenge
Broad City

Episode 51 - BookExpo 2018 - Buzzy Books for the Coming Year!

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Episode Fifty One Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Russell Gray’s Book Tube Channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/inkandpaperblog

– Russel’s Book Recommendations –
So Lucky – Nicola Griffith
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #10) – Becky Chambers
When I Hit You: Or, a Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife – Meena Kandasamy

– BookExpo Adult Editor’s Buzz 2018 –
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and The Novel that Scandalized the World – Sarah Weinman  release date September 11, 2018
She Would Be King – Wayétu Moore  release date September 11, 2018
There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir – Casey Gerald  release date October 2, 2018
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive – Stephanie Land release date January 29, 2019
Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear – Kim Brooks  release date August 21, 2018
Ohio: A Novel – Stephen Markley  release date August 21, 2018

– BookExpo Young Adult Editor’s Buzz 2018 –
Darius the Great is Not Okay – Adib Khorram  release date August 28, 2018
The Girl King – Mimi Yu  release date August 28, 2018
Sadie – Courtney Summers  release date September 4, 2018
Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan  release date November 6, 2018
The Similars – Rebecca Hanover  release date January 1, 2019

– Books Chris and Emily Were Really Excited To Acquire at BookExpo –
There, There – Tommy Orange (EF)
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and The Novel that Scandalized the World – Sarah Weinman (CW)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20th Anniversary Editions with Brian Selznick illustrated covers (EF)
Hope Never Dies – Andrew Shaffer (CW)
Pride – Ibi Zoboi (CW)
The Library – Susan Orleans (CW)
Why Don’t You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It: A Mother’s Suggestions – Roz Chast and Patricia Marx (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Simon Savidge – The Readers Podcast
Jen Campbell
MercysBookishMusings
Hild - Nicola Griffith
Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant – Roz Chast
Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York – Roz Chast
Lets Be Less Stupid: An Attempt to Maintain My Mental Faculties – Patricia Marx
Deborah Harkness All Souls Trilogy

 

Episode 50 - Our 5th Giveaway and 4th & 5th Readalongs Announced!

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Episode Fifty Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Upcoming Readalongs
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott – have comments to us by June 21st
March – Geraldine Brooks – have comments to us by July 19th

50th Episode Giveaway
A banned books mug, a copy of Little Women and a copy of March for the upcoming readalongs please email us to enter the giveaway by June 1, 2018: bookcougars@gmail.com

Upcoming Book Release and Event
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (release date August 21st)
Check out upcoming events for the 150th anniversary of Little Women at Orchard House.

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton – edited by Randy L. Schmidt (CW)
Dream More – Dolly Parton (EF) (audio)
District VIII – Adam LeBor (CW) release date June 5th
It Happened at Two in the Morning – Alan Hruska (EF)
Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture – edited by Roxane Gay (EF)

Swag to be included in our 5th giveaway - a banned book mug. The giveaway also includes a copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and March by Geraldine Brooks. Enter the giveaway by June 1, 2018 by emailing bookcougars@gmail.com.

Swag to be included in our 5th giveaway - a banned book mug. The giveaway also includes a copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and March by Geraldine Brooks. Enter the giveaway by June 1, 2018 by emailing bookcougars@gmail.com.

– Just Read –
The Overstory – Richard Powers (EF)
Bimini Twist: A Jane Bunker Mystery – Linda Greenlaw (CW) release date June 26th
Alternate Side – Anna Quindlen (EF)
Sworn to Silence (Kate Burkholder #1) – Linda Castillo (CW)
Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say – Kelly Corrigan (EF)
Lighthouse Beach – Shelley Noble (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris joined Aunt Ellen in NYC to see an Encore Series show and explored Central Park in search of Fitz-Greene Halleck’s statue. She also found a new bookstore called Book Off.

Chris also went to see the new movie Book Club.

Emily watched the Amazon television series I Love Dick based on the book by Chris Kraus.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are heading to NYC for Book Expo 2018, May 30-June 1.
BookCon is June2-3.

– Upcoming Reads –
Lawn Boy – Jonathan Evison (EF)
My Ex-Life – Stephen McCauley (EF)
From the Wreck – Jane Rawson (CW)
The Lost Sailors – Jean-Claude Izzo (CW)
Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion – Madeleine B. Stern and Leona Rostenberg (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Northshire Bookstore Saratoga Springs, NY
Little Men and Jo’s Boys - Louise May Alcott
The Great American Read from PBS
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
Still Life with Bread Crumbs – Anna Quindlen
But That’s Another Story – Will Schwalbe’s podcast
The Middle Place and Glitter and Glue – Kelly Corrigan
Russell Gray of Ink and Paper Blog
Alison Law of Literary Atlanta podcast
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving – Jonathan Evison

Episode 49 - Our Mystery Man Returns!

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Episode Forty Nine Show Notes

Our Mystery Man – John Valeri
http://www.johnbvaleri.com/
Twitter: @OyeJohn52

– Books That Are Out Now –
The Woman in the Window – AJ Finn
The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor
The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The Wife – Alafair Burke
Into the Black Nowhere – Meg Gardiner
Look for Me – Lisa Gardner
You Will Be Mine – Natasha Preston
Mister Tender’s Girl – Carter Wilson
Vanished – Karen E. Olson
The Bishop’s Pawn – Steve Berry
Not That I Could Tell – Jessica Strawser
A Date with Murder (Murder She Wrote #47) – Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain, Jon Land
The Undercover Edge: Find Your Hidden Strengths, Learn to Adapt, and Build the Confidence to Win Life’s Game  – Derrick Levasseur
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer – Michelle McNamara

– Upcoming Releases –
The Word is Murder – Anthony Horowitz  release date June 5, 2018
A Stone’s Throw – James W. Ziskin  release date June 5, 2018
Little Girl Lost – Wendi Corsi Straub  release date July 24, 2018
The Last Thing I Told You – Emily Arsenault  release date July 24, 2018
Mystery of Three Quarters – Sophie Hannah  release date August 28, 2018

 – Upcoming Events –
Crime Conn at Ferguson Library – Saturday, June 23, 2018
John will be starting a Marcia Clark bookclub at Bookclub Bookstore & More starting on July 26, 2018 with Guilt By Association
John will be interviewing Emily Arsenault about the release of her new book The Last Thing I Told You at Bookclub Bookstore & More on August 4, 2018

– Also Mentioned –
Mystery Scene Magazine
Criminal Element
The Strand Magazine
The Snowman (Harry Hole #7) – Jo Nesbo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
Typepad – Online writing forum for amateur writers
The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy
Writer’s Digest Magazine
Big Brother television series
Is OJ Innocent? The Missing Evidence television series
Breaking Homicide television series
Northshire Bookstore – Saratoga Springs
Marcia Clark Investigates The First 48
The Fix

Episode 48 - Jaunt Much? Chris and Emily visit SEVEN bookstores and discuss LOADS of books

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Chris and Emily visited by Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT and Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Chris and Emily visited by Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT and Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Episode Forty Eight Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

Check out the 100 books listed in The Great American Read from PBS.

See the Lambda Literary Award information here.

– Currently Reading/Listening –
The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders – Stuart Kells (CW)
The Overstory – Richard Powers (EF)
Chicago Manual of Style – University of Chicago Press (CW)
Alternate Side – Anna Quindlen (EF)

– Just Read –
Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Courage to Lead – Cecile Richards (EF)
DNF’d: The Swarm – Frank Schätzing (CW) read about her time with the book on her blog.
Bite by Bite – Geneen Roth (EF) (audio)
Dream More – Dolly Parton (CW) (audio)
This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide – Geneen Roth (EF)
Chicago Poems – Carl Sandburg (CW)

Author Laura Thoma at Bookclub Bookstore & More for Independent Bookstore Day. Check out her book Mastering the Art of Self-Expression.

Author Laura Thoma at Bookclub Bookstore & More for Independent Bookstore Day. Check out her book Mastering the Art of Self-Expression.

– Biblio Adventures –
Independent Bookstore Day – Chris went with Laura who was at Bookclub Bookstore & More with Mastering the Art of Self-Expression, workbook.

Chris participated in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

Emily saw Meg Wolitzer discuss her book The Female Persuasion at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT

Chris and Emily stopped at Williams College newly opened bookstore.

May 4-5 – Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT
                 Ariel Lawhon – I Was Anastasia: A Novel
                 Bianca Marais – Hum If You Don't Know the Words
                 Heather Abel – The Optimistic Decade
                 Jonathan Miles – Anatomy of a Miracle
                 Pamela Paul – My Life With Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues
                 Peter Swanson – All the Beautiful Lies
                 Robin Oliveira – Winter Sisters
                 Stephen McCauley – My Ex-Life
                
On the "way home" Chris and Emily went to Saratoga Springs, NY to visit the other Northshire Bookstore.

Emily went to Brooklyn and visited Books are Magic and McNally Jackson

Chris went to a local cemetery in Guilford to see Fitz-Greene Halleck’s gravesite.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is going to see an Encore Series show in NYC at the Encore Series.

Coming up at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT:
May 15, 2018 – Chandra Prasad with her book Damselfly
May 16, 2018 – Heather Abel with her book The Optimistic Decade

Coming up at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore:
May 25, 2018 – Lisa Ko with her book The Leavers

May 26, 2018 – Mark your calendar for World Dracula Day

– Upcoming Reads –
Bimini Twist (Jane Bunker Mystery #4) – Linda Greenlaw (CW) release date June 26, 2018
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marais (CW)
In the Dark (Jenny Aron #1) – Andreas Pfluger (CW)
Bitter Orange – Claire Fuller (CW) release date October 9, 2018
The Other Woman – Sandie Jones (CW) release date August 21, 2018
Something in the Water – Catherine Stedman (CW) release date July 24, 2018
Black Chamber – S.M. Stirling (CW) release date July 3, 2018
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro – Rachel Slade (CW)
Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary That’ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together – Rachel Wilkerson Miller (CW)
Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture – edited by Roxane Gay (EF)
The Thorn Necklace: Healing Through Writing and the Creative Process – Francesca Lia Block (EF)
Sunburn – Laura Lippman (EF)
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Dolly Parton’s foundation: Imagination Library
Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman
The Wife – Meg Wolitzer
The Interestings – Meg Wolitzer
Modern Lovers – Emma Straub
The Vacationers – Emma Straub
Jesmyn Ward
The Duplass Brothers
Delicious Magazine
Emma Visick
Book Nook with Vick Mickunas
The Echo Maker – Richard Powers
American Rust – Philipp Meyer
The Son – Philip Meyer

Episode 47 - AngieThomas, Cecile Richards, Jhumpa Lahiri, Domenico Starnone and Willa Cather (of course!)

Book Cougars - Angie Thomas.jpg

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Savoy Bookshop and Cafe for the Reading Across Road Island sponsored event with Angie Thomas and her book The Hate U Give.

Episode Forty Seven Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page. 

For National Poetry Month (April) we celebrated with a poetry video project.
Check out our Book Tube Channel to see the 30 poems read by friends, authors, bloggers, podcasters and more.

See the full list of the 2018 Edgar Award winners here.
We discuss:
Blue, Bluebird – Attica Locke
Tornado Weather – Deborah Elaine Kennedy
Dark Chapter – Winnie M. Li
Lola – Melissa Scrivner Love
Idaho – Emily Ruskovich
She Rides Shotgun – Jordan Harper
The Unseeing – Ana Mazzola
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – David Grann
Chester B. Himes: A Biography – Lawrence P. Jackson
New Haven Noir edited by Amy Bloom – Two short stories won Spring Break by John Crowley and The Queen of Secrets by Lisa D. Gray
Long Way Down – Jason Reynolds
Bolo Books, Kristopher Zgorski
The Raven Bookstore in Kansas

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Chicago Poems – Carl Sandburg (CW)
The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders – Stuart Kells (CW)
Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Courage to Lead – Cecile Richards (EF)

– Just Read –
Dark Chapter – Winnie M. Li. (CW)
Standard Deviation – Katherine Heiny (EF)
Sea Creatures from the Sky – Ricardo Cortés (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Savoy Bookshop and Cafe for the Reading Across Road Island sponsored event with Angie Thomas and her book The Hate U Give.

Book Cougars - Cecile Richards and Teresa Younger.jpg

Cecile Richards and Teresa C. Younger discussing Cecile's book Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Courage to Lead.

Emily went to see Cecile Richards discuss her book Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Courage to Lead sponsored by Wesleyan RJ Julia.

Chris hosted the second Willa Cather Bookclub at Bookclub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT where they read The Song of the Lark. The next date is July 19 at 2:00 where they will discuss One of Ours.

Our second joint jaunt was to see a bilingual event with Jhumpa Lahiri and Domenico Starnone moderated by Michael Reynolds, Editor in Chief, Europa Editions at Wesleyan RJ Julia. They were discussing the book Trick (Scherzetto).

Emily worked at the Lucy Robbins Welles library in Newington, CT.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Independent Bookstore Day – Laura will be at Bookclub Bookstore & More with Mastering the Art of Self-Expression workbook on April 28,2018.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

May 1 – Emily is heading to see Meg Wolitzer discuss her book The Female Persuasion at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT

May 4-5 – Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT

Chris is planning to stop at Williams College newly opened bookstore

May 10 – Chris and Emily will take a joint jaunt to the Guilford Library for the Guilford Poets Guild celebration of Guilford High School Poetry Contest Winners.

– Upcoming Reads –
American Byron: Homosexuality The Fall Of Fitz-Green Halleck – John W.M. Hallock (CW)
The Life and Letters of Fitz-Green Halleck – James Grant Wilson (CW)
Poetical Writings of Fitz-Green Halleck – Fitz-Green Halleck edited by James Grant Wilson (CW)
The Overstory – Richard Powers (EF)
This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide – Geneen Roth (EF)
Naval Officers Under Hitler: The Story of Crew 34 – Eric C. Rust (CW)
American Sea Power in the Old World: The United States Navy in European and Near Eastern Waters, 1865-1917 – William N. Still, Jr. (CW)
Courageous Women of the Vietnam War: Medics, Journalists, Survivors, and More – Kathryn J. Atwood (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Walt Whitman
Mary Oliver
Gretchen Rubin and her Four Tendencies Quiz
Fates and Furies – Lauren Groff
Akashic Books
Mystic – Noank Library in Mystic, CT  
Mystic Pizza in Mystic, CT
Mystic Pizza the movie
Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT
David Letterman “My Next Guest” interviews on Netflix
O Pioneers! – Willa Cather
Ernest Hemingway
Unabridged Bookstore in Chicago
The Namesake –  Jhumpa Lahiri
Interpreter of Maladies –  Jhumpa Lahiri
The Echo Maker – Richard Powers
When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up A Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy {When You Feel Anything But} – Geneen Roth
When Food is Love: Exploring the Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy – Geneen Roth
An Honorable German – Charles L. McCain – Chris reviewed this book on her blog
The Shadow Divers – Robert Kurson

Episode 46 - The Stranger in the Woods

Micheal Finkel discussing his book The Stranger in the Woods at An Unlikely Bookstore  & Cafe in  Plainville, MA.

Micheal Finkel discussing his book The Stranger in the Woods at An Unlikely Bookstore  & Cafe in  Plainville, MA.

Episode Forty Six Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

It’s National Poetry Month and we are celebrating with a poetry video project.
Check out our Book Tube Channel to see a recitation of a poem every day of April.

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Dark Chapter – Winnie M. Li (CW)
The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin (EF)
Chicago Poems – Carl Sandburg (CW)
The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World –  Chris Guillebeau (EF)

– Just Read –
Tornado Weather – Deborah E. Kennedy (CW)
Do Not Become Alarmed: A Novel – Maile Meloy (EF)
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit – Michael Finkel (CW) (audio)
Goodbye, Vitamin – Rachel Khong (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily visited Harbor Books in Old Saybrook, CT

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to visit The Unlikely Bookstore & Cafe in Plainville, MA owned by Julie and Jeff Kinney.

Chris went to Bookclub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT to join John Valeri in conversation with R.C. Goodwin to discuss his new book Model Child

– Upcoming Jaunts –
April 12th – We are going on a joint jaunt to Savoy Bookshop and Cafe for the Reading Across Road Island sponsored event with Angie Thomas and her book The Hate U Give.

April 19th – Chris will host the second Willa Cather Bookclub at Bookclub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT

April 23rd – We are going on another joint jaunt to see Jhumpha Lahiri and Domenico Starnone moderated by Michael Reynolds, Editor in Chief, Europa Editions at Wesleyan RJ Julia.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Song of the Lark – Willa Cather (CW)
Young Jane Young – Gabrielle  Zevin (EF)
Standard Deviation – Katherine Heiny (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
The Shakespeare Requirement: A Novel – Julie Schumacher (release date August 14, 2018)

– Part 2: Author Spotlight –
In the last section of this episode we speak with Michael Finkel about his book Stranger In the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit.

Episode 45 - An Unlikely Visit with Ann Kingman!

Chris and Emily with Ann Kingman at An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Cafe.

Chris and Emily with Ann Kingman at An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Cafe.

Episode Forty Five Show Notes

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

It’s National Poetry Month and we are celebrating with a poetry video project.
Check out our Book Tube Channel to see a recitation of a poem every day of April.

– Recommendations from Ann Kingman –
The Sandman (Joona Linna #4) – Lars Keppler
Chemistry – Weike Wang
The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky: A Novel – Jana Casale (release date April 17, 2018)
The Only Story – Julian Barnes (release date April 17, 2018)
Warlight – Michael Ondaatje (release date May 8, 2018)
There There – Tommy Orange (release date June 5, 2018)
The Book of Essie – Meghan MacLean Weir (release date June 12, 2018)
Call Me American: A Memoir – Abdi Nor Iftin (release date June 19, 2018)
The Shakespeare Requirement: A Novel – Julie Schumacher (release date August 14, 2018)

– Also Mentioned –
We met with Ann at An Unlikely Story Bookstore & Cafe
The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins
The Snowman (Harry  Hole #7) – Jo Nesbo     
The Hypnotist (Joona Linna #1) – Lars Keppler
War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
The Unmade World – Steve Yarborough
Dear Committee Members – Julie Schumacher