Episode 260 - Buddy Reading with Our Mystery Man John Valeri
Episode 260 Show Notes
– Newsletter Subscriber 10th Episode Giveaway –
Agnes Sharp and the Wedding to Die For by Leonie Swann, translated by Amy Bojang
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter by May 21 to be entered to win. The winner will be chosen by random number generator on May 22, 2026.
A couple PSA’s:
1. Learn more about Super Large Print Books
2. Correction: When Emily was talking about Blunt Instrument by Amy Bloom she mentioned Mrs. Danvers is a character in The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson but, thanks listener Kate for the correction, she is a character in Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
– Currently Reading –
Trad Wife – Saratoga Schaeffer (CW)
These Walls Remember – Dell Sandeen (CW)
From Potters Field: Scarpetta #6 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Three Bags Full – Leonie Swann, translated by Anthea Bell (EF)(audiobook)
Take It From Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch – Alia Hanna Habib (EF)
– Just Read –
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (CW) (audiobook)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe – Fannie Flagg (EF)
“Against Catharsis: Writing is not Therapy” – T Kira Madden (CW)
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (EF)
Coven – Jennifer Dugan, illustrated by Kit Seaton (EF)
– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily had a lot of joint jaunts over the last two weeks:
· Emily Franklin at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with her novel Love & Other Monsters.
· The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia. Here are the Booktopia Staff Picks from “This Gift Card is Burning A Whole in My Pocket.”
The Authors & Books featured
o All the World Can Hold by Jung Yung
o Anderson in Bloom by Jennifer Dugan
o Crucible by John Sayles
o Dreamt I Found You by Jimin Han
o Little Movements by Lauren Morrow
o Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma Parry
o Pollock’s Last Lover by Stephen P. Kiernan
o Take It From Me by Alia Hannah Habib
o The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush by Susan Gregg Gilmore
o Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer
o Whidbey by T Kira Madden
· Went to see the film Fried Green Tomatoes on the big screen.
· A fun visit with two listeners, Deanna and Linda. We visited the James Blackstone Memorial Library and Slackline Press in Branford. Deanna brought us books: (if you’re interested in learning more about these books, we do a show-and-tell on this video)
o A Feast of Words: The Triumph of Edith Wharton by Cynthia Griffin Wolff
o Displaying Women: Spectacles of Leisure in Edith Wharton's New York by Maureen E Montgomery M.D.
o Willa Cather: Landscape and Exile by Laura Winters
o Sizzle & Drizzle: Over 100 Essential Bakes, Recipes and Tips by Nancy Birtwhistle
o Foe by Iain Reid
o We Spread by Iain Reid
· Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. We were joined at the event by Our Mystery Man John Valeria and the Gentleman Caller.
Chris had a phone call with Tina about Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke; she also had an exchange with Booktuber Britta Bohler over Voxer.
– Upcoming Jaunts –
May 28-29, Chris will be attending the 2026 BIO Conference.
Emily will be going to see The Sheep Detectives on the big screen, based on the novel Three Bags Full, and Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix based on the novel of the same name.
Chris plans to see the movie Devil Wears Prada 2.
– Upcoming Reads –
Whidbey – T Kira Madden (EF)
Sizzle & Drizzle: Over 100 Essential Bakes, Recipes and Tips – Nancy Birtwhistle (EF)
Endling – Maria Reva (EF)
Twilight Sleep – Edith Wharton (CW)
Be sure to check out Chris’s conversation with Dorian, James, and Shawn Breathes Books about Edith Wharton’s ghost stories.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe – Fannie Flagg (CW)
– Buddy Reads with Our Mystery Man John Valeri –
See prior episodes with John by visiting the Guests Page.
Books from The New Yorker article “On Crime and Creativity” recommended by Patricia Cornwell:
o The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
o The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
o In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
o The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway
o The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
We discuss the following books with John:
The Patricia Cornwell books, they have read up to The Body Farm: Scarpetta #5
True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan (audiobook)
John’s most recent interview with Patricia Cornwell.
John’s interview with Cornwell about her book Unnatural Death
John’s interview with Cornwell about her book Identity Unknown
True Crime review in The New York Times
Up Next: From Potters Field: Scarpetta #6
Here’s a link to Chris’s blog post so you can follow along with their Scarpetta buddy read schedule.
Chris’s review of True Crime
– Q2 Readalong –
The 2026 second quarter readalong is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg It is the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation so it will be showing in theaters again on May 10, 2026. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 7pm (ET). Send an email if you would like to join.
Join the Goodreads discussion thread.
In celebration of our readalong theme for 2026, we have created a Page to Screen Bingo card. Enjoy filling it out over the course of the year and email a copy by 12/31/2026 to be entered to win a gift card to Bookshop.org. Learn more about how to play the bingo card by watching this video.
All of the links below connect to our shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!
You can also purchase a Bookshop.org gift card.
– Also Mentioned –
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Friction: A Biography by Jennifer R. Vail
This Cursed House by Dell Sandeen
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir by T Kira Madden
Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
Author Stephen P. Kiernan
Upstate Dispatch by Kim Van Alkemade
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Abraham Lincoln: Vampyre Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smithe, the film adaptation
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Author Pamela Toler
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan
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