Episode 265 - In the grip of JAWS

Book Cougars Episode 265

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 265 Show Notes

Chris gives an update on the praying mantis sculpture that has been relocated from Old Saybrook’s Acton Public Library to the Pandemonium Rainforest Project in Deep River, CT. If you would like to see what the sculpture looks like, check out this video from a Biblio Adventure we took to Old Saybrook back in 2021 when the sculpture was still located in front of the library.

– Currently Reading –
The Secret of Snow – Tina Harnesk, translated by Alice Menzies (EF) (audiobook)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)
It Will Come Back to You – Sigrid Nunez (EF)

– Just Read –
The Man – Laura Sims (CW)(EF)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)(EF) (audiobook)
Man Overboard! – Kathleen Rooney (CW)
When the Stammer Came to Stay – Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini
The Card-File System of Note-Taking – Jacques Goutor (CW)
Unnatural Exposure – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched Jaws based on the novel by Peter Benchley.

Chris watched a conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois, author of the biography Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life. This was a joint event between the Lewes Public Library, Browseabout Books and the History Book Festival.

Emily started watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
July 22, Chris and Emily are registered for an event at Mystic Seaport featuring Christopher Shaw Myers: “Robert Shaw: The Misunderstood Genius behind JAWS.” You can register for the event here. Learn more about Chris’s book, Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the set of JAWS and Beyond.

Emily is heading to Rhode Island and hopes to visit Ink Fish Books and riffraff bookstore.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Reconstruction Diary of Francis Anne Rollin – Jennifer Putzi (CW)(EF)
The Complete Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (CW)(EF)
Wake Now in the Fire – Jarret Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo (CW)(EF)
Motherhood Discounted: Care Work in America Before and After Roe – Carolyn McConnell (EF)
Sunrise – Téa Obreht (EF) release date 8/11/2026
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarret Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.

Join the Goodreads conversation.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

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.

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Laura Sims: How Can I Help You and Looker
Shark Week 2026 on the Discovery Channel
Widow’s Bay
Midnight Mass
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
The Dyke and the Dybbuk by Ellen Galford


Help support the Book Cougars:
1. Via our affiliates:
— Purchase books via Bookshop.org.
— Purchase audiobooks via Libro.fm use promo code: bookcougars.
2. Become a Patreon member
3. Donate directly, send an email for instructions.
4. Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Other ways to be part of the Book Cougars community:
1. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
2. Join the Goodreads Group.
3. Check out our BookTube Channel, and be sure to subscribe.

Episode 264 - Author Spotlight with Claire Fuller

Book Cougars Episode 264

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 264 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)
Hunger and Thirst – Claire Fuller (CW)(EF)
The Land and Its People – David Sedaris (EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris watched Jaws based on the novel by Peter Benchley.

Emily attended an event at RJ Julia Bookseller with Soon Wiley, author of Cece Downings Start Over Summer, in conversation with Patricia Santomasso, the audiobook narrator of the novel.

Chris visited Pandemonium Rainforest Project in Deep River, CT.

Chris had buddy read conversations with friends about 11/22/63 by Stephen King and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith and the movie based on the novel.

Chris had a great workday in the archives of the New York Public Library, and she has started bingeing Widow’s Bay.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is planning to start watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe.

July 14, Chris is registered for a conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois, author of the biography Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life. There is an in-person or virtual option, register here.  

– Upcoming Reads –
Man Overboard! – Kathleen Rooney (CW)
The Man – Laura Sims (CW)
The Godfather – Mario Puzo (CW)
A Year of Marvelous Ways – Sarah Winman (EF)
The Foursome – Christina Baker Kline (EF)
The Reconstruction Diary of Francis Anne Rollin – Jennifer Putzi (CW)(EF)

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarret Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.
Join the Goodreads conversation.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

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.

– Author Spotlight with Claire Fuller –
We talk with Claire about her most recent novel Hunger and Thirst. Learn more about Claire, her six books, and current book tour on her website.

The Guardian Article: “Claire Fuller: Dylan Thomas showed me that writing could make me feel everything”

– Also Mentioned –
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon by Sara Catterall
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Learn more about the forthcoming novel by Adriana Trigiani
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Bear by Marian Engel
Author Elizabeth Strout
Wildlife by Richard Ford
The Iceberg by Marion Coutts

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 263 - Author Spotlight with Denise Kiernan

Book Cougars Episode 263

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 263 Show Notes

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarret Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.

Listen to this interview with Marjane Satrapi.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

Join the online conversation on Goodreads.

– Currently Reading –
Hunger and Thirst – Claire Fuller (CW)(EF)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Seth Graham-Smith (CW) (audiobook)
Margo’s Got Money Trouble – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)

– Just Read –
Table 4 at the River Café: Conversations about Food and Life – Ruthie Rogers (EF)
11/22/63 – Stephen King (CW)
Land – Maggie O’Farrell (EF) (audiobook)
“The Summer People” in the collection Dark Tales – Shirley Jackson (CW)
When She Was Ours – Anna Nordberg (EF) release date 8/1/2026
Cause of Death: Scarpetta #7 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)           
Whistler – Ann Patchett (EF) (audiobook)
Listen to the conversation between Emma Straub and Ann Patchett.
“My Three Fathers” essay by Ann Patchett in The New Yorker.
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution – Denise Kiernan (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris took a swing through Mystic, CT. Her first stop was the Mystic Seaport Museum where she browsed the Maritime Bookshop and picked up a copy of Jaws by Peter Benchley. Then she went to Bank Square Books, No Other Book Like This, and Alice’s Little Haunted Bookshop where she enjoyed reading the children’s book Vampire Jam Sandwich by Casey Lyall and purchased a copy of The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure and watched the movie Foe based on the novel of the same name by Iain Reid.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
June 25, Emily will attend event at RJ Julia Bookseller with Soon Wiley, author of Cece Downings Start Over Summer.

June 30, Emily is registered for The Rumpus Book Club with Debbie Millman in conversation with Ann Patchett.

July 22, Chris and Emily are registered for an event at Mystic Seaport featuring Christopher Shaw: “Robert Shaw: The Misunderstood Genius behind JAWS.” You can register for the event here. Learn more about Christopher’s book, Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the set of JAWS and Beyond.

– Upcoming Reads –
When the Stammer Came to Stay – Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (EF)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)(EF)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder (EF)
On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder, illustrated by Nora Krug (EF)
Charity & Sylvia – Tilly Walden (CW)
Selling Opportunity: The Story of Mary Kay – Mary Lisa Gavenas (CW)(EF)
Conversation with Mary Lisa Gavenas on Drafting the Past podcast.

– Author Spotlight with Denise Kiernan –
We talk with Denise about Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution. Denise narrated the audiobook.  

Check out the website to learn more about Denise and follow her book tour.

– Also Mentioned –
Novels and film adaptations by Kazuo Ishiguro:
The Remains of the Day; and the movie
Never Let Me Go; and the movie
Klara and the Sun; and the movie
Foreword Magazine – Magi book
Alice Henderson Alex Carter series
Charter Books in Newport, Rhode Island
Also by Ann Patchett: Bell Canto, Run, State of Wonder, Tom Lake, and The Dutch House
The Frugal Muse
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise
Fresh Air Interview with Maggie O’Farrell
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 261 - Still in the Grip of Frankenstein, and Now Gyllenhaal's The Bride!

Book Cougars Episode 261

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 261 Show Notes

Emily read the poem “The Art of Disappearing” by Naomi Shihab Nye from the collection Words Under the Words.

Two upcoming page-to-screen adaptations:
1. Anna Pigeon based on the series by Nevada Barr that starts with Track of the Cat.
2. East of Eden based on John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name.

– Currently Reading –
Foe – Iain Reid (EF)
Twilight Sleep – Edith Wharton (CW)
Three Bags Full – Leonie Swann, translated by Anthea Bell (EF)(audiobook)
Table Four at the River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life – Ruthie Rogers (EF)
interview with Ruthie Rogers on Radio Cherry Bombe

– Just Read –
Five – Ilona Bannister (EF)(audiobook)
From Potters Field: Scarpetta #6 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Accidental Tourist – Anne Tyler (EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
The Soft Underbelly by Carlisle Richardson

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris saw the Devil Wears Prada 2 inspired by the novels by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada, Revenge Wears Prada, and When Life Gives You Lululemons.

Emily watched Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix based on the novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt.

Chris and John met to discuss From Potters Field: Scarpetta #6 by Patricia Cornwell.

Chris and Emily both watched The Bride! directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The Patreon reading salon conversation focused on reading plans for Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer Reading Challenge. Learn more about the challenge on her blog and her BookTube channel.

Watch this video to see our big book plans. Emily forgot to mention Land by Maggie O’Farrell and The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw publishing on September 29, and she plans to start with Beartown trilogy by Fredrik Backman. Chris will be starting with 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Chris forgot Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Frasier, This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark by Craig Fehrman, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life by Ellen Carol DuBois.

Emily enjoyed the conversation between Marisa Helff and Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be going to see The Sheep Detectives on the big screen, based on the novel Three Bags Full and The Accidental Tourist based on the novel of the same name.

Our Zoom conversation about Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.

Chris is doing a buddy read of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. They will also discuss the movie, the Zoom conversation will be on June 27. Send an email if you are interested in joining the conversation.

June 7 at 11:00, Chris and Emily are registered to see Amy Bloom in conversation about her novel Blunt Instrument at RJ Julia Booksellers. Register here.  

Upcoming Patreon Reading Salons: (learn more about becoming a Patreon member)
June 28, topic will be books we think we “should’ read.
July 26, topic will be award winners.

– Upcoming Reads –
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe – Fannie Flagg (CW)
Beartown – Fredrik Backman (EF)
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution – Denise Kiernan (EF)
Cause of Death: Scarpetta #7 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)

– Out Now –
Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller

– Also Mentioned –
The movie Foe
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Cal Newport
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
The novel Where the Crawdads Sing and the movie
Patricia Cornwell’s Andy Brazil series
A Feminist Theory of Refusal by Bonnie Honig
The novel The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante and the movie
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Drafting the Past podcast
Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote by Craig Fehrman
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Story Magazine

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 260 - Buddy Reading with Our Mystery Man John Valeri

Book Cougars Episode 260

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 259 - Busted by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Book Cougars Episode 259

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 259 Show Notes

A few PSA’s:
1. Thank you to Georgia for letting us know that if you live outside of the US you can find an unabridged copy of the audiobook of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café through AudiobooksNow.

2. Kindles made in 2012 or earlier will no longer be supported by Amazon.

3. Our new email address is hello@bookcougars.com. The April newsletter was e-mailed on April 30, if you didn’t receive it, check your SPAM folder and add the updated email address to your contact list.

– Currently Reading –
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (CW) (audiobook)
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (EF)
Friction: A Biography – Jennifer R. Vail (CW)
Morning Baker: Recipes and Rituals for Breakfast and Beyond – Roxana Jullapat, and Ari Smolin (EF)

– Just Read –
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop – Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan (EF) (audiobook)
The Body Farm: Scarpetta #5 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout (EF)
All the World Can Hold – Jung Yun (CW)
Blunt Instrument – Amy Bloom (EF)
Yesteryear – Caro Claire Burke (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris celebrated Independent Bookstore Day with visits to The Book Barn in Niantic where she purchased The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl and The Unofficial Companion to Patricia Cornwell by George Beahm; next she stopped at Bank Square Books in Mystic where she came home with copies of The Known World by Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life by Ellen Carol DuBois, and Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer.

Emily had a workday at the Carbondale Public Library where she was surprised to learn that they offer free printing. On the way home she flew through the Denver airport where she found a very cool, very big take-one-leave-one library in the A gates of the Denver airport that is a façade for Williams & Graham, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar and restaurant.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
April 29, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to see Emily Franklin at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with her novel Love & Other Monsters. The event is free, you can register here.

April 30 – May 3, Chris and Emily are signed up to attend The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia

May 7, Chris and Emily are signed up to see Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, at RJ Julia’s Booksellers.

May 10, Chris and Emily are heading to the movies to see Fried Green Tomatoes. Find out where it is playing near you.

May 23, from 2-4pm (ET) there is an unveiling of the Margaret Fuller statue at the Concord Free Public Library. Find out more here.

May 24, next Reading Salon topic: books over 400 pages for Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer Reading Challenge.

– Upcoming Reads –
Twilight Sleep – Edith Wharton (CW)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe – Fannie Flagg (EF)
Don’t Stop – Bonnie Friedman (EF)
Esquire Ball: Stories from the Great Black Swamp – Lisa Slage Robinson (EF)

– Out Now –
True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell
The Author Weekend – Laura Zigman
Enormous Wings – Laurie Frankel

– 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 –
Author Peter Geye
Author Jamie Ford
True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell
Shelter by Jung Yun
Author Sara Catterall
After Lives by Megan Marshall
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 257 - Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin

Book Cougars Episode 257

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

Download

Episode 257 Show Notes

– 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.

– Currently Reading –
The Reservation – Rebecca Kauffman (EF)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (CW)
Raising Hare – Chloe Dalton (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging – Tara Roberts (EF) (audiobook)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
Love & Other Monsters – Emily Franklin (EF)
Cruel & Unusual – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Summer Book – Tove Jansson (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris browsed the new Barnes & Noble in Cheshire, CT where she purchased Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen.

Sadly, Emily’s two planned Biblio Adventures, one with Casey Elsass, author of What Can I Bring?, and the other with Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich and Wreck, did not happen. One was canceled and the other was interrupted by work. But she did have three Couch Biblio Adventures: Hamnet based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell; The Summer Book based on the novel by Tove Jansson; and the final installment of the Aspen Winter Words with Tara Roberts talking about her book Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging.

Chris met with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, where they continued their conversation about the buddy read of the 29-book series by Patricia Cornwell and John recapped his experience watching the new Scarpetta series streaming on Prime.

The March Patreon Reading Salon included a discussion of reading slumps.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The April Patreon Reading Salon will take place on Sunday, April 26 at 7pm (ET). The conversation will focus on books that have languished on our TBR shelves/piles the longest. Learn more about our Patreon community.

CrimeConn will take place on May 16th at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT.

May 7th, Chris and Emily are signed up to see Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.

May 13th, Emily is registered to see Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.

Emily is planning to visit Papercuts Bookshop in Jamaica Plain, MA.

April 30 – May 3, Chris and Emily are signed up to attend The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia

– Upcoming Reads –
Ain’t Nobody Nobody – Heather Harper Ellett (CW)(EF)
Heather was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 92 and on our YouTube channel.
My Detachment – Tracy Kidder (EF)
Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago – Will Quam (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin –
Emily’s new book Love & Other Monsters just published. You can learn more about Emily, her other books, and upcoming events here.

– Also Mentioned –
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Check out Chris’s video of Edith Wharton’s Newport, RI home
Moominvalley in November – Tove Jansson
The movie Nomadland based on the book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessie Bruder
Also by Tracy Kidder: Mountains Beyond Mountains and Rough Sleepers
The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 256 - Author Spotlight with Sara Catterall & Q2 Readalong Announcement

Book Cougars Episode 256

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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Episode 256 Show Notes

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.

– Currently Reading –
Brawler – Lauren Groff (EF)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests – Ella Quittner (EF)
Emily’s talks about this cookbook on Ingredient One.
Love & Other Monsters – Emily Franklin (EF) release date 4/7/2026
All the World Can Hold – Jung Yun (CW)

– Just Read –
Anderson in Bloom – Jennifer Dugan (CW)
This Book Made Me Think of You – Libby Page (EF)
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books – Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan (CW) (audiobook)
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon – Sara Catterall (EF)
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge – Erica Armstrong Dunbar (CW)
Missing Sister – Joshilyn Jackson (EF)
Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career – Scott H. Young (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure, they both watched Harriet now streaming on Netflix.

Emily’s two attempts to see Laura Zigman and Alice Hoffman in conversation about the new essay collection The Best Dog in the World were foiled because the events have been completely sold out.

Chris had a workday at the main branch of the New York Public Library where she spent time digging into archival items.

Emily binged season seven of Virgin River streaming on Netflix, based on the 21-book series by Robyn Carr. Read the NY Times article about the series.

Chris spent her birthday week on Rhode Island where she visited the Barnes & Noble in Warwick where she purchased Friction by Jennifer R. Vail and The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak, and ink fish Books in Warren where she took home a big book haul including Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. She also drove past Land’s End, Edith Wharton’s estate in Newport, click here to see pictures of the property.  

Chris watched the first episode of the new Scarpetta series streaming on Prime, based on the 29-book series by Patricia Cornwell.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
April 12, Chris signed up for an event that is offered in person and virtually “Fireside Chat with Rhae Lynn Barnes.” Her book is Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment. You can register for the free event here.

Emily is signed up for two events:
March 19, Casey Elsass will be at RJ Julia’s Bookseller in Madison to talk about his cookbook What Can I Bring?.
March 24, Catherine Newman at the East Hampton Public Library to talk about her two novels, Sandwich and Wreck.

Emily is hoping to watch two page to screen adaptations: Hamnet based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell and The Bride! written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, an adaptation of the novel Frankenstein.

– Upcoming Reads –
Cruel & Unusual – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Bicks (CW) release date 4/21/2026
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (EF)
The Marabou Who Crossed The Sea – Rohanna Ssanyu (EF)
The Lido also known as Mornings with Rosemary – Libby Page (EF)

– 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.

– Author Spotlight with Sara Catterall –
We talk with Sara about Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon. Learn more about Sara and her other writing on her website.

– Also Mentioned –
Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan
Check out the longlist for the Plutarch award
The Lynx Books in Gainesville, FL is owned by Lauren Groff
Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia is taking place May 1-3. You can learn more here.
Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People by Tiya Miles
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
Alma Lutz

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 255 - Q1 Readalong: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Book Cougars Episode 255

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

Download

Episode 255 Show Notes

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.

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.

– Currently Reading –
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love - edited by Alice Hoffman (EF)
Anderson in Bloom – Jennifer Dugan (CW)
This Book Made Me Think of You – Libby Page (EF)
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books – Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan (CW) (audiobook)
Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging – Tara Roberts (EF) (audiobook)
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge – Erica Armstrong Dunbar (CW)

– Just Read –
Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians – Lydia Marie Child (CW)
Awake in the Floating City – Susanna Kwan (EF) (audiobook)
All That Remains – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Reservation – Rebecca Kauffman (EF)
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text –Mary Shelley (CW) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily both watched Frankenstein directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Chris also watched Frankenstein: The Man Who Made a Monster starring Boris Karloff.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the Schubert Theater in New Haven for a showing of The Librarians.

On the job at the library, Chris had a great conversation with a student about reading The Godfather by Mario Puza.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The next Patreon reading salon will take place on Sunday, March 22. The topic will be strategies for breaking a reading slump.

Chris and Emily are planning to watch more adaptations of Frankenstein including Young Frankenstein starring Gene Wilder and The Bride directed by Magie Gyllenhaal.

March 10, 2026 Emily is planning a trip to An Unlikely Story bookstore to see Alice Hoffman in conversation with Laura Zigman about The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love.

Chris is heading to the main branch of the New York Public Library to do some research and is hoping to have time for a browse at Kinokuniya or McNally Jackson Books.

– Upcoming Reads –
Cruel & Unusual – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Dog Show by Billy Collins, illustrated by Pamela Sztybel (CW)
Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Bicks (CW) release date 4/21/2026
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon – Sara Catterall (EF)
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore – Evan Friss (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Learn more about Project Semi Colon
Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People – Tiya Miles (EF) (audiobook)  
Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia is taking place May 1-3. You can learn more here.
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
Tilt by Emma Pattee
Tear by Erica McKeen
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Help support the Book Cougars, by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 253 - Author Spotlight with Sharon M. Harris

Book Cougars Episode 253

Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

Download

Episode 253 Show Notes

– Announcing the 2026 Readalong Theme –
Books that have been made into film adaptations! Follow the year on social media via #bookstofilm2026.

The 2026 first quarter readalong is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Here’s a Wikipedia page that includes a link of Frankenstein adaptations.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, March 1 at 7pm (ET). Send an email if you would like to join.

Join the Goodreads discussion thread.

– Currently Reading –
Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People – Tiya Miles (EF) (audiobook)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
Cece Downing’s Start Over Summer – Soon Wiley (EF) release date 6/16/2026

– Just Read –
Joyride – Susan Orlean (EF) (audiobook)
The Lady of Pentlands – Elizabeth Jordan (CW)
Kin – Tayari Jones (EF) release date 2/24/2026
Tilt – Emma Pattee (EF)
Her Life in Ink: Elizabeth Jordan, Journalist, Editor, and Mystery Author – Sharon M. Harris (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris attended BIO LAB, an annual one-day online forum on the craft of biography organized by the Biographers’ International Organization where she learned about and is excited to read Susan Page’s forthcoming book The Queen and Her Presidents publishing on 2/14/26.  

Emily visited Bart’s Books in Ojai, California where she picked up a copy of Startlement, the new poetry collection by Ada Limón. She also stopped at Kitchen Lingo Culinary Books in Long Beach where she was interested to find Staple to Superfood: A Global History of the Sweet Potato by Q Edward Wang.

Chris discussed Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell, book number two in the Kay Scarpetta series, with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, over homemade lasagna and store-bought donuts. They are doing a monthly buddy read of the series which you can learn more about on Chris’s Blog.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure where she watched Small Things Like These based on the novel by Claire Keegan.

Chris went to New York City to renew her NYPL library card at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library and do some research.

Emily attended the first event in her virtual season pass to Aspen Winter Words, with Susan Orlean and her memoir Joyride, in conversation with Christine Benedetti.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily has the second event in the Aspen Winter Words series with Lily King and her book Heart the Lover.

Emily is planning to attend an event with Alice Hoffman who is heading out on tour with the essay collection, The Best Dog in the World; tour dates can be found here.

February 19, 2026 at 8pm (ET), Chris is registered for the Willa Cather Center’s Virtual Author Series featuring Brad Bigelow and his biography, Virginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts. The event is free, register here.

February 21, there is an all-day enrichment event, “Anam Cara: Thomas Merton, and Pursuing Relationships That Enlighten Our Lives” featuring Sohpfronia Scott author of The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton. Registration is available here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Missing Sam – Thrity Umrigar (EF)
Startlement – Ada Limón (EF)
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley (CW)(EF)
Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians – Lydia Maria Child (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Sharon M. Harris –
We are thrilled to welcome Sharon M. Harris (aka, Sherry) to the podcast! Sherry’s new biography, Her Life in Ink: Elizabeth Jordan, Journalist, Editor, and Mystery Author.

Learn more about Sherry and her writing on her website.

– Also Mentioned –
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Also by Tayari Jones: Silver Sparrow and An American Marriage
Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination by Brian Jay Jones
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
Also by Thrity Umrigar: Honor and The Museum of Failures
Frankenstein screen adaptations we plan to watch:
Frankenstein: The Man Who Made a Monster starring Boris Karloff
Young Frankenstein starring Gene Wilder
Frankenstein the most recent adaptation directed by Guillermo del Torro
The Bride, forthcoming in March directed by Magie Gyllenhaal

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!
Purchase a Bookshop.org gift card.

Help support the Book Cougars, by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!