Episode 265 - In the grip of JAWS

Book Cougars Episode 265
Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

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


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Episode 213 - "I'll Have What You're Reading" with Booktuber Shawn Breathes Books

Book Cougars Episode 213
Emily Fine & Chris Wolak
Book Cougars Episode 213

Episode 213 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey (EF)(audiobook)
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)

– Just Read –
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliott Dark (CW)(EF)(audiobook)
This was a buddy read, if you’re interested in reading along join the Goodreads discussion thread.
Emily read three short stories:
“Janus” by Ann Beattie and “In the Gloaming” by Alice Elliott Dark both from the collection The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike and Katrina Kenison.
“A Blind Man Could See How Much I Love You” by Amy Bloom from the collection A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You: Stories.

Chris read two short stories:
“Uncle Valentine” by Willa Cather from the collection Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather’s Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929, edited by Bernice Slote. You can learn more about the Willa Cather short story project here.
“The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier from the collection The Birds and Other Stories [This collection was first published in the UK in 1952 with the title, The Apple Tree: A Short Novel and Several Long Stories] 

– Episode Sponsor –
I Left My Hormones in Another World by Angela Wicke
You can read the first chapter of the book here.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Long Island, NY. You can watch a video recap of the day. They ate lunch at Armin & Judy, visited the Barnes and Noble in Bridgehampton, John Steinbeck Waterfront Park in Sag Harbor, Sag Harbor Books, Black Cat Books on Shelter Island, and Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure, thanks to listener Kathy who told us about a conversation with Percival Everett, Cord Jefferson, and Jelani Cobb via City Arts & Lectures.

Chris visited the East Lyme Public Library where she purchased the first season of the television series China Beach which reminded her that she hopes to read Kristin Hannah’s novel The Women.

Chris checked off another box on her Romance Bingo Card by watching the movie Letters to Juliet based on the novel Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love by Lise Friedman and Ceil Friedman.

While in NYC Chris had a great book haul at the McNally Jackson bookstore at Rockefeller Center where she purchased a copy of Valentino and Sagittarius by Natalie Ginzburg.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is on the hunt for a copy of The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon in Traverse City, MI. There are two lovely independent bookstores to choose from on the same block, Brilliant Books and Horizon Books.

Emily plans to watch the video recap of Juliet Grames in conversation with Sarah Weinman featuring the book launch of The Lost Boys of Santa Chionia via Books are Magic bookstore. 

Chris is heading to the Mystic Seaport Museum to participate in the Moby Dick marathon.

– Upcoming Reads –
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings – edited by Brigitte Bailey, Noelle Baker, and Megan Marshall (CW)
The Grey Wolf – Louise Penny (CW) release date 10/29/24
The Phantom Patrol – James Benn (CW)(EF)
Chris and Emily will be in conversation with James at the Mystic-Noank library on September 19th at 6:00. You can register for the event here.

– 3rd Quarter Readalong –
Envy by Sandra Brown.
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, September 15th at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Out Now –
Bear – Julia Phillips
A Novel Summer – Jamie Brenner
The Goodbye Process – Mary Jones

– “I’ll Have What You’re Reading” with Booktuber Shawn Breathes Books –
BookTuber Shawn Breathes Books joins us to celebrate Jenny Colvin and “I’ll Have What You’re Reading,” the memorial buddy read we jointly hosted. Subscribe to Shawn’s BookTube channel here. Join the I’ll Have What You’re Reading Goodreads thread.
Watch our discussion of the memorial readalong on Shawn’s channel.

Jenny’s two blogs: Reading Envy &Jenny Bakes

Sweetgrass is Around Her” by Salli M. Kawennotakie Benedict from the collection When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry edited by Joy Harjo.

Shawn read Music & Silence by Rose Tremain.
Emily read This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel.
Chris read Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean by Jonathan White.

Listen to Jenny Colvin read the poem “My Religion is the Sea” by Adebe DeRango-Adem.

Chris and Emily read the short story “Train” by Alice Munro. Soon after an essay was published by Alice’s daughter Andrea Robin Skinner revealing sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. We discuss how it has impacted us as readers. You can watch Shawn’s video where he shares his reaction.

– Also Mentioned –
Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave
Camelot starring Vanessa Redgrave
In the Gloaming starring Glenn Close
The Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price
The Omega Man starring Charleton Heston
I Am Legend starring Will Smith
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Also by Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel
John Steinbeck Books: Travels with Charley, The Grapes of Wrath, and In Dubious Battle
Cape Henlopen ferry
Author James Benn
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Litsy
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer

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