Episode 234 - Author Spotlight with Elissa Altman

Episode 234 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
One of Ours – Willa Cather (CW)
Feeding Ghosts – Tessa Hulls (EF)
Renegade Girls: A Queer Tale of Romance and Rabble-Rousing  – Nora Neus, illustrated by Julie Robine (CW)
The Good House – Tananarive Due (EF) (audiobook)        
The Forest for the Trees – Betsy Lerner (EF)

– Just Read –
The Good House – Tananarive Due (CW)
Leaving – Roxana Robinson (EF)
When I Was Straight – Julie Marie Wade (CW)
Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create – Elissa Altman (EF) (audiobook)
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend – Rebecca Romney (CW)
Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu by Charles Dickens from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)   

– Episode Sponsor –
True Home by Janet Clare
Learn more about Janet and her writing here.

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to NYC to visit Aunt Ellen. Stops included the Belle de Costa Green exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum and the Selected Shorts: Classics with a Twist with Meg Wolitzer and Friends at Symphony Space.

Emily went to Hartford Theater Works to attending Matthew Dick’s one man show Shovel.

Chris met a friend for coffee at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore in Middletown, CT then she strolled Wesleyan University’s campus and discovered another outpost of RJ’s bookstore, unfortunately it was closed.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is heading on a trip to Chicago to visit her mom and has some fun stops planned on the drive.

Emily signed up to attend a writing workshop with Betsy Lerner at the Willoughby Wallace Library and a List Essay Workshop with Shuly Cawood on May 28 from 2:30-5:30. 

Emily is registered for an event at RJ Julia Booksellers on Tuesday, May 20 at 6 pm (ET) to see Amy Bloom in conversation with her daughter Sarah Moon to discuss Sarah’s new novel Family Week.

– Upcoming Reads –
A Family Matter – Claire Lynch (EF)
The Belgian Girls – Kathryn J. Atwood (CW)
52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing – David A. Robertson (CW)
A Century of Queer Korean Fiction – Samuel Perry (CW)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The Ghost in the Cap’n Brown House by Harriet Beecher Stowe. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Out Now –
Speak to Me of Home – Jeannine Cummins
Food Person – Adam Roberts

– Author Spotlight with Elissa Altman –
We talk with Elissa about her writing life and her books including Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create. Learn more about Elissa here.

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 2nd Quarter Book –
Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! Click here to follow everything Ghost Stories 2025.

There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

The 2nd Quarter Readalong and our Episode 230 Giveaway is The Good House by Tananarive Due. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 8th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

Over the course of the year, we will be reading The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce, one story at a time. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Also Mentioned –
James by Percival Everett
Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
The English Patient by Michael Ondatjee
Killers of a Certain Age and Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn
Watch our conversation with Deanna on BookTube
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
Author Bram Stoker
Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn't by John Atkinson
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
SpeakUp storytelling
Kaweco pens
St. Louis Art Supply Company
Heaven’s Coast by Mark Doty
Saving Ellen: A Memoir of Hope and Recovery by Maura Casey

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!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

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Episode 222 - 2024 Holiday Gift Ideas

Episode 222 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)(audiobook)
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers – Betsy Lerner (CW)
Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves – Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert (EF)
The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler (EF)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
Complete Starter Guide to Bonsai: Growing from Seed or Seedling--Wiring, Pruning, Care, and Display – David Squirer (CW)
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary – Alice Hoffman (EF) (audiobook)
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote – Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Sarah Green (CW)
I Am Book – Joren Cull (CW)
Trouble Island – Sharon Short (EF)
Check out the conversation we have with Sharon over on BookTube.
The Weekend – Charlotte Wood (EF)

Emily read short stories:
“Johnny Christmas” by Ivy Pochoda from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg
“Cat Brushing” from the collection Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily had a great time chatting with Patreon Members during the monthly Reading Salon. The next Salon will be on Sunday, December 22 at 7PM (ET), we will be chatting about our favorite reads of 2024. You can join our Patreon Community here.

Chris and Emily went on a double date to see a production of the play Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon.

Chris visited The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT.  

Emily joined the Cherry Bombe member book club discussion of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook) featuring Ina’s co-writer Deborah Davis.

Chris watched the first season of Truth Be Told based on the novel Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber and she went to a showing of the movie Wicked based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are both excited to see Laura Thoma’s play Miss Margaret Barton’s Cottage Christmas Surprise. The show runs from December 13-21, you can purchase tickets here. 

Emily is joining Katherine May’s readalong of The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston. You can learn more here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
The Braille Encyclopedia: Brief Essays on Altered Sight - Naomi Cohen (CW)
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (EF)
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon – Kevin Fedarko (EF)

– Holiday Gift Ideas 2024 –
1.       Gift card to a bookstore. You can purchase a Bookshop.org gift card here.
2.       Novel Teas: Loose Leaf Literature
3.       Nerdwax Jinkies eyeglass cleaner (watch the video with Chris showing off her Dracula cleaner)
4.       Hingston & Olsen Short Story Advent Calendar
5.       Give a gift of an experience to a special literary site (read Chris’s blog post about the Library of Congress)
6.       Girl of All Work page flags and book buddies
7.       Autographed copy of a book
8.       Gift Membership to Patreon
9.       Libro.fm gift membership follow this link.
10.   For the cook in your life, an Ina Garten trifecta: an Ina Garten cookbook (she has 13!), Issue #28 of Cherry Bombe Magazine featuring Ina, and Ina’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook)
11.   Author society membership: for example Barbara Pym or Willa Cather  
12.   Book a Date with a friend to read a book together, see the author in person, or watch an interview.
13.   Glocusent Neck Reading Light
14.   Soofa Soft Ring Notebook from Kinokuniya Bookstore
15.   Noise canceling earbuds. Chris uses Apple Airpods.
16.   DreamWrap Bluetooth Sleep Headphones
17.   Make a donation to an organization like BINC Foundation or EveryLibrary
18.   Book subscription to a curated box, for example Honest Dog Books
19.   Go on a Biblio Adventure

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Widows by Jess Montgomery
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner 
Blackwell’s Books
Greener: Can Old Friends Let Us Become New People? by Gráinne Murphy  (Watch a conversation about the novel between Shawn Breathes Books and novelist Barb Howard)
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
National Outdoor Book Awards 2024
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
White River Books

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!
If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Join our Goodreads Group!
Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 221 - Trial by Ambush with Marcia Clark and John Valeri

Episode 221 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
Be Ready When the Luck Happens – Ina Garten (EF)(audiobook)
Advice for New Faculty Members – Robert Boice (CW)
Walking Well: A New Approach for Comfort, Vitality, and Inspiration in Every Step – Michael J. Gelb and Bruce Fertman

– Just Read –
Emily read short stories:
“The Statue and the Bust” from The Collected Short Stories of Shirley Hazzard edited by Brigitta Olubas
“Let the Chips Fall” by Emily Ross from the collection Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories by 2024 edited by Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, and Susan Oleksiw
“Debris” from the collection A Kind of Madness by Uche Okonkwo
“Good Enough” from the collection A Small Thing to Want by Shuly Cawood

This Cursed House – Del Sandeen (CW)
Shred Sisters – Betsy Lerner (EF) (audiobook)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts – Mary Claire Haver, MD (EF)
Read the recent article about Dr. Mary Claire Haver in the New York Times.
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (CW)
Where They Last Saw Her – Marcie R. Rendon (EF)
What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking – Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft (CW)
Something, Someday – Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Emily went with her daughter Rachel and granddaughter Neena to the Guilford Free Library. Where they picked up a copy Miss MacDonald Has a Farm by Kalee Gwarjanski, illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic.

Chris virtually attended an event via Concord Festival of Authors, “The Scrolls of the Past Burn My Fingers”: Reviving Margaret Fuller with Professors Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall co-editors of the forthcoming Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (LOA #388).

Chris went to Breakwater Books where the owner gave her a copy of The Lilac People by Milo Todd.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be attending the Cherry Bombe member book club of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

On Wednesday, November 20th, Chris is planning to attend an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with Karen Olson in conversation with Elizabeth Hobbs and her novel Misery Hates Company: A Novel.

– Upcoming Reads –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Night Side of the River – Jeanette Winterson (EF)

– Spotlight with Marcia Clark and Our Mystery Man –
You can learn more about Marcia Clark here.
Her new book is Trial By Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham.
You can learn more about John here.
You can also follow his interviews with mystery authors on his YouTube Channel Central Booking.

– Poem Read by Emily –

Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want – Ruha Benjamin
Check out the Book Cougars Nonfiction November Video
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Drafting the Past podcast
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
Also by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White and The Moonstone
Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon
O Beautiful by Jung Yun
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Proof of Guilt: Barbara Graham and the Politics of Executing Women in America by Kathleen A. Cairns

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!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 219 - Exploring Picture Book Art

Episode 219 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
The Dead Romantics – Ashley Poston (EF)
This Cursed House – Del Sandeen (CW)
Birding with Benefits – Sarah T. Dubb (EF) (audiobook)
Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall (CW)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich (EF) (audiobook)
If I Stopped Haunting You – Colby Wilkens (CW) (audiobook)
Sandwich – Catherine Newman (EF)

Chris read several picture books:
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs – written by Chana Stiefel, illustrated by Susan Gal
The City Tree – Shira Boss illustrated by Lorena Alvarez
I Am Bat – Morg Hood
The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt – written by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein – written by Lynn Fulton, illustrated by Felicita Sala

Emily read two short stories written by Nobel Prize winners:
“Loot” by Nadine Gordimer from the collection Loot and Other Stories.
“Seams” by Olga Tokarczuk from The Best Short Stories 2022: The O. Henry Prize Winners. You can read the story here.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily went north to Massachusetts. The first stop was The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. They spent time in the giftshop where Emily purchased a copy of Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle and Chris purchased Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson, translated by Kingsley Hart. Next stop was the Montague Book Mill. Emily purchased a copy of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones and The Collected Stories of Shirley Hazard edited by Brigitta Olubas. Chris purchased A New Home, Who Will Follow? by Caroline Kirkland, Thinking and Writing about Literature by Michael Meyer, and Writing Creative Nonfiction edited by Philip Girard. The last stop was the Montague Public Library. You can watch a quick video of our day here.

Emily attended an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with Betsy Lerner and her debut novel Shred Sisters.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are heading to NYC to see Aunt Ellen.

Chris and Emily are planning to attend an author signing with Penny Goetjen and her newest novel Deadly Ripples at Breakwater Books in Guilford on October 17th between 1-3pm (ET).

On October 30th Chris and Emily are heading to the Concord Library to attend an event via the Concord Festival of Authors, “The scrolls of the past burn my fingers”: Reviving Margaret Fuller. You can learn more about the event here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Read Between the Lines – Rachel Lacey (CW)
What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking – Caroline Chambers (EF)
Murder in the Smithsonian – Margaret Truman (CW)(EF)

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
Audio version of The Decameron Short Story Project
Single All the Way movie
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
There Once Was a Town documentary narrated by Edward Asner
The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith
The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

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!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Episode 218 - Playwright Spotlight with Laura Thoma

Episode 218 Show Notes

See the complete list of MacArthur Genius Grant Winners here.

– Currently Reading –
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Bookseller’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend – Rebecca Romney (CW)
Listen to our conversation with Rebecca Romney on Episode 207.
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich (EF) (audiobook)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)

– Just Read –
Emily read two short stories via the Decameron Project:
“Clinical Notes” by Liz Moore
“Recognition” by Victor LaValle

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh – Claudia Gray (CW)
Long Bright River – Liz Moore (EF) (audiobook)
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (CW)
Swan Song – Elin Hildebrand (EF) (audiobook)
That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in American – Amanda Jones (CW) (audiobook)
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle: An Uplifting and Unforgettable Story of Love and Second Chances – Matt Cain (EF) (audiobook)

– Episode Sponsor –
The Anguish of Alzheimer's: The Years of Mom's Dementia by Ann Watt.
Learn more about Ann Watt here.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily co-hosted James R. Benn and his 19th Billy Boyle mystery The Phantom Patrol with Bank Square Books at the Mystic & Noank Library. It was great to see listener Karen (@barkerforbooks) who drove all the way from Maine to attend. Chris and Emily visited the new location of Bank Square Books; Chris bought a copy of The Militia House by John Milas.

Next up was a trip to the Windham-Campbell Literary Festival where they shopped at the Possible Futures Bookmobile. Chris bought a copy of Nigh-No-Place by Jen Hadfield and Emily bought a copy of Hanif Abdurraqib’s There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension.

Chris and Emily attended the grand opening of Montgomery & Taggert, Connecticut’s first Romance Bookstore! They also went to Legacy Theatre to see a production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.

Emily listened to an episode of Kelly Corrigan Wonders with Katie Porter talking about The Great Gatsby.

– Episode Sponsor –
Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin
Learn more about Zelly Ruskin here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On October 9th Chris and Emily are heading to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA and the Montague Book Mill.

On October 8th, Emily plans to attend an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with Betsy Lerner and her debut novel Shred Sisters.

– Upcoming Reads –
Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham – Marcia Clark (CW)(EF)
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore – Evan Friss (EF)
Slow Horses – Mick Herron (EF)

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Out Now –
The Bog Wife – Kay Chronister
American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond – Jeremy Dauber
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich

– Playwright Spotlight with Laura Thoma –
Laura’s play Miss Margaret's Barton Cottage Christmas Surprise will be performed at Drama Works Theatre Company from December 13-21, 2024. You can purchase tickets here.

Learn more about Laura here.

Laura has appeared on previous episodes of the podcast: Episode 19, Episode 66, and Episode 127.

– Also Mentioned –
Download the Romance Bingo Card!
Author Ruha Benjamin and her book Viral Justice
Author Frances Burney
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Also by Claudia Gray: The Murder of Mr. Wickham and The Late Mrs. Willoughby
Heft by Liz Moore
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Hanif Abdurraqib’s podcast Object of Sound
Also by  Betsy Lerner: Food and Loathing, The Forest for the Trees, and The Bridge Ladies.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Happiest Season movie
Under the Christmas Tree movie
Single All the Way movie

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!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.