Episode 240 - The Nightmare Touch
Episode 240 Show Notes
– Giveaway! –
In celebration of another 10th episode we’re giving away a copy of Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner. The winner will be chosen on August 25th, to be entered to win subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
– Currently Reading –
Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner – Natalie Dykstra (EF) (audiobook)
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings (LOA #388) – co-edited by Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall (CW)
Sesame: Global Recipes & Stories of an Ancient Seed – Rachel Simons (EF)
The Upstairs House – Julia Fine (CW)
– Just Read –
Nightmare-Touch by Lafcadio Hearn from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World – Matthew Goodman (CW)
The Correspondent – Virginia Evans (EF) recently nominated for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
The El – Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (CW)
A Family Matter – Claire Lynch (EF)
The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah (EF)
– Episode Sponsor –
Into the Shallows Darkly by Robin Cannon
– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily enjoyed a conversation with their Patreon Community via the monthly reading salon. The theme was feminist literature.
Emily went to Madison, WI where she visited the main branch of the Madison Public Library and was excited to find a makerspace – The Bubbler – that was featuring a fake cake making activity. She also stopped at Mystery to Me bookstore where the booksellers suggested two books: A Murderous Business: A Harriman & Mancini Mystery by Cathy Pegau (pub date 9/16/25) and Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake.
Chris had a browse through Kindred Thoughts Bookstore in Bridgeport, CT. Her book haul included Kindred by Octavia Butler, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. The bookseller/owner mentioned his love of Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray.
Next up on Emily’s Midwest trip was a stop in Minneapolis, MN where she saw a lot of little free libraries and learned that the founder of Littlefreelibrary.org and visited Wild Rumpus Books where they had a host of live animals that live at the store and a great selection of merchandise from Out of Print and Comma, a bookshop where she purchased The Night Owl Sings: And Other Stories of Old Age by Judy McConnell; both of the stores are in the Linden Hill neighborhood. Last stop was at the Minneapolis airport where she took a browse through Open Books where they featured a selection of Milkweed Editions.
Emily attended a virtual conversation with Claire Messud and Geraldine Brooks about her memoir Memorial Days. Geraldine announced that she collaborated with Kamala Harris on the forthcoming 107 Days (pub date 9/23/25). You can watch the video here.
– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is heading on a road trip and is excited to have time for some audiobook listening.
Chris is interested in the release of Outlander: Blood of My Blood premiering August 8 on Starz.
On August 15, Emily is hoping to get to Wilcox Park in Westerly, Rhode Island to hear Marguerite Holloway talk about her book Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science, and Self-Discovery in America's Imperiled Forests. The event is sponsored by Bank Square Books, learn more here.
– Upcoming Reads –
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Wreck – Catherine Newman (EF) release date 10/28/25
The Upstairs House – Julia Fine (EF)
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman (CW)
Haunted North Alabama – Jessica Penot (CW)
– Out Now –
A Dog in Georgia – Lauren Grodstein
Dracula’s Brunch Club – Brian Gonsar, illustrated by Keenan Gaybba
– 2025 Readalong Theme and 3rd Quarter Book –
The 3rd Quarter Readalong is The Upstairs House by Julia Fine. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 17th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread. We are also planning a companion read of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
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.
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 –
Also by Rudyard Kipling: The Jungle Book and Riki Tiki Tavi
Author Kathleen Rooney
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Ask Again, Yes – Mary Beth Keane
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert W. Service
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
The Personal Librarian by Victoria Christopher Murray
The 1619 Project created by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Rain Taxi Review of Books who sponsors the Twin Cities Book Festival on November 8, 2025
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
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