Episode 251 - Top Ten Reads of 2025 with Russell of Ink and Paper Blog

Episode 251 Show Notes

Please take the Listener Top Ten Books of 2025 poll by January 15th: http://bit.ly/ListenerTopTen2025

– Russell’s Top Ten –
Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt (audiobook)
The Savage Nobel Death of Babs Dionne – Ron Currie
A Truce That Is Not Peace – Miriam Toews (audiobook)
Run for the Hills – Kevin Wilson
The Emperor of Gladness – Ocean Vuong
Some Bright Nowhere – Ann Packer (audiobook)
Minor Black Figures – Brandon Taylor
Flashlight – Susan Choi (audiobook)
Heart the Lover – Lily King
The Correspondent – Virginia Evans
Audition – Katie Kitamura

– Chris’s Top Ten –
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World – Matthew Goodman
After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart – Megan Marshall
Listen to our conversation with Megan on Episode 227
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend – Rebecca Romney
Happy Land – Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The Militia House – John Milas
The Award – Matthew Pearl
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fascist Icon – Sara Catterall
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them – Timothy Egan (audiobook)
Beth is Dead – Katie Bernet
The Belgian Girls – Kathryn Atwood
Old New York – Edith Wharton
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White

– Emily’s Top Ten –
Lone Women – Victor LaValle (audiobook)
Leaving – Roxana Robinson
Memorial Days – Geraldine Brooks (audiobook)
Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir – Tessa Hulls
Buckeye – Patrick Ryan (audiobook)
A Family Matter – Claire Lynch
The Upstairs House – Julia Fine
Wreck – Catherine Newman
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck – Sophie Elmhirst
The Road to Tender Hearts – Annie Hartnett (audiobook)

– Favorite Biblio Adventures of 2025 –
Russell moved to Portland where he enjoys exploring all three locations of Powell’s Books.

Chris’s had a standout trip to Nebraska with Colleen where they visited the Eisenhower Museum and Library, went to the Willa Cather Conference, explored Red Cloud, and other fun sites.

Emily enjoyed two events hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers. A conversation with Virginia Evans, author of The Correspondent and another event with Dorie Greenspan in conversation with Casey Elsass about Dorie’s Anytime Cakes and What Can I Bring? Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. Emily has spent a lot of time baking with Dorie’s Cookies.

Another favorite was everything Isabella Stewart Gardner: visiting the museum, reading Chasing Beauty, and featuring Natalie Dykstra in an Author Spotlight on Episode 248.

– Books We’re Looking Forward to in 2026 –
Kin – Tayari Jones release date 2/24/2026
All the World Can Hold – Jung Yun release date 3/10/2026
True Crime: A Memoir – Patricia Cornwell release date 5/5/2026
Man Overboard – Katherine Rooney release date 7/7/2026
Hunger and Thirst – Claire Fuller release date 6/2/2026

– Also Mentioned –
Remarkably Bright Creatures movie
Check out Megan Marshall’s full list of books
Georgia O’Keefe: A Life by Roxana Robinson
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Also by Miriam Toews: All My Puny Sorrows and Women Talking
Also by Geraldine Brooks: Horse and March
Also by Kevin Wilson: The Family Fang and Nothing to See Here
Also by Dolen Perkins-Valdez: Wench and Take My Hand
So Far Gone by Jess Walter, also a great audiobook
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Also by Matthew Pearl: The Dante Club
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Author Elizabeth Strout
Euphoria by Lily King
Also by Katie Kitamura: A Separation and Intimacies
Also by Tayari Jones: Silver Sparrow and An American Marriage

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Episode 226 - A Book-Packed Episode including Listener Top Ten Reads of 2024

Episode 226 Show Notes

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 1st Quarter Book –
Our theme for 2025 is Ghost Stories! There is a ghost story discussion thread on Goodreads. Come tell us about your favorite ghost stories or those you are interested in reading.

Our 1st Quarter Readalong is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, February 16th 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 will also be doing a companion read of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.

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.

Listener Top Tens! There were a few ties so we have a listener top fourteen. There is a list on Bookshop.org where you can learn more about the books. (*We are an affiliate of Bookshop.org and receive a commission when you purchase books through our affiliate links.)
1.     James by Percival Everett
2.     The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
3.     The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
4.     The Women by Kristin Hannah
5.     Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
6.     North Woods by Daniel Mason
7.     Clear by Carys Davies
8.     Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
9.     Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
10.   Go As a River by Shelley Read
11.   The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
12.   My Friends by Hisham Matar
13.   Sandwich by Catherine Newman
14.   The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

– Currently Reading –
Winter Swimming: The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life – Susanna Søberg (EF)
A New Home, Who Will Follow? – Caroline Kirkland (CW)
Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories – Jeanette Winterson (EF)(audiobook)
The Vanishing Kind – Alice Henderson (CW)
Alice Henderson was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 141
Three Days in June – Anne Tyler (EF) release date 2/11/2025

– Just Read –
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout – Cal Newport (CW)(audiobook)
Getting Unstuck: Breaking Your Habitual Patterns and Encountering Naked Reality – Pema Chödrön(EF)(audiobook)
The Book of Shadow Work: Unlock the True You: The Must-Have Guide to Inner Healing and Authenticity – Keila Shaheen (CW) (audiobook)
Speak to Me of Home – Jeanine Cummins (EF) release date 5/13/2025
The Last Room on the Left – Leah Konen (CW)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy (EF)
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White (CW)
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern – Lynda Cohen Loigman (EF)(audiobook)
The Militia House – John Milas (CW)
Heartwood – Amity Gaige (EF) release date 4/1/2025
A Son at the Front – Edith Wharton (CW)
What Are You Going Through – Sigrid Nunez (EF)(audiobook)
Alexander’s Bridge – Willa Cather (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Emily watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger.

Chris went to see the film Nosferatu loosely based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Emily listened to a conversation between Charlotte Wood and Sigrid Nunez via the American Writer’s Museum. The video is available here.

Chris went to Chicago and had two Biblio Adventures. The first was a resale shop with lots of books where her mom purchased a copy of Envy by Sandra Brown. Next, she met Colleen at Anderson Bookshop in Naperville. She got a copy of Woodworm by Layla Martinez, translated by Annie McDermott.

Emily and The Gentleman Caller watched the six-part series American Primeval on Netflix written by Mark L. Smith, who also wrote The Revenant.

Chris participated in the first Zoom conversation with Colleen and her monthly Willa Cather reading challenge, starting with Alexander’s Bridge. Follow Colleen: https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/ to learn more.

Chris and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt to Providence, Rhode Island to visit the Providence Athenaeum. They also popped into the Rockefeller Library on Brown University campus.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is going to see the movie The Room Next Door based on the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez.

On January 28, Chris is participating in the Women’s Prize Book Club book club with Sarah Waters in conversation with Simon Savidge about her novel Fingersmith. You can register for the event here.

On February 5, Chris and Emily are registered for the virtual event: The Many Lives of Anne Frank. Learn more and register here.

On February 5, Chris and Emily are registered for an in-person event at the New York Society Library. The New Relic Theatre presents Lord Byron’s Manfred. You can purchase register for the event here. 

On February 12, Emily is registered to attend an event at RJ Julia’s in Madison, CT. Kristan Higgins will be in conversation with Charmaine Wilkerson and her new novel Good Dirt. You can register here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Good Dirt – Charmaine Wilkerson (EF)
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (CW)(EF)
O Pioneers! – Willa Cather (CW)
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
The Grey Wolf – Louise Penny (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Author Louise Erdrich
Author Richard Osman
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Author Edith Wharton
Author S.A. Cosby
Author William Kent Kreuger
Author Willa Cather
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Author Pat Conroy
Author Edgar Allan Poe
Author Nevada Barr
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
American Dirt by Jeannine Cummins
The Shining by Stephen King
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
Also by Willa Cather: One of Ours and O Pioneers!
Also by Sigrid Nunez: The Friend and The Vulnerables
Charlotte Wood novels: The Weekend and Stone Yard Devotional
Oh Reader Magazine

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 225 - Top Ten Books of 2024 with Russell from Ink and Paper Blog

Episode 225 Show Notes

Top Ten Reads of 2024 with Russell from Ink and Paper Blog

– Russell’s Books –
The Most – Jessica Anthony
Sipsworth – Simon Van Booy
Real Americans – Rachel Khong
Hombrecito – Santiago Jose Sanchez
The Safekeep – Yael Van Der Wouden
Our Evenings – Alan Hollinghurst
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout
Universality -Natasha Brown
Intermezzo – Sally Rooney
Small Rain – Garth Greenwell
James – Percival Everett

– Chris’s Books –
Thirst – Marina Yuszczuk, translated by Heather Cleary
Summer – Edith Wharton
We Got the Beat – Jenna Miller
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy
Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall (audiobook)
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile – Candice Millard
The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells – Rebecca Rego Barry
Finding Margaret Fuller – Allison Pataki
Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham – Marcia Clark
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White
The Gathering – C.J. Tudor
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë

– Emily’s Books –
An Exact Relica of a Figment of My Imagination – Elizabeth McCracken
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted – Suleika Jaouad
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon
The Women – Kristin Hannah
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle  – Matt Cain  (audiobook)
How to Read a Book – Monica Wood
The One-In-A-Million Boy – Monica Wood
Sandwich – Catherine Newman
We All Want Impossible Things – Catherine Newman
The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours: A Cookbook – Nancy Silverton and Carolynn Carreno
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension – Hanif Abdurraqib

Listener Top Tens! We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year. You can find the form here fill it out by January 15, 2025.

– Also Mentioned –
Powell’s Books
Read By Ryan on Instagram
American Symphony documentary
Shawn Breathes Books
A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
The Ghost Writer – Phillip Roth
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Author Agatha Christie
Find all of the novels by Elizabeth Strout here
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings (Loa #388) by Margaret Fuller, edited by Noelle A. Baker and Megan Marshall
Normal People by Sally Rooney
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Armadale – Wilkie Collins
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
My Ántonia – Willa Cather

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 224 - Author Spotlight with Pamela D. Toler

Episode 224 Show Notes

Listener Top Tens! We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year. You can find the form here.

– 2024 Reading Intentions Recap –

Emily:
· Read 9 out of 12 Maggie O’ Farrell books
· Enjoyed the Monday Short Story Reading Project
· Met the Goodreads goal of 52 books read
· Book to film adaptation goal of one/month didn’t go well
· Successfully read one new cookbook/month and cooked from them but didn’t document well
· Fun year of Biblio Adventures but didn’t get to some of the hoped for bookstores focused on cookbooks

Chris:
· Met the Goodreads goal of 52 books read
· Finished the Willa Cather Short Story Project
· Read what she wanted to read at the time she wanted
· Read two 19th Century novels: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
· Delayed The Year of Margaret Fuller to 2025, but successfully focused on Moby Dick by Herman Melville
· Read more Romance than she expected

– 2025 Reading Intentions –

Chris
· Open to Buddy Reads but try not to overcommit
· Read more 19th Century novels including Old New York by Edith Wharton, Silas Marner by George Eliot, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and The Red and the Black by Stendhal
· It will be the Year of Margaret Fuller, including reading within Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (Library of America #38)
· Read fewer books and write about them including journaling, blogging, and professional reviews (Read Chris’s review of Trial by Ambush in Criminal Element)

Emily:
· Explore becoming a completist with favorite authors including Anna Quindlen, Alice Hoffman, Erica Wood, Catherine Newman, and Jeanine Cummins
· Consider a Monday essay reading project
· Write about cookbooks and food memoirs on Ingredient One
· Combine reading with Biblio Adventures including museum exhibits
· Set Goodreads goal to 52 books
· Start a book to film adaptation club

Two listener projects:
1. Colleen is starting a monthly Willa Cather reading challenge beginning with Alexander’s Bridge in January. Learn more about it here. And follow Colleen: https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/
2. Robin is doing a buddy read of Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust. Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject 

– Currently Reading –
Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel – Kiersten White (CW)
Speak to Me of Home – Jeanine Cummins (EF) release date 5/13/2025
Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create – Elissa Altman (EF) release date 3/11/2025

– Just Read –
Emily read two short stories from her Hingston and Olson Advent Calendar: (watch the video)
“In the Stacks” by Robin Sloan and “The Hookup” by Katherine Heiny
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW) (audiobook)
We All Want Impossible Things – Catherine Newman (EF)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë (CW)
You can watch Tina’s video here. 
Little Great Island by Kate Woodworth (EF) release date 5/6/2025
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey – Ngozi Ukazu (EF)

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily enjoyed the December reading salon with Patreon’s discussing their top reads of 2024. We would love to hear about your favorite reads of the year, you can find the form here.

Chris watched Conclave based on the novel by Robert Harris.

Emily binged season six of Virgin River based on the novels by Robyn Carr.

Emily listened to an interview with Miranda July on Fresh Air and is not sure if she will finish the novel All Fours.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The next Patreon Reading Salon will take place on January 26th at 7pm (ET) we will be discussing reading intentions.

Chris is heading to Chicago for a visit.

Chris and Emily have purchased in-person tickets for Selected Shorts: Classics with a Twist with Meg Wolitzer and Friends taking place on April 30th. There are virtual tickets available.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Creative Act: A Way of Being – Rick Rubin (EF)
The Heart of Winter – Jonathan Evison (EF) release date 1/7/2025
Alexander’s Bridge – Willa Cather (CW)
A New Home, Who Will Follow? – Caroline Kirkland (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Pamela Toler –
We talk with Pamela about her book The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany.

Check out Pamela’s website.

– Also Mentioned –
Georgia O’ Keeffe: A Life by Roxana Robinson
Georgia by Dawn Tripp
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing by Elissa Altman
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Andrew George
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Sybilline Press
Kim by Rudyard Kipling

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.