Episode 232 - Author Spotlight with Eowyn Ivey

Author Spotlight with Eowyn Ivey

Episode 232 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Good House – Tananarive Due (CW)
Food Person – Adam Roberts (EF) release date 5/20/2025

– Just Read –
Happy Land – Dolan Perkins-Valdez (CW)
Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling – Matthew Dicks (EF) (audiobook)
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport (CW) (audiobook)
The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits – Jennifer Weiner (EF)
Old New York – Edith Wharton (CW)
Black Woods Blue Sky – Eowyn Ivey (EF)
The North Mail by Amelia B. Edwards from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
LOVE IS FOR ALL OF US: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community and Friends co-edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock, illustrated by Lisa Congdon.
Learn more James Crews here.

Watch our conversation with James Crews over on BookTube.

– Biblio Adventures –

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt via the Mark Twain House to hear Ethan Rutherford in conversation with Amity Gaige about her novel Heartwood. Ethan’s novel is North Sun, or the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther.

Chris participated in a virtual book club event via The Mount discussing Edith Wharton’s A Son at the Front and Willa Cather’s One of Ours.

Chris joined the Zoom conversation for Colleen’s Cather reading challenge  where they discussed by Willa Cather and follow her at https://www.instagram.com/colleenka/.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On April 16, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to Bank Square Books to see Maura Casey discuss her memoir Saving Ellen. Check out our conversation with Maura here.

On April 23rd Chris and Emily will be attending Matthew Goodman’s event at the Guilford Free Library. His new book is Paris Undercover. Matthew was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 95 discussing his book The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team.

On May 4th Emily will be attending Matthew Dick’s one man show Shovel at the Hartford Theater works. You can purchase tickets here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Belgian Girls – Kathryn J. Atwood (CW) release date 5/8/2025
Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal – Matthew Goodman (EF)(audiobook)
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier (EF)
Anne Brontë Nightwalker: A Brontë Blood Chronicle – Gea Haff (CW)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The Signal Man by Charles Dickens. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Author Spotlight with Eowyn Ivey –
We talk with Eowyn about her book Black Woods Blue Sky.
Learn more about Eowyn here.
Take a tour of Eowyn’s writing cottage.

– 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 –
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
The American Queen by Vanessa Miller
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Robert Elsmere by Mary Augusta Ward
Also by Eowyn: The Snow Child and To The Bright Edge of the World
True Grit by Charles Portis
The film An American Werewolf in London
Author Annie Dillard
Author Robin Wall Kimmerer
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Booktuber Melinda at A Web of Stories
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Odyssey by Homer

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 231 - Author Spotlight with Ruth Franklin

Author Spotlight with Ruth Franklin

Episode 231 Show Notes

Head over to BookTube to watch our conversation with poet James Crews about his new anthology LOVE IS FOR ALL OF US: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community and Friends co-edited with his husband Brad Peacock, illustrated by Lisa Congdon.

– Currently Reading –
Swim Home to the Vanished – Brendan Shay Basham (EF)
Much Ado About Numbers: Shakespeare’s Mathematical Life and Times – Rob Eastaway (CW)
Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling – Matthew Dicks (EF) (audiobook)
Fine Books & Collections Magazine (Issue Spring 2025), Library Shines in Frick Renovation – (CW)

– Just Read –
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW) (audiobook) (CW)
Robin is doing a buddy read, follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinlgustafson/ and via #ProustPilotProject
Care and Feeding: A Memoir – Laurie Woolever (EF) (audiobook)
The Stolen Queen – Fiona Davis (CW)
The Cliffs – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF) (audiobook)
The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF)
The article we talk about: “Why Are There So Many Female Ghosts?” by Nathaniel Scharping
The Many Lives of Anne Frank – Ruth Franklin (CW)(EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris had a Zoom conversation with Robin, and the group reading Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust. They will be reading the second book, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, in 2026.

Emily attended the virtual conversation of the All CT Reads 2025 Adult Author Talk with Monica Wood author of How to Read a Book. There is a video available here. Find current and passed reading lists here.

Emily saw the film The Penguin Lessons based on the novel The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird by Tom Michell.

– Episode Sponsor –
Time Enough by Lise Mayne.
Learn more about Lise here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
On April 9, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt via the Mark Twain House to hear Amy Bloom in conversation with Amity Gaige about her novel Heartwood. You can register for this in-person event here.

On April 16, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to Bank Square Books to see Maura Casey discuss her memoir Saving Ellen. Check out our conversation with Maura here.

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.

April 12th Emily will be attending the Cherry Bombe Jubilee, volunteering to help shepherd cookbook authors.  

Newburyport Literary Festival is April 25-27, 2025. The festival is free and there are virtual events. Check out the schedule.

May 2-4, 2025 is Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. Learn more here

– Upcoming Reads –
Old New York – Edith Wharton (CW)
Black Woods, Blue Sky – Eowyn Ivey (EF)
Stone Yard Devotional – Charlotte Wood (EF)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The North Mail by Amelia B. Edwards. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Episode Sponsor –
Fun: Essays on a Life Embraced by Aline Weiller
Learn more about Aline here.

– Out Now –
Heartwood - Amity Gaige
Swept Away – Beth O’ Leary

– Author Spotlight with Ruth Franklin –
We talk with Ruth about her books The Many Lives of Anne Frank and Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life.
Learn more about Ruth here. Subscribe to her Substack Ghost Stories.

Ruth tells a story about her time writing at The Dora Maar House. Read her Substack post On Biography and ghosts, where she shares this experience.

Enjoy this conversation via BIO: How to Read Biography Like a Writer - Ruth Franklin + Anne Boyd Rioux

A recent article in Hadassah Magazine: “The Enduring Mythology of Anne Frank” by Ruth Franklin

– 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 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 –
Schlesinger Library – Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Emily Dickinson Collection at the Houghton Library
Other poetry collections edited by James Crews: A Boxful of Poetry
White River Books in Carbondale, CO
SpeakUp Storytelling
Live Lit Chicago
Learn more about The Moth
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever
Frick Museum Art Library
Also by Fiona Davis: The Magnolia Palace and The Lions of Fifth Avenue
A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Andrea Janes and Leanna Renee Heiber
Anne Boyd Rioux was a guest on Episode 57 featuring her book Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alavarez
Read Chris’s blog post about her six top reads of Q1 2025
The Anne Frank House

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 216 - Guest Spotlight with Michael Kelleher, Director of the Windham Campbell Prizes

Michael Kelleher, Director of the Windham Campbell Prizes

Episode 216 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh – Claudia Gray (CW)
Envy – Sandra Brown (EF) (audiobook)
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading – James Patterson and Matt Eversmann (CW)

– Just Read –
Envy – Sandra Brown (CW)
Just for the Summer – Abby Jimenez (EF) (audiobook)
The Truth’s We Hold: An American Story – Kamala Harris (CW) (audiobook)
Big – Vashti Harrison (EF)

Chris and Emily did a buddy read of the short story “Double Birthday” by Willa Cather from the collection The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike.

You can read Chris’s blog post here.

Emily also read “Disaster Stamps of Pluto” by Louise Erdrich from the collection The Best American Mystery Stories 2005 edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Otto Penzler.

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives – Julie Lawson Timmer (EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
Deadly Ripples by Penny Goetjen publishes on 9/17/2024.
Learn more about and follow Penny’s book tour here.

– Big Book Summer Reading Challenge Reflection –
Emily read:
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
The Awakening by Nora Roberts

Chris read:
The Awakening by Nora Roberts
Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition by the American Psychological Association
MLA Handbook, 9th edition by The Modern Language Association of America

Chris wrote a blog post about her Big Book Summer Challenge 2024 plans.

Watch our BookTube video about our Big Book Summer Hopefuls.

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris had a lunch date with Kate at Knot Norm’s in Norwalk, CT to talk about their Moby Dick buddy read.

Emily watched the film The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat based on the novel by Edward Kelsey Moore via Hulu.

Chris and Laura are enjoying rewatching the Harry Potter movies; helping Chris get reacquainted with the stories.

Chris is on the search for the episode and book The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is planning a trip to the Sterling Library at Yale to see the exhibit Whaling Logbooks: Records of a Maritime Industry. She is also studying the new tri-fold pamphlet in preparation for the upcoming Guilford, CT library book sale from September 27-29th.

Emily is signed up to attend "Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: Examining the Truths and Fictions we Tell Ourselves with Lori Gottlieb"! via the North Haven Memorial Library on October 22 at 2pm (ET). Register here.

We will be in conversation with James R. Benn about his new novel The Phantom Patrol, on Thursday, September 19th, at 6 pm (ET)! Bank Square Books is hosting the event, and because they are in the middle of a move, it will be held at the gorgeous Mystic Noank Library in Mystic, CT. The event is free, register here to save your spot.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Most – Jessica Anthony (EF)
The Mesmerist – Caroline Woods (EF)
The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich (EF) release date 10/1/2024
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Old New York – Edith Wharton (CW)
Silas Marner – George Elliot (CW)
The Turn of the Screw – Charles Dickens (CW)
The Red and the Black - Stendhal (CW)
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (CW)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust (CW) [check out #ProustPilotProject]
Murder in the Smithsonian – Margaret Truman (CW)(EF)

– Guest Spotlight: Michael Kelleher with the Windham Campbell Literary Awards –
Learn more about the Windham Campbell Prizes.
The 2024 Festival takes place from September 17-20. You can find the schedule here
You can follow the awards on Instagram and YouTube

– 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.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Also Mentioned –
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Also by Abby Jimenez: Part of Your World and Yours Truly
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky release date 3/18/2025
Also by Willa Cather: One of Ours and The Song of the Lark
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA for the exhibit Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick running through January 4, 2026
The Supremes Sing The Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore
The Lunar Housewife by Caroline Woods
Books and Things host of Victober 2024
Also by Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone and The Woman in White
Murder in the CIA by Margaret Truman
The Book Barn in Niantic, CT
Babel Literary Series

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.