Episode 258 - Author Spotlight with Heather Harper Ellett

Book Cougars Episode 258
Emily Fine & Chris Wolak
Author Heather Harper Ellett

Episode 258 Show Notes

– Q2 Readalong –
The 2026 second quarter readalong is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It is the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation so it will be showing in theaters again on May 10, 2026. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 7pm (ET). Send an email if you would like to join. Join the Goodreads discussion thread.

All of the links below connect to our shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

You can also purchase a Bookshop.org gift card.

– Currently Reading –
Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King – Caroline Bicks (CW)
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop – Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan (EF) (audiobook)
The Body Farm: Scarpetta #5 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
My Detachment – Tracy Kidder (EF) (audiobook)
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (CW) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
The Reservation – Rebecca Kauffman (EF)
You can listen to Emily’s conversation with Rebecca over on Ingredient One.
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (CW)
The Golden Boy – Patricia Finn (EF)
True Crime: A Memoir – Patricia Cornwell (CW) release date 5/6/2026
Emily dnf’d Raising Hare – Chloe Dalton (EF) (audiobook)
Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa: Stories – W.P. Kinsella (CW)
Ain’t Nobody Nobody – Heather Harper Ellett (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily visited Papercuts Bookshop in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Chris watched the film Field of Dreams based on the short story Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa: Stories by W.P. Kinsella.

Emily strolled with Aunt Ellen along Orchard Street on the Lower East Side in New York City where they visited Sweet Pickle Books and P&T Knitwear Books.

Chris and Emily went on a Joint Jaunt to West Hartford where they worked at the UConn Law Library then visited the new location of River Bend Bookshop. They also offer Mahjong lessons and games, visit the events calendar to learn more.

Chris watched the film Fried Green Tomatoes based on the novel by Fannie Flagg.

Chris had a word day at the Sterling Library on the Yale Campus. After working she visited Book Trader Cafe, Grey Matter Books, and Atticus Bookstore Cafe where she purchased Good Grief by Brianna Pastor and Hauntings by Vernon Lee.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
April 29, Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to see Emily Franklin at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with her novel Love & Other Monsters. The event is free, you can register here.

April 30 – May 3, Chris and Emily are signed up to attend The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia

CrimeConn will take place on May 16th at the Ferguson Library.

May 13th, Emily is registered to see Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare at RJ Julia’s Booksellers.

– Upcoming Reads –
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution – Denise Kiernan (EF) pub date 6/23/2026
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (EF)
Morning Baker – Roxana Jullapat (EF)
The Gardner Museum Café Cookbook – Lois McKitchen Conroy (EF)
The Death of a Joyce Scholar: A Peter McGarr Mystery – Bartholomew Gill (CW)
Winter People – Gráinne Murphy (CW)
Twilight Sleep – Edith Wharton (CW)
Manslaughter – Alice Duer Miller (CW) There is a film by the same name.
Adaptations From Short Story to Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films – Stephanie Harrison (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Heather Harper Ellett –
Heather’s book Ain’t Nobody Nobody is being republished with a new ending!
Learn more about Heather here.
Heather was also featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 92 and on our YouTube channel.

– Also Mentioned –
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Also by Tracy Kidder: Rough Sleepers and Mountains Beyond Mountains
True Grit by Charles Portis (audiobook)
The Martian by Andy Weir
Room by Emma Donoghue
Tilt by Emma Pattee
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Novels into Film: Adaptations and Interpretation
The Librarians movie
Also by Denise Kiernan: The Last Castle and The Girls of Atomic City
Her Life in Ink by Sharon M. Harris
Sharon was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 253

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm
audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Episode 257 - Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin

Book Cougars Episode 257
Emily Fine & Chris Wolak
Author Emily Franklin

Episode 257 Show Notes

– Q2 Readalong –
The 2026 second quarter readalong is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It is the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation so it will be showing in theaters again on May 10, 2026. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 7pm (ET). Send an email if you would like to join. Join the Goodreads discussion thread.

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.

All of the links below connect to our shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores! You can also purchase a Bookshop.org gift card.

– Currently Reading –
The Reservation – Rebecca Kauffman (EF)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (CW)
Raising Hare – Chloe Dalton (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging – Tara Roberts (EF) (audiobook)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
Love & Other Monsters – Emily Franklin (EF)
Cruel & Unusual – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Summer Book – Tove Jansson (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris browsed the new Barnes & Noble in Cheshire, CT where she purchased Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen.

Sadly, Emily’s two planned Biblio Adventures, one with Casey Elsass, author of What Can I Bring?, and the other with Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich and Wreck, did not happen. One was canceled and the other was interrupted by work. But she did have three Couch Biblio Adventures: Hamnet based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell; The Summer Book based on the novel by Tove Jansson; and the final installment of the Aspen Winter Words with Tara Roberts talking about her book Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging.

Chris met with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, where they continued their conversation about the buddy read of the 29-book series by Patricia Cornwell and John recapped his experience watching the new Scarpetta series streaming on Prime.

The March Patreon Reading Salon included a discussion of reading slumps.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The April Patreon Reading Salon will take place on Sunday, April 26 at 7pm (ET). The conversation will focus on books that have languished on our TBR shelves/piles the longest. Learn more about our Patreon community.

CrimeConn will take place on May 16th at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT.

May 7th, Chris and Emily are signed up to see Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.

May 13th, Emily is registered to see Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.

Emily is planning to visit Papercuts Bookshop in Jamaica Plain, MA.

April 30 – May 3, Chris and Emily are signed up to attend The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia

– Upcoming Reads –
Ain’t Nobody Nobody – Heather Harper Ellett (CW)(EF)
Heather was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 92 and on our YouTube channel.
My Detachment – Tracy Kidder (EF)
Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago – Will Quam (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin –
Emily’s new book Love & Other Monsters just published. You can learn more about Emily, her other books, and upcoming events here.

– Also Mentioned –
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Check out Chris’s video of Edith Wharton’s Newport, RI home
Moominvalley in November – Tove Jansson
The movie Nomadland based on the book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessie Bruder
Also by Tracy Kidder: Mountains Beyond Mountains and Rough Sleepers
The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm
audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars

Help support the Book Cougars by becoming a Patreon member.
If you would prefer to donate directly, email for instructions.
Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Check out our BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!