Episode 233 - Author Spotlight with Matthew Goodman

Episode 233 with author Matthew Goodman

Episode 233 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Good House – Tananarive Due (CW)
Leaving – Roxana Robinson (EF)
The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen [A Cookbook] – Steve Sando, Julia Newberry (EF)

– Just Read –
Ephemera: A Memoir – Briana Loewinsohn (CW)
Food Person – Adam Roberts (EF) release date 5/20/2025
The Signal Man by Charles Dickens from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)   
Two essays from The Portable Feminist Reader:
“Being Female” by Eileen Myles
“If Men Could Menstruate” by Gloria Steinem
Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal – Matthew Goodman (CW)(EF) (audiobook)   

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went 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 also met with our friend Kate at the Mystic Noank Library where they discussed their buddy reads of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë and Old New York by Edith Wharton.

Chris and Emily attended Matthew Goodman’s event at the Guilford Free Library. His new book is Paris Undercover.

Joined by The Gentleman Caller, Chris and Emily celebrated Independent Bookstore Day by visiting Breakwater Books and RJ Julia Booksellers.  Purchases included: a couple of Indestructibles, The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back by Madiba K. Dennie, Peppa the Pig Loves to Bake, Pigeon Stationery, and a Leuchtturm notebook.  And they picked up the CT Book Trail Passport.

Emily attended Cherry Jubilee in NYC sponsored by Cherry Bombe. Asma Khan Monsoon owner The Darjeeling Express

Emily and Chris hosted the monthly Patreon Reading Salon on Zoom, the theme was poetry, and it was a lovely evening.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The next Patreon Reading Salon is on May 25th at 7 pm (ET). We will be discussing our plans for reading Big Books (over 400 pages) for Sue Jackson’s Summer Reading Challenge.

Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to NYC to visit Aunt Ellen. Stops include 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.

After picking up CT Book Trail Passport, Chris and Emily are planning to visit all 23 bookstores by Labor Day, September 1, 2025.

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 –
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.
The Correspondent – Virginia Evans (EF)
Feeding Ghosts – Tessa Hulls (EF)
Renegade Girls: A Queer Tale of Romance and Rabble-Rousing  – Nora Neus, illustrated by Julie Robine (CW)
A Well Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy – Tia Levings (CW)
Check out Tia Levings interview on Heart of the Story podcast

– Out Now –
Little Great Island – Kate Woodworth
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

– Author Spotlight with Matthew Goodman –
Matthew was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 95 discussing his book The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team. His new book is Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal.

You can learn more about Matthew 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 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 –
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Author Fiona Davis
Author and Broadcast Journalist Noah Adams
The Many Lives of Anne Frank by Ruth Franklin

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Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

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Episode 207 - Spotlight with Author & Rare Book Dealer Rebecca Romney

Rebecca Romney photo credit Dave Pappas

Episode 207 Show Notes

– 2nd Quarter 2024 Readalong –
Our first quarter readalong The Awakening: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book One by Nora Roberts.  The Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, June 2nd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join The Awakening Goodreads Discussion anytime and we’ve also created a Goodreads thread for general romance chit chat.

Download the Romance Bingo Card!

– Currently Reading –  
Moby Dick – Herman Melville (CW)
James – Percival Everett (EF)(audiobook)
A Chance Meeting: Encounters Between American Writers and Artists – Rachel Cohen (CW)
The Phoenicia Diner Cookbook: Dishes and Dispatches from the Catskill Mountains – Chris Bradley, Sara Franklin, and Mike Cioffi (EF)

– Just Read –
Bless Your Heart – Lindy Ryan (CW)
Emily read two short stories:
Vampires in the Lemon Grove” from the collection Vampires in the Lemon Grove: And Other Stories by Karen Russell.
The Bookeeper’s Wife” by Willa Cather.  
You can read Chris’s response to this short story on her blog.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport (CW)
How to Read – Monica Wood (EF)
James – Percival Everett (CW)(audiobook)(narrated by Dominic Hoffman)
Pride and Preston Lin – Christina Hwang Dudley (EF)
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America – Sara B. Franklin (EF) release date 5/28/2024

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily both attended virtual events offered via the North Haven Public Library:
“A Literary Examination of Power, and Art” with Xochitl Gonzalez discussing her books Anita de Monte Laughs Last and Olga Dies Dreaming. You can watch the video here.

“The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us – A Sweeping History of Food and Culture” with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson discussing the book American Table. You can watch the video here.

In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day Chris visited Breakwater Books where she picked up a copy of A Son at the Front by Edith Wharton.

Emily and Aunt Ellen visited Yu and Me Books in Chinatown.

Chris and Emily went to see Caroline Leavitt discuss her new book Days of Wonder at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT.

Chris and Emily both watched the film Shirley loosely based on the novel Shirley by Susan Scarf Merrell.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt to visit Aunt Ellen and plan to visit The Ripped Bodice bookstore.

Emily is planning to see the Art Thief which features a heist of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum since she is reading Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Natalie Dykstra.

– Upcoming Reads –
Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor’s Unlikely Adventure – Mimi Zieman (EF)
Pay Dirt: A V.I. Warshawski Novel – Sara Paretsky (EF)|
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster – Mirinae Lee (CW)
Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places – Claire Kann (CW)

– Out Now –
Real Americans – Rachel Khong
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy – Cait West
Daughters of Shandong – Eve. J Chung
When Cicadas Cry – Caroline Cleveland
The Stolen Child – Ann Hood
How to Read– Monica Wood

– Author Spotlight with Rebecca Romney –
Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer, appraiser, and co-author of Printer's Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History. You can learn more about Rebecca and her work here.
Download a copy of Rebecca’s survey of the history of The Romance Novel in English.

Read “Resisting the Monolith: Collecting As Counter Narrative.”

Learn more about the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize; the deadline is June 15, 2024.

Rebecca is currently working on a book called Jane Austen’s Bookshelf!

– Also Mentioned –
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America – Sara B. Franklin (EF) release date 5/28/2024
Swamplandia – Karen Russell
Author George Saunders
Author Stephen King
The One-In-A-Million Boy – Monica Wood
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Finn – Jon Clinch
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
A Mighty Blaze
Watch our video with Caroline Leavitt and Jenna Blum of A Mighty Blaze.
Watch our video with Caroline Leavitt talking about her novel With or Without You.
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
The History of Emily Montague – Frances Brooke
Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America
Author Frances Burney
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A Simple Story by Elizabeth Inchbald
Harrington by Maria Edgeworth

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.