Episode 230: "Come for the Skiing, Stay for the Library"

in , ,
Book Cougars Episode 230

Episode 230 Show Notes

– 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.

– Currently Reading –
The Cliffs – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF)
The Many Lives of Anne Frank – Ruth Franklin (CW)
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
Love Is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community and Friends – Edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock, illustrated Lisa Congdon (EF)

– Just Read –
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain – Annie Murphy Paul (CW)
Murder Under Her Skin: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery – Stephen Spotswood (EF)
Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel – Claire Kohda (CW)
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout (EF)
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism – Sarah Wynn-Williams (CW)
The Ghostwriter – Julie Clark (EF) release date 6/3/2025
Tilda is Visible – Jane Tara (EF)
The Haunted and the Haunters; Or, The House and the Brain by Lytton from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris had a conversation with Shawn Breathes Books about Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

Emily went on a trip to Colorado. She shopped at White River Books in Carbondale, CO where she picked up a copy of Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham. Next stop was Alpenglow Books and Gifts in Glenwood Springs, where she grabbed a copy of Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Bill Martin Jr, illustrated by Eric Carle. On the way home she shopped at several outposts of Barbara’s Bookstore in O’Hare airport.

Emily started watching the series Long Bright River based on the novel by Liz Moore.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily registered for the All CT Reads 2025 Adult Author Talk with Monica Wood author of How to Read a Book on March 27th at 2pm (ET).

Chris mentioned an Author Talk with Jonathan Losos author of The Cat’s Meow: How Cat’s Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa at the Yale Peabody Museum on Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 pm (ET).

Chris will be attending the Willa Cather Spring Conference in Red Cloud, Nebraska June 4-7, 2024

– Upcoming Reads –
Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff (CW)
Your Brain on Altruism: The Power of Connection and Community During Times of Crisis – Nicole Karlis (EF)
Raising Hare: A Memoir – Chloe Dalton
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce up next is The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. If you would like to join us there is a schedule available on Goodreads or we can email a copy.

– Out Now –
Hot Air – Marcy Dermansky

– Also Mentioned –
Why Are There So Many Female Ghosts? By Nathaniel Scharping
Schlesinger Library – Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Other poetry collections edited by James Crews: A Boxful of Poetry
Author Cal Newport
Fortune Favors the Dead: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood
Author Louise Penny
River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury, CT
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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 222 - 2024 Holiday Gift Ideas

in , ,
Book Cougars Episode 222

Episode 222 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)(audiobook)
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers – Betsy Lerner (CW)
Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves – Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert (EF)
The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany – Pamela D. Toler (EF)(audiobook)

– Just Read –
Complete Starter Guide to Bonsai: Growing from Seed or Seedling--Wiring, Pruning, Care, and Display – David Squirer (CW)
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary – Alice Hoffman (EF) (audiobook)
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote – Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Sarah Green (CW)
I Am Book – Joren Cull (CW)
Trouble Island – Sharon Short (EF)
Check out the conversation we have with Sharon over on BookTube.
The Weekend – Charlotte Wood (EF)

Emily read short stories:
“Johnny Christmas” by Ivy Pochoda from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg
“Cat Brushing” from the collection Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell

– Biblio Adventure –
Chris and Emily had a great time chatting with Patreon Members during the monthly Reading Salon. The next Salon will be on Sunday, December 22 at 7PM (ET), we will be chatting about our favorite reads of 2024. You can join our Patreon Community here.

Chris and Emily went on a double date to see a production of the play Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon.

Chris visited The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, CT.  

Emily joined the Cherry Bombe member book club discussion of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook) featuring Ina’s co-writer Deborah Davis.

Chris watched the first season of Truth Be Told based on the novel Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber and she went to a showing of the movie Wicked based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are both excited to see Laura Thoma’s play Miss Margaret Barton’s Cottage Christmas Surprise. The show runs from December 13-21, you can purchase tickets here. 

Emily is joining Katherine May’s readalong of The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston. You can learn more here.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
The Braille Encyclopedia: Brief Essays on Altered Sight - Naomi Cohen (CW)
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (EF)
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon – Kevin Fedarko (EF)

– Holiday Gift Ideas 2024 –
1.       Gift card to a bookstore. You can purchase a Bookshop.org gift card here.
2.       Novel Teas: Loose Leaf Literature
3.       Nerdwax Jinkies eyeglass cleaner (watch the video with Chris showing off her Dracula cleaner)
4.       Hingston & Olsen Short Story Advent Calendar
5.       Give a gift of an experience to a special literary site (read Chris’s blog post about the Library of Congress)
6.       Girl of All Work page flags and book buddies
7.       Autographed copy of a book
8.       Gift Membership to Patreon
9.       Libro.fm gift membership follow this link.
10.   For the cook in your life, an Ina Garten trifecta: an Ina Garten cookbook (she has 13!), Issue #28 of Cherry Bombe Magazine featuring Ina, and Ina’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens (audiobook)
11.   Author society membership: for example Barbara Pym or Willa Cather  
12.   Book a Date with a friend to read a book together, see the author in person, or watch an interview.
13.   Glocusent Neck Reading Light
14.   Soofa Soft Ring Notebook from Kinokuniya Bookstore
15.   Noise canceling earbuds. Chris uses Apple Airpods.
16.   DreamWrap Bluetooth Sleep Headphones
17.   Make a donation to an organization like BINC Foundation or EveryLibrary
18.   Book subscription to a curated box, for example Honest Dog Books
19.   Go on a Biblio Adventure

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Widows by Jess Montgomery
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner 
Blackwell’s Books
Greener: Can Old Friends Let Us Become New People? by Gráinne Murphy  (Watch a conversation about the novel between Shawn Breathes Books and novelist Barb Howard)
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
National Outdoor Book Awards 2024
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
White River Books

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 221 - Trial by Ambush with Marcia Clark and John Valeri

in , , , ,
Book Cougars Episode 221

Episode 221 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Imagination: A Manifesto – Ruha Benjamin (CW)
Be Ready When the Luck Happens – Ina Garten (EF)(audiobook)
Advice for New Faculty Members – Robert Boice (CW)
Walking Well: A New Approach for Comfort, Vitality, and Inspiration in Every Step – Michael J. Gelb and Bruce Fertman

– Just Read –
Emily read short stories:
“The Statue and the Bust” from The Collected Short Stories of Shirley Hazzard edited by Brigitta Olubas
“Let the Chips Fall” by Emily Ross from the collection Devil’s Snare: Best New England Crime Stories by 2024 edited by Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, and Susan Oleksiw
“Debris” from the collection A Kind of Madness by Uche Okonkwo
“Good Enough” from the collection A Small Thing to Want by Shuly Cawood

This Cursed House – Del Sandeen (CW)
Shred Sisters – Betsy Lerner (EF) (audiobook)
Armadale – Wilkie Collins (CW)
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts – Mary Claire Haver, MD (EF)
Read the recent article about Dr. Mary Claire Haver in the New York Times.
A Little Bit Country – Brian D. Kennedy (CW)
Where They Last Saw Her – Marcie R. Rendon (EF)
What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking – Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft (CW)
Something, Someday – Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson (CW)

– Biblio Adventure –
Emily went with her daughter Rachel and granddaughter Neena to the Guilford Free Library. Where they picked up a copy Miss MacDonald Has a Farm by Kalee Gwarjanski, illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic.

Chris virtually attended an event via Concord Festival of Authors, “The Scrolls of the Past Burn My Fingers”: Reviving Margaret Fuller with Professors Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall co-editors of the forthcoming Margaret Fuller: Collected Writing (LOA #388).

Chris went to Breakwater Books where the owner gave her a copy of The Lilac People by Milo Todd.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily will be attending the Cherry Bombe member book club of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

On Wednesday, November 20th, Chris is planning to attend an event at RJ Julia’s Booksellers with Karen Olson in conversation with Elizabeth Hobbs and her novel Misery Hates Company: A Novel.

– Upcoming Reads –
Fingersmith – Sarah Waters (CW)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte (CW)
Night Side of the River – Jeanette Winterson (EF)

– Spotlight with Marcia Clark and Our Mystery Man –
You can learn more about Marcia Clark here.
Her new book is Trial By Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham.
You can learn more about John here.
You can also follow his interviews with mystery authors on his YouTube Channel Central Booking.

– Poem Read by Emily –

Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver
 If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Please join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.
The Zoom readalong discussion will take place on Sunday, December 8h at 7:00 pm (ET). Please send an email if you would like to join.

– Also Mentioned –
Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want – Ruha Benjamin
Check out the Book Cougars Nonfiction November Video
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Drafting the Past podcast
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
Also by Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White and The Moonstone
Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon
O Beautiful by Jung Yun
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Proof of Guilt: Barbara Graham and the Politics of Executing Women in America by Kathleen A. Cairns

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.