Episode 245 - Henry James is dead (to us)

Episode 245 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Witches of Dubious Origin – Jenn McKinlay (EF) release date 10/28/2025
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon – Sara Catterall (CW)
Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being – Mary Beth Albright (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
“The Jolly Corner” by Henry James from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (CW)
The Last Resort – Erin Entrada Kelly (EF)
Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner – Natalie Dykstra (CW) (audiobook)
The Dogs of Venice – Steven Rowley (CW)
Aftertaste – Daria LaVelle (EF)
Agnes Grey – Anne Brontë (CW)
“The Birds” by Daphne Du Maurier from the new collection After Midnight: Thirteen Tales for the Dark Hours – (CW)(EF)
Read the Guardian article by Stephen King.

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily rewatched Becoming, the documentary that follows Michelle Obama as she goes on book tour with her memoir Becoming.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to see a performance of Spunk at the Yale Repertory Club based on Zora Neale Hurston’s short story Spunk. Read the NY Times article here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The Brontë Parsonage Museum is presenting a four-part read-along of Shirley by Charlotte Brontë. Learn more here.

On November 25, the Smithsonian is offering a seminar, Margaret Fuller: An Extraordinary Transcendentalist Woman. Learn more here.

The next Patreon Reading Salon will take place on Sunday, October 26th.

Emily is heading to Colorado and is looking forward to visiting White River Books.

Chris and Emily have upcoming Couch Biblio Adventures including The Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock and an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw starring the actress, Michelle Dockery.

– Upcoming Reads –
All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me – Patrick Bringley
How to Sell a Haunted House – Grady Hendrix (CW)(EF)
Gothic Tales – Elizabeth Gaskell (CW)
Play Nice – Rachel Harrison (CW)
“The Readjustment” by Mary Austin from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook

– Out Now –
Death at the Door: A Ruby and Cordelia Mystery – Olivia Blacke

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 4th Quarter Book –
The 4th Quarter Readalong is How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, November 9th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

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.

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 –
Kindred Thoughts Bookstore
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
A New Lease on Life: A Ruby and Cordelia Mystery by Olivia Blacke

Help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
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audiobook platform: Follow this link and use promo code: bookcougars
Shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores!

Help support the Book Cougars, by becoming a Patreon member.
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Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

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Episode 242 - Announcing the Q4 Readalong!

Episode 242 Show Notes

– 2025 Big Book Summer Reading Challenge Recap –
Watch two videos over on BookTube:
· In June we posted about the books we hoped to read over the summer.
· In September we posted about the books we completed for the challenge.

Emily read:
The Emperor of Gladness – Ocean Vuong
Buckeye – Patrick Ryan
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah
The Peculiar Gift of July – Ashley Ream

Chris read:
The Shining – Stephen King
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them – Timothy Egan
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World – Matthew Goodman

– Currently Reading –
Margaret Fuller: Collected Writings (LOA #388) – co-edited by Brigitte Bailey, Leslie Eckel, and Megan Marshall (CW)
The Weight of Ink – Rachel Kadish (CW)
Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner – Natalie Dykstra (EF) (audiobook)
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler – Susana M. Morris (CW)
Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread – Leila Taylor (EF)

– Just Read –
Goodbye Without Leaving – Laurie Colwin (EF)
The Improbable Victoria Woodhull: Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President – Eden Collinsworth (CW)
The Wedding People – Alison Espach (EF) (audiobook)
Hotel Silence – Auđur Ava Ólafsdóttir (translated by Brian Fitzgibbon) (EF)
“The Lady’s Maid’s Bell” and “The Eyes” from The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton – Edith Wharton (CW)
The Peculiar Gift of July – Ashley Ream (EF)
Luella Miller” from Horror Stories: Classic Tales from Hoffman to Hodgson – edited by Darryl Jones (CW)
The Wind in the Rose-Bush” by Mary Wilkins Freeman from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook)   

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily hosted the monthly Patreon Reading Salon where they discussed the topic: books you want to throw across the room. Emily regrets not talking about All Fours by Miranda July.

Chris and Emily took a joint jaunt to Kindred Thoughts Books in Bridgeport. Emily picked up a copy of Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright.

Emily watched a banned book club conversation about Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier via the Velshi Banned Book Club with guest Jennifer Egan; watch it here.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
The next Patreon Reading Salon will take place on Sunday, September 28th. Learn more about becoming a Patreon member.

There is a new book club: America’s Book Club via CSPAN hosted by David M. Rubenstein.

Emily is registered for an Afternoon with Geraldine Brooks sponsored by River Bend Bookshop. The event will take place on Sunday, September 28 from 2-5 PM (ET). RSVP here.  

October 15th, Chris and Emily have tickets for Spunk at the Yale Repertory Club.

– Upcoming Reads –
‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ by M.R. James from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (CW)(EF) (audiobook
All The World Can Hold – Jung Yun release date 3/10/2026

Upcoming Short Story Buddy Read with Our Mystery Man John Valeri. We’ve linked to the collections and the free online versions:
"The Mask of the Red Death the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe (read it online)
"The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde (read it online)

Death Comes for the Archbishop – Willa Cather (CW)

– 2025 Readalong Theme and 4th Quarter Book –
The 4th Quarter Readalong is How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, November 9th at 7pm (ET). Send us an email if you would like to join. You can join the online conversation via the Goodreads discussion thread.

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.

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 –
Octavia Butler: Kindred and Fledgling
Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream
Tommy Orange: There There and Wandering Stars
Jennifer Egan: The Keep and A Visit from the Goon Squad
Grady Hendrix: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group

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!

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!