Episode 267 - Author Spotlight with Susan Gregg Gilmore

August 25, 2026 by Emily Fine in Author Interview, Author Spotlight, Biblio Adventure, Book Cougars Podcast, Podcast Episode

Episode 267 Show Notes

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. Tina let us know about reading “Don’t Look Now” the second story in the collection After Midnight by Daphne du Maurier.

– Currently Reading –
American Hagwon – Min Jin Lee (EF) release date 9/29/2026
Point of Origin: Scarpetta #9 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)

– Just Read –
All We Hide – Robyn Gigl (CW) (audiobook)
The Witches of Cambridge – Alice Hoffman (EF) release date 9/8/2026
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (CW)
The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture – Jimmy Carter (CW)
The Complete Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh (CW)(EF)
Wake Now in the Fire – Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo (CW)(EF)

– Episode Sponsor –
Social Animals by Camille Perri
Learn more about Camille.

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris took a trip south where she visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum where she purchased a Passport to Presidential Libraries, Parnassus Books at the Nashville airport, Virginia Highland Books where she purchased a beautiful bookmark featuring art by Evelyn Edmeades, she drove past the Margaret Mitchell House author of Gone With the Wind run by the Atlanta History Center, Horton’s Books and Gifts where she purchased Cinder House by Freya Marske, and Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest in Vestavia, AL.

Chris and Emily hosted the Q3 readalong discussion of The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh, the film, and the companion read Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.

– Episode Sponsor –
Greta Garbo and the Rise of the Modern Woman by Scott Reisfield
Learn more about Scott.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Our Mystery John Valeri have a planned buddy read discussion of Point of Origin: Scarpetta #9 by Patricia Cornwell.

Chris and Emily will be hosting the August Patreon Salon where the conversation topic is the three books you would bring if stuck on a desert island. Please send us an email with your three choices.

September 22, Chris and Emily have tickets to see Laura Zigman in conversation with Alice Hoffman about her new novel The Witches of Cambridge at The Unlikely Bookstore. This is a ticketed event, learn more here.

– Upcoming Reads –
American Hagwon – Min Jin Lee (CW) release date 9/29/2026
Cookbooking: A Fan’s Guide – Debbie Berne (EF)
The Ninth Circle – James Benn (CW) release date 9/1/2026
Awake Awake – Fiona Mozley (EF)

– Author Spotlight with Susan Gregg Gilmore –
We talk with Susan about winning the Willie Morris Award for her novel The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush.
Other books by Susan:
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove
The Funeral Dress

Follow Susan on Instagram.

Susan recommends participating in Darnell Arnoult’s “Mining the Motherlode” drop-in, online prompt writing sessions. Learn more here.

– Also Mentioned –
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
The Orchid Whisperer: Expert Secrets for Growing Beautiful Orchids by Bruce Rogers
The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age by Steven R. Gundry, MD
The Curious Cat Bookshop
Elmet by Fiona Mozley
Emma Bell Miles

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 266 - Author Spotlight with Jennifer Putzi

August 11, 2026 by Emily Fine in Author Interview, Author Spotlight, Biblio Adventure, Book Cougars Podcast, Podcast Episode

Episode 266 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
The Complete Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh (EF)
All We Hide – Robyn Gigl (CW) (audiobook)
The Witches of Cambridge – Alice Hoffman (EF) release date 9/8/2026
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)
Sunrise – Téa Obreht (EF)
The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush – Susan Gregg Gilmore (CW)

– Just Read –
“The History of Sound” short story in the collection The History of Sound – Ben Shattuck (CW)
The Secret of Snow – Tina Harnesk, translated by Alice Menzies (EF) (audiobook)
“The Killers” – Ernest Hemingway (CW) (first film adaptation released in 1946)
The Reconstruction Diary of Frances Anne Rollin – Jennifer Putzi (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went to Mystic Seaport Museum to hear Christopher Shaw Myers discuss his family memoir Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the set of JAWS and Beyond.

Chris and Emily hopped on the train and spent the day at the main branch of the New York Public Library.

Chris had a Couch Biblio Adventure watching Not Dead Yet based on the novel Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter.

Emily finished watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe.

Chris had a browse through The Curious Cat Bookshop in Winstead where she purchased Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker. She also took a swing through the new Barnes & Noble located at the West Farms Mall in West Hartford, CT.

Emily stopped into the Southington Library where she picked up a copy of The Butter Book by Anna Stockwell.

Emily spent time in Rhode Island where she browsed through Ink Fish Books and made a stop at The George Hail Free Library in Warren. She also stopped in Tiverton at The Yellow House an independent bookstore and café. On the drive home she stopped at the Daniel Albert Pierce Library in East Greenwich.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
September 22, Emily is registered for an event with Laura Zigman in conversation with Alice Hoffman about her new novel The Witches of Cambridge at An Unlikely Story. This is a ticketed event, learn more here.

Chris is heading to Alabama to visit her mom. They are taking a road trip to Atlanta where she’s planning to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum.

– Upcoming Reads –
Issue 78 of The Strand Magazine: “The Men Who Saved the World” by Edith Wharton (CW)
Glimpses of the Moon – Edith Wharton (CW)
Baldwin: A Love Story – Nicholas Boggs (CW)
Wake Now in the Fire – Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo (EF)
American Hagwon – Min Jin Lee (EF) release date 9/29/2026
Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football – Rich Cohen (CW)

– Author Spotlight with Jennifer Putzi –
We speak with Jenny about her new book The Reconstruction Diary of Frances Anne Rollin.
Also mentioned is the biography Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany by Frank A Rollin. Learn more about the Black Women’s Diaries Project.

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.
Join the Goodreads conversation.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

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.

– Also Mentioned –
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Rapid and Fatal: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell release date 1/19/2027
The Strand Magazine
Also by Robert Shaw: The Man in the Glass Booth and The Sun Doctor
Jaws by Peter Benchley
Love & Other Monsters by Emily Franklin (featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 257)
The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love edited by Alice Hoffman
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color by Carole Iona

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 265 - In the grip of JAWS

July 28, 2026 by Emily Fine in Biblio Adventure, Book Cougars Podcast, Podcast Episode

Episode 265 Show Notes

Chris gives an update on the praying mantis sculpture that has been relocated from Old Saybrook’s Acton Public Library to the Pandemonium Rainforest Project in Deep River, CT. If you would like to see what the sculpture looks like, check out this video from a Biblio Adventure we took to Old Saybrook back in 2021 when the sculpture was still located in front of the library.

– Currently Reading –
The Secret of Snow – Tina Harnesk, translated by Alice Menzies (EF) (audiobook)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)
It Will Come Back to You – Sigrid Nunez (EF)

– Just Read –
The Man – Laura Sims (CW)(EF)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)(EF) (audiobook)
Man Overboard! – Kathleen Rooney (CW)
When the Stammer Came to Stay – Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini
The Card-File System of Note-Taking – Jacques Goutor (CW)
Unnatural Exposure – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched Jaws based on the novel by Peter Benchley.

Chris watched a conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois, author of the biography Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life. This was a joint event between the Lewes Public Library, Browseabout Books and the History Book Festival.

Emily started watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
July 22, Chris and Emily are registered for an event at Mystic Seaport featuring Christopher Shaw Myers: “Robert Shaw: The Misunderstood Genius behind JAWS.” You can register for the event here. Learn more about Chris’s book, Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the set of JAWS and Beyond.

Emily is heading to Rhode Island and hopes to visit Ink Fish Books and riffraff bookstore.

– Upcoming Reads –
The Reconstruction Diary of Frances Anne Rollin – Jennifer Putzi (CW)(EF)
The Complete Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (CW)(EF)
Wake Now in the Fire – Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo (CW)(EF)
Motherhood Discounted: Care Work in America Before and After Roe – Carolyn McConnell (EF)
Sunrise – Téa Obreht (EF) release date 8/11/2026
Mary Queen of Scots – Antonia Fraser (CW)

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.

Join the Goodreads conversation.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

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.

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Laura Sims: How Can I Help You and Looker
Shark Week 2026 on the Discovery Channel
Widow’s Bay
Midnight Mass
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
The Dyke and the Dybbuk by Ellen Galford

Help support the Book Cougars:
1. Via our affiliates:
— Purchase books via Bookshop.org.
— Purchase audiobooks via Libro.fm use promo code: bookcougars.
2. Become a Patreon member
3. Donate directly, send an email for instructions.
4. Sponsor an episode of the podcast or the newsletter.

Other ways to be part of the Book Cougars community:
1. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
2. Join the Goodreads Group.
3. Check out our BookTube Channel, and be sure to subscribe.

Episode 264 - Author Spotlight with Claire Fuller

July 14, 2026 by Emily Fine in Author Interview, Author Spotlight, Biblio Adventure, Book Cougars Podcast, Podcast Episode

Episode 264 Show Notes

– Currently Reading –
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (EF) (audiobook)

– Just Read –
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)
Hunger and Thirst – Claire Fuller (CW)(EF)
The Land and Its People – David Sedaris (EF) (audiobook)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris watched Jaws based on the novel by Peter Benchley.

Emily attended an event at RJ Julia Bookseller with Soon Wiley, author of Cece Downings Start Over Summer, in conversation with Patricia Santomasso, the audiobook narrator of the novel.

Chris visited Pandemonium Rainforest Project in Deep River, CT.

Chris had buddy read conversations with friends about 11/22/63 by Stephen King and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith and the movie based on the novel.

Chris had a great workday in the archives of the New York Public Library, and she has started bingeing Widow’s Bay.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Emily is planning to start watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe.

July 14, Chris is registered for a conversation with Ellen Carol DuBois, author of the biography Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life. There is an in-person or virtual option, register here.

– Upcoming Reads –
Man Overboard! – Kathleen Rooney (CW)
The Man – Laura Sims (CW)
The Godfather – Mario Puzo (CW)
A Year of Marvelous Ways – Sarah Winman (EF)
The Foursome – Christina Baker Kline (EF)
The Reconstruction Diary of Frances Anne Rollin – Jennifer Putzi (CW)(EF)

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.
Join the Goodreads conversation.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

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.

– Author Spotlight with Claire Fuller –
We talk with Claire about her most recent novel Hunger and Thirst. Learn more about Claire, her six books, and current book tour on her website.

The Guardian Article: “Claire Fuller: Dylan Thomas showed me that writing could make me feel everything”

– Also Mentioned –
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe
Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon by Sara Catterall
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Learn more about the forthcoming novel by Adriana Trigiani
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Bear by Marian Engel
Author Elizabeth Strout
Wildlife by Richard Ford
The Iceberg by Marion Coutts

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 263 - Author Spotlight with Denise Kiernan

June 30, 2026 by Emily Fine in Author Interview, Author Spotlight, Biblio Adventure, Book Cougars Podcast, Podcast Episode, Readalong

Episode 263 Show Notes

– Q3 Readalong –
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Anjali Singh.
Learn more about the film here.
Companion read: Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier with illustrations AJ Dungo.

Listen to this interview with Marjane Satrapi.

The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm (ET).
Please send an email if you would like to join us.

Join the online conversation on Goodreads.

– Currently Reading –
Hunger and Thirst – Claire Fuller (CW)(EF)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Seth Graham-Smith (CW) (audiobook)
Margo’s Got Money Trouble – Rufi Thorpe (EF) (audiobook)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family – Alex Haley (CW)

– Just Read –
Table 4 at the River Café: Conversations about Food and Life – Ruthie Rogers (EF)
11/22/63 – Stephen King (CW)
Land – Maggie O’Farrell (EF) (audiobook)
“The Summer People” in the collection Dark Tales – Shirley Jackson (CW)
When She Was Ours – Anna Nordberg (EF) release date 8/1/2026
Cause of Death: Scarpetta #7 – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
Whistler – Ann Patchett (EF) (audiobook)
Listen to the conversation between Emma Straub and Ann Patchett.
“My Three Fathers” essay by Ann Patchett in The New Yorker.
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution – Denise Kiernan (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris took a swing through Mystic, CT. Her first stop was the Mystic Seaport Museum where she browsed the Maritime Bookshop and picked up a copy of Jaws by Peter Benchley. Then she went to Bank Square Books, No Other Book Like This, and Alice’s Little Haunted Bookshop where she enjoyed reading the children’s book Vampire Jam Sandwich by Casey Lyall and purchased a copy of The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas.

Emily had a Couch Biblio Adventure and watched the movie Foe based on the novel of the same name by Iain Reid.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
June 25, Emily will attend event at RJ Julia Bookseller with Soon Wiley, author of Cece Downings Start Over Summer.

June 30, Emily is registered for The Rumpus Book Club with Debbie Millman in conversation with Ann Patchett.

July 22, Chris and Emily are registered for an event at Mystic Seaport featuring Christopher Shaw: “Robert Shaw: The Misunderstood Genius behind JAWS.” You can register for the event here. Learn more about Christopher’s book, Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the set of JAWS and Beyond.

– Upcoming Reads –
When the Stammer Came to Stay – Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (EF)
Jaws – Peter Benchley (CW)(EF)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder (EF)
On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder, illustrated by Nora Krug (EF)
Charity & Sylvia – Tilly Walden (CW)
Selling Opportunity: The Story of Mary Kay – Mary Lisa Gavenas (CW)(EF)
Conversation with Mary Lisa Gavenas on Drafting the Past podcast.

– Author Spotlight with Denise Kiernan –
We talk with Denise about Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution. Denise narrated the audiobook.

Check out the website to learn more about Denise and follow her book tour.

– Also Mentioned –
Novels and film adaptations by Kazuo Ishiguro:
The Remains of the Day; and the movie
Never Let Me Go; and the movie
Klara and the Sun; and the movie
Foreword Magazine – Magi book
Alice Henderson Alex Carter series
Charter Books in Newport, Rhode Island
Also by Ann Patchett: Bell Canto, Run, State of Wonder, Tom Lake, and The Dutch House
The Frugal Muse
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise
Fresh Air Interview with Maggie O’Farrell
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

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!