Episode 193 - Book Club Fundamentals with Davina Morgan-Witts Founder & Publisher of BookBrowse

Davina Morgan-Witts Founder & Publisher of BookBrowse

Episode One Hundred Ninety Three Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Currently Reading – [:38]
Land of Milk and Honey – C. Pam Zhang (EF)
The Paradiso – Dante Alighieri (CW)
Country Place – Ann Petry (EF)

– Just Read – [3:58]
Country Place – Ann Petry (CW)
Afterlife – Julia Alvarez (EF)
My Roommate Is a Vampire – Jenna Levine (CW)
The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth – Elizabeth Rush (EF)The Purgatorio – Dante Alighieri (CW)
The Goth House Experiment – SJ Sindu (CW)

– Biblio Adventures – [25:50]
Emily went to Maine where she got to stop in at two different public libraries. The Curtis Library in Brunswick had a Robert McCloskey exhibit featuring his books Blueberries for Sal, Time of Wonder, One Morning in Maine, and Burt Dow Deep-Water Man, and Make Way for Ducklings. She also browsed the Wiscasset Public Library where there was a permanent exhibit featuring local artist Bernard Langlais.

Chris had a few Couch Biblio Adventures. She watched Eye of the Needle via Kanopy, it is an adaptation of the Ken Follett novel of the same name; the first episode of Lessons in Chemistry an Apple TV series based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus; and The Fall of the House of Usher inspired by the short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [39:29]
Chris is attending a live reading of her wife’s play in New York City! On Monday, October 30th at 6:30 pm (ET), The Bechdel Group will feature Writer’s Block by Laura Thoma and Literary Girls Obsessed with Death by Libby Heily. Both plays will be read by professional actors and there will be a discussion afterwards You can reserve a free ticket here.

Chris and Emily will be going to The Vintage Bookclub where they will discuss Country Place by Ann Petry.

– Upcoming Reads – [41:00]
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store – James McBride (EF)
The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams (EF)
The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-First Century – Josh Cook (CW)
The Tattooed Woman – Marian Engel (CW)
Blackouts – Justin Torres (CW)

– Out Now – [45:04]
The Best American Short Stories 2023 – edited by Heidi Pitlor and Min Jin Lee
Death Valley – Melissa Broder

– Guest Spotlight with Davina Morgan-Witts – [45:22]
We chat with Davina Morgan-Witts Founder & Publisher of BookBrowse.
Learn more about how to become a member and subscribe to the free newsletter.
Learn more about BookBrowse for libraries.
Take a look at the book club research reports, blog posts based on the findings, and the book club health check.

Davina recommends North Woods by Daniel Mason and Julia by Sandra Newman inspired by George Orwell’s 1984.

– 4th Quarter Readalong –
The Bookbinder by Pip Williams is the official book for the last quarter of the year reading within our theme of Books about Books. Our Zoom discussion will take place on Sunday, December 3rd at 7pm (ET), send an email if you would like to reserve a spot. You can join the Goodreads discussion here.

Watch the video of Pip talking about the inspiration for The Bookbinder. If you are interested, her debut novel is The Dictionary of Lost Words.

– Also Mentioned –
How Much of These Hills Is Gold – C. Pam Zhang
The Inferno of Dante – Dante Alighieri
The Street – Ann Petry
Cleat Cute – Meryl Wilsner
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore – Elizabeth Rush
Mystic Seaport Museum
Ulysses – James Joyce
May Massee children’s book editor
The movie Hidden Figures based on the novel by Margot Lee Shetterly
Other shows by Mike Flanagan: Midnight Mass  and The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
The Color of Water – James McBride
Porter Square Books
Author Laura Sims
Author Paul Tremblay
Central Booking with John Valeri
We the Animals – Justin Torres
Books by Paul Gallico: The Man Who Was Magic and Snow Goose
The Phantom Toll Booth – Norton Juster
The Complete Little World of Don Camillo – Giovanni Guareschi
Author Judy Blume

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

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Episode 189 - Author Spotlight with Laurie Lico Albanese

Author Laurie Lico Albanese

Episode One Hundred Eighty Nine Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– 3rd Quarter Readalong our Scarlet Summer –
For more details and to download the Bingo card follow this link.
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (July)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (August)
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (September)
Send an email if you would like to join the Zoom conversation on Sunday, September 10th at 7pm (ET).

– Currently Reading – [1:58]
The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (CW)
Properties of Thirst – Marianne Wiggins (EF)

– Just Read – [4:38]
Deer Season – Erin Flanagan (CW) (audiobook narrated by Sarah Welborn)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – Sangu Mandanna (EF)
The Red Garden – Alice Hoffman (CW)
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor – Bianca Marais (EF) (audiobook narrated by Amy Landon)
The Profile – Willa Cather (CW) (Learn more about the short story project.)
The Wehrwolf – Alma Katsu (CW)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (CW)(EF) (audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld)

– Episode Sponsor – [30:40]
The Brickworks by Lucy E.M. Black
Learn more about Lucy and her books here.

– Biblio Adventures – [31:30]
Chris and Emily spent two days in the Berkshires in Massachusetts where they followed in the footsteps of Nathaniel Hawthorn who lived there from 1850 - 1851.  They did a house tour of Edith Wharton’s estate, The Mount, spent time with librarian Nynke Dorhout, walked the grounds where there is currently an outdoor sculpture exhibit, and attended a conversation between Stacy Schiff and André Bernard. Schiff is known for her biographies including Cleopatra: A Life, The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem, and her most recent The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams. They also shopped at The Bookstore. (Watch the documentary about how the store survived the COVID pandemic.)  
Check out the video of our two-day adventure.

Emily had a couch biblio adventure watching Slow Horses on Apple TV based on the Slough House series by Mick Herron.

Chris went on a visit to Chicago where she stopped at Galena Book & Paper where she purchased A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen, and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell. She also made a stop at The Book Cellar.

Emily was a guest on Shawn the Book Maniac’s Booktube channel where they talked about polygamous reading.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [52:34]
Chris and Emily are heading on a full day joint jaunt to Salem, MA where they will see The House of the Seven Gables, and other Nathaniel Hawthorne historic sites.

Chris and Emily are planning to attend Popular Romance Fiction: The Literature of Hope conference at Yale University September 8-9, 2023. Learn more and sign up here.

– Upcoming Reads – [54:34]
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (CW)(EF)
September 10th at 7PM (ET) we will host our Scarlet Summer Zoom discussion. Send an email if you would like to join the conversation.

– Out Now – [55:33]
The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth – Elizabeth Rush
Come with Me – Erin Flanagan
The Breakaway – Jennifer Weiner

– Author Spotlight with Laurie Lico Albanese – [55:57]
We chat with Laurie about her book Hester, the second book in our Scarlet Summer.
Learn more about Laurie and her books here.
Laurie will be on a panel at the Salem Literary Festival on September 8, 2023.

– Also Mentioned –
Evidence of Things Unseen – Marianne Wiggins
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Birthmark – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ulysses – James Joyce
The Marble Faun – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Summer – Edith Wharton
Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton
The Library Book – Susan Orlean
Margaret Fuller
The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine – Rozsika Parker
House of Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fellowship Point – Alice Elliott Dark
Euphoria – Lily King
Book cover designer Olga Grlc

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 187 - Author Spotlight with Alli Frank & Asha Youmans

Author Spotlight with Alli Frank & Asha Youmans

Episode One Hundred Eighty Seven Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– 3rd Quarter Readalong our Scarlet Summer –
For more details and to download the Bingo card follow this link.
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne (July)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (August)
The Invisible Hour – Alice Hoffman (September)
Send an email if you would like to join the Zoom conversation on Sunday, September 10th at 7pm (ET).

– Currently Reading – [2:42]
Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark – Cecelia Watson (CW)
The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth – Elizabeth Rush (EF) release date 8/29/2023
How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope – edited by James Crews (CW)
The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy – edited by James Crews (CW)

– Just Read – [10:06]
The Breakaway – Jennifer Weiner release date 8/29/2023
How Can I Help You – Laura Sims (CW)
Come with Me – Erin Flanagan (EF) release date 8/22/2023
What Did it Take?: The Story of Anna Louise James – Whitney McKendree Moore (CW)
We Ride Upon Sticks – Quan Barry (EF)(audio)

– Biblio Adventures – [29:11]
Chris and Emily went to the Red Heat Tavern for the Vintage Book Club to discuss The Street by Ann Petry (audio). The next meeting date is Thursday, October 19 at 1:00 (ET) at Wood Memorial Library and Museum to discuss Country Place.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the Grolier Club in NYC to do some archival research. They also stopped in at the newly opened McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers in Rockefeller Center.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [46:16]
Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA on August 2nd at 7pm where Laura Sims (How Can I Help You) will be in conversation with Paul Tremblay (The Beast You Are: Stories). You can register for the event here.

– Upcoming Reads – [47:44]
A Head Full of Ghosts – Paul Tremblay (CW)
The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (CW)
The Dante Club – Matthew Pearl (CW)
Hester – Laurie Lico Albanese (CW)(EF)(audio)
Join our Patreon Community by August 15th if you want to win a copy of this book.
Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen – Rebecca May Johnson (EF)

– Author Spotlight with writing duo Alli Frank and Asha Youmans – [52:24]
We talk with Alli and Asha about their new novel The Better Half and their writing life.
You can learn more about them here.
Their other books: Tiny Imperfections and Never Meant to Meet You

– Also Mentioned –
Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore – Elizabeth Rush
Milkweed Editions
Shirley Jackson
Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter: The Remarkable True Story of American Heroine Ida Lewis – Lenore Skomal
The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem – Stacy Schiff
Tayari Jones
What a Library Means to a Woman: Edith Wharton and the Will to Collect Books – Sheila Liming
Jojo Moyes

You can 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.