Episode 257 - Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin
Episode 257 Show Notes
– Q2 Readalong –
The 2026 second quarter readalong is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It is the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation so it will be showing in theaters again on May 10, 2026. The Zoom conversation will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 7pm (ET). Send an email if you would like to join. Join the Goodreads discussion thread.
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.
All of the links below connect to our shop on Bookshop.org – support the Book Cougars and independent bookstores! You can also purchase a Bookshop.org gift card.
– Currently Reading –
The Reservation – Rebecca Kauffman (EF)
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (CW)
Raising Hare – Chloe Dalton (EF) (audiobook)
– Just Read –
Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging – Tara Roberts (EF) (audiobook)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 2 – Marcel Proust (CW)
Love & Other Monsters – Emily Franklin (EF)
Cruel & Unusual – Patricia Cornwell (CW)
The Summer Book – Tove Jansson (EF)
– Biblio Adventures –
Chris browsed the new Barnes & Noble in Cheshire, CT where she purchased Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen.
Sadly, Emily’s two planned Biblio Adventures, one with Casey Elsass, author of What Can I Bring?, and the other with Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich and Wreck, did not happen. One was canceled and the other was interrupted by work. But she did have three Couch Biblio Adventures: Hamnet based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell; The Summer Book based on the novel by Tove Jansson; and the final installment of the Aspen Winter Words with Tara Roberts talking about her book Written in the Waters: A Memory of History, Home, and Belonging.
Chris met with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, where they continued their conversation about the buddy read of the 29-book series by Patricia Cornwell and John recapped his experience watching the new Scarpetta series streaming on Prime.
The March Patreon Reading Salon included a discussion of reading slumps.
– Upcoming Jaunts –
The April Patreon Reading Salon will take place on Sunday, April 26 at 7pm (ET). The conversation will focus on books that have languished on our TBR shelves/piles the longest. Learn more about our Patreon community.
CrimeConn will take place on May 16th at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT.
May 7th, Chris and Emily are signed up to see Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.
May 13th, Emily is registered to see Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare at RJ Julia’s Booksellers. Learn more and register here.
Emily is planning to visit Papercuts Bookshop in Jamaica Plain, MA.
April 30 – May 3, Chris and Emily are signed up to attend The Northshire Book Festival: A Weekend in Booktopia
– Upcoming Reads –
Ain’t Nobody Nobody – Heather Harper Ellett (CW)(EF)
Heather was featured in an Author Spotlight on Episode 92 and on our YouTube channel.
My Detachment – Tracy Kidder (EF)
Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago – Will Quam (CW)
– Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin –
Emily’s new book Love & Other Monsters just published. You can learn more about Emily, her other books, and upcoming events here.
– Also Mentioned –
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Check out Chris’s video of Edith Wharton’s Newport, RI home
Moominvalley in November – Tove Jansson
The movie Nomadland based on the book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessie Bruder
Also by Tracy Kidder: Mountains Beyond Mountains and Rough Sleepers
The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin
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