Episode 176 - We're in a New York State of Mind

Book Cougars Episode 176

Episode One Hundred Seventy Six Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Patreon Giveaway News –
Congratulations to Julie who won the February Patreon giveaway: The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls by Miriam Darlington.
The upcoming Patreon giveaway is Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott. Check out Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, in conversation with Lexie on Episode 128 of Central Booking. To be automatically entered to win, become a Patreon by March 15th.  

– Currently Reading – [2:42]
Parnassus on Wheels – Christopher Morley (CW)(EF) (audio)
Dragonfly in Amber – Diana Gabaldon (CW)
Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir – Iliana Regan (EF)

– Just Read – [8:10]
The Sunwise Turn: A Human Comedy of Bookselling – Madge Jenison (CW)
Moonrise Over New Jessup – Jamila Minnicks (EF)
Sarah and the Big Wave: The True Story of the First Woman to Surf Mavericks – Bonnie Tsui, Illustrated by Sophie Diao (EF)
A Singer’s Romance – Willa Cather (CW) (Learn more about the short story project.)
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)(audio)
Where Snow Angels Go – Maggie O’Farrell, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (EF)
Ms. Demeanor – Elinor Lipman (EF)
Pineapple Street – Jenny Jackson (EF) release date 3/7/2023

– Biblio Adventures – [39:25]
Chris and Emily went to Playhouse on Park and saw the production of Indecent by Paula Vogel and stopped for a browse at Riverbend Bookshop in West Hartford.

Chris and Emily spent two days in New York City. Chris was doing research on Madge Jenison at the main branch of the New York Public Library. Emily got a chance to meet Elinor Lipman at an event via Book the Writer; Chris browsed in Book Culture while Emily was at the event. On day two they had brunch at Russ & Daughters Café with the author Matthew Goodman, visited the Virginia Woolf exhibit and the updated gift shop at the library, and shopped for office supplies at Kinokuniya Books.

Thanks to Anne in Austin, Emily had a virtual biblio adventure watching the first episode of Truth Be Told based on the novel, Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber.

Chris attended a lecture through the Bibliographical Society about the library of the Elliots of Minto presented by Meghan Constantinou.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [01:01:56]
Chris is planning to attend an event on Tuesday, February 28th at 4pm (ET) at the Beinecke Library titled Cow, Codex, Collagen: The Many Lives of Parchment with Bruce Holsinger, author of On Parchment: Animals, Archives, and the Making of Culture from Herodotus to the Digital Age.

April 28-30, 2023: Newburyport Literary Festival

May 5-6, 2023: Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT

Emily is heading to California to visit Aunt Ellen.

– Upcoming Reads – [01:02:40]
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)
Speak for the Dead – Amy Tector – (EF) release date 3/14/2023
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence – David Waldstreicher (CW)

– Out Now – [01:05:40]
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age – Katherine May

– Also Mentioned –
Burn the Place – Iliana Regan
Zora Neale Hurston
Pen America Award
Why We Swim – Bonnie Tsui
“Nanette: An Aside” – Willa Cather
The Song of the Lark – Willa Cather
A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Stacy Schiff
Mameve Medwed
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Serial Podcast
The Grolier Club

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.

Episode 175 - He’s BAAACK! Our Mystery Man, John Valeri

Our Mystery Man John Valeri

Episode One Hundred Seventy Five Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Announcing our 24th Readalong –
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
. The paperback is available from Bookshop.org, the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars. Join the online conversation on the Goodreads thread.

– Currently Reading – [4:26]
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)(audio)
The Book by Amaranth Borsuk (CW)

– Episode Sponsor – [9:27]
Episode 175 is sponsored by A Castle in Brooklyn by Shirley Russak Wachtel. Learn more about Shirley and her debut novel here.

– Just Read – [10:07]
Cooking with Mushrooms: A Fungi Lover’s Guide to the World’s Most Versatile, Flavorful, Health-Boosting Ingredients – Andrea Gentl (EF)
People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks (CW)
This Must be the Place – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)
Endpapers – Jennifer Savran Kelly (CW)
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club – J Ryan Stradal (EF) release date 4/18/2023
Alfred A. Knopf: A Quarter Century – designed by W.A. Dwiggins (CW)
Beartown – Fredrik Backman (EF)
Why We Swim – Bonnie Tsui (EF)(audio)

– Biblio Adventures – [44:11]
Chris made a series of three styles of books. Follow this link to learn how to make them.

Emily started to watch Dear Edward streaming on Apple TV, based on the novel by Ann Napolitano.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [49:10]
Chris is planning to attend two virtual events:
Center for Printing History and Culture on February 16th the focus is Women in Print: Design and Identities. Learn more here.
March 2nd via the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Understanding Katherine S. Days Identity: Interpreting Sexuality in Early 20th Century New England, Four Case Studies in LGBTQIA+ History. Register here.  

– Upcoming Reads – [51:22]
Pie: A Global History – Janet Clarkson
Hagitude: Reimaging the Second Half of Life – Sharon Blackie (EF)
The Warden – Anthony Trollope email if interest in joining the Buddy Read, Saturday, March 11th 5pm (ET)
The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire – Laura Claridge (CW)

– Out Now – [55:02]
The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls – Miriam Darlington
Out of Character – Jenna Miller
End of Story – Kylie Scott

– Our Mystery Man John Valeri – [55:48]
You can learn more about John here and be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel, Central Booking.
Books recommended by John:
Nine Liars – Maureen Johnson
All the Dangerous Things – Stacy Willingham
Reef Road – Deborah Goodrich Royce
The Drift – C.J. Tudor
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe – Mark Dawidziak
Every Man a King: A King Oliver Novel – Walter Mosley

– Also Mentioned –
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains – Keri Arsenault
Learn more about Enheduanna, the earliest known named author in history
Gilgamesh
Atomic Anna – Rachel Barenbaum
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques – J. Kenji López-Alt             
Horse – Geraldine Brooks
Out of Character – Jenna Miller
Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell
Also by J Ryan Stradal: Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Lager Queen of Minnesota
Reading Envy podcast
Also by Fredrik Bachman: Us Against You and The Winners
Author Shuly Cawood
Booktuber Russell Gray of Ink and Paper Blog
Author Marcia Clark
Also by Deborah Goodrich Royce: Finding Mrs. Ford and Ruby Falls
The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor
Author John Connolly
Little Free Library organization

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, please email for instructions.

Join our
Goodreads Group!

Check out our
BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Please subscribe to our
newsletter.

Episode 174 - Author Spotlight with Jenna Miller

Author Spotlight with Jenna Miller

Episode One Hundred Seventy Four Show Notes
KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Listener Top Eleven of 2022 –
We collected the Top Ten Reads of 2022 from our listeners. There were over 70 respondents with a total of 427 books! If you are interested in receiving a copy of the spreadsheet please send an email. We created a shop on our Bookshop.org page for you to learn more about the Top Eleven Books.

The top author mentions included: Maggie O’ Farrell, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth Strout, Kate Quinn, Colson Whitehead, Louise Erdrich, Louise Penny, Richard Powers, Stephen King, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and William Kent Kreuger.

– Announcing our 24th Readalong –
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
. The paperback is available from Bookshop.org, the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars.

In order to be entered into the giveaway for a copy, join our newsletter by February 1st.

Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom conversation on Sunday, February 26th at 7 PM (ET). And we would love for you to join the online conversation on the Goodreads thread.

– Our 2023 Reading Intentions – [7:30]
Chris and Emily both set a Reading Challenge with a goal of 52 books.
Emily hopes to read more Maggie O’ Farrell. (9 novels, 1 memoir, 2 kids picture books)
Chris joined the TBR Pile Challenge via Adam at Roof Beam Reader.
Emily wants to read from one new-to-her cookbook per month with a challenge to cook one recipe from each cookbook.
Chris plans to continue the Willa Cather Short Story project with one story per month. Learn more about it here.
Emily wants to read more non-fiction and she wants to try to read an hour each morning uninterrupted by technology.

Please join in the conversation about 2023 Reading Intentions on our Goodreads thread.

– Currently Reading – [20:00]
People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks (CW)
This Must be the Place – Maggie O’Farrell (EF)

– Just Read – [23:22]
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People – Tracy Kidder (EF)(audio)
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with Slavery Across America – Clint Smith (CW)(audio)
A Heart that Works – Rob Delaney (EF)(audio)
The Winter of Our Discontent – John Steinbeck (CW)(EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [37:20]
Chris and Emily met with the Vintage Book Club at the Wood Memorial Library & Museum in South Windsor, CT to discuss The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to Boston where they browsed at Brattle Bookshop, Beacon Hill Books & Cafe, and Commonwealth Books.

Emily went to Northampton, MA to see Tracy Kidder in conversation with Dr. O’Connell discussing his new book Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People.

Chris has started her new (and last!) semester of Library School. The History of the Book with two books: The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarians, and Others by Sidney E. Berger and The Book by Amaranth Borsuk.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [54:28]
Chris and Emily are hoping to go on a joint jaunt to RJ Julia in Madison on Tuesday, February 21 at 7pm to see Will Schwalbe and his new book We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship.

Emily is hoping to catch Laura Zigman on book Tour with her newest novel, Small World.

– Upcoming Reads – [55:12]
Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir – Iliana Regan (EF)
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death – Maggie O’ Farrell (EF)(audio)
Speak for the Dead: A Dominon Archives Mystery – Amy Tector (CW) release date March 14, 2023
Endpapers – Jennifer Savran Kelly (CW) release date February 7, 2023

Out Now: [57:16]
Small World – Laura Zigman
Decent People – De’shawn Charles Winslow
Georgie, All Along: An Uplifting and Unforgettable Love Story – Kate Clayborn
Exiles – Jane Harper
Moonrise Over New Jessup – Jamila Minnicks

– Author Spotlight with Jenna Miller – [57:55]
We had a great time chatting with Jenna about her debut novel Out of Character which is available for pre-order now!
Learn more about Jenna.
Jenna’s literary inspirations include: Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Julie Murphy, and Becky Albertalli.

– Episode Sponsor – [1:28:13]
Today’s Episode sponsored by Shuly Cawood and her book A Small Thing to Want.
We spoke with Shuly about the book on Episode 100.

– Also Mentioned –
LibraryThing – a place to catalog reading
There is a group reading the 8 novels of Louise Erdrich – contact @katie_sikkes on Instragram
True Grit – Charles Portis
Crying in H Mart – Michelle Zauner
Also by Geraldine Brooks – Horse and March
Also by Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet and The Marriage Plot
Television series Catastrophe and Bad Sisters
Something Rotten! musical
A Farewell to ArmsErnest Hemingway
Mountain Beyond Mountains – Tracy Kidder
Agate Publishing
The Foulest Things: A Dominion Archives Mystery – Amy Tector
Malinda Lo
Rainbow Rowell

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, please email for instructions.

Join our
Goodreads Group!

Check out our
BookTube Channel and be sure to subscribe!

Please subscribe to our
email newsletter.

Episode 173 - Emily's Hidden Reading Slump and Chris's Return to Practical Magic

Book Cougars Episode 173

Episode One Hundred Seventy Three Show Notes

KEY:
CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine

– Episode Sponsor – Today’s Episode sponsored by Shuly Cawood and her book A Small Thing to Want. We spoke with Shuly about the book on Episode 100.

– Announcing our 24th Readalong –
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
. The paperback is available from Bookshop.org, the audiobook from Libro.fm to support the Book Cougars.

Please send an email if you would like to participate in the Zoom conversation on Sunday, February 26th at 7 PM (ET). And we would love for you to join the online conversation on the Goodreads thread.

Send Us Your Top Ten Books of 2022

– Currently Reading – [3:31]
The Winter of Our Discontent – John Steinbeck (CW)
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People – Tracy Kidder (EF)
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with Slavery Across America – Clint Smith (CW)(audio)
Dragonfly in Amber – Diana Gabaldon (CW)

– Just Read – [9:28]
Oona Out of Order – Margarita Montimore (EF)
The Rules of Magic – Alice Hoffman (CW)
Trespasses – Louise Kennedy (EF)
The Wok: Recipes and Techniques – J. Kenji López-Alt (CW)
The Change – Kirsten Miller (EF)
Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano (EF) release date 3/14/2023
What the Fortune Teller Would Have Said – Shuly Cawood (EF)

– Biblio Adventures – [35:06]
Chris did some shopping at two used bookstores: The Book Barn in Niantic, CT and Bennett’s Books in Deep River, CT.

Emily attended a cooking class with the cookbook author Julia Turshen.

Chris had a Couch Biblio Adventure watching the new Interview with a Vampire television series based on the novel by Anne Rice.

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to New Haven where they visited one of their favorite Little Free Library’s in Wooster Square and had lunch at Haven Hot Chicken.

– Upcoming Jaunts – [47:52]
Chris and Emily will be meeting with the Vintage Book Club on Thursday, January 19th at 1:00 pm (ET) at the Wood Memorial Library & Museum in South Windsor, CT to discuss The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck. Please join us!

Chris and Emily are heading on a joint jaunt to browse at Brattle Bookshop in Boston, MA.

Emily is going to Northampton, MA to see Tracy Kidder in conversation with Dr. O’Connell discussing his new book Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People. Learn more about the event here.

– Upcoming Reads – [47:54]
The Winter of Our Discontent – John Steinbeck (EF)
The Warden – Anthony Trollope (CW)

– Out Now – [50:11]
The Deluge – Stephen Markley
Reef Road – Deborah Goodrich Royce (EF)
Check out Our Mystery Man talking with Royce on
Central Booking Episode 124
Night Wherever We Go – Tracey Rose Peyton

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Tracy Kidder: The Soul of a New Machine and Mountains Beyond Mountains
Also by Alice Hoffman: Practical Magic, Magic Lessons, Faithful
The Food Lab – J. Kenji López-Alt
Also by Ann Napolitano: A Good Hard Look and Dear Edward
Little Women
Interview with a Vampire movie

You can help support the Book Cougars via our affiliates:
Libro.fm audiobook platform: Follow
this link for the monthly membership. (promo code: bookcougars)
We are an affiliate of
Bookshop.org – support us and independent bookstores!

If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can
DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please email bookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.

Join our
Goodreads Group!

We have a BookTube Channel – please check it out
here, and be sure to subscribe!

Please subscribe to our
email newsletter.