Episode 34 - Holiday Gift Ideas and Our 3rd Readalong

Willa Cather's Birthday Party at BookClub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT

Episode Thirty Four Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

We have an upcoming read-along:
February – Maurice by E.M. Forster.

– Just Read –
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers (CW)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
The Rules of Magic – Alice Hoffman (EF)
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II – Liza Mundy (CW) (audio)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris celebrated Willa Cather’s birthday on December 7 at Bookclub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT. She is kicking off a quarterly Willa Cather book club starting with My Antonia to be discussed on January 18th at 2:00 at the same bookstore.

Emily visited Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, VT

She also saw the movie Call Me By Your Name based on the novel by André Aciman
book info here  /  movie info here

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Min Jin Lee will be at RJ Julia’s Booksellers on January 25, 2018

– Gift Ideas –
Book Subscription Services like The Mysterious Bookshop Crime Clubs
Bundle Monster Booklight Clip
A subscription to Magazines or Literary JournalsGift Cards to Independent Bookstores
Leather Weighted Bookmark
Buy some literary swag from Out of Print
Gift of a literary activity
Gift of Poetry - Devotions by Mary Oliver / New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry
Gift baskets with books and associated literary items
Complete Stories – Kurt Vonnegut
Complete Stories – Flannery O’ Connor paired with A Good Hard Look – Ann Napolitano

– Also Mentioned –
Disappearances – Howard Frank Mosher
Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space – Margot Lee Shetterly
The movie Lady Bird
Alice Hoffman book tour
Kelly Corrigan book tour
Stone Butch Blues – Leslie Feinberg

____________________________________________
 

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

-Wendell Berry

Episode 33 - Bookshops Galore!

Crow Bookshop in Burlington, VT

Episode Thirty Three Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

We have two upcoming read-along’s:
December – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.
    Send in questions or comments by Dec 7th – we will discuss on December 12th episode.
February – Maurice by E.M. Forster.

– National Book Award Winners –
You can watch the entire 2017 broadcast here.
Young People’s Literature: Far from the Tree by Robin Benway
Poetry: Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016 by Frank Bidart
Nonfiction: The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen
Fiction: Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward

– Just Read –
Plainsong – Kent Haruf (EF)
The Dry (Aaron Falk #1) – Jane Harper (CW)
Hunter Killer: The War with China – The Battle for the Central Pacific (Dan Lenson Novels) – David Poyer (CW)
Cove – Cynan Jones (CW)
Ten Days in a Mad-House – Nellie Bly (CW) (audio)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy – David Fleming and edited by Shaun Chamberlin (EF)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily visited:
The Berry Center and it’s fantastic, neighboring bookstore
Crow Bookshop in Burlington, VT
Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, VT (where she purchased The Great Santini by Pat Conroy)
Librairie Gourmande in the Jean-Talon Market in Montreal – a cookbook store!
Nahum Gelber Law Library at McGill University

Chris visited the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University – to see the exhibit Making the Medieval English Manuscript: The Takamiya Collection

Chris watched the new documentary about Joan Didion titled The Center Will Not Hold

On Small Business Saturday, Chris visited:
Breakwater Books in Guilford, CT
Bookclub Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT
Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore in Middletown, CT

– Upcoming Jaunts –
December 1 – Emily will be heading to Sterling College to attend the Surviving the Future symposium
December 7, 2pm – Join Chris for a Willa Cather birthday celebration at Bookclub Bookstore& More in Windsor, CT

– Upcoming Reads –
Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2) – Jane Harper (CW)
Sweetgirl – Travis Mulhauser (EF)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Eventide and Benediction and Our Souls at Night – Kent Haruf
Book blog – BookerTalk: Adventures with great novels around the world
The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery – Witold Pilecki. The movie is titled: The Death of Captain Pilecki

BINC: Book Industry Charitable Foundation – if you are looking for an organization to donate this is a good one!
 

Episode 32 - David Bowie, Espionage, Gravediggers, Willa Cather and more...

Entrance to the New York Society Library which is home to a WIlla Cather exhibity through August of 2018.

Episode Thirty Two Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

We have two upcoming read-along’s:
December – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.
     Send in questions or comments by Dec 7th – we will discuss on December 12th episode.
February – Maurice by E.M. Forster.

United for the Troops – if you are interested in donating writing journals to this effort please email us at bookcougars@gmail.com and we will send you the mailing address.

– Just Read –
Death Comes: A Willa Cather and Edith Lewis Mystery – Sue Hallgrath (CW)
Mrs. Fletcher – Tom Perrotta (EF)
The Leader’s Bookshelf – James Stavridis, R Manning Ancell (CW)
The Bone Garden – Tess Gerritsen (EF)
Espionage and Covert Operations : A Global History (The Great Courses) – Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius (CW)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Sweet – Yotem Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (EF)
David Bowie Made Me Gay - Darryl L. Bullock (CW)
Great American Bestsellers: The Books That Shaped America (Great Courses, #2527) – Peter Conn (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris went to The New York Society Library to see the New York World of Willa Cather exhibit running through August 31, 2018.
Joint Jaunt to Playhouse on Park to see an adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank
November 9 – Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers to see David Lebovitz discuss his newest book L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making Paris My Home
    David Lebovitz blog
Chris went to the new movie adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (written by Agatha Christie)

– Upcoming Jaunts –
November 14 – Emily is headed to New Castle, KY and will visit The Berry Center.
Bookstores in Montreal – email if you have recommendations!
December 7, 2pm – Join Chris for a Willa Cather birthday celebration at Bookclub Bookstore & More in Windsor, CT

– Upcoming Reads –
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky – Lesley Nneka Arimah (EF)
Fodor’s Travel Montreal and Quebec City 2016 – Fodor’s Travel Publications Inc. (EF)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers (EF) (CW)
Hunter Killer: The War with China – The Battle for the Central Pacific (Dan Lenson Novels) – David Poyer (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Yotem Ottolenghi article in NY Time: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/dining/yotam-ottolenghi-sweet-cookbook.html?_r=0

Episode 31 - Happy Halloween! Surprise, Chris reads some Icelandic Dracula...

Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough, New Hampshire

Episode Thirty One Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page. 

We have two upcoming read-along’s:
December – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.
       Send in questions or comments by Dec 7th – we will discuss on December 12th episode.
February – Maurice by E.M. Forster.

– Just Read –
Bluebird, Bluebird – Attica Locke (EF)
Lost Voyage – Pauline Rowson (CW)
The One Hundred Nights of Hero – Isabel Greenberg (CW)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
That Old Cape Magic – Richard Russo (EF) (audio)
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula – Bram Stoker (CW)
How To Read Water: Clues, Signs & Patterns from Puddles to the Sea – Tristan Gooley (CW)
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World – Peter Wohlleben (CW)
The Leader’s Bookshelf – James Stavridis, R Manning Ancell

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris took friends to visit some of our local libraries:
Blackstone Library in Branford, CT
Sterling Memorial Library in New Haven, CT
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT
Chris has written reviews of the two Blackstone Libraries on her blog. She has also written about the Beinecke on her blog as well.

Panel from The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

Chris ventured to Jaffrey, New Hampshire for a Willa Cather pilgrimage – she is buried there. Additionally, she browsed at Toadstool Bookshop at the Peterborough, NH location.
She came across two of her favorite childhood books, two Willa Cather novels and a Gwendolyn Brooks novel:
Saucy – Martha McKeen Welch (CW)
Cannonball Simp – John Burningham (CW)
A Lost Lady – Willa Cather (CW)
My Mortal Enemy – Willa Cather (CW)
Maud Martha – Gwendolyn Brooks (CW)

October 16 – Denise Kiernan author of The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
October 19 – Anna Quindlen – West Hartford Reads at Town Hall
October 21 – Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Laura are heading to The New York Society Library to see the New York World of Willa Cather exhibit running October 24, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
November 9 – Emily is headed to RJ Julia Booksellers to see David Lebovitz discuss his newest book L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making Paris My Home.
November 14 – Emily is headed to New Castle, KY and will visit The Berry Center.

– Upcoming Reads –
Nightmare in Berlin – Hans Fallada (CW)
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman (EF)
The Bees – Laline Paul (EF) (audio)
I Know a Secret (Rizzoli & Isles #12) – Tess Gerritsen (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Darktown – Thomas Mullen
Literary Atlanta Podcast
Ink and Paper Blog
The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accompaniments  – David Lebovitz

Episode 30 - Our 3rd Giveaway and 3rd Read-along!

Aaron Mahnke host of the Lore podcast discussing his book The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures at the Yale Bookstore.

Episode Thirty Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

We have two upcoming read-along’s:
December – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
       Send in questions or comments by Dec 7th – we will discuss on December 12th episode
February – Maurice by E.M. Forster

GIVEAWAY for our 30th episode is a copy of each of the read-along books noted above.
Please email us at bookcougars@gmail.com to throw your hat in the ring.

– Just Read –
And Fire Came Down (Caleb Zelic #2) – Emma Viskic (CW)
The Last Chinese Chef – Nicole Mones (EF)
The Child Finder – Rene Denfeld (EF)
Sing, Unburied, Sing – Jesmyn Ward (EF)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Death Comes: A Willa Cather and Edith Lewis Mystery – Sue Hallgrath (CW)
The Leader’s Bookshelf – James Stavridis, R Manning Ancell
Her Body and Other Parties – Carmen Maria Machado (EF)
Peregrine Island – Diane B. Saxton (EF)

 – Biblio Adventures –
Chris missed an event with Nelson Demille – his new book is The Cuban Affair
Chris went to the Yale Bookstore to see Aaron Mahnke discuss his new book The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures and his podcast Lore.
Emily has been working at the Noah P. Webster Library in West Hartford Library and got the chance to visit the Welles Turner Memorial Library in Glastonbury.

The Pink Marine: One Boy's Journey Through Boot Camp to Manhood by Greg Cope White with approval from Buddy Fitzwilliam Tholak. 

– Upcoming Jaunts –
October 16 – Denise Kiernan author of The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
October 17 – Gabrielle Zevin author of Young Jane Young at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT
October 19 – Anna Quindlen – West Hartford Reads at Town Hall
October 21 – Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon
October 24 – Tisa Joy Wenger author of Religious Freedom: The Contested History of an American Ideal at Yale Bookstore

– Upcoming Reads –
Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula – Bram Stoker (CW)
The Pink Marine: One Boy’s Journey Through Boot Camp to Manhood – Greg Cope White (CW)
Bluebird, Bluebird – Attica Locke (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
2017 Connecticut Center for the Book awards
Fiction nominees are:
Back Lash by Chris Knopf
I’ll Take You There by Wally Lamb
Shadows of Paris by Eric D. Lehman
Cajun Waltz by Robert H. Patton
Beneath a Shooting Star by Susan Harrison Rashid

Literary Disco podcast – specifically the two-part poetry episode #112 and #113
Too Afraid to Cry – Ali Cobby Eckermann
Russell Gray – Inkandpaperblog.com
Salvage the Bones – Jesmyn Ward
Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is coming up on October 21. Check out this hashtag – #30daysofreadathon

Kindness
Naomi Shihab Nye
from The Words Under the Words: Selected Poems

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. 
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

Episode 29 - Library Sale Booty, Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and more

Emily's gentleman caller - aka Jim - exploring Yellow Umbrella Books in Chatham, MA

Episode Twenty Nine Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

– Just Read –
OSS Operation Black Mail: One Woman’s Covert War Against the Imperial Japanese Army – Ann Todd (CW)
   Chris reviewed the book on her blog. Read it here.
My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent (EF)
The Blank Wall – Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (CW)
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone – Brené Brown (EF)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
What Happened – Hillary Rodham Clinton (audio) (CW)
Scary Old Sex – Arlene Hyman (EF)
And Fire Came Down (Caleb Zelic #2) – Emma Viskic (CW)
The Last Chinese Chef – Nicole Mones (EF)
How To Read Water: Clues, Signs & Patterns from Puddles to the Sea – Tristan Gooley (CW)
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World – Peter Wohlleben (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
September 15 – Chris and Emily will be heading to the New Haven Public library for a discussion with winners of the Windham-Campbell prize. Check out the winners of the Windham-Campbell prize here.
                Panelists:
                Too Afraid to Cry – Ali Cobby Eckermann
                Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary War - Maya Jasanoff
                Nothings Mat – Erna Brodber
                Can You Tolerate This? - Ashleigh Young

September 22-24 – Guilford Free Library Friends of the Library Annual Book and Bake Sale
Chris purchases:
Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival – Velma Wallis
Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood – Delphine Red Shirt (CW)
They Wrote the Book: Thirteen Women Mystery Writer’s Tell All – Helen Windrath
Outlander: Stories and Essays – Jane Rule
The Professor’s House – Willa Cather
Emily purchases:
97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement – Jane Ziegelman
Who the Hell is Pansy O’Hara?: The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the World’s Best-Loved Books – Jenny Bond

Emily visited Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport, MA and  Yellow Umbrella Books in Chatham, MA

September 28 – October 1 – Blackstone Library Annual Book Sale

– Upcoming Jaunts –
October 17 – Gabrielle Zevin author of Young Jane Young at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT
October 21 – Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

– Upcoming Reads –
Death Comes: A Willa Cather and Edith Lewis Mystery – Sue Hallgrath (CW)|
Grace – Natashia Deón (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Article about debut novelist Gabriel Tallent: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/27/books/gabriel-tallent-my-absolute-darling.html
Review of My Absolut Darling: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/books/review-my-absolute-darling-gabriel-tallent.html
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin
Chris blog’s at Wildmoobooks.com

Episode 28 - Maynard, Skulls and Keys, Fangirl or Stalker?

David Alan Richards author of Skulls and Keys: The Hidden Historyof Yale’s Secret Societies speaking at The Yale Bookstore

Episode Twenty Eight Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Join our Goodreads Group!
Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page.

 – Just Read –
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley – Hannah Tinti (EF)
Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13) – Louise Penny (CW)
Unraveling Oliver – Liz Nugent (EF)
Too Afraid to Cry – Ali Cobby Eckermann (CW)
The Stuff That Never Happened – Maddie Dawson (EF)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
What Happened – Hillary Rodham Clinton (audio) (CW)
Jack’s Wife Freda: Cooking from New York’s West Village – Maya and Dean Jankelowitz (EF)
Collected Stories – Willa Cather (CW)
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying – Nina Riggs (EF)
ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income – Darren Rowse (CW)

Joyce Maynard author of The Best of Us in conversation with Wally Lamb at RJ Julia's in Madison, CT. 

– Biblio Adventures –
September 7 – Emily went to RJ Julia Madison to see Joyce Maynard author of The Best of Us
September 7 – Chris went to The Yale Bookstore to see David Alan Richards author of Skulls and Keys: The Hidden Historyof Yale’s Secret Societies

– Upcoming Jaunts –
September 15 – Chris and Emily will be heading to the New Haven Public library for a discussion with winners of the Windham-Campbell prize. Check out the winners of the Windham-Campbell prize here.
September 22-24 – Guilford Free Library Friends of the Library Annual Book and Bake Sale

– Upcoming Reads –
Morningstar: Growing Up with Books – Ann Hood (EF)
Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel – Jesmyn Ward (EF)
My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
New Editor in Chief of New York Style Magazine – Hanya Yanagihara author of A Little Life and The People in the Trees

Author Jamie Ford's book The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet has been optioned for production by George Takei (George Takei was in the Broadway show Allegiance last year).

Wynema: A Child of a Forest – S. Alice Callahan, A. Lavonne Brown Ruoff

National Book Awards – 2017 Nonfiction Long List   
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge – Erica Armstrong Dunbar
The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America – Frances Fitzgerald  
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America – James Forman, Jr.    
The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia – Masha Gessen
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – David Grann
No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need – Naomi Klein   
Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America – Nancy MacLean
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America – Richard Rothstein   
The Blood of Emmett Till – Timothy B. Tyson
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News – Kevin Young

Chris blog’s at Wildmoobooks.com

Episode 27 - The American Writer's Museum in Chicago, Illinois

Our guest, Colleen Olsen, at the American Writers Museum in Chicago, Illinois.

Episode Twenty Seven Show Notes

Special Guest: Colleen Olsen
Speaking with the Book Cougars about the American Writers Museum in Chicago (#AmerWriteMuseum)
Opened May 16, 2017
Located at 180 N. Michigan, 2nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois

Colleen's Goodreads link: click here

Malcom E. O’Hagan – founder of the museum

Many writers were mentioned. Here are some:
Willa Cather
Tupac Shakur
Jack Kerouac
W.S. Merwin
George Carlin
Sojourner Truth
Del Close
Roger Ebert
Black Elk

Along with the permanent exhibits, they have rotating temporary exhibits which are currently:
Palm: All Awake in the Darkness inspired by the life and work of the American poet W.S. Merwin
The Beat Journey: Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”

To become a member: click here

Author Home/Museum Affiliates link page: click here

One of the interactive exhibits at the American Writers Museum.

Willa Cather exhibit at the American Writers Museum.

Episode 26 - Prizes, Reading Challenges, New Podcasts, Jaunts and Books!

The stack of books Chris has gathered for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XII Challenge (#RIPXII). This is an annual reading event now in its 12th year. From September 1st through October 31st participants celebrate the deliciousness that is horror, paranormal, mystery, dark fantasy, and more. Basically, the dark and creepy genres that go hand-in-hand with autumn.

Episode Twenty Six Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

– Just Read –
Idyll Fears: Thomas Lynch #2 – Stephanie Gayle (CW)
The Leavers – Lisa Ko (EF)
The Breakfast Book – Marion Cunningham (EF)

– Currently Reading/Listening –
Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13) – Louise Penny (CW)
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley – Hannah Tinti (EF)
On Reading The Grapes of Wrath – Susan Shillinglaw (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris went RJ Julia in Madison to see Fiona Davis author of The Dollhouse and The Address.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
September 7 – Emily is heading to RJ Julia Madison to see Joyce Maynard author of The Best of Us
September 15 – Chris and Emily will be heading to the New Haven Public library for a discussion with winners of the Windham-Campbell prize. Check out the winners of the Windham-Campbell prize here.
September 22-24 – Guilford Free Library Friends of the Library Annual Book and Bake Sale

– Upcoming Reads –
Unraveling Oliver – Liz Nugent (EF)
Peregrine Island – Diane B. Saxton (EF)
Collected Stories - Willa Cather (CW)
OSS Operation Blackmail: One Woman’s Covert War Against The Imperial Japanese Army – Ann Todd (CW)
The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Millennium #5) – David Lagercrantz (CW)
It – Stephen King (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
The 2017 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize shortlist:
    As Lie Is to Grin – Simeon Marsalis
    Empire of Glass – Kaitlin Solimine
    Mikhail and Margarita – Julie Lekstrom Himes
    The Second Mrs. Hockaday – Susan Rivers
    Spaceman in Bohemia – Jaroslav Kalfar
    Tiger Pelt – Annabelle Kim
    What to Do About the Solomons – Bethany Ball

Chris mentioned three podcasts:
Bibliophile
Literary Atlanta
The Sleeping at Last Podcast

Chelsea Green Publishing
Sandor Ellix Katz – The Art of Fermentation

Reminder to listen to John B. Valeri – Our Mystery Man (#MysteryMan) – who was on Episode 25

Louise L. Hay passed away. She wrote the book You Can Heal Your Life.

Hannah Tinti – The Good Thief – won the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize in 2008.

Our friend, Emily, created a Little Free Library at the Guilford Train Station.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XII Challenge  (#RIPXII)
Chris writes about her challenge here.
Estella’s Revenge
My Capricious Life

Episode 25 - Our Mystery Man!

Recording at the Russell Library in Middletown with Our Mystery Man - John B. Valeri

Episode Twenty Five Show Notes

Our Mystery Man – John Valeri  
http://www.johnbvaleri.com/
Twitter: @OyeJohn52  
#MysteryMan

– Books That Are Out Now –
Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #13) – Louise Penny  #LouisePenny
Snap Judgement (Samantha Brinkman, #3) – Marcia Clark
The Late Show (Renée Ballard, #1) – Michael Connelly
The Good Daughter – Karin Slaughter
I Know a Secret (Rizzoli & Isles, #12) – Tess Gerritsen
All By Myself, Alone (Alvirah and Willy #11) – Mary Higgins Clark

– Upcoming Releases –
The Devouring (Billy Boyle World War II, #12) – James R. Benn   release date September 12, 2017
Purring Around the Christmas Tree – Liz Mugavero   release date September 26, 2017
Every Breath You Take (Under Suspicion, #5) – Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke   release date November 7, 2017
Tango Down (Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery, #8) – Chris Knopf   release date November 30, 2017
Dead of Winter (Lily Dale Mystery #3) – Wendi Corsi Staub   release date November 7, 2017

– Books That Influenced John –
Nancy Drew: #1-64 – Carolyn Keene
All Around the Town – Mary Higgins Clark
All the Way Home – Wendi Corsi Staub
Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express / And Then There Were None
Murder, She Wrote series – Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain

– John’s Number One Book of All Time –
Without a Doubt – Marcia Clark

– John’s Fiction –
Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut authors – edited by Stacey Longo