Episode 72 - Our Mystery Man Returns with Book Recommendations Galore!

March 19, 2019 by Emily Fine

Recording at the Portland Library with Our Mystery Man!

Episode Seventy Two Show Notes

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

Check out John’s writing in:
Mystery Scene Magazine
Criminal Element
The New York Journal of Books
Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut Authors – edited by Stacey Longo

John has also been with us on Episodes 25, 49, and 60

– Books That Are Out Now –
River Bodies (Northampton County #1) – Karen Katchur
Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization – John Passarella
We the Jury – Robert Rotstein
The Inheritance: Poisoned Fruit of JFK’s Assassination – Christopher Fulton and Michelle Fulton
You Don’t Own Me (Under Suspicion #6 ) – Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good – Helene Tursten translated by Marlaine Delargy
M y Sister, the Ser ial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite
A Lie Too Big to Fail: The Real History of the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy – Lisa Pease
You’re Dead – Chris Knopf
An Anonymous Girl – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The Perfect Liar – Thomas Christopher Greene
Murder She Meowed (Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series #7 ) – Liz Mugavero
The Next to Die (Spilling CID #10) – Sophie Hannah
Final Exam (Witch City Mystery #8 ) – Carol J. Perry
The Stranger Diaries – Elly Griffiths

– Upcoming Releases –
Blood Oath (Alexandra Cooper #20 ) – Linda Fairstein release date 3/26/19
The Eighth Siste r – Robert Dugoni release date 4/19/19
Bluff – Jane Stanton Hitchcock release date 4/2/19
Bitter Brew (A Savannah Reid Mystery #24) – G.A. McKevett release date 4/30/19
The Sentence is Death (Hawthorne #2) – Anthony Horowitz release date 5/28/19

– Also Mentioned –
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
The Last Refuge: Sam Acquillo Mystery Series – Chris Knopf
The Wife Between Us – Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The Headmaster’s Wife – Thomas Christopher Greene
Spy – Melissa McCarthy movie
Murder in Her Stocking (A Granny Reid Mystery #1 ) – G.A. McKevett
Magpie Murders – Anthony Horowitz

– Recommended Upcoming Events –
Crime Conn at Ferguson Library on Saturday, May 18, 2019

John is moderating a panel of cozy mystery writers at the Otis Libra y on June 8, 2019 at 1:00, the panelists include Lucy Berdette, Liz Mugavero, and Shari Randall

Episode 71 - Min Jin Lee, JFK Presidential Library, and Riff Raff Bookstore

March 05, 2019 by Emily Fine

We went on a joint jaunt to the fantastic John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston, MA.

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

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!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– 10th Readalong –
True Grit – Charles Portis
Send in questions or comments by March 28, 2019 – we will discuss on April 2nd episode.
The Goodreads discussion page can be found HERE.

– Currently Reading –
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill (CW)
Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy – edited by Nicole A. Seitz, Jonathan Haupt (CW)
A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader – edited by Maria Popova & Claudia Zoe Bedrick (EF)
Good Riddance – Elinor Lippman (EF)

– Just Read –
The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary (EF) (release date 5/28/19)
The Street – Ann Petry (CW)
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls – Anissa Gray (EF)
The Last Woman in the Forest – Diane Les Becquets (CW)
Willa Cather Selected Stories: Flavia and Her Artists – Willa Cather (CW) part of the Willa Cather Short Story Project on WildmooBooks

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily caught up with Min Jin Lee at Yale University on 2/18/19

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston

On the way home we stopped at Riff Raff Bookstore in Providence, RI. We both bought books: Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck (CW) and T ell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli (EF)

Emily went to Infinity Hall on Hartford on 2/23/19 to see a SpeakUp St orytelling event

– Upcoming Jaunts –
We will head on a joint jaunt on 3/5/19 to see a panel including Roxane Gay discuss Writing Trauma at Yale University

Emily will go to Long Wharf Theate r to see a play based on the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Emily is heading to Fort Lauderdale for work and will go on the hunt for bookstores!

On 3/7/19 Chris is heading to the Guilford Library for an historical event, The Witness Stones Project and Harriet Beecher Stowe Center present: Guilford, Slavery, and the West Indian Trade

– Upcoming Reads –
The Necessary Hunge r – Nina Revoyr (CW)
Women in the Literary Landscape – edited by Doris Weatherford, Rosalind Reisner, and Nancy Rubin Stuart (CW)
Heavy: An American Memoi r – Kiese Laymon (EF)
The Wartime Sisters – Lynda Cohen Loigman (EF)
The Quintland Sisters – Shelley Wood (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Alison Law – Literary Atlanta Podcast
Maria Popova – brainpickings
Marie Kondo
Caroline Leavitt – Check out her blog with great author interviews
Jonah’s Gourd Vin e – Zora Neale Hurston
Nevada Barr and The Track of the Ca t
Diane Les Becquets Event s
Min Jin Lee: On Selling Your First Novel After 11 Years
Book by John F Kennedy: Profiles in Courage
A Student of Histor y – Nina Revoyr
The Masterpiece – Fiona Davis
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True – Brigid Pasulka

Episode 70 - Author Spotlight with Virginia Sole-Smith and A Giveaway!

February 19, 2019 by Emily Fine

Chris and Emily chatting with Virginia Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

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!

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– 70th Episode Giveaway –
The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America – Virginia Sole-Smith
Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America – Nancy Maclean
The Flight Attendant – Chris Bohjalian
Reconstructing Amelia – Kimberly McCreight

– 10th Readalong –
True Grit – Charles Portis
Send in questions or comments by March 28, 2019 – we will discuss on April 2nd episode.

– Currently Reading –
The Street – Ann Petry (CW)
The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary (EF) (release date 5/28/19)
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill (CW)

– Just Read –
Jonah’s Gourd Vine – Zora Neale Hurston (CW)
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir – Ruth Reichl (EF) (release date 4/2/19)
Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter – Tom Clavin (CW)
Shadow Daughter: A Memoir of Estrangement – Harriet Brown (EF)
Golden Child – Claire Adam (EF)
More Than Words – Jill Santopolo (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris saw Roxane Gay at Yale University in conversation with Claudine Rankin on 2/5/19
To read Roxane’s essay about her weight loss surgery click HERE

Emily watched some book to TV/Movie adaptations:
The Sisters Brothers based on the book of the same title by Patrick dewitt
Killing Eve based on the book Codename Villanelle series by Luke Jennings
The Durrells in Corfu based on the book My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Chris is watching The Man in the High Castle based on the book of the same name by Philip K. Dick

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris will head to RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT on 2/25/19 to see Pam Huston discuss her new book Deep Creek

Chris and Emily will catch up with Min Jin Lee at Yale University on 2/18/19

Emily is heading to Infinity Hall in Hartford on 2/23/19 to see a SpeakUp Storytelling event

Chris and Emily are heading to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on 2/21/19

And one more joint jaunt on 3/5/19 to see a panel including Roxane Gay discussing Writing Trauma at Yale University

– Upcoming Reads –
An Untamed State – Roxane Gay (CW)
Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir – Cinelle Barnes (EF)
The Crate: A Story of War, A Murder, And Justice – Deborah Vadas Levison (EF)
Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger – Lee Israel (CW)
No Traveller Returns – Louis L’Amour, Beau L’Amour (CW)
Willa Cather Selected Stories: Flavia and Her Artists – Willa Cather (CW)
Willa Cather Short Story Projec t on WildmooBooks

– Author Spotlight –
We got the chance to catch up with Virginia Sole-Smith author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America
To find out what Virginia is up to go to: https://virgin iasolesmith.com/
Virginia co-hosts a podcast with her friend Amy Palanjian: Comfort Food Podcast

– Also Mentioned –
Ryan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my.books.my.shelf/
Bridget Jones Diary – Helen Fielding
Voxer
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
Shawn the Book Maniac
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table – Ruth Reichl
Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West – Tom Clavin
The Light We Lost – Jill Santopolo
Citizen: An American Lyric – Claudine Rankin
Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories – Pam Houston
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxane Gay
Ellen Satter Institute

Episode 69 - A Joint Jaunt to Yale University aka "Searching for Rory Gilmore"

February 05, 2019 by Emily Fine

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

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!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– 10th Readalong –
True Grit – Charles Portis
Send in questions or comments by March 28, 2019 – we will discuss on April 2nd episode
You can also post comments directly on our Goodreads True Grit readalong thread

– Just Read –
We each had a DNF:
An American Quilt: Unfolding a Story of Family and Slavery – Rachel May (CW)
I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff – Abi Jacobson (EF)

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love – Dani Shapiro (EF)
The River – Peter Heller (CW)(EF) (release date 3/5/19)
Read Chris’s review of the book on her blog
French Exit – Patrick Dewitt (EF)
A Student of History – Nina Revoyr (CW) (release date 3/5/19)
The Best American Short Stories 2018 – edited by Roxane Gay (EF)

– Currently Reading –
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir – Ruth Reichl (EF) (release date 4/2/19)
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays – Alexander Chee (CW)
Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking – Samin Nosrat (EF)
11/22/63 – Stephen King (EF)(audio)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris visited the Newberry Library while she was visiting Chicago

January 19, 2019 at RJ Julia in Madison – Dani Shapiro with her new book Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

January 28, 2019 – Michael Chabon at Yale University

Emily watched the movie The Wife based on the book of the same name by Meg Wolitzer

Chris stayed close to home and cleaned up her Goodreads TBR list

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris is going to see R oxane Gay at Yale Universit y on 2/5/19

On February 13, 2019 at RJ Julia Madison, Emily is going to see Linda Cohen Loigman, author of The Wartime Sisters, and Jane Healey, author of The Saturday Evening Girls Club, moderated by Robin Kall

Chris and Emily are heading to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston

– Upcoming Reads –
Golden Child – Claire Adam (EF)
Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter – Tom Clavin (CW)
Jonah’s Gourd Vine – Zora Neale Hurston (CW)
Willa Cather Selected Stories – Willa Cather (CW)
Willa Cather Short Story Project on WildmooBooks

– Also Mentioned –
Just the Right Book podcast with Dani Shapiro
Celine – Peter Heller
Deliverance – James Dickey
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
Hell or High Water: Surviving Tibet’s Tsangpo River – Peter Heller
Sisters Brothers – Patrick Dewitt
Broad City
The Odyssey – Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
Delicious! – Ruth Reichl
Elevation – Stephen King
American Writers Museum
Kathleen Rooney
Martin Seay
Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon
Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West – Tom Clavin
Shawn the Book Maniac
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
Lee Israel
Can You Ever Forgive Me?

_____________________________________________________

Poet Mary Oliver passed away

Mornings at Blackwater
For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.
And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.

What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.

So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,
and put your lips to the world.

And live
your life.

Episode 68 - The Widows by Jess Montgomery, Noah Webster House, True Grit and More!

January 22, 2019 by Emily Fine

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

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!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– 10th Readalong –
True Grit – Charles Portis
Send in questions or comments by March 28, 2019 – we will discuss on April 2nd episode.
– Currently Reading –
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius (CW)
The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America – Virginia Sole-Smith (EF)
The New York Times Best of the Week Series: Monday Crosswords: 50 Easy Puzzles – edited by Will Shortz (EF)
Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary That’ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together – Rachel Wilkerson Miller (CW)
Die Drie !!! Vorsicht, Strandhaie! – Maja von Vogel – (CW)

– Just Read –
The Lost Man – Jane Harper (CW) (release date 2/5/19)
Clock Dance – Anne Tyler (EF)
Girls on the Line – Aimie K. Runyon (CW)(audio)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to the Noah Webster House in West Hartford and then worked at Noah Webster Library.

Emily received this as a gift from her bookclub pal, Ryan. You can make a book of of book covers for your bookclub using Mixbook Photo Co.

This American Life – Episode 664 Room of Requirement is all about libraries – give it a listen!

Emily went to NYC and saw the play Choir Boy written by Terrell Alvin McCraney

– Upcoming Jaunts –
January 19, 2019 at RJ Julia in Madison – Dani Shapiro with her new book I nheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

January 28, 2019 – Michael Chabon at Yale University

Chris is heading to Chicago and will visit the Newberry Library

– Upcoming Reads –
An American Quilt: Unfolding a Story of Family and Slavery – Rachel May (CW)
Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy – edited by Nicole A. Seitz, Jonathan Haupt (EF

– Author Interview –
Jess Montgomery author of The Widows (Kinship #1)

Authors that have inspired Jess:
Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, Daniel Woodrell (Winter’s Bone), Lori Roy (Let Me Die in His Footsteps, The Bent Road)

The next book from Jess Montgomery: The Hallows (Kinship #2)

We received these wonderful prints signed by Pat Conroy from our friend, Ann Kingman.

You can look for events and a release date of The Hallows at https://jessmontgomeryauthor.com/

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Jane Harper: The Dry and Force of Nature
Stephen Covey
Breakwater Books
Blackwing Pencils
Flatiron Books
Breathing Lessons – Anne Tyler
Make Trouble – Cecile Richards
Roxane Gay
Bastard Out of Carolina – Dorothy Allison
Why Read Moby-Dick? – Nathaniel Philbrick
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex - Nathaniel Philbrick
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe –Fannie Flagg
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk – Kathleen Rooney
Martin Seay
Alison Law – Literary Atlanta Podcast
Mixbook Photo Co.
Minotaur Press

Episode 67 - We Would Love To Have YOU for Dinner!

January 08, 2019 by Emily Fine

Episode Sixty Seven Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

Join our Goodreads Group!
Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– Currently Reading –
Girls on the Line – Aimie K. Runyon (CW)(audio)
Oceanic – Aimee Nezhukumatthil (CW)
The Lost Man – Jane Harper (CW)
Less – Andrew Sean Greer (EF)
Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give – Ada Calhoun (EF)
Clock Dance – Anne Tyler (EF)

– Just Read –
The Widows – Jess Montgomery (EF)(CW)
Chris DNF’d a few:
Manhattan Beach – Jennifer Egan (CW)
The Alumni Association – Michael Rudolph (CW)
Dark Streets, Cold Suburbs – Aimee Hix (CW)
Elevation – Stephen King (EF)
Mistletoe Murder – Leslie Meier (CW)
Lawn Boy – Jonathan Evison – (EF)
Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions – Johann Hari (CW)
Girls & Boys – Dennis Kelly (EF)(audio – narrated by Carey Mulligan)
The Hunger – Alma Katsu (CW)
How to Start a Fire – Lisa Lutz (EF)
My Mortal Enemy – Willa Cather (CW)
The Sisters Brothers – Patrick Dewitt (EF)
The Incendiaries – R.O. Kwon (EF)
All the Names They Used for God – Anjali Sachdeva (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily went on a big adventure that included stops at:
Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe and Pegasus Books in Bend, Oregon
Book Train Books & Magazines and Book Grove in Glenwood Springs, CO
Summit County Library, Ole Man Berkins Used Books, and Breck Books in Breckenridge, CO and Tattered Cover Bookstore at the airport in Denver, CO

We watched some shows:
Dumplin’ movie based on the book by Julie Murphy
Birdbox movie based on the book by Josh Malerman
Salt Fat Acid Heat based on the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nasrat
The Haunting of Hill House loosely based on the novel by Shirley Jackson
Adaptation based on the Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo based on the novel The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

– Upcoming Jaunts –
January 17, 2019 – Willa Cather Book Club at Book Club Bookstore & More in South Windsor, CT at 2:00 chatting about My Mortal Enemy
Chris and Emily are going on a joint jaunt to Noah Webster House in West Hartford
Emily is heading to NYC to see the play Choir Boy written by Terrell Alvin Mccrary
January 19, 2019 at RJ Julia in Madison – Dani Shapiro with her new book Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love
January 28, 2019 – Michael Chabon at Yale University

– Upcoming Reads –
French Exit – Patrick Dewitt (EF)
The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America – Virginia Sole-Smith (EF)
Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts – Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose (CW)

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Jane Harper: The Dry and Force of Nature
11/22/63 – Stephen King
Northshire Bookstore
Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving – Jonathan Evison
The Donner Party Chronicles: A Day-by-Day Account of a Doomed Wagon Train, 1846-1847 – Frank Mullen
Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West – Ethan Rarick
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

Episode 66 - The World Premiere of the Radio Play: Yours In Words

December 25, 2018 by Emily Fine

Episode Sixty Six Show Notes

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– On This Episode –
Grab some popcorn, get cozy, and comfortable!
We are so excited to present playwright, Laura Thoma, and the world premiere of the radio version of her stage play: Yours In Words

Laura Thoma pictured here with one of her favorite playwrights!

You can contact Laura Thoma by visiting her website HERE.

– Also Mentioned –
Laura was also on Episode 19 with her book Mastering the Art of Self Expression: A Creative Journaling Workbook
The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real – Lisa Sonora Beam
The Playwright’s Guidebook – Stuart Spencer
Blackstone Public Library – Branford, CT
Blackstone Public Library – Chicago, IL
Downstage Center Podcast
MasterClass series
Theater Odyssey
The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron

Episode 65 - Bianca Marais author of Hum If You Don't Know the Words

December 11, 2018 by Emily Fine

Episode Sixty Five Show Notes
CW = Chris Wolak
EF = Emily Fine

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– Currently Reading –
Becoming – Michelle Obama (CW)(audio)
Elevation – Stephen King (EF)
Manhattan Beach – Jennifer Egan (CW)

– Just Read –
Kingdom of the Blind – Louise Penny (CW)
His Favorites – Kate Walbert (EF)
Ayiti – Roxane Gay (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT to see Virginia Sole-Smith discuss her book The Eating Inst inct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America.

Emily went to the Guilford Library to see Andre Dubus III discuss his new novel, Gone So Long.

Chris went to the Guilford Library to learn more about the return of black bears in Connecticut.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Book-It Repertory Theater – production of My Antonia

December 9, 2018 Chris and Emily will head on a joint jaunt to Concord, New Hampshire to see Louise Penny discuss her new book Kingdom of the Blind. The event is sponsored by the Capital Center for the Arts and Gibson’s Bookstore.

Emily is heading on a big trip to OR, CA and CO. Hopefully there will be some literary adventuring along the way.

We loved Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais. So glad we chose it as our 9th readalong!

– Upcoming Reads –
The Widows – Jess Montgomery
Passing – Nella Laursen
The Odyssey – Homer, translated by Emily Wilson (CW)

– Readalong #9 –
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marais
Bianca is happy to join your book club discussion. Check out her website HERE.

If You Want to Make God Laugh – Bianca’s next book will be available July 16, 2019

– Also Mentioned –
Washington: A Life – Ron Chernow
Will Schwalbe
J.K. Rowling
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
Criminal Element
The Untamed State – Roxane Gay
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan
Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls – Robert M. Thorson
The Classics Club
James Benn – Billy Boyle series
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood – Trevor Noah
Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson

Episode 64 - Our First Book Launch with Shuly Xochitl Cawood!

November 27, 2018 by Emily Fine

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

Join our Goodreads Group!
Please subscribe to our email newsletter h ere.

– Readalong #9 –
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marais
Have comments to us by December 6, 2018

– Currently Reading –
Becoming – Michelle Obama (CW)(audio)
His Favorites – Kate Walbert (EF)
The Stan – Kevin Knodell, David Axe, Blue Delliquanti (CW)
The Grain Bowl – Nik Williamson (EF)
America: The Cookbook – Gabrielle Langholtz (EF)

– Just Read –
Becoming – Michelle Obama (EF)
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert (CW)
Lift and Separate - Marilyn Simon Rothstein (EF)
Starting From Scratch – Rita Mae Brown (CW)
The Proposal – Jasmine Guillory (EF)
The Vampires Heart (A Paranormal Lesbian Romance) – C.M. Blackwood (CW)
Sea Prayer – Khaled Hosseini, Dan Williams (EF)
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World – Sarah Weinman (CW)

– Biblio Adventures –
Sadly, the weather foiled our plans on November 15, 2018. Due to a snowstorm, we were unable to make it to Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT to see Jean P. Moore (Tilda’s Promise) in conversation with Cheryl Suchors (48 Peaks).

Chris and Emily went on a joint jaunt to see the movie Can You Ever Forgive Me ?

Chris met up with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri, at Wesleyan RJ Julia in Middletown, CT.

Emily went to Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT for small business Saturday.

Chris attended the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair and also had a chance to walk through the Boston Central Public Library in Copley Square.

– Upcoming Jaunts –
November 27, 2018 Emily would like to visit RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT to see Virginia Sole-Smith discuss her book The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America.

December 9, 2018 Chris and Emily will head on a joint jaunt to Concord, New Hampshire to see Louise Penny discuss her new book Kingdom of the Blind. The event is sponsored by the Capital Center for the Arts and Gibson’s Bookstore.

The book is now available for purchase in Paperback or Kindle HERE.

– Upcoming Reads –
Kingdom of the Blind – Louise Penny (CW)
Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (CW)
Middlemarch – George Eliot (CW)
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marais (EF)
The Perfect Mother – Aimee Molloy (EF)
Conversations with Friends – Sally Rooney (EF)
Heads of the Colored People – Nafissa Thompson-Spires (EF)
The Patch – John McPhee (EF)

– Book Launch –
We had a chance to chat with Shuly Xochitl Cawood about her new book, 52 Things I wish I Could Have Told Myself When I Was 17, which is now available in Paperback and Kindle. You can order it HERE.

Shuly’s other book is The Going and Goodbye: A Memoir.

You can learn more about her at https://www.shulycawood.com/.

– Also Mentioned –
Ohio – Stephen Markley
Also by Marilyn Simon Rothstein: Husbands and Other Sharp Objects
Also by Jasmine Guillory: The Wedding Date
Roxane Gay
Also by Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
Russell at Ink and Paper Blog
Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) – Stacy Schiff
Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger - Lee Israel
The Overstory – Richard Powers
Kimberly McCreight
Bookclub Bookstore & More
Also by John McPhee: Oranges
George Saunders

Literary candles available at Northshire Bookstore.

Episode 63 - Born a Crime Readalong and 2018 Holiday Gift Giving

November 13, 2018 by Emily Fine

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

Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!
AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

Join our Goodreads Group!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

– Readalong #9 –
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words – Bianca Marais
Have comments to us by December 6, 2018 // Goodreads discussion page is HERE

– Currently Reading –
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert (CW)
Kitchen – Banana Yoshimoto (EF)
Starting From Scratch – Rita Mae Brown (CW)
Florida – Lauren Groff (EF)
The Craft of Research – Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, William T. Fitzgerald (CW)
Poetry Will Save Your Life – Jill Bialosky (EF)

– Just Read –
Mr. Flood’s Last Resort (or The Hoarder) – Jess Kidd (EF)
Ohio – Stephen Markley (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily went to Book Trader in New Haven, CT and That Bookstore in Wethersfield, CT.

Chris went on a big adventure to Los Angeles, CA that included stops at:
Universal Studios The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The LA Public Library
The Last Bookstore
Book Soup

– Upcoming Jaunts –
November 14, 2018 Chris would like to visit BookClub Bookstore & More to see Kristin Tsetsi in conversation with Benjamin Thomas. Her book is The Age of the Child.

November 15, 2018 Chris and Emily will go on a joint jaunt to Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT to see Jean P. Moore (Tilda’s Promise) in conversation with Cheryl Suchors (48 Peaks).

November 29, 2018 at Guilford Library, Emily will go see Andre Dubus III discuss his new novel Gone So Long.

– Readalong #9 –
Born A Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood – Trevor Noah
Goodreads discussion page is HERE

– Holiday Gift Ideas –
·     Owl Eyeglasses Holder from Uncommon Goods
·     Alibabette Editions journals
·     Utilizing VistaPrint, Zazzle or Shutterfly, make a calendar out of favorite book covers and author photos
·     Unearth Women Magazine – The 1st Feminist Travel Magazine
·     Buy someone an E-Reader!
·     Nice set of markers – Emily has this set from Pentel
·     Mastering the Art of Self-Expression a creative journaling workbook by Laura Thoma
·     Shuly Cawood has a new inspirational gift book: 52 Things I Wish I Could Have Told Myself When I Was 17
·     Purchase a complete set of a favorite authors books
·     Purchase a book for someone that is in a foreign language
·     Literary Candles
·     Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle

– Also Mentioned –
Also by Lauren Groff: Arcadia and Fates & Furies
Alison Law – Literary Atlanta
Also by Stephen Markley: Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold and Published This Very Book and Tales of Iceland
The Library Book – Susan Orlean
Also by Andre Dubus III: Townie, and House of Sand and Fog, and Dirty Love
Carnegie’s Maid – Melodie Benjamin
Scribe of Siena – Melodie Winawer
Russell – Ink and Paper Blog
Kinokuniya Bookstore
The Going and Goodbye: A Memoir – Shuly Xochitl Cawood
Louise Penny