Episode 75 - Biblio Adventure Extravaganza: Roz Chast, Patricia Marx, Mary Norris, Delia Owens, and more!

Chris attended an event co-sponsored by Bank Square Books and the Lagrua Center where Mary Norris discussed her new book Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen.

Chris attended an event co-sponsored by Bank Square Books and the Lagrua Center where Mary Norris discussed her new book Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen.

Episode Seventy Five 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.

– Upcoming Readalongs –
We are hosting co-reads in June 2019 with Jenny Colvin of the Reading Envy Podcast.
More details are forthcoming, but the books are:
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
The Goodreads discussion page can be found HERE
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather
The Goodreads discussion page can be found
HERE

 – Currently Reading –
Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens (CW)
The Lost Family – Jenna Blum (EF)
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell (EF)

– Just Read –
The Jewel Garden: A Story of Despair and Redemption – Monty Don, Sarah Don (CW)
The World That We Knew: A Novel – Alice Hoffman (EF) (release date 9/24/19)
The Museum of Modern Love – Heather Rose (CW)
gods with a little g: A Novel – Tupelo Hassman (EF) (release date 8/13/19)
Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad – Austin Kleon (CW)
If Beale Street Could Talk – James Baldwin (EF)
A Lost Lady – Willa Cather (CW)
The Marriage of Phaedra – Willa Cather (CW) which is part of the Willa Cather Short Story Project

– Biblio Adventures –
Emily watched the movie If Beale Street Could Talk

Chris attended an event co-sponsored by Bank Square Books and the Lagrua Center where Mary Norris discussed her new book Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen.  Check out this article about Mary’s apartment in New York City.

Emily went to RJ Julia Booksellers to hear Patricia Marx and Roz Chast discuss their book Why Don’t You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?: A Mother’s Suggestions

Emily visited Tennessee and North Carolina and caught up with author, Shuly Cawood.  She has appeared on two episodes of the podcast:
Episode 22 – where she discussed her memoir, The Going and Goodbye
Episode 64 – the book launch of 52 Things I wish I Could Have Told Myself When I Was 17
They spent a day in Jonesborough, TN visiting the Jonesborough Public Library and the International Storytelling Center (check out their festival October 4-6, 2019). They also shopped at Mr. K’s Used Books, Music, and More.

Chris and Emily had a joint jaunt to hear Delia Owens discuss her book, Where the Crawdads Sing, sponsored by RJ Julia Booksellers but located at The Country School, in Madison, CT.
Other Books by Delia Owens:
Cry of the Kalahari
Secrets of the Savanna
The Eye of the Elephant
Survivor’s Song

Books recommended by Delia Owens:
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
A Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold
West with the Night – Beryl Markham

– Upcoming Jaunts –
This weekend, Laura Thoma, playwright, has a play, Meet Me in the Lobby, appearing in the Norwalk Theatre Artists Workshop festival April 26-29, 2019. Laura was on Episode 19 and Episode 66.

Emily will be attending the Newburyport Literary Festival on April 26-27, 2019

Booktopia 2019 at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT is taking place May 3-4, 2019

Chris and Emily will be attending Book Expo America May 29-31, 2019

– Upcoming Reads –
Lost Laysen – Margaret Mitchell (CW)
Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell (CW)
The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age – David Callahan (EF)
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World – Melinda Gates(EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Check out Alice Hoffman’s website for her backlist
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
Mel’s Bookland Adventures
The Stella Prize
Marina Abramovic Institute
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative – Austin Kleon (CW)
Documentary about James Baldwin: I Am Not Your Negro
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen – Mary Norris
Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry
Russell of Ink and Paper Booktube Channel

Episode 74 - Joint Jaunt to see Kingsolver and Powers, and Emily Eats Her Way Through Philly

At the 92nd St Y to see Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Powers discuss their books Unsheltered and The Overstory!

At the 92nd St Y to see Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Powers discuss their books Unsheltered and The Overstory!

Episode Seventy Four 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.

– Upcoming Readalong –
We are hosting co-reads in June 2019 with Jenny Colvin of the Reading Envy Podcast.
More details are forthcoming, but the books are:
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather
The Goodreads discussion page can be found HERE

– Currently Reading –
The World That We Knew: A Novel – Alice Hoffman (EF) (release date 9/24/19)
A Vindication of the Rights of Women – Mary Wollstonecraft (CW)
    Click HERE for the readalong with Great Book Study
Welcome to the Writer’s Life: How to Design Your Writing Craft, Writing Business, Writing Practice, and Reading Practice - Paulette Perhach (CW)
From A Whisper to A Riot: The Gay Writers Who Crafted an American Literary Tradition – Adam W. Burgess (CW)
The Jewel Garden: A Story of Despair and Redemption – Monty Don, Sarah Don (CW)

– Just Read –
Fascism: A Warning – Madeline Albright (CW) (audio)
The Shortest Way Home – Miriam Parker (EF)
Chris dnf’d Transcription – Kate Atkinson (CW)
Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions – Valeria Luiselli (EF)
The Marriage of Phaedra – Willa Cather which is part of the Willa Cather Short Story Project
Heavy: An American Memoir – Kiese Laymon (EF) (audio)

– Biblio Adventures –
Chris and Emily went to the 92nd St Y to see Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Powers discuss their books Unsheltered and The Overstory

Chris watched A Discovery of Witches based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

Emily took a trip to Philadelphia and visited the University of Pennsylvania Bookstore and Penn BookCenter and also took a picture of the Curtis Publishing Company building. She also had dinner at Zahav and flipped through a copy of Michael Solomonov’s new cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. Click HERE to read the article about Solomonov in the NY Times.

 – Upcoming Jaunts –
4/18/2019 – The Willa Cather Bookclub will discuss A Lost Lady at 2pm at Bookclub Bookstore & More.

4/18/2019 – Bank Square Books and the Lagrua Center are co-hosting Mary Norris to discuss her book Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen.

4/23/2019 – Patricia Marx and Roz Chast will be visiting RJ Julia Booksellers to discuss their book Why Don’t You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?: A Mother’s Suggestions. Click HERE to read the article about them in the NY Times.

4/24/2019 – Delia Owens will be visiting RJ Julia Booksellers to discuss her book Where the Crawdads Sing. Note: The event is sold out.

4/29/2019 – Dr. Carla Hayden in conversation with Tracy K Smith at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Tracy K. Smith is the poet Laureate of the United States and has a wonderful podcast, The Slowdown, where she reads a poem each day.

5/30-6/1/2019 – 64th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference

6/17-6/21/2019 – The 17th Annual Willa Cather Seminar

 – Upcoming Reads –
A Lost Lady – Willa Cather (CW)
Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell (CW)
Sapphira and the Slave Girl– Willa Cather (CW)
If Beale Street Could Talk – James Baldwin (EF)
Lights All Night Long – Lydia Fitzpatrick (EF)

– Also Mentioned –
Faithful – Alice Hoffman
Riff Raff Bookstore in Providence, RI
Lost Children Archive – Valeria Luiselli
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
White Dog Cafe
The Impossible Fortress – Jason Rekulak
To find the poetry videos from the Book Cougars April 2018 National Poetry Month Celebration head to our YouTube page.
Check out Ryan Ludman on Instagram

Episode 73 - True Grit Readalong!

Book Cougars - Episode 73.jpeg

Episode Seventy Three 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.

– Currently Reading –
Transcription – Kate Atkinson (CW)
Fascism: A Warning – Madeline Albright (CW)
The Shortest Way Home – Miriam Parker (EF)

– Just Read –
The Trial of Lizzie Borden – Cara Robertson (CW)
Good Riddance – Elinor Lippman (EF)
The Invited – Jennifer McMahon (CW) (release date April 30, 2019)
The Wartime Sisters – Lynda Cohen Loigman (EF)
Passing – Nella Larsen (EF)
Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens (EF)
The Hot Young Widows Club: Lessons on Survival from the Front Lines of Grief – Nora McInerny (EF)

– Biblio Adventures –
We went on a joint jaunt to see a panel discussing Writing Trauma at Yale University.
Panelists included: Roxane Gay, Aubrey Hirsch, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Saaed Jones, Terese Marie Mailhot, and Melanie Boyd

Emily went to Long Wharf Theater to see a play based on the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Chris went to Playhouse on Park to see The Revolutionists by playwright Lauren Gunderson

Check out the NYPL Library Talks Podcast Episode 248: Debut of A Velocity of Being edited by Maria Popova

Chris visited Stepping Stones, the home of Bill and Lois Wilson, co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous

Chris discovered a new bookstore in New Haven, CT: Grey Matter Books

Chris and Emily went to see the Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City

– Upcoming Jaunts –
Chris and Emily are heading to the 92nd St Y to see Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Powers discuss their books Unsheltered and The Overstory

April 26-27, 2019 – The Newburyport Literary Festival

May 3-4 , 2019 – Booktopia at Northshire Bookstore

April 6th – Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

– 10th Readalong –
True Grit – Charles Portis
The Goodreads discussion page can be found HERE.

– Upcoming Readalong –
We are hosting co-reads in June 2019 with Jenny Colvin of the Reading Envy Podcast.
More details are forthcoming, but the books are:
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather

– Also Mentioned –
Russell – Ink and Paper Blog
Seward Park New York Public Library
Alison Law – Literary Atlanta PodcastEpisode 45
Terrible Thanks for Asking Podcast
It’s Okay To Laugh – Nora McInerny
A Student of History – Nina Revoyr
The River – Peter Heller
The Last Woman in the Forest – Diane Les Becquets
Jabberwocky Bookshop
True Grit movie adaptations:
John Wayne version
Coen Brothers version
Upcoming 50th anniversary of John Wayne version look for information here
Donna Tartt – The Secret History and The Goldfinch
At the Edge of the Orchard – Tracy Chevalier
Girl with the Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier
The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

 

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

Recording at the Portland Library with Our Mystery Man!

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
My Sister, the Serial 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 Sister – 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 Libray 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

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

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 Tell 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 Storytelling 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 Theater 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 Hunger – Nina Revoyr (CW)
Women in the Literary Landscape – edited by Doris Weatherford, Rosalind Reisner, and Nancy Rubin Stuart (CW)
Heavy: An American Memoir – 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 Vine – Zora Neale Hurston
Nevada Barr and The Track of the Cat
Diane Les Becquets Events
Min Jin Lee: On Selling Your First Novel After 11 Years
Book by John F Kennedy: Profiles in Courage
A Student of History – 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!

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

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!

Please subscribe to our email newsletter
here.

– 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 Project 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://virginiasolesmith.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"

Book Cougars - Episode 69.jpeg

Episode Sixty Nine Show Notes
C
W = 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 Roxane Gay at Yale University 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!

Book Cougars - Episode 68.jpeg

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.

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 Inheritance: 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.

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!

Book Cougars - Episode 67.jpg

Episode Sixty Seven 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.

– 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

Book Cougars - Yours in Words Radio.png

Episode Sixty Six Show Notes

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.

 – 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!

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