Shelf Esteem: Recent Episodes
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Glenna Turnbull, author of the recently released novel The Art of Getting Lost and Found, talks to me about the book, her writing process, and the pressure of a self-imposed writing deadline.
Episode one of the new audiodrama Terra Arcana, from Shelf Esteem host Trudy Morgan-Cole and frequent guest host Emma Cole. If you like it, subscribe to the Terra Arcana podcast for more!
In this month's episode, I talk with author Sharon Bala about her new novel Good Guys, a sometimes-scathing satire of the world of non-profits and well-meaning charity. We both dive a little into personal experience, and we also discuss what Sharon's been reading. Then, Emma joins me for another look at this year's Canada Reads books, where we continue to judge books by their covers.
I talk with journalist and author Heather Barrett about uncovering little-known women's history in her new book The Mill Girls. Stay tuned at the end for a little Canada Reads preview in which Emma Cole and I literally judge books by their covers.
Links to where to find it and more info are in the show notes at https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2025/11/28/episode-63-author-talk-with-jen-winsor/
In this month's Author Talk, I chat with local filmmaker and first-time author Debbie McGee about her powerful memoir of love and loss, Cautiously Pessimistic -- as well as about why she was initially reluctant to admit that she was writing a memoir. As always, we talk about the writing life as well as the reading life, including the dangers of listening to audiobooks while doing home renovations.
Shelf Esteem is back after a several-month hiatus with a series of Author Talks! My guest this month is novelist, journalist, visual artist and general powerhouse Angela Antle. Listen to find out about her new novel The Saltbox Olive, about Newfoundlanders fighting in Italy in World War Two (and so much more!). If you listen to the end there's a teaser for my new podcast project, Terra Arcana. Show notes, as always, are at https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/
Episode 60: We Descend to the Level of the Sentence and We Come Back Up for Air by Trudy Morgan-Cole
Poet, novelist, and avid reader George Murray drops by to talk about what he's been reading, which gets us into discussing genre boundaries, literary fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, artificial intelligence, what it means to be human, and why we shouldn't (yet) fear the rise of the robots. For the full list of books we discussed, check out the show notes at https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/
It's time for murder and mayhem as librarian Julia Mayo and I discuss two bookswapped mysteries - Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes, and The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (which is, arguably, not a mystery at all). We end up talking about those two novels and many, many others in this crime-filled episode.
Journalist and broadcaster John Gushue joined me in my new recording location at Bad Times Club Studio to discuss what we've been reading lately, particularly the memoirs that have fascinated us. That led us into a deep dive into a book that I read on John's recommendation and we both had a lot of thoughts about: Sarah Polley's collection of personal essays Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations With a Body of Memory.
In the first podcast episode of 2024, we have a Black History Month special where I visit with Xavier Michael Campbell and Heather Barrett and talk about their book Black Harbour. Our conversation ranges from the record of enslaved people in Newfoundland history, to peppermint knobs, salt fish, and men named Junior, as well as to the idea that "there's no Black people in Newfoundland," why we can sometimes be defensive about our history, and some more reading suggestions for people who'd like to delve deeper into Black history.
For my last podcast episode of 2023, I sat down with my frequent co-host and even more frequent daughter, Emma Cole, and two of her friends, Emma Pappas and Myles Bradley, to discuss the book they'd just read for their friend-group book club, Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment.
Martha Muzychka and I enjoyed a thorough discussion of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers, wrapping up my three-episode celebration of the 100th anniversary of Whose Body, the first Lord Peter novel.
Continuing my summer series celebration 100 years of Lord Peter Wimsey, I bookswapped Murder Must Advertise with Kate Atkinson's Shrines of Gaiety -- two novels set amongst a drug- and crime-ridden London underworld -- in conversation with writers, visual artist, and cousin, Jennifer Morgan.
Back from an unplanned hiatus, I dive into a summer mini-series where I get my reading partners to read some of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, my favourite book series of all time, by Dorothy L. Sayers. This month, Emma and I swapped the first of the Lord Peter books, Whose Body, with the Truly Devious mystery series by Maureen Johnson. Tune in to find out what a Gen Z reader thinks of a novel published in 1923, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lord Peter Wimsey.
In this month's Bookswap, Lori Savory and I discuss two recent novels that are both, in their way, "pandemic novels," though only one is explicitly set during the Covid19 era. Both deal with isolation, finding your path in life, breaking up with the perfect or imperfect boyfriend ... and somehow, the whole discussion ends with us talking about our dogs.
Christine Hennebury - writer, storyteller, founder of Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl, and all-round powerhouse -- swaps fantasy novels with me. In discussion "The City of Brass" by SA Chakraborty and "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" by T Kingfisher, we touch on the topics of powerful young women, hot but jerkish mentors, and the ability of fantasy and sci-fi to let us imagine a better world.
In another mother-daughter bookswap, Emma and I discuss Kate Beaton's graphic novel Ducks, and Mariko and Jillian Tamaki's YA graphic novel This One Summer. We touch on coming-of-age stories, the power of the everyday, both external and internalized misogyny, and a whole lot more!
Three fellow avid readers join me for this year-end special, each to discuss one book that both they and I read and loved this year. It's December 28 as I post this and I'm still not ready to commit to a Top Ten of 2022, but these three are definitely in at least my Top 25 of the 125 books I read this year.
Once again, Emma Cole joins me for a deep dive into two novels: one that each of us has recommended for the other to read. In this case, though the books are very different, the titles are easily confused: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab. Join us for a conversation about fake celebrity memoirs, sexy devils, and SPOILERS GALORE!!! As always, if you go to www.trudymorgancole.com and click on the Podcast link, you can get to the Show Notes for this (and every) episode, listing all the books we discussed in addition to the two main ones.
In our fifth BOOKSWAP!, Emma reads Jennifer Weiner's "The Summer Place," I read Emily Austin's "Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead," and we talk about what a "beach read" is, or should be.
My guest this month was L'nu playwright and artist Leahdawn Helena. We had a wonderful conversation about books, which led naturally into talking about her brilliant upcoming play, Stolen Sisters. Follow this link to find out everything you need to know about the play, which runs from August 16-28 in St. John's and will later tour to the West Coast of Newfoundland: https://www.persistencetheatre.com/stolen-sisters.html . Go see it!!
Cultural power couple Ainsley and Andrew Hawthorn joined me for a wide-ranging discussion that touched on beloved and problematic children's books, issues of consent in the Twilight series, why audiobooks, e-books, and graphic novels are all perfectly valid books ... and a lot of talk about Jack the Ripper that was not really about Jack the Ripper, because he gets talked about too much already.
My conversation with authors Michelle Butler Hallett and JoAnne Soper- Cook ranged widely over a lot of topics and included much classic literature, although we did make a conscious choice not to talk about Ernest Hemingway. We also discussed earning our "Lying" badge, and the way vividly written historical fiction can bring you into a time and place so clearly you can ... well, it's all in the episode title. You can read the show notes, where every book we discussed is listed, at: https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2022/04/10/episode-43-we-smell-the-olives-and-also-the-public-toilets/
My first non-family, full-episode, in-person guests since March 2020 are E.B. Reid and Mark Hunter. By total coincidence, this is Episode #42 and we are talking about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy A LOT ... among other books! Please go to trudymorgancole.com and click on the "Shelf Esteem" link to read this episode's show notes because there's some COOL STUFF there in addition to the titles of books we discussed.
For our fourth Bookswap!, and first podcast of 2022, Emma and I read and discuss Throw Down Your Shadows, by Deborah Hemming, and Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner. Our conversation jumps lightly from discussions of genre to demands that a minor character get his own spin-off. To see show notes for this and all other episodes, go to http://www.trudymorgancole,com and click the Shelf Esteem link.
For the final episode of 2021, we stay in-house with me and Emma talking about squidburgers, Robert Ludlum's thriller "The Omicron Variant," the apocalyptic loss of punctuation, and, of course, books we've read and thought about this year. The show notes, with the full list of books we discussed, can be found at https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2021/12/31/episode-40-all-our-quotation-marks-were-destroyed-in-the-event/
For this episode, I read a recent favourite book of Emma's, Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi, and Emma read a book that was a favourite of mine when I was around her age, Emma Who Saved My Life by Wilton Barnhardt (which I did not name her after). We discussed nostalgia, the dream of making it in the Big City, the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, whether people in their 20s care about their families or not, and the hardship of Life Before Cellphones.
In the second episode of our "BookSwap!" summer series, Trudy gets Emma to read "Ayesha at Last" by Uzma Jalaluddin, a wonderful modern day twist on Pride and Prejudice set in a Muslim community in Toronto. Emma gets Trudy to read The Natural Daughter, a 1799 novel by Mary Robinson, which is ... a buck-wild ride from start to finish. Plus, we talk about Jane Austen an awful lot for a podcast where we don't even read one of her books. Find the blog post with links to almost everything we talked about in this episode here: https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/episode-38-bookswap-2-one-of-these-books-is-bonkers/
For the first episode in our summer series, Emma and I discussed "Normal People" by Sally Rooney, and "My Year of Rest and Relaxation," by Otessa Moshfegh. Find out which book I said I "kinda hated with the burning passion of a thousand suns"!
This month's episode, after another unplanned, COVID-inspired hiatus, is a roundup of my reading recommendations and those of three writers: Michelle Butler Hallett, Sharon King Campbell, and Bridget Canning -- plus a look ahead at my future plans for Podcasting In The Time of Covid.
For the first podcast in a long time, and a Christmas special, I gathered a collection of avid readers and talked with each of them about their favourite books to read at this time of year. From children's picture books that are "sweet, but not twee," to chilling ghost stories, to literary classics ... we discuss them all. For a list of all the books discussed in this episode you can go to http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com
This episode starts with me rambling about how there's been no new podcast since the end of April because ... well, Covid-19, plus I've discovered I don't really enjoy recording podcasts on Zoom, so I'm rambling a bit about the future of the podcast for the foreseeable future. Then I call in my in-house book expert, my daughter Emma Cole, and we had a lively conversation about what we've been reading and how, even when we can't remember anything else about books, we're still pretty good with shapes and colours. Find the list of books we discussed here: https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/episode-34-we-are-with-emma-cole/
I got three good friends together via Zoom and we talked about what we're reading during quarantine/lockdown/pandemic, how we feel about dystopian literature at this stage, and whether people will inevitably behalf like a-holes in the apocalypse. Also, we learn a new word. Check out http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com for show notes where I list all the books we talked about.
Well, maybe it's just me who's afraid to cough. But the cough I edited out, and this whole very strange current moment in the midst of a global pandemic, definitely did come up during this episode. Do you read about plagues during a plague, or do you read to escape the current reality? My guests were two brilliant writers: Leslie Vryenhoek and Russell Wangersky. You can find links to their books, plus all the books we talked about, in the show notes at: https://wp.me/p8n9NX-fR
I had a great conversation with writer/researcher Michelle Porter, and community outreach worker/roller-derby-ist Jane Bannister. We touched on poetry, writing by indigenous writers, science fiction, and why we should not wait till we are old ladies to wear purple.
(You'll need to forgive the audio quality on this one: due to a microphone error on my part there's some background noise and echo that's distracting, though my fabulous sound technician Chris Cole did a great job of cleaning it up as much as possible to make it listen-able). As always, you can find the show notes with links to all the books we talked about at: https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/episode-31-we-should-start-wearing-purple-now/
Recorded at the Port Adelaide Library, listen to author Noel Braun as he shares from his books about walking the Camino de Santiago. Noel has walked five of these routes through France, Spain and Portugal, his first walk was at 77 years old and his most recent at 84! Noel's walks are dedicated to the memory of his wife who died by suicide. His grief journey is described in his book 'No Way to Behave at a Funeral'. Noel is an advocate for suicide awareness and prevention.
You can follow Noel on his Facebook page: @noel.braun.3.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @cityofpaelibraries
Avid readers Olivia Robinson and Elizabeth Hicks join me in studio for the first podcast of 2020. As usual, we talk about what we're currently reading and the books that have shaped us in the past -- as well as giving a little glimpse into some literary pilgrimages we've taken in the past.
To see the full list of books we discussed in this episode, go to http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com
For 2019's year-end episode I invited my in-house expert on young-adult fiction, Emma Cole, so we could both sit down and talk about books we'd read and liked -- or at least had opinions about -- this year. Also about things like: how we define "young adult" literature and whether you're supposed to outgrow it, sympathetic stab wounds, what you read when you're majoring in English, and how one of Emma's best books of 2019 was written in (checks notes) 1891.
Artist Peter Drew joined us for a conversation at the Parks Library about his work and his memoir Poster Boy. Listen to podcast host Sonja as she chats to Peter.
You can find more about Peter at www.peterdrewarts.com or via his social media on facebook, twitter and instagram @peterdrewarts.
You can also follow Shelf Esteem via our library social media on facebook and instagram @cityofpaelibraries. On the web at www.cityofpae.sa.gov.au/library or email us at shelfesteem@cityofpae.sa.gov.au.
In this episode, our librarians delve into the dystopian world of The Wall by John Lanchester.
You can follow Shelf Esteem via our library social media on facebook and instagram @cityofpaelibraries. On the web at www.cityofpae.sa.gov.au/library or email us at shelfesteem@cityofpae.sa.gov.au
In a conversation that ranged from snails to insects to whale blubber -- yet was, somehow, all about books -- I visited with avid readers Melissa Barbeau and Lara Maynard. Be sure to check out Melissa's beautiful and critically-acclaimed novel, The Luminous Sea. To see a complete list of all the books we talked about, go tohttps://wp.me/p8n9NX-eH
My first crossover episode! Jenny Wright and Amanda Bittner, hosts of the podcast "The Academic and the Activist," come to MY podcast to talk about what they're reading now, the books that shaped their feminist sensibilities, and how Nice White Ladies are, unfortunately, gonna kill everyone (and how reading widely can help us NWLs, you know, not do that).
Join Sonja and Warwick as they interview Dr Samantha Battams, author of the book “The Secret Art of Poisoning.”
You can find more about Samantha at www.samanthabattams.com. On instagram @samanthabattams and on facebook @battamssamantha.
You can also follow Shelf Esteem via our library social media on facebook and instagram @cityofpaelibraries. On the web at www.cityofpae.sa.gov.au/library or email us at shelfesteem@cityofpae.sa.gov.au
Librarians Leigha Chiasson-Locke and Emily Blackmore talk about their favourite kids' books, fantasy, literary fiction and so much more. Plus, we discuss the "death of books" (spoiler: they're still alive!) and why libraries are so much more than just big rooms full of books. Also, shushing.
Check out the shownotes with links to books and other things we discussed at:
https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/episode-26-we-have-never-shushed-anyone/
I started talking about books with journalist Andrew Sampson when I ran across his book-focused newsletter on Twitter. That led to me inviting Andrew and his friend Nicole Boggan, who works in arts administration, onto the podcast to talk about nonfiction vs fiction, the value of being able to say "Same!" when you read a book, and the perils of choosing a novel your whole book club might hate.
As always you can read a complete list of all the books we discussed at: https://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com/2019/04/30/episode-25-we-wish-to-clarify-that-it-is-a-merman-not-a-dolphin/
We may all be English teachers and a little obsessed with the fact that "a lot" is not one word -- but we also all love books. Dave Walsh and Alison Edwards are, unlike me, on the frontlines of educating junior-high and high-school students, so they have their fingers on the pulse of YA fiction (and some non-fiction), what kids are reading these days, what kids used to read, and what they think about what kids should be reading (which is, spoiler, pretty much what kids want to read!) Click the Shelf Esteem link at www.trudymorgancole.com to find the show notes listing all the books we talked about.
Local journalists Angela Antle and Stephanie Tobin joined me in the studio for a chat about what we're currently reading, the books that have shaped us, TV and movie adaptations of favourite books, whether anyone can put pressure on Margaret Atwood, and why you shouldn't read dystopian fiction during an extended power blackout. And, of course, we reject the concept of the "guity pleasure." As always, go to trudymorgancole.com and click the "Shelf Esteem" link for a list of all the books we talked about.
On February 28, books by Sharon Bala, Lisa Moore, Jamie Fitzpatrick, and me, Trudy Morgan-Cole, are competing for the NL Reads book award. I got the nominated writers together to talk about books that have inspired us, which led to us talking about all kinds of writing-related things. Check out the show notes at http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com for links to NL Reads and to all the books we talked about.
Writers Elisabeth de Mariaffi and Maggie Burton joined me to talk about what we're reading, characters we identify with, what we read when we just want to unwind with something formulaic, and the occasional need to hex someone in these trying times. As always, if you go to http://shelfesteem.wordpress.com you'll see the show notes listing every book we talked about.
Local writers, activists, and members of the Order of Canada, Bernice Morgan ad Helen Porter, joined me for a wide-ranging talk about books and writing, punctuated by crackers and cheese. Find the show notes including our book list at http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com
Two bright lights of the Newfoundland theatre world, Jenn Deon and Sharon King-Campbell, join me to talk about everything from hot fantasy angels, to historical romance, to books you think everyone should read. And if the episode title makes no sense to you, you're probably too old. Just like us.
Michelle Butler Hallett and I take a deep dive into the recent movie adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Along with obsessively analyzing every aspect of the book and movie we talk about the process of adaptation itself, as well as about Madeleine L'Engle, Ava DuVernay, Star Wars, and what SHOULD have happened to Charles Wallace.
Book reviewer Jean Graham and publisher Amanda Will joined me in the studio to talk books. We covered a lot of local books and invoked The Sacred Name of Michael Crummey several times - as well as the names of f Kathleen Winter, Joel Thomas Hynes, and others. We also diverged into Stephen King and other horror novels, TV and movie adaptations of books, social history, and whether kids' books are objectively better today than when we were young.
It's Valentine's Day, romance is in the air, and romance novelists are in the studio! Victoria Barbour and Melanie Martin stopped by and we chatted about romance novels (theirs and the ones they like to read), historical fiction, and obsessive googling while watching The Crown. They also talk about how romance is more than just the sterotypes of ripped bodices and bare-chested heroes. To see their recommendations, go to www.trudymorgancole.com and click the Shelf Esteem link.
Award-winning writers Terry Doyle and Susie Taylor joined me in the studio to talk about some of our favourite books of 2017 as well as our all-time favourites, what we're looking forward to reading next, and why at least two of us do not want to read a story where anything bad happens to a dog. Some of us, however, consider bats fair game and do not care what happens to them.
Local writer and actor Paul Rowe, and his partner Mona Rossiter, sometime local politician, political organizer, and activist, dropped by the studio to talk about the books they have read and loved. Turned out a lot of them -- more than I would have expected -- were by writers named Richard. Check out the full list of books we discussed at http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com
Local authors Jamie Fitzpatrick ("The End of Music") and Kerri Cull ("Rock Paper Sex") dropped in to talk about what we're reading lately, how we choose books, whether you can trust the books you love, and why I have such weird issues about monkeys.
Librarians Cindy Foote, Renee Farrell, and Krista Hart joined me to talk about books they're reading and books they've loved, as well as giving us a glimpse into the secret lives of librarians.
I guess a spooky episode about horror books might be appropriate to release at the end of October, but I can't do that because I DON'T READ SCARY BOOKS. Instead, you'll get me talking about what I've been reading lately, then a lively and funny discussion between me and my daughter Emma about young adult novels, diversity and representation in YA fiction, and why most (but not all) novels by YouTubers are lame.
Airdate: October 1, 2017. An Anglican priest, a Pentecostal post-graduate student, and a Seventh-day Adventist novelist walk into a basement studio. And they talk about the books that have guided, inspired and challenged them along their spiritual paths. Yes, we all read Mere Christianity when we were teenagers and it changed things for all of us ... but what's been on our bookshelves since then?
Airdate: September 17, 2017. I invited up-and-coming Newfoundland writers Bridget Canning, author of The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes, and Sharan Bala, author of the upcoming The Boat People, to the studio to talk about books we love, books that shaped us as kids, and why you should be careful what you say around writers -- we're always taking notes.
Air date: September 3, 2017. Shannon Sullivan and Sarah Aubert came to talk about what they're reading and especially about fantasy, a favourite genre for all three of us. Don't be misled by the episode title: we talked about lots of positive, inspiring, encouraging books. But we also talked about Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.
Air date: June 11, 2017. Andreae Callanan and Diana Daly came to the studio to tell me (and you!) all about their intersectional feminist book club. The conversation ranged from feminism, to books, to the need for women to run for St. John's City Council, to, oddly enough, skin care. And if you're not sure what "intersectional feminist" means, then you'll definitely want to listen to this.
Airdate: May 28, 2017. Actors/comedians/writers Berni Stapleton and Amy House came by the studio to talk about what we're reading, whether or not we think of ourselves as "readers," and what it means to be "women of a certain age" in our culture. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!
Airdate: May 14, 2017. For Mother's Day, I invited another book-loving mom, Martha Muzychka, along with her son Nick Gushue, to talk with me and my daughter Emma Cole about what we're reading now, what we read with our kids when they were younger, why every YA novel has to include romance and be set in a school, and what could have improved the Hobbit movies (see episode title).
Airdate: April 30, 2017. Today's episode finds me hanging out with three of my best friends: Jennifer Morgan, Tina Chaulk, and Lori Savory. We talk about facing down your fears as a writer and why it might be easier to do that if you've already written a bestseller; about the books we read as kids and how many of them were available in the library near Tina's home in Aspen Cove, and, inevitably, Anne of Green Gables.
Air Date: April 9. 2017. Award-winning playwrights and short-story writers Robert Chafe and Megan Coles apologized repeatedly for straying into theatre-talk when we started talking about books. The conversation was wide-ranging and lovely, and we uncovered the real reason for Newfoundland's rich literary culture, as well as establishing the fact that Robert Chafe does not, in fact, have all the answers. Check out the book list from this podcast at http://shelfesteem2017.wordpress.com
Air Date: March 24, 2017. Writers Michelle Butler Hallett and Christine Hennebury came to the Shelf Esteem studio to discuss historical fiction, how storytelling helps us rehearse for our lives, why Orwell's 1984 is always relevant, why everyone is so obsessed with Shakespeare, and how Harriet the Spy shaped our lives as young writers.
Air date: March 12, 2017. Elayne Greeley and Lynne Sheppard dropped by to talk about dystopian fiction, book quotes that become part of your family vocabulary, and books you try to get everyone else to read. We learned that Elayne is in love with Anthony Doerr (in a literary sense), Lynne is in love with a book by Salmon Rushdie, and I am not in love with dystopia. Also, all the characters in Fall on Your Knees are really unhappy people.