The Perks Of Being A Book Lover Podcast: Recent Episodes
Amy Smalley and Carrie Vittitoe
Perks of Being a Book Lover is a show about books, people who read, and how reading, at its very best, is a social experience. Whether it be a book club, a poetry slam, or the production of a play; words are meant to be shared. Keep up with us on FB.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
For more information about Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison, visit their website www.OhioCelebratesToniMorrison.org or on Insta at @ohiocelebratesmorrison.
This week we have created a motley episode of different segments all about or set in OH in some way. Think of it as the Frankenstein’s monster episode. First we will be chatting with Britt Lovett, who is the Project Manager for the Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison Project. This year-long celebration running from February 2026-February 2027 focuses on the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison, a native of Ohio and the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
While Amy has gone to Ohio this year to visit Hocking Hills and the Columbus Book Festival, I have driven to Ohio three times because my youngest son had surgery in June at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Because this year feels like it has been “All Ohio, all the time,” we’re giving you recommendations for books set in the Buckeye State.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Assassination Nation by Sarah Vowell
2- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
3- Sula by Toni Morrison
4- Beloved by Toni Morrison
5- Paradise by Toni Morrison
6- I'll Watch Your Baby by Nina Viel
7- Clutch by Emily Nemens
8- Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum
9- Penelope's Bones: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It by Emily Houser
10- The Night Hunter by Natalie Moss
11- Guess Again by Charlie Donlea
12- A Harlem Wedding by Tiffany L. Warren
13- A Hunger to Kill by Kim Mager with Liza Pulitzer
14- Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith
15- The French Winemaker's Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth
16- The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth
17-We Were Promised: How an Appalachian Grandmother Fought a Corporate Giant by Julia Flint
18- Mosquitoland by David Arnold
19- The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, The Woman Who Pursued Him, and the Murder that Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott
20- Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
21- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos by M. Elizabeth Weiser
22- Kent State by Deborah Wiles
23- To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower
24- The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer
25- Harvey Pekar's Cleveland by Harvey Pekar
Media Mentioned:
1- Death by Lightening (Netflix, 2026)
2- Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison - https://ohiocelebratestonimorrison.org
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Dorothy Roberts at www.dorothyeroberts.com/ or you can find her on IG at @dorothyeroberts .
This week, we chat with Dorothy Roberts, the author of the book The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family. As an esteemed professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and a social justice advocate, Dorothy Roberts has written many scholarly books and academic papers about reproductive justice, child welfare, and bioethics, but her most recent book is a much more personal one. She is the child of a white father who was an anthropologist and a black Jamaican mother, both now deceased. When Dorothy’s sister gave her boxes of her father’s files, she began to read transcripts of research he had done on interracial marriage over a 60-year period. She had no idea how these files would affect her memories of her childhood, her parent’s marriage, and her own racial identity. This book is a fascinating look at racial history in Chicago as well as a very touching memoir about a father/daughter bond.
And for our book recommendation segment of the show, we turn to one of the most iconic parts of an American summer. August is here, which means people are having their last hurrahs at amusement parks. With this in mind, we decided we would feature books about these places where people go to be entertained, eat overpriced food, and argue with their relatives. The books we’ve chosen are set in various amusement park venues, such as a western theme park in Arizona, an arcade park where reality disintegrates, a place called Dreamworld where everyone is happy, a real-life New Jersey amusement park that was certainly ride at your own risk, a North Carolina park that was the site of a murder mystery, and an amusement park set in the mind.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family by Dorothy E. Roberts
2- The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson
3- Martin Marten by Brian Doyle
4- The Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
5- Jane Kenyon: The Making of a Poet by Dana Greene
6- The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and Obsession by Michael Finkel
7- The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
8- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
9- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Elizabeth S. @fireplacebookworm - Beartown by Frederik Backman
10- The Free Lunch by Spider Robinson
11- Krazyland by Mar Romance-Moore
12- The Insignificant Events in the Lives of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
13- Joyland by Stephen King
14- Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America's Most Dangerous Amusement Park by Andy Mulvihill with Jake Rosen
15- Anxietyland by Gemma Correll
Media Mentioned:
1- The Odyssey (2026)
2- Emily Wilson review of the Odyssey - https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n14/emily-wilson/an-uncomplicated-man
3- Class Action Park (2020, HBO Max)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Emily Franklin at www.emilyfranklin.com or on IG at emilyfranklinauthor
At the end of May, we attended a Carmichael’s book event featuring author Emily Franklin, who has written numerous books. Her latest titled Love & Other Monsters is about a time in history that most English majors look on with awe and wonder. Her novel is about the summer of 1816 when Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori traveled to Switzerland and, as the legend goes, told scary stories to each other, which ended up leading to the first vampire story and the book we now know as Frankenstein. But Franklin’s novel focuses on a member of the party who doesn’t get any acknowledgement—Mary’s step-sister Claire Clairemont. Emily did a great job making the Carmichael’s audience want to learn more about Claire’s story, so we invited her on to share it with our listeners.
And for our book recommendation segment of the show, we are talking Shakespeare, the Bard, the Swan of Avon, Willy Shakes. Shakespeare is such a touchstone in literature in ways that we don’t regularly think about like classic phrases and tropes. But you don’t have to be (or not to be) a Shakespeare scholar to enjoy the books we talk about this week. We have a historical mystery, witty nonfiction, historical fiction, a memoir, a middle grade novel, and a novel in verse. All are influenced in some way by Shakespeare’s plays or the man himself.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Love and Other Monsters by Emily Franklin
2- Grandma Joy & Me: A Journey of Healing , One National Park at a Time by Brad Ryan
3- The Humming Room by Ellen Potter
4- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5- Summer of 1816: A World Without Summer by Nicholas Day
6- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
7- The Vampyre by John Polidori
8- Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Mushrooms Taught Me About Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival by Maria Pinto
9- Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
10- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbly Weiden
11- Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbly Weiden
12- A Five Star Read of Fellow Book Lover Joshua - Devotions by Mary Oliver
13- Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd
14- Much Ado About Mistletoe by Christina Dodd
15- Shakespeare: The World as a Stage by Bill Bryson
16- By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
17- Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
18- Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench
19- The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Media Mentioned
1- The Bride (2026)
2- Guillermo de Toro article about Frankenstein: "Why Vampires Never Die" - https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/opinion/31deltoro.html
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Alix E. Harrow at www.alixeharrow.wixsite.com or on IG at @alix.e.harrow
Carrie and I are still reading and resting on our summer hiatus but we are continuing our summer replay series of award winners!
This week we are going way back in the archives to the fall of 2019, the first season of our podcast. We took a roadtrip from Louisville to Berea, KY to meet up with Alix E. Harrow, a Hugo and British Fantasy award winner and a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, and Goodreads Choice Awards. And she is a New York Times best-selling author. At the time of our interview, her debut novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January had been released and one of her short stories had just won the Hugo. Currently her most recent novel The Everlasting is a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The Hugo is science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious annual award.
Because this interview was recorded in a library with tall ceilings, not in a studio, and because we were definitely newbies at podcasting with a different format, this episode will sound a lot different than those today. But we hope you’ll enjoy hearing Alix talk about her influences and her view of sci-fi fantasy early on in her writing career.
We will be back July 22 with an all new episode. Happy Reading!
Carrie and I are on summer hiatus but we are leaning into award winners! We have been lucky enough to interview many acclaimed authors who have won awards in their genres. So we are replaying some of these past episodes. First up is Erin Flanagan who was on the show in 2022. Her debut novel Deer Season won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The Mystery Writers of America gives the Edgar Award to recognize the best in fiction, non-fiction, and television writing. Erin has gone on to write 2 more thrillers. Blackout had just been published when we spoke to her.
You can follow Erin Flanagan on Instagram @erinlflanagan or at her website; www.erinflanagan.net
For shownotes for any episode at our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Follow us on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
In this week’s episode, we chat with Erin Flanagan, an author whose debut novel Deer Season won a 2022 Edgar Award for Best First Novel; her most recent book that published this past summer is a thriller called Blackout. Blackout revolves around a sociology professor named Maris who begins having blackouts despite the fact that she gave up drinking seven months before and then discovers other women in her community are experiencing the same thing. It’s a bit of a #metoo novel with some speculative science and some vodka thrown in. In addition to being an award-winning writer, Erin is also a creative writing professor at Wright State University in Ohio.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
2- Blackout by Erin Flanagan
3- In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet
4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby
5- The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer
6- They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
7- The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer
8- The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (Enola Holmes #2) by Nancy Springer
Movie Mentioned
1- Enola Holmes - 2020 (Netflix)
TV series mentioned:
1- Severance - 2022 (Apple +)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Meredith Doench at www.meredithdoench.com or on IG at @meredithdoench
If you’ve listened to our show for a while, you may be aware that we’ve interviewed several Ohio authors. Katrina Kittle, Erin Flanagan, Christina Consolino, and Sharon Short (who has also published under the name Jess Montgomery) have all been guests and all are part of a writing group called the Cute City Bitches.
But there was one writer in that group whom we hadn’t yet interviewed, but now we have. Meredith Doench teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Dayton and is a writer of sapphic thrillers, which is perfect since June is Pride Month. We’re delighted she joined us to talk about her latest book titled Never Say Die, a novel about a detective named Rory Scott who has to contend with her own mother-daughter issues when someone in the community for the second time in six years, kidnaps a young girl and murders a teenager. Meredith talks to us about her love of crime novels and how writing and marketing novels with LGBTQ characters has changed since she began publishing.
Our book rec segment of the show this week focuses on books with unusual narrators. These are narrators who aren’t human, and they might not even be tangible. We’ve got books narrated by sheep, Death, and dead people, as well as a mechanically-inclined world traveling gorilla, a Mediterranean fig tree, and a centenarian tortoise.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Never Say Die by Meredith Doench
2- Crossed by Meredith Doench
3- This American Woman: A One in a Million Memoir by Zarna Garg
4- Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes by Devoney Looser
5- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
6- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
7- Heartwood by Amity Gaige
8- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
9- The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
10- Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith
11- A Book Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Michele Terranova @bookwhisperer22 - I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney
12- Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
13- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
14- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15- The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius
16- The Island of the Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
17- The Tortoise's Tale by Kendra Coulter
Media Mentioned:
1- Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix, 2026)
2- Lord of the Flies (Netflix, 2026)
3- I Know My Name is Steven (1989)
4- Sheep Detectives (2026)
5- The Book Thief (2013)
6- The Lovely Bones (2009)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Alyson Richman at www.alysonrichman.com or on IG @alysonrichman.
If you’re a historical fiction lover, you’ve probably read something by Alyson Richman. She’s the author of 11 novels, including The Missing Pages, which was published last fall. We were delighted that she agreed to come on the show and speak to us about this book, although we did sneak in a question about The Velvet Hours published in 2016, which our book club read many years ago. It is about a real Paris courtesan in the Belle Epoque who in her later years as World War II approaches shares her life story with her granddaughter.
The Missing Pages is a historical fiction novel that is about a man’s love of books, but it is also a ghost tale, a romance, and a story of the Titanic all rolled into one. Richman is known for making the reader feel the sumptuous details of the world she is writing about, and she does it again in this book.
Our book rec segment of the show is all about musicians, but we’re not talking solely about musician memoirs, although we do have one of those. We’ve got a children’s nonfiction book about a Ukrainian pianist who performed for Nazsis, a National Book Award winner, a mystery about a stolen violin, a story about a wedding singer whose own relationship is on the rocks, and a coming of age story set in the 1970s that includes a rock star.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- The Missing Pages by Alyson Richman
2- The Velvet Hours by Alyson Richman
3- The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
4- All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley
5- Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
6- The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
7- Underlake by Erin L. McCoy
8- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
9- A Five Star Read from fellow Book Lover Anima D. @autopsyofbooks - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
10- The Encore by Juliet Izon
11- Songs For Other People's Weddings by David Levithan and Jens Lekman
12- Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis by Susan Hood and Greg Dawson
13- Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
14- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by David Grohl
15- The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
This week you get a bonus episode because we are revisiting the conversation we had back last November with Daniel Kraus, the author of Angel Down. This novel just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. So enjoy and we will be back with an all new episode next week.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Daniel Kraus at his website danielkraus.com or on IG at @kraus_author.
This week our episode features Daniel Kraus, a writer who has published over 20 books, but among moviegoers he may be best known as the co-author with Guillermo del Toro of The Shape of Water. The film of this story won four Oscars in 2018. Daniel’s 2023 novel Whalefall is being turned into a 20th Century Fox motion picture, and I hope that at some point his latest novel, Angel Down, will also be on film.
Both the premise and writing in Angel Down are unique. It is the story of a group of World War I soldiers told to go into No Man’s Land to rescue what they think is a wounded soldier. What they find is an angel. If you enjoy war novels, and even if you don’t, I recommend giving this book a read.
Our book rec section of the show features books related to women in politics. If you are interested in politics yet hate the nuttery of American government at the moment, these books can provide a reprieve. We have contemporary fiction, biography, memoir, alternative history, and electoral nonfiction.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
2- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
3- The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus
4- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5- The Leaphorn and Chee Series by Tony Hillerman
6- Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza
7- The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus
8- Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
9- From Under the Truck by Josh Brolin
10- Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
11- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
12- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover State Katz @all.da.bookish.things - The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan
13- Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Alison Winn Scotch
14- Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza
15- The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected But Republican Women Don't by Laurel Elder
16- Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
17- Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton
18- A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Arden
Media Mentioned:
1- Frankenstein (2025-Netflix)
2- Dark Winds (2022 - present, Netflix)
3- The Shape of Water (2017)
4- 1917 (2019)
5- Whalefall (Upcoming Fall 2026)
6- Michelle Obama Says US Not Ready for a Female President - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/michelle-obama-says-us-not-ready-woman-president-rcna244136
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Carmichael’s at carmichaelsbookstore.com
We were sad last fall that we weren’t able to record with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, manager at the Frankfort Ave location of Carmichael’s Bookstore for our Holiday Book Buying episode. But she is back for summer, telling us all about the new titles that will get you excited to sit back on a hot afternoon, either at the pool or in the air conditioning, and read to your heart’s content.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
2- The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera
3- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
4- A book that Changed a Life - Sisters of the Yam by bell hooks recommended by Briana Lathon Bluford
5- Yesteryear by Claro Claire Burke
6- American Fantasy by Emma Straub
7- Whistler by Ann Patchett
8- Puck by Samantha Allen
9- Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
10- Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys
11- Go Gentle by Maria Semple
12- Country People by Daniel Mason
13- These Days by Lucy Caldwell
14- Devotions by Lucy Caldwell
15- Opening by Lucy Caldwell
16- Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhorn
17- The Keeper by Tana French (Cal Hooper #3)
18- Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
19- Killer Vibes by Jack Friday
20- Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim
21- Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman
22- Sublimation by Isabel Kim
23- Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
24- We Burn So Bright b y TJ Klune
25- Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorrne
26- American Rambler by Isaac Fitzgerald
27- Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben Mezrich
28- The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany
29- The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan
30- The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun
31- True Biz by Sara Novíc
32- Mother Tongue by Sara Novíc
33- The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin
34- London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
35- 4 Janes by Marian See
36- Love and Other Monsters by Emily Franklin
37- This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman
38- Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment by Rhae Lynn Barnes
39- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
40- The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
Media Mentioned:
1- White Lotus (2021 - present, HBO Max)
2-2026 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction - https://www.pulitzer.org/news/2026-pulitzer-prize-announcement
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Aaron Starmer at www.aaronstarmer.com or on IG @aaron_starmer.
This week on the podcast we welcome middle grade and young adult novelist Aaron Starmer whose most recent book, You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This, is a quirky middle grade novel about a Toe Beast and a girl who travels with a pack of dogs and a boy named Roman who learns some family secrets. That sounds like a lot so we are glad Aaron joins us to explain it all in a much more succinct way than we ever could. And his 2025 YA novel Night Swimming just came out in paperback this week.
And our book recommendation segment of the show is about aliens because what pairs better with a quirky novel than some extraterrestrials? We have Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning titles, a book about alien garbage, a wacky buddy road trip adventure, literary fiction about a girl who doesn’t feel human, and a philosophical first contact story starring the Catholic Church.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- You Are Old Enough To Hear This by Aaron Starmer
2- Night Swimming by Aaron Starmer
3- The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
4- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
5- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
6- The Humans by Matt Haig
7- The Riverman by Aaron Starmer
8- The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
9- Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy
10- The Art of Vanishing by Morgan Pager
11- A 5 Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Tess @books_andthebeach - Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers
12- The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers
13- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
14- Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
15- Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
16- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
17- The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
Media Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Whitehall Book Club - https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club
2- Resident Alien - (2021-2025, Netflix)
3- Project Hail Mary (2026)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Folger Shakespeare Library at www.folger.edu
Now you may be familiar with the Folger Shakespeare Library’s editions of Shakespeare’s works. In fact, Carrie is still using some of hers from high school. But she had no idea this world-famous research library in Washington DC had a book club. As a Shakespeare enthusiast, she was definitely intrigued, and we are so excited that emma poltrack, the Arts Engagement Program Manager for the Folger Shakespeare Library, agreed to join us and tell us all about the book club.
Our book rec segment this week are books about…..book clubs! We’ve got two memoirs about book clubs–one made up of professor friends and the other between a mother and son. We’ve got a horror novel with a book club that battles vampires, an intergenerational mystery-solving book club in England, a women’s fiction novel about a book club that asks its members to present the book that matters most, and a writing and reading group for Punjabi women in London that’s breaking boundaries.
Books Mentioned in this Episode
1- The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
2- The Calculating Stars (A Lady Astronaut series) by Mary Robinette Kowal
3- The Martian Conspiracy by Mary Robinette Kowal
4- Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
5- Tastes like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma
6- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
7- The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu
8- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
9- Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
10- Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
11- Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons
12- Well Met by Jen DeLuca
13- Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
14- Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
15- The Fraud by Zadie Smith
16- It Goes So Fast by Mary Louise Kelly
17- The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehman
18- The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes
19- Shibby Magee by Carrie Kabak
20- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Abigail @nobadbooks - Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
21- The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
22- The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood
23- The Toni Morrison Book Club by Juda Bennett, Winnifred Brown-Glaude, Cassandra Jackson, and Piper Kendrix Williams
24- The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
25- The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson
26- Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Media Mentioned:
1- For All Mankind (Apple +, 2019 - present)
2- But That's Another Story Podcast (featuring Will Schwalbe)
3 - Whitehall House and Gardens Book Club - https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Daria Lavelle at www.darialavelle.com and on IG at @daria.lavelle.author
What is a food that, when you smell it or taste it, reminds you of a person or a place? Our guest this week, Daria Lavelle, has written a novel titled Aftertaste that asks what would happen if you could summon ghosts with food. This isn’t a horror novel, so these ghosts aren’t here to haunt us in the traditional sense. But the main character, Kostya, is a chef who helps his clients find closure from their loss and grief through food memories. Lavelle’s novel is super unique, and she talks to us about her own Ukrainian-American family’s passion for food, how Covid and Russia’s war on Ukraine heavily affected its writing, and how love becomes the crux of all the book’s momentum.
Our book rec segment of the show features women in STEM doing all kinds of cool sciency, techny, engineery, and mathy things. We’ve got women doing research in the Amazon and under the sea, women physicists, young girls learning botany, Regency period women studying fossils, and female scientists who bring back a woolly mammoth.
Books Mentioned In This Episode
1- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
2- Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
3- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh
4- The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
5- A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
6- Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
7- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Kris N. @theretiredlibrarian - Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet
8- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
9- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
10- Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
11- The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss
12- State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
13- Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Media Mentioned --
1- Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (2024)
2- Bringing Back Wooly Mammoths - https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/nx-s1-5704318/colossal-woolly-mammoth-dire-wolf
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Books with Betsy at https://www.bookswithbetsy.com/ and on IG at @books_with_betsy
This week, we chat with Chicago resident Betsy Tomszak who by day is a kindergarten teacher who reads lots and lots of picture books. After school hours, though, she is a reader of all kinds of other genres and the host of the podcast Books with Betsy. She was kind enough to invite us to be guests last summer, and we’re finally able to return the favor so she can tell our listeners all about her show. We get the nitty gritty about why she started the podcast and why she wanted to talk to regular readers.
Our book recommendation segment of the show this week is about characters in disguise. Sometimes a disguise is just to mask one’s appearance, but in other situations it is not only a physical disguise but an assumption of an entirely different personality and back story. We offer you historical fiction novels set in Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, a novel based on a medieval legend, a National Book Award winner, and a memoir.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
2- My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for his Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar
3- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
4- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
5- Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet
6- So You Wanna Be On Top? by Sarah Hartshorne
7- Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
8- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Hartman
9- Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
10- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
11- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
12- Summerdale by David Jay Collins
13- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
14- The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
15- The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
16- Sundial by Catriona Ward
17- A Five Start Read recommended by Fellow Book Lover Jeanine Neale @jeans_stacked_shelf - Nobody Knows You are Here by Bryn Greenwood
18- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
19- Master Slave, Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyoon Woo
20- Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear
21- Pope Joan: A Novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross
22- Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
23- The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
Media mentioned:
1- Wuthering Heights (2026)
2- Shrinking (Apple +, 2023 - present)
3- The Good Lord Bird (2020)
4- Jateska Cultural Center - https://jasteka.org
5- Artwork by Vian Sora - -https://jasteka.org/abcs-events
6- Run and Read Chicago - https://www.readandrunchicago.com
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk to Rachel Ray, CEO of the International Book Project, a nonprofit organization in Lexington, KY that helps make book lovers out of people all over the world. She talks to us about the logistics of shipping books and how close relationships with the Peace Corps and other nonprofits help get English-language books into people’s hands.
And for our book recommendation section of the show, we are focusing on spies, but these definitely aren’t of the James Bond variety. We offer up 6 book suggestions that stretch our understanding of an espionage story. We are light on books set during the Cold War or World War II but instead focus on outside-the-box spy characters.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé
2- The White Heart of the Mojave: An Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert by Edna Brush Perkins
3- Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams on the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood
4- Guards, Guards! (Discworld series) by Terry Pratchett
5- The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valley
6- Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson
7- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Jenni Scott @storytimereviews - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
8- Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park
9- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
10- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
11- Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
12- Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith
13- The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix
Media Mentioned:
1- Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Max 2026)
2- John Hendrix's link to The Faithful Spy research - https://goose-hawk-c589.squarespace.com/bonhoeffer-research
3- Terry Pratchett Puzzle - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-world-of-terry-pratchett-1000-piece-puzzle-a-discworld-jigsaw-by-paul-kidby-terry-pratchett/29dbddde082184ce?ean=9781399620697&next=t&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D&utm_content=6443417794&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16235479093&gbraid=0AAAAACfld41whhyxRMyYH28KslljMJPpx&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIieS7rND8kgMVYCBECB3sphbOEAQYByABEgIRtvD_BwE
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Eiren Caffall at her website eirencaffall.com or on IG @eirencaffall
We chat this week with Eiren Caffall, a Chicago writer whose memoir, The Mourner’s Bestiary, sat on Carrie's shelf staring at her for a year until she finally made time to read it but she is so glad I did. In this creative nonfiction work, Eiren talks about her family’s long history with a chronic illness (specifically, polycystic kidney disease (PKD)) and connects that to the health of the waterways and living creatures in Maine. It is a master work that merges scientific writing with poetic language. We also talk about her novel, All the Water in the World, which came out less than six months after The Mourner’s Bestiary. It is also about water, but in a fictional dystopian setting where New York City has flooded due to the melting of the ice caps. If you enjoyed Station Eleven, you must give this novel a try.
And for our book recommendation section of the show, we are focusing on Old Dudes!! Carrie has a soft spot in her heart for curmudgeonly and/ or cuddly elderly men, so we are giving you six ideas of books that feature crotchety (or not) male senior citizens. We have a memoir, a children’s book series, a book translated from Swedish, novels featuring LGBTQ protagonists, and literary fiction.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- The Mourner's Bestiary by Eiren Caffall
2- All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
3- Howards End by E.M. Forster
4- Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
5- Ignition by MR O'Connor
6- Hotshot: A Life on Fire by River Selby
7- The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Story of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown
8- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
9- The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
10- Queen Bee by Cierra Geraghty
11- The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
12- A Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover - In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes
13- The Very Long Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl by Bart Yates
14- The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray by Walter Mosley
15- The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
16- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
17- The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
18- Mr. Putter and Tabby series by Cynthia Rylant
19- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City: Murder, Secrets, and Scandal in Old Louisville by David Dominé
Media Mentioned:
1- 'Murder in Glitter Ball City' - https://www.wdrb.com/news/murder-in-glitter-ball-city-hbo-documentary-explores-2010-old-louisville-murder/article_1b4cc513-c22b-4543-b609-5b6267e1dce2.html
2- Our Episode with David Dominé - https://ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/season-5-episode-108-sex-drugs-and-true-crime-vibes-with-guest-david-domine-10-13-21/
3- True Detective Night Country (HBO Max, 2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Christina Henry at christinahenry.net or on IG @authorchristinahenry
In this week’s episode, our focus is on houses that are so important to a story that they essentially become a character. When we started thinking about this idea, we realized that Chicago writer Christina Henry would be a perfect guest because her last two novels are focused on houses. Her most recent is titled The Place Where They Buried Your Heart and is about a neighborhood house that lures people in, causing heartache for neighbors as well as a sense of family among a handful of them. Prior to this novel, Christina wrote The House That Horror Built. We talk to Christina about the importance of houses in her stories and how a house can straddle setting and character.
In our book rec section, we continue the house idea with a range of titles in which houses are critically important—-we’ve got a memoir, a National Book Award winner, children’s fantasy, classic literature, and propulsive literary fiction.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
2- The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry
3- Howards End by E.M. Forster
3- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
3- Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen by Jon M. Chu
4- Double Indemnity by James Cain
5- From the Moment They Met It Was Murder: Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir by Alain Silver and James Ursini
6- Out by Natsuo Kirino
7- Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
8- Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
9- The Mantis by Kotaro Osaka
10- Three Assasins by Kotaro Osaka
11- Bullet Train by Kotaro Osaka
12- The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
13- Night Shift by Alex Finlay
14- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Kris Wyatt @froggyreadteach - The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
15- Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchison
16- House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
17- The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
18- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
19- The House with the Clock in it's Walls by John Bellairs
20- Behind the Waterline by Kionna Walker LeMalle
21- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
22- Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier
Media Mentioned:
1- If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)
2- Platonic (Apple +, 2023 - present)
3- Train Dreams (2025)
4- The Studio (Apple +, 2025)
5- Howards End (1992)
6- Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
7- The House with the Clock in it's Walls (2018)
8- House of Sand and Fog (2003)
9- LibroVox app for free audiobooks of books in the public domain
10- Whitehall House and Gardens Book Club - https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk to Rachel Ray, CEO of the International Book Project, a nonprofit organization in Lexington, KY that helps make book lovers out of people all over the world. She talks to us about the logistics of shipping books and how close relationships with the Peace Corps and other nonprofits help get English-language books into people’s hands.
And for our book recommendation section of the show, we are focusing on spies, but these definitely aren’t of the James Bond variety. We offer up 6 book suggestions that stretch our understanding of an espionage story. We are light on books set during the Cold War or World War II but instead focus on outside-the-box spy characters.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé
2- The White Heart of the Mojave: An Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert by Edna Brush Perkins
3- Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood
4- Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
5- The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy
6- Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats by Courtney Gustafson
7- A 5 Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover Jenni Potter Scott @storytimereviews - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
8- Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park
9- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
10- An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
11- Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
12- Mr. Nice Spy by Tiana Smith
13- The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix
Media Mentioned:
1- Murder in Glitterball City - HBO Max, 2026
2- John Hendrix - Link to The Faithful Spy research - https://goose-hawk-c589.squarespace.com/bonhoeffer-research
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Jessica Walker on IG @hellojessicawalker
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to debut novelist and assistant professor of fine arts at Parsons School of Design Jessica Walker, whose novel Amy discovered late last year. The Secret Astronomers is an illustrated novel, which is not the same as a graphic novel. This is a novel that is written on sticky notes between two people inside a book. It’s in full color and really eye-catching. Although it is technically geared towards young adults, it is a feast for the eyes for any age reader. The story is about two girls who keep their identities secret from each other and converse through an old astronomy textbook in the school library. This new take on the epistolary novel takes the reader on an adventure to solve a mystery in this small West Virginia town.
And in our book rec section, inspired by the West Virginia setting of The Secret Astronomers, we’re giving you other books set in The Mountain State. We have a mystery, a Pulitzer Prize winner, several historical fiction, and an investigative nonfiction.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Secret Astronomers by Jessica Walker
2- I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3- Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
4- Floreana by Midge Raymond
5- What You are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
6- Yellow Singing Sail: A Memoir of an Only Child in China by Yinfan Huang
7- Otto: A Palindrama by Jon Agee
8- Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Address Book by Nick Bantok
9- My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for a Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar
10- The Doorman by Chris Pavone
11- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover Karla @karla_bookishlife - Blood Like Ours and Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
12- The Road to Blair Mountain by Charles Keeney
13- The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
14- The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb
15- Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
16- The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence by Stephen Kurczy
17- The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg
18- Foote: A Mystery Novel by Tom Bredehoft
19- The Coffin Quilt: The Feud Between the Hatfields and McCoys by Ann Rinaldi
20- The Grand Design by Joy Calloway
Media Mentioned:
1- Footnotes and Tangents Substack - War and Peace
2- Eden (Netflix, 2024)
3- Our episode with Meg Shaffer - https://ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s12ep249-the-lost-story-with-guest-meg-shaffer-11525/
4- Article about Reading Resetting the Nervous System - https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/873671/why-reading-cures-overactive-nervous-system-experts-explain/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Archer Sullivan at her website archersullivan.com or on IG @archer_sullivan.
We are back with all new episodes, book recommendations, and, most importantly, guests! To start the new season with a bang, we have author Archer Sullivan whose book The Witch’s Orchard is the first in a new series featuring Private Investigator Annie Gore, who travels to small town North Carolina to solve the mystery of young girls who have disappeared. What makes the cases even more creepy is that an Appalachian apple face doll is left in place of the child. Archer draws on her personal knowledge of place as a 7th-generation Appalachian, although she now resides in Los Angeles, and is always looking for a reason to come home. The novel was a nominee for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards in the Best Debut Novel Category. The next Annie Gore installment comes out in August of 2026.
Our book rec section for this episode is a call back to what a lot of people were doing the past two weeks–taking planes, trains, and automobiles to family and friends to celebrate the holidays. We give you two books set on planes, two on trains, and two in automobiles, which you can look into whenever you’ve got travel plans in 2026.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan
2- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
3- Sous Chef: 24 Hours of Working on the Line by Michael Gibney
4- Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
5- Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan
6- Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
7- The Curse of Chalion by Lois Bujold
8- The Wizard of Earths by Ursula K. LeGuin
9- Silver Medal Lover by Tanith Lee
10- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
11- Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson
12- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
13- A Five Star Read by Fellow Book Lover - Babel by R.F. Kuang
14- West With The Night by Beryl Markham
15- Circling the Sun by Paula McClain
16- Turbulence by David Szalay
17- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
18- Border Crossing by Emma Pick
19- Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler
20- The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Media Mentioned:
1- Simon Haisell's Slow Read at Footnote and Tangents Substack - https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com
2- From the Front Porch Podcast - Patreon Conquer a Classic
3- The Bear on Hulu
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
Our first show of Season 14 will begin on January 7, 2026. We’ve been coming up with ideas for book recommendations and will soon be recording with guests. But until then, Amy is going to make merry, and Carrie is going to begrudgingly deal with the holidays. And in this episode, we’re reviewing some of the notable books that we have loved over the last 12 months. Some of these are backlist titles, and some are new releases—we cannot keep up with the publishing industry, nor do we really try. You will also hear from some of our guests from this year who share their favorites of 2025.
Books Discussed In This Episode:
Carrie's Favorites of 2025
1- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
2- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
3- The Millicent Quibb School for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
4- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh
5- Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug
Amy's Favorites of 2025
1- Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce
2- You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
3- Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
4- The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown, RN
5- Paris Letters: A Travel Memoir About Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris by Janice MacLeod
Other books mentioned
1- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
2- The Nature of Pain by Mandi Fugate Sheffel
3- The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker
4- The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
5- Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess
6- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
7- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
8- Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
9- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
10- Dead Man Blues by S.D. House
11- God of the Woods by Liz Moore
12- The Road to Blair Mountain: Saving a Mine Wars Battlefield from King Coal by Charles B. Keeney
13- Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O' Yea
14- Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan
15- Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
16- The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
17- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
18- Grace and Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
19- Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Daniel Kraus at his website danielkraus.com or on IG at @kraus_author.
This week our episode features Daniel Kraus, a writer who has published over 20 books, but among moviegoers he may be best known as the co-author with Guillermo del Toro of The Shape of Water. The film of this story won four Oscars in 2018. Daniel’s 2023 novel Whalefall is being turned into a 20th Century Fox motion picture, and I hope that at some point his latest novel, Angel Down, will also be on film.
Both the premise and writing in Angel Down are unique. It is the story of a group of World War I soldiers told to go into No Man’s Land to rescue what they think is a wounded soldier. What they find is an angel. If you enjoy war novels, and even if you don’t, I recommend giving this book a read.
Our book rec section of the show features books related to women in politics. If you are interested in politics yet hate the nuttery of American government at the moment, these books can provide a reprieve. We have contemporary fiction, biography, memoir, alternative history, and electoral nonfiction.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
2- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
3- The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus
4- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5- The Leaphorn and Chee Series by Tony Hillerman
6- Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza
7- The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus
8- Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
9- From Under the Truck by Josh Brolin
10- Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
11- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
12- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover State Katz @all.da.bookish.things - The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan
13- Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Alison Winn Scotch
14- Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza
15- The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected But Republican Women Don't by Laurel Elder
16- Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
17- Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton
18- A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Arden
Media Mentioned:
1- Frankenstein (2025-Netflix)
2- Dark Winds (2022 - present, Netflix)
3- The Shape of Water (2017)
4- 1917 (2019)
5- Whalefall (Upcoming Fall 2026)
6- Michelle Obama Says US Not Ready for a Female President - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/michelle-obama-says-us-not-ready-woman-president-rcna244136
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find out more about Kristine and Meet Me At Luke’s at www.gilmorebookclub.com or on IG at @gilmorebookclub.
This week we catch up with Kristine Eckart, the founder of the online Gilmore Book Club. When we first spoke to her in Season 9, Episode 188 (2023), she talked about creating this book club, which is based on the books read by the characters in the beloved bookish TV show The Gilmore Girls.
This year the show is celebrating its 25th anniversary since it first aired, and to commemorate this occasion, Kristine has written a book titled Meet Me at Luke’s, which is a compendium of essays about the show and its impact on Kristine and other book lovers. If you have a Gilmore Girl fan in your life, this might be the perfect holiday gift. In this remix episode, you’ll hear an update from Kristine as well as clips from her initial visit on The Perks.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Meet Me At Luke's by Kristine Eckart
2- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
3- The Vampyre by John Polidori
4- Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
5- Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakeable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness by Rick Hanson
6- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
7- The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
8- The President's Wife by Tracey Emerson Wood
9- The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson
10- A 5 Star Read Recommnended by a Fellow Book Lover Kim Layman @the_read_rat - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
11- The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature by Viv Groskop
Shows Mentioned:
1- The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
2- Gossip Girl (2007-2012)
3- The Office (2005-2013)
4- Anne with an E (2017-2019)
5- White Lotus (MAX, 2021-present)
Link to previous Perks episode: https://www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/blpks3ktgywx9fx-x9wxe-p3aft-j9j3f-pk2fn-wbdd3-dbsfp-hhfrc-ep6yz-alk6z-hl34a-dhhaz-l9x4z-88zrd-rh699-xd584-r9src-wkdf3-aegrx-hhnhf-zsc5j Whitehall Historic Home and Gardens -https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find JH Markert at jamesmarkert.com or on IG at @jamesmarkert74
This week we chat with JH Markert who we spoke to pre-Covid in the before times when he was writing historical fiction. Over the last couple of years, he has changed gears and returned to the genre that first made him an avid reader: horror. JH has been cranking out horror novels and finding a great deal of success with them. We catch up with James and discuss his transition to horror and what that has been like after writing five previous historical fiction novels. His most recent release that came out in September, Spider to the Fly, is dark horror suspense that deals with a serial killer, a true crime influencer, and a family with some bizarre dynamics.
And for our book rec section, we are talking about notable nonfiction. These are nonfiction books we’ve read in the last year that have made us think differently about a topic or stood out for us in some way (even though these books might not have been published in the last year). We’ll talk about a micro-history, a biography, a true crime, a memoir, a study of morality and politics, and a niche book about cussing.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert
2- Molokai by Alan Brennert
3- A White Wind Blew by James Markert
4- Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
5- Mr. Lullaby by J. H. Markert
6- Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert
7- Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert
8- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
9- Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness by Janet and Geoff Benge
10-The Vanishing Place by Zöe Rankin
11- Five Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover Jasper Adams-Smith - Be Kind, My Neighbor by Yugo Limbo
12- For Fck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun* by Rebecca Roache
13- The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone
14- The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
15- The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
16- Playing to Lose: How a Jehovah's Witness Became a BDSM Model by Ariel Anderssen
17- The Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan
18- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
Media Mentioned:
1- The Friend (2024)
2- Chief of War (Apple +, 2025)
3- The Outsider (HBO Max 2019)
4- Sinners (2025)
5- Nosferatu (2025)
Hey Book Lovers,
Carrie and I are on fall hiatus this week so we don't have a new episode for you. But what we do have is your chance to check out a new-to-you book podcast, Books with Betsy, hosted by Betsy Tomsak.
This past summer we were guests to the show where we talked about all things in our book lives, maybe even tidbits we have never shared on our own show. It's a fun conversation and we hope you will listen in and give Books With Betsy a follow.
We will be back with an all new episode on October 29 when we chat with horror/ thriller writer J.H. Markert about his new release, Spider to the Fly, and give you book recommendations for notable non-fiction we've read recently.
We hope you enjoy this episode of Books With Betsy.
Happy Reading!
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Rediscovered Books at rdbooks.org/ or on IG at @rdbooks
The American Library Association’s Banned Books Week is October 5-11, so we’re sharing an interview with one of the co-owners of Rediscovered Books in Boise, Idaho, a store that has pioneered a program in their city to push back against book banning in their state. Rebecca Leber-Gottberg talks to us about the history of the bookstore, her role there, and books that folks in Boise have been buying, but she also explains the bookstore’s Read Freely Project, which is their effort to get banned and threatened books dispersed throughout the community.
And in our book rec section, we’re jumping into spooky season with books related to ghosts, but if you don’t like horror, don’t worry: a lot of these “ghostly” books aren’t horror, and some of them may only seem to be about ghosts. We’ve got a historical fiction about the Sri Lankan civil war, a detective story in which ghosts are witnesses, a nonfiction book about unexplained phenomena which may or may not involve ghosts, a funny novella, a supernatural suspense, and a ghostly gothic novel set in Mexico.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
2- The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve House, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown
3- American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics by Kevin Hazzard
4- The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu
5- The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
6- Trans History: A Graphic Novel by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett
7- Lone Women by Victor LaValle
8- Wild Tongues Can't be Tamed: 15 Voices from the LatinX Diaspora edited by Saraciea J. Fennell
9- Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray
10- Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
11- House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
12- On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
13- The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
14- Firekeeper's Daughter by Angleine Boulley
15- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
16- Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
17- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
18- Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
19- Songs for Other People's Weddings by David Levitan
20- A Five Star Read Recommended by Claire @bookishly_claire - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
21- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
22- The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
23- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
24- Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons
25- The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story by Kate Summerscale
26- The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
27- This is Going to Hurt by Adam McKay
Media Mentioned:
1- The Pitt (Max 2025)
2- ER ( 1994- 2009)
3- This is Going to Hurt (2022, Amazon Prime)
4- The Craft Lit Podcast - https://craftlit.com/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Sam Sussman at www.samevansussman.org or on IG at @sam_sussman.
Our guest is debut novelist Sam Sussman whose book Boy From the North Country comes out this week. Sam originally wrote a short memoir piece for Harper’s Magazine that referred to the possibility that he might be Bob Dylan’s son but really the essay focused on his relationship with his mom, who had had a love affair with the musician. Eventually, Sam decided to explode the moment, or the series of moments of his life and with his mother, to get a better handle on who he was and how much that was about who his mom was and how she had raised him, not whether his father was Dylan. The book is receiving high marks in early reviews, and Sam has been making the rounds in newspapers and magazines, including a profile by the New York Times. Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, The Library Journal, and the American Library Association have all given Boy From the North Country starred reviews.
And for our book rec section of the show, we’re thinking about books that center on male relationships. We realize that our guests and listeners are primarily female, but we thought we would equal the playing field a little by talking about books that deal with father-son relationships, male friendships or brotherly love. We have a multigenerational story about the men in a Mexican-American family, a group of friends in a small town of the American Midwest, a pair of quirky Irish friends, a memoir about two very different guys at Harvard, two Greek heroes and their deep relationship, and boys from different cultures who develop a bond in unlikely circumstances.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Boy From the North Country by Sam Sussman
2- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
3- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
4- In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
5- Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
6- The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer
7- The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer
8- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Megan Burnett - The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
9- We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship by Will Schwalbe
10- The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza
11- Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Bulter
12- A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler
13- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
14- Circe by Madeline Miller
15- Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
16- Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
Media Mentioned -
1- The Silent Type: On Possibly Being Bob Dylan's Son- https://harpers.org/archive/2021/05/the-silent-type-on-possibly-being-bob-dylans-son/
2- School Cell Phone Ban Increases Library Visits - https://www.wave3.com/2025/09/02/school-cell-phone-ban-creates-surge-jcps-library-visits/
3- Reading for Pleasure Declines - https://abcnews.go.com/Health/americans-spend-time-reading-fun-time-screens-study/story?id=124807367
4- The Four Seasons (Netflix 2025)
5- The Four Seasons (1981)
6- How the Passionate Male Friendship Died --https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/05/men-friendship-history/682815/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Lindy Ryan at her website lindyryanwrites.com or on IG @lindyryanwrites.
For our guest this week, Lindy Ryan @lindyryanwrites, it's spooky season all year round. She grew up on a diet of #Goosebumps books and never got over her love of the dark and twisty. Now she writes her own horror stories and her BLESS YOUR HEART series will give you some thrills and chills with the Evans women. Four generations of them--great-grandmother Ducey all the way down to angsty teen Luna run a funeral home in their small Texas town. And they also have a little side project: protecting the town from the undead. Both BLESS YOUR HEART and ANOTHER FINE MESS, the second novel in the series, follow the Evans women who, with snark and heart, protect those they love from the proverbial "bloodbath."And for our book recommendation section of the show, we’re thinking about carnivals, fairs, and festivals. Kentucky recently held its state fair, and with that in mind, we think you should make yourself a corndog or deep fry a Twinkie and get ready to add some books to your TBR lists. We’ve got a graphic novel for kids, a thriller from the 1940s, a mystery, historical fiction, a National Book Award finalist, and a memoir. Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan
2- Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
3- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
4- Howl edited by Lindy Ryan
5- The Darkest Night edited by Lindy Ryan
6- But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
7- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
8- Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
9- Cackle by Rachel Harrison
10- Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
11- Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
12- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover @arizonabookstagrammer - Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
13- All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
14- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
15- Lewis Sinclair and the Gentleman Cowboys by DMS Fick
16- The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
17- Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham
18- The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts by Tessa Fontaine
Media Mentioned:
1- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Youtube)
2- Nosferatu (1922, Youtube)
3- Metropolis (1927, Youtube)
4- Nosferatu (2024)
5- The Thursday Murder Club (2025, Netflix)
6- Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019, Netflix)
7- Chernobyl (2019, Max)
8- Nightmare Alley (2021)
9- Shelby County KY Library books taken -
https://www.wlky.com/article/unreturned-library-book-dispute-shelby-county-reformation-church/65875001
10- Travels with Charley Fact Checking -
https://www.steinbecknow.com/2020/08/01/travels-with-charley-painting-snapshot/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Sarah Landenwich on her website SarahLandenwich.com or on IG @sarahlandenwich
Our guest this week, novelist Sarah Landenwich, has turned her own experience as a talented pianist who lost her passion into a compelling, many-layered book about music, competition, history, and legacy. THE FIRE CONCERTO is about a woman named Clara who left a career as a classical pianist following a devastating fire that left her hands painfully scarred. She also left behind a tortured relationship with her former piano teacher. But when that instructor dies and leaves Clara a 19th century metronome, it sends her down a path of mystery about who the metronome belonged to and how that connects to Clara.In our book recommendation segment of the show, we complete that old chestnut of a back to school assignment: the "What Did You Do This Summer?" essay. But we do it in the form of books. Carrie gives us some German authors she read while preparing for her family trip to Germany in June. And Amy highlights some books based on her Amsterdam and Wisconsin vacation spots, while also recommending a book by an author she saw at the Columbus Book Festival.Books Mentioned in this Episode
1- A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly E. Hill
2- The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich
3- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
4- Possession by AS Byatt
5- Plainsong (trilogy) by Kent Haruf
6- Old Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
7- The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
8- How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self Care Epidemic One Dubious Cure at a Time by Amy LaRocca
9- Say Everything by Ione Skye
10- The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
11- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover Cathleen @wovenfromwords - Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
12- Sleepless by Romy Hausmann
13- What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon
14- The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel
15- A Death in Door County (Monster Hunter series) by Annelise Ryan
16- Death in the Dark Woods (Monster Hunter series) by Annelise Ryan
17- Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug
18- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
Media Mentioned:
1- Speed Museum Glass Art exhibit - https://www.speedmuseum.org/the-adele-and-leonard-leight-glass-art-award-victoria-ahmadizadeh-melendez/
2- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
3- The Naked Gun (2025)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Keisha Mennefee at honeymagnolia.co and honeyblossompress.com
We have had great luck finding excellent books from small independent publishers, and so we periodically invite one on the show to tell us a little about how they operate. Our guest this week is Keisha Mennefee, a literary strategist who has worked with high profile Black artists like Jada Pinkett Smith and Kennedy Ryan. She recently started her own publishing house called Honey Blossom Press. The mission of this press is to amplify underrepresented voices and powerful narratives that might otherwise go unheard. Some of their new titles include When Forty Blooms by Jacinta Howard and The Divorcetante by Mia Hentzelman.
And since it is August, and we’re in the dog days of summer, our book rec section is focused on dogs. Amy especially loves a book where a dog features as a significant character who not only has personality but moves the plot along and helps create the theme. We’ve got some children’s lit, teen lit, Japanese narrative, literary fiction, memoir, and apocalyptic fiction.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
2- Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton
3- The Survivors by Jane Harper
4- Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton
5- Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon series #1) by Nevada Barr
6- When Forty Blooms by Jacinta Howard
7- This Side of Beautiful by Tiye
8- The Divorcetante by Mia Hentzelman
9- Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Triumph by Sheila Johnson
10- The House on the Strand by Daphne duMaurier
11- Alive and Beating by Rebecca Wolf
12- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angline Boulley
13- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
14- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Katelyn @bookclubwithkatelyn - Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
15- Gather by Kenneth Cadow
16- Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment
17- The Body in Question by Jill Ciment
18- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate diCamillo
19- Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg
20- The Boy and The Dog by Seishu Hase
21- A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. by C.A. Fletcher
22- Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
23- Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman
24- Martha Speaks series by Susan Meddaugh
Media Mentioned
1- Cat Video Fest - https://www.catvideofest.com
2- The Survivors (Netflix, 2025)
3- Untamed (Netflix, 2025)
4- Because of Winn Dixie (Disney, 2005)
5- 5 Flights Up (2014)
6- Martha Speaks (Prime Video, 2008)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Suzy Krause at her website suzykrause.com/ and on IG at @suzykrause
Usually, Christmas in July sales feature new cars or mattresses, but we are giving you a Christmas in July book episode. Our guest this week is Suzy Krause, a Canadian novelist whose book I Think We’ve Been Here Before is set in the few weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday in a small town in Saskatchewan. This book is cozy but not in a way you would expect because something terrible is about to happen. A cosmic event is going to end the world, and residents have several weeks to prepare. But this apocalyptic story is hopeful and uplifting and makes you feel good. How can you combine the end of the world with Christmas and make it comforting? That’s what we asked Suzy because she has written a book that is nothing like I’ve ever read. It’s like a little unexpected gift under the tree.
For our book rec section of this episode, we are talking about diaries. And no, we’re not going to be reading from our diaries because that would be a snoozefest. We’ve selected both nonfiction and fictional diaries that allow us to get a sneak peek into a historic event or a situation that we don’t know much about.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- I Think We've Been Here Before by Suzy Krause
2- We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
3- A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
4- The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
5- Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin
6- The Millicent Quibb Schook of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
7- The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney
8- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Lizzy Roth - Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher
9- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
10- These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner
11- This is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
12- The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lilly Koppel
13- Here Comes the Fun: A Year of Making Merry by Ben Aitken
14- The Lost Diaries of Édouard Manet by Maureen Gibbon
Media Mentioned:
1- Adolescence (Netflix 2025)
2- We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)
3- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Prime, 2012)
4- Ben Aitken Podcast episode - https://ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-7-ep-146-a-may-december-friendship-with-guest-ben-aitken-9722/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Colleen Gleason/Colleen Cambridge at her website www.colleengleason.com or on IG @colleengleason
Typically Amy has not been a cozy mystery reader, but this week’s guest, Colleen Gleason who also writes as Colleen Cambridge, may have single-handedly converted her. She is the author of over 57 books in numerous series but her “American in Paris” series has been a delightful escape over the last year. It is a cozy mystery set in postwar 1950s Paris with a dynamic mystery-solving duo featuring none other than Julia Child. Book 3 in the series titled A Fashionably French Murder was published in April. So we were thrilled when Colleen agreed to chat with us about this series as well as several of her other books.
Colleen’s style of writing often includes a pairing. She has a mystery series that involves Agatha Christie and her housekeeper, another series featuring Abraham Lincoln and his aide, and even a steampunk paranormal YA series involving an imaginary crime-fighting pairing of Bram Stoker’s younger sister and Sherlock Holme’s niece. As we know from doing this podcast, having a partner-in-crime makes things much more fun.
In our book rec section of the episode, we are all about gardens. We are not reviewing gardening books, however. Rather, we’re talking about books in which gardens, gardeners, flowers and shrubs are part of the story in some format. We’ve got thrillers, middle grade, fantasy, contemporary family drama, murder mysteries, and Appalachian gothic.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Fashionably French Murder (American in Paris series) by Colleen Cambridge 2- Food People by Adam M. Roberts
3- The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Ok Assistant by Liza Tully
4- Dept Q by Jussi Adler-Olsen 5- A Murder Most French (American in Paris series) by Colleen Cambridge 6- In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge 7- Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City by Jacques Yonnet 8- The Seven Rings (The Lost Bride Trilogy #3) by Nora Roberts 9- The Rosie Result (Don Tillman #3) by Graerme Simsion 10-The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 11-The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion 12- Forged by Danielle Teller 13- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Betsy Tomszak @bookswithbetsy - Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda 14- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
15- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister 16- June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde 17- A Botanist’s Guide to Parties & Poisons by Kate Khavari18- The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
19- Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
20- The Summer of June by Jamie Sumner
Media mentioned-- 1- Hacks (Max, 2021 - present) 2- Dept Q (Netflix, 2025) 3- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) 4- The New Look (Apple Plus - 2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we have Sam Miller, manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, with us to chat about books readers might want to consider for their summer reading. It is always fun to hear what is new and notable from Sam.
This is our last episode of the season. We will be back in July after our summer hiatus with all new episodes. Happy Reading!
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz
2- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
3- Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen 4- Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen 5- Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero 6- The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani 7- Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani 8- Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid 9- Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter 10- So Far Gone by Jess Walter 11- A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle 12- A Lesser Light by Peter Geye 13- Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippmann 14- El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott 15- Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann 16- Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann 17- First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson 18- King of Ashes by SA Cosby 19- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab 20- Katabasis by RF Kuang 21- Country Under Heaven by Frederic Durbin 22- A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna 23- Isabella Nag and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire 24- The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar 25- Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs 26- Plato and the Tyrant by James Romm 27- Turning to Birds by Lili Taylor 28- Is A River Alive? by Robert McFarlane 29- Mark Twain by Ron Chernow 30- Charlottesville by Deborah Baker 31- Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser 32- Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 33- Fulfillment by Lee Cole 34- If You Love It, Let it Kill You by Hannah Pittard 35- The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich 36- Black Cohosh by Eagle Valiant Brosi 37- Big Swiss by Jen Beagin 38- I Am the Arrow: The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath in Six Poems by Sarah Ruden 39- Red Comet by Heather Clark 40- Bad Badger : A Love Story by Maryrose Wood Media mentioned-- 1- Derry Girls (Netflix, 2018-2022) 2- Christoph Waltz on Jimmy Fallon --https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0jr-HQeT74 3- Floyd Collins Broadway show--https://floydcollinsbroadway.com
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Nickolas Butler at https://nickolasbutler.com/ or on IG @wiscobutler
Amy discovered Nickolas Butler earlier this year when she attended the author event for his newest novel A Forty Year Kiss at Carmichael’s Bookstore. Nick has six novels and a collection of short stories under his belt, but A Forty Year Kiss may be his first love story. His mind was set to wondering after he overheard a passionate conversation in his favorite local bar between two older people, a conversation that made him blush just a little. He began playing with the idea of what this couple’s back story was. Nick’s book asks readers to consider the difference between first love and love between mature adults, how life’s baggage affects personal relationships, and whether people can really change.
Nick also talks to us about his rural Wisconsin roots, why he read Babysitter Club books in his childhood, and the debate on whether he should wear a cape.
For our book recommendation section of this episode, we decided to find some of our favorite books we’ve read as a result of being in a book club together for two decades. For the most part, our book club chooses novels, but there is one memoir in the lot, as well as contemporary fiction, historical fiction, sci-fi, and a classic.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler 2- Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
3- A Paris Year by Janice MacLeod 4- Godspeed by Nickolas Butler 5- Love, Hope & Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O'Hagan 6- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos edited by M. Elizabeth Weiser 7- Marlena by Julie Buntin 8- A Lesser Light by Peter Geye 9- Down & Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain by Charles Leerhsen 10- Floreana by Midge Raymond 11- Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler 12- Super Zelda: The Graphic Life of Zelda Fitzgerald by Tiziana Lo Porto 13- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Cindy B. - Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion 14- The Velvet Hours by Alyson Richman 15- The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey 16- Molokai by Alan Brennert 17- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 18- Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexa Fuller 19- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel 20- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Media mentioned— 1- http://www.astoriedstyle.com/a-look-into-the-past-an-untouched-1942-paris-apartment/ 2- Ancient mounds in OH - www.hopeweklearthworks.org ReplyForward
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Holly Gramazio at her website https://www.hollygramazio.net/ or on IG at holly_gramazio
When we first heard the premise of Holly Gramazio’s novel The Husbands, we were intrigued. A woman’s husband goes up to the attic to retrieve something and down comes…a different husband. Wouldn’t we all sometimes like to exchange the husband we have for a better, newer, or just different model? Holly turned this idea into a novel that is both funny and thoughtfully considered. It may not, in fact, be such a great thing to have an endless supply of potential husbands so easy to exchange. Her book has been optioned by Apple Plus for a limited series and I just saw that Juno Temple, the actress who played Keeley in the Ted Lasso series, is slated to play the starring role.
And because it is April, and April is National Poetry Month, we’re discussing books related to poets. Not everyone loves poetry, but these books aren’t actually poetry–so you can still partake of poetry month. They are historical fiction, memoirs, essays, and children’s books written by or inspired by poets.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
2- Lakewood by Megan Giddings 3- I Used to Live Here Once: The Haunted Life of Jean Rhys by Miranda Seymour 4- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 5- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 6- The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay 7- Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line by Elizabeth Lovett 8- Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin 9- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Chelsea @2_girls_bookin_it - The Endless Fall by Emmerson Hoyt 10- The Swan's Nest by Laura Mcneal 11- You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith 12- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway 13- Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown 14- Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome 15- Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 16- World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 17- The Poet's Dog by Patricia McLachlan Media mentioned--
1- Severance (Apple+, 2022 - Present)
2- Reduced Shakespeare Company--https://www.reducedshakespeare.com
3- Saint X (Hulu, 2023)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Ben Shattuck at his website https://www.benshattuck.com/ or on IG @Benshattuck_
This week we chat with Ben Shattuck, author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau published by Tin House Books in 2022. Amy knew this book would appeal to Carrie because she is nothing if not a literary weirdo, and she has been since high school when she quoted from Thoreau in her senior yearbook. Despite her hopes that Ben would, like her, have a high school infatuation with Thoreau, he explains that his interest began much later. Even if you don’t know anything about Thoreau, if you're a walker or a hiker, you have experienced the unique meditative impact of this activity and can appreciate Ben’s insights on it. Ben also has a book of fiction out titled The History of Sound that is a finalist for the Pen/Faulkner prize so we are just really thrilled to have him with us today.
And this week, for our recommendations section, we didn’t just pick a random topic like asparagus or comas to share books about—we actually continue with the theme of walking. We each share at least 3 books that feature walking, hiking, or being in nature in some meditative way. We have literary fiction, memoirs, essays, and even a romance.
Books mentioned--
1- Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck
2- The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck 3- Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper 4- A Paris Year: My Day to Day Adventures in the Most Romantic City in the World by Janice Macleod 5- Dear Paris by Janice Macleod 6- The French Ingredient: A Memoir by Jane Bertch (La Cuisine French Cooking School) 7- Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard 8- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard 9- The Journals of Henry David Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau 10 - Matrix by Lauren Groff 11- Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks 12- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 13- Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr 14- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Simone Praylow @fullof_lit - Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea 15- Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea 16- Don't Believe It by Charlie Donlea17- In My Boots: A Memoir of 5 Million Steps Along the Appalachian Trail by Amanda K. Jaros
18- Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail by Sally Chaffin Brooks
19- The Unforeseen Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge by Wendell Berry
20- Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabelle Abbs
21- Ulysses by James Joyce
22- The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher
23- The Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses by Patrick Hastings
24- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
25- You Are Here by David Nichols
Media mentioned--The Residence (Netflix, 2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Rebecca Schinsky on IG @rebeccaschinsky and Book Riot at www.bookriot.com
In this week’s episode, we chat with Rebecca Schinsky, who is chief of staff for Riot New Media Group and co-host of The Book Riot podcast. Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America and book lovers can find all kinds of interesting stuff there, such as numerous podcasts, newsletters, and articles about different genres.
I have long been a listener of this podcast and love it because ….I am a book nerd through and through and this podcast gives me the inside look at the world of publishing. If you enjoy learning about trends and want the inside scoop about how and why certain books make it to your eyeballs or just want to have your pulse on bookish news, this podcast is for you. Rebecca talks to us about what book trends have had the biggest impact on the industry over the last 15 years, what other goodies you can find at Book Riot.com, and why social media flattens the book options we see in our feeds.
And this week for our book recommendations section, we put on our 10 gallon hats and our chaps because we’re talking about westerns. Westerns became popular in the late 1800s and derived from the dime novels of the mid-19th century. Many of these stories were later turned into movies in the 1940s and 1950s, which is probably the way most people had exposure to them. Films like High Noon and Shane were based on western stories. There was a second resurgence of western films based on novels between the 1970s-90s such as The Unforgiven and The Outlaw Josey Wales. We offer westerns that are in the graphic novel genre, the horror genre, literary fiction, and middle grade.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray 2- The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict 3- Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray 4- Life in Three Dimensions by Shigehiro Oishi 5- Back After This by Linda Holmes 6- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 7- Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontes by Isabel Greenberg 8- The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak 9- Red Widow by Alma Katsu 10- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Beth @a_vet_nurse_and_her_books - The Game by Danny Dagan 11- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 12- True Grit by Charles Portis 13- The Searchers by Alan LeMay 14- The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend by Glenn Frankel 15- Lone Women by Victor LaValle 16- Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalter17- Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
18- Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison
19- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
20- Pony by RJ Palacio
Media mentioned-- 1- Heretic (Max, 2024) 2- Longlegs (Hulu, 2024) 3- True Grit (2010) 4- Deadwood (Max, 2004-2006) 5- The Searchers (1956) 6- The Sisters Brothers (2018) Bella Da Costa Greene Exhibit in NYC - https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/belle-da-costa-greene
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Katherine Marsh at her website www.katherinemarsh.com or on IG at @katherinemarshauthor.
This week we chat with Katherine Marsh, author of The Lost Year, a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. I recently discovered this book after one of our book club members selected another Katherine Marsh book, Nowhere Boy, for our August read. The Lost Year is middle-grade historical fiction and it is super timely because part of it is set in Ukraine in the 1930s. The story introduced me to a topic in Ukraine history I knew nothing about called the Holodomor. Katherine tells us all about her novel which was inspired by her relationship with her grandmother who was from Ukraine. It is a perfect book selection if you are curious about Ukrainian history that influences current events; reading this book would also allow you to check off having read something for Middle Grade March.
For our book recommendations in this episode, we’re talking about books in which cats are a central part of the story. We have some nonfiction selections, as well as literary fiction and graphic novels that will definitely appeal to your inner cat. If you don’t love cats, you can check out these books anyway for their compelling stories OR you can wait around for Amy to muscle Carrie into a future dog episode.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh 2- Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh 3- Medusa (The Myth of Monsters #1) by Katherine Marsh 4- The God's Revenge (The Myth of Monsters #2) by Katherine Marsh 5- The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West 6- Leslie Fing Jones by Leslie Jones 7- Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp 8- The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp 9- A 5 star Read recommended by fellow book lover Elaine Hoystead @bookmadlibrarian - Hall of Smoke by Hannah M. Long 10- Pineville Trace by Wes Blake 11- Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero 12- The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuka Natsukawa 13- Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther by Craig Pittman 14- The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean 15- The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa* by Jonathan B. Losos
16- Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yue
17- The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Shawn Harris
Media mentioned-- 1- Kaos (Netflix, 2024) 2- Are Cats Actually Liquid - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-cats-actually-liquid/ 3- Jeff Bezos and the Washington Posthttps://apnews.com/article/washington-post-bezos-opinion-trump-market-liberty-97a7d8113d670ec6e643525fdf9f06de Reply
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Sariah Wilson at her website www.sariahwilson.com or on IG - @sariahwilsonauthor
We chat this week with Sariah Wilson, the author of many, many rom-coms, who recently published her first romantasy titled A Tribute of Fire. A Tribute of Fire is inspired by the myth of Cassandra who, if you remember, is the Trojan princess who was cursed with the ability to see the future but no one believes her. Sariah’s story focuses on Cassandra’s assault in Athena's temple by Greek hero Ajax and the resulting punishment which is that two maidens from Ajax’s home, Locris, will be sacrified. How exactly, this punishes Ajax, I’m not sure, but such is Greek myth.
Sariah talks to us about her favorite romance trope (which she hardly ever writes herself), the whirlwind backstory to the publishing of this book, and how the popularity of The Fourth Wing series really cracked open a whole new world for romance writers.
And for our book recommendations, we’re going to share some children’s picture books that have stories and illustrations we love. Earlier this month was National Picture Book Authors & Illustrators Week, but we don’t think you need a special week as an excuse to read a delightful picture book.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson
2- The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks 3- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes 4- The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman 5- Greek and Roman Warfare: Battles, Tactics, and Trickery by John Drogo Mortagu 6- A Monsoon Rising by Thea Gaunzon 7- Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Leigh Allen 8- A Book Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Corinne @she.loves.bookshelves - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas9- Little Golden Book, The Christmas Story
10- Little Golden Book, Colors Are Nice
11- Little Golden Book Riddles, Riddles From A to Z
12- Little Golden Book, Mickey Mouse Picnic
13- Disney’s World of Wonders The Magic Grinder
14- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
15- Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf
16- The Mitten by Jan Brett
17- Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
18- The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
19- The Water Hole by Graeme Base 20- Uno's Garden by Graeme Base 21- Animalia by Graeme Base 22- The Verts: A Story of Introverts and Extroverts by Anne Patchett, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glaser 23- Quiet by Susan Cain 24- Mimi’s Dada Catifesto by Shelley Jackson
25- Oh, Bear by Melissa Nelson Greenberg. illustrated by Ruth Hengeveld
26- Boobies by Nancy Vo
27- The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Mickey Please
28- The Cave Downwind of the Cafe by Mickey Please
29- Shakespeare The Tempest by Georghia Ellinas, illustrated by Jane Ray
Media mentioned--
1- Stephen King/Maurice Sendak upcoming children's book - https://apnews.com/article/stephen-king-maurice-sendak-hansel-gretel-c9f8c7e18254d1e406b59e0ebe3cd20b
2- Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey - coming in 2026 -
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/the-odyssey-matt-damon-odysseus-christopher-nolan-1236311018/
3- The Return (2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find if there is a chapter of Silent Book Club near you or look into starting your own by going to their website; https://silentbook.club/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Have you ever wanted to try a book club but they just seem too peopley? Or maybe you don’t want to be told what book you have to read. OR maybe you are looking for a place away from kids and responsibilities where nothing else but the words in front of you are vying for your attention. If any of these apply, then a Silent Book Club might be for you. Silent Book Club began in 2012 and is, according to their mission statement, a “global community of readers, with more than 1500 chapters in 54 countries around the world led by local volunteers. SBC members gather in public at bars, cafes, bookstores, libraries, and online to read together in quiet camaraderie.”
This week we chat with Brittany Brar, the leader of a local chapter of the Silent Book Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Brittany started the local chapter here in 2019, right before the pandemic with 5 people. She was new in town and didn’t know where to find a booklcub to join. Now the group has over 2000 members of their FB group and as many as 60 people have shown up to their monthly meetings. Brittany talks to us about how people have developed a new sense of community, when a powerpoint presentation can be regarded as fun, and her go-to genres
After our chat with Brittany, we will give you our recommendations for big honking books that meet not only your reading but also strength training goals.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe 2- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 3- Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer 4- Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera 5- The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson 6- Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson 7- That's Not My Name by Megan Lally 8- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 9- It by Stephen King 10- Leviathan Wakes by SA Corey (592 pages)
11-The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (704 pages)
12- Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (944 pages)
13- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (976 pages) 14- Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (546 pages)
15- When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson (528 pages)
16- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (601 pages)
17- A Five Star Read Recommended By Fellow Book Lover Kim Wells @the_salty_islander - A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly E. Hill
Media mentioned-- 1- Say Nothing (Hulu, 2024) 2- The Dark Secrets Behind the Neil Gaiman Abuse Accusations --https://www.vulture.com/article/neil-gaiman-allegations-controversy-amanda-palmer-sandman-madoc.html 3- The Expanse (Prime, 2015)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Wes Browne at www.wesbrowneauthor.com or on IG at @browne_all_over
This week we chat with Wes Browne, a Michigan transplant who has been a Kentucky attorney for over 20 years. When he’s not lawyering, he writes crime fiction, and his most recent novel is called They All Fall the Same. In this novel, he picks up with a character who readers met in his first novel, Hillbilly Hustle. While Wes’s new book is not a sequel, readers were so intrigued by the character, Burl Spoon, that Wes felt like he could make an entire book around him. Burl is a character you love to hate, but readers also feel his humanity, which always makes for a more interesting bad guy.
We chat with Wes about how his job as a defense attorney has prepared him to write books that make you root for a bad guy, his passion for soft serve ice cream, and why a timeshare ended up giving him a book idea.
And in the second half of the show, we each give you 3 book recommendations on the theme of books about the art world.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- If You Lived Here, You’d Be Here by Now: Why We Traded the Commuting Life for a Little House on the Prairie by Christopher Ingraham
2- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
3- They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne 4- Hillbilly Hustle by Wes Browne 5- Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony 6- Asides: Occasional Essays on Dogs, Food, Restaurants, Bars, Hangovers, Jobs, Music, Family Trees, Robbery, Relationships, Being Bought Up Questionably, Et Cetera by George Singleton 7- Blizzard by Marie Vingtras 8- A Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Amy Borchadt @rn_bookworm - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal 9- Carrington: A Life by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
10- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith 11- Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough 12- The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose 13- Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell 14- Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Jourey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How To See by Bianca Bosker 15- All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley Media mentioned—
1- Come From Away —
https://comefromaway.com/ 2- Zoltan Kaszashttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vSGbslfLQM 3- Justified ( 2010-2015 HULU) 4- Carrington (1995)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Meg Shaffer at www.megshaffer.com or on IG at meg_shaffer.
This week we officially begin Season 12 so we have both a guest and book recommendations on a particular theme. Our guest this week is Meg Shaffer, best-selling author of The Wishing Game and The Lost Story. She talks to us about shifting gears to write books for adults that read a lot like the cool fantasy books we read as kids (think The Chronicles of Narnia in The Lost Story). And for our book recs, we will each be sharing 3 books related to libraries.
Books mentioned—
1- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer 2- The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer 3- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 4- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 5- Lord of the Flies by William Golding 6- Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero 7- Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb 8- The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin 9- The Hollow Places T. Kingfisher 10- The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher 11- The Willows by Algernon Blackwood 12- Carter and Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard 13- A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher 14- We are Experiencing a Slight Delay by Gary Janneti 15- Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs 16-Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs 17- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Marisa Zane @Marisa_reads_books - The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 18- The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami 19- Nightbooks by JA White 20- The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore21- The Nightmare Man by JH Markert
22- The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
23- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
24- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
25- Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
26- A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
27- A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck
28- Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald
29- Lonely Planet Hidden Libraries: The World's Most Unusual Book Depositories by DC Helmuth
30- The Godwick series by Tiffany Reisz
Media mentioned—Perks episode with Lily Raitihttps://www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/cxkpp8gtbmn5gf7-8mb73-52ylr-gs3nl-82m49-xr9s4-z4hhh-pm7gw-skgey-bjmtw-4dl76-hn7yl-we4y4-cfzjz-5f9x8-y93dj-7l4je-8667a Pacific Palisades Fire—Will Rogers ranch —https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1346 Squid Games (Netflix, 2021 - present)
Cunk on Life (Netflix, 2024)
Black Doves (Netflix, 2024)
Night of the Hunter (Tubi, 1955)
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we are doing our 2024 recap, covering the books that earned 5 stars. We’ve also got some audio interspersed in the episode from 2024 guests to The Perks who also share their favorite books of the year. This is always one of our most popular episodes of the year.
And don’t forget, this new season is a whole new bag. We are going to every other week episodes and each one will include an interview with a bookish guest plus some book recommendations by us on a particular topic.
Books mentioned--
1- The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
2- Woodworm by Layla Martinez
3- North Woods by Daniel Mason
4- Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy
5- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
6- Greenwood by Michael Christie
7- Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
8- A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
9- Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle
10- The Library Book by Susan Orlean
11- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
12- The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
13- One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
14- Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
15- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
16- The Wedding People by Alison Espach
17- The Huntress by Kate Quinn
18- Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransom
19- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
20- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby
21- Being Henry by Henry Winkler
22- The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner
23- Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
24- Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway by Emma Fick
25- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
26- All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Brynn Greenwood
27- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
28- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
29- Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
30- Arroyo Circle by JoeAnn Hart
31- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our World , Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Media mentioned--
1- Dune: Prophecy (HBO Max, 2024)
2- Shrinking (Apple+, 2024)
3- What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)
4- The Professor and the Madman (Tubi, 2019)
5- Your Friend by Nate Bargatze (Netflix, 2024)
6- The Skinny by Jim Gaffigan (Hulu, 2024)
7- Catastrophe (Prime, 2015)
8- Three Body Problem (Netflix, 2024)
You can find Tracy Clark on social media on Instagram @tpclark2000 and on her website www.tracyclarkbooks.com/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Tracy Clark, who we interviewed in Season 8 (episode 161) about her first Harriet Foster novel titled Hide. Her most recent title, number 3 in the series, is called Echo, and it came out Dec 3. We chat with her about this book, as well as the Harriet Foster book she is currently writing. We caught her on a writing day in which Harriet Foster was not cooperating. Then you will hear some of our conversation with Tracy back in 2023 when Harriet Foster first arrived on the scene.
Books Mentioned In This Episode
1- Hide by Tracy Clark
2- Echo by Tracy Clark
3- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
4- Her Name is Knight series by Yasmin Angoe
5- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
6-The Ninja's Oath (Lily Wong series) by Tori Eldridge
7- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
9- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
10- American Fever by Dur e Aziz Almna
Authors mentioned:
1- Sarah Paretsky
2- Sue Grafton
3- Agatha Christie
4- Valerie Wilson Wesley
5- Barbara Neely
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Sharon Short at her website, www.sharonshort.com and on Instagram at @sharongshortauthor.
This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Sharon Short, who we initially interviewed about her historical mystery novels which she wrote under the pen name Jess Montgomery. She has a new stand alone mystery suspense out titled Trouble Island that was inspired by a very interesting family story. You will first hear our most recent chat with her just a few weeks ago and then we will replay our original conversation with her back in the Spring of 2022 talking about her Kinship series.
Just a note that next week we will have another REMIX episode, this time with award winning mystery writer Tracy Clark whose most recent in the Detective Harriet Foster series came out Dec 3 titled Echo. The Washington Post has just named it one of their top mysteries of 2024.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- Trouble Island by Jess Montgomery
2- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series)
3- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series)
4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby
5- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
6- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
This is a REPLAY episode from our Holiday gift buying guide from 2023. We will be back next week with a REMIX episode with former guest Tracy Clark who has a new mystery you won't want to miss.
This week we chat with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, from Carmichael’s Bookstore. Each November we let her do the heavy lifting and share books that have come out and might be good choices for your holiday shopping.
If you would like to check out Carmichael’s Bookstore Holiday Book Gift Guide, you can find it online at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
2- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
3- Foster by Claire Keegan
4- So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
5- Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
6- Fraud by Zadie Smith
7- Armor of Light by Ken Follett
8- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
9- Julia by Sandra Newman
10- 1984 by George Orwell
11- Reformatory by Tananarive Due
12- Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
13- A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
14- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
15- West Heart Kill by Dann Mcdorman
16- The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
17- The Appeal by Janice Hallett
18- The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
19- Stalking Shakespeare by Lee Durkee
20- They Flew by Carlos Eire
21- Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
22- Wild Girls by Tiya Miles
23- The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
24- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
25- Watership Down (graphic novel) by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin
26- Watership Down by Richard Adams
27- Energy Follows Thought by Willie Nelson
28- World Within a Song by Jeff Tweedy
29- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
30- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
31- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
32- Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
33- Legend & Lattes by Travis Baldree
34- World Central Kitchen Cookbook by Jose Andres
35- Every Cook, Every Kitchen by Feed Louisville
36- Oldest Louisville by Kevin Gibson
37- Always Moving Forward by David Jones and Bob Hill
38- Back Page by Byron Crawford
39- Fathers by Richard Taylor
40- From the Heads of the Hollers by Shelby Lee Adams
41- Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
42- Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys by DMS Fick
43- Rabbit Heart by Kristine S. Ervin
44- My Dark Places by James Ellroy
45- Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
46- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
47- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
48- The Man who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Rescued his Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
49- Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Casey @Caseys_reads
12 Months To Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
Movie and Series Mentioned:
- CODA (2021) - Apple +
- Bodies (2023) - Netflix
f you would like to check out Carmichael’s Bookstore Holiday Book Gift Guide, you can find it online at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
The delightful Sam Miller, store manager at Carmichael’s Book Store, comes to save the day. She has, as usual, tons of great new reads that are already on shelves and would make perfect gifts this holiday for the book lovers in your life.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
2- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
3- Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
4- Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
5- The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
6- This is Happiness by Niall Williams
7- Time of the Child by Niall Williams
8- Jim the Boy by Tony Early
9- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
10- The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff
11- The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973 by Clara Bingham
12- Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
13- The Elements of Madame Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science by Dava Sobel
14- The Universe in Verse edited by Maria Popov
15- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
16- The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
17- Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Revived Pop Music by Rob Sheffield
18- The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
19- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
20- Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway
21- William by Mason Coile
23- Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison
24- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
25- House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
26- Pride and Prejudice in Space by Alexis Lampley
27- Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
28- From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
29- Cher: The Memoir (Part One) by Cher
30- The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
31- Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney
32- The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
33-Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Ann Byrn
34- Kentucky Ya'll: A Celebration of the People and Culture of the Bluegrass by Blair Thomas Hess and Cameron Ludwick
35- The Stackpole Legend by Wendell Berry
36- In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limon, illustrated by Peter Sis
37- Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
38- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover Perin @mjreadsmagic - Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost by Esme Symes-Smith
39- Gather by Kenneth Cadow
40- The Horse by Willy Vlautin
41- Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen by Suzanne Scanlon
42- How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery
43- The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
Media mentioned--
1- A Real Pain (2024)
2- Wicked Little Letters (Netflix, 2023)
3- The Lost Daughter (Netflix, 2021)
4- The Return (2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
November is Native American Heritage month so in this episode, we’re sharing some books written by Native American authors. There are so many great texts to choose from if you’re interested in broadening your reading. We bring your memoirs, poetry, Pulitzer Prize winners, and more. When we do these thematic episodes, we enjoy hearing from listeners who have their own recommendations within that theme so be sure to shoot us a message or comment on any of our socials.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
2- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
3- Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham
4- A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Streets to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi
5- A Book Recommended by Fellow Booklover Vero Garcia @booksandcoffeemx - All This and More by Peng Shepherd
6- The Blessing Way and all books in the Leaphorn & Chee series by Tony Hillerman
7- Bad Indians: A Memoir by Deborah Miranda
8- Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
9- House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
10-Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
11- An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
12- Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez
13- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
14- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos: Reflections on the Newark Earthworks and World Heritage edited by M. Elizabeth Weiser, Timothy RW Jordan, and Richard D. Shiels
15- Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
16- The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich (Birchbark House series #2)
17- The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
18- Shutter by Ramona Emerson
19- Exposure by Ramona Emerson
20- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
21- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
22- There, There by Tommy Orange
23- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
24- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Media mentioned--
1- Reservation Dogs (Hulu, 2021-2023)
2- Dark Winds (AMC and Neflix, 2022 - present)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Alice Kaltman at www.alicekaltman.com or on IG @alicekaltman
This week we chat with Alice Kaltman about her latest book, Alice’s Big Book of Mistakes. She has written books of linked short stories, novels for various ages, and more, but she decided to try her hand at a graphic memoir all about silly and not-so-silly mistakes she has made throughout the course of her life. Her book aims to make both young and old embrace their missteps in life as building blocks for a life well lived.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Alice’s Big Book of Mistakes by Alice Kaltman
2- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
3- Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
4- Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
5- The Keeper by Kelsey Ervick
6- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
7- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
8- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
9- Middlemarch by George Eliot
10- Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz
11- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
12- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Emily Craddick - Hotel Splendide by Ludwig Bemelmans
13- Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
14- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
15- Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
16- Sociopath by Patric Gagne
Media mentioned—
Small Things Like These (2024)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Salem’s Lot (Max, 2024)
Will & Harper (Netflix, 2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week our topic is philosophical. No, we’re not discussing those dull philosophy textbooks, but rather novels or nonfiction that ask big questions, such as “Who am I?” and “What is happiness?” and “Do we have free will?”. We will give you 10 books that will get you thinking with your big brains.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Carrie by Stephen King
2- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
3- Faith, Hope, and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan
4- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
5- A Book Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Larissa @laralucretia - The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
6- Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street by Herman Melville
7- Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
8- Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with Kids by Scott Hershovitz
9- Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti
10- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11- How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Any Moral Question by Michael Schur
12- The Naked Neanderthal by Ludovic Slimak
13- If Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura
14- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
15- If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity by Justin Gregg
16- Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman
Media mentioned—
1- Trap (2024, Max)
2- Carrie (2013, Tubi)
3- Carrie (1976)
4- Penny Dreadful (2014-2016 Pluto)
5- The Little Prince (2015, Pluto)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Alisa Alering at www.alering.com or on Insta @alisa.alering.
This week we wrap up what has been a month of seasonally spooky books with guest Alisa Alering, the author of Smothermoss, a book that is set in 1980s Pennsylvania Appalachia. It is the story of two sisters who witness a murder on the Appalachian Trail. It is a book that Amy discovered while attending the Columbus Book Festival this past summer. If you like magical realism or gothic fiction, you will definitely want to check this novel out since there is a sentient mountain. Nature truly is a character in the story.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
2- Ritual by David Pinner
3- Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
4- Watership Down by Richard Adams
5- Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms
6- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
7- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Dina @ddemaiosmith - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
8- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
9- Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
10- Assembly by Natasha Brown
11- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
12- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
13- My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix (Remixed Classics) by Kalynn Bayron
Media mentioned—
1- What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu 2019)
2- What We Do in the Shadows movie (2014)
3- Wellington Paranormal (Max 2018)
4- Psycho (Netflix 1960)
5- The Wicker Man (Tubi 1973)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we’re bringing you a Creature Feature in which we suggest books that tell the story of creatures. Those may be mythological creatures, cryptids, or beings from your favorite horror film. Some are scary, some are mysterious, some don’t seem that different from humans. All of them make for good October reads.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
2- Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
3- Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli
4- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Katherine @katshomeig - Beautiful Prey by Lora Darc
5- The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrick Svenson
6- Silver in the Wood/Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
7- The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Millicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara
8- Grendel by John Gardner
9- Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith
10- Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
11- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
12- Mothman's Merry Cryptid Christmas by Andrew Shaffer
13- The Frandidate (Franny K Stein series) by Jim Benton
14- The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
15- Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
16- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
17- It Came From the Trees by Ally Russell
18- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Media mentioned---
1- What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu, 2019- present)
2- The Thing (1982)
3- The Fly (1986)
4- Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix, 2017-2019)
5- The Mummy (1999)
6- Harry & the Hendersons (1987)
7- The Shape of Water (2017)
8- The Goonies (1985)
9- Kaos (Netflix, 2024)
10- The Mothman Prophecies (1992)
11- Illustration of an Anthropophagi - themonstrumologistoverview.weebly.com/confli…t.html
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Daniel at his website www.danielolivas.com
This week we speak with Daniel Olivas, a lawyer with the California Department of Justice, who is also a novelist, poet, and playwright. His novel, Chicano Frankenstein, which published in March of this year, was an obvious book pick for Carrie because she loves Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The novel has been optioned by Universal Television, so fingers crossed on that.
Olivas’ reimagining of Shelley’s 1818 novel has an unnamed man as the narrator. He is a paralegal who has been reanimated from the corpse of a Mexican-American man, one of many such reanimated people (derogatively called “stitchers”) who are part of an effort to deal with the US’ labor crisis, but he struggles with his identity. How can a person have an identity if all knowledge of their family, their interests, their feelings, their thoughts have been stripped away? In addition to the idea of selfhood, the novel also explores the cruelty of politicians who pander to fear and racism, harming the people of their communities that one would expect them to protect.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel Olivas
2- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
3- The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande
4- Artificial Life After Frankenstein by Eileen M. Hunt
5- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover The Biblioholic @thebiblioholic_ - Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Page
6- Leech by Hiron Ennes
7- Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Brook Tsai
8- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
9- Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2) by Justina Ireland
Movies mentioned in this episode:
1- Frankenstien (1931)
2- The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
2- Horribly Haunted in Hillbilly Hollow by Blythe Baker
3- Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
4- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Lan Nguyen-Colgate - A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I Lin
5- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
6- "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin (Short Story)
7- The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
8- House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
9- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
10- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs and Other Questions About Dead Bodies by Caitlin Doughty
11- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
12- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
13- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
14- Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
15- The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff
16- The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
17- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
18- The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
19- Heavenly Bodies by Amani Erriu
20- Fallen Stars by Amani Erriu
Media mentioned--
1- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (Netflix, 2024)
2- The Lovely Bones (Max, 2009)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Lyndsay at her website www.lyndsayrush.com/ and on IG at @maryoliversdrunkcousin
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush
2- Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan
3- A Five Start Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Meg Longley @ohlongley - Meet Me at the Museum by Ann Youngson
4- Weyward by Emilia Hart
5- I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott
6- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
7- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
8- Pets in the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Vet by Dr. Amy Attas
9- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Media mentioned—
1- The Wild Robot (2024)
2- Saltburn (Prime Video, 2023)
3- Wuthering Heights: Hollywood's worst case casting decisions -
www.bbc.com/culture/article/202…t-casting-decisions
4- A Room With a View (1985)
5- Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find info about Midge and John at their website midgeandjohn.com/ or at ashlandcreekpress.com/. They are on IG @midge_and_john and @ashlandcreekpress.
Ashland Creek Press, an eco-fiction publisher, first came on our radar in the pre-COVID era when we interviewed Katy Yocom, author of Three Ways to Disappear, a novel set partly in India that focuses on animal conservation and a relationship between two sisters. But one of our other former guests, Jennifer Caloyeras, host of the Books Are My People podcast, also had a book published by Ashland Creek: her 2015 novel Strays. We’re always interested in small presses, so we were excited to talk to Midge Raymond and John Yunker about their work running one.
But Midge and John are also writers who have collaborated on a recently published novel titled Devils Island, which is set in Tasmania amongst the endangered and much-maligned Tasmanian devil. While this is a conservation-leaning novel, it is also a suspense story about a naturalist tour that goes very wrong, involving a disappearance and a death.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom
2- Strays by Jennifer Caloyeras
3- Devils Island by Midge Raymond and John Yunker
4- My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
5- The Tourist Trail by John Yunker
6- A Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Susan Cook @bookbookbagawk - Another Country by James Baldwin
7- The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
8- The Spare Room by Helen Garner
9- We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
10- Pines by Blake Crouch
11- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Media mentioned—
1- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
2- True Detective—Night Country (Max)
3- The Bear (Hulu)
4- Eco-lit books —ecolitbooks.com/
5- Maria Island Walk - www.mariaislandwalk.com/
6- What do Tasmanian devils sound like? - www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW27vpK4ALQ
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
JD Vance first made news when he published his book Hillbilly Elegy in 2016, but he has since become a senator in Ohio and a vice presidential candidate. When his memoir came out, there were many people who had strong negative feelings about his book, namely other people from Appalachia who felt that he misrepresented them and their struggles.
When JD Vance was selected as Donald Trump’s VP, we thought it might be a good time to look at some other Appalachia-related books that perhaps provide a fuller picture of the region, which spans 206,000 square miles, 423 counties, and six states. A region this large cannot be summed up by one person in one book.
So our goal this week is to give you some diverse Appalachian voices to add to your TBR for a broader view of this region.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
2- Storyteller by Dave Grohl
3- Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Clare Dederer
4- Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began by Leah Hazard
5- Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis by Emily Willingham
6- The Sirens of Soleil City by Sarah C. Johns
7- A Five Star Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Nikki Lee @nikkileethrillseeker - The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee
8- "A Ribbon for Baldy" by Jesse Stuart (short story)
9- The Beatinest Boy by Jesse Stuart
10- Andy Finds a Way by Jesse Stuart
11- Many-Storied House: Poems by George Ella Lyon
12 - Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Carver Jr.
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s9-e…-9623/
13- "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon (poem)
14- Prodigals: A Sister's Memoir of Appalachia and Loss by Sarah Beth Childers
15- Township by Jamie Lyn Smith
16- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson
17- Affrilachia by Frank X Walker
18- "Burying Albatross" by Frank X. Walker (poem)-
poetrysociety.org/poems-essays/ars…a/frank-x-walker
19- "Neoteric Kama no Sutra" by Frank X. Walker (poem)-
poets.org/poem/neoteric-kama-no-sutra
20- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-6…30-20/
21- Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
22- Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White
23- Clay's Quilt by Silas House
24- The Coal Tattoo by Silas House
25- Parchment of Leaves by Silas House
26- Fair & Tender Ladies by Lee Smith
27 - Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-3…25-20/
28- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-6-…-6-22/
29- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Media mentioned--
1- The To Read List Podcast
2- Slow Horses (Apple +)
3- The Bear (Hulu)
4- Ripley (Netflix)
5- True Detective: Night Country (HBO MAX, 2024)
6- Steve! (documentary) (Apple +, 2024)
7- Kaos (Netflix, 2024)
8- The Princess Bride (1987)
9- The Tourist (Netflix)
10- The Good Girl's Guide to Murder - (Netflix, 2024)
News articles
1- Dave Grohl Announcement -
www.usatoday.com/story/life/healt…ock/75176681007/
2- Neil Gaiman controversy -
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/…xual-misconduct
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Kelly Hill on IG @kellyehill_author .
This week we chat with Kelly Hill who published her debut novel, A Home for Friendless Women, this year in March. It is the story of three Victorian-era women who experience a home for “fallen” women in very different ways.
What makes this novel especially unique is that Kelly got the idea for it from her time interning at The Filson Historical Society while she was completing her dissertation at the University of Louisville. She came across historic documents about a home for pregnant women here in Louisville and fictionalized them to create a powerful story. While the story is about a tough time for women over a century ago.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly Hill
2- The Age of Grievance by Frank Bruni
3- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
4- A Five Star Read Recommended by fellow Book Lover Tracey Myers-Quesada @cubadianmom3 - Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch by Erin French
5- Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
6- When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s by Jon Ganz
7- Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben by Josh Trujillo and Levi Hastings
Media:
1- The Lost Kitchen (Hulu, Amazon, 2021- present)
2- The Wild Robot (2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
For a lot of people, Labor Day, which this year fell on September 2, marks the end of summer, although astronomical summer doesn’t end until September 22 (and meteorological fall actually begins on September 1). And according to Carrie, summer ends on the first day of school, which was Aug 8 here in Louisville KY. And what was a common assignment when you returned back to schook? That's right. Write about what you did this summer. So this episode is a recap of what the two of us did from June through August told in the form of books!
Books mentioned--
1- Bad Monkey by Carl Hiassen
2- Hoot by Carl Hiassen
3- Flush by Carl Hiassen
4- Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway by Emma Fick
5- Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
6- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Amanda Pavlov @pavlovsbooks - A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch
7- The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy E. Reichert
8- Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
9- Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais
10- Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
11- Death’s Door: True Tales of Tragedy, Mystery, and Bravery from the Great Lakes’ Most Dangerous Waters by Barbara M. Joosse
12- The Elephants of Thula Thula by Francois Malby-Anthony
13- A Death in Door County (Monster Hunter Mystery) by Annelise Ryan
14- The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
15- I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
16- The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax
17- Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, audiobook narrated by Brendan Fraser
18- Death Stalks Door County (Dave Cubiak #1) by Patricia Skalka
Media mentioned--
1- Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father (Netflix, 2017)
2- Jack Whitehall: Fatherhood with my Father (2024)
3- The Tourist (Netflix, 2022)
4- Bad Monkey (Apple+, 2024)
5- Strong Sense of Place Podcast - https://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/
6-Lawsuit Against Florida Book Bans - people.com/publishers-authors-…a-book-bans-8704020
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Britton online at her website www.booksbybritton.com/
IG @booksbybritton
On Etsy - Books By Britton
This week we chat with Britton Perelman, a unique artist and craftsperson who creates miniature bookshelves. We saw her at the Columbus OH Book Festival in 2023, which was the first festival she attended selling her amazing creations, and we were delighted when she agreed to be a guest.
We chat with her about how she sort of fell into designing and crafting miniature bookshelves during COVID and how the business has been booming, which leaves Britton, who has a BA in journalism and an MFA in screenwriting, with little time to compose written work. Britton has had to get all hands on deck, including her mom and sister, which means Books by Britton is a female-owned, family business.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
2- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
3- Tiny Treasures: Amazing Miniatures You Can Make by Nancy Holyoke
4- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
6- Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
7- Truly, Devious series by Maureen Johnson
8- A Five-Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Steve Elliot @stevereadthatbook - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
9- Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy
10- The Measure by Nikki Erlick
11- A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
12- The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye
13- One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Shows mentioned--
The Decameron (Netflix, 2024)
Links:
1- Pandora Productions - Little Shop of Horrors - www.pandoraprods.org/
2- Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest-- www.bulwer-lytton.com
3- Louisville Book Festival - www.louisvillebookfestival.com/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
It's that time of year where kids and teachers are back at school or almost back at school so we thought we would offer recommendations for books related to education—novels or memoirs set in schools or colleges; books with teachers, deans, students, or staff as characters; literature in which education or learning plays an important if not essential role.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
2- Shanghailanders by Juli Min
3- A Five-Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Dawn Nacker @dawndevoursbooks - How To Read a Book by Monica Wood
4- Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson
5- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
6- The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Matthieu
7- Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by RF Kuang
7- New Kid by Jerry Craft
8- The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
9- The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
10- The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe
11- The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
12- True Biz by Sara Nović
13- Girl at War by Sara Nović
14- "All Summer in a Day" (short story) by Ray Bradbury
15- Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay
16- The Rom-commers by Katherine Center
Bookish events—
1- Poe: A Dream Within a Dream
fareharbor.com/embeds/book/belle…ow=1089772&g4=yes
2- Untimely Ripp’d
kyshakespeare.com/season/untimely/
3- Cincy Bookstore Crawl
cincybookstorecrawl.my.canva.site/
4- Books by the Banks
booksbythebanks.org/
5- Cynthiana KY Skeletons
wkdq.com/small-kentucky-city-halloween/
6- Rail Explorers
www.railexplorers.net/
7- Fenrir Viking Festival
www.kyrenfaire.com/viking-fest
8- New Kid by Jerry Craft Book Banning
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/28/1144458555/banned-books-author-jerry-craft-new-kid
Media mentioned—
1- The Whale Rider — 2002
www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
2- Happiness for Beginners (Netflix, 2023)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find the Bookery Cincy at www.bookerycincy.com/ or on IG @bookerycincy.
To find info about the Bookstore Crawl visit FB at Cincy Bookstore Crawl.
This week we chat with Sierra Hollabaugh, one of the co-owners and founders of Bookery Cincy, an independent bookstore located in Cincinnati, OH. When Amy went to Cincinnati recently, she met Sierra so we thought it would be nice if everyone got to know a little more about the bookstore as well as a cool October event, the Cincy Bookstore Crawl, which includes 16 small bookstores in the area. Cincinnati is a great place for a weekend visit, and the bookstore crawl just makes it an even more appealing location.
We talk about the resurgence of the independent brick and mortar bookstore, what it’s like running a small business when you have young kids, and what visitors can expect if they come to Cincy for the Bookstore Crawl which is the weekend of Oct 4-6.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
2- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
3- Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
4- Sociopath by Patric Gagne
5- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
6- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
7- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
8- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
9- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
10- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
11- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
12- Trust by Hernan Diaz
13- In the Distance by Hernan Diaz
14- The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
15- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Elias Eells @eliaseells - The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
16- Cocktails and Consoles by Elias Eells
17- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby
18- Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby
19- Sandwich by Catherine Newman
20- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
21- Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family by Catherine Newman
22- A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
Media mentioned--
1- American Psycho (2000, Netflix)
2- Catastrophe (2015-2019, Prime Video)
3- Art is Not a Luxury with Ethan Hawke - www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCuqtFKLHI
4- Utah Book Ban -Utah recently banned 13 books by 7 authors from all public schools in the state. apnews.com/article/utah-school…a6cd2cb5ddd25fca700
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we’re going “boldly where no man has gone before.” Yes–that’s right into space.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- The Most Precious of Cargoes by Jean-Claude Grumberg
2- The Paris Affair by Maureen Marshall
3- A Five Start Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Stephanie Affinito @affinitolit - The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood
4- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
5- Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey
6- Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
7- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
8- Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
9- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
10- The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
11- A Rovers Story by Jasmine Warga
12- Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
13- Bright Objects by Ruby Todd
14- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
15- A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz
Media mentioned--
1- Constellation (Apple+, 2024)
2- Zone of Interest (HBOMax, 2023)
3- Cat Video Fest--www.catvideofest.com
4- For All Mankind (Apple+, 2019)
5- The Expanse (Prime Video, 2015)
6- Spaceman of Bohemia (Netflix, 2024)
7- Literature as an Olympic Sport - lithub.com/did-you-know-that-p…tual-olympic-sport/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Jean Duffy at her website www.jeanduffy.com or on IG @soccergranniesbook.
Sarahlyn Bruck can be found at her website www.sarahlynbruck.com or on IG @saralynbruck.
If you can’t get enough of sports and global camaraderie watching the Paris Summer Olympics on your TV screens, we have an interview for you today to scratch that itch even more; books that include women’s soccer.
In Season 10, we did a dual-interview with two authors who wrote Jane Austen-inspired books: AH Kim and Melodie Edwards. It was so much fun, we thought we would do it again. This time, though, we’re pairing two women who wrote books related to soccer.
Sarahlyn Bruck is the author of several novels; her most recent is titled Light of the Fire, which is about two adult women who were connected by soccer in high school. Jean Duffy’s debut nonfiction book is titled Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World, about older women who play recreational soccer. These two writers, who both have an abiding love of the game, were down with joining each other and us to chat about their respective books.
While these books on the surface deal with soccer, they ultimately address friendship and teamwork, the elements of the game that change lives for the better.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Light of the Fire by Sarahlyn Bruck
2- Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World by Jean Duffy
3- The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women's Lives by Kelcey Ervick
4- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover, Patricia @patriciapluggedin - Funny Story by Emily Henry
5- I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
6- Anna Bright is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall
7- Invisible Women: Exploring Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
8- Magonia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
9- Know My Name by Chanel Miller
10- Starter Villain by John Scalzi
11- Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Media mentioned—
1- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
2- Trying (2024, Apple+)
3- Catastrophe (2015, Amazon Prime)
4- The Dropout (2022, Hulu)
Our Episode with Kelcey Ervick about her graphic memoir, The Keeper -ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s9ep…21323/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Carter Wilson at his website www.carterwilson.com or on IG @carterwilsonauthor. You can also find his podcast Making It Up on all podcast platforms.
This week we chat with Carter Wilson, a thriller writer and podcast host who lives in Colorado and who is the author of nine novels. His most recent is titled The Father She Went to Find, a story of Penny, a girl who suffered a brain injury at an early age that left her a savant with curious abilities. It was at this time that her father disappeared, but he has remained in contact via a birthday card every year. Until she turns 21. And that is the impetus she needs to go find him. This is a road trip/ scavenger hunt thrill ride that even has a few Stranger Things vibes. It’s set in the 1980s after all.
Carter talks to us about why this book is different from all his others and his favorite TV thriller series he has watched this year. And we laugh when he tells us one of the reasons why someone might start writing a book.
Books mentioned--
1- The Father She Went to Find by Carter Wilson
2- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Yayoi Kusama (Penguin Classics) 2012
3- Deception at Diamond D Ranch by GR Stahl
4- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
5- Pines by Blake Crouch
6- Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
7- Greenwood by Michael Christie
8- My Mama, Cass: A Memoir by Owen Elliot-Kugell
9- The Mysterious Case of Rudolph Diesel by Douglas Brunt
10- The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
11- The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
12- The Language of Love and Loss by Bart Yates
13- The Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Iresha Jayasinghe @resh_bookstagram - Cinder Luna by Marie Soleil
Movies and Limited Series--
1- Where'd You Go Bernadette (2019)
2- Shogun (Hulu, 2024)
3- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)
Links--
1- Salted Brown Butter Krispie Treats recipe - smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/salted-…-crispy-treats/
2-Yayoi Kusama Exhiition - www.speedmuseum.org/yayoi-kusama-in…urvive-forever/
3- Rediscovered Books in Boise, ID - www.rdbooks.org/
4- Free Little Art Galleries (FLAGS) - freelittleartgalleries.art/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
So back during Season 10 we flew to Los Angeles, California for the LA Times Festival of Books, which was held on the campus of USC. We were able to meet our bookish friend, Jennifer Caloyeras from the Books Are My People podcast; hear cool authors and audiobook narrators speak; and visit some awesome places in LA.
Amy is usually the one who reads around the places she is visiting, although she is apparently rubbing off on me because I’m finding myself doing it too. We decided to make an episode centered around Los Angeles/Hollywood reads.
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1- Everything I Learned, I Learned In a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin
2- The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen
3- The Library Book by Susan Orlean
4- A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Lauren Becker @laurenashleybecker- Elephant and Castle by Hannah Ledford
5- Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins series) by Walter Mosley
6- The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang
7- Love & Saffron by Kim Fay
8- Daytime Drama by Sarahlyn Bruck
9- Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem
10- California Dreamin: The True Story of the Mamas and Papas by Michelle Phillips
12- Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
13- Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
14- The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
15- Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle
16- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
17- Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
18- Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
19- Wildfire by Hannah Grace
Movies mentioned--
Feast of Death (documentary about James Ellroy) - 2001
Articles mentioned--
100 Best Books of the 21st Century - www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/…21st-century.html
Episodes mentioned--
1- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/…m-vidrine
2- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/…akespeare
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Mai Corland on IG @maicorland as well as at her website at meredithireland.wordpress.com
This episode begins Season 11 for us–we’ve got over 200 episodes under our belts and are back to bring you more.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that fantasy is big right now, and we discovered a fun fantasy that feels like an Ocean’s 11 type romp with multiple characters trying to take down a king. The book is titled Five Broken Blades and it is written by Mai Corland. We were delighted to speak with her a couple weeks back, especially since she is now an international bestselling author. And in fact, while recording this episode you will hear Mai receiving some good news. While some people might let this success go to their heads, Mai is down-to-earth and gets entirely too much pleasure poking fun at her new status.
We chat about the fantasy series she can’t stop recommending, why writing middle grade and YA novels was such good prep for pacing in her new romantic fantasy, and how riding the subway opened up her world as a teen.
Books Discussed In This Episode:
1- Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
2- Four Ruined Realms by Mai Corland
3- You Are Here: Connected Flights edited by Ellen Oh
4- Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland
5- The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland
6- Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse
7- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
8- The Jane City trilogy by Fonda Lee
9- The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
10- 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Marné Deranger @readerbythewater - Sandwich by Catherine Newman
11- Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives by Melissa Bruntlett and Chris Bruntlett
12- Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus
13- One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
14- The Cousins by Karen McManus
15- Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
***We are on summer hiatus but will be back with an all new episode next week! Happy Reading!
This week we are talking all about journeys. Whether they be physical or mental, we whisk you away in a good book. Choose from 10 book recommendations from Carrie and Amy for when you're ready to be on the move.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and
FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode
1- How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
2- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
3- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
4- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5- The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman
6- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (The Surgeon of Crowthorne)
7- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
8- Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Lauren Artress
9- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
10- Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
11- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
12- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
13- What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth
14- News of the World by Paulette Jilles
15- Enemy Women by Paulette Jilles
16- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
17- The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas
18- A Pearl in a Storm: How I Found my Heart in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean by Tori Murden McClure
19- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken
20- Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker
21- Cosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs by Mary Turzillo
22- Your Cat and Other Space Aliens by Mary Turzillo
23- Mars is No Place for Children by Mary Turzillo
5 Star Book Recommendation by a Book Lover
1- Empire Of A Vampire by Jay Christoff recommended by Tiffany K., Omaha, NE. Instagram @chaiteaandbooksareallineed
Shows/Movies watched—
1- American Born Chinese (Disney+, 2023)
2- Annihilation (Netflix, 2018)
3- The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Labirynth Locator
www.labyrinthlocator.com
Bookish News
Article about Henrietta Lacks
apnews.com/article/henrietta-l…efa34c9b79a544f0729
We are on summer hiatus until July 10, 2024. Until then, please check out this episode about humor and books that made us laugh. It originally aired April 2023.
Did you know it is National Humor Month? Neither did we but now we do and so do you. Which means this week we are talking about books that make us laugh.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books We Mentioned:
1- The Peripheral by William Gibson
2- Foundation by Isaac Asimnov
3- Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
4- The Martian by Andy Weir
5- The Alaskan Laundry by Brendan Jones
6- Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
7- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
8- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
9- Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
10- Yearbook by Seth Rogen
11- This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
12- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
13- Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It? A Mother's Suggestions by Patricia Marx; illustrated by Roz Chast
14- Calypso by David Sedaris
15- A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson
16- Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel by Suzanne Roberts
17- Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
18- She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
19- Sacred Geometry by Robert Lawlor
20- Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis
21- What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry
22- Hestia Strikes A Match by Christine Grillo
23- My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimers by Sandeep Jauhar
24- Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson
TV Series mentioned:
1- The Peripheral (Amazon Prime 2023)
2- Foundation (Apple+ 2021)
Bookish News
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/…olastic.html
****We are still on hiatus but will be back with all new episodes in a few weeks. Until then, enjoy our Summer Reading episode from last year with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, from Carmichaels Books. Her suggestions may not be hot off the press but still make for great reads. Happy Reading!
At the start of summer, we like to chat with Sam Miller, bookseller and manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore here in Louisville (We actually like to chat with Sam anytime, but she has especially useful information about new books twice a year.) Sam does the heavy lifting this week by telling us what is coming out and might be good for your TBR list.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
2- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
3- Be Mine by Richard Ford
4- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
5- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
6- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
7- Color of Water by James McBride
8- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
9- The Tusk that Did the Damage by Tania James
10- Loot by Tania James
11- Happy Place by Emily Henry
12- I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks
13- Only One Left by Riley Sager
14- Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
15- Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith
16- Small Mercies by Dennis LeHane
17- Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
18- Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
19- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
20 The Other Renaissance by Paul Strathern
21- Ice by Amy Brady
22- The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II by David Chrisinger
23- Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
24- A Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
25- Pageboy by Elliot Page
26- Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams
27- Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong
28- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
29- Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
30- Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman
31- Franklin Smoke by Aaron Franklin
32- Love is a Pink Cake by Claire Ptak
33- Back to the Dirt by Frank Bill
34- Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt
35- If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here by Louisville Story Program
36- Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
37- Tar Hollow Trans by Stacy Jane Grover
38- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
39- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
40- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
41- Weather Together by Jessie Sima
42- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
43- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane
44- Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
45- Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott
46- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
47- Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
48- The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
We are on hiatus for the month of June. This replay episode originally aired June 2023.
This week we celebrate all the special days of June! Want a book rec for Pride month? We have one. What about Juneteenth or Father's Day? We have you covered. And did you know it's National Audiobook Month? It's new to us as well but we love audiobooks so we give you some recommendations for that too. And we throw in one wildcard category - one of those random National Days or Months that always makes you wonder why there needs to be a month for that:)
This is the last episode for Season 8. We are taking a month off for summer family travel and some rest and relaxation. We will be back the late July/ early August with all new episodes. Until then, we will air some of our favorite past episodes in case you missed them the first time around.
Happy Reading!
For show notes for any episode or to contact us, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
2- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
4- Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo
5- Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
6- The Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel
7- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
8- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
9- Fun Home: A Famliy Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
10- Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
11- And Then the Grey Heaven by RE Katz
12- Lone Women by Victor Lavalle
13- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
14- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
15- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
16- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
17- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
18- Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
19- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
20- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
21- Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis by Emily Willingham
22- The Good One by Polly Stewart
23- On Earth as it is on Television by Emily Jane
Shows/movies mentioned--
1- No Country For Old Men ( 2007)
2- My Octopus Teacher (Netflix, 2020)
Articles Mentioned:
1- Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian writer who was voice of African women, dies at 81
2- The convoluted world of best-seller lists, explained
We are on hiatus for the month of June. This is a replay episode from 2023.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
This week are celebrating AAPI Heritage Month (Asian American Pacific Islander) and we give you a list of 10 (plus maybe a few more) of our favorite books to add to your TBR written by authors with family heritage from this part of the world. We give you books in a variety of genres; literary fiction, historical fiction, memoir, food writing, graphic novels, horror, poetry, and middle grade.
So join us this week as we explore the big wide world of Asia and the Pacific Islands heritage in literature. Plus, we talk about the most recent Jane Austen film adaptation we've watched, a new environmentally friendly product we've tried, and why sometimes it might be nice to be a disembodied head.
Books mentioned--
1- Persuasion by Jane Austen
2- Emma by Jane Austen
3- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
6- The Girls of Fall by Jessica Minyard
7- You Should Have Known by Rebecca Keller
8- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten
9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
10- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia
11- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
12- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
13- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
14- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
15- Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee
16- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
17- The Fervor by Alma Katsu
18- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
19- Two Brown Dots by Danni Quintos
20- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
21- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
22- The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan
23- Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
24- Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
25- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
26- The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer by Athena Aktipis
27- A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
28- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
Movies mentioned--
1- Persuasion (Netflix 2022)
2- Ted Lasso - Season 3 (Apple TV 2023)
3- Jury Duty (Amazon 2023)
4- Enchanted (2007)
5- The Terror (Hulu 2018)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the contact button.
We will be on a much needed hiatus for the entire month of June and a smidge into July. You will get replays of some of our book recommendation episodes from last year, but toward the end of June, we may have a remix episode where we catch up with a former guest.
This last episode of Season 10 is about a very important topic. Although May is almost over, it isn’t too late to recognize books for Mental Health Awareness month. Carrie and I both know and appreciate that mental health is part of total health. Your brain is a really big, extremely powerful, exceedingly important part of your body. If it ain’t happy, no other part of you is happy either. It’s no different than your kidneys or heart not performing their best. This week we give you some book recommendations, both fiction and nonfiction, that highlight mental health or bring some exposure to mental health issues.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond by Henry Winkler
2- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
3- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
4- And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Cassie Sanders @allroadsleadtoausten
5- Starfish by Lisa Fipps
6- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
7- The Professor and the Madman: a Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
8- The Sleeping Beauties by Suzanne O' Sullivan
9- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
10- Wesley Yorstad Goes Outside by Stephanie Hunter
11- All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
12- Homer and Langley by EL Doctorow
13- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
14- The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
15- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
16- Sylvia Plath: A Biography by Linda Wagner-Martin
17- Anne Sexton: A Biography by Diane Wood Middlebrook
18- The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower
19- The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum
20- Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac by Jeremy Hance
21- The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
22- Jingo by Terry Pratchett
23- Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
24- Mort by Terry Pratchett
25- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Shows/podcasts mentioned—
1- Barry (HBO, 2018 - 2023)
2- Reservation Dogs (Hulu, 2021 - 2023)
3- Good Omens (Amazon Prime, 2019 - present)
4- Dear Therapists with Lori Gottlieb and Guy Winch - podcast
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Nathan Gower at his website www.nathangower.com or on IG @nathan_gower_
Our guest this week is Nathan Gower, a writer with roots in Kentucky, having earned degrees from Spalding University and the University of Louisville. He now serves as a professor of English at Campbellsville University. His debut novel, The Act of Disappearing, publishes on May 28 with Mira Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
The novel is about a woman named Julia, who her friends call Jules. Julia has been trying to make a name for herself as a fiction writer, but she works at a bar to make ends meet. It is there that she meets a famous older man named Jonathan Aster who gives her a photograph and offers to pay her to tell the story of the woman in the picture: the woman in the photo is jumping off a bridge holding a baby. Julia begins a quest to discover who this woman is and learns about herself in the process.
He also talks to us about how terrifying it was to write a book from a female point of view, how the women in his family inspired this story, and the sci-fi book he just read and thoroughly enjoyed even though he doesn’t like sci-fi.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower
2- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
3- Dead Boy Detectives by Neil Gaiman
4- Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
5- Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen
6- The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
7- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Claire Boswell @clairesbookobsession
8- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
9- The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
10- The Man In The Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
11- Made for You by Jenna Satterthwaite
12- Johanna Porter is Not Sorry by Sara Read
Entertainment mentioned—
1- Beetlejuice (1988)
2- Beetlejuice (Broadway Across America)
3- Seinfeld (1989- 1998, Netflix)
4- Dark Matter (2024, Apple+)
5- The Dead Boys Detective (2024, Netflix)
6- Locke & Key (2020, Netflix)
7- The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Photograph mentioned—
time.com/3456028/the-most-bea…h-an-immortal-photo/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we have our annual summer reading episode with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, store manager at Carmichaels Bookstore in Louisville, KY. By this point in our spring season, we are tired, so having Sam on and letting her do the heavy lifting on book suggestions is what we’re about. Sam clues us in to some new fiction, nonfiction, traditional summer reading, mysteries, sci-fi/fantasy, and children’s books you may want to scoop up.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- James by Percival Everett
2- Hamilton by Ron Chernow
3- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
4- Sandwich by Catherine Newman
5- Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
6- By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
7- Long Island by Colm Tóibín
8- Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
9- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
10- I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
11- The Summer Pact by Emily Giffen
12- Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
13- Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
14- Knife by Salman Rushdie
15- The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larsen
16- 1974 by Francine Prose
17- The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
18- Sociopath by Patric Gagne
19- An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin
20- The Searcher by Tana French
21- The Hunter by Tana French
22- One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
23- Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
24- Highway 13 by Fiona McFarland
25- This Bright River by Liz Moore
26- God of the Woods by Liz Moore
27- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
28- Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
29- The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
30- Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
31- House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
32- Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
33- The Deading by Nicholas Belardes
34- Unicorn Woman by Gayl Jones
35- Eva’s Man by Gayl Jones
36- You Are Here edited by Ada Límon
37- Black Gold by Marguerite Henry
38- The Kentucky Oaks by Avalyn Hunter
39- Bourbonland by Edward Lee
40- Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee
41- Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee
42- The Gaga Mistake by Emma Straub
43- Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
44- The Squish by Brianna Carzoo
45- The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
46- Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
47- Finna by Nino Cipri
48- The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird
49- I’m Afraid You Have Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
50- The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Apps mentioned—
Merlin app (birds)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
May is Audiobook Appreciation Month so this week we suggest to you 10 plus books that give an added dimension when you listen to the audiobook version. And we aren't even entertaining the notion that listening to audiobooks isn't reading. Listening counts!
Books mentioned--
1- The Jinn Daughter by Rania Hanna
2- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
3- Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North (A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Shannon Loar @shopcoffeekids
4- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, narrated by Kristoffer Tabori
5- Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci, narrated by Stanley Tucci
6- Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why by Alexandra Petri, narrated by Rebecca Gibel
7- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, narrated by Marin Ireland
8- The Assasination of Brangwain Spurge by MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin narrated by Gildart Jackson
9- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, narrated by an ensemble cast
10- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, narrated by Tom Hollander
11- Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey by Florence Williams, narrated by author
12- Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, narrated by Marin Ireland
13- Ava's Man by Rick Bragg
14-The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and his People by Rick Bragg
15- My Southern Journey: True Journeys from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg
16- It's All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
17- Calypso by David Sedaris
18- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
19- Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, narrated by Bronson Pinchot
20- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
21- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
22- The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
Movies and Shows mentioned--
1- Big Night (1996)
2- Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy (CNN)
3- The Hunger Games (2012)
4- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
5- Daisy Jones and the Six (Amazon, 2023)
6- Leave the World Behind (Netflix, 2023)
7- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
We interact with book publicists pretty often, but a few months ago, one of them, Sami Lien, emailed and asked for recommendations about things to do in Kentucky around Derby. She explained that she is in a travel book club; they read books over the course of 12 months about a particular US location and then take a trip to visit. The novel Horse by Geraldine Brooks was the book that inspired this particular trip for their club.
Well, we love books and travel so we had to invite Sami and her book club friend, Marilyn, to be guests on the show. We had a great time learning about the ins and outs of their travel book club and are excited to get to meet them this Friday at a restaurant about an hour outside of Louisville.
If you would like to see the full list of books they read this year preparing to travel to Kentucky and the Derby, you can find the list in the show notes.
Books Mentioned in the Episode:
1- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
2- Relative Strangers by A.H. Kim
3- Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards
4- 1984 by George Orwell
5- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
6- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
7- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
8- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
9- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
10- South of Broad by Pat Conroy
11- My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
12- Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
13- Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens
14- Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
15- Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon - A five star read recommended by fellow book lover Caitríona Shannon @these_thats_and_prose
16- Friday Harbor by DC Alexander
17- Blood in the Bluegrass by DC Alexander
18- Mary by Janis Cooke Newman
19- Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
20- Norah Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Shows mentioned--
1- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)
The Divine Destinations Reading List for Kentcuky and the KY Derby
1- Horse: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
2- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
3- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
4- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
5- Groundskeeping by Lee Cole
6- Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
7- Lincoln by Russell Freedman
8- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson
9- The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
10- The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts
11- First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
12- The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
13- Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal by Sarah Maslin Nir
14- Lexington by Kim Wickens
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we have a remix episode because we are attending the LA Festival of Books. We catch up with author Ellen Birkett Morris. We first spoke to her in 2020 about her short story collection, Lost Girls, and now she has recently published a novel Beware the Tall Grass. So we will hear a little something old and a little something new from her in that episode.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Beware the Tall Grass by Ellen Birkett Morris
2- Lost Girls by Ellen Birkett Morris
3- Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
4- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
5- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
5- Arabel's Raven by Joan Aiken
6- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
7- Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
8- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach
9- Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
10- Lake Life by David James Poissant
11- Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
12- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
13- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
14- Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn translated by Melody Shaw - 5 Star Read recommended by Sarah Phillips @cosymidlifebooknook
Article mentioned in this episode:
lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-for-book-lovers/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we are playing the nostalgia card. All of the books we mention are backlist in a big way; the majority are at least 15 years old. Our episode is about books that take up space in our heads. They may be books that, when we see them on a shelf, stir up all kinds of feelings or memories from years past. Or they are books that simply left a huge impression on us and we think about them from time to time. Even though they aren’t new and shiny, these books deserve a place on your TBR.
Books mentioned:
1- The Dead Boy Detectives comic series based on characters developed by Neil Gaiman
2- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
3- Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
4- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
5- Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin
6- When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover - Kasey @kayree_reads
7-It by Stephen King (1986)
8- Jack Gance by Ward Just (1997)
9- Burglars Can’t Be Choosers (the Bernie Rhodenbarr series) by Lawrence Block (1977)
10- The Good Men by Charmaine Craig (2003)
11- The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir (1991)
12- Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade (1991)
13- Nora: A Biography of Nora Joyce by Brenda Maddox (1998)
14- House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (1999)
15- Eva’s Man by Gayl Jones (1987)
16- Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith (1988)
17- Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
18- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
19- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs
20- Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
Shows mentioned—
1- Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, 2024)
2- Catherine, Called Birdy (Amazon Prime, 2022)
3- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)
4- Sandman (Netflix, 2022)
5- Good Omens (Amazon Prime, 2019)
6- Sherlock (Hulu, 2010)
7- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
8- Emma ( Amazon Prime, 2020)
9- 3 Body Problem (Netflix, 2024)
10- Burglar (1987)
11- House of Sand and Fog (Max, 2003)
12- Lion in Winter (1968)
13- Jude (1996)
14- Far from the Madding Crowd (Max, 2015)
Theatre mentioned—
Broadway across America production of “Six”
Articles mentioned—
8 Bookish Podcasts for Booklovers -
www.badasswomensbookclub.com/blog/2024/…booklovers
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find Judith Lindbergh at judithlindbergh.com/ and on IG @judithlindbergh.
This week’s episode is one that big history nerds may find fascinating. In fact, big nerd Carrie could have gone even further down a rabbit hole of Herodotus than she did with our guest Judith Lindbergh. If you feel like playing a drinking game with this episode, between the three of us, we say the word ‘fascinating” at least nine times. Judith’s second novel, titled Akmaral, will be published on May 7 and is a sweeping story of a nomadic woman warrior in Central Asia during the 5th century.
Judith tells us about her inspiration for the novel (and you can find more about the Ice Maiden she mentions in our interview on her website) and how the matriarchal community in which Akmaral lives has connections to the mythological Amazons. Judith relates the challenges of women during the Iron Age to those that modern women have through her story. A perfect saga story for fans of Madeline Miller.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh
2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
3- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
4- The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh
5- Histories by Herodotus
6- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer
7- The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Linda Lefler @lindalefler
8- This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray
9- The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
10- The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
11- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
12- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Movies mentioned--
1- White Noise (2023)
Documentary mentioned:
1- Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women, www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/amazon…women-episode/1464/.
2- NOVA: “Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYitmlS1YU.
Article mentioned--
1- The Marriage Lesson That I Learned Too Late --www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/…-dishes/629526/
2- Tuvan Throat Singing - www.songlines.co.uk/features/essent…-singing-albums.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
Earth Day is upon us in a few weeks, April 22, and what better time to explore literature that comments on the health of Mother Earth. This week we are talking eco-literature. Eco-literature engages readers on environmental concerns through the interactions between humans and the environment. And it encourages thought about our impact on the planet.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
2- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
3- That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
4- Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel
5- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
6- Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul - A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Kristin M. @paws.read.repeat
7- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
8- Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman
9- Dune by Frank Herbert
10- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan
11- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philips
12- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
13- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom
14- State of Wonder by Ann Patchet
15- What Blooms From Dust by James Markert
16- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
17- Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh
18- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
19- Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson
20- Hoot by Carl Hiassen
Links to articles we reference:
Library Book Returned After 102 Years
people.com/family-returns-pair…ranch%20on%20Monday.
Wishtree censorship—
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/…ishtree.html
Sting Ray article—
www.npr.org/2024/03/07/12366785…tery-north-carolina
Bringing Back the Wooly Mammoth
www.npr.org/sections/health-sho…-mammoth-extinction
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find this week’s Austen authors at their websites:
AH Kim - www.ahkim.net/ and @ahkim.writer
Melodie Edwards - www.melodieedwards.com/ and @melodiewritesedwards
Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817 but she remains a writer who has captured the minds and hearts of many readers. The themes she addressed in her time remain ones that are relevant today: the need to be an individual despite the binds of society’s rules, the complications of marriage, and the power and powerlessness that comes with changes in social class.
Our guests this week, AH Kim, and Melodie Edwards, both love Jane Austen and with such gusto that they wrote their own reimaginings of her novels. They talk about the potential pitfalls of their endeavors given how exacting many Austen fans are, as well as the things they wanted to ensure they kept from Austen versus the creative license they took to make their stories unique to their own experiences and modern times.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Relative Strangers by A.H. Kim
2- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
3- Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards
4- Persuasion by Jane Austen
5- Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James
6- Jane and Edward by Melodie Edwards
7- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
8- A Good Family by A.H. Kim
9- Long Live by V. B. Lacey - A Book recommended by a fellow book lover Brianna Wright @bwrightsbookreviews
10- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
11- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
12- Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner
13- The Fetishist by Katherine Min
14- Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
15- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
TV series mentioned:
1- Northern Exposure ( Amazon, 1990-1995)
2- The Reluctant Traveler (Apple +, 2023-present)
Movies mentioned-
1- Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Colin Firth
2- Sense and Sensibility (1995) with Emma Thompson
3- Persuasion (Netflix, 2022) with Dakota Johnson
4- Persuasion (2007, iTV) with Sally Hawkins
5- Persuasion (1995) with Ciarin Hinds
6- Emma (1996) with Gwyneth Paltrow
7- American Fiction (2023)
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we’re talking about linked short story collections. What are linked short stories, though?
These are stories that are collected and somehow linked to each other. That link can be very explicit or very subtle. They can be linked by one character who threads her/his way throughout every one or who is only mentioned marginally. They can be linked by several characters. They can be linked by the setting–if they are set in a certain town or state or country.
But they can also be linked by theme or symbol or a common experience of characters. They could all be about a shared experience, like parenthood or death or
love. Or a combination of these things.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
2- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
3- Good Taste by Caroline Scott
4- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - a 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Anastacia @ms_a_m_c
5- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
6- The Decameron by Giovanni Boccacio
7- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
8- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
9- Dubliners by James Joyce
10- Dear Chrysanthemums: A Novel in Stories by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
11- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
12- Birth Canal by Dias Novita Wuri
13- There, There by Tommy Orange
14- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
15- What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better by Jody Hobbs Hessler
16- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
17- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
18- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
19- Music of the Swamp by Lewis Nordan
20- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
21- Crooked Hallelujah by Kelly Jo Ford
22- Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
23- Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
24- Throne of Glass (series) by Sarah J. Maas
25- The Bone People by Keri Hulme
26- The Extinction of Irina Rey by Jennifer Croft
Podcasts mentioned--
Ologies with Alie Ward - www.alieward.com/ologies/oikologyencore
NPR's Book of the Day - www.npr.org/2024/03/14/11969793…-rey-jennifer-croft
Movies mentioned--
1- Oppenheimer (2023)
2- Spaceman (2024, Netflix)
To find more of Kari’s book thoughts, you can find her on instagram @checkedoutbooks.
Our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we chat with Kari Heggen, a bookstagrammer from Iowa who set herself a goal to read all the Newbery Award winners from the past 102 years. Originally she had planned to read 10 a year but she ultimately decided to just get her done. She read 49 of the winners in 2023 and got a jump start on 2024 by reading this year’s winner, The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers.
Kari talks about the highs and lows of her Newbery Award challenge. Books from the early days of the award were decidedly not great. But by the 1960s, Kari got into a better groove and found herself enjoying books for the first time and often the second time which brought back some childhood nostalgia.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Erasure by Percival Everett
2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
3- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
4- Holes by Louis Sachar
5- The Giver by Lois Lowry
6- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
7- The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loom
8- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
9- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
10- Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
11- The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
12- Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
13- A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard
14- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
15- King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
16- Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
17- Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
18- Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
19- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
20- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
21- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
22- The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
23- Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson
24- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
25- Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
26- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
27 - Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Hope @lifewithhopeann- Divine Rivals Duology by Rebecca Ross
28- Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton Jack
29- The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
30- Starter Villain by John Scalzi
31- Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen
32- Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch
33- The Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson
34- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Movies and TV Series mentioned:
1- Oppenheimer (2023)
2- American Fiction (2023)
3- Poor Things (2023)
4- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023, Netflix)
5- Peaky Blinders (2013-2022, Netflix)
6- The Secrets of Nimh (1982)
Article about Serving on the Newbery Awards committee-
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/what-i…y-medal-winner
Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk about some of our favorite books coming out of small and independent presses. The Big 5 publishers print those blockbusters we love to stick in our beach bag but smaller presses support much more diverse authors and innovative and important stories that may be your next favorite read! We give you a little primer about the difference between a small press and an imprint by on the Big 5. And we give you 10 books (plus a few more) that we recommend from indie presses!
Books mentioned--
1- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
2- The Odyssey by Homer
3- Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit
4- Everyman by Philip Roth
5- Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell
6- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - 5 star readrecommended by fellow book lover Amy Bernath @mrsmillardfillmorereads
7- The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel (Tin House)
8- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom (Ashland Creek Press)
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-3…26-20/
9- The Salt Fields by Stacy D. Flood (Lanternfish Press)
10- Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross Smith (Hub City Press)
11- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue (Hub City Press)
12- Places We Left Behind: A Memoir in Miniature by Jennifer Lang (Vine Leaves Press)
13- What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me by Donna Gordon (Regal House)
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-6-…-8-22/
14- Menopause: A Comic Treatment edited by MK Czerwiec (Penn State University Press)
15- Bad Tourist by Suzanne Roberts (Univeristy of Nebraska Press)
16- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia(WVU Press)
17- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions)
18- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (Milkweed Editions)
19- Lungfish by Meghan Gillis (Catapult Books)
20- Tidepool by Nicole Willson (Parliament House)
21- The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson (Parliament House Books - coming Nov. 12, 2024)
Movies/Shows mentioned--
Maestro (Netflix, 2023)
The Changeling (Apple+, 2023)
For All Mankind (Apple+, 2019)
Links mentioned:
Odysseus Lunar Landing - www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/world/mo…nasa-scn/index.html
Solar Flare -
www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news…outage-earth-att/
Human Isolation on Mars-
www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/magazi…n-experiment.html
LA Public Library now owns a small press -
www.latimes.com/entertainment-art…makes-total-sense
You can Shawntaye on Instagram at @shawntaye1
Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we chat with a Lexington, Kentucky bookstagrammer, Shawntaye, who is such a devoted reader that she makes books part of virtually everything she does, from socializing to volunteering. Amy met Shawntaye in real life before COVID and the Perks has been following her bookish adventures ever since.
Shawntaye talks to us about a panel discussion she lead in which she recommended books that uplift Black women, as well as what she has learned from being a board member of her local library and how the reading events she attends enrich her life. She also shares her very strong (and funny) feelings about why she does not set numerical reading goals each year.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Finna by Nino Cipri
2- What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World by Henry Clark
3- What We Found in the Corn Maze and How It Saved a Dragon by Henry Clark
4- Heidi by Johanna Spyri
5- Forever by Judy Blume
6- Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
7- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
8- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
9- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
10- The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
11- Power: The Rise of Black Women in America by Charity C. Elder
12 - My Beautiful Black Hair by St. Clair Detrick-Jules
13- My Hair is Like the Sun by St. Clair Detrick-Jules
14- Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
15- The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
16- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
17 -Water by John Boyne (Five Star Read recommended by Book Lover Lynley @bichons_and_books_nz)
18- Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
19- Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
20- Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen
21- The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner
You can find Amy and the Gibson Girl review at www.gibsongirlreview.com/ as well as on Instagram at @gibsongirlreview
Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
As podcast people ourselves, we are always interested in checking out other unique book-related podcasts. You can find a podcast to fit any interest no matter how obscure; there is something for everyone out in the pod universe.
Our guest this week is Amy Drown, the founder, producer, and host of Gibson Girl Review, a podcast that focuses on novels from the Gilded Age and Progressive era, circa 1870-1920. Edith Wharton and Henry James are authors from this time you may have had to read in high school, but for the most part, novels from these time periods have mostly been forgotten among the general reading public. Amy likes to give them a fresh reading. She has found that many of the problems we deal with in 2024 are very similar to the ones people dealt with some 130+ years ago.
Amy is a historian herself with a vast collection of old books she inherited from her family. In the end, she just wanted to read them instead of have them languishing on a shelf, and The Gibson Girl Review podcast was born.
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1- The Passionate Epicure by Marcel Rouff
2- The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
3- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
4- A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
5- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
6- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
7- Jan of the Windmill by Juliana Horatia Ewing
8- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
9 - Heidi by Johanna Spyri
10- Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
11- Poor Dear Theodora by Florence Irwin
12- The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
13- Her First Appearance by Richard Harding Davis
14- Five Star Book Recommendation from Nelwina @toallreaders - The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan
15- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos: Reflections on the Newark Earthworks and World Heritage edited by M. Elizabeth Weiser and others
16- The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
17- Winterfrost by Michelle Houts
Movies and Shows mentioned—
1- The Taste of Things (2023)
2- A Room With a View (1985)
3- The Gilded Age (HBOMax, 2022- present)
4- Downton Abbey (Peacock, 2010- 2015)
To find out more about Minda, go to her website at www.mindahoney.com or find her on social media @mindahoney
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook- Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
We have a remix episode for you this week on Valentine’s Day, and the book we discuss is all about love and the loss of it.
We first talked with author Minda Honey back in the summer of 2019 During that interview, she spoke about her book of essays tentatively titled “An Anthology of Assholes,” which was about her dating experiences from her mid-20s to age 30 as a single black woman. In October 2023, her book now titled The Heartbreak Years was published by Little A.
We catch up with Minda about her memoir. We then transition back to parts of our original interview which also focuses on the Toni Morrison documentary, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. In the summer of 2019, Speed Cinema featured this film, but if you missed it then you can find it now on most streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. When we discussed Morrison, she was still living but she died a few weeks later, in Aug 2019.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- The Heartbreak Years by Minda Honey
2- All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
3- Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
4- What The Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
5- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
6- Sula by Toni Morrison
7- Beloved by Toni Morrison
8- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
9- The Mothers by Brit Bennett
10- Ruby by Cynthia Bond
11- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
12- How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson - A Five star read recommended by Jessica Bearak @tonightsbookishfeast
13- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
14- Yinka, Where Is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn; audiobook narrated by Ronke Adékoluejo
Shows mentioned--
1- Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)
2- Time Trap (2018, Netflix)
3- Dark (2017-2020, Netflix)
4- Will & Harper (2024)
5- Six Feet Under (2001-2005, Netflix)
6- Will and Grace (1998-2006, Hulu)
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Face Book - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we are talking time bending books, series, and movies including time travel, time loop, and time slip. Here is a link for more info on this subgenera.
https://www.abookgeek.com/exploring-the-paradoxes-of-time-travel-literature-a-journey-through-the-ages/
Books mentioned--
1- Number The Stars by Lois Lowry
2- Intrigue in Istanbul by Ericka Ruth Neubauer
3- The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
4- Time Machine by HG Wells
5- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
6- The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier
7- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
8- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffenegger
9- Midnight Library by Matt Haig
10- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
11- Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen
12- Time and Again by Jack Finney
13- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
14- Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdoch
15- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
16-Kindred by Octavia Butler
17- Neverworld Wake by Marissa Pessl
18- Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
19- A Boy And His Dog At The End of The World by C.A. Fletcher - 5 star read recommended by Heather Crotwell @readingwithavengeance
20- Orchard by Larry Watson
21- Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
22- Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspired the World by Jean Duffy
Other stuff mentioned--
1- Radiolab episode about Einstein's brain - radiolab.org/podcast/g-relative-genius
2- Disney's Frozen (Broadway Across America)
3- Number the Stars (Stage One theater production)
4- Dark (Netflix, 2017-2020)
5- Bodies (Netflix, 2023)
10- BeForeigners (Amazon Prime, 2019- )
11- Interstellar (2014)
12- Tenet (2020)
13- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
14- Back to the Future (1985)
15- Sliding Doors (1998)
16- Time Bandits (1981)
17- Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
18- Donnie Darko (2001)
19- Kindred (Hulu, 2022)
20- Florida Altering Picture Books link - popular.info/p/pressed-by-moms-for-liberty-florida
** This was not a source I was familiar with even though it was being quoted by Pen America so I consulted www.Mediabiasfactcheck.com. This was their summary of this source. "Overall, we rate Popular Information Left Biased based on story selection and editorial content that routinely favors liberal causes. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record."
You can find Marty at his website www.martyohlhaut.com/ while you can find Grace on Instagram at @grace.ly_author)
Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk to the father-daughter team of Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly. They have written a travel memoir called Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West.
This book is based on the true story of their family camping trip to the Canadian Rockies which went horribly wrong in the 1990s. Marty, his wife Jolene, and their 5 children flew from Charlotte NC to the Pacific Northwest and then drove a van to several spots in the majestic Canadian mountains. They camped in their family tent, lovingly referred to as Big Blue. While there, so many things went awry but most importantly, Jolene was severely injured and had to be taken to a hospital where she spent many days. The Ohlhaut family was in disarray but Good Samaritans named the Walshes came to the rescue.
This family is genetically predisposed to adventure. You will hear Marty talk about some wild things he has seen and done, and even though Grace doesn’t doesn’t mention it, she also is an adventure seeker. She dog sleds in Finland and rock climbs in Colorado. Carrie and I are so boring in comparison.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West by Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly
2- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
3- Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
4- Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
5- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
6- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
7- In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton
8- Slow Horses by Mick Herron
9- Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron (novellas)
10- The Future by Naomi Alderman - 5 star read recommended by Shelley Anderson @shelleyanderson4127
11- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Shows mentioned--
1- Slow Horses (Apple +)
Link mentioned:
A Poem-a-Day email service - go to www.poets.org to sign up
You can find Huda at her website www.Hudafahmy.com.
Our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk to Huda Fahmy, a graphic novelist whose 4th book Huda F Cares? was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Her book focuses on a teenage Muslim girl named Huda who takes a road trip in the family’s station wagon from Michigan to Florida to visit Disneyworld with her parents and many sisters. There she grapples with wanting to fit in with her peers but also wanting to stay true to her family and her Muslim religion with issues like wearing her hijab and praying in public.
The character Huda in her book is based on the author’s experience growing up in an Egyptian family that immigrated to the US. Huda talks about her love of comics and how she picked up English in part by reading Garfield comic books. Huda began writing graphic novels at the age of 30 when two of her sisters encouraged her to turn her essays of Muslim American life into illustrated stories.
Books mentioned in This Episode:
1- Huda F Cares? by Huda Fahmy
2- Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
3- Yes, I'm Hot in This by Huda Fahmy
4- Huda F Wants To Know by Huda Fahmy
5- That Can be Arranged by Huda Fahmy
6- Murder by Degrees by Rita Mukerji
7- Hide by Tracy Clark
8- Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
9- Erasure by Percival Everett
10- Mexikid by Pedro Martin
11- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
12- Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
13- It Won't Always Be Like This by Malaka Gharib
14- Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
15- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
16- A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
17- As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
18- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juno Diaz
19- Hidden Systems by Dan Nott
20- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
21- Checkmate by Ali Hazelwood
22- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
23- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
24- The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Shows/Films mentioned--
1- Poor Things (2023)
2- American Fiction (2023)
3- The Old Man and the Pool (Netflix 2023)
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Paddling North by Audrey Sutherland (Rec by Ritu Mukerji)
2- Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Rec by Anna Pitoniak)
3- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Rec by Anna Pitoniak)
4- Working by Robert Caro (Rec by Rachel M. Harper)
5- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (Rec by Mel Joulwan of Strong Sense of Place Podcast)
6- A Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel (Rec by David Humphries of Strong Sense of Place Podcast)
7- The Gilded Page by Mary Wellesley (Rec by Kristine Eckart of Gilmore Book Club)
8- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs (Rec by Kristine Eckart of Gilmore Book Club)
9- Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (Rec by Kika Hatzapoulou)
10- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby (Rec by Katrina Kittle)
11- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Rec by Katrina Kittle)
12- Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century by Dana Stephens (Rec by Mick Sullivan of The Past and The Curious Podcast)
13- River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West by Rebecca Solnit (Rec by Mick Sullivan of The Past and the Curious Podcast)
14- If We Were Villains by ML Rio (Rec by Katrina Monroe)
15- The Wanderers by Meg Howrey (Rec by Lydia Welker of the Appalachian Prison Book Project)
16- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Rec by Kelsey Madges, middle school librarian)
Carrie's Favorite Books of the Year
1- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
2- Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy
3- Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
4- Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith
5- We All Wants Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Amy's Favorite Books of the Year
1- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
2- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
3- Martin Marten by Brian Doyle
4- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue
5- The Keeper by Kelcey Ervick
6- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Other Recommendations:
1- American Murderer by Gail Jarrow
2- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
3- These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
4- Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
5- Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
6- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
7- Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby
8- Wool by Hugh Howey (and the TV adaptation on Apple + called Silo)
Escambia County Dictionary Ban -
www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio…ban/72202686007/
Website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Things we talked about in the intro:
Movie:
Poor Things (2023)
Adapted from the book Poor Things by Alisdair Gray
Podcast:
NPR's Book of the Day
Social Media Links
1- The Dogist - Insta and FB
2- Dancing Chickens -
Check out Strong Sense of Place Podcast and LOLT at
strongsenseofplace.com/ for show notes for these episodes.
You can find Jennifer Caloyeras at her website www.Jennifercaloyeras.com or on Instagram @ jennifercaloyeras.
Website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Our Shownotes:
Books Mentioned in this Introduction:
1- The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Borwn
Movies Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Get Out (2017)
2- Saltburn (2023)
3- The Lighthouse (2019)
4- Asteroid City (2023)
5- The Boys in the Boat (2023)
5 Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover - Mindy from the Our Nerdiest Thing Podcast @ournerdiestthing
- Pucking Around by Emily Rath
Books Are My People Shownotes:
This week, I'm joined by Carrie and Amy from the podcast, The Perks of Being a Podcast Lover and we discuss some of our favorite recent reads, crochet and sweating in closets.
Books Discussed:
The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
All the Frequent Troubles of our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler by Rebecca Donner
Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier
What We're Reading Next:
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather oneill
The Rot by Siri Peterson
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carrey
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Our Shownotes:
1- Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
2- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
3- Saltburn - (2023, Amazon Prime)
4- Ripley - (upcoming series on Netflix)
Thrillers by the Bookclub Shownotes:
Welcome to Episode 39 of Thrillers by the Bookclub Podcast! Join your hosts Chelsea and Olivia as we talk about the latest in thrillers including shout outs for Pub Day and a deep dive into two books we love.
Chelsea's Book: NIGHT FILM by Marisha Pessl
- Similar Suggestions: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, The Searcher by Tana French, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, and House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
Olivia's Book: SWEET LITTLE LIES by Karin Nordin (OUT 9.28!)
- Similar Suggestions: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier, Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola
Carrie's Book: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN by Patricia Highsmith
- Similar Suggestions: THE KIND WORTH KILLING by Peter Swanson
Amy's Book: SADIE by Courtney Summers
- Similar Suggestions: Devolution by Max Brooks, Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms, The Hollow Inside by Brook Lauren Davis, The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Email: thrillersbythebookclubpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @thrillersbythebookclubpod @thrillersbythebookclub
Chelsea: @thrillerbookbabe Olivia: @oliviadaywrites
Perks of Being a Book Lover Podcast: @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Happy Pub Day!
• DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin
• NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell
• MISTER MAGIS by Kiersten White
• 101 HORROR BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU'RE MURDERED by Sadie Hartmann
• LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward
• NORTH OF NOWHERE by Alison Brennan
• IN A QUIET TOWN by Amber Garza
• THE LAST ONE by Will Dean
You can find Anna Pitoniak at www.annapitoniak.com and on socials at annapitoniak.
-Website atwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
-Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
-FaceBook Perks of Being a Book Lover.
-To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
For our final episode of 2023, we chat with Anna Pitoniak, whose 4th novel, The Helsinki Affair, has been named a Best Thriller of 2023 by The Washington Post. Anna has long been a fan of spy novels and decided to try her hand at writing the genre. While spy novels have usually been written by and about men, Anna shows that women agents can be just as smart, sly, and ballsy. With a background in the publishing industry, Anna discusses how this experience impacted her journey writing, finding an agent, and working to get her novel into the world.
We also discuss how she is very different from Carrie on the Christmas front and why tacos were not her favorite food from a trip to Mexico (you’ll be surprised by what was.)
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1- The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak
2- Slow Horses by Mick Herron
3- Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak
4- The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre
5- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre
6- Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukherji
7- Mr. Lullaby by J.H. Markert
8- The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
9- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
10- Speak Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Emily Wiggins @emwigsterbookshelf
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Shows mentioned--
1- Slow Horses (Apple +, 2022)
2- Russian Doll (Netflix, 2019)
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram- @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook- Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find out more about Kelcey Ervick on her website kelceyervick.com
This week we chat with Kelcey Ervick whose graphic memoir The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women’s Lives Amy discovered after our friend and former guest, Bethany, told us about what a great book it was.
Kelcey is the author of four books but The Keeper is her first foray into a full graphic experience. She weaves her own personal story of being a high school and Division I college soccer player with the history and effect Title IX has had on women in all areas of their lives, not just in sports. If you loved the feminist bent of the movie Barbie, this book will give you similar vibes.
The Keeper has been recommended by the NYT Book Review, Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and was the winner of the state literary prize of Ohio, the Ohioana Book Award, which has been awarded to other notable authors including Celeste NG, Ross Gay, and John Scalzi. Even if you aren’t a sports fan (and I am not), you will thoroughly enjoy this book.
Remember, that in Season 10, Amy has a new project which is to give listeners book recommendations. If you’re looking for a book set in Romania, or a book about rabbits, or a book about changelings, or anything in between, send us a message and we’ll recommend a similar read you can add to your nightstand.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women's Lives by Kelcey Ervick
2- The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3- The Bitter Life of Bozena Nemcova: A Biographical Collage by Kelcey Ervick
4- The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Graphic Literature edited by Kelcey Ervick and Tom Hart
5- Good Talk by Mira Jacob
6- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
7- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
8- Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet
9- The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
10- Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
11- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
12- Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler
13- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
14- America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger
15- Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen
16- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue
5 Star Book Recommendation by a Fellow Book Lover Barbara K. - @msbarbarasbookshelf - Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Podcasts mentioned--
The To Read List Podcast (Jul 2020 episode)
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram- @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
2- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
3- Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
4- Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopolou
5- Krazyland by Mar Romasco-Moore
6- Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
7- This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
8- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
9- The Weight We Carry by Christina Consolino
10- The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann
11- House of Gold by CT Rwizi
12- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
13- Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
14- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
15- Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
16- Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind who changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman
17- The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
18- The Night Eaters by Marjorie Liu
19- Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy
20- I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam
Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Carol @pirotandpinot
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
Movies and TV series Discussed
1- Creature (2023/Netflix)
2- The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015-2017)
3- Mary Shelley (2015)
4- The Family Stone (2005)
5- Knock at the Cabin (2023)
This week we chat with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, from Carmichael’s Bookstore. Each November we let her do the heavy lifting and share books that have come out and might be good choices for your holiday shopping.
If you would like to check out Carmichael’s Bookstore Holiday Book Gift Guide, you can find it online at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
2- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
3- Foster by Claire Keegan
4- So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
5- Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
6- Fraud by Zadie Smith
7- Armor of Light by Ken Follett
8- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
9- Julia by Sandra Newman
10- 1984 by George Orwell
11- Reformatory by Tananarive Due
12- Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
13- A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
14- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
15- West Heart Kill by Dann Mcdorman
16- The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
17- The Appeal by Janice Hallett
18- The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
19- Stalking Shakespeare by Lee Durkee
20- They Flew by Carlos Eire
21- Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
22- Wild Girls by Tiya Miles
23- The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
24- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
25- Watership Down (graphic novel) by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin
26- Watership Down by Richard Adams
27- Energy Follows Thought by Willie Nelson
28- World Within a Song by Jeff Tweedy
29- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
30- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
31- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
32- Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
33- Legend & Lattes by Travis Baldree
34- World Central Kitchen Cookbook by Jose Andres
35- Every Cook, Every Kitchen by Feed Louisville
36- Oldest Louisville by Kevin Gibson
37- Always Moving Forward by David Jones and Bob Hill
38- Back Page by Byron Crawford
39- Fathers by Richard Taylor
40- From the Heads of the Hollers by Shelby Lee Adams
41- Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
42- Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys by DMS Fick
43- Rabbit Heart by Kristine S. Ervin
44- My Dark Places by James Ellroy
45- Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
46- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
47- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
48- The Man who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Rescued his Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
49- Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Casey @Caseys_reads
12 Months To Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
Movie and Series Mentioned:
- CODA (2021) - Apple +
- Bodies (2023) - Netflix
Our guest this week, Ritu Mukerji, is a busy, full-time physician and a mother of 3, but she managed to find time to write her first novel, a recently published historical fiction mystery titled Murder by Degrees about a female physician in late 19th century Philadelphia. She was inspired by her love of the mystery genre as well as her experience living in Philadelphia while getting her medical degree where she would often visit places where female doctors had paved the way for other women to follow.
We chat with Ritu about why physicians can make good detectives, and she shares some of her favorite mystery series and the recipe for her favorite Thanksgiving side dish that’s been prepared in her family for over 30 years.
You can find Ritu on socials at @ritumukerji and at her website: www.ritumukerji.com
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji
2- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
3- Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
4- Maisie Dobbs series by Jaqueline Winspear
5- Inspector Rutledge series by Charles Todd
6- Books by PD James, Ruth Rendell, and Barbara Vine
7- Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell
8- Truman by David McCullough
9- Grant by Ron Chernow
10- Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
11- The Dry by Jane Harper
12- Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry
13- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
14- The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey
15- George: A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes
16- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
5 Star Read Recpmmended by Fellow Book Lover Amy @readthisandsteep - Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
Ritu Mukerji's family recipe
Cranberry Salsa
(adapted from Oakland Tribune, Nov 1990)
-2 cups cranberries
-4 tsp grated orange peel
-2 large oranges, peeled to remove white membrane, then coarsely chopped
-1/4 cup minced onion
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 tbsp minced cilantro
-1 tbsp minced ginger
-1 small hot green chile (jalapeno or serrano)--stemmed, seeded and minced
-salt to taste
Whirl cranberries in a blender until chopped, then empty in a bowl. Add orange peel, chopped orange (drained), onion, oil, cilantro, ginger and chile. Mix well and blend sauce; add salt to taste. Serve, or cover and chill, as long as overnight.
This week is one of the funniest shows we’ve done simply because our guests are delightful. In fact this show may be just a tad longer than normal because we almost couldn’t bear to cut any of our conversation out. They are the author/illustrator and husband/wife team of Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr whose Cookie Chronicles books are a big hit among the 8-12 year old crowd, although, honestly, their stuff is good no matter how old you are.
They recently completed a year long cross-country trip called the Busload of Books Tour in a remodeled school bus with their four kids and grumpy dog to do school visits to Title I schools in the continental United States. They teamed up with a nonprofit to fund the trip and provide books for children. We talk with Matthew and Robbi about their cross-country trip, what “thing” they collected along the way, and Robbi’s favorite scent that you can’t buy.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- Ben Yokohama and the Cookie of Doom (Cookie Chronicles series) by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
2- The Real McCoys by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
3- Babies Ruin Everything by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
4- Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
5- Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice by Vanessa Zoltan
6- Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
7- A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russian Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders
8- Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray
9- Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Amber @amber.always.reading
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
Podcasts mentioned--
1- Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast
Websites mentioned--
http://Fireball.imo.net
You can find our guests at their website robbiandmatthew.com/
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Face Book - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we have a book recommendation episode. We hunker down for November and embrace fall. We call this our Free For F(all) episode because we each give you a recommendation in 5 categories to represent November : Autumn, Native American Heritage Month, Diwali, Day of the Dead/ All Soul's Day, and No-Shave November.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac
2- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
3- Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family by Catherine Newman
4- Love Deleted by Paul Indigo
5- An Event in Autumn by Henning Markell
6- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
7- Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris
8- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
9- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
10- A People's History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
11- The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox
12- The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
13- Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean
14- These Honored Dead (A Lincoln and Speed mystery) by Jonathan F. Putnam
15- Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky
16- Plight of the Living Dead: What Real Life Zombies Reveal About Our World and Ourselves by Matt Simon
A 5 star book recommendation by a fellow book Lover -
The Change by Kirsten Miller. recommended by Anne Persico @annother_bookstagram
Podcasts mentioned--
1- Ologies with Alie Ward
www.alieward.com/ologies/neuroparasitology
Movies mentioned--
1- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
2- Fargo (1996) - movie
3- Fargo - (2014 - present, FX) - TV series
Bookish news--
She challenges one book a week:
www.washingtonpost.com/education/202…spotsylvania/
1 parent is responsible for a book ban in North Carolina-
www.npr.org/2023/09/08/11983736…behind%20the%20move.
Scholastic Book Fair Dilemna
www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/sch…-race-gender.html
Erin Flanagan podcast episode episode:
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-7-…17-22/
Robert Sapolsky doesn't believe in free will
www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/scienc…ill-sapolsky.html
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Boo kLover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
We interviewed Alix E. Harrow in the before times (2019) when her first novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, was published. We drove to Berea, Kentucky and recorded in Berea College’s library, where Harrow graduated from and where she lived for a time. In the years since her debut, Harrow has come out with several new and cool entries into the speculative fiction genre. Her most recent book, Starling House, is a NYT, Washington Post, and USA Today bestseller. It is the October pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.
Books mentioned--
1- Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
2- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
3- The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
4- Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
5- The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
6- What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
7- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
8- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
9- The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnomes by Margaret St. Clair (short story)
10- Gideon the 9th by Tamsyn Muir
11- The City We Became by N. K. Jemesin
12- The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry
13- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Booklover Mackenxie @kenzathome-
The Ever King by LJ Andrews
Shows mentioned--
1- The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix, 2024)
2- Foundation (Apple TV, 2021 - present)
You can find Katrina Monroe on IG @katrinamonroeauthor or on her website katrinamonroe.com/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod loverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
If you would like to contact us, go to our website and click the Contact button.
I happened upon the audiobook Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe on Libby and was riveted by how the horror novel explored the postpartum period while also bringing in supernatural elements. It totally sucked me back into the early weeks after delivering my first child and left me with that same sense of shellshock, and I thought, “OF COURSE having a baby is a horror story.”
We reached out to Katrina to see if she would be interested in chatting with us, and we’re so glad she was. We talk with her about Graveyard of Lost Children and her first novel They Drown Our Daughters and about why motherhood and the mother-daughter relationship are perfect topics to write about because they are steeped in fear and confusion, and inspire terror at times.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
2- They Drown our Daughters by Katrina Monroe
3- Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
4- Goosebumps series by RL Stine
5- The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
6- Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
7- The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
8- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
9- The Electric Woman by Tessa Fontaine
10- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
11- Under an Outlaw Moon by Dietrich Kalteis
12-Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
13- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
14- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Jen @bookedupgirl - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Movies/Shows mentioned--
1- The Woman in Black (2012)
2- The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix - 2023)
3- Midnight Mass (Netflix - 2021)
4- The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix - 2018)
5- Goosebumps TV series (1995)
6- Goosebumps (Netflix - 2023)
7- The Changeling (Apple + - 2023)
8- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
9- A Monster Calls (2016)
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, click on the "Contact Us" button on the website.
To find Mel and David, check out their website, www.strongsenseofplace.com.
or Insta @strongsenseof
In episode 86, we first spoke with Melissa Joulwan during the COVID pandemic. She is one of the co-hosts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast. Melissa has been one of our favorite guests to date. You will here the original interview in the second half of the show. For something a little new, you will hear us chat this time around to both Mel and her partner David Humphreys. Since we last spoke with Melissa in 2021, they have added a short weekly podcast to their lineup called the Library of Lost Time in which they each recommend a book and a fun distraction. In this remix, they tell us all about this short concept podcast and they each share a book about a library with us! (Carrie is now reading David’s suggestion.)
A Strong Sense of Place is both a podcast and a website where readers can find interesting bookish conversations with our guest this week, Melissa Joulwan, and her husband David, two expatriates living in Prague located in the Czech Republic. In this week’s episode, she tells us about how they select the places they will visit each season, why place in a book has to meet very stringent specifications, and how roller derby helped her make some big life decisions.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Podcasts mentioned--
Strong Sense of Place (strongsenseofplace.com)
The Library of Lost Time
Books mentioned--
1- Pockets: An Intimated History of How we Keep Things Close by Hannah Coulson
2- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
3- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
3- Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld
4- Unseen City by Amy Shearn
5- Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
6- Forever by Judy Blume
7- The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders
8- Archie McNally series by Lawrence Sanders
9- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
10- My Antonia by Willa Cather
11- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
12- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
13- The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
14- She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb
15- The Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood
16- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
17- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
18- The Curse of Jacob Tracy by Holly Messinger
Movies or TV adaptations mentioned in this episode:
1- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Amazon)
You can find Jenny Kiefer on her website at jennykiefer.com/ or at Butcher Cabin Books at www.horrorbookstore.com/. She is also on instagram at @horrorbookstore and @_jennykiefer
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. You can contact to us through the link on the website. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
It has been one year since Louisville welcomed a horror bookstore to its ranks of cool, independent offerings. Butcher Cabin Books is a mother/daughter labor of love; Jenny Kiefer and her mother run the show. Jenny has been a horror fan since she was a child and also happens to be a horror writer whose debut novel titled This Wretched Valley will be published in January 2024 by Quirk Books. It has a wild inspiration story which she tells us about in this episode. Her dog Rye also gets in on the interview action, although his horror tale was that dinner might be delayed.
Butcher Cabin Books prides itself in having a large selection of books in stock from not only the Big 4 publishers but also small independent presses where so much of the exciting new horror literature is produced. Via their website, you can get these indie press scary favorites shipped to your door.
Last but not least, the store is sponsoring Butcher Cabin BookFest in Lexington KY on Oct. 18 from 5-9 at Pivot Brewing to benefit the Lexington Public Library. There will be a mass meeting of great horror writers to sign books and chat with readers, including Cynthia Pelayo, JH Markert, Andrew Shaffer, and Laurel Hightower. There will also be book bingo, silent auctions, and more.
Books mentioned--
1- This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
2- The Eyre Affair (Tuesday Next series) by Jasper Fforde
3- Women Talking by Miriam Toews
4- The Shining by Stephen King
5- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
6- Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
7- The Troop by Nick Cutter
8- Bunny by Mona Awad
9- We Need to Do Something by Max Boot III
10- Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
11- Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
12- 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered by Sadie Hartmann
13- Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko
14- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
15- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
16- The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan
17- Sadie by Courtney Summers
18- The Skull by Jon Klassen
19- The Last Devil to Die (The Thursday Murder Club series) by Richard Osman
Films mentioned--
1- Women Talking (2022)
2- The Shining (1980)
3- It Follows (2014)
4- The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix - 2018)
Historic Events mentioned-
Dyatlov Pass
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. You can email us throught the contact button on the website.
We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
It is officially Halloween season so we’re talking all about witches this week. We’ll each share 5 bewitching books, 10 total, that you should put on your TBRs.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Leslie “Fcking” Jones* by Leslie Jones
2- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
3- My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar
4- Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman
6- Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carriere
7- Circe by Madeline Miller
8- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
9- Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
10- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
11- The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
12- Cackle by Rachel Harrison
13- Akata Witch–Nnedi Okorafor
14- Akata Warrrior by Nnedi Okorafor
15- Hester by Laura Lico Albanese
16- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
17- The Last Witch by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher series)
18- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher series)
19- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
20- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
23- The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
24- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
25- Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott
26- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
27- My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood (Amazon Original Story)
28- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip
29- Loot by Tania James
30- Night watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
*5 Star Read Recommended by Book Lover Meghan Geary @biblioactivist203
Celine by Peter Heller
Movies and or TV series mentioned—
1- Ghostbusters (2016)
2- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
3- The Witcher (2019 - present, Netflix))
4- Discovery of Witches - (2018-2022 AMC)
Shows Mentioned—
1- Wicked (Broadway)
Our guest this week, Kika Hatzopoulou, grew up in Greece with the foundation of Ancient Greece and its mythology all around her. She now lives in London and until recently was an acquisitions editor for a Greek publisher, where she read and recommended books being published in the US and Britain for acquisition and translation for Greek audiences. She tinkered with the idea of writing a book herself, combining the Greek mythology stories she learned as a child with the detective stories and gritty noir that she loves reading. The result is Threads that Bind.
The novel Threads That Bind is about three sisters who are descendants of the Fates (also known as the Morai), the three mythological sisters who hold everyone’s destinies in their hands via threads. Io, the youngest sister, is a private investigator who discovers that someone is kidnapping women, tampering with their threads and essentially turning them into zombies. She has numerous potential suspects from Greek mythology: the Furies, the Oneroi (who control dreams), the Graces (who bestow artistic gifts on humans), and the Keres (who are the spirits of violent death). It is a novel that opens up a world of mythological characters you may not know much about.
A sequel to Threads that Bind titled Hearts that Cut comes out in summer 2024.
In addition to being our novelist guest, she also serves as this season’s global reader since we talk to her about Greek education and writers. She also turns the tables on us during the Fast and the Furious, the first guest to have ever done so, and we were unprepared.
You can find Kika at her website at kikahatzopoulou.com/ and on Insta at @kikahatzapoulou
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
2- Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou
3- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
5- Frindle by Andrew Clements
6- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
7- Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington
8- Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
9- Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Munoz
10- Orpheus and Eurydice (the original Greek myth)
11- Lore by Alexandra Bracken
12- Girl Goddess Queen by Bea Fitzgerald
13- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
14- Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
15- The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
16- Simon & the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
17- What Bees Want: Beekeeping as Nature Intended by Susan Knilens
18- The Scholomance Trilogy by Naomi Novik
19- The Prison Healer by Linnette Noni
20- Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside by Stephanie Harper
5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Fabee @devouredpages
1- The Ill-Made Mute by Celicia Dart-Thornton (and all of The Bitterbynde Trilogy)
Movies mentioned--
Rear Window (1954)
Theatre mentioned--
Hadestown
This week we are featuring books by Latino authors in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Molly's Tuxedo by Vicki Johnson
2- Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang (short story)
3- Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
4- Fever by Mary Beth Keane
5- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
6- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
7- Why Didn’t You Tell Me by Carmen Rita Wong
8- Ghetto Klown by John Leguizamo
9- The Last Cuentista by Barbara Donna Higuera
10- The Murmur of Bees by Sophía Segovia
11- The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernandez
12- The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
13- Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña
14- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
15- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
16- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
17- Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
18- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
19- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
20- Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
21- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
22- Leech by Hiron Ennes
5 Star Book Recommendation by a Fellow Book Lover - Ciera Oldham @Disappearherebookblog
- Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Movies mentioned--
1- Arrival (2016)
2- The Afterparty (Apple + TV, 2022 - present)
Article about Cuban community in Louisville:
www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/us/cub…lle-kentucky.html
Article about wasps and figs:
www.bonappetit.com/story/figs-and-wasps
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/us/cubans-louisville-kentucky.html
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
We always enjoy chatting with people we find on Instagram who are doing bookish things, and Kristine Eckart is one of those folks. She is the creator of Gilmore Book Club, which offers all kinds of book blogs, discussions, videos, and lists associated with the show Gilmore Girls. As if that wouldn’t keep her busy enough, she also hosts a book club for people with chronic health conditions (and we’re including the link to it in our show notes) and is working on creating book-related content for other beloved shows, such as Gossip Girl and The Office.
You can find Kristine on Insta and Youtube at @gilmorebookclub and at her website www.gilmorebookclub.com. Her Chronic Illness Bookclub can be found at www.thechroniconcommunity.com/share/_diU…rce=manual
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
2- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3- Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons From Russian Literature by Viv Groskop
4- Cujo by Stephen King
5- Tortall series by Tamora Pierce
6- Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
7- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
8- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
9- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
10- The Vampyre by John Polidori
11- Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
12- Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakeable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness by Rick Hanson
13- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
14- The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
15- The President’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood
16- The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson
17- The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
18- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
19- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover
1- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness recommended by Kim Layman @the_read_rat
Shows mentioned—
1- Gilmore Girls (Netflix, 2000)
2- Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Netflix, 2016)
3- Gossip Girl - (HBO Max 2007 - 2012)
4- The Office (2005-2013)
5- White Lotus - (HBO Max 2021 - present)
6- The Good Witch - (Netflix 2015-2021)
7- Anne with an "E" - (Netflix 2017 - 2019)
You can find Willie Carver on Instagram @williecarverjr or on his website at www.williecarver.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Sometimes when people have experienced a loss or some kind of traumatic event, they are encouraged to write about it, which gives them an outlet for their feelings and a way to help them process the experience. Our guest this week, Willie Carver Jr. was the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year but he experienced loss and trauma when both he and his students were targeted because he is gay. He began putting his thoughts and feelings into poetic lines and stanzas.
The book of poems that resulted, Gay Poems for Red States published by University Press of Kentucky, helped him look back at prejudices he had experienced as a child living in rural Kentucky, as a gay man, and as a teacher offering a place of security for his students. The poetry served as an impetus for him to engage more as an activist, even testifying before the House Subcommittee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights concerning the need for rights for LGBTQ students and educators. Book Riot has named Gay Poems for Red States one of its' best of the year.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Carver Jr
2- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
3- Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (audiobook)
4- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll narrated by Sally Field (audiobook)
5- The Eyre Affair series by Jasper Fforde (audiobook)
6- What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
7- The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
8- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
9- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
10- Theoretical Tiger Society by Brian Fuchs
11- With a Hammer for My Heart by George Ella Lyon
12- Undercooked: How I Let Food Become My Life Navigator and How Maybe That's a Dumb Way to Live by Dan Ahdoot
Five Star Recommendation by Fellow Book Lover Michael DeConzo, author of Welcome to the Arcade and Two Nickels
1- Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Podcast mentioned 1- Green Eggs and Dan
This week we are giving you something we are calling a "remix" episode. We have a new interview with former guest Mick Sullivan combined with some of his previous interview way back in 2019.
Amy is traveling this week so we’ve reconnected with former guest Mick Sullivan, who is the curator of guest experience at the Frazier History Museum and is also the creator of the award winning children's history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which grew out of the stories he tells people at the museum. His quirky combo of humor and music keeps both kids and adults interested and sneaks in a little history in the process.
The success of his podcast led to the publication of his first children's book, The Meat Shower, which is a fun telling of the historical event of meat falling from the sky in the 1800s. He has now published a book for older kids called I See Lincoln’s Underpants: The Surprising Times Underwear (and the People Wearing Them) Made History.
This episode is a little something new and something old. In this combo episode, we chat with Mick to see what he has been up to since his last book was published and you can also hear more about his first book which we discussed with him in the early days of the show in episode 27.
You can find more from Mick Sullivan including podcast episodes at thepastandthecurious.com/.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1- The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
2- The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan
3- I See Lincoln’s Underpants: The Surprising Times Underwear (and the People Wearing Them) Made History by Mick Sullivan
4- Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
5- Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes by Devoney Looser
6- Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7- Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz
8- Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz
9- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
10- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Podcasts mentioned— The Past and the Curious
A few weeks ago we talked about journeys and this week we are completing the circle with an episode about destinations; specifically about places we have visited in the last few years. Do you read books about the places you travel before or during a trip? We talk about how it can enrich both your reading and travel experience.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
You can find books we've talked about and other curated lists at our Bookshop page.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello
2- When You Find My Body by D. Dauphinee
3- Alice the Cat by Tim Cummings
4- Tell the Rest by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
5- Burying My Dead by Bettie Lennett Denny
6- Martin Marten by Brian Doyle
7- Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
8- The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
9- The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher (Corrag)
10- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
11- The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer by Skip Hollandsworth
12- Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
13- 44 Scotland Street (#1) by Alexander McCall Smith
14- Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
15- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
18- West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
19- City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
20- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb
21- The Crow Road by Iain Banks
22- The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
23- Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby
24- Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby
25- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby
5 Star Recommneded Read By a Fellow Booklover - Ivana @MissTuned 1- Swear on This Life by Renee Carlino
Shows mentioned--
1- The Bear (Hulu)
2- Beef (Netflix)
3- Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Articles mentioned--
Shakespeare in FLA School
We were honored to welcome Andy Hunter, the CEO of Bookshop.org to the podcast this week. Andy is a writer, a publisher, and now heads up a company that competes with Amazon for on-line book sales. But unlike Amazon, the proceeds of Bookshop.org’s sales go back to independent bookstores.
At the click of a button, you can order a book to be delivered while your favorite independent bookseller gets part of that sale. Independent bookstores that sell most of their books during summer or don’t have the capacity to ship books can create a Bookshop.org page and sell books to anyone at any time. Authors, schools, and book influencers can create pages, too.
We talk with Andy about why he started this endeavor a few months before COVID hit, why he loves Coney Island, and how his degree in philosophy has affected the types of books he gravitates to.
Oh, and as of this recording, we decided to get with the times. The Perks is a Bookshop affiliate; you can see any of the books we talk about on the show on our new bookshop page and order them there.
https://bookshop.org/shop/PerksOfBeingABookLover
You can find Bookshop at bookshop.org.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Books mentioned-- 1- Is It Hot In Here? (Or am I Suffering for all Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?) by Zach Zimmerman
2- Emergency by Kathleen Alcott
3- The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut
4- When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
5- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
6- The Wizard's Guide to Magical Baking by T. Kingfisher
7- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Movies mentioned-- 1- Barbie (2023)
Podcast episode- 1- Thrillers by the Bookclub Podcast - Ep. 39 - Murder Ensues
Recipe mentioned:
Tomato and Fried Provolone Sandwich
This week we are talking all about journeys. Whether they be physical or mental, we whisk you away in a good book. Choose from 10 book recommendations from Carrie and Amy for when you're ready to be on the move.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode
1- How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
2- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
3- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
4- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5- The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman
6- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (The Surgeon of Crowthorne)
7- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
8- Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Lauren Artress
9- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
10- Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
11- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
12- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
13- What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth
14- News of the World by Paulette Jiles
15- Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
16- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
17- The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas
18- A Pearl in a Storm: How I Found my Heart in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean by Tori Murden McClure
19- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken
20- Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker
21- Cosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs by Mary Turzillo
22- Your Cat and Other Space Aliens by Mary Turzillo
23- Mars is No Place for Children by Mary Turzillo
5 Star Book Recommendation by a Book Lover 1- Empire Of A Vampire by Jay Christoff recommended by Tiffany K., Omaha, NE. Instagram @chaiteaandbooksareallineed
Shows/Movies watched—
1- American Born Chinese (Disney+, 2023)
2- Annihilation (Netflix, 2018)
3- The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Bookish News
Article about Henrietta Lacks apnews.com/article/henrietta-l…efa34c9b79a544f0729
This week we chat with Katrina Kittle, a Dayton, OH author whose most recent novel is titled Morning in This Broken World. I met Katrina when I took her online writing class not even knowing she had a new novel coming out but had heard such wonderful things about her four previously published books. Katrina is a real delight of a person. She is fun and bubbly but she would say she is also anti-social. So maybe a mix of both Carrie and I?
Her newest novel is about a group of unlikely companions who quarantine together during the Covid pandemic.
You can find Katrina Kittle at her website www.katrinakittle.com or on instagram at @katrinakittle
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- 5 star recommednation by fellow book lover Megan Cox, Louisville KY One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
2- Morning in This Broken World by Katrina Kittle
3- Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
4- Invitation by Mary Oliver
5- Babel by RF Kuang
6- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
7- Yellowface by RF Kuang
8- Come With Me by Erin Flanagan
9- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane (audiobook narrated by Noah Galvin
10- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
We chatted with environmental writer Jeremy Hance in 2021 about his travel memoir BAGGAGE: CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBETROTTING HYPOCHONDRIAC Season 5 Ep. 113.
Our guest this week, Jeremy Hance, writes about 3 topics in his most recent book that we are always drawn to; mental health, travel, and animals. Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-trotting Hypochondriac is a memoir that uses humor to help readers understand what life is like for someone who has a mental health issue like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In Jeremy’s case, his anxiety is always worse when he travels. While traveling to all corners of the globe is one of the best parts of his life as an environmental writer and is necessary for the work he does, travel is also fraught with rumination and fear.
Jeremy is an environmental journalist who is currently a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac by Jeremy Hance
2- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
3- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
4- My Antonia by Willa Cather
5- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
6- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
7- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
8- A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermer
9- Sorry, I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan
Websites mentioned news.Mongabay.com
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Our guest this week, Chelsea Hofmann, loves to feel her pulse quicken and gets excited by the idea that anything could happen. She lives her life spontaneously so her love of the thriller genre with its twists, turns, and surprise endings fit her personality just fine.
After finishing college and moving to Southern California with her husband, she wanted to reconnect with her love of reading books that she had as a child but none of the book clubs she tried felt like a good fit. So she started a virtual book club on the Instagram platform called Thrillers By The Bookclub. As that virtual club became became popular with members all over the globe, people started asking her about in-person book clubs. Chelsea nurtured this idea, encouraging book lovers to start their own Thriller By The Book Club chapters. There are now over 27 chapters and more are still forming. We chat with Chelsea in this episode about all the thrilling books she reads.
- You can find Chelsea on instagram at @thrillerbookbabe.
- To find out more about Thrillers By The Book club, to see if they have a chapter in your area or to get more information about starting your own, check out their instagram at @thrillersbythebookclub .
- Local Louisville listeners , there is a chapter in town. @txbc_louisville
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Boxcar Children series
2- Nancy Drew series
3- Hardy Boys series
4- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
6- Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver
7- His & Hers by Alice Feeney
8- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
9- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
10- Survive the Night by Riley Sager
11- This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel
12- The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
13- Outside by Ragnor Jonasson
14- The Mist by Ragnor Jonasson
15- Snowblind by Ragnor Jonasson
16- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helena Tursten
17- An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helena Tursten
18- The Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snickett
TV series: 1- The Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix 2017-2019)
This week we chat with Brittany Thurman, a native of Kentucky, who has recently published her first children’s picture book titled FLY illustrated by Anna Cunha. She worked as a children's specialist at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh which is where the idea to write her own book occurred, and she even took inspiration from one of the children who would come to her storytimes. FLY is the story of a young girl who wants to enter a double dutch jump rope competition but doesn’t know how to double dutch. She asks her friends for tips and while they don't know how either, they each give her a piece of knowledge that helps her be more confident in her dreams.
In this episode, she tells about the creation of this book as well as other books that she has in the pipeline, including one about the first public library built for and staffed by African Americans in the United States, which is the Western branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Brittany is a very busy new author.
You can find Brittany on instagram at @britjanee and at her website at www.brittanythurman.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksof beingabookoverpod to see what we're up to. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Fly by Brittany Thurman and Illustrated by Anna Cunha
2- Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez with Brittany Thurman
3- Forever and Always by Brittany Thurman
4- Addie Walker--American Girl series
5- Goosebumps series by R.L.Stine
6- Replica series by Marilyn Kaye
7- Mary Kate & Ashley series
8- A Surgeon in the Village: An American Doctor Teaches Brain Surgery in Africa by Tony Bartelme
9- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
10- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
11- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
12- Stunt Boy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
13- A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow
14- Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
This is the time of year when lots and lots of people travel so it makes sense to have a travel memoirist on our show. Kate Wickers is a British writer who has spent 25 years or so writing about her extensive travel experiences and publishing in magazines and newspapers all over the world. When COVID hit, she decided to turn her many travels with her husband and three sons into a collection of essays about what travel has meant to their family and the lessons they’ve learned from the experiences travel has given them.
Her memoir, Shape of a Boy, offers a collection of really great stories that will make any parent who has traveled with children go down their own memory lane to remember both the highs and lows of travel when kids are involved. And we’re not the only ones who think her memoir is pretty awesome. National Geographic Traveller listed it as one of the “9 Best Travel Books for 2022.”
You can find Kate Wickers on Instagram at @wickers.kate and at her website www.katewickers.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Shape of a Boy by Kate Wickers
2- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb
3- Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal
4- The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple by Ben Aitken
5- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken
6- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
7- Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
We have a REPLAY episode for you this week.
Novelist Namrata Patel was on the show last June when her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave came out. Just last week she had a new novel published, The Scent of A Garden. Both books feature complex multi-generational Indian-American families.
** Namrata Patel has been writing for 20 years, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she had more time to work on it. She had always been interested in dual culture and challenges of the diaspora, specifically Indians who had moved to the United States. The isolation of COVID really brought home how lonely life can be if you don’t feel like you fit anywhere. Her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave follows a photojournalist who inherits an apartment from a stranger. The apartment in Back Bay Boston surrounds her with a close-knit network of other Indian-Americans. Meena comes to learn more about herself and her culture, as well as understands the gift of found family and friendship through this experience.
You can find Namrata Patel on instagram at @namratapatelauthor, on Twitter at Nampatel or on her author website, www.nampatel.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
2- Six Days in Rome by Franscesca Giacco
3- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
4- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
5- Books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
6- Leonard: My Life as a Cat by Carly Sarosiak
7- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
8- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
9- Word by Word by Kory Stamper
10- Tidepool by Nicole Willson
11- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
12- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
13- Persuasion by Jane Austen
14- FBI/US Attorneys series by Julie James
15- Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Movies mentioned-- ET: The ExtraTerrestrial (1982)
Shows mentioned-- Lovecraft Country (HBO)
This week we celebrate all the special days of June! Want a book rec for Pride month? We have one. What about Juneteenth or Father's Day? We have you covered. And did you know it's National Audiobook Month? It's new to us as well but we love audiobooks so we give you some recommendations for that too. And we throw in one wildcard category - one of those random National Days or Months that always makes you wonder why there needs to be a month for that:)
This is the last episode for Season 8. We are taking a month off for summer family travel and some rest and relaxation. We will be back the late July/ early August with all new episodes. Until then, we will air some of our favorite past episodes in case you missed them the first time around.
Happy Reading!
For show notes for any episode or to contact us, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
2- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
4- Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo
5- Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
6- The Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel
7- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
8- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
9- Fun Home: A Famliy Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
10- Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
11- And Then the Grey Heaven by RE Katz
12- Lone Women by Victor Lavalle
13- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
14- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
15- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
16- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
17- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
18- Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
19- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
20- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
21- Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis by Emily Willingham
22- The Good One by Polly Stewart
23- On Earth as it is on Television by Emily Jane
Shows/movies mentioned--
1- No Country For Old Men ( 2007)
2- My Octopus Teacher (Netflix, 2020)
Articles Mentioned:
1- Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian writer who was voice of African women, dies at 81
2- The convoluted world of best-seller lists, explained
This week we chat with Vicki Johnson, a debut picture book author whose book, Molly’s Tuxedo, is a delightful story about a child who doesn’t want to wear the frilly, itchy dress and tight shoes her mother thinks is appropriate for school pictures. Molly wants to wear…you guessed it, a tuxedo that has pockets. The book, which is illustrated by Gillian Reid, was published by Little Bee Books in collaboration with GLAAD, a nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ advocacy and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation. Vicki tells us all about it and the path to her becoming a writer.
She tells us about her move from DC to a small 200 year old cabin in the woods of WV, her sweaty history, and her new app that has rocked her world.
You can find Vicki at her website www.vickijohnsonwrites.com or on Instagram at @vickijohnsonwrites. You can also see her past work on Instagram at @cabin.reads.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Molly's Tuxedo by Vicki Johnson
2- Wool (Silo series #1) by Hugh Howey
3- The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
4- The Daughters of Ys by MT Anderson
5- Everywhere With You by Carlie Sorosiak
6- Negative Cat by Sophie Blackall
7- Grandad's Camper by Harry Woodgate
8- Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
9- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
10- Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Thermes
TV series mentioned:
1- Platonic (2022 - Apple +)
2- Silo (2022 - Apple +)
Apps mentioned:
1- Merlin Bird ID
2- Seek
At the start of summer, we like to chat with Sam Miller, bookseller and manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore here in Louisville (We actually like to chat with Sam anytime, but she has especially useful information about new books twice a year.) Sam does the heavy lifting this week by telling us what is coming out and might be good for your TBR list.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
2- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
3- Be Mine by Richard Ford
4- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
5- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
6- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
7- Color of Water by James McBride
8- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
9- The Tusk that Did the Damage by Tania James
10- Loot by Tania James
11- Happy Place by Emily Henry
12- I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks
13- Only One Left by Riley Sager
14- Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
15- Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith
16- Small Mercies by Dennis LeHane
17- Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
18- Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
19- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
20- The Other Renaissance by Paul Strathern
21- Ice by Amy Brady
22- The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II by David Chrisinger
23- Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
24- A Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
25- Pageboy by Elliot Page
26- Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams
27- Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong
28- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
29- Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
30- Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman
31- Franklin Smoke by Aaron Franklin
32- Love is a Pink Cake by Claire Ptak
33- Back to the Dirt by Frank Bill
34- Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt
35- If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here by Louisville Story Program
36- Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
37- Tar Hollow Trans by Stacy Jane Grover
38- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
39- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
40- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
41- Weather Together by Jessie Sima
42- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
43- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane
44- Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
45- Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott
46- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
47- Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
48- The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
This week are celebrating AAPI Heritage Month (Asian American Pacific Islander) and we give you a list of 10 (plus maybe a few more) of our favorite books to add to your TBR written by authors with family heritage from this part of the world. We give you books in a variety of genres; literary fiction, historical fiction, memoir, food writing, graphic novels, horror, poetry, and middle grade.
So join us this week as we explore the big wide world of Asia and the Pacific Islands heritage in literature. Plus, we talk about the most recent Jane Austen film adaptation we've watched, a new environmentally friendly product we've tried, and why sometimes it might be nice to be a disembodied head.
Books mentioned--
1- Persuasion by Jane Austen
2- Emma by Jane Austen
3- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
6- The Girls of Fall by Jessica Minyard
7- You Should Have Known by Rebecca Keller
8- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten
9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
10- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia
11- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
12- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
13- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
14- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
15- Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee
16- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
17- The Fervor by Alma Katsu
18- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
19- Two Brown Dots by Danni Quintos
20- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
21- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
22- The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan
23- Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
24- Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
25- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
26- The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer by Athena Aktipis
27- A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
28- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
Movies mentioned--
1- Persuasion (Netflix 2022)
2- Ted Lasso - Season 3 (Apple TV 2023)
3- Jury Duty (Amazon 2023)
4- Enchanted (2007)
5- The Terror (Hulu 2018)
Jessica Brody is the author of the well-known writing book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and teaches classes on this writing method, but she has published over 20 books for all ages, including middle grade. Her most recent, titled Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, came out in March of this year.
Amelia is a kid who moves around a lot due to her father’s job as a hotel renovator and reimaginer. Like a lot of middle schoolers, she is trying to figure out who she is and what she’s good at. During one memorable summer in a new town, she decides to try on different personas to see which one fits best. Is she an athlete, a theater kid, or a reporter? What I loved about this book is that I could relate to it even as an adult. I still try different versions of myself sometimes.
Jessica talks to us about what words in the English language really get under her skin, how being fired from MGM Studios gave her the writing opportunity she needed, and her overwhelming passion for spreadsheets.
You can find Jessica at her website www.Jessicabrody.com and on her instagram at @jessicabrody.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Amelia Gray is Almost Okay by Jessica Brody
2- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
3- Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
4- Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody
5- Addie Bell’s Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody
6- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
7- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
8- Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp
9- The It Girl by Ruth Ware
10- Big Tree by Brian Selznick
11- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
12- Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
I think many aspiring writers have a juicy family story passed down that they are sure would make a great novel. Our guest this week, Ciera Horton McElroy, had heard stories about her grandfather, a scientist who worked at a plant that produced materials for a hydrogen bomb during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s. That one family story is the jumping off point of her debut novel, a work of historical fiction titled Atomic Family that takes the reader on a journey to an era of burgeoning women’s rights, Sears Roebuck fashion, and the suburban American dream. With some good old radiation thrown into the mix.
We talk to Ciera about what it was like to be a tourist at a now abandoned hydrogen bomb facility, how writing a little blog at 16 helped her start her own company, and the big differences between living in a state like Florida versus the Midwest.
You can find Ciera on her website at www.cieramcelroy.com and on instagram @cierahmcelroy.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1 - Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy
2- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
3- Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
4- Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade by Nathaniel Rich (basis for Dark Waters)
5- All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
6- Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
7- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkah
8- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
9- Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
10- White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
11- I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez
12- Hester by Laurie Albanese
13- Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg
14- Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg
Movies/Shows mentioned--
1- A Man Called Otto (Netflix 2022)
2- Our Great National Parks (Netflix 2022)
3- Dark Waters (2019)
This week we focus on books about mom "adjacent" books; by or about motherly figures in our lives. We give you 10 (plus a few more) books to add to your TBR or maybe even gift your mom for Mother's Day. We have memoirs, historical fiction, children's books, speculative fiction, graphic memoir, and even books celebrating moms of the non-human persuasion.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Now Beacon, Now Sea by Christopher Sorrentino
2- The Measure by Nikki Erlick
3- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
4- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
5- The Other Mother by Rachel Harper
6- Runaway by Erin Keane
7- The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
8- Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith
9- The Particulars of Peter: Dance Lessons, DNA, and other Excuses to Hang Out with my Perfect Dog by Kelly Conaboy
10- Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
11- Skylark by by Patricia MacLachlan
12- Caleb’s Story by Patricia MacLachlan
13- Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
14- A Letter to my Daughter by Maya Angelou
15- A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
16- A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
17- A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
18- Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
19- The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
20- The Need by Helen Phillips
21- The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman
22- Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
23- Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
24- Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him by Sally Clarkson and Nathan Clarkson
25- Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s by Jennifer Worth
26- Glitter and Gun by Kelly Corrigan
27- Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
28- The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
29- The White Enchantress by Caitriona Drexler
Movies mentioned—
1- The Light Between Oceans (2016)
Podcasts mentioned—
1- The Daily (NY Times)
www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/podcas…iters-strike.html
2- Tell Me More (Kelly Corrigan)
3- Wiser Than Me (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
Articles mentioned—
www.gq.com/story/writers-strike-2023-wga-explained
www.politico.com/news/2023/05/03/…ok-bans-00095151
apnews.com/article/texas-libra…7784efd2746d292ab68
In just a few days, the Kentucky Derby will be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville KY and for folks here in KY it is a 2 week celebration. This week we are giving you books that are Kentucky inspired; from fiction, to sci-fi, memoir to middle grade, short story collections and underdog sport stories, and even true crime. These books will give you a taste of Kentucky when you can't actually be at the races with a mint julep in hand.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- American Murderer: The Parasite That Haunted the South by Gail Jarrow
2- Call Me Athena: Girl From Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
3- The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
4- Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
5- Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
6- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
7- Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
8- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
10- Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last by Wright Thompson
11-Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
12- Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
13- These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe
14- Clay's Quilt by Silas House
15- Blood in the Bluegrass by DC Alexander
16- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine
17- Waverly HIlls Sanatorium by Lynn Pohl
18- A White Wind Blew by James Markert
19- My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song by Emily Bingham
20- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson
21- Are You There God? It's Me, Margeret by Judy Blume
22- A Death in Door County by Annalise Ryan
23- Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out by Ryan Love
24- Inglorious Empire: What the British Did To India by Shashi Tharoor
25- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
26- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Articles mentioned--
Women now dominate the book business (NPR, 2023)
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2023/04/04/1164109676/women-now-dominate-the-book-business-why-there-and-not-other-creative-industries
Shows mentioned--
1- Baby J (Netflix) (2023)
2- Heist (Netflix) (2021)
3- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (2023)
A literary salon sounds so posh, doesn’t it? I imagine the Lost Generation of writers–Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, Gertrude Stein–sitting around in a Parisian flat, discussing the newest trends in literature. But what exactly is a salon? Or what can it be? Our guest this week, Cindy Burnett, hosts a literary salon in Houston, Texas, called Conversations from a Page, and tells us all about what one version of a salon can be. Amy may be well on her way to starting her own salon because she was so intrigued by the idea.
Cindy is also a podcast host. Her show, Thoughts from a Page, is an extension of her salon in podcast form that airs twice a week. She interviews authors of books that she’s has read and have earned her seal of approval.
We find out her favorite national parks, what she misses about being a lawyer, and one reason she will say "no thanks" to a book.
You can find info about Cindy Burnett at her websites www.cfapage.net and at thoughtsfromapage.com and on instagram at @thoughtsfromapage.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Books mentioned--
1- How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
2- We Came To Here To Shine by Susie Orman Schnall
3- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
4- The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
5- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6- Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by TJ Newman
7- Falling by TJ Newman
8- Hostage by Clare Mackintosh
9- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
10- Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
11- The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
Movies watched--
Dungeons and Dragons (2023)
Podcasts mentioned--
1- Thoughts from a Page
2- Books Are My People
3- The To Read List Podcast
Did you know it is National Humor Month? Neither did we but now we do and so do you. Which means this week we are talking about books that make us laugh.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books We Mentioned:
1- The Peripheral by William Gibson
2- Foundation by Isaac Asimnov
3- Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
4- The Martian by Andy Weir
5- The Alaskan Laundry by Brendan Jones
6- Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
7- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
8- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
9- Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
10- Yearbook by Seth Rogen
11- This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
12- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
13- Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It? A Mother's Suggestions by Patricia Marx; illustrated by Roz Chast
14- Calypso by David Sedaris
15- A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson
16- Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel by Suzanne Roberts
17- Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
18- She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
19- Sacred Geometry by Robert Lawlor
20- Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis
21- What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry
22- Hestia Strikes A Match by Christine Grillo
23- My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimers by Sandeep Jauhar
24- Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson
TV Series mentioned:
1- The Peripheral (Amazon Prime 2023)
2- Foundation (Apple+ 2021)
Bookish news:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/91982-amplification-or-suppression-author-maggie-tokuda-hall-calls-out-edits-proposed-by-scholastic.html
This week our guest is Lydia Welker, the digital communications coordinator for the Appalachian Prison Book Project based in Morgantown, West Virginia. This organization does a lot of things, including sending books to prisoners in six states and hosting book clubs for inmates.
I discovered Appalachian Prison Book Project on social media where they often put out requests for specific books prisoners are looking for. There are over 43 books to prisoner programs across the country and you can find one in your area by going to the Books to Prisoners website (www.bookstoprisoners.net/outside-organizations/ ). Book to Prisoner programs believe education is a basic human right.
We talk to Lydia about the most requested books by prisoners, why she is a fanatic for sharks, and the best zombie movie to watch at the holidays.
You can find Appalachian Prison Book Project on Instagram @appalachianpbp and at their website at www.appalachianprisonbookproject.org
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
2- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
3- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
4- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
5- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
6- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7- Ulysses by James Joyce
8- Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
9- The History of Everything by Bill Bryson
10- The Body by Bill Bryson
11- Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
12- She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
13- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
14- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
15- Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
16- Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
17- Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
18- Severance by Ling Ma
19- Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem
Podcast mentioned:1- You Might Hate This Book podcast
Movies or series mentioned--
1- The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy (Apple + 2023)
2- Get Out (2017)
3- Annihilation (2018)
4- Sharknado film series
5- The Night of the Living Dead (1968)
6- Ravenous (2017)
7- Zombieland (2009)
8- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
9- Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
10- The Last of the Us (HBO Max 2023)
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned In This Episode
Books mentioned--
1- American Cheese by Joe Berkowitz
2- Blue by Kai Kupferschmidt
3- Bike Riding in Kabul: The Global Adventures of a Foreign Aid Practitioner by Jamie Bowman
4- Nala's World: One Man, His Rescue Cat, and a Bike Ride Around the Globe by Dean Nicholson
5- What I Hate from A to Z by Roz Chast
6- Franny K Stein book series by Jim Benton
7- Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
8- Tidepool by Nicole Willson
9- A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg
10- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
11- The Hummingbird's Gift by Sy Montgomery
12- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
13- Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg
14- Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne by Rebecca Rosenberg
15- Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
16- Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne
17- The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy Hoobler
18- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
19- The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
20- Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
21- City of Ember by Jeanne duPrau
22- Mordew by Alex Pheby
23-When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
24- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
25- You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe
26- Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
27- Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
28- The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny
29- Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
30- Drowned Town by Jane Moore Waldrop
31- Somebody's Daughter by Ashley Ford
32- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
33- The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
34- Benjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family by Rachel Jamison Webster
35- They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
36- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
37- Lone Women by Victor LaValle
38- The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myth and Monsters by JW Ocker
Movies mentioned--
Rebecca (2020- Netflix)
Podcasts mentioned--
1- Ologies hosted by Allie Ward
2- Thoughts From A Page hosted by Cindy Burnett
This week we chat with Kelsey Madges, an Ohio middle school librarian and book lover. We talk about the highs and the lows of working in school libraries. If you’re like us, it’s been almost 40 years since you were a middle schooler and lots has changed for kids and the librarians who help them, such as the use of Chromebooks in classes and the current prevalence of book bans. But Kelsey is a book lover and supporter through and through. In fact she admits that she enjoys almost everything she reads.
In this episode, we also cover how we feel about book quotes, why letter writing is still important, and what Carrie should have tattooed on her body.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
2- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison 3- Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney 4- Graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier 5- Refugee by Alan Gratz 6- Two Degrees by Alan Gratz 7- Books by Paula Chase 8- Books by Matt Christopher 9- Books by Mike Lupica and Kwame Alexander 10- Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins 11- Harry Potter series by JK Rowling 12- Babysitter Club graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier and Gale Galligan 13- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 14- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 15- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 16- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 17- The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate 18- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 19- Books by Coleen Hoover 20- Forever by Judy Blume 21- Books by Stephen King 22- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 23- The Martian by Andy Weir 24- The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd 25- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 27- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel 28- A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle 29- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 30- Women Talking by Miriam Toews 31- The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill Broadway Theater shows mentioned— 1- Come From Away
This week we are focusing on butterflies and biking in book form. Sara Dykman is an adventurer and wildlife biologist whose focus is primarily amphibians. Several years ago, however, she felt a calling to bring awareness to the plight of the Monarch butterfly. So she took her adventurer spirit and migrated on her bike along with the Monarch from Mexico to Canada and back again. Her 10,000 mile journey is the focus of her memoir/ environment/ adventure/nature book titled Bicycling with Butterflies.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Bicyling with Butterflies: My 10,201 Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman
2- The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
3- The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
4- Mark Rashid series about horses
5- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
6- Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl
It's "MIddle Grade March" so this week we talk about why book lovers, (even adults!) should try a middle grade book. We give you 10 titles that definitely deserve a spot on your TBR list.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
2- Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with Kids by Scott Hershovitz
3- American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World by Joe Berkowitz
4- Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
5- The One and Only Bob / The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
6- Pax by Sara Pennypacker
7- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
8- The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
9- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
10- Dragonwings by Laurence Yep (Gold Mountain Chronicles)
11- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
12- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
13- The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
14- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
15- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
16- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
17- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
18- The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
19- Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani
20- Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
21- The Greenglass House by Kate Milford (series)
22- A History of Scotland by Neil Oliver
23- 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
24- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
25- The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
26- Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus
27- Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Book Seller by Oliver Darkshire
28- Dream Girl by Laura Lippmann
29- The Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippmann
Films mentioned--1- The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix 2022)
2- Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
3- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
This week we’re chatting with Lygia Day Peñaflor, the author of several YA novels, her most recent being Creep: A Love Story.
If you’ve listened to the radio or any kind of streaming service, you’ve almost certainly heard Radiohead’s song Creep, and it was this song that partly inspired Lygia’s story. We chat with Lygia about obsession among the young adult crowd and how her work as a teacher of child stars on television and movie sets such as Gossip Girl and Boardwalk Empire helped her see that she could live out her dream of being an author.
Creep: A Love Story is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and Publisher’s Weekly called it “spine-chillingly disturbing.”
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned In This Episode:1- Creep: A Love Story by Lygia Day Peñaflor
2- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
3- Unscripted Joss Byrd by Lygia Day Peñaflor
4- All of This is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor
5- You by Caroline Kepnes
6- The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
7- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
8- Atonement by Ian McEwan
9- The Body by Stephen King
10-Mystic River by Dennis LeHane
11- Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
12- His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
13- Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
14- Edie Richter is Not Alone by Rebecca Handler
18- Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
19- The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
20- Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Movies/Shows mentioned--1- Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
2- Shrinking (Apple +, 2023)
3- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
4- Atonement (2007)
5- Stand By Me (1986)
6- Mystic River (2003)
7- Fleishman is in Trouble (HULU, 2022)
8- His Dark Materials (2022)
9- Stranger Things (Netflix 2022)
With the Academy Awards just around the corner, This week we take a look at some of our favorite book to movie adaptations.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
2- The Witches by Roald Dahl
3- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
4- The Martian by Andy Weir
5- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
6- Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong
7- A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy/narrated by Rosalyn Landor
8- The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
9- A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
10- Dune by Frank Herbert
11- Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
12- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shafer
13- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
14- Emma by Jane Austen
15- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
16- Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka
17- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
18- We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
19- Truman Capote by Gerald Clarke
20- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
21- Angels and Insects (Morpho Eugenia) by A. S. Byatt
22- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
23- Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham
24- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
25- Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan by Hildi Kang
26- Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah A. Miranda
27- All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
28- Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns
29- Stealing by Margaret Verble
Movies mentioned--1- The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
2- A Beautiful Mind (2001)3- The Imitation Game (2014--based on Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges)
4- Dune (1984)
5- Dune (BBC, 2000)
6- Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)
7- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
8- All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
9- Emma (2020)
10- Anna Karenina (2012)
11- Bullet Train (2022)
12- Little Women (2019)
13- We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
14- Capote (2005)
15- Angels & Insects (1995)
16- The Woman in Black (2012)
17- Lord of the Rings series
18- Nightmare Alley (2021)
19- The Storied Life of A J Fikry (2022)
20- Taxi Driver (1976)
Articles mentioned--A Film That Makes Sex Scenes Look Like Works of Art, Shirley Lee, The Atlantic, Dec 2022
Our guest this week is St. Clair Detrick-Jules, a Brown University graduate who is a filmmaker and a new author. Her book My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood debuts on September 28 and features essays by and photographs of Black women who have come to some deeper understandings about what their hair and how they wear it means to them.
We talk to St. Clair about chemical treatments for Black hair and how they differ from the treatments white women know, how hair can play a role in mother/daughter relationships, and the important reason she wanted to create this book in the first place.When we recorded this episode, Black hair had recently made the news because of the International Swimming Federation’s ban on Soul Caps at the Tokyo Olympics which are made for Black swimmers with natural hair.
You can find St. Clair on social media at @stclairdetrickjules or at her website www.mybeautifulblackhair.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:1- My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood by St. Clair Detrick-Jules
2- The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination With the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson
3- Litany for the Long Moment by Mary-Kim Arnold
4- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson
5- Blackberries, Blackberries by Crystal Wilkinson
Shows/Films mentioned--1- Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
2- Good Hair ((2009 documentary)
This week we welcome special guest Rachel Harper to Perks. Rachel is on the faculty at Spalding University’s Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing in Lousiville, KY and is the author of three novels. Her most recent, The Other Mother, was published in 2022 and has racked up the accolades. It was named one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2022, was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and has been awarded the American Library Association’s Stonewall Book Award for Excellence in LGBTQIA fiction.
We chat with Rachel about how her book is like an onion, with many layers to peel back and explore. While it deals with motherhood, it also deals with father-child relationships, identity, race, and how our past affects our present.
You can find Rachel on Instagram @harpsincali and her website www.rachelmharper.com
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- The Other Mother by Rachel Harper
2- This Side of Providence by Rachel Harper
3- Brass Ankle Blues by Rachel Harper
4- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
5- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
6- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
7- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
8- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
9- Long ass books by Jonathan Franzen
10- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
11- The Case of the Missing Moonstone (The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency) by Jordan Stratford
12- Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer
13- Women Talk Money: Breaking the Taboo edited by Rebecca Walker
14- Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
15- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tove Bailey
16- Shutter by Ramona Emerson
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned in this Episode--
1- Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
2- Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone
3- Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith
4- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
5- A Separate Peace by John Knowles
6- Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
7- Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
8- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
9- Love & Saffron by Kim Fay
10- The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
11- Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane
12- Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
13- Cackle by Rachel Harrison
14- Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore
15- Doctors & Friends by Kimmery Martin
16- The Eves by Grace Sammon
17- Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
18- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
19- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
20- White Noise by Don DeLillo
21- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
22- Waiting For Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family by Catherine Newman
23- Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
24- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
25- Everyone Knows Your Mother is A Witch by Rivka Galchen
26- The Line Tender by Kate Allen
27- Trespasses by Louis Kennedy
28- The Red-Headed Pilgrim by Kevin Maloney
29- Fieldwork: A Forager's Memoir by Aliana Regan
Podcasts mentioned--
The To Be Read podcast
Movies/shows mentioned--
1- Wildcat (no release date yet)
2- Reality Bites (1994)
3- Gattaca (1997)
4- Mystic River (2003)
5- White Noise (Netflix 2022)
6- White Lotus (HBOMax 2021 - 2022)
Our guest this week, Jayne Moore Waldrop traded legal briefs of a law practice for her writing journals in an MFA program. Her first book, Drowned Town, is a novel in linked stories about the families who lost their homes in the 1960s when President Kennedy announced the creation of Land Between the Lakes, a national recreation area that resulted from damning several rivers and taking land from residents through eminent domain. Jayne explores what the meaning of home becomes when one’s home is now underwater. Her book was selected as one of the best southern books of 2021 by the Southern Review of Books.
Jayne has changed gears once again, this time to tell a picture book story for children titled A Journey in Color: The Art of Ellis Wilson about one of the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance, native Kentuckian Ellis Wilson, who won two Guggenheim Fellowships but has been virtually unknown in his home state. Jayne teamed up with acclaimed Nashville artist Michael McBride to create a book that helps give Wilson his due but also inspire children to follow their dreams.
And stay tuned to our social media accounts because we will be giving away one hardback copy of Jayne’s novel Drowned Town for one lucky winner.
You can find Jayne on her website https://www.jaynemoorewaldrop.com and social media on Instagram @jaynemoorewaldrop and FB Jayne Moore Waldrop, Author.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop
2- A Journey in Color: The Art of Ellis Wilson by Jayne Moore Waldrop and illustrated by Michael McBride
3- The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
4- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
5- These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
6- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
7- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
8- Lark Ascending by Silas House
9- Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr
10- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Films mentioned--1- So Much to Paint (A documentary on the work of Ellis Wilsoneducation.ket.org/resources/ellis-…lson-much-paint/
Nonprofit mentioned:International Book Project - intlbookproject.org/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson
2- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
3- His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
4- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
5- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6- Happenings by Annie Ernaux
7- The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat
8- Lucia by Alex Pheby
9- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
10- American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest by Hannah Nordhaus
11- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
12- Spare by Prince Harry
13- Storyteller by Dave Grohl
14- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
15- Gallant by VE Schwab
16- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
17- The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard
18- Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen
19- Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
20- Sewer by Jessica Leigh Hester
21- The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
22- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
23- I Dream of Dinner by Ali Slagle
24- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Articles mentioned--Prince Harry has decided it just doesn't matter by Erin Keaneerinkeane.substack.com/p/prince-harr…cided-it-just
Shows/movies mentioned--
1- His Dark Materials (HBOMax)
2- The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix)
3- The Watcher (Netflix)
4- Derry Girls (Netflix)
5- All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
This week we chat with Tracy Clark, an author whose latest book Hide is set in Chicago and features a seasoned black female police detective who has joined a new precinct and not only has to navigate a new professional network but also solve a recent murder on the waterfront.
This is Tracy's fifth novel but the first in this new series featuring detective Harriet Foster. By day Tracy is a puzzle editor for a Chicago newspaper which is perfect for her role as a writer of crime fiction creating puzzles for her protagonists and readers to figure out.
You can find Tracy Clark on social media on Instagram @tpclark2000, on FB at Tracy Clark and on her website tracyclarkbooks.com/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Hide by Tracy Clark
2- The Nightmare Man by JH Markert
3- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
4- Her Name is Knight series by Yasmin Angoe
5- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
6-The Ninja's Oath (Lily Wong series) by Tori Eldridge
7- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
9- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
10- American Fever by Dur e Aziz Almna
Authors mentioned:
1- Sarah Paretsky
2- Sue Grafton
3- Agatha Christie
4- Valerie Wilson Wesley
5- Barbara Neely
Movies mentioned--
1- Thin Man series
2- Bowery Boys movies
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and onFB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson
2- Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson
3- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
4- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
5- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
6- The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton
7- How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Pryor
8- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
9- A Polar Affair: Antarctica's Forgotten Hero and the Secret Love Lives of Penguins by Lloyd Spencer Davis
10- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
11- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
12- Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
13- The Snowchild by Eowyn Ivey
14- The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
15- Midnight in Everwood by Maria Kuzniar
16- Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
17- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
18- Bellwether Rhapsody by Kate Racculia
19- The Fires by Sigrídur Hagalín Björnsdóttir
20- Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation #1) by M. T. Anderson
21- Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution by Alfred Blumrosen
22- Snow by John Banville
23- The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales edited by Maria Tatar
24- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
25- Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
26- The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
27- Braineater Jones by Stephen Kozeniewski
Shows mentioned--
Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix)
Articles mentioned--
Invisible Evidence by Jo Marchant (Smithsonian Vol 53, No 6 )
We got together on the first day of 2023 to review our top books of 2022 and we’re already busy reading books to discuss this year. Time was too short to talk about all of our favorite books but you can see a full list of our 5 star reads from 2022 as well as a list of all the books we mention in this episode on our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Our year in review episode is always fun because we ask our guests from the past 12 months to tell us about their favorite book. It brings back great memories to hear all their voices again.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Babel by RF Kuang
2- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
3- The Stone Loves the World by Brian Hall
4- I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian Hall
5- Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman
6- Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone
7- The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple by Ben Aitken
8- The Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin
9- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia
10- Where I Can’t Follow by Ashley Blooms
11- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
12- Odin’s Child by Siri Pettersen
13- The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny
14- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborthy
15- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
16- Gallant by VE Schwab
17- The Nightmare Man by JH Markert
18- Devolution by Max Brooks
19- Leech by Hiron Ennes
20- Finna by Nino Cipri
21- Defekt by Nino Cipri
22- Morning Glory Milking Farm (Cambric Creek) by CM Nascosta
22- Sweet Berries (Cambric Creek) by CM Nascosta
23- How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith
24- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
25- Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class by Dan Canon
26- Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
27- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
28- Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
29- The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
30- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
31- When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
32- The Storyteller - Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
33- What’s So Funny? A Cartoonist’s Memoir by David Sipress
35- Girl at War by Sara Nović
36- Haven by Emma Donoghue
37- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
38- Champagne Widows (Veuve Clicquot) by Rebecca Rosenberg
39- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
40 - Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
41- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby
42- Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham
43- How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
44- The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar by Michael Judge
45- Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
46- Thistlefoot by Jenna Rose Nethercott
47- Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
48- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Movie - Nightmare Alley ( 2022)
App - Storygraph
**Carrie and I are taking a much needed holiday break. We will be back in Mid-January with all new episodes.
Until then, we have some replay episodes.
New Year’s Eve is just a few days away and often we think of toasting with a glass of sparkly at the stroke of midnight. Historical fiction writer Rebecca Rosenberg’s love of wine and sparkling wine in particular took her on travels to France to visit the great wine houses. And one of the things she discovered was the huge influence women had on the wine and sparkling wine industry. That inspired her to write Champagne Widows, a novel about Madame Clicquot, France’s first lady of wine from Napoleon’s time. In fact you may be toasting in 2023 with a glass of Clicquot wine as it is still one of the premier sparkling wines today. Rebecca will continue the series this coming March with the story of Madame Pommery who lived in the 1860s but changed the way we think of champagne today.
Cheers everyone!**
Part of what drew us to this week’s author, Rebecca Rosenberg, was the cool cover of her historical fiction novel, Champagne Widows. But as we read the book, we realized it was a pretty fascinating story of a young widow, Madame Clicquot, who essentially revolutionized champagne production in France during the Napoleonic years.
Rebecaa has written two other historical fiction novels but Champagne Widows is the first in a series about the trailblazing women of wine in France in the 19th century. As a champagne historian, Rebecca decided these stories needed to be told. She gave us a lot of the background on champagne and Madame Clicquot when we spoke to her. And reading Rebecca’s book right around New Year’s gave Amy all the excuse she needed to splurge on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne and share it with me to toast in 2022.
Book mentioned in this episode:
1- Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg2- The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage3- The Last Duel by Eric Jager4- Witcher series by Andrezj Sapkowski5- Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift6- Nancy Drew series7- One Thousand and One Nights8- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell9- Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak10- Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker11- Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor by Rebecca Rosenberg12- The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg13- Champagne Widows: Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg (coming in March 2023)14- Mordew by Alex Pheby15- The Huntress by Kate Quinn16- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn17- Anxious People by Fredrik Backman18- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman19- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Shows/movies mentioned--1- After Party (Apple+)2- The Power of the Dog (Netflix)3- The Last Duel (Hulu)4- Witcher (Netflix)
You can find Rebecca Rosenberg at her website www.rebecca-rosenberg.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksof beingabookoverpod to see what we're up to.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
**Carrie and I are taking a much needed holiday break. We will be back in Mid-January with all new episodes.Until then, enjoy some replay episodes.
This week we have a replay of our interview with the New York Times best-selling humorist Andrew Shaffer, author of the Obama Biden mystery series. He spoke with us in 2020 about his book Secret Santa, a 80’s horror satire about an office holiday party. Shaffer has a new book out called Feel The Bern, the first in his Bernie Sanders mystery series. **
We all probably need a good laugh right about now and our guest this week, humorist Andrew Shaffer, is the one to provide it. Andrew is the New York Times best-selling author of the Obama Biden series, a buddy detective mystery series which includes Hope Never Dies and Hope Rides Again. His new book that comes out in November is called Secret Santa and is a clash of the holidays ; Halloween and Christmas; a comedic book that combines horror and holiday vibes about a holiday office party gone bad. He is the author of 11 books in several genres but says that humor is the theme that ties all his books together.
Andrew talks to us about why he goes back to his comfort reads during the pandemic, why he thinks satire makes the medicine of heavy topics go down a little easier, and why he looks to the past for inspiration for book ideas even when there are so many crazy things in 2020 to poke fun at. He also tells us a pretty hysterical story about the worst job he ever had.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
2- Hope Rides Again by Andrew Shaffer
3- Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer
4- Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer
5- Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer)
6- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
7- The Day of the Donald by Andrew Shaffer
8- Jack Reacher series by Lee Child
9- A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
10- Normal People by Sally Rooney
11- Solutions & Other Problems by Allie Brosh
12- Hyperbole & a Half by Allie Brosh
13- True Grit by Charles Portis
14- Riot Most Uncouth by Daniel Friedman
15- Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors by Andrew Shaffer
16- Feel The Bern by Andrew Shaffer
Each season we like to speak to someone from an independent bookstore, but this can be especially challenging during the December holiday shopping crush. We’re very glad Amanda Zirn Hudson from Bethany Beach Books in Delaware was able to make time to speak with us.
Bethany Beach Books started its own book subscription program several years ago called The Book Drop. Amanda tells us all about how she began the program and explains the process for selecting books and getting them out to members. Unlike other book subscriptions, this one is run by an independent bookstore, and the books they pick are what they consider “hidden gems.” Their program has been recommended by BuzzFeed, NPR, The New York Times, and USA Today.
The good news is that you still have time to order a subscription for yourself or a book-loving friend or family member before the holidays!
You can find Bethany Beach Books on social media at @bethanybeachbooks or their website at www.bethanybeachbooks.com.
Their subscription book service The Book Drop can be found on Instagram @the.book.drop or the website www.thebookdrop.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books mentioned--1- The Christmas Tree by Julie Salaman
2- The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson
3- The Inheritors by William Golding
4- Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel
5- Lark Ascending by Silas House
6- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
7- Southernmost by Silas House
8- Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
Movies mentioned--
1- Elf (2003)
2- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
3- Spirited (2022)
4- The English (Prime 2022)
5- Wednesday (Netflix 2022)
6- The Bear (Hulu 2022)
7 - Outlander (Netflix 2014- present)
This week we chat with fellow book lover and grant writer Bethany Planton who runs a book club for fellow members of her profession. When she began her own consulting company, she met several other grant writers from around the country through a twitter chat, and they quickly realized that besides sharing a profession, they also shared a love of books. The Grant Pro Bookclub started 6 years ago and has always met virtually, long before the rest of us picked up on the idea when the COVID pandemic began.
We talk to Bethany about her undying love of Little Women and Louisa May Alcott, her role as a tourist ambassador for her city, and why it’s never too cold for ice cream.
You can find bethany on Instagram at @bmpreads
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman
2- On Writing by Stephen King
3- Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews
4- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5- We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
6- The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis
7- After Dark with Roxie Clark by Brooke Lauren Davis
8- Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop
9- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
10- Carol/The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
11- Louisa on the Front Lines by Samantha Seiple
12- May Alcott Nieriker, Author and Advocate: Travel Writing and Transformation in the Late Nineteenth Century by Julia Dabbs
13- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
14- Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
15- Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
16- Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
17- Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
18- Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
19- Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott
20- The Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
21- Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott
22- March by Geraldine Brooks
23- So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow
24- Santa's Secrets by K.C. Wells
25- Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
26- Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
27- The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
28- W is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
29- The Keeper: Growing Up in Girl Sports by Kelcey Parker Ervick
30- Odder by Katherine Applegate
31- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
32- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
33- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Movies mentioned--
1- Little Women (directed by Greta Gerwig 2019)
2- Carol (2015)
3- The Talented Mr. Ripley ( 1999)
Our guest this week, Rijula Das, is originally from India but now makes her home in Wellington, New Zealand. She is an author and a Bengali-to-English translator. Her debut novel A Death in Shonagachhi was published in India last year but has come to the United States with a different title, Small Deaths. Her book was named by the website Crime Reads as a “must read” and Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn recommended Rijulas’ debut during an appearance on Good Morning America. The book has been optioned to adapted for the screen.
You can find Rijula Das on Instagram at @rijuladas and at her website www.rijuladas.com
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Small Deaths/ A Death in Shonagachhi by Rijula Das
2- Hamlet by Shakespeare (Amleth)
3- The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
4- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
6- The Kissing Bug: The True Story of a Family, an Infect, and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernandez
7- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
8- Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer
9- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
10- Haven by Emma Donoghue
11- Room by Emma Donoghue
Movies mentioned-- 1- The Northman (Prime Video )2022
2- The Wonder (Netflix) 2022
3- Room (2015)
This is our holiday gift-giving episode with Sam Miller from Carmichael’s Bookstore. Sam always gives us great recommendations for what to buy from literary fiction to cookbooks to picture books.
To see Carmichael’s Holiday Gift guide visit their website at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
2- Galatea by Madeline Miller
3- Toad by Katherine Dunn
4- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
5- The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
6- Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy
7- The Whalebone Theater by Joanna Quinn
8- All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
9- Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Agatha Christie
10- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
11- White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
12- Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
13- Lark Ascending by Silas House
14- Leech by Hiron Ennes
15- The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
16- Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
17- Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
18- Inciting Joy: Essays by Ross Gay
19- The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff
20- And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham
21- The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: Paul Newman by Paul Newman
23- Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano
24- Home is Where the Eggs Are by Molly Yeh
23- Dinner in One by Melissa Clark
24- Go-To-Dinners by Ina Garten
25- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
26- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
27- Runaway: Notes On the Myths That Made Me by Erin Keane
28- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donohue
29- Waverly Hills Sanatorium: A History by Lynn Pohl
30- How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership by Wendell Berry
31- Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
32- Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka
33- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
34- The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Scieszka
33- This Story is Not About a Kitten by Randall de Seve
34- The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy
35- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
36- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
37- Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer
38- The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp
39- The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
40- A White Wind Blew by James Markert
41- Babel by R.F. Kuang
42- Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris
Shows mentioned-- The Last Movie Stars directed by Ethan Hawke (HBO Max)
We love finding people who do interesting bookish things that are a little out of the ordinary, and our guest this week is costume designer and author Jacqueline Firkins who combines her amazing dressmaking skills with her love of novels. She creates dresses based on book covers that you can see on her Instagram page or her website. Located in Vancouver, Jacqueline teaches at the University of British Columbia.
We also lucked out because we were also able to chat with Jacqueline about her new book which just hit book stores two weeks ago titled Marlowe Banks, Redesigned, a rom-com featuring a behind the scenes look at the costume designing world.
You can find Jacqueline Firkins and pictures of her amazing dresses on Instagram @jfkillsdarlings and at her website www.jacquelinefirkins.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins
2- Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch
3- Ink in the Blood by Kim Smejkal
4- Small Favors by Erin Craig
5- The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson
6- Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries by Molly Caldwell Crosby
7- Awakenings by Oliver Sacks
8- Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
9- Thanks for Listening by Julia Whelan (audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan)
10- My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
Shows mentioned-- 1- Sandman (Netflix 2022)
2- Awakenings (1990)
3- Interview with the Vampire (1994)
4- Interview with a Vampire (AMC 2022)
We are back with a global reader episode this week and are traveling to Australia using the magic of the internet. We had the pleasure of chatting with Lily Raiti, an avid reader who lives outside Melbourne and has worked as a personal trainer for 16 years and also does some freelance copyediting on the side.
It’s always fun to hear about what book lovers in other places are reading and Lily had some great indigenous author suggestions for us which we’ll have in our show notes for you to check out. Of course, Lily also had to answer some general Australia questions like how far it takes to fly from one city to another but we avoided anything about Crocodile Dundee.
You can find Lily Raiti on Instagram @lilyraiti.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Books by Enid Blyton
2- Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
3- Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews
4- The White Girl by Tony Birch
5- The Yield by Tara June Winch
6- Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
7- Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
8- The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
9- The Dry by Jane Harper
10- Picture books by Graeme Base
11- Books by Henry Lawson
12- My Brilliant Career and other books by Miles Franklin
13- The Year of Magical Thinking and other books by Joan Didion
14- My Name is Lucy Barton and other books by Elizabeth Strout
15- Beloved and other books by Toni Morrison
16- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
17- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
18- The Change by Kirsten Miller
19- Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
20- The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis
21- The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku (Audiobook narrated by Raphael Corkhill)
We saw this week’s guest in early fall at Carmichael’s Bookstore when she read aloud from her latest book, Don’t Call Me a Hurricane. Ellen Hagan has roots in Kentucky and is part of Spalding University’s low residency MFA faculty but lives and works in New York City. She is a poet, fiction writer, performer, and teacher for several programs including the The DreamYard Project and the International Poetry Exchange Program, programs geared towards young people. She is also the author of many books for teens, including Watch Us Rise, a book she wrote in collaboration with Renee Watson.
Don’t Call Me a Hurricane is a YA novel written in verse that addresses climate change, romantic, family, and friend relationships, as well as the tension between tourism and ecology.
You can find more information about Ellen Hagan on social media @ellenhagan or her website www.ellenhagan.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned In This Episode: 1- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan
2- Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan
3- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
4- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
5- Rivers of London/Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
6- Naruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera
7- Vinyl Moon by Mahogany L. Browne
8- I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg
9- Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau; audiobook narrated by Cailtin Kinnunen
10- Reckless, Glorious, Girl by Ellen Hagan
To close out October this week, we chat with Lee Mandelo, author of Summer Sons, which recently went into paperback. This creepy novel is hard to categorize because it’s queer Southern Gothic, dark academia, and ghost story. It also touches on issues of race and class. The book is an amalgam of a lot of different ideas rolled into a complex story of friendship, grief, and family curses. We’re so glad Lee joined us to chat about their novel as well as an upcoming novella titled Feed Them Silence which comes out in spring 2023.
You can find more information about Lee Mandelo on their social media @leemandelo
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
2- Feed them Silence by Lee Mandelo
3- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
4- Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
5- The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai
6- Alive At the End of the World by Saeed Jones
7- Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones
8- How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
9- The Wehrwolf by Alma Katsu (Amazon Original Story)
10- The Fervor by Alma Katsu
Shows mentions--
1- Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror
Online Store Website and Instagram
1- Gothic Bullshit @gothicbullshit- www.gothicbullshit.com
We are halfway through spooky October and maybe you are looking for a good scary book to read. Our guest today, Johann Trotter, can give you some tips. Johann lives in Northern Ireland and works as a scientific researcher. But her hobby gone wild is horror in all its forms. She is a self-professed horror junkie. She is a bit obsessed with Stephen King, but on her instagram page @jobis89, you can find a wide variety of non-Stephen King horror book suggestions and reviews to make any spooky reader happy.
She is currently doing a 2 year project to read a horror book set in each of the 50 US States. We do a deep dive into the horror genre this week.
You can find Johann Trotter on instagram, @Jobis89.
Books mentioned-- 1- Turn of the Screw by Henry James 2- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 3- His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler 4- "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe 5- "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe 6- Roald Dahl books 7- Goosebumps series 8- Babysitters Club series 9- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein 10- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein 11- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 12- Whisper Man by Alex North 13- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 14- Dracula by Bram Stoker 15- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 16- Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell 17- The Elementals by Michael McDowell 18- The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Story by Kate Summerscale 19- Ghost Story by Peter Straub 20- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
Johann's Top Horror Writers 1- Stephen King 2- H. P. Lovecraft 3- Clive Barker 4- Ania Ahlborn 5- David Sodergren 6- Kealan Patrick Burke
Websites/ phone app mentioned-- The Storygraph
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Ghost Stories from the London Dungeon 2- Poe Theater on the Air
TV/Movies mentioned-- 1- Only Murders in the Building 2- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3- Scream 4- Trick or Treat 5- Halloween 6- Sleepy Hollow 7- Hocus Pocus
Music mentioned-- 1- The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart, composed by Alan Lee Silva
Find us
www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Many book lovers could spend hours in a library wandering around perusing the shelves, but the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana is a little more unique because it houses not only books and magazines but some spooky residents. In the 1930s, staff members and patrons first started seeing apparitions including a woman in Victorian clothing named The Gray Lady, a gentleman named Frank, and a little boy named Billy Bobby who likes to play on the stairs. These are friendly ghosts and each year the Willard conducts free ghost tours to the public. You can also keep track of the ghosts for yourself through their ghost cams that they have set up in various locations through the library.
This week we speak to Stacie Dotson, a staff member at the Willard Library who is considered their ghost guru. She is a lover of the paranormal and in fact has a fairly unique background herself which makes her perfect for this job. Stacie has had several encounters with the ghostly residents and she fills us in.
You can find more information about the Willard Library, their ghost tours, and ghost cams at www.willardghost.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman
2- Bird Box by Josh Malerman
3- Deserter (manga) by Junji Ito
4- The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson
5- Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen
6- The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
7- Foote by Tom Bredehoft
8- Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson
9- Disney Villains series by Serena Valentino
10- The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai
11- Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
Shows mentioned-- 1- Ghost Hunters 2- Promised Neverland series (2019 - 2021) - Netflix
In this week’s episode, we chat with Tyler Miller, founder of Reluctant Reader Books, a company that makes books for kids who hate to read. He is also author to several books for young readers in the Nevermore series, including We Bury the Living. In our conversation, Tyler tells us about why he started Reluctant Reader Books and how these books pull in younger readers who don’t normally find books appealing. He also tells us about other authors whose horror-lite novels are ones he recommends.
You can find Tyler Miller and Reluctant Readers on their social media at @reluctantreaderbooks and on their website at www.reluctantreaderbooks.com
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Nevermore series by Tyler Miller (We Bury the Living, The Thirteenth Floor, Death Cab)
2-Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
3- Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
4- The Jack Henry novels by Jack Gantos
6- The Haunting of Avaline Jones (and others in series) by Phil Hickes
7- The Goolz Next Door series by Gary Ghislain
8- I Know Your Secret by Daphne Benedis-Grab
9- The Smashed Man of Dread End by JW Ocker
10- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz
11- Monsterstreet series by J.H. Reynolds
12- Fright Vision series by Culliver Crantz
13- Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
14- Dracula by Bram Stoker
15- Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
16- This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko
17- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
18- Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
19- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
20- Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
21- We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
Movies/Shows mentioned-- 1- Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
2- Studio 666 (2022)
3- The Why Files (YouTube)
This week’s show gave us an opportunity to speak to Erin Keane, who is the editor in chief of Salon.com but also a well-known Louisville writer who has recently published a book that defies classification a bit—it is a family memoir, but it is also an examination of history and culture.
Erin’s book, Runaway: Notes on the Myths That Made Me, covers a lot of ground. While it is based on her mother’s runaway experience in her early teens in the 1970s, it is also about how her parents met and married when Erin’s now deceased father was in his 30s and her mother was 15. Erin explores the myths she held about her father, how they shaped her life, and how certain myths shape all of our lives. The LA Times listed Runaway as one of its 30 most anticipated books of fall.
You can find Erin Keane on Instagram and Twitter at @eekshecried.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Runaway: Notes From the Myths That Made Me by Erin Keane
2- Out Came the Sun by Mariel Hemingway
3- A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
4- The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum
5- All I Should Not Tell by Brian Leung
6- We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
Movies mentioned-- Manhattan (1979)
Our show this week is for people who love music….or even just like music. And it doesn’t matter what type of music you like so long as you like it. Our guest is Susan Rogers, a professor at Berklee College of Music who holds a PhD in psychology. But before she was a professor, she was a staff engineer and record producer for artists such as Prince, Barenaked Ladies, and David Byrne, making her one of the few women in the industry to have those accomplishments.
Her book which she wrote with Ogi Ogas, a writer who trained as a computational neuroscientist, is called This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You and it came out just this week. It is a fascinating read but also very approachable for people who aren’t neuroscientists or musicians but like to listen to music.
- For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
- We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
2-Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment by Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas
3- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
4- Circe by Madeline Miller
5- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
6- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
7- The Stone Loves the World by Brian Hall
8- I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company: A Novel of Lewis and Clark by Brian Hall
9- The History of the World in 100 Animals by Simon Barnes
Shows mentioned-- Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
We love finding book lovers who are doing innovative things with words. This week we are talking about making poetry fun and accessible to the person on the street, literally. Our guest is Sean Petrie, a poet in Austin, Texas who, along with his fellow poets in the group Typewriter Rodeo makes poetry become a sensory experience. Sean and his colleagues Jodi, David, and Kari Anne click their vintage typerwriter keys and create poems on the spot for guests who attend all kinds of events in the Austin area and around the country.
Typewriter Rodeo has published their own book of poetry from their nine years of poetry meeting real people with Andrews McMeel Press. And Sean is also the author of books for young readers called The Jett Ryder series and has penned several books of poetry.
You can follow Typewriter Rodeo on social media @typewriterrodeo or their website at www.typewriterrodeo.com.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Find us on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on Facebook at Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Typewriter Rodeo: Real People, Real Stories, Custom Poems by Jodi Egerton, David Fruchter, Kari Anne Holt, and Sean Petrie 2- Pet Poems (also not just pets) by Sean Petrie 3- How to Read the Constitution (and Why) by Kim Wehle 4- Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis 5- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis 6- The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis 7- The Guncle by Steven Rowley 8- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Movies mentioned 1- Moneyball (2011) 2- The Big Short (2015) 3- Schitt's Creek - HULU (2015-2020)
One of our guests from this past summer, Kate Wickers, introduced us to the work of British nonfiction writer Ben Aitken. His books are funny, intelligent, poignant and we’re thrilled he agreed to speak with us from his home in London. We chatted with him about his many books, particularly The Marmalade Diaries which was just published in the US in June. Ben is funny in that understated way that Americans like us find charming.
The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple follows Ben’s experience being a millennial lodger with a 80 year old widow as COVID shut everything down in 2020. But we also cover his various travel books including The Gran Tour and A Chip Shop in Poznan.
You can follow Ben Aitken on Instagram and Twitter at @benaitken85.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Find us on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a BookLover
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- J and C / The Cafe--plays by Ben Aitken 2- Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 3- Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding 4- The Gran Tour by Ben Aitken 5- The Marmalade Diaries by Ben Aitken 6- Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson 7- Dear Bill Bryson by Ben Aitken 8- A Chip Shop in Poznan by Ben Aitken 9- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera 10- Hello Stranger by Will Buckingham 22- Ban This Book by Alan Gratz 23- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg 24- Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
Movies mentioned-- 1- The Way (2010) 2- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
TV series mentioned -- 1- The Sandman - Netflix (2022 - ) 2- Game of Thrones - HBO (2011-2019) 3- The Witcher - Netflix (2019 - present) 4- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Amazon (2022 -)
Our guest this week is Natalie Martin, a voracious romance reader from Illinois who we met through Tabby Pawlitzki, host of Modern Life podcast. Natalie is the owner of Just Ask Nat! and a virtual assistant for authors and small businesses including the romance podcast Heaving Bosoms where she has also served as guest co-host.
We wanted to dig deep with a fellow book lover who reads romance almost exclusively to find out why this genre is so important to her and what authors she recommends for someone new to this category of novels. We talk about all kinds of romance tropes and themes and have a grand old time that devolves into a discussion that neither of our moms should listen to. But we don’t, as far as we know, violate any FCC regulations.
Reminder to listeners that Give for Good Louisville is coming up on September 15, and Forward Radio is part of that. There are some cool donor challenges this year that you can learn about at GiveforGoodLouisville.org.
You can follow Natalie on Instagram @justasknat or at her business website www.justasknat.com
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books and Authors Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul by Jack Canfield 2- All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot 3- Nancy Drew series 4- Summer Sisters by Judy Blume 5- Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas 6- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 7- A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings 8- Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan 9- Reel by Kennedy Ryan 10- Everything for You by Chloe Liese 11- Always Only You by Chloe Liese 12- Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas 13- Xeni: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon 14- Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn 15- Shirley Jackson: A Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin 16- Shirley by Susan Scarf Merrell (fiction) 17- The Lottery by Shirley Jackson 18- We've Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson 19- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 20- Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score 21- Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score 22- Wretched Waterpark (Sinister Summer #1)by Kiersten White 23- Vampiric Vacation (Sinister Summer #2) by Kiersten White 24- Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett
TV/Movies mentioned-- 1- Chopped (Hulu) 2- Bridgerton (Netflix)
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Heaving Bosoms 2- The Modern Life Podcast
This week we are joined by Shelley Sackier who has had an interesting literary journey. She is a young adult fiction writer who has recently published a book about scotch whisky called Make It a Double: From Wretched to Wondrous: Tales of One Woman’s Lifelong Discovery of Whisky. It is part Scotch history, a love letter to the country itself, and part memoir about how her love for the spirit developed especially after she completed an internship at a Scottish distillery. Over the course of 20 years, it has changed the trajectory of her life. Shelley works as a whiskey educator at Reservoir Distillery in Richmond, Virginia.
You can follow Shelley Sackier on Instagram @shelleysackier or at her website www.shelleysackier.com
For shownotes for any episode go to our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Make it a Double: From Wretched from Wondrous: Tales of One Woman's Lifelong Discovery of Whisky by Shelley Sackier 2- The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny 3- The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 4- A Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum 5- The Babysitter: My Summers With a Serial Killer by Jennifer Jordan and Liza Rodman 6- The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
In this week’s episode, we chat with Erin Flanagan, an author whose debut novel Deer Season won a 2022 Edgar Award for Best First Novel; her most recent book that published this past summer is a thriller called Blackout. Blackout revolves around a sociology professor named Maris who begins having blackouts despite the fact that she gave up drinking seven months before and then discovers other women in her community are experiencing the same thing. It’s a bit of a #metoo novel with some speculative science and some vodka thrown in. In addition to being an award-winning writer, Erin is also a creative writing professor at Wright State University in Ohio.
You can follow Erin Flanagan on Instagram @erinlflanagan or at her website; www.erinflanagan.net
For shownotes for any episode at our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Follow us on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 2- Blackout by Erin Flanagan 3- In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet 4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby 5- The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer 6- They Never Learn by Layne Fargo 7- The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer 8- The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
Movie Mentioned 1- Enola Holmes - 2020 (Netflix)
TV series mentioned: 1- Severance - 2022 (Apple +)
This week we speak with Cassie Moses, a mom from a small town in Central Kentucky. Cassie grew up in Eastern Kentucky at the Hindman Settlement School where her father was the administrator and where she met and befriended lots of Kentucky artists through the Appalachian Writers Workshop.
Cassie began a book club several years ago with her three daughters, and it has offered a way for her to read books that they’ve selected and have special one-on-one time with each of them to discuss these books while doing something special, like going out for ice cream or lunch. We also spend a few minutes speaking with her oldest child, Riley, who shares some of the great books she’s read with her mom.
You can follow Cassie on Instagram @kybooklady.
For shownotes for any episode at our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt 2- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin 3- Diary of Anne Frank 4- Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley 5- Lovely War by Julie Berry 6- House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 7- Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 8- Same Sun Here by Neela Vaswani and Silas House 9- The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu 10- A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross 11- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley 12- Percy Jackson series 13- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint 14- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel 15- The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan 16- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson 17- The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson 18- I'll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein
This week is a hybrid episode as we slowly creep back into a recording schedule after a nice long summer break. We’ve got Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky on our minds because of the recent catastrophic flooding in parts of the state so we decided that we’d rebroadcast part of an earlier episode with Kendra Winchester, founder of Read Appalachia on Instagram, who champions Appalachian writers on her feed.
But we also had the opportunity to speak this week with Bobi Conn, an Appalachian author and friend of the show who we interviewed in June of 2020 about her debut memoir In the Shadow of the Valley, a raw and unflinching look at growing up in Eastern Kentucky and her dysfunctional family. Bobi has a new novel coming out at the end of August call A Woman In Time that incorporates more family stories she heard about her great grandpa, a moonshiner, and her great grandmother, who held the family together.
Did you know that helping flood victims can be as easy as buying a book? This Saturday, August 6, Carmichaels Bookstore in Louisville KY will donate all profits from book sales from all 3 stores and their website to Eastern Kentucky flood relief funds organized by Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and the Hindman Settlement School. Their website is www.carmichaelsbookstore.com.
We will be back next week with the true start of Season 7 and an all new episode. Happy Reading!
You can find Bobi Conn on social media @BobiConn and her website www.bobiconn.com.
You can find Kendra Winchester @readappalachia and @Kdwinchester
You can find shownotes for any episode at our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Woman in Time by Bobi Conn 2- In the Shadow of the Valley by Bobi Conn 3- Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff 4- Embers on the Wind by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg 5- Finna by Nino Cipri 6- Defekt by Nino Cipri 7- Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan 8- Sabriel by Garth Nix 9- Books by Tamora Pierce 10- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 11- Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 12- Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson 13- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 14- The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson 15- Affrilachia by Frank X. Walker 16- Southernmost by Silas House 17- Black Bone: 25 Years of Affrilachian Poets edited by Bianca Lynne Spriggs and Jeremy Paden 18- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson 19- Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 20- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Cladsaddle 21- Step Into the Circle: Writers in Modern Appalachia edited by Amy Greene and Trent Thomson
We are taking the month of July off to recharge but will be back with all new episodes in August. But until then, we have some great replay episodes.
This week, we revisit our episode with Melissa Hart, author of Better With Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens. This book is a wonderful resource that offers book suggestions in various categories, including adoption/foster care, poverty/homelessness, mental health, and physical disabilities. With some schools and libraries censoring what students can find in their stacks, parents may find this book particularly helpful if they want to allow their children to read widely.
Melissa Hart also has a new book coming out in November of this year titled Daisy Woodworth Changes the World about a 13-year-old girl who tries to help her older brother, who has Down Syndrome and adores Special Olympics and men’s fashion, become a YouTube celebrity.
This week’s episode is a nod to back-to-school season when teachers can get books into the hands of kids after a summer of free days, endless video games, and probably too many popsicles. We are joined by Melissa Hart from Eugene Oregon. She is the author of 2 memoirs, a middle grade book, and most recently a great resource for teachers, librarians, and parents called Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens.
When Melissa’s tween daughter was in elementary school, she dealt with anxiety and depression, and Melissa found a way to help her through reading targeted books together, a practice called bibliotherapy which some studies suggest is effective in the treatment of some forms of depression. But the list of books in Better With Books can also help a young person develop empathy and be more accepting of others who have different experiences from their own such as individuals with physical disabilities, mental health struggles, body image issues, and students from different religious backgrounds.
You can find find Melissa on instagram @wildmelissahart or at her website at www.melissahart.com.
Books mentioned--
1- Better with Books: 500 Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens by Melissa Hart 2- Pinballs by Betsy Ayers 3- What Goes Up Must Come Down by Johanna Hurwitz 4- Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes 5- Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo 6- The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson 7- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 8- Far From the Tree by Robin Benway 9- Ten Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac 10- If I Ever Get Out of Here (audiobook) by Eric Gansworth 11- Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo 12- Avenging the Owl by Melissa Hart 13- Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family by Melissa Hart 14- Dune by Frank Herbert 15- Dune Messiah (Book 2) by Frank Herbert 16- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 17- The Overstory by Richard Powers 18- There, There by Tommy Orange 19- Harry's Trees by John Cohen 20- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 21- Pax by Sara Pennypacker 22- The One and Only Bob / The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 23- Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 24- Watership Down by Richard Adams
Movies mentioned-- 1- Dune (October 2021), directed by Denis Villeneuve
This week Carrie and I traveled to record at the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion, which is a Victorian era mansion built in 1871, with 12-foot ceilings, hand-carved wood balusters, and intricately designed colorful wallpapers. It has been preserved and enveloped by the campus of Spalding University and is the location of their School of Creative and Professional Writing and home base for today’s guest, debut novelist Katy Yocom.
Katy’s novel, Three Ways to Disappear, was published in 2019 and has won numerous awards including The Siskiyou Prize for Environmental Fiction. It has also been selected as a Barnes and Noble Indie Book Favorite.
Katy has vivid memories of as a child reading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot out loud with her mother. It was a short leap to her writing her own book about the intricacies of animal conservation and family bonds.
Katy tells us how her obsession with a set of newborn tiger cubs at the Louisville Zoo 14 years ago started her on the path to write her book, how a suggestion from an astute editor changed the trajectory of her novel, and why she believes much of the riskier and cutting edge literature is being published by small independent presses and how important it is to support them.
Books Discussed in this Episode 1- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom 2- All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot 3- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia 4- Severance by Ling Ma 5- The Road by Cormac McCarthy 6- Kindred by Octavia Butler
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
This week’s guest, Angela Jackson-Brown, is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright. She is also a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana who completed her MFA at Spalding University in Louisville where she is also a member of the creative writing graduate faculty.
Her most recent novel, When Stars Rain Down, was published in 2021 and is a historical fiction story set in 1930s Georgia, and has been nominated for several awards. Angela also has a new novel coming out in July called The Light Always Breaks set in post WW 2 Washington DC that features political and romantic intrigue between a high powered interacial couple. These are stand alone novels but what is cool is that these books’ characters are in the same fictional universe so readers get a chance to reconnect with characters they may have met before.
Angela talks to us about how she uses fiction to write about experiences in her life she wished she’d had, why she started writing plays, and the first book she read as a child that made a big impression on her (and this will surprise you).
You can find Angela on Instagram at @angelajacksonbrownauthor and at her author website angelajacksonbrown.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown 2- The Light Always Breaks by Angela Jackson-Brown 3- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl 4- Drinking From a Bitter Cup by Angela Jackson-Brown 5- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 6- Roots by Alex Haley 7- The Color Purple by Alice Walter 8- The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. 9- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 10- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood 11- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 12- We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza 13- Girl at War by Sara Nović 14- True Biz by Sara Nović
Movies mentioned 1- Child's Play (1988) 2- The Conjuring (2013)
In this last episode of Season 6, we feature a writer who we had the pleasure of meeting in real life at Carmichael’s Bookstore during a leg of her book tour. Courtney Maum is a celebrated author of literary fiction but her latest book is a memoir about how a return to horse riding in her late 30s helped her rediscover herself. It isn’t uncommon at all for women to lose themselves in their roles as mothers or wives or employees and forget what it is that brings them joy and passion and a sense of fun.
Courtney’s book, The Year of the Horses, follows her through personal losses and professional challenges and her ultimate decision to saddle up and not only ride again but take on a new equine endeavor–polo. Her book has been named "A Best Read for Mental Health" by The Today Show and also appears on Amazon's list of Best Books of 2022.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum
2- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessmyn Ward 3- Navigate Your Stars by Jessmyn Ward 4- It's Great to Suck at Something: The Exceptional Benefits of Being Unexceptional by Karen Rinaldi 5- What's So Funny: A Cartoonist's Memoir by David Sipress 6- Woman Eating by Claire Kohda 7- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Movies mentioned-- 1- Interview With the Vampire (1994) 2- Bob and the Trees (2015) 3- Down With the King (2021)
You can find Courtney Maum on Instagram @cbmaum
FB Courtney Maum and her website courtneymaum.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We love independent bookstores and try to feature one each season, but this can be difficult. As small business owners, it is often difficult to carve time out of their weeks to speak with us. So we are always grateful when the stars align and we can make it happen.
This week’s episode features Michelle Haring, owner of Cupboard Maker Books in Enola, PA. She tells us about how she first sold rare books, then more widely used books, then new books. And the bookstore has also joined forces with a local nonprofit to “carry” (yes, we’re putting this in air quotes), adoptable cats. There are three store cats that visitors can always see–Mouse, Annika, and Zak. And what goes better with a cozy book than a cat on your lap (at least in Carrie’s estimation).
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2- One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul 3- Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma 4- Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score 5- Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score 6- Riley Thorn series by Lucy Score 7- Notes on an Execution by Danya Kufafka 8- Death Motor series by Michelle Haring
Shows mentioned-- Stranger Things, Season 4 (2022) Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
You can find Cupboard Maker Books on Instagram and FB at Cupboard Maker Books and at their website www.CupboardMaker.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
This is the time of year when lots and lots of people travel so it makes sense to have a travel memoirist on our show. Kate Wickers is a British writer who has spent 25 years or so writing about her extensive travel experiences and publishing in magazines and newspapers all over the world. When COVID hit, she decided to turn her many travels with her husband and three sons into a collection of essays about what travel has meant to their family and the lessons they’ve learned from the experiences travel has given them.
Her memoir, Shape of a Boy, offers a collection of really great stories that will make any parent who has traveled with children go down their own memory lane to remember both the highs and lows of travel when kids are involved. And we’re not the only ones who think her memoir is pretty awesome. National Geographic Traveller listed it as one of the “9 Best Travel Books for 2022.”
You can find Kate Wickers on Instagram at @wickers.kate and at her website katewickers.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Shape of a Boy by Kate Wickers
2- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb 3- Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal 4- The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple by Ben Aitken 5- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken 6- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 7- Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Once again we have our favorite local bookseller, Sam Miller, of Carmichaels Books in Louisville KY on the show to talk about summer reads. She is like our in house book seller who joins us every summer and winter to tell us what is new and notable in bookstores.
Not all of these books are the typical fluffy summer books about the beach and booze; we have her cover all genres—sci/fi, cookbooks, local authors, YA, and literary fiction. We always enjoy when Sam visits us. And this week besides us, she also got to visit with resident cat Miso who was spreading the love around in the studio while we were recording.
www.carmichaelsbookstore.com
Follow us
-Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
-
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
-
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb 2- Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin 3- In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet 4- This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub 5- Horse by Geraldine Brooks 6- Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane 7- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 8- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 9- Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid 10- How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann 11- Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi 12- Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin 13- A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow 14- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow 15- Little Brother by Sallie Bingham 16- The Silver Swan: In Search of Doris Duke by Sallie Bingham 17- Half-Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith 18- Shifty’s Boys by Chris Offut 19- These Killing Hills by Chris Offut 20- Kentucky Straight by Chris Offut 21- These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe 22- River of the Gods by Candice Millard 23- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold 24- You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe 25- Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe 26- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe 27- Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe 28- I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong 29- An Immense World by Ed Yong 30- Tree Thieves by Lyndsie Bourgon 31- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben 32- Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen 33- The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager 34- The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay 355- Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney 36- Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 37- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 38- Family of Liars by E. Lockhart 39- The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert 40- Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert 41- The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson 42- Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White 43- I Dream of Dinner So You Don’t Have To by Ali Slagle 44- Snacks for Dinner by Lukas Volger 45- Watermelon and Red Birds by Nicole Taylor 46- Passersthrough by Peter Rock 47- My Old Kentucky Home by Emily Bingham 48- How The Word is Passed by Clint Smith 49- Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey by Florence Williams 50- Six Days in Rome by Francesca Giacco 51- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
Shows mentioned— Justified (FX and Hulu 2010-2016)
In this episode, we chat with debut novelist Donna Gordon. While she has a long background as a poet and short story writer, she ventured into writing a novel when two ideas began swirling around in her head.
Her novel, What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me, tells the story of two characters, Lee and Tomás, who seem to have nothing that connects them and yet they do. It’s a novel that deals with some heavy topics in a way that doesn’t leave you despondent but instead you feel strangely hopeful. It was recently named one of "45 Books We're Excited About from Indie Presses in 2022" by the Indepdendt Book Review. Donna’s book hits bookstore shelves today.
You can find Donna Gordon on instagram at @donnagordon8994 and at her website donnagordon.com
-
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
-
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod to see what we're up to.
-
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me by Donna Gordon 2- Lesser Saints by Donna Gordon 3- The Little School by Alicia Partnoy 4- You Can't Drown the Fire: Latin American Women Writing in Exile edited by Alicia Partnoy 5- The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren 6- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 7- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 8- Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 9- Six Days in Rome by Francesca Giacco
Readers have heard of the big 5 publishing companies that include Harper Collins, and Penguin/Random House. But there is something really special about university presses. Unfortunately, they don’t often get the attention they deserve. Sarah Munroe, Marketing Manager and Acquisitions Editor at West Virginia University Press, is our guest this week who talks to us about what makes a university press special and how they operate differently from the big 5.
One of the unique things about them is that they can and do feature more diverse voices and topics than what major publishers are willing to put out there. Former guest Neema Avashia, author of Another Appalachia, was published by WVU Press and she is just one of the diverse voices that readers can find at smaller publishers. WVU Press has made some pretty important headlines lately after their author Deesha Philyaw’s book The Secret Lives of Church Ladies became a finalist for the National Book Award in 2020.
While we definitely book nerd out with Sarah, we hope you stay tuned to what was supposed to be her 3 in the Third Degree where we asked only one question but learned a ton about her abiding love for dinosaurs and how they were part of her wedding ceremony with her husband.
You can find WVU Press at their website, www.wvupressonline.com and on instagram and twitter @wvupress and Facebook at West Virginia University Press.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia
2- Bad Tourist by Suzanne Roberts
3- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
4- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
5- Even As We Breathe by Annette Sanuooke Clapsaddle
6- Ghosts of New York by Jim Lewis
7- Foote: A Mystery Novel by Tom Bredehoft
8- Lioness by Mark Powell
9- Curing Season by Kristine Langley Mahler
10- Kindred by Octavia Butler
11- Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin
12- Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James
13- Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
14- The Kill by Richard House
15- City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
16- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Greene
17- Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Podcast mentioned:
Strong Sense of Place hosted by Melissa Joulwan and David Humphreys
It's travel season and a great time to revisit our episode with travel writers and illustrators Amber Share and Suzanne Roberts. This week’s episode is jam-packed with travel writing. .
Our first guest is not a writer, but a graphic designer who began making cool illustrated posters of national parks on an Instagram account called Subpar Parks. Amber Share couples her illustrations with terrible one-star Yelp reviews those parks receive from visitors who weren’t terribly impressed with majestic things like The Grand Canyon and Old Faithful. Those illustrations have gone viral and she recently collected them all in book format and included facts about each national park from park rangers. Her book, SubPar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors is a New York Times Bestseller.
Our second guest is writer Suzanne Roberts, who National Geographic named a “Next Great Travel Writer.” Her most recent book, Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel, has received many awards including the Independent Publisher Book Award and National Indie Excellence Awards. She weaves a story of maturing as a woman and becoming a veteran traveler. Her book will make you laugh but it also gets serious, and those serious essays make her humor seem all the more poignant.
You can find Amber Share on social media at @subparparks or at her website www.ambersharedesign.com. And Suzanne Roberts can be found on instqgram @suzanneroberts28 or on her website at www.suzanneroberts.net
Books Mentioned in This Episode: 1- SubPar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share 2- Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love & Travel by Suzanne Roberts 3- My Antonia by Willa Cather 4- Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather 5- Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather 6- The Innocents by Michael Crummey 7- The Shipping News by Annie Proulx 8- Dispatches from Pluto: Lost & Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant 9- The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Namrata Patel has been writing for 20 years, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she had more time to work on it. She had always been interested in dual culture and challenges of the diaspora, specifically Indians who had moved to the United States. The isolation of COVID really brought home how lonely life can be if you don’t feel like you fit anywhere. Her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave follows a photojournalist who inherits an apartment from a stranger. The apartment in Back Bay Boston surrounds her with a close-knit network of other Indian-Americans. Meena comes to learn more about herself and her culture, as well as understands the gift of found family and friendship through this experience.
The book comes out June 1 but those book lovers who have Amazon Prime can download her book for free during the month of May with their First Reads program. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you are able to download 1 free book a month from their First Reads selections which are editor favorites hitting bookshelves the following month. Just search First Reads in the search bar.
You can find Namrata Patel on instagram at @namratapatelauthor, on Twitter at Nampatel or on her author website, nampatel.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Room With a View by E. M. Forester
2- Six Days in Rome by Franscesca Giacco
3- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
4- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
5- Books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
6- Leonard: My Life as a Cat by Carly Sarosiak 7- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman 8- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl 9- Word by Word by Kory Stamper 10- Tidepool by Nicole Willson 11- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket 13- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 14- Persuasion by Jane Austen 16- FBI/US Attorneys series by Julie James 17- Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Movies mentioned-- ET: The ExtraTerrestrial (1982)
Shows mentioned-- Lovecraft Country (HBO)
This week we talk to our first mystery series author: Jess Montgomery. The first book in her 4-book Kinship mystery series is The Widows which introduces us to Lilly Ross, a wife and mother in 1920s rural Ohio whose husband Daniel, the county sheriff, is killed in the line of duty. The town council asks Lilly to take over the sheriff’s position for the rest of the term and the first crime she wants to investigate is the murder of her husband. Lilly Ross is inspired by a real Ohio woman named Maud Colins who also became one of the first female sheriffs in the United States after her husband, also the sheriff, was murdered.
Jess’ most recent novel, The Echoes, was published this past March and follows Lilly and the townspeople of Kinship, OH as they reckon with ghosts of World War 1 some 10 years later. Many of the men served. While some, like Lilly’s brother, died in The Great War, many others came back with emotional scars that affect their personal choices and the town at large.
You can find Jess Montgomery on instagram at @jessmontgomeryauthor or on her author website, www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com .
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 2- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series) 3- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby 4- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan 5- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith 6- The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
Our guest this week, Court Stevens is outreach director for a public library and the author of 6 young adult suspense novels. Her most recent, We Were Kings, came out this past February and is her contemporary version of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery where our main character, Nyla King’s dysfunctional family and juicy secrets means everyone is a suspect of a murder that took place 20 years earlier.
You can find Court Stevens on instagram at @quartland or on her author website, www.courtneycstevens.com.
To find out more about Foxing Books, go to their Instagram at @foxingbooktore.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Ruta Sepetys books 2- David Arnold books 3- I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak 4- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 5- Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak 6- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 7- Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 8- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 9- The June Boys by Court Stevens 10- We Were Kings by Court Stevens 11- Faking Normal by Court Stevens 12- When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed 13- The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 14- Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson 15- Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss 16- On Animals by Susan Orlean
Movies mentioned-- 1- Knives Out (2019) 2- The Green Mile (1991) 3- The Life of David Gale (2003)
Our guest this week, Chelsea Hofmann, loves to feel her pulse quicken and gets excited by the idea that anything could happen. She lives her life spontaneously so her love of the thriller genre with its twists, turns, and surprise endings fit her personality just fine.
After finishing college and moving to Southern California with her husband, she wanted to reconnect with her love of reading books that she had as a child but none of the book clubs she tried felt like a good fit. So she started a virtual book club on the Instagram platform called Thrillers By The Bookclub. As that virtual club became became popular with members all over the globe, people started asking her about in-person book clubs. Chelsea nurtured this idea, encouraging book lovers to start their own Thriller By The Book Club chapters. There are now over 27 chapters and more are still forming. We chat with Chelsea in this episode about all the thrilling books she reads.
- You can find Chelsea on instagram at @thrillerbookbabe.
- To find out more about Thrillers By The Book club, to see if they have a chapter in your area or to get more information about starting your own, check out their instagram at @thrillersbythebookclub .
- Local Louisville listeners , there is a chapter in town. @txbc_louisville
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Boxcar Children series 2- Nancy Drew series 3- Hardy Boys series 4- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 6- Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver 7- His & Hers by Alice Feeney 8- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead 9- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewel 10- Survive the Night by Riley Sager 11- This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel 12- The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones 13- Outside by Ragnor Jonasson 14- The Mist by Ragnor Jonasson 15- Snowblind by Ragnor Jonasson 16- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helena Tursten (audiobook) 17- An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helena Tursten 18- The Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
TV series 1- The Series of Unfortunate Events - Netflix (2017-2019)
Today is going to be a little different. Unfortunately we had some scheduling difficulties and therefore don’t have a new episode for you this week.
But, we do have a “New To You” episode because we have been lucky enough to be guests on several other podcasts. So, today we are offering up our appearance on The Modern Life Podcast, hosted by Tabby Pawlitzki. On the Modern Life Podcast, Tabby and guests read a book and then watch the screen adaptation and then pick apart all the things they loved and the things they loved to hate. And which was better? The book or the movie?.
Carrie and I were guests to Tabby’s podcast back in December to discuss The Princess Bride written by William Goldman which was then directed in 1987 by Rob Reiner.
This was our second time being a guest on Tabby’s show and we always adore nerding out with her.
You can find Modern Life podcast on all the major podcast platforms and follow her on Instagram at @Modernlifepod.
April is National Poetry Month and whether you love poetry or not, you’ve likely heard of poet laureates. You may not know what that distinction means, however. There are all kinds of poet laureates—of countries, or states, of cities, and of even smaller areas. A poet laureate is appointed by a head of government for her or his accomplishments and may publish poems for special occasions. It is an honor that comes with a lot of flexibility.
In this week’s episode, we chat with Luisa A. Igloria, a native of the Philippines who came to the US to attend graduate school and is one of only four poet laureates of color for the state of Virginia. She was appointed to the position right as Covid took over our lives in 2020. She talks about the three cornerstone projects she wanted to launch in order to make poetry a larger part of the community.
You can find Luisa on instagram at @poetslizard. To see the Poetry Postcard Project and Young Poets in the Community, go to her website at www.luisaigloria.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books and Poetry mentioned--
1- Maps for Migrants and Ghosts by Luisa A. Igloria 2- "Song of Meridians" by Luisa A. Igloria 3- "Blue Bucket" by Naomi Shihab Nye 4- Cartography by Luisa A. Igloria 5- "Vacation" by Wendell Berry 6- Sapiens: A Graphic History Vols 1 and 2 by Yuval Noah Harari, David Vandermeulen, Daniel Casanave 7- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari 8- Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari 9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 10- Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang 11- Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr 12- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 13- Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
We’ve talked about many books on this podcast with an Appalachian setting. And in the Trump and post-Trump era, talking heads have been trying to understand Appalachia. After the publishing of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, a book about Appalachia that many people love to hate, a whole slew of books by diverse Appalachian writers came out that showed other versions of this complicated region of the country. Neema Avashia’s new book of essays, Another Appalachia: Growing Up Indian and Queer in a Mountain Place really demonstrates those contradictions and strong sense of place.
Neema is a middle school teacher who lives in Boston, but she grew up in a small West Virginia town that was built up around the chemical industry that used the state’s coal to power its plants. Her parents migrated from India and Neema had what she felt was a magical childhood. But as much as she loved her hometown and home state, as she became an adult she had to to come to terms with what home means when you are Indian-American, Hindu, vegetarian, and queer growing up in a place that is overwhelming white, meat and potatoes, and Christian. Her essays ask interesting questions about what it means to love a place that doesn’t always love you back.
You can find Neema on instagram at @avashia and at her author website www.neemaavashia.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia 2- The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa 3- Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop 4- Death in the Air: The Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 5- Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
Articles mentioned-- What Does the Image of the Cat Signify in Japanese Literature? by Dee Das bookriot.com/cats-in-japanese-fiction/
Our guest this week is author and podcaster, Maggie Smith. Maggie’s second act in her professional life is as a novelist. She spent over 25 years running a business but when it began to feel boring and she needed to use her creativity, she attended a writer’s workshop where the instructor asked everyone to write down something they could never write about; Maggie wrote about mother daughter relationships. This idea transformed itself into a novel about where mothers/ daughters/ and mentors intersect titled Truth and Other Lies.
One of the thematic ideas of the book is how important heroes are—they inspire us and make us feel a sense of empowerment. But sometimes we move into hero worship, where we fail to see that our heroes sometimes have big glaring unbelievably unethical behaviors that we could see if we opened our eyes. Of course, the blindness that keeps us from seeing the truth about our heroes is similar to the blindness that keeps us from seeing our mothers, or parents in general, in a favorable light. The novel covers a lot of ground in a fast-paced story.
You can find Maggie on instagram at @maggiesmithwrites and at her author website www.maggiesmithwriter.com. Her podcast Hear Us Roar for the Women’s Fiction Writing Association can be found on your podcast player of choie.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith 2- The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger 3- The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo (audiobook) 4- Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr 5- Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson (audiobook and text) 6- The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont 7- The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Podcasts Mentioned-- 1- Hear Us Roar, hosted by Maggie Smith 2- Books Are My People, hosted by Jennifer Caloyeras
Movies mentioned-- 1- Chinatown (1974)
This week’s episode is for true crime enthusiasts. Every city has had murders that make the news, and Louisville is no different. Our guest this week, David Domine', adopted Louisville as his hometown and has a following here as an author, tour guide, and storyteller in the city. He has written a new book called A DARK ROOM IN GLITTER BALL CITY about a sensational murder that was discovered after a domestic disturbance in Old Louisville in 2010. The story includes drugs, drag queens, and maybe even the CIA.
His book is true crime, but it also veers into memoir and history. And it introduces readers to quirky characters whose eccentricities are why we have a saying here to “Keep Louisville Weird.”
His book is getting some attention. Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and Amazon named it as one of the top true crime reads of the season.
You can find David Domine’ on instagram, @bluegrasspeasant, on FB David Domine’, The Bluegrass Peasant and at his website www.daviddomine.com. You can find information about David’s historical tours of Old Louisville at www.louisvillehistorictours.com
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Dominé 2- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin 3- When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson Browne 4- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 5- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 6- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 7- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 8- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold 9- You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe
Shows Mentioned: 1- Unsolved Mysteries (2020) Netflix 2- Only Murders in the Building - Hulu
You can find us at: www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Insta - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover
This week’s guest, Angela Jackson-Brown, is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright. She is also a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana who completed her MFA at Spalding University in Louisville where she is also a member of the creative writing graduate faculty.
Her most recent novel, When Stars Rain Down, was published in 2021 and is a historical fiction story set in 1930s Georgia, and has been nominated for several awards. Angela also has a new novel coming out in July called The Light Always Breaks set in post WW 2 Washington DC that features political and romantic intrigue between a high powered interacial couple. These are stand alone novels but what is cool is that these books’ characters are in the same fictional universe so readers get a chance to reconnect with characters they may have met before.
Angela talks to us about how she uses fiction to write about experiences in her life she wished she’d had, why she started writing plays, and the first book she read as a child that made a big impression on her (and this will surprise you).
You can find Angela on Instagram at @angelajacksonbrownauthor and at her author website angelajacksonbrown.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown 2- The Light Always Breaks by Angela Jackson-Brown 3- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl 4- Drinking From a Bitter Cup by Angela Jackson-Brown 5- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 6- Roots by Alex Haley 7- The Color Purple by Alice Walter 8- The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. 9- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 10- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood 11- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 12- We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza 13- Girl at War by Sara Nović 14- True Biz by Sara Nović
Movies mentioned 1- Child's Play (1988) 2- The Conjuring (2013)
Our guest this week, Mazey Eddings, started out as a massive romance reader. In fact during her most stressful times of life, she would read upwards of a book a day, drawn to that guaranteed happy ending that all romance novels require. But, as someone who has an anxiety disorder, ADHD, and is on the autism spectrum, she felt like she didn’t see the issues that she deals with on a day to day basis portrayed in the books she was reading. So in the middle of dental school she started writing scenes that later became her debut novel.
Mazey’s first book A BRUSH WITH LOVE hit bookstores at the beginning of March and features two dental students as they fall in love and deal with very adult struggles like extreme anxiety and familial guilt. Mazey also has 4 additional books in the pipeline over the next 3 years that feature other neurodivergent characters.
We talk about why romance is the perfect genre to explore happy endings for underrepresented groups, the amount of misogyny still found in historically male dominated fields, and about the trend of women in STEM within the romance genre that appears to be here to stay.
You can find Mazey Eddings on instagram at @mazeyeddings and at her author website, mazeyeddings.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books, Series, and Movies Mentioned in this Episode:
Books mentioned
1- A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings 2- The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante 3- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante 4- The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco 5- A Room With A View by E.M. Forester 5- Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas 6- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang 7- Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert 8- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 9- Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings 10- Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham 11- A Perfect Equation by Elizabeth Everett 12- The Grace Year by Kim Liggett 13- Yearbook by Seth Rogen (audiobook)
TV series mentioned: 1- Medici - (2016 - 2019) Netflix
Movies mentioned 1- The Lost Daughter (2021) Netflix 2- Nightmare Alley (2021) HBO Max
For me some of the most satisfying episodes we do are when we talk to book lovers from other countries. What is it like to be a book lover from far-reaching places around the world? In the past we have talked to readers and writers from Ireland, Somalia, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. This week, we are headed to Croatia to speak with Ivana Murk who gives us a window into her life as a child growing up, learning to read both the Cyrillic alphabet which Slavic languages are based on and the Latin alphabet. She learned English in school starting in 3rd grade and now she now reads books in both Croatian and English. We talk with her about Croatian authors who you might want to find translations for if possible, why the skill of a book translator is so important, and what authors you have probably heard of who are particularly popular in her country.
We feel it would be helpful to give you just a brief little summary of Croatian history in the last 50 years that is most relevant to this episode. Croatia was a part of the former Yugoslavia, which also included Serbia, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. This did not happen peacefully. This was followed by the Bosnia War from 1992-1995 which pitted Croatians, Bosnians, and Serbians against each other and has been called the bloodiest event in Europe since World War II. Geographically, Croatia is very close to Italy to the West by way of the Adriatric Sea, Austria and Hungary to the north, and Bosnia to the West.
You can find Ivana on instagram at @books.with.tutus_and_sons and at her blogsite books.with.tutusandsons.com
- Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
- Instagram at @perksofbeingabookloverpod
- For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Girl at War by Sara Nović 2- Chasing a Croatian Girl by Cody McClain Brown 3- The Famous Five by Enid Blyton 4- The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis 5- Grimm's Fairy Tales 6- Croatian Tales of Long Ago by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić 7- Various poetry by Dobriša Cesarić 8- Various poetry by Vesna Parun 9- Gordana by Marija Jurić (pen name: Zagorka) and other series 10- Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 11- Various works by Elif Shafak 12- Beartown by Fredrik Backman 13- Anxious People Fredrik Backman 14- Various works by Colleen Hoover 15- Dark Mother Earth by Kristian Novak 16- The Gypsy, But The Most Beautiful by Kristian Novak 17- Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore 18- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel 19- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 20- A Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon 21- Shantaram by Gregory Davis Roberts 22- Odin's Child by Siri Pettersen 23- Love Stories by Trent Dalton 24- The Guncle by Steven Rowley 25- Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms 26- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
This week we chat with Brittany Thurman, a native of Kentucky, who has recently published her first children’s picture book titled Fly illustrated by Anna Cunha. She worked as a children's specialist at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh which is where the idea to write her own book occurred, and she even took inspiration from one of the children who would come to her storytimes. Fly is the story of a young girl who wants to enter a double dutch jump rope competition but doesn’t know how to double dutch. She asks her friends for tips and while they don't know how either, they each give her a piece of knowledge that helps her be more confident in her dreams.
In this episode, she tells about the creation of this book as well as other books that she has in the pipeline, including one about the first public library built for and staffed by African Americans in the United States, which is the Western branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Brittany is a very busy new author.
You can find Brittany on instagram at @britjanee and at her website at www.brittanythurman.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod to see what we're up to. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Fly by Brittany Thurman and Illustrated by Anna Cunha 2- Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez with Brittany Thurman 3- Forever and Always by Brittany Thurman 4- Addie Walker--American Girl series 5- Goosebumps series by R.L.Stine 6- Replica series by Marilyn Kaye 7- Mary Kate & Ashley series 8- A Surgeon in the Village: An American Doctor Teaches Brain Surgery in Africa by Tony Bartelme 9- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 10- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 11- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 12- Stunt Boy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds 13- A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow 14- Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
This week our guest is Ashlee Clark who is the VP of Digital at Louisville Public Media and who also serves as one of the hosts of the Moth in Louisville KY, an opportunity for anyone in the community to listen to and tell stories. The Moth is a national storytelling organization with headquarters in New York City but there are regional Moth events all over the world.
Whether you’ve seen a local storyslam or listened to the Moth Radio Hour, you know that the stories are sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant, but they always remind us of how important storytelling is in our lives. We had a great time chatting with Ashlee and are excited to share our conversation.
You can find The Moth and Moth events all over the world at their website at www.themoth.org. The Moth podcast can be found on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow us on Facebook at The perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksofbeingabookloverpod to see what we're up to. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books mentioned in this episode: 1- Berenstain Bears series by Jan and Stan Berenstain 2- Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer 3- Baby-Sitters Club series 4- Sweet Valley High series 5- Goosebumps series by RL Stine 6- American Girl series 7- Animorphs series by KA Applegate 8- The Storyteller by Dave Grohl 9- Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America by Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps 10- Bad Hair: A Love Story (manuscript) by Ashlee Clark 11- My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories From The Sisterhood by St. Clair Detrick-Jules 12 - The One-in-A-Million Boy by Monica Wood 13- A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Bachman 14- How the Penguin Saved Veronica by Hazel Pryor 15- Louisville Diners by Ashlee Clark
Shows mentioned-- 1- Golden Girls (Hulu)
Part of what drew us to this week’s author, Rebecca Rosenberg, was the cool cover of her historical fiction novel, Champagne Widows. But as we read the book, we realized it was a pretty fascinating story of a young widow, Madame Clicquot, who essentially revolutionized champagne production in France during the Napoleonic years.
Rebecaa has written two other historical fiction novels but Champagne Widows is the first in a series about the trailblazing women of wine in France in the 19th century. As a champagne historian, Rebecca decided these stories needed to be told. She gave us a lot of the background on champagne and Madame Clicquot when we spoke to her. And reading Rebecca’s book right around New Year’s gave Amy all the excuse she needed to splurge on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne and share it with me to toast in 2022.
Book mentioned in this episode:
1- Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg 2- The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage 3- The Last Duel by Eric Jager 4- Witcher series by Andrezj Sapkowski 5- Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 6- Nancy Drew series 7- One Thousand and One Nights 8- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 9- Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak 10- Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker 11- Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor by Rebecca Rosenberg 12- The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg 13- Champagne Widows: Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg (coming in 2023) 14- Mordew by Alex Pheby 15- The Huntress by Kate Quinn 16- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 17- Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 18- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 19- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Shows/movies mentioned-- 1- After Party (Apple+) 2- The Power of the Dog (Netflix) 3- The Last Duel (Hulu) 4- Witcher (Netflix)
You can find Rebecca Rosenberg at her website www.rebecca-rosenberg.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod to see what we're up to.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
It’s always a lot of fun to connect with bookish podcasters, to learn why they started their shows and what they get from it. This week’s guest, Jennifer Caloyeras, is the host of Books Are My People. On her show, she has a bookish news segment and also recommends 5 books, most of them brand new releases, to listeners each week; Every other week she interviews a bookish guest.
Jennifer lives in CA and teaches writing at the UCLA Extension’s Writer’s program. She is also a published author of several Young adult novels, and will soon publish her first adult novel.
She talks to us about why she enjoys books about unlikable characters, how she reads 8-10 books a week, and a fun musical secret about herself that concerns Ted Lasso.
Books mentioned--
1- Charlotte's Web by E.B. White 2- Tales of The City by Armistead Maupin 3- Why Fish Don't Exist by LuLu Miller 4- Macbeth by William Shakespeare 5- Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 6- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 7- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid 8- Once More We Saw Stars by Jason Green 9- When We Were Vikings by David MacDonald 10- The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix 11- Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix 12- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix 13- The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa 14- You by Caroline Kepnes 15- Strays by Jennifer Caloyeras 16- Unruly Creatures by Jennifer Caloyeras 17- The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen 18- A Hell of a Book by Jason Mott 19- The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan 20- Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever 21- Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Movies and TV series mentioned-- 1- Home Alone (1990) 2- Ted Lasso (Hulu)
You can find Jennifer Caloyeras at her website www.jennifercaloyeras.com and on Instagram @jennifercaloyeras. Her podcast, Books Are My People can be found on your favorite podcast platform.
Normally, we don’t repeat the same guests multiple times on the show (because there are so many great guests to feature), but we decided to ask Kimmery Martin back on the show for this episode. Kimmery is a trained ER physician who is now a full time author and her niche is medical fiction about female doctors. She is the author of 3 books: The Queen of Hearts, The Antidote For Everything, and her newest, Doctors and Friends. When she spoke with us last time in Season 2, she hinted at the manuscript she was working on about a female doctor during a global pandemic and the horrible decision she has to make about her children. That manuscript became Doctors and Friends.
We asked Kimmery on because we’re still knee-deep in COVID, and we had to know what it was like to write a novel about a pandemic just as an actual pandemic was moving around the globe. Plus, Kimmery contracted COVID which added another interesting layer to her work as a writer.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin 2- The Antidote For Everything by Kimmery Martin 3- Doctors & Friends by Kimmery Martin 4- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 5- Melville in Love by Michael Shelden 6- Moby Dick by Herman Melville 7- Tybee by Herman Melville 8- Until the End of Time by Brian Greene 9- My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee 10- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrass-Tyson 11- The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson 12- The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Shows mentioned-- 1- Reservation Dogs (2021 on Hulu) 2- Reservoir Dogs (1992) 3- Station Eleven (2021, HBO)
This week’s episode features Andrew Harris, the producing artistic director at Stage One, a performing arts organization for children in our city. If you live in Louisville, you have either attended a Stage One production as a child or as the parent of a child, and the shows are always magical. Andrew chats with us about his career in theater, the unique attributes of children’s shows, and why children’s theater is essential to adult theater.
Stage One has a couple upcoming plays, which we discuss in this episode: Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly at the end of January and early February and Dragons Love Tacos in March and April. Of course, with Omicron, things could change, so be sure to contact Stage One directly for updates.
Books mentioned-- 1- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien 2- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson 3- Jamie Whatever by Keith McGill 4- Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly by Y. York 5- Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin 6- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gordichec 8- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (audio and book form) 9- Circe by Madeline Miller 10- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 10- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 11- The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
In this episode, we talk to Gwenda Bond, a New York Times Best-selling author whose scope of work includes middle grade and young adult fiction, most with definitive fantasy elements. Her most recent book published this past fall, however, is her very first adult rom-com, a paranormal romance titled NOT YOUR AVERAGE HOT GUY, that involves the son of Satan. An anticipated sequel is due to hit bookstores in April 2022.
Gwenda has vast experience in the literary world; she has published over 10 books, has been a writer for publisher’s weekly magazine, collaborated to write a serial podcast, and been chosen by the Duffer brothers, creators of the megahit Netflix series "Stranger Things", to write a novel that explores what Eleven’s mother’s story.
The thing that unites all these pieces is simple; it’s definitely not boring. Gwenda revels in the wacky and weird and she was a ton of fun to chat with this week.
Books discussed in this episode:
1- Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond 2- The Date From Hell by Gwenda Bond 3- Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond 4- Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond 5- The Supernormal Sleuthing Service by Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe 6- Lois Lane series by Gwenda Bond 7- Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond 8- The Birds by Daphne du Maurier 9- Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs 10- The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell 11- The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 12- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow 13- A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow 14- Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia 15- Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia 16- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Dead Air by Gwenda Bond
Shows mentioned-- 1- Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Carrie and Amy take a look back at books they read in 2021 and choose their favorites. Plus, past guests from 2021 share their top reads of the year.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn 2- The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson 3- This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith 4- Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia 5- Eat a Peach by David Chang 6- Lakewood by Megan Giddings 7- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 8- Sick Souls, Healthy Minds by John Kaag 9- Once & Future Witches by Alix Harrow 10- Stone Sky by NK Jemisin 11- Whisper Man by Alex North 12- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 13- Pax by Sara Pennypacker 14- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein 15- Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker 16- Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg 17- As You Wish by Cary Elwes 18- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 19- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway 20- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan 21- Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan 22- The Round House by Louise Erdrich 23- A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost 24- The Hummingbird's Gift by Sy Montgomery 25- Piranesi by Susannah Clarke 26- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms 27- The Sentence by Louise Erdrich 28- Fox and I by Catherine Raven 29- Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia 30- City of Brass by SA Chakraborty 31- Mordew by Alex Pheby 32- Lucia by Alex Pheby 33- The Storyteller by Dave Grohl 34- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gordichec 35- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 36- She Wouldn't Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha 37- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 38- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland 39- Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland 40- The World-Ending Fire by Wendell Berry 41- The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson 42- Dune by Frank Herbert 43- Will by Will Smith 44- The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley 45- The Carrying by Ada Limon
COVID has been hard for those among us who like to travel, but one of our favorite ways to assuage that desire is to read books set in different locations. Sweeping meadows. Mountains that touch the sky. Exotic locales. These places can whisk us from our humdrum homes.
A Strong Sense of Place is both a podcast and a website where readers can find interesting bookish conversations with our guest this week, Melissa Joulwan, and her husband David, two expatriates living in Prague located in the Czech Republic. In this week’s episode, she tells us about how they select the places they will visit each season, why place in a book has to meet very stringent specifications, and how roller derby helped her make some big life decisions.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Podcasts mentioned-- Strong Sense of Place (strongsenseofplace.com)
Books mentioned-- 1- Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume 2- Forever by Judy Blume 3- The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders 4- Archy McNally series by Lawrence Sanders 5- Lord of the Flies by William Golding 6- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 7- My Antonia by Willa Cather 8- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 9- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 10- The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova 11- She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb 12- The Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood 13- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 14- Less by Andrew Sean Greer 15- A Room With a View by E.M. Forster 16- The Curse of Jacob Tracy by Holly Messinger
Movies or TV adaptations mentioned in this episode:
1- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Amazon) 2- A Room With a View (1985 movie) 3- Jane Eyre (1945 movie with Orson Welles) 4- Jane Eyre (2011 movie with Michael Fassbender) 5- Jane Eyre ( 2006 BBC miniseries with Toby Stephens)
**We have a rebroadcast this week. We will resume all new episodes in Season 6 mid-January.
This week we are getting in the “spirit” of the first Saturday of May; a date that is sacrosanct for many Kentuckians because of the running of the Kentucky Derby. A love of horses and bourbon whiskey are high on the list of things that Kentuckians are proud of and want to export to the rest of the world. Bourbon is big business in our region and has had a surge in popularity over the last decade; around 90 percent of all bourbon is produced here in the Bluegrass State. At no other time of the year is bourbon more popular in Louisville KY than during Derby season.
Our guest this week, Brian Haara, is an attorney who developed an interest in bourbon through his work in the industry. He started by writing a bourbon history and law blog and has been featured in bourbon documentaries. His book, Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America, is a deep dive into the history of bourbon law that goes back almost to the founding of our country and highlights how bourbon cases have affected all types of commercial law, including consumer protections and trademark law. He wanted to tell the stories of how our country and bourbon grew up together. He is also a bourbon connoisseur who gives tasting notes on various bourbons on his blog and throughout the book.
He chats with us about how he fell down the literary “Poe” hole as a teen, how Victoria’s Secret benefited from bourbon law, and he gives me and Carrie some suggestions of bourbons to buy for the bourbon drinkers in our life; whether they be newbies or long time fans.
Websites mentioned-- sippncorn.blogspot.com brianhaara.com
Books mentioned-- 1- Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America by Brian Haara 2- Poe anthology (Edgar Allan Poe) 3- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 4- The Hobbit by J. R.R. Tolkein 5- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger 6- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow 7- The 10,000 Doors of January by Alix Harrow 8- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 9- The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney 10- Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint by Jerry L. Walls (editor)
TV shows mentioned-- The Wire ( 2002-2008)
Our guest this week, Alia Volz, wrote a book titled Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and The Stoning of San Francisco about her experience growing up in San Francisco in the late 1970s and 80s. Alia’s parents were the owners of Sticky Fingers Brownies which made pot brownies that were known all over the city. While these brownies were the source of relaxation and fun for many people, when HIV and AIDS hit San Francisco, Sticky Fingers became a lifeline for many gay men who were devastated by the disease because the pot brownies helped them with pain and appetite.
The book covers a lot of territory, not the least of which is Alia’s parents’ backgrounds and what it was like for her to grow up in San Francisco in a family that couldn’t really talk about what it did because of the illegal nature of their business. Her book was a 2020 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. It’s a fascinating read which shows the social history leading to the legalization and wider use of cannabis for medical use in the US through the lens of her own family's story.
Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco by Alia Volz 2- Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews 3- The Stand by Stephen King 4- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 5- Dune by Frank Herbert 6- Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul Offitt 7- In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet 8- Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa 9- The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Dead Djinn Universe #0.3)by P. Djeli Clark 10- The Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe #1)by P. Djeli Clark 11 - A Dead Djinn in Cairo (Dead Djinn Universe #0.1) by P. Djeli Clark 12- The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djeli Clark 13- Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe
Social media can be awful but it can also be a great way to discover wonderful things happening around the globe that give me hope. Our guests this week are an example of that. When I saw a Facebook post about a pair of teachers in Virginia that had been inspired by a book to launch a bookmobile service in their town, I wanted to know more.
The novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson which is about women who served as pack librarians in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and brought reading materials to remote areas during the Depression is the one that Lisa Signorelli and Kristin Thrower looked to to guide them in their mission. They were concerned that their students in Chesterfield public schools on the outskirts of Richmond who didn’t have easy access to WIFI while school was virtual last year were being forgotten.
Lisa and Kristin decided to start delivering books to the students. The endeavour that began out of the back of their cars has now progressed to a full book mobile that gives away free books to students and their families.
In this episode, Lisa and Kristin talk about how they met through a mentor teacher friend named Ms. Clark, how their collaboration resulted in the book mobile, and what it adds to their teaching experience.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson 2- Books by Louis L'Amour 3- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4- Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare 5- Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger 6- The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle 7- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle 8- The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi 9- The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi 10- Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson 11- Cackle by Rachel Harrison 12- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey 13- A History Lover's Guide to Richmond by Kristin Thrower
Media mentioned-- 1- Jason Reynolds on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 2- Mysteries at the Museum
Every guest we’ve had on our show thus far has been someone who interacts with books as Amy and I do--with our eyes and ears. But Valerie Saverie interacts with books in a unique way--she is a book sculptor who uses books as both her inspiration and her canvas.
Based in Colorado, Valerie is the owner and a founding member of Valkarie Gallery & Studio as well as an artist whose work is shown and sold in New York, Oregon, California, and Pennsylvania. In this episode, she talks to us about how books inspire her and what her process is for turning an already magical work into something that goes even further into creativity and the imagination.
To see all of Valerie’s art you can check her out on instagram @valeriesaverie or at her website www.valeriesaverie.com. On her site, she is offering Perks listeners a 20% discount on anything they purchase from her store for 30 days. Use the code PBBL22.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis 2- Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut 3- Dreams by Olive Schreiner 4- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 5- The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin (Gildart Jackson narrates) 6- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick 7- Gobbledy by Lis-Anna Langston
Movies mentioned-- Blade Runner (1982) Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
I love a good bookclub. Carrie and I have been in one together for 15 years. I am the designated book club organizer, and even though bookclubs have been one of the great passions of my adult life, keeping them organized can be an annoying process; finding a date that meets everyone’s needs, making sure everyone knows about the meetings and the books, choosing books. The administrative bookkeeping tasks are not things most people are anxious to do. But there is a relatively new website and free app called Bookclubz (that is Bookclub with a z) that can help streamline the process.
Our guest this week, Anna Ford is the CEO and founder of Bookclubz which started out as a simple computer program she used to help keep her own large bookclub organized. Over time, what was a rudimentary program has been featured in Forbes magazine and has blossomed into a business that helps tens of thousands of book clubs all over the world.
Go to their website at www.bookclubz.com
Books discussed in this episode: 1- The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols 2- Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy by Tom Nichols 3- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker 4- The Secret Lives of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr 5- The Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg 6- Just Kids by Patti Smith 7- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion 8- The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power 9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 10- The Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward 11- Books by Elena Ferrante
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Our guest this week, Jeremy Hance, writes about 3 topics in his most recent book that we are always drawn to; mental health, travel, and animals. Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-trotting Hypochondriac is a memoir that uses humor to help readers understand what life is like for someone who has a mental health issue like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In Jeremy’s case, his anxiety is always worse when he travels. While traveling to all corners of the globe is one of the best parts of his life as an environmental writer and is necessary for the work he does, travel is also fraught with rumination and fear.
Jeremy is an environmental journalist who is currently a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac by Jeremy Hance 2- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 3- The Princess Bride by William Goldman 4- My Antonia by Willa Cather 5- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani 6- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein 7- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein 8- A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermer 9- Sorry, I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan
Websites mentioned news.Mongabay.com
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
In this week’s episode, we talk to our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller from Carmichael’s Books, about the holiday gift giving season. You’ve probably heard the warning to “shop early’ this holiday season because of shortages. So we are giving you the gift of new book ideas for all the booklovers in your life.
We love inviting Sam on the show twice a year to tell us all about books to look forward to for summer reading and holiday gift buying. She gives us suggestions in all the categories.
1- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 2- The Sentence by Louise Erdrich 3- The Every by Dave Eggers 4- The Circle by Dave Eggers 5- Palmares by Gail Jones 6- Tell the Bees That I'm Gone (Outlander 9) by Diana Gabaldon 7- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 8- Dune by Frank Herbert 9- Foundation by Isaac Asimov 10- Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 11- All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 12- Mordew by Alex Pheby 13- A Fortnight in September by JC Sherriff 14- Jim the Boy by Tony Earley 15- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 16- First Christmas: A Story of New Beginnings by Stephen Mitchell 17- Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer 18- It's Beginning to Look a Lot like F*ck This by Andrew Shaffer 19- Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris 20- It's Beginning to Look Like Zombies: The Book of Zombie Christmas Carols by Michael Spradlin 21- Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian 22- Silverview by John Le Carre 23- The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries by Otto Penzler 24- Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Jay Cooper and Maureen Johnson 25- Smile by Sarah Ruhl 26- The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg 27- The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg 28- Renegades: Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama 29- The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones 30- The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson 31- Best Wishes, Warmest Regards by Dan Levy and Eugene Levy 32- Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci 33- Cooking at Home by David Chang and Priya Krishna 34- Black Food by Bryant Terry 35- Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen 36- All the Marvels by Douglas Wolk 37- The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo 38- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine 39- The Strange Case of Isaac Crawley by James Markert 40- Doctors and Friends by Kimmery Martin 41- Theft by Finding Diaries by David Sedaris 42- The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins 43- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 45- Circe by Madeline Miller 46- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 47- Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee 48- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 49- Eligible: A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld 50- Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson 51- Shirley: A Novel by Susan Scarf Merrell 52- The Letters of Shirley Jackson edited by Laurence Jackson Hyman 53- The Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith 54- Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith
Shows mentioned 1- Foundation series (2021) 2- Shirley (2020)
Podcasts mentioned 1- Renegades
This week we had a great time talking about book people problems with our guest Bailey, host of the To Read List Podcast. She doesn’t work alone on the podcast: her co-hosts include her brother Andrew, her friend Toby, and her husband Dillon who is the sound recordist. Through this podcast, they attempt to get through all the books on their shelves. Every other week they each read a book from their collections that is randomly selected. And at the end of the episode they have to decide if their books stay on their shelves or whether a new home needs to be found; like a free little library.
So this episode is filled with discussion of problems that are particular to book lovers like how many books is too many, can you have too many e-books downloaded on your Kindle, should we keep all the books we read, is 'dnfing' ok? You get the picture. We talk all about of book neuroses on this episode. It’s like a book group therapy session.
You can find the To Read List Podcast: thetoreadlistpodcast.libsyn.com and on Instagram @thetoreadlistpodcast
Books mentioned-- 1- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare 2- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 3- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy 4- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susannah Clarke 5- Moby Dick by Herman Melville 6- White Teeth by Zadie Smith 7- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon 8- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 9- Sadie by Courtney Summers 10- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 11- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe 12- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 13- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 14- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo 15- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 16- Dracula by Bram Stoker
17- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 18- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki 19- Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket 20- The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket 21- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
21- The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah One Jewett
Movies mentioned- Inception (2010)
Social Media mentioned-- The To Read List podcast Karen Puzzles (Youtube)
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Our guests this week are members of the same family. Jeremy and Hermione Tankard are a father-daughter duo behind the graphic novel series Yorick and Bones. Yorick, as any Shakespeare lover knows, is the skull that Hamlet speaks to in the play of the same name. In this graphic novel, Yorick is unearthed by a friendly dog, and they begin a series of adventures. In the second book, Yorick and Bones meet up with some familiar faces from Shakespeare’s plays.
Jeremy and Hermione have a fun story behind their books. Hermione was in high school when her dad recruited her to join him on this journey to tell the story of Yorick and his little dog because Hermione has long been a Shakespeare fan and has an uncanny ability to translate anything into iambic pentameter. They combined forces to create a fun series that helps gently introduce kids and adults to Shakespeare characters.
You can find out more about Jeremy Tankard’s books including the ones who created with Hermione at his website, jeremytankard.com and on instagram, @Jeremytankboy.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Rainbow Magic series 2- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein 3- Yorick and Bones series 4- Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson 5- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 6- 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac 7- All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle 8- The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey 9- Dead Dead Demons DeDeDe Destruction by Inio Asano 10- Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Movies mentioned 1- Melancholia (2011)
Game mentioned: 1- Telestrations
Follow us on Facebook - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksof beingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We are halfway through spooky October and maybe you are looking for a good scary book to read. Our guest today, Johann Trotter, can give you some tips. Johann lives in Northern Ireland and works as a scientific researcher. But her hobby gone wild is horror in all its forms. She is a self-professed horror junkie. She is a bit obsessed with Stephen King, but on her instagram page @jobis89, you can find a wide variety of non-Stephen King horror book suggestions and reviews to make any spooky reader happy.
She is currently doing a 2 year project to read a horror book set in each of the 50 US States. We do a deep dive into the horror genre this week.
You can find Johann Trotter on instagram, @Jobis89.
Books mentioned-- 1- Turn of the Screw by Henry James 2- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 3- His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler 4- "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe 5- "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe 6- Roald Dahl books 7- Goosebumps series 8- Babysitters Club series 9- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein 10- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein 11- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 12- Whisper Man by Alex North 13- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 14- Dracula by Bram Stoker 15- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 16- Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell 17- The Elementals by Michael McDowell 18- The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Story by Kate Summerscale 19- Ghost Story by Peter Straub 20- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
Johann's Top Horror Writers 1- Stephen King 2- H. P. Lovecraft 3- Clive Barker 4- Ania Ahlborn 5- David Sodergren 6- Kealan Patrick Burke
Websites/ phone app mentioned-- The Storygraph
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Ghost Stories from the London Dungeon 2- Poe Theater on the Air
TV/Movies mentioned-- 1- Only Murders in the Building 2- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3- Scream 4- Trick or Treat 5- Halloween 6- Sleepy Hollow 7- Hocus Pocus
Music mentioned-- 1- The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart, composed by Alan Lee Silva
Find us
www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod
This week’s episode is for true crime enthusiasts. Every city has had murders that make the news, and Louisville is no different. Our guest this week, David Domine', adopted Louisville as his hometown and has a following here as an author, tour guide, and storyteller in the city. He has written a new book called A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City about a sensational murder that was discovered after a domestic disturbance in Old Louisville in 2010. The story includes drugs, drag queens, and maybe even the CIA.
His book is true crime, but it also veers into memoir and history. And it introduces readers to quirky characters whose eccentricities are why we have a saying here to “Keep Louisville Weird.”
His book is getting some attention. Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and Amazon named it as one of the top true crime reads of the season.
You can find David Domine’ on instagram, @bluegrasspeasant, on FB David Domine’, The Bluegrass Peasant and at his website www.daviddomine.com. You can find information about David’s historical tours of Old Louisville at louisvillehistorictours.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine 2- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin 3- When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson Browne 4- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 5- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 6- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 7- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 8- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold 9- You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe
Shows mentioned in this episode:
1- Unsolved Mysteries (2020) Netlfix
2- Only Murders in the Building - Hulu
You can find us at: www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Insta - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover
We have a fondness for Appalachia and have had several guests on the Perks who hail from that area, including Alix Harrow, Ashley Blooms, and Annette Sanuooke Clapsaddle. But Appalachia is much larger than just the small slice that Amy and I often think of. Appalachia is really a huge area that encompasses a vast and diverse array of people.
Today we talk to Kendra Winchester, the co-founder and executive director of the 'Reading Women' podcast and a Book Riot contributing editor. But she is also the person behind the Read Appalachia Instagram account. She tells us what makes Appalachian literature special and why it’s so important to her.
You can find Kendra Winchester on various instagram pages including at @readappalachia, @thebookcorgiand @thereadingwomen.
Books Mentioned in this episode: 1- Moby Dick by Herman Melville 2- Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan 3- Sabriel by Garth Nix 4- Books by Tamora Pierce 5- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 6- Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 7- Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson 8- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 9- The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson 10- Affrilachia by Frank X. Walker 11- Southernmost by Silas House 12- Black Bone: 25 Years of Affrilachian Poets edited by Bianca Lynne Spriggs and Jeremy Paden 13- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson 14- Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance 15- What You're Getting Wrong about Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte 16- Step Into the Circle: Writers in Modern Appalachia edited by Amy Greene and Trent Thomson 17- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle 18- Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi 19- Carework: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha 20- Disability/Visability: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong 21- The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein 22- The Believer: Encounters with Love, Death & Faith by Sarah Krasnostein
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Reading Women
Instagram mentioned-- 1- @readappalachia 2- @thebookcorgi
TV Shows Mentioned: 1- Explained (Netlfix)
You can find us at: www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Insta - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Society doesn’t really know what to do with older women. People give a lot of lip-service to the value of older women’s wisdom and experience but older women are often forgotten. As if they don’t have anything worth contributing once they hit a certain age.
Our guest this week, Grace Sammon, has written a novel that tackles this modern dilemma for older women. Titled The Eves, it features a main character named Jessica who struggles with her own aging but is helped along in her journey by a group of even older women whose experiences and insights get Jessica to screw her head on straight again.
You can find Grace Sammon on Instagram at @gracesammonwrites and on Facebook on the group "Bookish Road Trip". You can find links to her radio show at her website www.gracesammon.net.
Books we discuss in this episode:
1- The Eves by Grace Sammon 2- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell 3- Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz 4- Dolly Madison and the War of 1812 by Libby Carty McNamee 5- Susannah’s Midnight Ride: The Girl Who Won the Revolutionary War by Libby Carty McNamee 6- The Spiral Shell: A French Village Reveals Its Secrets of Jewish Resistance in World War II by Sandell Morse 7- Little Tea by Claire Fullerton 8- Mourning Dove by Clair Fullerton 9- Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Podcasts mentioned— 1- The Storytellers with Grace Sammon
Movies mentioned— 1- Nomadland (2020)
Social Media Group 1- The Bookish Road Trip
You can find us here: Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. FB - The Perks of Being a Book Lover Insta: @perksofbeingabookloverpod
We have a replay this week. We want our listeners to have a second chance to listen to our talk with author Farrah Alexander about her book, 'Raising The Resistance' about how to work social justice into our everyday lives. With some court cases on the horizon and strikes against women's rights in Texas, this seemed like a good episode to revisit. Farrah is working on her second book and has started law school at Indiana University. Next week there will be an all new episode
Sometimes it only takes a spark to start a fire. For writer and activist Farrah Alexander, the small flicker of an idea that eventually became her first book was her January 2017 participation in the historic Women's March in Washington DC. She encountered so many women who were emboldened to make change but weren’t sure how to channel their energies.
Farrah wrote her book titled "Raising the Resistance: A Mother’s Guide to Practical Activism" which gives suggestions on how to be a leader in your life and a model for change for your children. But the book is also witty and whimsical which makes it accessible to a wide audience.
Farrah has been a journalist and freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and BuzzFeed. Her work focuses on feminism, social justice, parenting, and politics. She is also a Jeremiah Fellow with Bend the Ark, a Jewish partnership for justice which aims to combat white supremacy and mobilize communities for social change.
In this episode, Farrah talks to us about how even as a child she was drawn to books with strong female characters like Amelia Bedelia, how she wants to make the ideas of feminism less academic and more accessible, why she feels essay writing can be a powerful tool for women to share their stories, and which item of her political memorabilia collection is her most cherished.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Raising the Resistance: A Mother's Guide to Practical Activism by Farrah Alexander 2- Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish 3- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh 4- The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols 5- A Promised Land by Barack Obama 6- Becoming by Michelle Obama 7- Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen
Most weeks we talk about books and being a booklover in terms of exciting new releases or the ways in which writers create their imagined worlds and the characters who inhabit them. But today we are talking about how books can literally change lives because books are a business and can generate income.
In this week’s episode, we speak to Elizabeth Senn-Alvey, executive director of Emerging Workforce Initiative, a nonprofit in Louisville that targets ways to help marginalized youth who have systemic or personal issues that could impede their journey into the workforce and develop marketable skills. One of the programs they offer is The Book Works.
The Book Works is a social enterprise, which is a program that helps address local teens and young adults unmet needs such as poverty, homelessness, and limited education through a market-driven approach; or in other words teaching through learning a business.
The folks at Emerging Workforce Initiative were inspired by More Than Words in Boston; a youth program that for 20 years has empowered young people to take charge of a business and their lives through books.
So we take a look at how our secondhand books in the Louisville community have helped young people in our city.
The Book Works Sale takes place September 18-19. Go to their website for more details.
You can find The Book Works on instagram at @thebookworkslou or on Facebook at The Book Works Louisville. Their website is www.thebookworks.org.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer 2- Towers Falling by Jewel Parker Rhodes 3- The Awakening by Kate Chopin 4- The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--And How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson 5- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson 6- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah 7- Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Our guest this week is St. Clair Detrick-Jules, a Brown University graduate who is a filmmaker and a new author. Her book 'My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood' debuts on September 28 and features essays by and photographs of Black women who have come to some deeper understandings about what their hair and how they wear it means to them.
We talk to St. Clair about chemical treatments for Black hair and how they differ from the treatments white women know, how hair can play a role in mother/daughter relationships, and the important reason she wanted to create this book in the first place.When we recorded this episode, Black hair had recently made the news because of the International Swimming Federation’s ban on Soul Caps at the Tokyo Olympics which are made for Black swimmers with natural hair.
You can find St. Clair on social media at @stclairdetrickjules or at her website www.mybeautifulblackhair.com.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood by St. Clair Detrick-Jules 2- The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination With the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson 3- Litany for the Long Moment by Mary-Kim Arnold 4- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson 5- Blackberries, Blackberries by Crystal Wilkinson
Shows/Films mentioned-- 1- Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) 2- Good Hair ((2009 documentary)
Lots of people travel around Labor Day and start thinking about fall break adventures so this week’s episode is jam-packed with travel writing. We chat with two guests this week.
Our first guest is not a writer, but a graphic designer who began making cool illustrated posters of national parks on an Instagram account called Subpar Parks. Amber Share couples her illustrations with terrible one-star Yelp reviews those parks receive from visitors who weren’t terribly impressed with majestic things like The Grand Canyon and Old Faithful. Those illustrations have gone viral and she recently collected them all in book format and included facts about each national park from park rangers. Her book, SubPar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors is a New York Times Bestseller.
Our second guest is writer Suzanne Roberts, who National Geographic named a “Next Great Travel Writer.” Her most recent book, Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel, has received many awards including the Independent Publisher Book Award and National Indie Excellence Awards. She weaves a story of maturing as a woman and becoming a veteran traveler. Her book will make you laugh but it also gets serious, and those serious essays make her humor seem all the more poignant.
You can find Amber Share on social media at @subparparks or at her website www.ambersharedesign.com. And Suzanne Roberts can be found on instqgram @suzanneroberts28 or on her website at www.suzanneroberts.net
Books Mentioned in This Episode: 1- SubPar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share 2- Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love & Travel by Suzanne Roberts 3- My Antonia by Willa Cather 4- Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather 5- Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather 6- The Innocents by Michael Crummey 7- The Shipping News by Annie Proulx 8- Dispatches from Pluto: Lost & Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant 9- The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
This week’s episode is a nod to back-to-school season when teachers can get books into the hands of kids after a summer of free days, endless video games, and probably too many popsicles. We are joined by Melissa Hart from Eugene Oregon. She is the author of 2 memoirs, a middle grade book, and most recently a great resource for teachers, librarians, and parents called Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens.
When Melissa’s tween daughter was in elementary school, she dealt with anxiety and depression, and Melissa found a way to help her through reading targeted books together, a practice called bibliotherapy which some studies suggest is effective in the treatment of some forms of depression. But the list of books in Better With Books can also help a young person develop empathy and be more accepting of others who have different experiences from their own such as individuals with physical disabilities, mental health struggles, body image issues, and students from different religious backgrounds.
You can find find Melissa on instagram @wildmelissahart or at her website at www.melissahart.com.
Books mentioned--
1- Better with Books: 500 Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens by Melissa Hart 2- Pinballs by Betsy Ayers 3- What Goes Up Must Come Down by Johanna Hurwitz 4- Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes 5- Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo 6- The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson 7- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 8- Far From the Tree by Robin Benway 9- Ten Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac 10- If I Ever Get Out of Here (audiobook) by Eric Gansworth 11- Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo 12- Avenging the Owl by Melissa Hart 13- Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family by Melissa Hart 14- Dune by Frank Herbert 15- Dune Messiah (Book 2) by Frank Herbert 16- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 17- The Overstory by Richard Powers 18- There, There by Tommy Orange 19- Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen 20- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 21- Pax by Sara Pennypacker 22- The One and Only Bob / The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 23- Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 24- Watership Down by Richard Adams
Movies mentioned-- 1- Dune (October 2021), directed by Denis Villeneuve
In this week’s episode, we chat with Sanjay Saverimuttu. He is a ballet dancer with the Louisville Ballet and a choreographer who grew up in South Florida. Sanjay attended college at Stanford and studied Biology but decided dance was really his passion. His other passion is reading and he is the leader of the Louisvile LGBTQ book group sponsored by the Louisville Pride Foundation.
Sanjay talks about how important it was for the Pride book club to provide a safe space for its members that had nothing to do with meeting people at bars or on apps. Sanjay says this small group of readers feels like family.
You can find find Sanjay on instagram @thesanj or his website at www.sanjaysaverimuttu.com. You can learn more about the Louisville Pride Foundation and the bookclub at www.louisvillepride.com, on insta @louprideky.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling 2- No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell Moore 3- We Are Ok by Nina LaCour 4- I Wish You All the Best by Nathan Deaver 5- Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin 6- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel 7- Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai 8- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara 9- The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings by Sy Montgomery 10- Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery 11- Birdology by Sy Montgomery 12- Wave by Sunali Deraniyagala 13- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera 14- What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli 15- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin 16- Aristotle and Dante's Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
This week we talk with Heather Lennon, the Sales and Marketing Director at Arctis Books, a new publisher of books in translation for middle grade and young adult audiences. I first encountered Arctis books when I saw an instagram post about a middle grade book called Memento Monstrum originally published in German that will be in US bookstores in October. I liked the book so much I messaged Heather and invited her to be on the show to talk about Arctis specifically and books in translation in general,
Heather has been in publishing for 20 years, with Random House, North/South Books, and is now helping Arctis Books take off. The company’s first book, The End by Swedish author Mats Strandberg, came out in October 2020. It is described by Publisher’s Weekly as Nordic noir meets YA in a part whodunit, part romance, part end of the world narrative. The book received a Kirkus starred review and was listed as one of their Best Young Adult Books of 2020. This recognition really gave Arctis the push it needed.
Now Arctis has the Odin’s Child trilogy by Norwegian author Siri Petterson which has been an international bestseller. Arctis is offering a really interesting, high quality slate of books from Europe with the possibility of presenting literature from other parts of the world in the future.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Circe by Madeleine Miller 2- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes 3- Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister 4- Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi 5- Odin's Child by Siri Pettersen 6- The Rot by Siri Pettersen 7- Memento Monstrum by Jochen Til 8- All the Colors of Life by Lisa Aisato 9- The End by Mats Strandberg 10- Erik the Red by Tilman Roehrig 11- Robin Hood by Tilman Roehrig 12- Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart 13- Wicked Bugs by Amy Stewart 14- Girl with Gun by Amy Stewart 15- The Witches Heart by Genevieve Gornichec 16- Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
17- A Room With a View by E. M. Forester
Movies:
1- A Room With a View ( 1985)
TV show
1- Sherlock - BBC
This week we talk with Brooke Lauren Davis, a debut author whose YA book The Hollow Inside offers some unique characters. There’s Phoenix, the protagonist whose mother, Nina, has led them away from Phoenix’s father and towards a man from Nina’s past named Ellis, a successful and charismatic man who Nina believes ruined her life. It’s a story about truth, trust, family, revenge, and what lengths people will go to to salvage their reputation.
Brooke started writing this book as a 16 year old growing up in Chillicothe OH, worked on it for 10 years, and then got it published by Bloomsbury Young Adult, an imprint that originally published the Harry Potter books (which is also the first book she remembers loving). Brooke now lives in Louisville KY where she is a bookseller at our local indie bookstore, Carmichael’s, when she isn’t diligently writing.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis 2- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by R.K. Rowling 3- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 4- SongTeller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton (audiobook) 5- The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton (audiobook) 6- The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson 7- Dune by Frank Herbert
TV shows mentioned: 1- Dune - 2000 miniseries 2- The Detectorists - BBC - Amazon Prime 3- One Tree Hill - Hulu
Movie 1- Dune (Fall 2021)
Today our episode feels a little bit like show and tell or career day at school. We are finding out all about what a literary agent does. Our guest this week is Alice Speilburg, the founder of and one of the literary agents at Speilburg Literary Agency in Louisville, Kentucky.
She learned her trade working with both publishers and a literary agency in New York City and then Hurricane Sandy happened. Her home in New Jersey was destroyed and she decided it was time to come home to Kentucky. She founded her agency in 2013, and she represents authors like Angela Jackson-Browne and James Markert.
Alice gives us a 101 crash course in how it all works and what a writer should know before sending their work to an agent. And she gives us a sneak peak into what book trends we may see in the next few years.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie 2- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 3- Little House on the Prairie books 4- American Girl books 5- Alanna the Knight series by Tamora Pierce 6- His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman 7- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett 8- Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt 9- The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan 10- The Vine that Ate the South by J.D. Wilkes
Today on the show we feature The Blue Marble bookstore which is in Ft. Thomas KY, just a skip across the river from Cincinnati, OH. It is a bookstore that serves children from birth to young adult. I first heard about The Blue Marble in an article about their Great Green Room.
If you have had children or grandchildren in the last 70 years, you have most likely read the bedtime classic, "Goodnight Moon" written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. At The Blue Marble, there is a recreated Great Green Room that includes everything from the comb and the brush and the bowl of mush to the quiet old lady who was whispering hush.
We delved a little deeper and learned that The Blue Marble was one of the first children’s bookstores in the country and that its founder, Tina Moore, was a pioneer in the field. Tina passed away in 2016, but our guest, Caroline Stine, has taken on the role of general manager and continues Tina’s mission for the store.
She’s giving the store a bit of a facelift, broadening their foreign language section, and has created an inviting area just for teens. She explains why The Blue Marble has been such a special place for young booklovers for over 30 years.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd 2- A Light In the Attic by Shel Silverstein 3- The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson 4- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien 5- Matilda by Roald Dahl 6- The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood 7- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke 8- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway 9- House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland 10- Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo 11- The Secret History by Donna Tartt 12- Memento Monstrum by Jochen Til
Today we chat with author Melonie Johnson. She is the author of the “Sometimes in Love” romance series but her newest release which hit bookstores last week is a little bit of a departure; it is a romantic comedy called Too Good To Be Real. Melonie said she strived to write something light and fluffy that would take her and other people’s minds off the hard year that was 2020 and the pandemic. She wanted to make readers laugh. And as you will see as you listen, we laugh a lot in this interview.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Melonie was a high school English teacher, a stay at home mom, and the founder of a children's theater company. But then she tried her hand at writing during NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month with a mom’s group in her area and enjoyed the process. Now she takes her love of romance novels that she has had since age 10 and funnels it into her novels and her romance facebook group, The Reading Lushes.
Books mentioned--
1- Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson 2- Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz 3- Sunfire romance series 4- Austenland by Shannon Hale 5- Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (audiobook) 6- Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur 7- Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale 8- As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From The Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes (audiobook) 9- Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audiobook) 10- Sense and Sensbility: The Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson
Movies mentioned--
1- Austenland 2- Sleepless in Seattle 3- 10 Things I Hate About You 4- Set It Up 5- The Princess Bride 6- Star Wars
Podcasts mentioned--
Whoa!-mance
We are excited to open up Season 5 with suspense writer David Bell. He is the USA Today bestselling author of 11 books and his most recent offering hit the bookshelves yesterday.
His newest Kill All Your Darlings is the interconnection of all kinds of hot topics; showing the dark side of academia and what happens when plagiarism makes you the prime suspect of a murder. Plus add some professor ickiness that would make the #Metoo movement cringe and you have a page turner that book websites like SheReads and Frolic call a most anticipated summer reads for 2021.
David is a professor of English at Western Kentucky University and heads up their MFA creative writing program.
Books mentioned in this episode: 1- Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell 2- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein 3- King Arthur & His Knights by Mabel Louise Robinson 4- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 5- Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell 6- OCDaniel by Wesley King, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo 7- Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo 8- Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar 9- Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin 10- Cemetery Girl by David Bell
Movies mentioned-- Together, Together directed by Nikole Beckwith Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan
TV shows mentioned I'll Be Gone in the Dark - Limited series on HBO
What books do you think about when you hear the term Banned Books; do you envision classics like Huck Finn or The Catcher in the Rye? Or books that you wanted to sneak to read when you were a kid because it had swearing, magic, or sexual content? In fact a book series that has been arguably one of the most beloved in modern history, the Harry Potter series, is still high on the list of Banned Books so many years after it was first published.
Our episode today was recorded during Banned Books Week, a weeklong annual event sponsored by the American Library Association to celebrate the freedom to read and bring awareness to both current and past attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.
We believe this topic is one that you can think about any time of the year, not just for one designated week so we wanted to explore the topic with our guest, Natalie McCall, a librarian and head of youth services at the Mill Valley Public Library in the Bay area of California. She is also the host of a podcast called Eight Books That Made Me where she has conversations with Young Adult authors about 5 books that influenced them growing up and 3 books they encourage readers to check out now.
Natalie discusses what it meant to be a hi-lo reader when she was a child, why she thinks one of the most common types of censorship for libraries is based on what books they don’t choose to purchase, and about the role of libraries and the freedom to read as one of the foundations of democracy.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 2- The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett 3- Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin 4- Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal 5- Fear Street series by R. L. Stine 6- Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine 7- The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac 8- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 9- The Winter Pony by Iain Lawrence 10- A Love Story of Two Boys by Brian Roberson 11- Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 12- Forever by Judy Blume 13- The Things They Carried by Tim O' Brien 14- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 15- Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 16- Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones 17- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 18- The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery 19- Quiet by Susan Cain 20- Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett 21- Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett 22- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 23- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reid 24- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 25- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson 26- Caminar by Skila Brown 27- Under the Mesquite by Guadelupe Garcia McCall 28- Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai 29- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Podcast mentioned: 8 Books That Made Me
TV shows mentioned: It's Ok to Not Be Ok (Korean Drama on Netflix) Dark (German Drama on Netflix)
When it comes to Native American heritage, most Americans have woefully inadequate knowledge. They may have heard of Squanto or Sacajawea, but that is the extent of their understanding. A 2018 research project conducted by The First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting found that most Americans think there aren’t many Native Americans left in the country, which just isn’t true. There are close to 600 federally recognized tribes in the United States.
November is National Native American Heritage Month so we want to introduce you to some Native authors to add to your TBR all year long including our guest today, who is a new voice in fiction.
Our guest this week is Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, a member of the Eastern Tribe of Cherokee Indians, who is deeply rooted in the Cherokee community in North Carolina. She has been a high school English and Cherokee Studies teacher for the past 10 years. But she is also a novelist whose debut historical fiction novel, Even As We Breathe, was published this past September by a new literary imprint called Fireside Industries, a collaboration between The Appalachian Writers Workshop and the University Press of Kentucky.
Annette talks to us about the James Baldwin quote that inspired her to write about a clean bone which has significance in her writing practice as well as her novel, what things she learned from her editor, well-known Kentucky author Silas House, and how she wants to use her influence of being a Cherokee novelist to educate the wider public that Native Americans are something very different from what they see in old Westerns and popular culture.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle 2- Beverly Cleary books 3- Babysitters Club series 4- The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels 5- F*ckface: And Other Stories by Leah Hampton 6- Going to Water by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle 7- Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (and other books) 8- Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate 9- Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford 10- When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry by Joy Harjo 11- Horsepower by Joy Priest 12- City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson 13- Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie 14- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 15- Calypso by David Sedaris 16- A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
This episode marks the end of Season 4, and new episodes will begin airing on July 7th.
We’re closing Season 4 with Ben Self, who is a teacher and contributor to Mockingbird, an organization that describes itself as being “devoted to connecting the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life.” It’s a progressive group and Ben runs their new online book club which focuses more on spiritual themes than religious doctrine. It straddles the secular and spirit in fun and culturally relevant ways.
He tells us all about his reading life, why he decided to spend part of the sabbatical from his job to enjoy reading again, and why he wanted to be involved with the Mockingbird project. They are reading some really interesting stuff from authors like Marilynne Robinson, Wendell Berry and Flannery O’Connor.
Books mentioned-- 1- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 2- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood 3- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4- Moby Dick by Herman Melville 5- Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick 6- Kindred by Octavia Butler 7- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 8- Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis 9- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor 10- The Moviegoer by Walker Percy 11- Jack by Marilynne Robinson 12- Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry 13- The Death of Ivan Ilyyich and Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy 14- The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye 15- The Thief of Always by Clive Barker 16- Abarat by Clive Barker 17- American Gods by Neil Gaiman 18- World of Wonders by Amie Nezhukumatathil
Documentaries/TV Shows mentioned-- 1- Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word is Power (Hulu) 2- Counterpart (Amazon Prime) featuring JK Simmons
Websites/Online magazines-- Mockingbird mbird.com
It goes without saying that you can be a book lover whether you read 1 book a year or 200. But those book lovers who consume books like the potato chips no one can resist, reading over 100 books a year, are a little unique. We couldn't be happier to welcome Jacqui Daves Isser to the show. Jacqui is a middle school librarian who lives outside Austin TX but she is also a "super reader". She read 168 books last year and is on track to read more in 2021. If middle grade literature needed a spokesperson to tell adults why they should add it to their reading rotation, Jacqui is their girl.
Book Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Hiking Kentucky's Red River Gorge: Your Definitive Guide to the Jewel of the Southeast by Sean Patrick Hill 2- Nancy Drew series 3- Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder 4- The Babysitters Club series 5- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 6- Dune by Frank Herbert 7- Harry Potter series 8- Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull 9- Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper 10- The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis 11- Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 12- When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller 13- Raina Telgemeier books 14- My Hero Academia series by Kohei Horikoshi 15- Maximum Ride by James Patterson 16- Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan 17- Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly 18- Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice (adapted for young adults) by Bryan Stevenson 19- Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone 20- The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Clune
This week we are focusing on butterflies and biking in book form. Sara Dykman is an adventurer and wildlife biologist whose focus is primarily amphibians. Several years ago, however, she felt a calling to bring awareness to the plight of the Monarch butterfly. So she took her adventurer spirit and migrated on her bike along with the Monarch from Mexico to Canada and back again. Her 10,000 mile journey is the focus of her travel memoir/ environment/ adventure/nature book titled Bicycling with Butterflies.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Bicyling with Butterflies: My 10,201 Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman 2- The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner 3- The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich 4- Mark Rashid series about horses 5- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 6- Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl
We are all about summer reading this week and Carmichael's Books bookseller extrordinaire Sam Miller gives us all kinds of ideas to make this a great reading season.
Books mentioned-- 1- Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner 2- The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Delila Harris 3- All's Well by Mona Awad 4- Out of the Diaspora --Tragic Magic by Wesley Brown 5- Out of the Diaspora--Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall 6- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 7- The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 8- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 9- Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple 10- The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan 11- China by Edward Rutherford 12- The Martian by Andy Weir 13- Artemis by Andy Weir 14- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 15- Lilith's Brook series by Octavia Butler 16- Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 17- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston 18- While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams 19- Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
20- The Turnout by Megan Abbott 21- A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 22- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 23- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides 24- Beach Read by Emily Henry 25- The People We Met on Vacation by Emily Henry 26- That Summer by Jennifer Weiner 27- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 28- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 29- Sooley by John Grisham 30- Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell 31- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown 32- Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown 33- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben 34- The Heartbeat of Trees by Peter Wohlleben 35- Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and Fight for America's First Frontier by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin 36- Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel 37- My Begging Chart by Keiler Roberts 38- Monsters! by Barry Windsor-Smith 39- Cook This Book by Molly Baz 40- Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson 41- Chef's Garden by Farmer Lee Jones 42- Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews 43- The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter 44- The Bench by Megan, the Duchess of Sussex 45- Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson 46- Just a Few Miles South by Ouita Michael 47- Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley Ford 48- Electric Kingdom by David Arnold 49- Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam 50- State of Wonder by Ann Patchett 51- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry 52- Yolk by Mary HK Choi 53- The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead 54- The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Shows mentioned-- Dare Me (cheerleader noir)- USA network and Netflix
Every season one of our favorite episodes is when we get to chat with a book lover who grew up in a country other than the United States. We’ve had guests from Somalia, Ireland and Germany.
Today we have Maram Taibah; a fantasy author and screenwriter. We were anxious to talk to her about two things really. She is a bookover who grew up in Saudi Arabia. She now resides in Ontario Canada. She has published two books, the most recent being Weathernose, a steampunk fantasy about the complicated relationship between a middle-aged weatherman and a brilliant 10 year old girl on a fantastical tropical island, that will appeal to both young readers and adults alike. We talk to her about her reading life growing up in the Middle East and about her writing life now.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Sweet Valley Kids by Francine Pascal 2- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 3- Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne 4- One Thousand and One Nights 5- Weathernose by Maram Taibah 6- The Road to Elephants by Maram Taibah 7- Narnia series by C. S. Lewis 8- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling 9- The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen 10- Calling in The One by Katherine Woodward Thomas 11- A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Movies mentioned-- The Sound of Music The Mummy Bambi Star Wars movies
Our guest this week is Joziah Jason, a 5th grader from Ypsilanti Michigan who has his own bookish podcast, R.E.A.D. Books with Joziah. Each episode he picks a book and dicusses it with guests.
He was inspired by the Read with the Barber program in his town. For this program, kids read a book to the barber during their haircut for a haircut and earn $2 as well as confidence in their reading skills. He has gotten quite a bit of attention for his efforts as he has been featured by his state's NPR station, CNN, and ABC World News Tonight.
We chat with Joziah and his dad Keith about how the barber program incluenced him and why he started his podcast.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland 2- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan 3- Kane series by Rick Riordan 4- Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling 5- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman 6- Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman 7- Trapped in a Video Game by Dustin Brady 8- Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander 9- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 10- The Rebound by Kwame Alexander 11- Booked by Kwame Alexander
Podcasts mentioned-- 1- Wow in the World 2- Six Minutes 3- Smash, Boom, Best
May is Mental Health Awareness month so this week we decided to interview 2 authors whose new memoirs deal with their mental health issues and the addictions that resulted from those issues.
There is hardly a family who hasn’t been touched in some way by mental illness. For so many years, mental illness in all its forms--anxiety, depression, suicide or bipolar disorder--were kept under wraps which made the sufferers and their loved ones feel even more isolated.
But recently, memoirs about messy lives, dysfunctional families, and the realities of finding help have become increasingly popular and can be a powerful tool for the author to help themselves in addition to their readers. Our guests Jaydee Graham and Vitale Buford chat with us about the power of the messy memoir.
In part 1 of this week’s show, Jaydee talks to us about her book The Soul Grind: Fighting for Light Amongst the Trenches, an account of her struggles with alcohol and drugs in her teenage years.
In part 2 Vitale Buford talks to us about her 2020 memoir, Addicted to Perfect, in which she describes her 10-year addiction to the prescription drug Adderall, a drug often prescribed for people with ADHD. For those who abuse it, it can cause euphoria and the feeling of having superhuman amounts of energy. In Vitale’s case, she used Adderall because she felt it gave her the energy to be able to be “perfect.”
Book Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Soul Grind : Fighting for Light Amongst the Trenches by Jaydee Graham 2- Addicted to Perfect: A Journey Out of the Grips of Adderall by Vitale Buford
3- Make Your Mess a Memoir by Anna David
4- A New Pair of Glasses by Chuck C. 5- Co-Dependent No More by Melody Beattie 6- The Art of Forgiving by Lewis B. Smedes 7- The Gentle Path Through the Twelve Steps: The Classic Guide for All People in the Process of Recovery by Patrick Carnes 8- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert 9- Books by Glennan Doyle 10- The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden 11- Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen 12- Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan 13- Reasons Not to Die by Matt Haig 14- A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar 15- Wild by Cheryl Strayed 16 - Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
This week we are getting in the “spirit” of the first Saturday of May; a date that is sacrosanct for many Kentuckians because of the running of the Kentucky Derby. A love of horses and bourbon whiskey are high on the list of things that Kentuckians are proud of and want to export to the rest of the world. Bourbon is big business in our region and has had a surge in popularity over the last decade; around 90 percent of all bourbon is produced here in the Bluegrass State. At no other time of the year is bourbon more popular in Louisville KY than during Derby season.
Our guest this week, Brian Haara, is an attorney who developed an interest in bourbon through his work in the industry. He started by writing a bourbon history and law blog and has been featured in bourbon documentaries. His book, Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America, is a deep dive into the history of bourbon law that goes back almost to the founding of our country and highlights how bourbon cases have affected all types of commercial law, including consumer protections and trademark law. He wanted to tell the stories of how our country and bourbon grew up together. He is also a bourbon connoisseur who gives tasting notes on various bourbons on his blog and throughout the book.
He chats with us about how he fell down the literary “Poe” hole as a teen, how Victoria’s Secret benefited from bourbon law, and he gives me and Carrie some suggestions of bourbons to buy for the bourbon drinkers in our life; whether they be newbies or long time fans.
Websites mentioned-- sippncorn.blogspot.com brianhaara.com
Books mentioned-- 1- Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America by Brian Haara 2- Poe anthology (Edgar Allan Poe) 3- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 4- The Hobbit by J. R.R. Tolkein 5- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger 6- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow 7- The 10,000 Doors of January by Alix Harrow 8- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 9- The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney 10- Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint by Jerry L. Walls (editor)
TV shows mentioned-- The Wire ( 2002-2008)
COVID has been hard for those among us who like to travel, but one of our favorite ways to assuage that desire is to read books set in different locations. Sweeping meadows. Mountains that touch the sky. Exotic locales. These places can whisk us from our humdrum homes.
A Strong Sense of Place is both a podcast and a website where readers can find interesting bookish conversations with our guest this week, Melissa Joulwan, and her husband David, two expatriates living in Prague located in the Czech Republic. In this week’s episode, she tells us about how they select the places they will visit each season, why place in a book has to meet very stringent specifications, and how roller derby helped her make some big life decisions.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Podcasts mentioned-- Strong Sense of Place (strongsenseofplace.com)
Books mentioned-- 1- Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume 2- Forever by Judy Blume 3- The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders 4- Archy McNally series by Lawrence Sanders 5- Lord of the Flies by William Golding 6- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 7- My Antonia by Willa Cather 8- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 9- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 10- The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova 11- She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb 12- The Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood 13- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 14- Less by Andrew Sean Greer 15- A Room With a View by E.M. Forster 16- The Curse of Jacob Tracy by Holly Messinger
Movies or TV adaptations mentioned in this episode:
1- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Amazon) 2- A Room With a View (1985 movie) 3- Jane Eyre (1945 movie with Orson Welles) 4- Jane Eyre (2011 movie with Michael Fassbender) 5- Jane Eyre ( 2006 BBC miniseries with Toby Stephens)
There is a pop psychology theory about left brain and right brain dominance from the 1980s. Supposedly those with strong right brains are the analyzers and those with dominant left brains are the artists. In this scenario, it is a rare person who is lucky enough to have both sides of their brain work harmoniously; their logical and scientific right brain plays nicely with the creative and imaginative left brain. Our guest this week, debut novelist Christina Consolino would be one of those people. Christina grew up creating stories but also loved to read biographies of famous female scientists like the first female physicians in the United States; the Blackwell sisters. She loves to read fiction but decided to make a career in science by pursuing a PHD in physiology and teaching it at the college level. Like a lot of writers, the characters she created in her head wanted to come out; when they got louder, she knew it was time to embrace the life of a full-time author.
Christina’s first book which came out in March is called Rewrite the Stars. It is the story of a military veteran’s PTSD and the havoc it has wrought on his marriage. The reader gets both his version of events, as well as those of his estranged wife, Sadie.
Christina talks to us about how her experience as an editor gave her confidence to write her novel, what disease her veteran character originally had instead of PTSD through 3 drafts until she decided it just didn’t serve her story well, and what name she calls her favorite teaching skeleton.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Rewrite the Stars by Christina Consolino 2- The Value Tales series 3- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 4- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 5- The Sisters Blackwell by Janice Nimura 6- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 7- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 8- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (audiobook) 9- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo 10- She Wouldn't Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha 11- Sophie's Choice by William Styron 12- How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior 13- A Polar Affair by Lloyd Spencer Davis 14- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 15- Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Online magazines mentioned-- 1- Literary Mama
Movies mentioned--
1- Write Before Christmas
Remember in high school or college when you were required to take a certain number of humanities classes? Maybe you groaned or rolled your eyes. But maybe it was the spark that lit an interest in subjects that helped you think critically and creatively. It was in a high school humanities class that Carrie was introduced to and fell in love with E. M. Forster’s novel A Room With a View. For me, an introduction to art history in college opened a whole new world and made me want to travel and see the cultures portrayed in the artwork I learned about. The exposure to subjects like literature, history, philosophy, culture, and religion help us understand the world we live in.
In our state, the organization that promotes the humanities is Kentucky Humanities; a non-profit that is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, DC. It offers lots of cool programs, many of which are focused on books and bringing discussions about them to the Kentucky public at large. This nonprofit serves as the state cheerleader of Kentucky writers’ literary endeavors and one way it does this is through the Kentucky Book Festival which takes place every November. However, there are Book Festival programs that happen all year long including book bundles subscriptions, The Kentucky Reads program, and the School Days initiative that brings children’s book authors into schools to dazzle young readers and put books they can keep into their hands. All of these programs highlight Kentucky authors and put a spotlight on the rich literary talent we have within our border.
This week we talk with Sara Woods, the Kentucky Book Festival director. She brought her experience working with the Western Kentucky University sponsored Southern Kentucky Book Festival to her new position and from there brainstormed some fresh ideas about how to bring books to people even when, especially during Covid, people can’t come to the books.
Sara tells us how her love for her American Girl Doll as a child sparked her excitement for reading, how she is using the talents of a tattoo artist to highlight one of the books in the book bundle subscription service, and where you can get ice cream and beer on a bike trail to vastly increase the fun factor.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- American Doll book sets (Felicity) 2- Illustrated classics (Moby Dick, Great Expectations) 3- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien 4- Essays by Michel de Montaigne 5- Clay's Quilt by Silas House 6- Just a Few Miles South by Ouita Michel 7- Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell 8- Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson 9- All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren 10- Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 11- Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson 12- Duncan the Story Dragon by Amanda Driscoll 13- Haggis and Tank Unleashed: Digging for Dinos by Jessica Young 14- Nat Turner's Rebellion by Shawn Pryor 15- The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 16- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand 17- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow 18- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow 19- Bunny by Mona Awad 20- The Secret History by Donna Tartt 21- The Vine that Ate the South by J. D. Wilkes 22- A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost 23- Bossy Pants by Tina Fey 24- Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz 25- Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Our guest this week, Tori Murden McClure, is a Renaissance woman. She has a law degree, a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard as well as a Master of Fine Arts from Spalding University, the institution where she currently serves as President. She was the first woman and first American to ski 750 miles to the geographic South Pole. She worked as an assistant to Muhammad Ali at the Ali Center, and has served as a chaplain in Boston area hospitals. But what she is most known for is her solo journey to successfully row a boat across the Atlantic Ocean in 1999. Ten years later, she published her memoir about that experience, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, a little over ten years after publication, her book and story have a new life. A musical about her experience has been created, and her boat is part of the Frazier Museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibit.
The book, which we discuss with Tori in this week’s episode, has a lot to do with 2020 in a roundabout way because it is about her battle with feelings of helplessness stemming from her childhood. And who in this world hasn’t been experiencing feelings of helplessness during this global pandemic? We can all relate to wanting to do something but not being able to.
Tori talks to us about why memoir is in its own way is just another type of fiction, what completely different pieces of advice she received from her writing mentors during her MFA program that shaped her book, how her desire to write a book about a hero’s journey as a woman can be tricky and hasn’t been done often, and why we didn’t see her memoir as an Oprah book club selection.
If you would like to see Murden’s sailless and motorless plywood boat The Pearl, it is on exhibit at the Frazier Museum in Louisville KY. This is a permanent exhibit but several items are on short-term loan.
The album Row is a concept album about Tori’s journey rowing across the Atlantic written by Dawn Landes. It can be found on Amazon music. These songs are part of the musical Row which will be available via Audible in the Spring of 2021. Tori Murden McClure’s memoir can be found at your favorite bookstore or library.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure 2- When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography by Jill Kerr Conway 3- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl 4- Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin 5- A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh 6- Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson 7- Shakespeare's plays 8- Iliad and Odyssey by Homer 9- Dante's Inferno 10- Small Spaces by Katherine Arden 11- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 12- Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age by Fionna Maddocks 13- Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession 14- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 15- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The famous American author Truman Capote once said, ”Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.”
Capote’s own life is the subject of the one man play, Tru, written by Jay Presson Allen which appeared on Broadway in 1989. The play is now being performed by local theater company Pandora Productions, a group that focuses on producing plays by and/or about LGBTQ people, as an on-demand show available for two weeks: March 26-28 and April 2-4. This production of Tru stars Louisvillian Jason Cooper, a veteran theater artist. He started his own theater company, The Chicken Coop Theater, 2 years ago which focuses on producing lesser known plays. But he is also a high school English teacher at a private school where he is engaging the next generation in the love of reading and has just completed writing a memoir as part of a Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing program. Jason has immersed himself in the life of an artist whether it be acting, directing, literary appreciation, or writing.
In Tru, Cooper helps audiences see the celebrity of Truman Capote in addition to the person he was behind the mask. Some writers just do their thing and live normal lives, while others become reclusive and avoid the limelight. But Truman Capote became a celebrity whose persona, at times, eclipsed his literary works.
Jason talks to us about why Truman Capote was so important to the gay community, why working in the theater has been such a good training ground for life as a teacher, what actual Capote mannerisms Jason felt he had to tone down so audiences would find him believable, and why he thinks bad movie musicals from the 1980s are epic.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Penny's Holiday (children's book) 2- The Color Purple by Alice Walker 3- Native Son by Richard Wright 4- Ordinary People by Judith Guest 5- The Chosen by Chaim Potok 6- Tru by Jay Presson Allison (play) 7- Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel by Truman Capote 8- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 9- A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote 10- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 11- Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz 12- The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix 13- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 14- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
Movies mentioned-- 1- Capote 2- Murder by Death
Historically, the voices we’ve heard most in books and literature have been those of white men, and even though there has been a movement to include more varied voices, there are still stories we don’t often hear. The Louisville Story Program, however, is a nonprofit organization focused on helping the stories that don’t often get heard come to light.
The first person narrative stories are made into professionally published books, but the way these stories come to fruition vary. Sometimes Louisville Story Program staff do intensive writing workshops with high school students in neighborhoods we don’t hear from very often. The teens write their own stories under the guidance of individuals who help them focus and make their writing the best it can be. In other situations, Louisville Story Program staff listen and record the oral histories of community members like horse racing professionals at Churchill Downs and turn those into published works.
This week, we talk to the deputy director of the Louisville Story Program Joe Manning. He is a songwriter/ musical performer as well as an author whose collection of essays about his experience as a young man on a merchant freighter that traveled the globe is called Certain Relevant Passages and was published in 2017.
Joe tells us the easiest and most important question an interviewer can ask to get a great answer, how his very young daughter has helped him listen to more audiobooks, why it's so important for underrepresented groups to be able to tell their own stories instead of having others tell it for them, and why two important words for The Louisville Story Program are community and communion.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 2- Better Lucky Than Good by Louisville Story Program 3- Our Shawnee by Louisville Story Program 4- The Fights We Fought Have Brought Us Here by Louisville Story Program 5- White Hotel by D.M. Thomas 6- My Meteorite by Harry Dodge 7- Bluets by Maggie Nelson 8 Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste by Bianca Bosker 9- Certain Relevant Passages by Joe Manning
When I say the word “zoo” your first thought is probably elephants or giraffes; maybe a great memory of going on a school field trip or of taking your own children there for a special outing. A word you probably don’t associate with a zoo is “Book club”. But our guest today, Katy Morrison, a zoo educator at the Louisville Zoo, wants to broaden your vision a bit. At the beginning of the pandemic, she was brainstorming ways that the zoo could still serve its patrons virtually, especially adult patrons who are often not the focus of zoo outreach. And then she read a book on primates that she was dying to talk about with someone. So she pitched the idea of the Conservation and Conversation bookclub to the zoo and it was soon full steam ahead for her vision of non-traditional education through book discussions.
Katy uses her liberal arts background in history and classical studies to explore conservation issues through non-fiction books. While the book club makes the hard sciences more accessible to non-scientists, it is still challenging enough for those with more scientific backgrounds. The concept of conservation is a broad one that can include the most obvious for a zoo; animal conservation, but can also include things like cultural conservation, sustainable agriculture through the lense of cookbooks, and green burials.
Each month, Katy moderates the book discussion, sometimes with special guests, and sends the participants a guide with additional links and resources so they can continue the conversation with family and friends through things like podcast links, related reading for younger readers, and suggested documentaries. And of course one of the wonderful things about a virtual bookclub is that you don’t have to be in the same city as the zoo. In fact, Katy was inspired by a bookclub she joined virtually at an aquarium in New Jersey.
Katy talks to us about the fantasy books she was crazy about as a child where the protagonists could talk with animals, why many organizations are starting book clubs during the pandemic, and which decidedly non cuddly creature at the zoo is her favorite because of a project she did in 3rd grade.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Tortall Universe series by Tamora Pierce 2- The Wild Magic series by Tamora Pierce 3- Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling 4- The Polar Affair by Lloyd Spencer Davis 5- Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson 6- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty 7- Smoke Gets In My Eyes by Caitlin Doughty 8- The Big Burn by Timothy Egan 9- Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani 10- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson 11- No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg 12- A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough 13- Far From the Tree by Robin Benway 14- The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan 15- The Pocket Change Collective series (This is What I Know About Art by Kimberly Drew) 16- The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelson 17- You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
Podcasts mentioned: Ologies by Alie Ward
Documentaries mentioned: 1- A Life on Our Planet 2- Making Of (videos) 3- My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Sometimes it only takes a spark to start a fire. For writer and activist Farrah Alexander, the small flicker of an idea that eventually became her first book was her January 2017 participation in the historic Women's March in Washington DC. She encountered so many women who were emboldened to make change but weren’t sure how to channel their energies.
Farrah wrote her book titled Raising the Resistance: A Mother’s Guide to Practical Activism which gives suggestions on how to be a leader in your life and a model for change for your children. But the book is also witty and whimsical which makes it accessible to a wide audience.
Farrah has been a journalist and freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and BuzzFeed. Her work focuses on feminism, social justice, parenting, and politics. She is also a Jeremiah Fellow with Bend the Ark, a Jewish partnership for justice which aims to combat white supremacy and mobilize communities for social change.
In this episode, Farrah talks to us about how even as a child she was drawn to books with strong female characters like Amelia Bedelia, how she wants to make the ideas of feminism less academic and more accessible, why she feels essay writing can be a powerful tool for women to share their stories, and which item of her political memorabilia collection is her most cherished.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Raising the Resistance: A Mother's Guide to Practical Activism by Farrah Alexander 2- Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish 3- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh 4- The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols 5- A Promised Land by Barack Obama 6- Becoming by Michelle Obama 7- Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen
February is Black History month and while we believe Black authors should be read any and all times of the year, this month can sometimes be the impetus readers need to help them discover new-to-them Black writers. Not only can you experience Black art through literature, you can see it in the theater where a play is brought to life and someone else’s reality is laid bare before the audience.
Our guest this week is Sidney Edwards, the new, young and vibrant director of the African American Theatre Studies program at the University of Louisville which includes both a minor and a graduate certificate. The University’s graduate certificate program is the only accredited program in the country for African American Theater. The unique thing about this program is its flexibility. It can be part of a graduate degree in theater or the certificate can be done separately and online; it’s perfect for professionals like teachers or community leaders who want to become more familiar with black culture and art as a whole.
Sidney talks about her journey to becoming a performer, a professor, and the head of the program. She tells us how the Battle of the Books program for school students in North Carolina sparked her competitiveness and love of reading as a child, how the subject matter for many plays written by black playwrights hasn’t changed that much in the last century even though the format has evolved, why theater jobs behind the curtain are a relatively untapped job area for African Americans, and why elementary and middle school students are some of the toughest audiences out there.
Books/Plays/Authors mentioned in this Episode: 1- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry 2- August Wilson 3- Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimke 4- Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau 5- Lynn Nottage 6- Moonlight by Tarell Alvin McCraney 7- Choir Boys by Tarell Alvin McCraney 8- Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris 9- Brandon Jacob Jenkins 10- Nikkole Salter 11- Blood Line Rumba by John Chenault 12- The Round House by Louise Erdrich 13- There, There by Tommy Orange 14- Home by Sam Art Williams 15- A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston by Robyn Crawford 16- For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange 17- The Lost Man by Jane Harper 18- The Dry by Jane Harper 19- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 20- Dust Tracks on the Road by Zora Neale Hurston 21- Maybe You Never Cry Again by Bernie Mac (audiobook) 22- The Decision by Kevin Hart (audiobook ) 23- Pryor Convictions by Richard Pryor (audiobook)
Shows mentioned-- 1- Bridgerton - Netflix 2- P-Valley (penned by black playwright Katori Hall)- Starz 3- Euphoria - HBO 4- Snow Piercer - TNT 5- Blind Spotting - movie
This week we travel to Eastern Kentucky to the town of Morehead in our quest to explore cool independent bookstores in our region. Morehead is home to a little over 7,000 residents and Morehead State University. The university as well as the regional medical center in town give the community a diverse makeup. And it’s location inside Daniel Boone National Forest and the head of the Sheltowee Trace Trail make it a tempting destination for folks who like to hike, hunt, fish, and soak up nature.
Our guest, Susan Thomas, is a managing partner and owner of CoffeeTree Books and the Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop which have been a family business for over 20 years. It has morphed several times and is now housed in the town’s old single screen movie theater on Main Street. They have transformed the space to include a coffee shop in the old concession area, event space at the stage, and a business office in the old projector room, not to mention everything you would expect to see in a bookstore. But they have been creative with their space and have included a store within a store. CoffeeTree is also a destination for locals looking for supplies for fiber arts like knitting. They carry high quality yarns and classes for knitters. Susan is a knitter herself and wanted to offer products she used to have to travel over an hour to purchase. And while there weren’t initially many knitters in Morehead, Susan and others have nurtured a whole crop of townspeople anxious to learn and create.
Susan tells us why books and yarn aren’t the strangest store within a store concept in town, why she has an affinity for books about bees, and why moving back to her hometown after 16 years in Nashville is a decision she hasn’t once regretted.
Books mentioned in this episode: 1- The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 2- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 3- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 4- Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald 5- The Storied Life of A J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 6- The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald 7- Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin 8- Outliers by Malcom Gladwell 9- The New One: Painfully True Stories From a Reluctant Dad by Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein 10- The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr 11- We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker 12- Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston 13- Good Talk by Mira Jacob 14- Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia 15- The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May 16- Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler 17- The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What To do About It by Michael E. Gerber
This coming Sunday, February 14, is Valentine’s Day, and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk about the genre of romance.
If you are of a certain age, you may most associate romance novels with Fabio, the long-haired king of Romance novel covers. But romance is a very wide umbrella. There are historical romances like the books that inspired the Netflix series Bridgerton, classical romances (think Jane Austen books), and queer romances. Some romances are just about the emotional aspects of love, while others venture into the erotic beyond just a little kiss.
Our guest this week, Tiffany Reisz, is a Louisville-based erotic romance writer who started writing her first romance novel while a seminary student. She left seminary, though, to follow her love of writing and is now a USA Today bestselling author of over 28 books including the Original Sinners series and The Red. She has a dedicated fan base all over the world. I recently saw a FB fan club for her based in Italy.
Tiffany gives us a “romance for dummies” crash course on the differences between romance, erotica, and smut. She also talks about how her preference for fantasy books as a child morphed into writing a different kind of fantasy, why she doesn’t let preconceived notions against her genre bother her, and why being married to another writer is a “two heads are better than one” situation.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle 2- A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden 3- The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis 4- Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder 5- Star Trek: The Next Generation novels 6- Return of the Jedi (novelization) 7- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice 8- Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice (series) 9- Sleeping Beauty series by Anne Rice 10- The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox 11- The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox 12- The Siren (The Original Sinners series) by Tiffany Reisz 13- Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey 14- Love Story by Erich Segal 15- The Story of O by Anne Desclos (pen name Pauline Reage') 16- The Chateau by Tiffany Reisz 17- The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz 18- The Red by Tiffany Reisz 19- The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz 20- The Pearl by Tiffany Reisz 21- The Auction by Tiffany Reisz 22- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James 23- Nothing Lasts Forever (Die Hard) by Roderick Tharp 24- The Whisper Man by Alex North 25- The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans 26- Sea People: The Power of Polynesia by Christina Thompson 27- A Polar Affair by Lloyd Spencer Davis
If you are listening to this podcast, you probably appreciate a good book. You can pick up a paperback or read a digital copy on your e-reader whenever you have spare time. But imagine if you didn’t have the ability to see the words on the page? Blindness doesn’t make a person any less of a book lover but it sure does make reading them more complicated.
We assumed that technology would make things easier for people with visual impairment, and while it can help, it can also complicate things. Even recording our podcast took on unique challenges when we realized that one of our guests wouldn’t be able to read the questions we sent in the same ways that our former sighted guests did. When there was a snafu with recording and we thought to text our guests, we had to remember that the text might have to then go to audio format. How long would that take? Was that immediate or was there a delay? Would the remote recording technology pick up not only our guest’s voice but also the voice dictation from the computer at the same time?
Though sighted, Carrie and I were definitely blind to some of the complications that life with visual impairment can mean when it comes to the world of reading.
Our guests this week, Gary Mudd and Jayma Hawkins, from the American Printing House for the Blind, generously recorded with us twice to work through complications. Gary, who became blind at the age of 12, has recently retired from his role as VP of Government and Community Affairs and Jayma is the National Prison Braille Director.
Gary and Jayma talk to us about how braille books are produced as well as many other products that help visually impaired students be successful, how braille production programs in prisons produce braille books for students but also create newfound skills and confidence in inmates, and how one blind mother’s desire to read books to her sighted children helped create the Braille Tales program in coordination with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A. F. Venable 2- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 3- Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani 4- Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
If you are a book lover, you are probably also a library lover. Those two things just go together, like peanut butter and jelly or Sherlock and Watson. Some book lovers not only visit their local libraries all the time, but they also visit libraries when they travel. Carrie, for example, checked out Maison de la litterature in Quebec City when she visited several years ago. It is cool to see what libraries in other places look and feel like.
Closer to home, there is a membership library in Cincinnati Ohio that would be well worth a stop if you find yourself in the Queen City. Our guest this week, Amy Hunter, is the programs and marketing manager at The Mercantile Library, one of only about 18 surviving membership libraries around the country. She gives a crash course in membership libraries that were invented by Benjamin Franklin before the rise of public libraries at the turn of the 20th century.
Amy talks to us about the unique history of the Mercantile library including some of the interesting rules that were imposed back at its inception in 1835, about the wide variety of speakers they have hosted from Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1800s all the way to Margaret Atwood just a few years ago, and why many people consider the Mercantile a “steampunk” fantasy in library form.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Charlotte's Web/Stuart Little by E. B. White 2- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh 3- Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan 4- Sweet Taste of Liberty by W. Caleb McDaniel 5- Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 6- Heavy by Kiese Lemon 7- Silver Sparrow/American Marriage by Tayari Jones 8- TigerLand by Will Haygood 9- The Book of Delights by Ross Gay 10- Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley 11- Meet Me at the Museum: A Novel by Ann Youngson 12- The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott
Our guest this week, Danica Novgorodoff, is a writer, graphic novelist, and illustrator who has written 3 of her own graphic novels but her work has received some extra special attention recently. She is the illustrator of the new graphic novel edition of Jason Reynolds’ award winning young adult novel Long Way Down. She believes she was chosen for the book partly because of her special use of watercolors as a medium for graphic art, which gives the work an ephemeral feel.
Besides this project, she is also in the process of writing a graphic novel on climate change, several children’s books, as well as essays and illustrating a cookbook with a James Beard award winning cookbook author. And did I mention she has a 3 year old and a one year old? As well as working at home during a pandemic? We need to give this artist and mother a medal... or at least a glass of wine and an hour to herself.
Danica talks to us about what steps she takes to adapt a book into a graphic novel, how becoming a mother totally changed her thoughts on how to write and illustrate a good children’s book, and how the pandemic hastened her family’s move away from Brooklyn back to some of her roots in Kentucky.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 2- My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 3- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 4- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George 5- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 6- Long Way Down (graphic novel) by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff 7- A Late Freeze by Danica Novgorodoff 8- The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff 9- Refresh, Refresh by Danica Novgorodoff 10- Slow Storm by Danica Novgorodoff 11- Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast 12- What I Hate from A to Z by Roz Chast 13- The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humbolt's New World by Andrew Wulf 14- The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humbolt and the Shaping of America by Laura Dassow Walls 15- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine 16- Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
***Listeners, this week we have our last replay episode before we start back with Season 4 next week with an all new group of fascinating bookish guests. We’ve been recording over the hiatus, and we are excited to introduce you to more book lovers in just a few more days.
Our rebroadcast this week is from Season 3, episode 58 with Clare Wallace, the executive director of South Louisville Community Ministries which also runs The Rosewater bookstore in coordination with The BookWorks. The community bookstore opened just as COVID was hitting the city in the spring of 2020, and it took several months for them (and everyone) to figure out the new normal.
but they are up and running with regular hours, a really great selection of books, and gift items made by artisans in the neighborhood. Located on South 3rd Street, The Rosewater’s regular hours are:
Wednesday & Thursday, 10:00 - 4:00 Friday & Saturday, 10:00 - 6:00 Sunday, 10:00 - 3:00
It also offers mystery bags. Book lovers can complete a Google Form and request books from a certain genre. If you’re like me and spend way too much time in the house, something as simple as a mystery bag of books you can pick up curbside is the kind of excitement I’m down for in 2021. _____________
This past weekend many people recognized Independent Bookstore Day, a day to be extra appreciative of their local bookstores and booksellers that give booklovers all the feels. Everyone loves a bookstore, don’t they?
Our guest today certainly does. When Clare Wallace visits a new place, she always looks for the closest used bookstore. This gave her the idea to open The Rosewater, aptly named after her favorite Kurt Vonnegut book, which she envisions as a comforting living room for everybody. Clare is the executive director of South Louisville Community Ministries, a nonprofit that provides emergency assistance for residents of South Louisville facing crisis, and she was looking for a visible way to do outreach in the neighborhood. The bookstore serves several purposes; to create a warm community space, to bring life to parts of the neighborhood that have seen hard times, to provide transitional employment for residents in crisis, and to offer a service that the neighbors want!
Clare grew up in a house filled with hundreds of books with a mother who worked for a publisher but her favorites were those that explored other worlds. After Clare left college, she literally went around the world working in international development and as a Peace Corps volunteer. When she settled in Louisville, she chose to land in the most diverse part of the city which is filled with a wide variety of different ethnicities and income levels; Clare works to bring people together in her adopted hometown.
Clare tells us how The Rosewater is pivoting from traditional retail sales to creative services like mystery book boxes delivered to your door due to Covid, why creating a comforting community space for the neighborhood is important to her, and how learning to deal with failure is a skill she learned abroad that helps her create new projects today.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle 2- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 3- East of Eden by John Steinbeck 4- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 5- Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 6- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut 7- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 8- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 9- The Lost Queen by Signe Pike 10- The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck 11- Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown 12- This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki 13- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris 14- New Kid by Jerry Craft 15- The Watchman by Alan Moore 16- Saga by Brian K. Vaughan 17- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
This week we wanted to revisit an interview we did with Cassie Chambers.
Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of J. D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close has sparked quite a debate bordering on controversy in America this fall about Vance’s assertion as to the motivations and plight of Appalachian people. Many authors from this region have wanted to push back on that a bit to show that Appalachia is complex and not merely a place to rise above.
We welcomed Cassie Chambers as a guest back in March 2020, just as Covid was starting to hit this country in full force. Her memoir HIll Women was written as a response in her own way to Vance’s memoir; about a different view of the Appalachian experience from a woman’s perspective. Cassie’s had some more exciting news in 2020 as she went on to win a seat on the Lousiville Metro City Council as well as becoming a visiting professor at the University of Louisville School of Law.
**Our guest today grew up in poverty in eastern Kentucky, but attended Yale and Harvard, received her law degree, and came back to Kentucky to work for the Legal Aid Society, helping at-risk women in her home state. Cassie Chambers has also written a memoir, called Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains, about life and culture in Owsley County through the lens of three generations of women in her own family.
Her book came out in January of this year. Newsweek has named it a must-read book to savor this Spring, and Publisher’s Weekly called it a “passionate memoir”.
Cassie talks to us about her favorite book series from childhood that she still rereads as an adult, why she felt the women of Appalachia specifically need their stories told and what compelled her to write it, and why she thinks more women don’t run for office and why that needs to change.
Books mentioned: 1- Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery 2- Castaway: Poems For Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye 3- Walkable City by Jeff Speck 4- Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith 5- The Wonder by Emma Donoghue 6- Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
2020 has been one for the books, hasn’t it. See my pun there? A worldwide pandemic, a truly historic election, racial unrest, murder hornets, shortages of toilet paper, and massive fires in California are just a few weird things that happened this year; we all took solace where we could. For book lovers like us, it usually meant a book but could also include new hobbies like puzzles and baking for me, crocheting for Carrie, and wine for the both of us.
For this last episode of 2020, Carrie and I decided to talk about some notable books that we didn’t have a chance to talk about during the year and also take a look forward to 2021 to some books we are anxious to read.
Technology has really been messing with us at the end of 2020. Several pieces we recorded didn’t work, or disappeared, or just plain sucked. Anything that could go wrong did. So we had to get creative with this episode. And like many things about 2020, that creativity to do something different sometimes makes something better. I hope in this case this episode is better than the one we started with before the gremlins inside our computer got a hold of it.
We will be taking a few weeks off. While we are gone, we will re-play some older episodes that we think deserve another listen. Then we will be back January 13 with all new episodes with cool interesting people who are book lovers too.
Books mentioned-- 1- A Polar Affair: Antartica's Forgotten Hero and the Secret Love Lives of Penguins by Lloyd Spencer Davis 2- Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley 3- Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why by Alexandra Petri 4- Shirley: A Novel by Susan Scarf Merrell / The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson 5- The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 6- The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg 7- Boom by Mark Haddon 8- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 9- The One and Only Ivan /The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 10- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 11- Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life by John Kaag 12- Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn 13- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 14- Eat a Peach by David Chang 15- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow 16- The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson 17- The Stone Sky (Brokem Earth #3) by NK Jemisin 18- This Close to OK by Leesa Cross-Smith 19- The Whisper Man by Alex North 20- Murmur of Bees by Sophia Segovia 21- Lakewood by Megan Giddings
Perks Guests' Recommendations-- 1- Brave(ish): A Memoir of a Recovering Perfectionist by Margaret Davis Ghielmetti (Anita Martin recommends) 2- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Diane Neu recommends) 3- Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Tamika recommends) 4- Maurice by EM Forster (Tabby Pawlitzki recommends) 5- The Never Game by Jeffery Dever (Robin Weiss recommends) 6- Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Mindy Jett recommends) 7- Protection Spell by Jennifer Givhan (Robert Eric Shoemaker recommends) 8- Writers and Lovers by Lily King (Ellen Birkett Morris recommends) 9- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (Anne Baker recommends) 10- Winter's Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (Niamh Lutes recommends) 11- Untamed by Glennon Doyle (Katy Yocom recommends) 12- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Tricia Taylor recommends) 13- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (Jennie Mulhall recommends) 14- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel (Kim Vidrine recommends) 15- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Holly Mcarthur recommends) 16- Winter Loon by Susan Bernhard (Bobi Conn recommends) 17- It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke (Kim Esposito recommends) 18- Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi (Deedee Cummings recommends) 19- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Amy Miller recommends) 20- The Ice Storm by Rick Moody (Andrew Shaffer recommends)
There is a saying, “If you want a happy ending, read a cookbook”. Our guest, Laura Lucchese, is in a book club that always ends well because her group reads and then produces a group meal from cookbooks.
James Beard, the great culinary expert said, food is our common ground, a universal experience. In our mind, to bring books and food together is a match made in heaven.
Laura tells us how many cookbooks have a narrative story just like a traditional book, why cooking from a cuisine outside your own encourages discussion, and how modern cookbooks offer a different philosophy to entertaining that diverges from the older well-known cookbook authors like Martha Stewart.
Books mentioned in this episode: 1- Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg 2- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman 3- Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman 4- Dining In by Alison Roman 5- Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman 6- Indianish by Priya Krishna 7- Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian 8- Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee 9- Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee 10- Everyday is Saturday by Sarah Copeland 11- How They Choked by Georgia Bragg 12- Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi 13- Do You Mind If I Cancel by Gary Janetti 14- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 15- Bad Blood by John Carreyrou 16- A Gentleman from Moscow by Amor Towles 17- All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood 18- Sourdough by Robin Sloan
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
If you are a book lover of a certain age, you may have spent a lot of time reading authors like Judy Blume, Paula Danziger, Gary Paulsen, or Christopher Pike when you were a teenager. Although books began to be categorized as ‘young adult” as early as the 1960s, when we were teens we didn’t know that, and we certainly didn’t care what the boring grownups were calling the books we gravitated to.
While it blows our minds to think that it has been 30+ years since the end of the 80s and early 1990s, a lot has changed in the book publishing industry since the time when we were young adults. Young adult literature is everywhere and has many subgenres, including dystopian, romance, and historical fiction.
Our guest this week, Mindy Jett, is a self-professed book nerd who still gravitates toward YA fiction even though she has teenagers of her own. She talks about how reading YA is just like immersing yourself in a sci-fi world or a different time period except it is the world from a teen perspective. We discuss how reading YA fiction has given her more insight into her own children, and how much nostalgia from her own childhood plays into her love of books from that era.
This is our last regular episode of 2020. Next week we will have a wrap-up episode where Carrie and I discuss some of our favorite books of the year that we overlooked during past episodes. Then we will take several weeks off for the holidays but will be back in early January to start season 4 with a whole new crop of cool and interesting bookish guests.
Books mentioned-- 1- Forever by Judy Blume 2- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg 3- Twilight Where Darkness Begins (series) by various authors 4- Sweet Valley High (series) by Francine Pascal 5- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series) by Jeff Kinney 6- Amulet (series) by Kazu Kibuishi 7- Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume 8- Looking for Alaska / Paper Towns / An Abundance of Catherines / The Fault in Our Stars / Turtles All the Way Down by John Green 9- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 10- Warcross by Marie Lu 11- Simon vs. The Homo Sapien Agenda by Becky Albertali 12- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 13- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton 14- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 15- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 16- Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl 17- The Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas 18- Obeslisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin 19- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 20- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 21- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 22- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 23- Pride by Ibi Zoboi 24- Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison 25- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 26- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 27- The Hate You Give / On the Come Up by Angie Thomas 28- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 29- The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani 30- Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos 31- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz 32- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 33- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer 34- Stuart Little by E.B. White 34- The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh 35- 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up by Bianca Shulze 36- Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean 37- Lord of the Flies by William Golding 38- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 39- My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins
Our guest this week, Tori Murden McClure, is a Renaissance woman. She has a law degree, a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard as well as a Master of Fine Arts from Spalding University, the institution where she currently serves as President. She was the first woman and first American to ski 750 miles to the geographic South Pole. She worked as an assistant to Muhammad Ali at the Ali Center, and has served as a chaplain in Boston area hospitals. But what she is most known for is her solo journey to successfully row a boat across the Atlantic Ocean in 1999. Ten years later, she published her memoir about that experience, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, a little over ten years after publication, her book and story have a new life. A musical about her experience has been created, and her boat is part of the Frazier Museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibit.
The book, which we discuss with Tori in this week’s episode, has a lot to do with 2020 in a roundabout way because it is about her battle with feelings of helplessness stemming from her childhood. And who in this world hasn’t been experiencing feelings of helplessness during this global pandemic? We can all relate to wanting to do something but not being able to.
Tori talks to us about why memoir is in its own way is just another type of fiction, what completely different pieces of advice she received from her writing mentors during her MFA program that shaped her book, how her desire to write a book about a hero’s journey as a woman can be tricky and hasn’t been done often, and why we didn’t see her memoir as an Oprah book club selection.
If you would like to see Murden’s sailless and motorless plywood boat The Pearl, it is on exhibit at the Frazier Museum in Louisville KY. This is a permanent exhibit but several items are on short-term loan.
The album Row is a concept album about Tori’s journey rowing across the Atlantic written by Dawn Landes. It can be found on Amazon music. These songs are part of the musical Row which will be available via Audible in the Spring of 2021. Tori Murden McClure’s memoir can be found at your favorite bookstore or library.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure 2- When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography by Jill Kerr Conway 3- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl 4- Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin 5- A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh 6- Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson 7- Shakespeare's plays 8- Iliad and Odyssey by Homer 9- Dante's Inferno 10- Small Spaces by Katherine Arden 11- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 12- Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age by Fionna Maddocks 13- Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession 14- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 15- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
This week’s episode is a rebroadcast of episode 25, where we featured two librarians from the Northeast Regional branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. Mk Eagle and Hannah Elliott talked about Books and Brews 502, which is similar to the Library’s summer reading program for kids, except it is for adults and can include beer and coffee.
While Hannah has now moved to Jefferson County Public Schools, mk is still at LFPL and provided us with an update for this year’s program, which, like everything, is different due to COVID. Books and Brews 502 runs from December 1, 2020 -February 29, 2021.
Mk says the main difference is that there will be no pop-up libraries. Instead, folks can check in at seven local breweries during their respective weeks in December, January, and February. Or Books and Brews 502 participants can check-in in the two participating coffee shops at anytime during those months.
Mk says the free book giveaways will be exclusively at Against the Grain’s Public House the second week of each month, but there won’t be browsing. Instead, tell your bartender you’re participating in Books and Brews and get handed a surprise book. How cool is that? Books, and coffee or beer brews go perfectly together. For more details about the program go to www.lfpl.org
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Laurell K. Hamilton, Anita Blake series 2- Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger and Melanie Anderson 3- Chi's Sweet Home by Kanata Konami 4- Exquisite Corpse by Penelope Bagieu 5- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
If there is anything consistent about 2020, it is how inconsistent it is. We’re not doing the things the way we always have, whether it is doing curbside pickup, outside-only masked visits with friends, or book clubs via Zoom. The same can be said of the performing arts--to stay relevant, they are doing things differently, including shows that they’ve done more or less the same for over 40 years. Actors Theatre of Louisville’s run of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has become a beloved holiday tradition to so many families in the region over the years, including mine. This year, theater lovers will experience the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts in an imaginative radio play.
While the in-person Christmas Carol performance has long been a feast for the eyes, the radio program will be a feast for the ears. Our guest this week, Amy Wegener, will give us the scoop on how we can interact with The Christmas Carol in a whole new exciting way. She is the literary director and a dramaturg at Actor’s Theater.
Amy tells us why rereading Dickens’ A Christmas Carol helped her find the humor in Dickens’ writing that she had forgotten, why she finds constraints to be a spark for her creativity, and why theater is a unique art form based on its ability to transform depending on who interacts with it.
To Access The Play: To buy a ticket for The Christmas Carol, simply go to their website at actorstheater.org. After your purchase, you’ll be sent an email with a link to listen to the project. Click the link to get to the streaming site. Once there, simply press play and you are ready to go! The play begins November 24 and you will have until December 31 to finish listening. This play is also a pay what you can event. The website offers you different levels from $15 - $100, based on how many people may stream this play with you.
According to the Actor’s Theater website, The Christmas Carol is a completely audio-based experience—like a podcast or radio show on your drive to work. Gather your loved ones to share the story or just pop your headphones into your ears and press play.
Books and Plays mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 2- Dracula by Bram Stoker 3- Patron Saints of Nothings by Randy Ribay 4- How to Be an AntiRacist by Ibram X. Kendi 5- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 6- Girl Waits With Gun (Kopp Sister #1) by Amy Stewart 7- Humana Festival anthologies 8- Detroit 67 by Dominique Morisseau (play) 9- Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau (play) 10- Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau (play) 11- Beast on the Moon by Richard Kalinoski (play)
When it comes to Native American heritage, most Americans have woefully inadequate knowledge. They may have heard of Squanto or Sacajawea, but that is the extent of their understanding. A 2018 research project conducted by The First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting found that most Americans think there aren’t many Native Americans left in the country, which just isn’t true. There are close to 600 federally recognized tribes in the United States.
November is National Native American Heritage Month so we want to introduce you to some Native authors to add to your TBR all year long including our guest today, who is a new voice in fiction.
Our guest this week is Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, a member of the Eastern Tribe of Cherokee Indians, who is deeply rooted in the Cherokee community in North Carolina. She has been a high school English and Cherokee Studies teacher for the past 10 years. But she is also a novelist whose debut historical fiction novel, Even As We Breathe, was published this past September by a new literary imprint called Fireside Industries, a collaboration between The Appalachian Writers Workshop and the University Press of Kentucky.
Annette talks to us about the James Baldwin quote that inspired her to write about a clean bone which has significance in her writing practice as well as her novel, what things she learned from her editor, well-known Kentucky author Silas House, and how she wants to use her influence of being a Cherokee novelist to educate the wider public that Native Americans are something very different from what they see in old Westerns and popular culture.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle 2- Beverly Cleary books 3- Babysitters Club series 4- The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels 5- F*ckface: And Other Stories by Leah Hampton 6- Going to Water by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle 7- Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (and other books) 8- Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate 9- Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford 10- When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry by Joy Harjo 11- Horsepower by Joy Priest 12- City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson 13- Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie 14- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 15- Calypso by David Sedaris 16- A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
November 11 is a day on which we celebrate and honor veterans. It was on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that the armistice to end World War I occurred. Although the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June of 1919, the temporary end of hostilities had happened six months prior.
Of course, veterans have long played a central role in storytelling and literature. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey tell the stories of men in the midst of battle and what happens to them once they are off the fields. From Ireland to India, war and the warriors who fight them have been integral to the stories that have been passed down through time.
Shakespeare, too, in his works has examined the humanity of soldiers in all its various forms. Kentucky Shakespeare started an outreach program 5 years ago called Shakespeare with Veterans which is like a reading club, theater troupe, and support group all rolled into one.
We have two guests this week, First we have Amy Attaway who is the associate artistic director of Kentucky Shakespeare and runs the Shakespeare with Veterans program. Then later on in the show, we will be joined by Stephen Montgomery who is a Vietnam veteran who served in both the Army and Navy and was a career intelligence officer until his retirement several years ago. He is a member of the Shakespeare with Veterans group.
General George C. Marshall once said, “The soldier’s heart, the soldier’s spirit, the soldier’s soul are everything.” So on this Veteran’s Day we talk to Amy and Stephen about why Shakespeare’s plays speak to the experience of military veterans in a way other literature does not, what veterans find in the group that reminds them of their time in the military, and how this group enriches their hearts, spirits, and souls.
Books or plays mentioned in this episode:
Shakespeare Plays: 1- The Merchant of Venice 2- Henry IV 3- Henry V 4- Macbeth 5- Hamlet 6- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Books: 1- The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick 2- Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt 3- Nothing But the Truth by Avi 4- I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search For the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara 5- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 6- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann 7- Mindhunter: Inside The FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas
It isn’t unusual for shops to begin playing Jingle Bell Rock or Baby, It’s Cold Outside about a minute after summer ends, which shoppers either love or abhor. 2020 has been weird in numerous ways, and shopping for the winter holidays, whether it is Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas, is going to prove to be unusual.
Our little goblins and ghouls may still be counting their candy from Halloween and Thanksgiving is still several weeks away but small businesses including bookstores are encouraging shoppers to start grabbing those gifts early this year for multiple reasons. So today we talk to our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller of Carmichael Books in Louisville, about what books and gifts readers may want to check out this holiday season.
Sam tells us why independent bookstores across the country called October the new December, which new books will be hot this holiday season and what books that came out earlier in 2020 have had staying power. Finally Sam gives some suggestions to shoppers about what they can do, in addition to buying their gifts from local businesses, to help stores financially through this weird weird year to still keep their doors open in 2021.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- A Promised Land by Barack Obama 2- The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris 3- The Lost Spells by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris 4- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 5- Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West 6- Shrill by Lindy West 7- Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage 8- Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten 9- This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking by Vivian Howard 10- Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky) by Rebecca Roanhorse 11- Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse 12- The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu 13- To Hold Up The Sky by Cixin Liu 14- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson 15- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow 16- Pirenesi by Susanna Clarke 17- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke 18- Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer 19- We Are Santa by Ron Cooper 20- A Literary Holiday Cookbook by Alison Walsh 21- The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook by Annie Gray 22- A Cloud a Day by Gavin Pretor-Pinney 23- Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni 24- Stranger Planet by Nathan Pyle 25- The Louisville Anthology edited by Erin Keane 26- A Charity Anthology for COVID -19 by Neil Gaiman 27- The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book: An Interactive Guide to Life- 28- Changing Books by Logan Smalley and Stephanie Kent 29- Estranged by Ethan Aldridge 30- The Changeling King by Ethan Aldridge 31- Olive, Mabel & Me by Andrew Cotter 32- The Searcher by Tana French 33- Metropolitan Stories by Christine Coulson 34- The One & Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 35- The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 36 - Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer 37- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 38- Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark 39- All Adults Here by Emma Straub 40- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 41- Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther 42- Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors by Andrew Shaffer 43- This House is Haunted by John Boyne 44- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne 45- The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne 46- Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan 47- The Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton 48- The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan 49- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey 50- Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire 51- Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor 52- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 53- The Guest List by Lucy Foley 54- Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher 55- Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Games Mentioned: 1- Dreyer's Board Game 2- Bowie Bingo 3- Bless Your Heart
Movies Mentioned:
1- The Lemon Drop Kid
2- It Happened on Fifth Avenue
3- A Christmas Story
4- Love Actually
We all probably need a good laugh right about now and our guest this week, humorist Andrew Shaffer, is the one to provide it. Andrew is the New York Times best-selling author of the Obama Biden series, a buddy detective mystery series which includes Hope Never Dies and Hope Rides Again. His new book that comes out in November is called Secret Santa and is a clash of the holidays ; Halloween and Christmas; a comedic book that combines horror and holiday vibes about a holiday office party gone bad. He is the author of 11 books in several genres but says that humor is the theme that ties all his books together.
Andrew talks to us about why he goes back to his comfort reads during the pandemic, why he thinks satire makes the medicine of heavy topics go down a little easier, and why he looks to the past for inspiration for book ideas even when there are so many crazy things in 2020 to poke fun at. He also tells us a pretty hysterical story about the worst job he ever had.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer 2- Hope Rides Again by Andrew Shaffer 3- Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer 4- Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer 5- Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer) 6- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.. James 7- The Day of the Donald by Andrew Shaffer 8- Jack Reacher series by Lee Child 9- A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift 10- Normal People by Sally Rooney 11- Solutions & Other Problems by Allie Brosh 12- Hyperbole & a Half by Allie Brosh 13- True Grit by Charles Portis 14- Riot Most Uncouth by Daniel Friedman 15- Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors by Andrew Shaffer
It’s spooky season and we would be remiss if we didn’t explore a bit the things that make us unsettled and feel that four letter word FEAR. Our guest this week, Tim Waggoner, is a horror and dark fantasy writer who has been recognized in his field with awards such as the Shirley Jackson and the Bram Stoker Award. He is also an educator at heart. He is a professor at Sinclair College in Dayton OH where he teaches a wide variety of writing classes from basic composition all the way up to novel writing and tips for getting published. He has recently published a book that is a comprehensive guide to the craft of writing horror fiction called Writing in the Dark.
Tim talks to us about why dinosaurs were the thing as a little boy that made him first interested in reading, how empathy is an ingredient that distinguishes good horror from bad horror writing, why the darkness is blank space to inspire his imagination, and all about the devil’s bargain that writer’s make.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner 2- The Men Upstairs (novella) by Tim Waggoner 3- The Winter's Box (novella) by Tim Waggoner 4- Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner 5- Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell 6- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 7- Unleashing the Artist Within: Breaking Through Blocks and Restoring Creative Purpose by Eric Maisel 8- Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel 9- The Shining by Stephen King 10- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill 11- Kill Creek by Scott Thomas 12 - The Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery series by Lawrence Block 13- The Terror by Dan Simmons
Movies mentioned-- 1- The Babadook 2- Hereditary 3- The Terror (series)on Hulu 4- Finian's Rainbow (musical on film)
Two years ago our guest Deedee Cummings decided she wanted to introduce a book festival to the city of Louisville, an event found in many other large cities but missing here. She and her team spent those two years planning and scheduling an event all about books and reading only to have 2020 happen, a terrible, no good, very bad year that has served as a wet blanket for most kinds of fun. Deedee was, of course, disappointed, but she was not deterred.
The first annual Louisville Book Festival will take place October 23 and 24 virtually including a session with headliner Tomi Adeyemi, the New York Times bestselling writer of the Young Adult fantasy novel, Children of Blood and Bone.
Cumming’s book festival has a unique mission statement: Literacy is a basic human right. She has worked to build an event that will bring both a reading culture and connection to the city as well as inspire children to dream.
When you talk to Cummings, you realize that most of her adult life has been spent building up to something big. She has been a social worker and lawyer, and is currently a therapist, an author of children’s books, and the CEO of Make a Way Media, a company that promotes reading in all kinds of unique ways.
Deedee tells us why a lack of books that feature brown faces or stories was the inspiration for the Louisville Book Festival, how a book festival can be a life-changing event, and what themes unite all the children’s books she has written.
Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keane 2- Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol 3- Blackout by John Rocco 4- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 5- Fahrenheit 451 by Kurt Vonnegut 6- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 7- Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess by Deedee Cummings 8- In the Nick of Time by Deedee Cummings 9- What We Found in the Corn Maze and How it Saved a Dragon by Henry Clark 10- Stamped by Ibram X. Kendi 11- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 12- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 13- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 14- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 15- Tom Petty's Southern Accents by Michael Washburn
What books do you think about when you hear the term Banned Books; do you envision classics like Huck Finn or The Catcher in the Rye? Or books that you wanted to sneak to read when you were a kid because it had swearing, magic, or sexual content? In fact a book series that has been arguably one of the most beloved in modern history, the Harry Potter series, is still high on the list of Banned Books so many years after it was first published.
Our episode today was recorded during Banned Books Week, a weeklong annual event sponsored by the American Library Association to celebrate the freedom to read and bring awareness to both current and past attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.
We believe this topic is one that you can think about any time of the year, not just for one designated week so we wanted to explore the topic with our guest, Natalie McCall, a librarian and head of youth services at the Mill Valley Public Library in the Bay area of California. She is also the host of a podcast called Eight Books That Made Me where she has conversations with Young Adult authors about 5 books that influenced them growing up and 3 books they encourage readers to check out now.
Natalie discusses what it meant to be a hi-lo reader when she was a child, why she thinks one of the most common types of censorship for libraries is based on what books they don’t choose to purchase, and about the role of libraries and the freedom to read as one of the foundations of democracy.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 2- The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgon 3- Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin 4- Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal 5- Fear Street series by R. L. Stine 6- Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine 7- The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac 8- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 9- The Winter Pony by Iain Lawrence 10- A Love Story of Two Boys by Brian Roberson 11- Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 12- Forever by Judy Blume 13- The Things They Carried by Tim O' Brien 14- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 15- Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 16- Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones 17- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 18- The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery 19- Quiet by Susan Cain 20- Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett 21- Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett 22- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 23- The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reid 24- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 25- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson 26- Caminar by Skila Brown 27- Under the Mesquite by Guadelupe Garcia McCall 28- Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai 29- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Podcast mentioned: 8 Books That Made Me
TV shows mentioned: It's Ok to Not Be Ok (Korean Drama on Netflix) Dark (German Drama on Netflix)
I can always count on my husband, a huge sci-fi and fantasy reader to keep me up to date with some of the newest and most exciting authors in that genre. And when one of them is from our home state of Kentucky, you can be doubly sure Carrie and I will quickly ask for an interview.
Our guest this week, Ashley Blooms, grew up in rural Kentucky, was a John Grisham Writing Fellow at the University of Mississippi and worked for Tor.com, an online magazine that published a wide range of sci- fi/fantasy short stories, commentary, and pop culture. Her debut novel, Every Bone a Prayer, was published last month, has been recommended by NPR and Buzzfeed and has received praise from some of my favorite authors like Silas House and Alix Harrow. Ashley wants to make a space in Appalachian literature for more fantastical stories and not only the literary realism that is usually that trademark of the subgenre.
As a survivor of trauma and abuse in her own life, Ashley has created the 10-year-old protagonist, Misty, with unique sensory gifts that help explain what trauma feels like, how it changes a person, and how to move forward beyond it.
Ashley talks to us about why the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine made her want to tell stories of her own, how she uses trigger warnings to give control back to the reader, and why she doesn’t categorize her book as magical realism even though it combines reality with fantastical elements.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine 2- What You are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte 3- Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms 4- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 5- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 6- Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate 7- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse 8- The True Story of Lyndie B. Hawkins by Gail Shepherd 9- Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in 19th Century America by Anne Braude 10- Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism by Barbara Weisberg 11- Brothers Sinister series by Courtney Milan 12- The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm; Translated by Jack Zipes 13- It's Great to Suck at Something: The Exceptional Benefits of Being Unexceptional by Karen Rinaldi
Podcast mentioned: Hidden Brain (July 20, 2020) - "Culture Wars and the True Story of Lyndie B. Hawkins"
Our guest this week, Tabby Pawlitzki, is helping us continue our series on Global Readers. Once a season, we talk with a book lover who grew up in another country but has made the United States their home. In seasons 1 and 2 we talked to readers from Somalia and Ireland. In Season 3 we are exploring Germany. Fortunately Instagram has made meeting book-loving people who come from all over the world much easier which is how we connected with Tabby. She joined us remotely from her home in Los Angeles.
Tabby moved from Germany to the United States as a teenager where she struggled a bit to understand American English versus the British English she had been taught in her home country, but she came to appreciate the American educational system which she found more inclusive. Tabby didn’t read much in her teen years but came to love literature again in her 20s by reading Jane Austen. Now she is a pastry chef and co-host of the Modern Life podcast where she combines her love of literature and cinema by discussing book to movie adaptations.
Tabby talks to us about why she thinks texts by German writers have the reputation of being very heavy, what destination in Germany you should definitely visit if you are a book lover, what is one of the strangest book to movie adaptations she has talked about on her podcast, and which of her favorite fairy tales hasn’t been Disney-fied.
Book mentioned in this episode:
1- The Little Witch by Orfried Preussler 2- Lottie and Lisa (The Parent Trap) by Erich Kastner 3- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende 4- The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 6- Fairytales by the Brothers Grimm - Star Thaler; Snow White and Rose Red 7- Books by Enid Blyton 8- Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting 9- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 10- Urmel by Max Kruse 11- Dune by Frank Herbert 12- Nothing Lasts Forever (Die Hard) by Roderick Thorp 13- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 14- Narziss and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse 15- Death in Venice by Thomas Mann 16- The Metamorphisis/ The Trial by Franz Kafka 17- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 18- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 19- Clothes Make The Man by Gottfried Keller 20- Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 21- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 22- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 23- Little Women - The Screenplay by Greta Gerwig 24- The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Did you know the use of audiobooks is on the rise? While print format and e-books are still the most popular, it’s only the audiobook format that has grown in popularity over the last few years. Audiobooks have some great qualities; they are easy to listen to while doing other tasks like commutes in the car and exercise; they are perfect for modern busy lives of multi-tasking; but they also can add a whole new layer of interest to a story if in the hands of a deft and talented narrator. At least ⅓ of the books Carrie and I talk about on the show are audiobooks and including them in your life is one of the best ways to increase your reading time.
Our guest today, Kris Keppeler, is an actor and audiobook narrator who has narrated over 50 books in her career. She uses her own studio located in her home in Washington State. She is also a consultant for other people who want to do what she does, including authors who want to narrate their own audiobooks.
Kris talks to us about how her opera background has helped her perform better as an audiobook narrator, why narrating books is a particularly fun job for an actor who always wants to play all the roles, and why she never auditions for books she doesn’t enjoy.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Secret Louisville: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure by Kevin Gibson 2- Don't Ever Forget by Matthew Farrell 3- The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
Our guest this week, Ellen Birkett Morris, has an affection for small things. She says she was born prematurely and was terribly small at birth. She wonders if this is where her fascination with beautiful things coming in small packages began. Ellen is the author of a book of poetry and a new collection of short stories called Lost Girls. What readers may notice about her stories is that though they are small in length, they are powerful in meaning. Each story focuses on a passing moment in the lives of the girls and women she writes about. Ellen says she loves dipping in and out of a person’s story to find the small snippet of time that packs an emotional punch.
Lost Girls has been receiving critical praise from such places as the Southern Review of Books, Alabama Public Radio, and numerous book bloggers and reviewers including the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog.
Ellen talks to us about why reading her favorite books as a girl formed her idea that to be a writer you have to be a little like a spy, how the #MeToo movement helped shape the final form her stories collection would take, and why the superstore Target carrying her book left her a little gobsmacked.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh 2- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl 3- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 4- Arabel's Raven by Joan Aiken 5- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 6- A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 7- Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach 8- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach 9- Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach 10- Lake Life by David James Poissant 11- Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt 12- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 13- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 14- Pax by Sara Pennypacker 15- American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest by Hannah Nordhaus 16- Brooklyn by Colm Tolbein 17- Norah Webster by Colm Tolbein
This past weekend many people recognized Independent Bookstore Day, a day to be extra appreciative of their local bookstores and booksellers that give booklovers all the feels. Everyone loves a bookstore, don’t they?
Our guest today certainly does. When Clare Wallace visits a new place, she always looks for the closest used bookstore. This gave her the idea to open The Rosewater, aptly named after her favorite Kurt Vonnegut book, which she envisions as a comforting living room for everybody. Clare is the executive director of South Louisville Community Ministries, a nonprofit that provides emergency assistance for residents of South Louisville facing crisis, and she was looking for a visible way to do outreach in the neighborhood. The bookstore serves several purposes; to create a warm community space, to bring life to parts of the neighborhood that have seen hard times, to provide transitional employment for residents in crisis, and to offer a service that the neighbors want.
Clare grew up in a house filled with hundreds of books with a mother who worked for a publisher but her favorites were those that explored other worlds. After Clare left college, she literally went around the world working in international development and as a Peace Corps volunteer. When she settled in Louisville, she chose to land in the most diverse part of the city which is filled with a wide variety of different ethnicities and income levels; Clare works to bring people together in her adopted hometown.
Clare tells us how The Rosewater is pivoting from traditional retail sales to creative services like mystery book boxes delivered to your door due to Covid, why creating a comforting community space for the neighborhood is important to her, and how learning to deal with failure is a skill she learned abroad that helps her create new projects today.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle 2- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 3- East of Eden by John Steinbeck 4- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 5- Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 6- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut 7- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 8- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 9- The Lost Queen by Signe Pike 10- The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck 11- Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown 12- This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki 13- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris 14- New Kid by Jerry Craft 15- The Watchman by Alan Moore 16- Saga by Brian K. Vaughan 17- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
It’s back to school time around the country and whether your kids are going back to a physical classroom or are doing NTI, otherwise known as non-traditional instruction, it’s an exciting time of newness; both for students and teachers. Whether it’s the first day of school jitters or teachers having to figure out how to make learning via computer mimic the discussion and projects that would normally happen in an actual classroom, this school year in the age of Covid has an extra layer of uncertainty .
Our guest this week, Tamika, has been a middle school English/Language Arts teacher in Kentucky’s largest school district for 16 years. She is also a vibrant Bookstagrammer at her handle, @Thereadingroom444. Her goal is to make reading come alive to anyone who watches her feed. This summer she not only posted videos of her teaching tactics while reading Ibram X. Kendi’s book Stamped from the Beginning, but she also used her creativity to re-imagine book covers. Tamika is a voracious reader who is eager to share her love of literature and inspire excitement about finding books that you are passionate about.
Tamika talked to us about what the term “decolonizing the classroom” means, how she handles being a poly-reader and juggling 6 books at a time, and how she wants to use books as a way to help her students become our future leaders.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Nancy Drew mystery series by Carolyn Keene 2- The Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin 3- Dear Martin(and other novels) by Nic Stone 4- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 5- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 6- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 7- Pride by Ibi Zoboi 8- Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi 9- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Award-winning book by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds 10- Small Favor by Jim Butcher 11- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 12- The Golden Compass/ The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman (Part of the Dark Materials trilogy) 13- The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin 14- Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen 15- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson 16- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 17- Passing by Nella Larsen
Our guest this week, David Crosby, is a recent graduate of North Oldham County High School in Kentucky. He, like many kids growing up in the 21st century, had an undying affection for the Dave Pilkey Captain Underpants series of books. The Captain Underpants books revolve around two 4th grade boys who draw their own comic books that feature their superhero, Captain Underpants, who accidentally becomes real.
David dreamed of creating his own superhero series. What started out as silly stick figure drawings on scraps of paper evolved into a 2 issue comic book series designed by David on a Japanese graphic arts program.
David’s comic, Fro Man and Dubstep Boy, features a black superhero whose superpower is his afro hair that can be transformed into different objects to help fight evil. Fro-man is a fish out of water; a feeling David says he was familiar to him when he moved at 8 years old and was one of the only black kids at his new school. Fro-man is just one character in the Cromics universe that David along with a group of friends have planned. .
In this episode, David talks to us about how he creates his comics as a way to work through situations he is going through personally, why winning a Scholastic award helped convince his parents he was serious about a possible future in graphic design and comics, and why he was so shook up at the passing of Stan Lee, creator of the Marvel comic universe.
David has just started his freshman year at the University of Kentucky; with classes beginning this week. We wish him all the best in this new phase and can’t wait to see what he does next.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Captain Underpants (series) by Dave Pilkey 2- Fro-Man and Dubstep Boy (series) by David Crosby 3- 13-Story Treehouse (series) by Andy Griffiths 4- Magic Treehouse (series) by Mary Pope Osborne 5- 1984 by George Orwell 6- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 7- Scott Pilgrim Versus the World by Bryan Lee O'Malley 8- What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World by Henry Clark
Do you read historical fiction or narrative nonfiction and wonder where your favorite authors do their research for the books you love? Our guest this week, Jennie Cole, is an archivist with the Filson Historical Society. An archivist is like a highly specialized librarian who takes care of historical materials such as letters, diaries, transcripts, photos, or even objects and organizes them to preserve them for the public use. And the Filson Historical Society is just a different kind of library; a research library of the history of our region.
Jennie had a father who loved history and a mother who immersed herself in adventure novels. Combine the two and their influences produced in their daughter a booklover who is looking for the stories within the raw material of historical archives.
In this episode, we concentrate on the stories of public health. The Filson is encouraging the public to write down their experiences for posterity’s sake so future generations can know what the Covid era was like. But we also talk to Jennie about the local stories pertaining to the Spanish flu of 1918 as well as the Tuberculosis epidemic that brought Waverly Hills Sanatorium to prominence before it was known as one of the world’s most haunted places.
Jennie tells us how anyone can use the services of the Filson, how you can access all of their workshops and lectures for free during the quarantine, and the similarities and differences she sees in the Spanish Flu pandemic and our current Coronavirus reality.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- A White Wind Blew by James Markert 2- Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser 3- Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward 4- Educated by Tara Westover 5- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 6- Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 7- The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel 8- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer by Seth Grahame-Smith 9- These Honored Dead (A Lincoln and Speed Mystery #1) by Jonathan F. Putnam 10- A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Podcasts mentioned:
1- The Past and the Curious 2- Stuff You Missed in History Class
Welcome book lovers back to our first episode of Season 3. I was away on vacation so Carrie teamed up with former guest and Ohio friend Giselle Spurgeon, to co-host this week to interview a fellow Ohioan Melanie Moore, owner of the Cincy Book Bus.
When you see an old rusty truck, the first thing that pops into your head is probably not “book store”. Melanie though had other ideas. Her dream of opening her own bookstore after retiring from 25 years of teaching was hampered somewhat by the heavy burden of all the things that go along with having a brick and mortar shop. That is, until she read a book written in 1917 called Parnassus On Wheels about a horse-drawn wagon filled with books driven around the countryside of England by a woman looking for adventure.
When Melanie looked out her kitchen window and saw her husband’s old mint green VW truck, she knew the path her bookstore future would take would have fenders and chrome. Pre-Covid, book lovers could find Melanie and her Cincy Book Bus popping up all over the greater Cincinnati area including Northern Kentucky at coffee shops, festivals, and small boutiques. Now with pandemic, she has made her presence count online as she has all kinds of ways customers can buy books, many of them hard to find European editions, both with her online store as well as with a bookclub. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that 100% of her proceeds go to buying books for low-income youth.
Melanie talks to Carrie and Giselle about why she sees her bookstore on wheels as part of a much larger book community, how her love of the 1930s and 40s fueled the vintage feel of her logo and truck, and how she doubled the number of books she donates to worthwhile children’s organizations.
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1 - Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley 2- All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriott 3- Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan 4- The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen 5- Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson 6- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin 7- Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier 8- Books by D.E. Stevenson 9- A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
**Our replay this week is an episode that was our first of Season 2 back in January before Covid hit. We talked with children’s librarian with the Louisville Free Public Library system William Sutton. If you are anything like Carrie and I, you are sorely missing your libraries and the dedicated people who staff them. In fact, our library system in Louisville KY furloughed the majority of its librarians for 3 months and only in the last month have patrons been able to do curbside pickup for book holds. In fact I think I have requested more books from the library than usual just so I have a reason to go to my local library, even if I can’t go inside. Just this week, many of our furloughed librarians have been called back. So in honor of libraries, their people, and what libraries mean to our lives, we give you this library episode with William. We will be back next week with all new episodes. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a show.
Our guest today is what Mr. Rogers would call a “helper”. I first saw William Sutton on Metro TV, where he was interviewed about his work with children and it was obvious that he was something special. William works in the children’s department of the Portland branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Portland is one of the largest neighborhoods in Louisville and one that has a long and rich history. In the late 1800s it had the first trolley line from downtown and was the welcoming home to many waves of immigrants including Irish and German. In recent years this neighborhood has hit hard times; it has one of the lowest income levels in the city, but it is experiencing a rebirth with numerous art galleries, stores, and restaurants coming to the area. Nowhere is the small community spirit more evident though than in its neighborhood library. William Sutton is a favorite face there and you will see why. His joy in his work is infectious. He talks to us about why being a black male in a female heavy field is important for children to see, how comic books built the basis for his literary life, and why black superheroes can be an inspiration for teens to find the strength in themselves.
Books discussed in this episode:
1- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler 2- The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis 3- Storm by Eric Jerome Dickey 4- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Carrie and I are still on vacation this week but you can find us with all new interviews and episodes August 5. But Today we have a replay of our interview with Mick Sullivan. Mick is a friend of the show. He helped us begin our adventure in broadcasting and podcasting by giving us the tools and the confidence to get started. He is the creator of the award winning children’s history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which was recently named by the New York Times as one of the best children’s podcasts. In this time of quarantine and virtual learning, children’s podcasts have seen their downloads soar, including Mick’s. If you are doing any roadtrip travel with your kids this summer, give his podcast a listen. I promise the adults will enjoy it just as much as the kids. He sat down with us to talk about his new children’s book that had been published, The Meatshower. But Mick has another children’s book in the works.
Our guest today is a history buff who has taken his interest in the past to a whole new level. Mick Sullivan is a history educator at the Frazier History Museum and is in charge of their youth and family programs. But he is also the creator of the children’s history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which Common Sense Media lists as one of the best podcasts for kids. His quirky combo of humor and music keeps both kids and adults interested and sneaks in a little history in the process. His podcast includes a bit of an earworm song about local coffee shop Heine Bros Coffee So even if history isn’t your jam, check it out just for that tune.
The success of his podcast has led to the publishing of his first children’s book, The Meat Shower, which is a fun telling of the historical event of meat (yes I just said meat) literally raining down on a Kentucky farm in the 1800s. In fact what is even more curious, there is still no explanation of this unusual event today.
Mick tells us how his podcast grew out of the stories he tells kids at the Frazier’s children’s programs, how his background in musical performance has served him well when creating the variety of music for his podcast, what huge role vultures play in his new book, and all about his vision to have a series of books featuring quirky history for every reading level.
Books discussed in this episode: 1- The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan 2- Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz 3- Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz 4- Life of Pi by Yann Martel 5- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
Carrie and I are on vacation this week. We are getting refreshed, renewed, and most importantly Reading for our upcoming season 3 beginning August 5. So today we have a rebroadcast.
We reached way back in the archives to our first season and one of our very early guests, Amy Attaway of the Kentucky Shakespeare Theater. If you are a book nerd like us, it just doesn’t seem like summer in Louisville without seeing one of the great free performances under the stars in Central Park of one of the Bard’s plays. Kentucky Shakespeare recently announced that their summer season in person is canceled for 2020. But in September they will present a digital season filmed on the Central Park stage to celebrate their 60th year. They also have been presenting all nine productions of the 2017-2019 seasons available for viewing on their Facebook Page and Youtube channel.
In this episode. Amy talks about directing last year’s history play, King Henry 4, part 2. To see a version of this on the big screen, you can stream The King starring Timothe Chalamet on Netflix which came out late last year.
Books Discussed in this Episode
1- Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare 2- Shakespeare's English Kings by Peter Sacchio 3- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch 4- Death Comes For The Archbishop by Willa Cather 5- The Year of the Fat Knight: The Falstaff Diaries by Anthony Sher
When they think about the publishing industry, many readers can immediately call to mind the big outfits: HarperCollins, Random House, and MacMillan. But there are many small publishing companies scattered all across the country, and even locally.
Our guest today, Julia Royston, is a former school librarian who began her first publishing company as a way to publish her own books in the exact way she wanted them. She jokes that she has “control issues”. But those issues led her to become an entrepreneur who now owns and operates two publishing companies that have been around for over 12 years, in an age when most businesses are lucky to make it past the 3-5 year mark. BK Royston Publishing and Royal Media and Publishing, located in Southern Indiana, are her two full service imprints that primarily publish black authors; one focusing on children’s, inspirational, and religious books and the other publishing more mainstream fiction such as mysteries, urban fiction, and romance.
In this week’s episode, she talks to us about why it’s so important to have more diverse books in libraries and schools, what the biggest challenge was to starting her publishing company, and how she looks for creative ways such as virtual book fairs to try to promote her authors in the COVID era.
Books and Links Discussed in this episode:
1- Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 2- Are You There God, It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume 3- A Bag of Marbles by Joseph Joffo 4- Marianne the Librarian by Julia Royston 5- The Book of David: My East Harlem Love Story by Betty Winston Baye' 6- Terrance the Terrific by Julia Royston 7- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 8- Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers by Russell Brunson 9- Grace Over Grind: How Grace Will Take Your Business Where Grinding Can't by Shae Bynes 10- Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith
Julia Royston's podcast on BuzzSprout: Live Your Best Life
YouTube Channel: BK RoystonPublishing
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” These words, from Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are, perhap, some of the reasons why many readers swoon over his character and develop a love for Austen and her works. Other readers, though, like our guest this week, Amanda Beverly, see their families or people they know in the quirky individuals who make up Austen’s communities.
Whatever your reason for liking Austen’s world, there is a way you can immerse yourself in it, which is through The Jane Austen Festival, an annual event that, due to COVID, is virtual this year. Running from July10-12, the festival includes a variety of workshops, author talks, and Q&A that helps attendees get a taste of what the Regency Period and Austen are like.
In our episode this week, Amanda talks about how she became involved with the Jane Austen Society of North America--Greater Louisville Region and what their meetings are like, how it seems the things she can learn about Jane Austen’s books and her time period are endless, and why newbies shouldn’t feel intimidated, and why the Louisville chapter of the society is known as the Fashion region.
Book Discussed in This Episode
Jane Austen books 1- Pride and Prejudice 2- Sense and Sensibility 3- Emma 4- Persuasion 5- Northanger Abbey
Other books discussed 1- Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 2- The Redwall series by Brian Jacques 3- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis 4- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 5- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith 6- Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters 7- Among the Janeites : A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom by Deborah Yaffe 8- Unmarriageable by Sonia Kamal 9- This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope by Shayla Dawson 10- Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson 11- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 12- Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan 13- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Movies mentioned: 1- Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth - 1995 miniseries 2- Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood) - 2004 3- Clueless - 1995
Podcasts mentioned: 1- Bonnets at Dawn
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
Are you a reader that shies away from dystopian or pandemic themed books because they just seem too scary in our current reality or do you “lean in” to the darkness and find it “fun”?
Our guest this week, Giselle Spurgeon, is a reader who has long had a fascination with this sub-genre of work.
COVID-19 has affected book-loving people differently. Some of them couldn't focus on reading their books because they felt like they needed to constantly stay informed by watching the news but others dove headfirst into books and reading as an escape. There are even some readers, like Giselle, who have spent a lot of their reading life preparing for this moment of catastrophe; readers who enjoy pandemic, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, which includes any horrible event that turns a fictional world on its head. Whether it is a virus that runs out of control, a nuclear disaster, or an asteroid that smashes into Earth, this genre is dystopian in nature but also in many ways, hopeful.
Giselle talks to us about how she had to make herself stop reading as a kid so she could get her homework completed, why sometimes immersing yourself in a book while important things are happening in the world can seem like a dismissive act, and how dystopian fiction is just another way for her to have control over the chaotic world around her.
Books Discussed In This Episode:
Izzy Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voight Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren The End of October by Lawrence Wright Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton On The Beach by Nevil Shute One Second After by William R. Forstchen The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Life As We Know It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Ashfall by Mike Mulin Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank Seveneves by Neal Stephenson The Stand by Stephen King Wool by Hugh Howey Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson Z for Zachariah by Robert O' Brien Children of Men by P. D. James I Am Legend by Richard Matheson The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel A Song For a New Day by Sarah Pinsker The Passage by Justin Cronin The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman The Maze Runner by Richard Dashner Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri The Fountain of Silence by Ruta Sepetys Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
This week we branch out away from Louisville and venture out into the state to the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky, where our guest this week resides. Bobi Conn is a technical writer by day and author whose first book, In The Shadow of the Valley, was published this past May by Little A Publishing, the literary imprint for Amazon. Her memoir of growing up in a holler on the outskirts of Morehead KY conveys a tension between the beauty of the landscape in contrast to her family’s poverty, her father’s drug addiction and his abuse of Bobi, her brother, and their mother. The memoir is Bobi’s attempt to have some control over her own life’s story. In fact, she never strived to be a memoirist. Her true literary love lies more with poetry and short stories. But, something powerful inside her needed to be released and her journey to write it as her creative writing thesis in graduate school to 12 years later publishing it and also narrating the audiobook version of that story is what we will talk about today.
Bobi discusses why she thinks magical realism is a great way to tell stories set in Appalachia, why the term “holler” has such significance among the people who live in this region, why her Granny’s house is a metaphor for her life’s journey, and what stories she finds in the classic country music she listened to on the radio as a kid.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
In The Shadow of the Valley by Bobi Conn Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Hill Women by Cassie Chambers
The Odyssey by Homer The Tradition by Jericho Brown The Best We Could Do by Thi But Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
It’s officially summer. The kids are done with school and it feels like time to relax a little after a stressful spring. Wouldn’t we all like to be sitting on a beach, by a lake, or on a shaded porch reading the perfect book? But not everyone’s plans are what they once were with the uncertainty that has plagued us in 2020. Maybe our biggest escape is through the pages of a book. Our guest this week is someone we trust to help us with finding that book. We are excited to welcome back friend of the show and bookseller Sam Miller, from Carmichael’s books here in Louisville KY.
When we planned this week’s episode weeks ago, we wanted to talk about summer reading, and in our minds we envisioned beach reads and books that people read for pure enjoyment. But with the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the protests that are occurring in response to those, we realized that summer reading for many people might look different than it usually does.
The Perks of Being a Book Lover has always been about books, reading, and sharing that reading with others. Reading, for us, has been about connection with others. And perhaps the most important part of the experience has been sitting back and being quiet. Listening to what others have to tell us. What their experiences can teach us and help us understand.
Early in our show, we were able to see the film Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am at the Speed Cinema and listen to the discussion about Morrison’s role in literature. Throughout her career as both an editor and author, Morrison said a lot of important things about what reading can do. In an interview in 2003, Morrison said: “Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.”
Carrie and I at Perks of Being a Book Lover believe that black authors matter. Black voices matter. Black lives matter.
Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 2- Beach Read by Emily Henry 3- The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 4- All Adults Here by Emma Straub 5- Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore 6- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 7- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate 8- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 9- Untamed by Glennan Doyle 10- The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson 11- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee 12- Gifts From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh 13- The Dry by Jane Harper 14- Wild by Cheryl Strayed 15- This is Chance: The Shaking of An All American City, A Voice that Held it Together by Jonathan Mooallem 16- The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McCissack 17- Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan 18- Well-Read Black Girl : Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves Compiled by Glory Edim 19- Harlem by Langston Hughes 20- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo 21- Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi 22- How To Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi 23- Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Children's lit version) 24- The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Richard Rothstein 25- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein 26- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward 27- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 28- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 29- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas 30- Dear Martin by Nic Stone 31- The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, By Christopher Paul Curtis 32- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor 33- Any book by James Baldwin
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
Our guest this week, James Markert, is a Renaissance man. He was a tennis pro for over 20 years, a bookstore owner, a screenwriter, and the author of 5 historical fiction novels. His first novel, A White Wind Blew, focused on some local Louisville history with the story of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, one of the largest facilities in the country for tuberculosis patients during the TB epidemic in the early 1900s. Now Waverly Hills is known internationally for being the home of the haunted but James’ imagines what life was like for doctors and patients inside its walls. With the success of that book, James went on to write novels about Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, a chapel in the woods of South Carolina during World War 1, a bourbon distillery after the end of Prohibition, and a hotel for Alzheimer’s patients in California after World War 2. His books are known for combining history with magical realism.
Markert has also written multiple screenplays with one being made into a movie and has recently given writing TV shows a try.
James talks to us about the downfalls of doing too much research before writing historical fiction, strange things that happen on the movie set of indie films when you are the screenwriter, what books his high school English teacher introduced him to which turned him into a voracious reader, and what genre he originally wanted to write.
Books Discussed In This Episode:
Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert What Blooms From Dust by James Markert All Things Bright and Strange by James Markert Angel's Share by James Markert A White Wind Blew by James Markert The Fireman by Joe Hill Strange Weather by Joe Hill Locke and Key by Joe Hill The Body by Stephen King Watership Down by Richard Adams The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow The Cartel by Don Winslow The Outsider by Stephen King Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King If It Bleeds by Stephen King Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard (short story)
TV Shows mentioned Justified (Hulu) Locke and Key (Netflix)
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
When Carrie and I began recording The Perks of Being a Book Lover, we called it our half-assed idea. One year later, we are still half-assing our way through it, although we think we have learned some things and gotten more adept at using microphones, troubleshooting the recording technology, and asking interesting questions of our guests. It was a year filled with laughter, frustrations, and climbing learning curves.
We thought it would be fun for our 1-year anniversary recording and 47th episode to put ourselves in the hot-seat, and fortunately, Carrie’s daughter, Norah, agreed to ask us the questions. Like a lot of 16-year-olds, she was excited to do it the night before but seemed to be completely bored and uninterested during the actual interview. She yawned and Pinterest-ed her way through our answers, which may be what a lot of our listeners do as well as they listen to it.
In this episode, we discuss how we started the show, some of our favorite experiences with guests, and what dictatorial book choices we’d make if we had the power.
Books We Discuss In This Episode: 1- Moby Dick by Herman Melville 2- Sula by Toni Morrison 3- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 4- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 5- The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin 6- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow 7- March by Geraldine Brooks 8- A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler 9- Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anne Quindlen 10- The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty 11- The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling 12- The Glass Lake by Maeve BInchy 13- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien 14- Me by Elton John 15- Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 16- Daisy and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 17- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Anne Shaffer 18- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt 19- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward 20- American Born Chinese by Gene Yuen Yang 21- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 22- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 23- he Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 24- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 25- White Teeth by Zadie Smith 26- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 27- 1984 by George Orwell 28- It by Stephen King 29- Drood by Dan Simmons 30- I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
When I think of a greenhouse, I envision small seeds sprouting roots and then green shoots slowly rising toward the sunlight. The progress to grow may be slow at first but soon becomes rapidly transformational as the plant drinks in the nourishment of the heat, moisture, and sunlight in the greenhouse cocoon.
Our guest this week, Hannah Rose Neuhauser, is the co-founder and program director of The Young Author’s Greenhouse, an organization inspired by the 826 Valencia writing organization for children and teens launched by author Dave Eggers. The Louisville greenhouse, located in the Portland neighborhood, nurtures student writers in an imaginative writing space which includes a storefront called The Opposite Shop where you can find jars of sunshine and magic fish scales. But moving from the Shop through the portal into the organization’s writing center, young writers enter a world where they are taken seriously by mentors who question and instill confidence. One of the coolest programs offered by The Young Author’s Greenhouse is an annual song-writing event with Jim James, leader of the rock band My Morning Jacket, and Teddy Abrams, the young hip conductor of the Louisville Orchestra.
Hannah Rose tells us what book she read in college that inspired her to start this nonprofit journey, what skill is more important than writing for volunteers with the Young Author’s Greenhouse, and what perk of the program can entice even reluctant young writers to put their words on paper.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers 2- If you Can See the Stars, There is Still Light by The Young Author's Greenhouse 3- Into the Wolf-Dark Shadows by The Young Author's Greenhouse 4- Know My Name by Chanel Miller 5- The Last Wish by Andrezej Sapkowski (Short Stories) 6- Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe 7- Bluets by Maggie Nelson 8- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Online Article mentioned: Flattened by the Curve www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/flattened-by-the-curve
TV shows mentioned: 1- Derry Girls on Netflix 2- Sex Education on Netflix 3- Schitt's Creek on Hulu 4- Seinfeld on Hulu
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
We all had big plans for our quarantine free time, right? Maybe we wanted to Marie Kondo organize the whole house, learn how to make beautiful loaves of bread, or begin training for that marathon you’ve had on your bucket list.
Our guest today, Robin Weiss, had a different kind of quarantine goal. She was determined to revitalize her reading life. This mother of 9 who is also a professor of public health as well as a childbirth expert and doula, fell out of love with reading when she attended grad school. In the intervening years, her knowledge of new titles and authors got stuck in a time warp where she left off in the 1990s. So, she formed an online quarantine bookclub with fellow readers across the country to help get her literary groove back.
Robin talks to us about what past favorite authors she is happy to discover have published new books in recent years, what benefits the group gets from meeting weekly versus monthly, whether her bookclub is experiencing trauma bonding, and what happens when the quarantine is over.
Books discussed in this episode:
1- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 2- It By Stephen King 3- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 4- On The Beach by Nevil Shute 5- The Charm School by Nelson DeMille 6- The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille 7- The General's Daughter by Nelson DeMille 8- The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver 9- The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski (short stories) 10- Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski (short stories) 11- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (novel) 12- The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia 13- The Braid by Laetitia Colombani
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
We probably all have memories of picking up a 25 cent postcard at a cheesy souvenir shop on a summer vacation to send to a friend or family member back home. The first postcard was invented by an Englishman in 1840 but now these iconic colorful cards have whole websites, youtube videos, and pinterest boards devoted to them with themes such as the best ways to write a meaningful message in just a few lines, postcards as a writing process, and 8 reasons you should be sending postcards right now.
Our guest today, Anita Martin, puts much time and energy into melding 2 of her favorite things; postcards and books. Her website Postcards and Authors invites bibliophiles of all types, including writers, book clubs, and bookish podcasts to send a postcard that lets readers get a glimpse of who they are.
Anita talks to us about how picking out a postcard can give you insight into a person’s personality, how books are just one facet of her desire to be a lifelong learner, what genre initially gave her the desire to always have a book in her hand, and how one author’s signature on his postcard made it one of her favorites.
Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Roots by Alex Haley 2- Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly 3- The Flying Cutterbucks by Kathleen M. Rodgers 4- Akata Witch and Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor 5- The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antartica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro 6- The Last Painting of Sara DeVos by Dominic Smith 7- It's Great to Suck at Something by Karen Rinaldi
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
There is a collective sigh of disappointment that you can hear in our hometown this week. The Kentucky Derby race is always run the first Saturday of May; except this year. I checked the weather and it looks like it will be beautiful this Saturday, 79 degrees and sunny, and there are no horses to be run.
But now that you’ve had your Kentucky Derby primer from Carrie and I, we can all still celebrate this event quarantine-style, with a book and maybe a glass of bourbon. Our guest today, D.C. Alexander, is doing his part to help. D.C. is originally from Seattle but has eagerly adopted Louisville as his hometown. He is a former federal agent turned author who has written several mystery novels with the setting of his most recent being right here in Kentucky.
Blood in the Bluegrass takes place the week before the Kentucky Derby and begins with the murder of an up and coming horse jockey. But as mysteries often do, things get complicated with horse breeders, bourbon distilleries, corruption, and old money.
D.C. talks to us about why he thinks Louisvlle is a great locale for a novel, what book he read in his 20s that turned him from a book-loathing kid to a full-fledged bibliophile, and how long trips in his car in rural Colorado started him on the path to writing.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre Secret Louisville by Kevin Gibson Chasing the Monkey King by D.C. Alexander The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Dune by Frank Herbert Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race by Laura Prior-Palmer A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.
Are you nostalgic about a book you read as a kid? What book from your childhood remains vivid in your mind? Our guest today, Diane Neu, hosts a podcast that explores that very question. The podcast titled Shaped by Stories features one avid reader each episode who talks about the book from their childhood or early adolescence that made the biggest impact on them and why. Diane had been a podcast fan for many years; in fact she’s been a podcast listener since almost the beginning of podcasts 12 years ago. But some changes in her own life convinced her there was no time like the present to start her own.
Diane talks to us about her very favorite spot to read when she was a child in small town Idaho, why she loves Jane Austen like no other, why reading children’s books as an adult is an important exercise, and how producing a podcast helped her find her special brand of “people” when she needed it most.
Books mentioned in this episode: 1- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery 2- Betsy In Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace 3- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 4- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 5- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 6- No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman 7- Neverworld Wake by Marrisha Pessl 8- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 9- The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman 10- The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 11- Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 12- Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers 13- Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani 14- Emma by Jane Austen 15- Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling 16- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.