Book Cougars Podcast: Two Middle-Aged Women on the Hunt for a Good Read

Welcome to Episode 206 where we have a fantastic conversation with Rebecca Rego Barry, author of THE VANISHING OF CAROLYN WELLS: Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author. One reviewer referred to Barry’s book as a “process biography.” It is true, Barry takes you along on her investigation into the life of Carolyn Wells who, it turns out, wrote more than mysteries. She wrote poetry, plays, screenplays, puzzles, children's books, and a YA series. Wells was also a serious book collector in a time when that pursuit was considered the domain of men. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, this biography would make a great gift. Along with our friend Kate, we did a buddy read of Carson McCullers’ novella, REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE. This was part of our Biblio Adventure to Nyack, NY where McCuller’s lived for the last 30 years of her life (which wasn’t a very long long life: she died at 50, so she actually lived most of her life in Nyack). We explored the grounds of her home (it is not a public author home at this time) and paid our respects at the Oak Hill Cemetery where Carson is buried next to her mother. We visited Big Red Books, a Little Free Library, Pickwick Books, and the gorgeous Nyack Public Library. (Check out our social media for some pics.) We also recap our Biblio Adventure to NYC which was metamorphosed by an earthquake in New Jersey that was felt throughout the Northeast. As always, we talk about what we’ve read, are reading, and want to read. Highlights include PIGLET by Lottie Hazell, THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood (out 5/7), MOBY DICK by Herman Melville, HOW TO READ by Monica Wood (out 5/7), SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY by Edgar Lee Masters, BLESS YOUR HEART by Lindy Ryan, THE EDITOR: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin (out 5/28), and two short stories: “Touchless Bidet” by Omar El Akkad from the collection SMALL ODYSSEYS: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories edited by Hannah Tinti and “A Simple Question” from the collection OLD CRIMES: And Other Stories by Jill McCorkle. If you’ve been enjoying our podcast, please share it with a friend and consider leaving a review on iTunes or whatever app you use to listen. Thanks for listening, and Happy Reading! Chris & Emily

Welcome to Episode 205! April is National Poetry Month and we are here for it. Emily is currently reading YOU ARE HERE: Poetry in the Natural World, a new anthology edited by Ada Limón, and Chris is reading BOATS FOR WOMEN by Sandra Yannone. Since our last episode, Chris finished listening to WAKE UP WITH PURPOSE! What I’ve Learned in my First Hundred Years by Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt. She also enjoyed the first issue of DEPROG by Tina Horn, Gab Contreras, Dani Strips, and Lisa Sterle, and dipped into RIVER EAST, RIVER WEST by Aube Rey Lescure (long listed for the Women’s Prize). Emily read two suspense thrillers: INTIMACIES by Katie Kitamura and WHEN THE CICADAS CRY by Caroline Cleveland, and then went to a happier place with A BAKER’S YEAR: Twelve Months of Baking and Living the Simple Life at the Smoke Signals Bakery by Tara Jensen. As always we talk about what we’re reading, what we want to read, and Biblio Adventures we’ve been on, like seeing Rachel Slade discuss her new book MAKING IT IN AMERICA: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. and How It Got That Way, at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. Happy Listening & Happy Reading!

We begin Episode 204 with the announcement of our second quarter readalong in our year of reading romance and end with a delightful conversation with author Allison Pataki about her fabulous new novel, FINDING MARGARET FULLER. Since our last episode, Emily has continued with her intention of reading a short story every Monday. She read “Lot” by Bryan Washington from the story collection LOT: Stories and “Postcards from Heaven” from REUNION BEACH: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank. Chris also read a short story, “Consequences” by Willa Cather from the story collection UNCLE VALENTINE AND OTHER STORIES. We each read an excellent novel – we’re talking Top 10 contenders! Emily read THE FROZEN RIVERr by Ariel Lawhon and Chris finished WE GOT THE BEAT by Jenna Miller. In Biblio Adventures, Chris has rekindled a childhood fascination with Mary Stuart (aka Mary I of Scotland or Mary, Queen of Scots). She watched two movies: Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave, and Mary Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan based on John Guy's biography QUEEN OF SCOTS: The True Life of Mary Stuart. She plans to read Antonia Fraser’s biography, Mary, Queen of Scots for Big Book Summer. Emily took a trip to Wilmington, NC where she tried unsuccessfully to shop at Papercuts Bookshop because it was closed for inventory. She did find two Little Free Libraries where she picked up THIRTEEN MOONS by Charles Frazier, INTIMACIES by Katie Kitamura, and EACH PEACH PEAR PLUM by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Back in CT, Emily went to the North Haven public library where she purchased LOTt: Stories by Bryan Washington and WHO’S IRISH?: Stories by Gish Jen from the Friends of the Library sale, and attended a presentation with Linda Civitello author of BAKING POWDER WARS: The Cutthroat Food Fight That Revolutionized Cooking.

Welcome to Episode 203! Some highlights of this episode: Emily dives into the pages of THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon and the delicious world of baking with THE COOKIE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE cookbook by Nancy Silverton and Carolynn Carreno. Meanwhile, Chris is back in high school with Jenna Miller's new sapphic YA romance, WE GOT THE BEAT. Emily devoured Elle Cosimano's new release, FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE, and was deeply moved by Suleika Jaouad's memoir BETWEEN TWO KINGDOMS. She also read three short stories: "Itinerary" by Lucia Berlin in EVENING IN PARADISE and "Los Angeles" and "Office Hours" by Ling Ma in BLISS MONTAGE: Stories. Chris highly recommends the new and first biography of a once hugely popular woman writer, THE VANISHING OF CAROLYN WELLS by Rebecca Rego Barry. She also revisited ETHAN FROME before reading SUMMER by Edith Wharton. We also discuss INDIGO by Beverly Jenkins, our first-quarter readalong pick. A question for those of you who read it: do you think Hester’s name could be a nod to Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter? In Biblio Adventures, Chris explored The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Over On Ingredient One, Emily sat down with Louise Miller, author of THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING AND THE LATE BLOOMER’S CLUB.

Welcome to Episode 202 of the Book Cougars, featuring an Author and Editor Spotlight with Jessica Pryde. Chris and Emily are enjoying and learning from Jess’s ground-breaking anthology, BLACK LOVE MATTERS: REAL TALK ON ROMANCE, BEING SEEN, AND HAPPILY EVER AFTERS. Thanks to listener Katie for putting this book on our radar. We’re both currently immersed in audiobooks. – Chris is reading a new biography, THE VANISHING OF CAROLYN WELLS by Rebecca Rego Barry (available now from Vibrance Press and narrated by Laura Jennings). – Emily is reading a memoir, BETWEEN TWO KINGDOMS: A MEMOIR OF LIFE INTERRUPTED, by Suleika Jaouad (out 3/1 from Penguin Random House Audio and read by the author). And we are both #currentlyreading INDIGO by Beverly Jenkins, the first book in our year of Reading Romance. Thanks to this episode's sponsor, Catherine Oni, whose new romance novel, IF HER LOVE WAS ENOUGH, is available now. Meet Catherine at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT, on Saturday, March 2nd, from 1-3 pm ET. As always, we talk about what we’ve read, what we want to read, and Biblio Adventures. Thanks for listening, and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2024/episode202

Welcome to Episode 201 featuring an Author Spotlight with LUANNE RICE recorded at the beautiful and welcoming Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme, CT. Luanne’s new novel, LAST NIGHT, is out now. You’ve heard us rave about it in recent episodes and we do our best to keep our conversation with Luanne spoiler free. Some highlights of this episode: After recording with Luanne, we headed to Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT to attend her book launch. She was in conversation with new-to-us author, VANESSA LILLIE. It was a great event and the reception afterwards at The Captain Daniel Packer Inne was filled with love, good conversation, and delicious food. Later that night we both started Vanessa’s new thriller, BLOOD SISTERS. We binged it and highly recommend you check it out. Other books and stories we’ve recently read include THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE by Jo Piazza (out 4/2/2024) and RIVER OF THE GODS: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard. Emily read two short stories:“The Irish Wedding” from the story collection THE SOUVENIR MUSEUM by Elizabeth McCracken and “Such Fun” from the story collection LAST NIGHT by James Salter. Chris also declared that she’s “finished” reading Emily Wilson’s new translation of THE ILIAD by Homer. In Biblio Adventures, Emily went to Charter Books in Newport, RI for the book launch of FLOAT UP, SING DOWN by Laird Hunt. Chris acquired a few more IKEA bookcases and immediately started filling them up with purchases from Barnes & Noble and Blackwell’s. Thanks to the sponsor of this episode, Anthony Ausiello, whose new novel, BROOKLYN ‘76, comes out on 2/20/2024. Thanks for listening, and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2024/episode201

Thank you for listening over the years and helping us reach our 200th episode! To celebrate this milestone, we invited special guests to call the Book Cougars hotline and recommend two forthcoming books they can’t wait for all of us to read. This idea was inspired by Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness, hosts of the podcast Books on the Nightstand, who had a segment called “Two Books We Can’t Wait for You to Read.” Chris and Emily met through Books on the Nightstand; their sunset inspired our sunrise. As an homage, we were thrilled to have Ann and Michael contribute to the segment along with other guests that have been featured on the podcast over the past seven years including Amy Tector, Andrea Wang, Bianca Marais, Caroline Leavitt, Davina from BookBrowse, Fiona Davis, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jennifer Savran Kelly, Jenna Miller, Rachel Barenbaum, Kelcey Ervick, Luanne Rice, Jung Yun, and our Mystery Man – John Valeri. We asked our author friends to shout out their new or forthcoming books. Your TBR List just might explode! #SorryNotSorry And that’s not the only exciting segment in this episode. We crunched the numbers and share our Listener Top Ten Reads of 2023. They are: Tom Lake – Ann Patchett Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store – James McBride Yellowface – R.F. Kuang The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt The Fraud – Zadie Smith Unlikely Animals – Annie Hartnett Signal Fires – Dani Shapiro Absolution – Alice McDermott The Postcard – Anne Berest As always, we share what we’re currently reading, what we’ve read, and Biblio Adventures we’ve been on. Emily visited White River Books and the Carbondale Public Library in Colorado. She also attended Aspen Words featuring Ann Patchett in conversation with Elizabeth McCracken. Chris paid her respects to the Barnes and Noble closing in Naperville, Illinois (they’re opening a new format store in nearby Oswego), and visited one of her favorite used bookstores, The Frugal Muse in Darien. She also attended Biography International Organization’s Biography Lab, an online forum about the craft. If you’re in the Connecticut area, join us on Friday, February 2nd at 5:30 pm ET at Bank Square Books for the launch of Luanne Rice’s new book Last Night. Then on Sunday, February 11th at 5 pm ET, Chris’s wife Laura Thoma will be reading from her work-in-progress as part of the Chester Arts & Literary Weekend. Reminder: our first quarter readalong book is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. All the books we mention in this episode are in the show notes at https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2024/episode200. Thanks again for listening, and Happy Reading! Chris & Emily

Welcome to Episode 199! We have read A LOT since our last regularly recorded episode in December, so be prepared! In our “Just Read” segment, we talk about books by Lois Hamill, Hisashi Kashiwai, Martha Dickinson Bianchi, Josie Silver, James R. Benn, Alice Hoffman, Kate Jacobs, Tiago Forte, Julie Alvarez, Luanne Rice, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ann Hood, and Abraham Verghese. Phew! Spot any of your favorite authors in that list? The funny thing is, we are also currently reading a bunch of books. Go figure! We also have some fun Biblio Adventures to tell you about. Chris went to the New Bedford Whaling Museum for part of their 2024 Moby-Dick Marathon and then had a lovely browse through the New Bedford Free Library. Emily attended Katherine May’s Book Club with special guest Diane Henry, author of the cookbook Roast Figs Sugar Snow. As always, there is a lot more in the episode than we include in our blurb. But we also want to remind you that our first quarter readalong for our year of reading romance is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. We hope you’ll join us. Happy Listening & Happy Reading!

Welcome to our fourth annual Top Ten Reads of the Year episode with BookTuber Russell Gray of Ink and Paper Blog! We each talk about our top ten reads of 2023. Some books were published in 2023, and others are a bit older, but they all stirred our hearts and minds and we want to sing their praises. Russell, Emily, and Chris all have such different reading tastes that there is sure to be at least one book in this bunch of 30+ (some people cheated) that you will want to add to your TBR list. We don’t know one another’s lists beforehand, so this is always an exciting episode for us. We also share some of our favorite Biblio Adventures and three books each that we are looking forward to in 2024. And we announce the first quarter pick for our 2024 Readalong theme, ROMANCE! Top Ten Lists are not just about us – we would love to know what your top 10 reads of 2023 were! If you’d like to share, please add them to this handy Google form: https://bit.ly/BookCougarsListenerTopTenBooksof2023. We’ll share Listener Top Ten Reads of 2023 in January.

Welcome to our last episode of the year! We reflect on our 2023 reading intentions, announce our 2024 readalong theme, and have a delightful conversation with Australian author Pip Williams to cap off our year of reading Books About Books. Some of the books we just read & discuss: – THE HELSINKI AFFAIR by Anna Pitoniak – THE QUEEN OF DIRT ISLAND by Donal Ryan – UNNATURAL DEATH by Patricia Cornwell – THE MAID by Nita Prose – THE BOOKBINDER by Pip Williams In Biblio Adventures, we had a wonderful joint jaunt to Glastonbury, CT where we shopped at River Bend Bookshop’s new location and then walked wide-eyed through the gorgeously renovated Welles-Turner Memorial Library. Emily visited her daughter in Michigan and returned to Bay Books in Suttons Bay where she purchased THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman. Chris attended two virtual events: Robert Darnton’s talk at the Boston Athenaeum about his new book, THE REVOLUTIONARY TEMPER: PARIS, 1748-1790, and Alan B. Farmer’s lecture on “Lost Books: The Dark Matter of the Early Modern English Book Trade” at the Harry Ransom Center. Thank you all for a fantastic year of books, authors, libraries, bookstores, and, in a few cases, mushrooms and mosquitos. Happy Reading!

Once again, we are grateful for the miracle of modern technology that allowed us to record this episode from two locations. Chris was recovering from the flu and, to keep Emily healthy, we recorded over Zoom. In our Just Read segment, we talk about nine very different books in a variety of genres: epic poetry, memoir, biography, and novels, including a graphic novel. Both Cougars finished THE BOOKBINDER by Pip Williams, our last readalong in our year of reading Books About Books. Chris finally finished THE PARADISO by Dante Alighieri and is happy to have THE DIVINE COMEDY under her belt. She also finished Megan Marshall’s fascinating biography, The PEABODY SISTERS: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. Taking a break from historically-minded reading, she listened to Ruha Benjamin’s award-winning book, VIRAL JUSTICE: How We Grow the World We Want. Emily dove into history and read THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. Then she switched things up with a middle-grade graphic novel, SEA CHANGE by Frank Viva. She read two books that look at grief through very different windows: Sloan Crosley’s memoir about the death of her best friend, GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE, and a new inspirational rom-com by Emma Grey, THE LAST LOVE NOTE. As always, we also discuss what we’re currently reading, what we look forward to reading, and Biblio Adventures. We hope you enjoy this episode, and we wish you lots of Happy Reading! Listen here https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2023/episode196 or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to our 8th Annual Bookish Holiday Gifts episode! The first time we recommended holiday gift ideas was on Episode 2, way back in December 2016. Listeners enjoyed it so much that we’ve done it every year since. We hope you enjoy our ideas this year. Links to items discussed are in the show notes. We would like to note that none of our suggestions are ads or affiliates. They are things we have used or, in the case of custom bobbleheads, something we would like to try! #NonfictionNovember hooked us this year and we are currently reading or have read: Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from the Lost Kitchen by Erin French The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism by Megan Marshall Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy In Biblio Adventures, Emily attended some in-person author events. She went to Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT to see Sigrid Nunez discuss her newest novel, The Vulnerables, with Willard Spiegelman whose most recent book is Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt. She also saw Michael Cunningham discuss his new novel, Day, with Amy Bloom at R.J. Julia in Madison, CT. Chris had a lovely visit to Mystic Seaport Museum where she wandered aboard the last wooden whaleship in the world, The Charles W. Morgan, an experience that never gets old! She’s considering a re-read of Moby Dick in 2024. Reminder: our 4th quarter readalong discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams is Sunday, December 3rd at 7 pm (ET). Email us if you’d like to participate in the Zoom discussion. Listen here – https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2023/episode195 – or wherever you get your podcasts. Happy Listening and Happy Reading!

Episode 194 is bookended by Poetry and Romance. We begin with the poem “Only Love” by James Crews from the poetry collection, THE PATH TO KINDNESS: Poems of Connection and Joy. We end with an Author Spotlight with Sarah MacLean. Sarah is a powerhouse reader, advocate, and writer of romance fiction. Her new release is KNOCKOUT, book three in her Hell’s Belles series. We had a great time talking with Sarah about romance cover art, how she got into writing romance, and the un-patriarchal idea that we all deserve love and happy endings. It was both fun and enlightening for us, and we think you’ll enjoy our conversation whether or not you are a romance reader. In between, we talk about a bunch of books we’re currently reading – THE ART OF LIBROMANCY by Josh Cook, FAMILY LORE by Elizabeth Acevedo, and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE by Kerrelyn Sparks – and those we have finished reading like THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams, THE GOLDEN GATE by Amy Chua, and COUNTRY PLACE by Ann Petry which we both read for the Vintage Book Club. We also recap some Couch Biblio Adventures we’ve enjoyed such as SLOW HORSES, RENFIELD, and KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. We hope you are finding some peace, comfort, and stimulation through your reading. Happy Reading! Chris & Emily

Chris and Emily were thrilled to sit down and talk with Davina Morgan-Witts, the Founder and Publisher of BookBrowse. Founded in 1998, BookBrowse is one of the earliest independent online book resources. Davina and her team of editors and reviewers are committed to being “Your guide to exceptional books.” If you are not yet familiar with BookBrowse, check it out. It is a helpful and fun resource for solo readers and book clubs. Since our last episode, Emily was on the road again and visited two public libraries in Maine. The Curtis Library in Brunswick had a Robert McCloskey exhibit featuring his books Blueberries for Sal, Time of Wonder, One Morning in Maine, Burt Dow Deep-Water Man, and Make Way for Ducklings. She also browsed the Wiscasset Public Library, which claims to be “the oldest continuous circulation library in the country.” (We understand such claims are dicey in the library world and so encourage you to research the matter for your own biblio-edification if you so desire.) Meanwhile, back in Connecticut, Chris enjoyed several Couch Biblio Adventures. She watched Eye of the Needle via Kanopy, a 1981 adaptation of Ken Follett’s novel of the same name; the first episode of Lessons in Chemistry an Apple TV series based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus; and The Fall of the House of Usher, Mike Flanagan’s new horror mini-series on Amazon Prime that’s an homage to several of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales. And we have been reading some great books! Emily is currently reading C. Pam Zhang’s LAND OF MILK AND HONEY, a dystopian novel, while Chris is following Dante’s rise to the Light of God’s Divine Love via THE PARADISO. Some of the books we discuss include COUNTRY PLACE by Ann Petry, AFTERLIFE by Julia Alvarez, MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE by Jenna Levine, THE QUICKENING by Elizabeth Rush, THE PURGATORIO by Dante Alighieri, AND THE GOTH HOUSE EXPERIMENT by SJ Sindu. We hope you enjoy this episode. As always, if you have any questions or comments, find us on social media or email us at bookcougars@gmail.com. Happy Reading! Chris & Emily

Author Spotlight: Chris and Emily have a great time talking with Fancy Feast about her new (and debut) essay collection, NAKED: ON SEX, WORK, AND OTHER BURLESQUES. We bid adieu to Scarlet Summer with a recap of our Biblio Adventure to Boston where we visited sites related to Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first stop was the land upon which Brook Farm operated in West Roxbury, MA where we hiked to the crumbling foundation of Margaret Fuller’s cottage. In Boston’s historic district, we had lunch at Chipotle, the current tenant of the Old Corner Bookstore, saw Elizebeth Pain’s headstone in King’s Chapel Burial Ground, and took a tour of the Boston Athenaeum. We ended the day with a stroll down Pinckney Street, a block where, at different times, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and the Thoreaus all lived and where Elizabeth Peabody held her kindergarten (the first in America). While on vacation at the Cape, Emily visited Herridge Bookstore, the Provincetown Bookshop, Tim’s Used Books, the Provincetown Public Library, and the Eldredge Public Library. She also read WELLNESS by Nathan Hill and NAKED by Fancy Feast. Chris was a guest on Shawn the Book Maniac’s BookTube channel where she shows and talks about two bookmarks from her childhood (which were made in Emily’s hometown!). She got a lot of reading in and finished ADVERSITY FOR SALE by Jay Jeezy Jenkins, MONSTERS: A FANS DILEMMA by Clair Dederer (which she buddy read with BookTuber Britta of The Second Shelf), THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE by Carissa Orlando, and two kids’s books: WHEN A PET DIES by Fred Rogers and STAIRWAY TO DOOM by Robert Quackenbush. Reminder that our 4th Quarter Readalong is THE BOOKBINDER by Pip Williams. Email us (bookcougars@gmail.com) if you’d like to join our Zoom discussion on Sunday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. ET.

Chris and Emily are happy to welcome back author SHULY CAWOOD to talk about her new poetry collection, SOMETHING SO GOOD IT CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH. Shuly reads a poem and talks about her poetic process, and we ask her to discuss our favorite(s) in the collection. We enjoy Shuly’s poetry in part because it is so accessible. Biblio Adventures are always fun and interesting, and we went on one that opened up a huge new-to-us genre, ROMANCE! We recap a conference we attended at Yale, Popular Romance Fiction: The Literature of Hope. Chris watched the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Hearing on Book Bans. We also had a great day in NYC with Aunt Ellen visiting The New York Society Library, The Corner Bookstore, and Kitchen Arts and Letters. Oysters were also involved. Some of the books we’ve read since the last episode include (not surprisingly) two romance novels. Chris read CLEAT CUTE by Meryl Wilsner and Emily read the first in the Hell’s Belles series by Sarah MacNeal, BOMBSHELL. Chris finished THE INFERNO by Dante. Emily goes out on a limb and declares that PROPERTIES OF THIRST by Marianne Wiggins might land on her top 10 list this year. She also finished THIN PLACES by Kerri Ní Dochartaigh and loved ZORRIE by Laird Hunt which was one of our BookTube buddy Russell of Ink and Paper Blog’s favorites in 2021. So many books! And we are thrilled about it. And also happy that it is Autumn, one of our favorite seasons.

It’s another 10th episode which means we’re hosting a giveaway for newsletter subscribers! One lucky winner will receive a copy of DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy Maclean and THE DANTE CLUB by Matthew Pearl. To be entered to win, head to www.bookcougars.com/subscriber to join our newsletter; the winner will be chosen on September 15th. In between some fantastic Biblio Adventures to Salem, MA, and a Couch Biblio Adventure where we watched the 1934 adaptation of THE SCARLET LETTER, we managed to do some reading. We both read Alice Hoffman’s new novel (and the book that sparked Scarlet Summer), THE INVISIBLE HOUR. Emily devoured LARK ASCENDING by Silas House and Chris took a deep dive into Nathaniel with Brenda Wineapple’s biography, HAWTHORNE: A LIFE. Chris is currently listening to ADVERSITY FOR SALE by Jay Jeezy Jenkins and Emily is listening to THIN PLACES by Kerri Ní Dochartaigh. Scarlet Summer is winding down, but we still have one more Hawthorne-themed Biblio Adventure coming up: on Thursday, 9/21 we are heading to Boston. See you there?

The Book Cougars are thrilled to welcome Laurie Lico Albanese, author of HESTER, our second readalong for Scarlet Summer. Laurie dishes on Hawthorne, shares her inspiration for Isobel, and talks about her writing process. Don’t miss our Author Spotlight with Laurie at the end of the episode. Other highlights include: In our “Just Read” segment we talk about DEER SEASON by Erin Flanagan, THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES by Sangu Mandanna, THE RED GARDEN by Alice Hoffman, THE WITCHES OF MOONSHYNE MANOR by Bianca Marais, and two short stories: “The Profile” by Willa Cather and “The Wehrwolf” by Alma Katsu. We recap our two-day Biblio Adventure to the Berkshires that included finding Hawthorne’s Little Red Cottage, a tour of The Mount, a visit with librarian Nynke Dorhout, an author event with Stacy Schiff in conversation with André Bernard, and a truncated hike up Monument Mountain. In Upcoming Jaunts, we’re heading to Salem, Massachusetts to visit The House of the Seven Gables and other Hawthorne historic sites on Wednesday, 8/30. We’re also planning on attending a conference on our home turf here in New Haven, Popular Romance Fiction: The Literature of Hope at Yale University on September 8-9th. We hope you enjoy the episode!

We had a great time talking with Erin Flanagan and Katrina Kittle. Both authors have new books coming out: COME WITH ME (8/22) and MORNING IN THIS BROKEN WORLD (9/1). Don’t miss our Author Spotlight conversation with them at the end of the episode. What We’ve Just Read: Emily: LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward (out 10/3), a tough but rewarding read, and Peter Heller’s new release THE LAST RANGER, set in Yellowstone National Park. Chris: A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS by Paul Tremblay – a contemporary twisty tale of possession set in Beverly, Massachusetts, a town that was swept up in the Witch Delusion of 1692 We had two fantastic Biblio Adventures. The first was a work day at Simmons University in Boston after which we saw Laura Sims (HOW CAN I HELP YOU) and Paul Tremblay (THE BEAST YOU ARE: STORIES) in conversation at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA. The second was local to us: we lunched at the French bistro Cocotte which is inside the historic James Pharmacy before heading across the street to the Hart House Museum to see their new exhibit, “Family Matters: Inspiration and Insights from the Lives of Anna Louise James and Ann Petry.” As always, we talk about a whole bunch of books. Happy listening, and then Happy Reading!

A Book Cougars first: we interview a writing duo! In our Author Spotlight segment, we talk with Alli Frank and Asha Youmans about their new novel THE BETTER HALF, how they started writing together, their path to publication, and their writing process. Spoiler: matching pajamas! Some episode highlights: We both read Ann Petry’s powerful 1946 novel, THE STREET, for the Vintage Book Club (hosted by Book Club on the Go at Red Heat Tavern in South Windsor). This story about a struggling single mother in 1940s Harlem seems as relevant as ever and generated great discussion. We recommend the audio version narrated by Danielle Deadwyler. Emily read a novel about two women friends by Edgar Award-winning novelist Erin Flanagan. If you like twisty and dark stories about people who are not what they seem, COME WITH ME (out 8/22) is for you. She also enjoyed Jennifer Weiner’s forthcoming beach read, THE BREAKAWAY (out 8/29), about a fat-positive protagonist who leads a bike tour. Emily also crossed off another square on her Scarlet Summer Bingo Card by reading/listening to WE RIDE UPON THE STICKS by Quan Barry, a story set in Danvers, MA with lots of 1980s love. Chris ripped through Laura Sims’ new novel, HOW CAN I HELP YOU, a psychological mystery/thriller/suspense novel set in a small town library that revolves around two women who become obsessed with one another for very different reasons. Teaser: there’s more than a nod to Shirley Jackson. And while waiting out a thunderstorm at the Acton Public Library in Old Saybrook, Chris read WHAT DID IT TAKE? a short biography by Whitney McKendree Moore about Anna Louise James. James, a fascinating woman in her own right, was Ann Petry’s aunt. We recap our Biblio Adventure at the Grolier Club in NYC where we did some archival research (Emily is hooked!) and also had a browse at McNally Jackson Books at Rockefeller Center. On Wednesday, August 2nd, we’re heading to Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA to see Laura Sims and Paul Tremblay in conversation. Come join us!