Welcome to Episode 225, featuring our Top Reads of 2024 with Russell from Ink and Paper Blog. This is an annual tradition, and we’ve been doing this long enough that we think we know that someone else will put a particular book on their list so that we can include some other book on our own list. It came down to the wire this year for one particular book that we all loved! As much as we try to “game the system,” we still manage to talk about over 40 books in this episode. Oh well. So it goes. #booksbooksbooks We would love to know your top ten reads of 2024. If you’d like to share them, please fill out this simple Google form, which asks only for the book title and author name. We will sort through the results and share our Listener’s Top Ten Reads on the next episode. Thank you so much for listening. We wish you lots of Happy Reading in 2025! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode225

We are thrilled to feature Dr. Pamela D. Toler who joined us to talk about her new book, THE DRAGON FROM CHICAGO: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN REPORTER IN NAZI GERMANY. In a time when women were a rarity in the field, Sigrid Schultz was a print and broadcast journalist and the Chicago Tribune’s Berlin office bureau chief. She covered news from Europe and Germany from WWI through WWII and post-war years. Toler’s writing is accessible, and her subject’s life & work are amazing. Having read every byline that Schultz wrote, Toler was able to offer insights about how totalitarian governments gain power making this history book a must-read for those concerned about our present political climate. Before we get into our regular segments, we recap our 2024 reading intentions and talk about reading intentions for 2025. We like “intention” because it implies a direction or focus rather than a specific goal. We do, however, mention some specific titles and authors, so perhaps those could be considered goals. Anyway, the point is we don’t want to tie ourselves up in knots if our reading lives take unexpected but exciting twists and turns. What are your reading intentions for the New Year? Emily read two short stories from her Hingston and Olson Advent Calendar, “In the Stacks” by Robin Sloan and “The Hookup” by Katherine Heiny. She also discusses WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Catherine Newman, CHECK, PLEASE! BOOK 1: #HOCKEY by Ngozi Ukazu, and LITTLE GREAT ISLAND by Kate Woodworth (not out until May). Chris shares her newfound love for an 1848 classic of Victorian Literature, THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL by Anne Brontë. She also revisits an old favorite, FINGERSMITH by Sarah Waters, which she listened to on audio. We also share two exciting reading projects hosted by listeners, what we’re currently reading, (couch) Biblio Adventures, and more. Thank you so much for listening. We hope you enjoy this episode and wish you lots of Happy Reading!

Chris and Emily discuss books and biblio adventures

The Holiday Season is upon us! In Episode 222, we continue our annual tradition of sharing bookish holiday gift ideas. We’ve given these items to loved ones or treated ourselves to them (or received them as gifts!). We hope you find our ideas helpful. Since our last episode, we’ve had some fun biblio adventures. Two highlights: Chris took a leisurely drive through the back roads of Connecticut to Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot (the town that inspired the Gilmore Girls), and Emily participated in the Cherry Bombe member book club discussion of Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens, featuring Ina’s co-writer Deborah Davis. In our “Just Read” segment, we discuss a gardening book, a YA novel, two picture books, and two novels, one a suspense thriller, the other literary fiction: Complete Starter Guide to Bonsai: Growing from Seed or Seedling--Wiring, Pruning, Care, and Display by David Squirer When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Sarah Green I Am Book by Joren Cull Trouble Island by Sharon Short The Weekend by Charlotte Wood Emily also discusses two short stories she’s read, “Johnny Christmas” by Ivy Pochoda from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg and “Cat Brushing” from the collection Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell. Chris hasn’t read Gregory Magquire’s novel Wicked, but she’s curious about it after seeing the new Wicked movie. Have you read it? Thanks as always for listening!

We had the good fortune to talk with Marcia Clark and John Valeri about TRIAL BY AMBUSH, Marcia’s first foray into the true crime genre, for which John served as her researcher. TRIAL BY AMBUSH is an investigation into the 1953 trial of Barbara Graham, a petty criminal whose life took a hard turn the night of a home burglary that ended in murder. Graham’s trial was sensational, and the press coverage was a circus. Who better than famed prosecutor Marcia Clark to be the first to dig into the records to find out what really happened during the trial? Should Graham have ended up on death row? During Clark’s investigation, her prosecutorial hero, J. Miller Leavy, surprisingly ends up on trial himself. Neither Chris nor Emily is a true crime reader, but we were both riveted to the pages of TRIAL BY AMBUSH and think you will be, too! Emily has been carrying on with her short story project and discusses four stories: “The Statue and the Bust” from THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIES OF SHIRLEY HAZZARD edited by Brigitta Olubas “Let the Chips Fall” by Emily Ross from the collection DEVIL’S SNARE: Best New England Crime Stories by 2024 edited by Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, and Susan Oleksiw “Debris” from the collection A KIND OF MADNESS by Uche Okonkwo “Good Enough” from the collection A SMALL THING TO WANT by Shuly Cawood Chris finally finished her #Victober book, ARMADALE by Wilkie Collins, and then read two picture books, WHAT FEELING DO WHEN NO ONE’S LOOKING by Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft and SOMETHING, SOMEDAY by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson. Some other books we discuss are: THIS CURSED HOUSE by Del Sandeen SHRED SISTERS by Betsy Lerner THE NEW MENOPAUSE by Mary Claire Haver, MD WHERE THEY LAST SAW HER by Marcie R. Rendon Chris also read A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY by Brian D. Kennedy. She loved it but doesn’t discuss it in detail as it’s our fourth quarter readalong. To join our Zoom discussion on December 8th at 7 pm ET, please email us ([email protected]). The conversation is free and open to all. As always, we discuss biblio adventures we’ve gone on and more books than we can include here. We hope you enjoy this episode. Happy Reading!

Welcome to Episode 220 – It’s another 10th episode, which means it’s giveaway time! One lucky newsletter subscriber will win copies of The Gardener’s Plot: A Mystery by Deborah J. Benoit and The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. We send one newsletter per month, and it is free. Sign up on our website, and good luck! We also announce our Patreon giveaway for November: Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg. John Valeri, our Mystery Man, is back! He joins us to discuss Murder in the Smithsonian by Margaret Truman, which we buddy-read. John also shares some insider information that might shock Truman fans. Since the last episode, we’ve read several delightful romances, an eerie ghost story, a thought-provoking multigenerational novel, and a charming picture book: Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center “Afterward: A Ghost Story for Christmas” or from the collection Tales of Men and Ghosts by Edith Wharton Real Americans by Rachel Khong What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking by Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac and translated by Jennifer Croft We also had some wonderful Biblio Adventures, including stops at Breakwater Books and Bennett’s Books and a great virtual event via the North Haven Memorial Library with Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. As always, this episode has more books and adventures than we can list in this blurb. If you don’t catch something while you’re listening, check out the show notes on our website, where you’ll find all the books and places we talk about listed, usually with links. Thank you for listening, and we wish you lots of Happy Reading!

Welcome to Episode 219! In this episode, we recap some exciting Biblio Adventures, including trips to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, the Montague Book Mill, the Montague Center Library, and an author event at RJ Julia Booksellers with Betsy Lerner. Chris talks about a handful of picture books she read: The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs – written by Chana Stiefel, illustrated by Susan Gal The City Tree – written by Shira Boss, illustrated by Lorena Alvarez I Am Bat – written and illustrated by Morg Hood The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt – written by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein – written by Lynn Fulton, illustrated by Felicita Sala Emily read two short stories: “Loot” by Nadine Gordimer from the collection Loot and Other Stories “Seams” by Olga Tokarczuk from The Best Short Stories 2022: The O. Henry Prize Winners And between the two of us, we read three novels: The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens Sandwich by Catherine Newman We also discuss what we’re #currentlyreading, would like to read, and more. Reminder that the fourth quarter readalong for our Year of Reading Romance is A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy. See the show notes for details. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Welcome to Episode 218, featuring a Playwright Spotlight with Laura Thoma about her new Christmas play, MISS MARGARET’S BARTON COTTAGE CHRISTMAS SURPRISE, coming this December to Drama Works Theatre in Old Saybrook. We made up for lost time with a slew of Biblio Adventures, starting with a discussion with James R. Benn at the Mystic & Noank Library, after which we dashed over to see the new home of Bank Square Books in Stonington, who co-hosted the event. Next was the Windham-Campbell Literary Festival at Yale in New Haven, where we bought books curbside at the Possible Futures Bookmobile. Days later, we were thrilled to attend the grand opening of Montgomery & Taggert in Chester – Connecticut’s first Romance Bookstore! Lastly, we saw DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Legacy Theatre in Stony Creek. We did some reading, too, since our last episode. Short stories via the Decameron Project: “Clinical Notes” by Liz Moore “Recognition” by Victor LaValle Novels: 📕 THE PERILS OF LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH by Claudia Gray 📗 LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore 📘 A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens 📙SWAN SONG by Elin Hildebrand 📘 THE SECRET LIFE OF ALBERT ENTWISTLE: An Uplifting and Unforgettable Story of Love and Second Chances by Matt Cain Nonfiction: 📕 THAT LIBRARIAN: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones We also talk about upcoming Biblio Adventures, what we’re #currentlyreading, and plan to read. You can visit the show notes for everything we mention and links to good bookish stuff. Thanks for listening, and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2024/episode218

We are thrilled to welcome James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle World War II mystery series. The nineteenth book in the series, THE PHANTOM PATROL, is out today! It’s Winter 1944, and Boyle is on a mission that takes him from the beleaguered art world of Paris to the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge. Some of the novels we discuss in this episode include THE MOST by Jessica Anthony, THE GATHERING by C.J. Tudor, DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver, OUT AT THE PLATE: The Dot Wilkinson Story by Lynn Ames, and the third quarter readalong in our Year of Reading Romance, ENVY by Sandra Brown. Emily took a couple of older literary journals off her shelf and read two short stories: “The Miracle Years of Little Fork” by Rebecca Makkai in Ploughshares (Summer 2015 edition) and “Why Were They Throwing Bricks?” by Jenny Zhang in n+1 (Spring 2017). We also talk about what we are #currentlyreading, including two that are out now: A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens and, perfect for Banned Books Week: THAT LIBRARIAN: THE FIGHT AGAINST BOOK BANNING IN AMERICA by Amanda Jones. And two that are forthcoming: THE MIGHTY RED by Louise Erdrich (out 10/1/2024 from Harper) and JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF: A Rare Bookseller’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend by Rebecca Romney (2/18/2025 from Marysue Rucci Books/Simon & Schuster). In #BiblioAdventures, Emily had a lovely visit to the New Canaan Public Library, and Chris continues to rewatch the Harry Potter movies. As always, we talk about more books and adventures than we can squeeze into this quick preview. We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do, please leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen or tell a friend about us. Happy Reading! Emily & Chris

Emily is back in Connecticut, which means she and Chris were able to record this episode together at Book Cougars HQ. We are grateful for long-distance recording technology, but talking about books in person is much more fun! Our special guest is Michael Kelleher, Director of the Windham Campbell Prizes. Mike explains that these awards are given to writers, not for a particular book, but in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting. This year’s festival dates are September 17-20 at Yale in New Haven, CT. If you can’t make it to Connecticut, some events, like Lydia Davis’s keynote and the awards ceremony, will be live-streamed (links in the show notes). The books and stories we read since the last episode include: Envy by Sandra Brown Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez The Truth’s We Hold: An American Story by Kamala Harris Mrs. Saint and the Defectives by Julie Lawson Timmer Big by Vashti Harrison “Disaster Stamps of Pluto” by Louise Erdrich from the collection The Best American Mystery Stories 2005 edited by Joyce Carol Oates and Otto Penzler “Double Birthday” by Willa Cather in The Best American Short Stories of the Century edited by John Updike As always, we also talk about what we’re #CurrentlyReading, what we want to read, and Biblio Adventures. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. Happy Listening and Reading!

We’re calling this episode “The Midwest Episode” because we recorded it while both of us were visiting the Midwest. Emily is spending time with her daughter and granddaughter in Michigan, and Chris was visiting her mom in Chicago. Newer listeners might not realize that although we both now live in Connecticut, we are transplants from the Midwest. Emily is originally from Ohio, and Chris is from Illinois. Does any of this matter? Who knows. What does matter is that we’ve read some good books and short stories over the last two weeks. Books include HOT AIR by Marcy Dermansky, SO THIRSTY by Rachel Harrison, and SULWE by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Short stories are “The Hexter Girls” from GOODBYE PROCESS: STORIES by Mary Jones and “The Many Taste Grooves of the Chang Family” by Allison King via Levar Burton Reads. We also had some lovely #biblioadventures to libraries, bookstores, and a historic building with a literary past. Happy Listening!