Episodes
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 Trumpâs 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-eâŠ-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/arsâŠa/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 BloomsThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-6âŠ30-20/
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 ChambersThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-3âŠ25-20/
28- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema AvashiaThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-6-âŠ-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/healtâŠock/75176681007/
2- Neil Gaiman controversy -www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/âŠxual-misconduct
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 âfallenâ 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 Cookâs 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- Washingtonâs 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)
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Missing episodes?
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 doesnât 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- Deathâs Door: True Tales of Tragedy, Mystery, and Bravery from the Great Lakesâ 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-âŠa-book-bans-8704020
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 @booksbybrittonOn 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/
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 educationânovels 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 NoviÄ
13- Girl at War by Sara NoviÄ
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 eventsâ
1- Poe: A Dream Within a Dreamfareharbor.com/embeds/book/belleâŠow=1089772&g4=yes
2- Untimely Rippâdkyshakespeare.com/season/untimely/
3- Cincy Bookstore Crawlcincybookstorecrawl.my.canva.site/
4- Books by the Banksbooksbythebanks.org/
5- Cynthiana KY Skeletonswkdq.com/small-kentucky-city-halloween/
6- Rail Explorerswww.railexplorers.net/
7- Fenrir Viking Festivalwww.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 mentionedâ
1- The Whale Rider â 2002www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
2- Happiness for Beginners (Netflix, 2023)
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 itâs 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 PechaÄek
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-schoolâŠa6cd2cb5ddd25fca700
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week weâre going âboldly where no man has gone before.â Yesâthatâs 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- The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe series) 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 Manâs 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-pâŠtual-olympic-sport/
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 canât 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 womenâs 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, weâre 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 Duffyâs 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 mentionedâ
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/s9epâŠ21323/
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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. Itâs 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-âŠ-crispy-treats/
2-Yayoi Kusama Exhiition - www.speedmuseum.org/yayoi-kusama-inâŠurvive-forever/
3- Rediscovered Books in Boise, ID - www.rdbooks.org/
4- Free Little Art Galleries (FLAGS) - freelittleartgalleries.art/
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 Iâm 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/âŠ21st-century.html
Episodes mentioned--
1- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/âŠm-vidrine
2- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/âŠakespeare
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 usâweâve got over 200 episodes under our belts and are back to bring you more.
Unless youâve been living under a rock, you probably know that fantasy is big right now, and we discovered a fun fantasy that feels like an Oceanâs 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 canât 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
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***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 andFB 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 Vinciâs 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 Lover1- Empire Of A Vampire by Jay Christoff recommended by Tiffany K., Omaha, NE. Instagram @chaiteaandbooksareallineed
Shows/Movies watchedâ
1- American Born Chinese (Disney+, 2023)
2- Annihilation (Netflix, 2018)
3- The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Labirynth Locatorwww.labyrinthlocator.com
Bookish News
Article about Henrietta Lacksapnews.com/article/henrietta-lâŠefa34c9b79a544f0729
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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/âŠolastic.html
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****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 Carmichaelâs 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 Didnât 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 Soldierâs Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II by David Chrisinger
23- Monsters: A Fanâs Dilemma by Claire Dederer
24- A Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
25- Pageboy by Elliot Page
26- Donât 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
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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
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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- Molokaâi 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)
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 isnât 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 ainât happy, no other part of you is happy either. Itâs 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 FonzâŠand Beyond by Henry Winkler
2- Firekeeperâs 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 mentionedâ
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
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 doesnât 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 mentionedâ
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 mentionedâtime.com/3456028/the-most-beaâŠh-an-immortal-photo/
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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 weâre about. Sam clues us in to some new fiction, nonfiction, traditional summer reading, mysteries, sci-fi/fantasy, and childrenâs 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 TĂłibĂn
8- Brooklyn by Colm TĂłibĂn
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- Evaâs Man by Gayl Jones
36- You Are Here edited by Ada LĂmon
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- Iâm Afraid You Have Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
50- The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Apps mentionedâMerlin app (birds)
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Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFacebook - 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)
- Show more
