Episodes
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You can find Tracy Clark on social media on Instagram @tpclark2000 and on her website www.tracyclarkbooks.com/
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover
This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Tracy Clark, who we interviewed in Season 8 (episode 161) about her first Harriet Foster novel titled Hide. Her most recent title, number 3 in the series, is called Echo, and it came out Dec 3. We chat with her about this book, as well as the Harriet Foster book she is currently writing. We caught her on a writing day in which Harriet Foster was not cooperating. Then you will hear some of our conversation with Tracy back in 2023 when Harriet Foster first arrived on the scene.
Books Mentioned In This Episode
1- Hide by Tracy Clark
2- Echo by Tracy Clark
3- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
4- Her Name is Knight series by Yasmin Angoe
5- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
6-The Ninja's Oath (Lily Wong series) by Tori Eldridge
7- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
9- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
10- American Fever by Dur e Aziz Almna
Authors mentioned:
1- Sarah Paretsky
2- Sue Grafton
3- Agatha Christie
4- Valerie Wilson Wesley
5- Barbara Neely
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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 Sharon Short at her website, www.sharonshort.com and on Instagram at @sharongshortauthor.
This week we have a Remix episode and catch up with Sharon Short, who we initially interviewed about her historical mystery novels which she wrote under the pen name Jess Montgomery. She has a new stand alone mystery suspense out titled Trouble Island that was inspired by a very interesting family story. You will first hear our most recent chat with her just a few weeks ago and then we will replay our original conversation with her back in the Spring of 2022 talking about her Kinship series.
Just a note that next week we will have another REMIX episode, this time with award winning mystery writer Tracy Clark whose most recent in the Detective Harriet Foster series came out Dec 3 titled Echo. The Washington Post has just named it one of their top mysteries of 2024.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- Trouble Island by Jess Montgomery
2- The Widows by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series)
3- The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Kinship series)
4- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen Kirby
5- Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
6- How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
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Missing episodes?
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This is a REPLAY episode from our Holiday gift buying guide from 2023. We will be back next week with a REMIX episode with former guest Tracy Clark who has a new mystery you won't want to miss.
This week we chat with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, from Carmichaelâs Bookstore. Each November we let her do the heavy lifting and share books that have come out and might be good choices for your holiday shopping.
If you would like to check out Carmichaelâs Bookstore Holiday Book Gift Guide, you can find it online at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
2- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
3- Foster by Claire Keegan
4- So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
5- Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
6- Fraud by Zadie Smith
7- Armor of Light by Ken Follett
8- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
9- Julia by Sandra Newman
10- 1984 by George Orwell
11- Reformatory by Tananarive Due
12- Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
13- A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
14- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
15- West Heart Kill by Dann Mcdorman
16- The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
17- The Appeal by Janice Hallett
18- The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
19- Stalking Shakespeare by Lee Durkee
20- They Flew by Carlos Eire
21- Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
22- Wild Girls by Tiya Miles
23- The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl
24- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
25- Watership Down (graphic novel) by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin
26- Watership Down by Richard Adams
27- Energy Follows Thought by Willie Nelson
28- World Within a Song by Jeff Tweedy
29- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
30- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
31- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
32- Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
33- Legend & Lattes by Travis Baldree
34- World Central Kitchen Cookbook by Jose Andres
35- Every Cook, Every Kitchen by Feed Louisville
36- Oldest Louisville by Kevin Gibson
37- Always Moving Forward by David Jones and Bob Hill
38- Back Page by Byron Crawford
39- Fathers by Richard Taylor
40- From the Heads of the Hollers by Shelby Lee Adams
41- Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
42- Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys by DMS Fick
43- Rabbit Heart by Kristine S. Ervin
44- My Dark Places by James Ellroy
45- Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
46- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
47- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
48- The Man who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickensâ A Christmas Carol Rescued his Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
49- Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Casey @Caseys_reads12 Months To Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
Movie and Series Mentioned:
- CODA (2021) - Apple +- Bodies (2023) - Netflix
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f you would like to check out Carmichaelâs Bookstore Holiday Book Gift Guide, you can find it online at www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/
Website- www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpodFaceBook - Perks of Being a BookLover.To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
The delightful Sam Miller, store manager at Carmichaelâs Book Store, comes to save the day. She has, as usual, tons of great new reads that are already on shelves and would make perfect gifts this holiday for the book lovers in your life.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
2- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
3- Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
4- Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
5- The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
6- This is Happiness by Niall Williams
7- Time of the Child by Niall Williams
8- Jim the Boy by Tony Early
9- The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
10- The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff
11- The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973 by Clara Bingham
12- Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
13- The Elements of Madame Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science by Dava Sobel
14- The Universe in Verse edited by Maria Popov
15- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
16- The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
17- Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Revived Pop Music by Rob Sheffield
18- The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
19- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
20- Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway
21- William by Mason Coile
23- Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison
24- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
25- House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
26- Pride and Prejudice in Space by Alexis Lampley
27- Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
28- From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
29- Cher: The Memoir (Part One) by Cher
30- The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
31- Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney
32- The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
33-Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Ann Byrn
34- Kentucky Ya'll: A Celebration of the People and Culture of the Bluegrass by Blair Thomas Hess and Cameron Ludwick
35- The Stackpole Legend by Wendell Berry
36- In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limon, illustrated by Peter Sis
37- Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
38- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover Perin @mjreadsmagic - Sir Callie and the Dragon's Roost by Esme Symes-Smith
39- Gather by Kenneth Cadow
40- The Horse by Willy Vlautin
41- Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen by Suzanne Scanlon
42- How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery
43- The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
Media mentioned--
1- A Real Pain (2024)
2- Wicked Little Letters (Netflix, 2023)
3- The Lost Daughter (Netflix, 2021)
4- The Return (2024)
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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.
November is Native American Heritage month so in this episode, weâre sharing some books written by Native American authors. There are so many great texts to choose from if youâre interested in broadening your reading. We bring your memoirs, poetry, Pulitzer Prize winners, and more. When we do these thematic episodes, we enjoy hearing from listeners who have their own recommendations within that theme so be sure to shoot us a message or comment on any of our socials.
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
1- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
2- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
3- Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham
4- A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Streets to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi
5- A Book Recommended by Fellow Booklover Vero Garcia @booksandcoffeemx - All This and More by Peng Shepherd
6- The Blessing Way and all books in the Leaphorn & Chee series by Tony Hillerman
7- Bad Indians: A Memoir by Deborah Miranda
8- Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
9- House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
10-Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
11- An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
12- Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez
13- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
14- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos: Reflections on the Newark Earthworks and World Heritage edited by M. Elizabeth Weiser, Timothy RW Jordan, and Richard D. Shiels
15- Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
16- The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich (Birchbark House series #2)
17- The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
18- Shutter by Ramona Emerson
19- Exposure by Ramona Emerson
20- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
21- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
22- There, There by Tommy Orange
23- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
24- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Media mentioned--
1- Reservation Dogs (Hulu, 2021-2023)
2- Dark Winds (AMC and Neflix, 2022 - present)
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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 Alice Kaltman at www.alicekaltman.com or on IG @alicekaltman
This week we chat with Alice Kaltman about her latest book, Aliceâs Big Book of Mistakes. She has written books of linked short stories, novels for various ages, and more, but she decided to try her hand at a graphic memoir all about silly and not-so-silly mistakes she has made throughout the course of her life. Her book aims to make both young and old embrace their missteps in life as building blocks for a life well lived.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Aliceâs Big Book of Mistakes by Alice Kaltman
2- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
3- Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
4- Salemâs Lot by Stephen King
5- The Keeper by Kelsey Ervick
6- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
7- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
8- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
9- Middlemarch by George Eliot
10- Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz
11- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
12- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Emily Craddick - Hotel Splendide by Ludwig Bemelmans
13- Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
14- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
15- Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
16- Sociopath by Patric Gagne
Media mentionedâ
Small Things Like These (2024)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Salemâs Lot (Max, 2024)
Will & Harper (Netflix, 2024)
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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 our topic is philosophical. No, weâre not discussing those dull philosophy textbooks, but rather novels or nonfiction that ask big questions, such as âWho am I?â and âWhat is happiness?â and âDo we have free will?â. We will give you 10 books that will get you thinking with your big brains.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Carrie by Stephen King
2- A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
3- Faith, Hope, and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean OâHagan
4- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
5- A Book Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Larissa @laralucretia - The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
6- Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street by Herman Melville
7- Geography of Bliss: One Grumpâs Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
8- Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with Kids by Scott Hershovitz
9- LoterĂa by Karla Arenas Valenti
10- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11- How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Any Moral Question by Michael Schur
12- The Naked Neanderthal by Ludovic Slimak
13- If Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura
14- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
15- If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity by Justin Gregg
16- Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman
Media mentionedâ
1- Trap (2024, Max)
2- Carrie (2013, Tubi)
3- Carrie (1976)
4- Penny Dreadful (2014-2016 Pluto)
5- The Little Prince (2015, Pluto)
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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 Alisa Alering at www.alering.com or on Insta @alisa.alering.
This week we wrap up what has been a month of seasonally spooky books with guest Alisa Alering, the author of Smothermoss, a book that is set in 1980s Pennsylvania Appalachia. It is the story of two sisters who witness a murder on the Appalachian Trail. It is a book that Amy discovered while attending the Columbus Book Festival this past summer. If you like magical realism or gothic fiction, you will definitely want to check this novel out since there is a sentient mountain. Nature truly is a character in the story.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
2- Ritual by David Pinner
3- Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
4- Watership Down by Richard Adams
5- Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms
6- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
7- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Dina @ddemaiosmith - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
8- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
9- Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
10- Assembly by Natasha Brown
11- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
12- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
13- My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix (Remixed Classics) by Kalynn Bayron
Media mentionedâ1- What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu 2019)
2- What We Do in the Shadows movie (2014)
3- Wellington Paranormal (Max 2018)
4- Psycho (Netflix 1960)
5- The Wicker Man (Tubi 1973)
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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 bringing you a Creature Feature in which we suggest books that tell the story of creatures. Those may be mythological creatures, cryptids, or beings from your favorite horror film. Some are scary, some are mysterious, some donât seem that different from humans. All of them make for good October reads.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
2- Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
3- Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli
4- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Katherine @katshomeig - Beautiful Prey by Lora Darc
5- The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrick Svenson
6- Silver in the Wood/Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
7- The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Millicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara
8- Grendel by John Gardner
9- Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith
10- Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
11- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
12- Mothman's Merry Cryptid Christmas by Andrew Shaffer
13- The Frandidate (Franny K Stein series) by Jim Benton
14- The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
15- Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
16- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
17- It Came From the Trees by Ally Russell
18- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Media mentioned---
1- What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu, 2019- present)
2- The Thing (1982)
3- The Fly (1986)
4- Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix, 2017-2019)
5- The Mummy (1999)
6- Harry & the Hendersons (1987)
7- The Shape of Water (2017)
8- The Goonies (1985)
9- Kaos (Netflix, 2024)
10- The Mothman Prophecies (1992)
11- Illustration of an Anthropophagi - themonstrumologistoverview.weebly.com/confliâŠt.html
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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 Daniel at his website www.danielolivas.com
This week we speak with Daniel Olivas, a lawyer with the California Department of Justice, who is also a novelist, poet, and playwright. His novel, Chicano Frankenstein, which published in March of this year, was an obvious book pick for Carrie because she loves Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The novel has been optioned by Universal Television, so fingers crossed on that.
Olivasâ reimagining of Shelleyâs 1818 novel has an unnamed man as the narrator. He is a paralegal who has been reanimated from the corpse of a Mexican-American man, one of many such reanimated people (derogatively called âstitchersâ) who are part of an effort to deal with the USâ labor crisis, but he struggles with his identity. How can a person have an identity if all knowledge of their family, their interests, their feelings, their thoughts have been stripped away? In addition to the idea of selfhood, the novel also explores the cruelty of politicians who pander to fear and racism, harming the people of their communities that one would expect them to protect.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Chicano Frankenstein by Daniel Olivas
2- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
3- The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande
4- Artificial Life After Frankenstein by Eileen M. Hunt
5- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover The Biblioholic @thebiblioholic_ - Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Page
6- Leech by Hiron Ennes
7- Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Brook Tsai
8- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
9- Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2) by Justina Ireland
Movies mentioned in this episode:
1- Frankenstien (1931)
2- The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
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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.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
2- Horribly Haunted in Hillbilly Hollow by Blythe Baker
3- Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
4- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Lan Nguyen-Colgate - A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I Lin
5- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
6- "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin (Short Story)
7- The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
8- House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
9- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
10- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs and Other Questions About Dead Bodies by Caitlin Doughty
11- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
12- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
13- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
14- Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
15- The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff
16- The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
17- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
18- The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
19- Heavenly Bodies by Amani Erriu
20- Fallen Stars by Amani Erriu
Media mentioned--
1- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (Netflix, 2024)
2- The Lovely Bones (Max, 2009)
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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 Lyndsay at her website www.lyndsayrush.com/ and on IG at @maryoliversdrunkcousin
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush
2- Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan
3- A Five Start Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Meg Longley @ohlongley - Meet Me at the Museum by Ann Youngson
4- Weyward by Emilia Hart
5- I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott
6- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
7- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
8- Pets in the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Vet by Dr. Amy Attas
9- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Media mentionedâ
1- The Wild Robot (2024)
2- Saltburn (Prime Video, 2023)
3- Wuthering Heights: Hollywood's worst case casting decisions -www.bbc.com/culture/article/202âŠt-casting-decisions
4- A Room With a View (1985)
5- Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
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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 info about Midge and John at their website midgeandjohn.com/ or at ashlandcreekpress.com/. They are on IG @midge_and_john and @ashlandcreekpress.
Ashland Creek Press, an eco-fiction publisher, first came on our radar in the pre-COVID era when we interviewed Katy Yocom, author of Three Ways to Disappear, a novel set partly in India that focuses on animal conservation and a relationship between two sisters. But one of our other former guests, Jennifer Caloyeras, host of the Books Are My People podcast, also had a book published by Ashland Creek: her 2015 novel Strays. Weâre always interested in small presses, so we were excited to talk to Midge Raymond and John Yunker about their work running one.
But Midge and John are also writers who have collaborated on a recently published novel titled Devils Island, which is set in Tasmania amongst the endangered and much-maligned Tasmanian devil. While this is a conservation-leaning novel, it is also a suspense story about a naturalist tour that goes very wrong, involving a disappearance and a death.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom
2- Strays by Jennifer Caloyeras
3- Devils Island by Midge Raymond and John Yunker
4- My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
5- The Tourist Trail by John Yunker
6- A Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Susan Cook @bookbookbagawk - Another Country by James Baldwin
7- The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
8- The Spare Room by Helen Garner
9- We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
10- Pines by Blake Crouch
11- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Media mentionedâ
1- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
2- True DetectiveâNight Country (Max)
3- The Bear (Hulu)
4- Eco-lit books âecolitbooks.com/
5- Maria Island Walk - www.mariaislandwalk.com/
6- What do Tasmanian devils sound like? - www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW27vpK4ALQ
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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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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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