Episodes

  • My dear friend Mark Lefebvre is back this week to teach me all about Canadian Literature, eh?



    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Mark Lefebvre

    Website/Instagram

    Editor: Emily Zumchak

    Website/Email

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

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    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.



    Discussed in this episode:

    Bob and Doug McKenzie

    The Handmaids Tale and Others by Margaret Atwood

    Louise Penny

    The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

    World of Wonders by Robertson Davies

    Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

    Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison

    Farley Mowat

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

    Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

    A Matter of Will by Rod Carley

    Kinmount by Rod Carley

    Lives of Girls and Women and Others by Alice Munroe

    Steven Leacock

    The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot

    The Embroidered Book by Kate Hartfield

    The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith

    The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee

    Changing Vision by Julie E. Czerneda

    Flash Forward Robert J Sawyer

    Flashforward TV series

    Rollback by Robert J Sawyer

    Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson

    Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

    All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner

    Eden’s Eyes by Sean Costello

    Death Drives a Semi by Edo Van Belkom

    The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper

    The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart

    Samantha M. Bailey

    Giles Blunt

    Michael Connolly

    Linwood Barclay

    Into The Fire by Rick Mofina

    Hollow Place by Rick Mofina

    Requiem by Rick Mofina

    Canadian Werewolf Series

    The Line Painter by Claire Cameron

    The Bear by Claire Cameron

    The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron

    The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

    The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

    The Color of Heaven by Julianne McClain

    Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphries

    Someday I’ll Find You by C.C. Humphries

    Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

    Scott Overton

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • This week's guest is one of my favorite readers, writers and humans on the planet: Mark Lefebvre. Mark has been pushing Terry Fallis' books on me practically since we met, and I'm so glad I finally took his advice. We had a great time discussing political satire, reading slumps, and the differences between American and Canadian humor sensibilities.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Mark Lefebvre

    Website/Instagram

    Editor: Emily Zumchak

    Website/Email

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.



    Discussed in this episode:

    The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

    Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

    BBE Episode 009 Mark Lefebvre on Earth Abides

    BBE Episode 058 Mark Lefebvre on Traveling Music by Neil Peart (this is one of those very rare occasions when Mark and I disagreed about a book, and let me tell you, my friends: saying something negative about Neil Peart in front of Mark Lefebvre was the riskiest thing I have ever done in my life. I am so brave.)

    Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

    Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger

    BBE Episode 010 Casey Starnes on Catcher in the Rye

    Titles Bookstore at McMaster University

    High Spirits by Robertson Davies

    John Irving

    Steven Leacock

    McClelland and Stewart

    Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw

    My Fair Lady (1964)

    Best Laid Plans TV Show

    Dennis Hamill

    Operation Angus by Terry Fallis

    No Relation by Terry Fallis

    Up and Down by Terry Fallis

    Poles Apart by Terry Follis

    The Candidate (1972)

    Three Cheers For Me by Donald Jack

    The Long Way Back by Nicole Bart

    Number One is Walking by Steve Martin

    Harry Bliss

    The Canadian Mounted by Mark Leslie

    Edo Van Belkom

    Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

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  • This week I'm so delighted for you to meet Kate Reynolds, also known as The Lavender Librarian. Kate is a passionate advocate of inclusive storytimes for children, and she has some innovative ideas for how to share reading time with kids.

    I was initially hesitant when Kate suggested we read a children's book for this episode - afraid that we wouldn't have enough to talk about to fill the half hour. But I was so, so wrong. Talking to librarians is always a wonderful experience, but talking to this particular one about this particular book was extra-specially magic.



    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Kate Reynolds

    Instagram/Facebook/Youtube

    Storytime Solidarity - Website/Patreon/Facebook Group

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

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    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond

    Roald Dahl

    The Babysitters Club

    Beverly Cleary

    Mr. Rogers

    Sharon, Lois and Bram

    Sandwiches by Fred Penner

    Je suis une Pizza by Charlotte Diamond

    123 Andres

    Jim Gill

    Little Miss Anne

    Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

    Mouse by Art Spiegelman

    And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

    Tiffany Hammond’s Instagram

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Today I am joined by Lisa Petersen, my dear friend since college. We agreed to spend the summer revisiting our favorite childhood classics by Judy Blume, and now we’re back to discuss our feelings about the books as children vs. as adults. Along the way, we talked about banned books and parenting, and how our love for Judy Blume has carried us through the years.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Lisa Petersen



    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.



    Discussed in this episode:

    Judy Blume

    The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling

    The Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter

    A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

    Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

    Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

    Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume

    Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume

    Blubber by Judy Blume

    Deenie by Judy Blume

    Forever by Judy Blume

    It’s Not the End of the World by Judy Blume

    Judy Blume Forever - 2023 film

    Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret - 2023 film

    Terry Gross Interview

    In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

    You’ve Got Mail - 1998 film

    Also, for fun: 87 Books Featured in “You’ve Got Mail”

    A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Yolanda Skeete, an avid reader and co-host of Thrillers by the Book Club SoCal, is back on the show with our book club pal Vanessa Vicente. Yolanda and Vanessa are both bookstagrammers living in Southern California who love to review thrillers, nonfiction, romance, and other genres. As mothers ourselves, we have a lot to say about the 2022 Science Fiction novel “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan. In this episode, we talk about our experiences, hardships, and joys as mothers, and the discussion ranges from KidLit to Black Mirror to Michelle Obama to questions like “Why aren’t moms allowed to be sexy??”

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Yolanda Skeete

    Instagram

    Guest: Vanessa Vicente

    Instagram



    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.



    Discussed in this episode:

    The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

    Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022

    Maribel’s Year and Others by Michelle Sterling

    Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

    Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds

    Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds

    The Couch Potato by Jory John

    The Bad Seed by Jory John

    Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

    Harambe

    Black Mirror TV Show

    The Sitting Month

    The Drowning Woman by Robin Harding

    Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

    The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen

    Judy Blume

    Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Movie

    Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

    Drowning by T.J. Newman

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • If you have not yet experienced the joy of the "Court of Thorns and Roses" fandom, we are going to fix that today.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest Panel:

    Victoria Snow

    Instagram

    Fareya

    Instagram/TikTok/Goodreads

    Nicole Burton

    Instagram/Goodreads

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas

    A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAR) by Sarah J. Maas

    A Court of Wings and ruin (ACOWAR) by Sarah J. Maas

    A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOFAS) by Sarah J. Maas

    A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

    ACOTAR Wiki

    Emma Petersen mentioned the ACOTAR books as “bird porn” when she appeared on the podcast to talk about Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang on Episode 138

    A Court of Tattoos and Rosé podcast

    Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

    Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

    The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

    House of Earth and Blood: Book one of the Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas

    Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

    @Kaykaysbookshelf (an awesome bookstagram account – scroll her saved stories for Sarah J. Mass mini-guides [spoiler free], maps, glossaries, etc. Her account is well worth a visit if you are a fan.

    Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

    A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

    Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

    Daughter of the Moon Goddess: A Fantasy Romance Novel by Sue Lynn Tan

    Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

    The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes (a Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

    Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Today I've got my first "three-peat" guest, Marion Hill. Just like in our two previous conversations, Marion introduced me to a book that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, that I sort of dreaded reading, and that I wound up loving and thinking about nonstop after I finished!

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Marion Hill

    Website/Instagram

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    The Book of Strange new Things by Michel Faber

    The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

    Eva Luna: A Novel by Isabel Allende

    Marion’s previous picks on the podcast

    Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint, which we talked about on Episode 008

    Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which we talked about on Episode 083

    The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

    Gilead by Marilyn Robinson

    Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg

    The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

    A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

    The Sportswriter: Bascombe Trilogy 1 by Richard Ford

    Independence Day: Bascombe Trilogy 2 by Richard Ford

    The Lay of the Land: Bascombe Trilogy 3 by Richard Ford

    Let Me Be Frank with You: A Frank Bascombe Book by Richard Ford

    Be Mine: A Frank Bascombe Novel by Richard Ford

    The Kammbia Series by Marion Hill

    Marion’s 25 by Marion Hill

    Marion’s 25 Volume II by Marion Hill

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Ambika Devi

    Website/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

    Fun With Dick and Jane

    Lilith by Ambika Devi

    The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

    Cupid is a Bastard by Ambika Devi

    Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe

    Danielle Garrett

    Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

    Artemis by Andy Weir

    The Martian by Andy Weir

    Project Hail Mary

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • My guest this week is my beautiful daughter Ella. Ella just finished a semester at the University of Leicester, where she studied the novels of Jane Austen, and we have been talking nonstop about the books versus the movie adaptations, as well as feminism in Jane Austens books, and whether or not Harry Styles can smolder. It's a journey.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Ella Strauss

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    1st Annual Kids/YA Episode when Ella told me about Kate Atkinson

    Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

    Emma by Jane Austen

    Persuasion by Jane Austen

    Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

    Clueless Movie

    Bride and Prejudice

    Sense and Sensibility Movie

    A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

    Here comes the smolder – from “Tangled”

    Derek Zoolander’s “Blue Steel”

    Here is the Mr. Darcy hand flex scene that all the kids are weirdly obsessed with

    We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

    The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

    Eve Ensler

    Colleen Hoover

    Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

    Bunny: A Novel by Mona Awad

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • My mom is the reason I’m a reader and today she joined me to talk books. She surprised me by choosing a cookbook (she and I are both fiction junkies) but The Pat Conroy Cookbook made for a great chat. We also talked about how we both cut our teeth on trashy novels and the joys of re-reading favorite books. She even spilled some tea about her book club!

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Betsy Dunn

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    The Pat Conroy Cookbook by Pat Conroy

    The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope (this is just one in a whole series of Bobbsey Twins adventures)

    Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

    The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

    The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

    Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

    The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

    Beach Music by Pat Conroy

    The Great Santini by Pat Conroy

    The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy

    Carlsbad Aquafarm

    Beaufort, South Carolina really does look like a lovely town

    Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home by Ina Garten

    Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguingnon

    Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

    A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

    The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King

    The Water is Wide: A Memoir by Pat Conroy

    The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian

    Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

    Horse by Geraldine Brooks

    Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Y'all already know how much I love Canadians, and today you get to hear from one of my favorite ones.⁠
    ⁠
    I've previously interviewed Erin Walker before on Episode 101: Cookbook-Palooza with the women of the Three Kitchens Podcast. Their mission is to inspire fellow home cooks to try something new and have fun in the kitchen. They take a deep dive into a recipe, giving ideas and tips for making it, and they also talk to interesting guests from the food world.⁠
    ⁠
    Today I get a solo show with Erin, who is a mother, knitter, lover of the great outdoors and (of course) an avid reader. We talked about the book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing and let me tell you: this is a jaw-dropping story. Erin is the type of human who likes to do treacherous, outdoorsy things, and I am the type of human who only goes outside to acquire more books. But we agree that this book, and the story of this particular adventurer, is an incredible read.⁠

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Erin Walker

    Instagram/Facebook/Website

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.

    The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 049, when Ysaura Vanegas talked to me about The Alchemist)

    A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

    Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

    The Strangers by Katherena Vermette

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 024, when Jaimie Morimoto talked to me about Pride and Prejudice)

    The Promise by Damon Galgut

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 089, when Stephen Pelton talked to me about Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf,and we veered into a discussion about Damon Galgut’s books.)

    Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

    Endurance: My Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

    More Than You’ll Ever Know by Kate Gutierrez

    Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden

    The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 143, when Katy Leep Arditti talks to me about The House in the Cerulean Sea)

    Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

    The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

    Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 089, when Tori Snow talked to me about Hidden Valley Road)

    Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho

    (Check out Best Book Ever Episode 110, when Jasmine Vyas talked to me about Tastes Like War).

    I was not able to do the Bosom Caresser Speakeasy Episode with the Three Kitchens Gals, but they did it, and it is wonderful. Check it out HERE!

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • It's just Julie this week, with an update about my absence and conversation about how my girlfriends have pulled me through this horrible season of life. Spoiler alert: they fed me tacos and wine and led me to the books that are helping me see things differently. As friends do!

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

    This also exists as a stage play adaptation, performed on audiobook by Vanessa Redgrave

    Jaymi Couch, The OC Book Girl Instagram

    Jaymi’s newsletter, Let’s Read Nonfiction

    If you are a So Cal resident, don’t miss Jaymi’s amazing So Cal Reads Newsletter, where she links to author and reader events all over Southern California

    Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life by Michael Frame

    When Your Heart Says Go: My Year of Traveling Beyond Loss and Loneliness by Judy Reeves

    This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew by Daniel Wallace

    Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear

    The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Bozoma Saint John

    What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love by Laurel Braitman

    So Sorry for Your Loss: How I Learned to Live with Grief, and Other Grave Concerns by Dina Gachman

    One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care by Chenxing Han

    Everything All at Once: A Memoir by Stephanie Catudal

    How to Say Goodbye by Wendy MacNaughton

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • My beloved Katy Leep Arditti is back this week, with yet another book that ripped my beating heart straight out of my chest, and left me weeping on the bedroom floor in the wee hours of the night. In a good way. We also chatted about perfume and anxiety and book bans, and how this book needs to go to people who experience all three.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Katy Leep-Arditti

    Katy’s Bookstagram/Katy’s Perfume IG Account /Perfume TikTok Account

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    Katy’s last appearance on Best Book Ever Podcast

    The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

    Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

    Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

    Skylar Salt Air perfume

    Fog perfume by Henry Rose

    Noir Exquis by L’Artisan Perfumaire

    Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • I liked today’s book.

    And then I felt very weird that I liked it.

    Olivia Day, my guest who brought this confusing, twisty book into my life, is the co-host of the Thrillers by the Book Club pod. She is a long-time lover of thrillers, crime, and mystery stories, and a graduate of International Thriller Writer’s Online Thriller School. Despite the grim thesis of the book we are discussing, Olivia and I had a lot of laughs as we discussed this book. And we drew a pretty effective through-line between the books that represent women’s ultimate fantasies, whether they are sexual or, you know, murderous.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Olivia Day

    Instagram/Twitter

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    Discussed in this episode:

    Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast

    Chelsea Hofman on the Best Book Ever Podcast: Episode 137 and Episode 108

    Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

    They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

    Temper by Layne Fargo

    The Collective by Alison Gaylin

    The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

    Best Book Ever Episode 013 Asha Sabella on The Last Mrs. Parrish

    Heartsick: A Thriller by Chelsea Cain

    What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

    Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Lisa Marie Cabrelli is my dear friend and one of my favorite people on the planet to talk books with, because her insights always knock me out. She came back to the show today to talk about "In the Woods," the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French. Lisa Marie got me hooked on this series several years ago, and I love hearing her brilliant insights about why crime fiction reflects national identity. Tana French writes literary, thought-provoking genre fiction that is deeply immersive and, as I found out, gets even better on re-reads.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Lisa Marie Cabrelli

    Website/Instagram/Twitter

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    In the Woods by Tana French (Book 1 of the Dublin Murder Squad)

    Elizabeth George

    Listen to author Aime Austin talk to me about What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George in Episode 047

    Ian Rankin

    The Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny

    Tana French’s Intimate Crime Fiction, by Laura Miller, the New Yorker, September 26, 2016

    Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

    Ann Patchett’s bookstore, Parnassus Books

    This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell

    Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

    Severance by Ling Ma

    Listen to Lisa Marie’s previous appearance on this podcast, when she talked about Severance on Episode 050

    Read "The Descent" by Lisa Marie Cabrelli on Yonder

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Dawn Raffel

    Website/Instagram/Twitter

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

    War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

    How to Read War and Peace by Dawn Raffel Oprah Magazine, July 2006 (this article really makes me want to give it a shot
)

    Moby Dick by Herman Melville

    Middlemarch by George Eliot

    Boundless as the Sky by Dawn Raffel

    Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

    The Strange Case of Dr. Couney by Dawn Raffel

    Grendel by John Gardner

    Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Some of you may remember back in episode 107 when I had Maci Nelson on the show. Maci is an avowed bookworm – iand also the host of one of my favorite shows, the Landscape Nerd podcast, a fantastic resource for anyone who is interested in the outdoor world. You might think this is a niche interest of mine, since I’m a known garden geek, but what’s great about the Landscape Nerd is how Maci looks at all aspects of our outdoor spaces – not only which plants grow there, but how we use spaces, how we look at them, evne how they sound. I promise you, even if you are not particularly interested in gardening, you will learn something wonderful when you hear Maci talk to people who care about your landscape.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Guest: Maci Nelson

    Website/Instagram/Podcast

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    Maci’s appearance on the Best Book Ever podcast, when we discussed “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

    American Society of Botanical Artists

    The Art of Botanical Illustration, via Daily Art Magazine

    What is Botanical Illustration? via My Modern Met

    The Science of Art: Why Botanical Illustration Matters, via National Tropical Botanical Garden

    How Art Shapes Our Understanding of Plants and Reveals Wonders Photographs Can Miss, via National Geographic.co.uk

    Botanical Illustration is Becoming Endangered, But the Job is Essential, via the Washington Post (no paywall)

    Ode to Black Botanical Illustrators

    Decolonizing Botanical Illustration, via Draw Botanical

    Nirupa Rao: Discovering the Magical World of Botanical Illustration, via National Geographic Society

    An Nirupa Rao TED Talk: An Illustrated Kingdom of Real, Fantastical Plants

    ‘Plant Blindness’ is a Real Thing: Why It’s a Real Problem, Too, via The Conversation

    Draw Botanical.com

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Emma Dayton Petersen lives in NYC, and is working towards getting her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology. While studying, she works full time as a Client Success Manager for a life and career coaching company for creatives. She became interested in the field of speech and linguistics during her time as a theater student at CSU, Fullerton. Emma’s dream is to use performance and theater as a tool to help people with communicative disorders. Her love of language is what initially drew her to the short story, “Story of Your Life,” and we had a fascinating discussion about what language is, how we communicate, and if we’d want to know the future.

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Emma Dayton Petersen

    Instagram

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (this is a book of short stories; the one we discussed today, ‘Story of Your Life’, is the story that the movie ‘Arrival’ is based on.

    A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

    Arrival movie – this movie is also one of my all-time favorites!

    Untamed by Glennon Doyle

    The Best Short Stories 2022, The O. Henry Prize Winners, Edited by Valeria Luiselli

    The Strand Bookstore

    Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption edited by Daniel Jones

    Modern Love podcast

    From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • Today we welcome back my friend Chelsea Hofman of the Thrillers by the Book Club and Podcast. I think of all of my guest, Chelsea is probably the one whose tastes are the most polar opposite of mine. Thats why it's always such a blast talking to her. Today we discussed a book about murderous dolls that I shockingly did not hate!

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Chelsea Hofman

    Instagram/Podcast

    Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

    Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

    Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

    Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

    Discussed in this episode:

    How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

    Thrillers by the Book Club

    Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast

    So, You’re Interested in Free Books episode of Thrillers by the Book Club Podcast

    The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

    Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

    The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

    The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

    Corduroy by Don Freeman

    The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

    The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody by Shrill Travesty

    Super Scary Haunted Homeschool with Grady Hendrix

    The Last Word by Taylor Adams

    The Only One Left by Riley Sager

    Zero Days by Ruth Ware

    None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

    The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

    A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

    What Remains by Wendy Walker

    The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

  • My friends, Covid finally caught up to me this week, and holy moly did it ever knock me on my on my butt. So, today I’m sharing a replay episode. This interview with Jeff Adams was one of my all time favorites - he’s a delightful human, a wonderful podcast host, and an incredibly voracious reader. The book we discussed, and this episode, have stuck with me ever since it aired.

    Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website

    Host: Julie Strauss

    Website/Instagram

    Jeff Adams

    Website/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Big Gay Fiction Podcast/Big Gay Author Podcast

    Discussed in this episode:

    The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

    (Part of the Ivy Years Series)

    New York City Gay Hockey Association

    Trouble Shooter Series by Suzanne Brockman (This is a 19-book series that begins with The Unsung Hero.)

    Love, Simon

    The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren

    St. Nachos by Z.A. Maxfield

    Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

    The Extraordinaries by TJ Clune

    Camp by L.C. Rosen

    V.L. Losey (Romance author)

    RJ Scott (Romance author)

    The MM Author Podcast

    GRL – Gay Rom Lit Retreat

    They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera

    History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

    What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

    Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

    Love, Victor

    Finding Joy by Adriana Herrera

    The Dreamers Series Adriana Herrera

    Book 1: American Dreamer

    Book 2 American Fairytale

    Book 3: American Love Story

    Book 4: American Sweetheart

    The Hideaway Inn by Phillip William Stover

    The Hockey Player’s Heart by Jeff Adams and Will Knauss

    (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)