We interact with book publicists pretty often, but a few months ago, one of them, Sami Lien, emailed and asked for recommendations about things to do in Kentucky around Derby. She explained that she is in a travel book club; they read books over the course of 12 months about a particular US location and then take a trip to visit. The novel Horse by Geraldine Brooks was the book that inspired this particular trip for their club.

Well, we love books and travel so we had to invite Sami and her book club friend, Marilyn, to be guests on the show. We had a great time learning about the ins and outs of their travel book club and are excited to get to meet them this Friday at a restaurant about an hour outside of Louisville.

Books Mentioned in the Episode:

1- Horse by Geraldine Brooks

2- Relative Strangers by A.H. Kim

3- Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards

4- 1984 by George Orwell

5- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

6- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

7- East of Eden by John Steinbeck

8- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

9- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

10- South of Broad by Pat Conroy

11- My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

12- Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

13- Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens

14- Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz

15- Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon - A five star read recommended by fellow book lover Caitríona Shannon @these_thats_and_prose

16- Friday Harbor by DC Alexander

17-Blood in the Bluegrass by DC Alexander

18- Mary by Janis Cooke Newman

19- Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming

20- Norah Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Shows mentioned--

1- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)

The Divine Destinations Reading List for Kentcuky and the KY Derby

1- Horse: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks

2- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

3- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

4- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

5- Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

6- Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

7- Lincoln by Russell Freedman

8- Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson

9- The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

10- The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts

11- First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

12- The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

13- Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal by Sarah Maslin Nir

14- Lexington by Kim Wickens

This week we have a remix episode because we are attending the LA Festival of Books. We catch up with author Ellen Birkett Morris. We first spoke to her in 2020 about her short story collection, Lost Girls, and now she has recently published a novel Beware the Tall Grass. So we will hear a little something old and a little something new from her in that episode.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- Beware the Tall Grass by Ellen Birkett Morris

2- Lost Girls by Ellen Birkett Morris

3- Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

4- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

5- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

5- Arabel's Raven by Joan Aiken

6- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

7- Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

8- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach

9- Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

10- Lake Life by David James Poissant

11- Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

12- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

13- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

14- Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn translated by Melody Shaw - 5 Star Read recommended by Sarah Phillips @cosymidlifebooknook

Article mentioned in this episode:

lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-for-book-lovers/

This week we are playing the nostalgia card. All of the books we mention are backlist in a big way; the majority are at least 15 years old. Our episode is about books that take up space in our heads. They may be books that, when we see them on a shelf, stir up all kinds of feelings or memories from years past. Or they are books that simply left a huge impression on us and we think about them from time to time. Even though they aren’t new and shiny, these books deserve a place on your TBR.

Books mentioned:

1- The Dead Boy Detectives comic series based on characters developed by Neil Gaiman

2- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

3- Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

4- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

5- Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

6- When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover - Kasey @kayree_reads

7-It by Stephen King (1986)

8- Jack Gance by Ward Just (1997)

9- Burglars Can’t Be Choosers (the Bernie Rhodenbarr series) by Lawrence Block (1977)

10- The Good Men by Charmaine Craig (2003)

11- The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir (1991)

12- Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade (1991)

13- Nora: A Biography of Nora Joyce by Brenda Maddox (1998)

14- House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (1999)

15- Eva’s Man by Gayl Jones (1987)

16- Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith (1988)

17- Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)

18- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

19- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs

20- Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

Shows mentioned—

1- Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, 2024)

2- Catherine, Called Birdy (Amazon Prime, 2022)

3- Ripley (Netflix, 2024)

4- Sandman (Netflix, 2022)

5- Good Omens (Prime, 2019)

6- Sherlock (Hulu, 2010)

7- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

8- Emma ( Amazon Prime, 2020)

9- 3 Body Problem (Netflix, 2024)

10- Burglar (1987)

11- House of Sand and Fog (Max, 2003)

12- Lion in Winter (1968)

13- Jude (1996)

14- Far from the Madding Crowd (Max, 2015)

Theatre mentioned—

Broadway across America production of “Six”

Articles mentioned—

8 Bookish Podcasts for Booklovers -

www.badasswomensbookclub.com/blog/2024/…booklovers

This week’s episode is one that big history nerds may find fascinating. In fact, big nerd Carrie could have gone even further down a rabbit hole of Herodotus than she did with our guest Judith Lindbergh. If you feel like playing a drinking game with this episode, between the three of us, we say the word ‘fascinating” at least nine times. Judith’s second novel, titled Akmaral, will be published on May 7 and is a sweeping story of a nomadic woman warrior in Central Asia during the 5th century.

Judith tells us about her inspiration for the novel (and you can find more about the Ice Maiden she mentions in our interview on her website) and how the matriarchal community in which Akmaral lives has connections to the mythological Amazons. Judith relates the challenges of women during the Iron Age to those that modern women have through her story. A perfect saga story for fans of Madeline Miller.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

1- Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh

2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

3- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith

4- The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh

5- Histories by Herodotus

6- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer

7- The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Linda Lefler @lindalefler

8- This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray

9- The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

10- The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl

11- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

12- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Movies mentioned--

1- White Noise (2023)

Documentary mentioned:

1- Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women, www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/amazon…women-episode/1464/.

2- NOVA: “Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYitmlS1YU.

Article mentioned--

1- The Marriage Lesson That I Learned Too Late --www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/…-dishes/629526/

2- Tuvan Throat Singing - www.songlines.co.uk/features/essent…-singing-albums.

Earth Day is upon us in a few weeks, April 22, and what better time to explore literature that comments on the health of Mother Earth. This week we are talking eco-literature. Eco-literature engages readers on environmental concerns through the interactions between humans and the environment. And it encourages thought about our impact on the planet.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

2- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

3- That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

4- Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel

5- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

6- Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul - A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Kristin @paws.read.repeat

7- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

8- Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman

9- Dune by Frank Herbert

10- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan

11- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philips

12- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel

13- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom

14- State of Wonder by Ann Patchet

15- What Blooms From Dust by James Markert

16- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

17- Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh

18- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

19- Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson

20- Hoot by Carl Hiassen

Links to articles we reference:

Library Book Returned After 102 Years

people.com/family-returns-pair…ranch%20on%20Monday.

Wishtree censorship—

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/…ishtree.html

Sting Ray article—

www.npr.org/2024/03/07/12366785…tery-north-carolina

Bringing Back the Wooly Mammoth

www.npr.org/sections/health-sho…-mammoth-extinction

You can find this week’s Austen authors at their websites: www.ahkim.net/ and melodieedwards.com/. They are also on IG @ melodiewritesedwards and @ahkim.writer

Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817 but she remains a writer who has captured the minds and hearts of many readers. The themes she addressed in her time remain ones that are relevant today: the need to be an individual despite the binds of society’s rules, the complications of marriage, and the power and powerlessness that comes with changes in social class.

Our guests this week, AH Kim, and Melodie Edwards, both love Jane Austen and with such gusto that they wrote their own reimaginings of her novels. They talk about the potential pitfalls of their endeavors given how exacting many Austen fans are, as well as the things they wanted to ensure they kept from Austen versus the creative license they took to make their stories unique to their own experiences and modern times.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- Relative Strangers by A.H. Ki

2- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

3- Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards

4- Persuasion by Jane Austen

5- Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James

6- Jane and Edward by Melodie Edwards

7- A Good Family by A.H. Kim

8- Long Live by V. B. Lacey - A Book recommended by a fellow book lover Brianna Wright @bwrightsbookreviews

9- Deacon King Kong by James McBride

10- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

11- Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

12- The Fetishist by Katherine Min

13- Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

14- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

TV series mentioned:

1- Northern Exposure ( Amazon, 1990-1995)

2- The Reluctant Traveler (Apple +, 2023-present)

Movies mentioned-

1- Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Colin Firth

2- Sense and Sensibility (1995) with Emma Thompson

3- Persuasion (Netflix, 2022) with Dakota Johnson

4- Persuasion (2007, iTV) with Sally Hawkins

5- Persuasion (1995) with Ciarin Hinds

6- Emma (1996) with Gwyneth Paltrow

7- American Fiction (2023)

This week we’re talking about linked short story collections. What are linked short stories, though?

These are stories that are collected and somehow linked to each other. That link can be very explicit or very subtle. They can be linked by one character who threads her/his way throughout every one or who is only mentioned marginally. They can be linked by several characters. They can be linked by the setting–if they are set in a certain town or state or country.

But they can also be linked by theme or symbol or a common experience of characters. They could all be about a shared experience, like parenthood or death or

love. Or a combination of these things.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

1- Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar

2- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

3- Good Taste by Caroline Scott

4- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

5- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

6- The Decameron by Giovanni Boccacio

7- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

8- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

9- Dubliners by James Joyce

10- Dear Chrysanthemums: A Novel in Stories by Fiona Sze-Lorrain

11- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

12- Birth Canal by Dias Novita Wuri

13- There, There by Tommy Orange

14- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

15- What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better by Jody Hobbs Hessler

16- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

17- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

18- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

19- Music of the Swamp by Lewis Nordan

20- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

21- Crooked Hallelujah by Kelly Jo Ford

22- Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta

23- Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

24- Throne of Glass (series) by Sarah J. Maas

25- The Bone People by Keri Hulme

26- The Extinction of Irina Rey by Jennifer Croft

Podcasts mentioned--

Ologies with Alie Ward - www.alieward.com/ologies/oikologyencore

NPR's Book of the Day - www.npr.org/2024/03/14/11969793…-rey-jennifer-croft

Movies mentioned--

Oppenheimer (2023)

Spaceman (2024, Netflix)

This week we chat with Kari Heggen, a bookstagrammer from Iowa who set herself a goal to read all the Newbery Award winners from the past 102 years. Originally she had planned to read 10 a year but she ultimately decided to just get her done. She read 49 of the winners in 2023 and got a jump start on 2024 by reading this year’s winner, The Eye and the Impossible by Dave Eggers.

Kari talks about the highs and lows of her Newbery Award challenge. Books from the early days of the award were decidedly not great. But by the 1960s, Kari got into a better groove and found herself enjoying books for the first time and often the second time which brought back some childhood nostalgia.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- Erasure by Percival Everett

2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

3- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

4- Holes by Louis Sachar

5- The Giver by Lois Lowr

6- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

7- The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loom

8- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

9- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

10- Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

11- The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

12- Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

13- A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard

14- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

15- King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

16- Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

17- Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

18- Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

19- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

20- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

21- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

22- The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

23- Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson

24- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers

25-Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

26- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

27 - Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Hope @lifewithhopeann- Divine Rivals Duology by Rebecca Ross

28- Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton Jack

29- The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

30- Starter Villain by John Scalzi

31- Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen

32- Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch

33- The Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson

34- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Movies and TV Series mentioned:

1- Oppenheimer (2023)

2- American Fiction (2023)

3- Poor Things (2023)

4- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023, Netflix)

5- Peaky Blinders (2013-2022, Netflix)

Article about Serving on the Newbery Awards committee-

www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/what-i…y-medal-winner

This week we talk about some of our favorite books coming out of small and independent presses. The Big 5 publishers print those blockbusters we love to stick in our beach bag but smaller presses support much more diverse authors and innovative and important stories that may be your next favorite read! We give you a little primer about the difference between a small press and an imprint by on the Big 5.

Books mentioned--

1- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

2- The Odyssey by Homer

3- Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

4- Everyman by Philip Roth

5- Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell

6- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - 5 star readrecommended by fellow book lover Amy Bernath @mrsmillardfillmorereads

7- The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel (Tin House)

8- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom (Ashland Creek Press)

9- The Salt Fields by Stacy D. Flood (Lanternfish Press)

10- Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross Smith (Hub City Press)

11- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue (Hub City Press)

12- Places We Left Behind: A Memoir in Miniature by Jennifer Lang (Vine Leaves Press)

13- What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me by Donna Gordon (Regal House)

14- Menopause: A Comic Treatment edited by MK Czerwiec (Penn State University Press)

15- Bad Tourist by Suzanne Roberts (Univeristy of Nebraska Press)

16- Another Appalachia (WVU Press)

17- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions)

18- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (Milkweed Editions)

19- Lungfish by Meghan Gillis (Catapult Books)

20- Tidepool by Nicole Willson (Parliament House)

21- The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson (Parliament House Books - coming Nov. 12, 2024)

Movies/Shows mentioned--

Maestro (Netflix, 2023)

The Changeling (Apple+, 2023)

For All Mankind (Apple+, 2019)

Links mentioned:

Odysseus Lunar Landing - www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/world/mo…nasa-scn/index.html

Solar Flare -

www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news…outage-earth-att/

Human Isolation on Mars-

www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/magazi…n-experiment.html

LA Public Library now owns a small press -

www.latimes.com/entertainment-art…makes-total-sense

We have a remix episode for you this week on Valentine’s Day, and the book we discuss is all about love and the loss of it.

We first talked with author Minda Honey back in the summer of 2019 During that interview, she spoke about her book of essays tentatively titled “An Anthology of Assholes,” which was about her dating experiences from her mid-20s to age 30 as a single black woman. In October 2023, her book now titled The Heartbreak Years was published by Little A.

We catch up with Minda about her memoir. We then transition back to parts of our original interview which also focuses on the Toni Morrison documentary, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. In the summer of 2019, Speed Cinema featured this film, but if you missed it then you can find it now on most streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. When we discussed Morrison, she was still living but she died a few weeks later, in Aug 2019.

Books Discussed in this Episode:

1- The Heartbreak Years by Minda Honey

2- All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

3- Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

4- What The Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

5- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

6- Sula by Toni Morrison

7- Beloved by Toni Morrison

8- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

9- The Mothers by Brit Bennett

10- Ruby by Cynthia Bond

11- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

12- How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson - A Five star read recommended by Jessica Bearak @tonightsbookishfeast

13- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

14- Yinka, Where Is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn; audiobook narrated by Ronke Adékoluejo

Shows mentioned--

1- Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)

2- Time Trap (2018, Netflix)

3- Dark (2017-2020, Netflix)

4- Will & Harper (2024)

5- Six Feet Under (2001-2005, Netflix)

6- Will and Grace (1998-2006, Hulu)