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 mentioned—
1- 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)

This week we’re bringing you a Creature Feature in which we suggest books that have creatures of some kind in them. Those may be mythological creatures, cryptids, or beings from your favorite horror film. Some are scary, some are mysterious, some don’t 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/confli…t.html

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.

Olivas’ reimagining of Shelley’s 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 “stitchers”) who are part of an effort to deal with the US’ 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)

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)

Our guest this week, Lyndsay Rush, says her work is for the "poetry curious." Her debut collection of poetry, titled A BIT MUCH, was published several weeks ago and is already a USA Today bestseller. She is a comedy writer who is also a branding professional who hadn't given a lot of thought to poetry until the pandemic. She started writing poems and posting to her personal instagram. When she felt like her family and friends couldn't take another poem, she started a Insta account dedicated to her poetry @Maryoliversdrunkcousin. One of her poems ("A Bit Much") went viral.

Her poems are short, often funny, sometimes raw, and she never wants to be too earnest. Her one rule is that it must end with a punch. This poet uses her skills at carefully chosen words from her professional life to create verse about love and self acceptance. She also often uses crazy headlines in the news as a prompt to make meaning in a topsy-turvy world.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

Media mentioned—

1- The Wild Robot (2024)

2- Saltburn (Prime Video, 2023)

3- Wuthering Heights: Hollywood's worst case casting decisions -
www.bbc.com/culture/article/202…t-casting-decisions

4- A Room With a View (1985)

5- Downton Abbey (2010)

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. We’re 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 mentioned—

1- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

2- True Detective—Night Country (Max)

3- The Bear (Hulu)

4- Eco-lit books —ecolitbooks.com/

5- Maria Island Walk - www.mariaislandwalk.com/

6- What do Tasmanian devils sound like? - www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW27vpK4ALQ

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 Trump’s 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-e…-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/ars…a/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 Blooms
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-6…30-20/

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 Chambers
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-3…25-20/

28- Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia
ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-6-…-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/healt…ock/75176681007/

2- Neil Gaiman controversy -
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/…xual-misconduct

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 “fallen” 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 Cook’s 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- Washington’s 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)

For a lot of people, Labor Day, which this year fell on September 2, marks the end of summer, although astronomical summer doesn’t 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 this summer 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- Death’s Door: True Tales of Tragedy, Mystery, and Bravery from the Great Lakes’ 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 - strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/

6-Lawsuit Against Florida Book Bans - people.com/publishers-authors-…a-book-bans-8704020

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/

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/