Florida Book Club

This time around, we've got the author himself on board to discuss phantom panthers, skunk apes, beach monsters, and other Florida cryptids that may or may not be lurking in your development or favorite park.

The marketing of Florida’s once-pristine springs has a long and mostly ignoble history. Today I’m joined by Rick Kilby, author of the 2013 book Finding the Fountain of Youth and the 2020 volume Florida’s Healing Waters, to discuss this history, and what the future of these precious natural resources might look like.

She’s interviewed Carole Baskin, researched the history of a spaceship atop a Tampa strip club, and above all, she wants you to see your local newspaper as a vital and trusted community resource. Join me as I talk about these topics and more with Tampa Bay Times Life and Culture reporter Gabrielle Calise.

Wanda Suttle Duncan’s account of her small north Florida hamlet is subtitled “A Florida Woman’s Memoir,” but Cracker Gothic is not what you might think — it’s a heartfelt, often touching, and displays great humor and turns of phrase while documenting the author’s return to her hometown amid heartbreaking circumstances. On the season three premier, I'm joined by the author herself to discuss her process in writing Cracker Gothic and a few anecdotes about Green Cove Springs, Florida, that didn't make it into the book. Visit FloridaBookClub.com.

The new season of The Florida Book Club podcast drops August 18.

There’s a proud lineage of monstrous, gigantic alligators terrorizing humans in pop culture (just see previous episodes of this podcast). But that tradition stretches back to the earliest colonial days. White Europeans have always been fascinated by alligators. Join me as I discuss Alexandre Aja’s 2019 alligator film Crawl through the lens of William Bartram’s and Jacques LeMoyne’s centuries-old accounts of their Florida explorations. Stick around for a special guest at the end!

“The world is less tame than you’d imagined.” So says John Henry Fleming to the unwary visitor arriving to Florida by plane or cruise ship, or as they leave the boundaries of the theme park. Join me in welcoming back Florida native Amanda Young to this episode, where we discuss Fleming’s 2009 bestiary Fearsome Creatures of Florida and ponder how many of these fictional (?) beasts we may have unknowingly encountered. 

There’s a long tradition of making cheesy promotional videos to lure people to Tampa Bay area. One of them, from the 1960s, even features an alien visitor who decides to relocate to St. Pete Beach after seeing all the dazzling attractions the town has to offer! Today, I’m joined by Andy Huse, Special Collections Librarian at University of South Florida, to discuss these old promotional films (and a bit of Tampa Bay culinary history).

There are certain books most people readily associate with Florida, such as The Yearling or Their Eyes Were Watching God. And more recently, Patrick Smith’s 1984 epic A Land Remembered. I’m joined today by Andre Frattino, whose 2018 graphic novel adaptation of A Land Remembered captures in vivid visual detail all the heartbreak and loss of the MacIvey family across 100 years along with their triumphs, and we see the dynamics of how Florida was settled and, eventually, overpopulated.

The exciting, glamorous world of independent publishing, it turns out, actually involves a lot of frustration, hard work, and luck. And during a pandemic year, well... it can still be really rewarding! And as a reader, I can tell you you’ll find some real gems among the offerings from most indie publishers. Join me for a conversation with Matt Peters, founding publisher of Orlando’s Beating Windward Press. Visit us on the web at FloridaBookClub.com.