In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Stephen Graham Jones’s 2025 novel The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Topics include pronouncing French words, tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki drinks, reading (and watching) horror, new vampire lore, the importance of buffalo, America’s nightmare, the nuance of Arthur Beaucarne, and giant mole people.

This week’s drink: Blood Moon Boulevardier via The G&M Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

For the syrup:

• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 3 inch orange peel

For the cocktail:

• 1 oz bourbon
• 1 oz Campari
• Optional: red edible glitter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start by making the spiced wine syrup. Add 1 cup red wine, 1 cup sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves, 1 star anise, and 3 inch orange peel to a small pot. Cook on medium until all the sugar has melted and the mixture has thickened (about 30 minutes), then let cool.
2. Add 1 ounce bourbon, 1 ounce of campari, and 1 ounce of the spiced wine syrup to a mixing glass with ice. Stir to combine. (optional: add red edible glitter)
3. Pour into a coupe glass with an ice sphere

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Bring Them Home documentary

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2022 novel Thrust. Topics include chicken stock, Neptune’s gin, water apocalypse, the Statue of Liberty (and Clueless quotes about it), the sexy bits of the novel, toxic masculinity (oh hey, we know her), and feeling your feelings. Plus, we talk about The Life of a Showgirl (of course). 

This week’s drink: Sea Foam via Rhubarb & Lavender

INGREDIENTS:

Sea salt foam:

• 2 oz liquid egg whites, equivalent to two egg whites
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Cocktail:

• 2 oz gin, such as Hendrick's Neptunia
• 1 oz simple syrup
• ½ oz lemon juice
• dried seaweed, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the egg whites, lemon juice, and sea salt. Beat on high until there are soft peaks. The extra liquid from the lemon juice will prevent the foam from becoming too stiff and some liquid will separate from the foam. Set aside while making the cocktail. Makes enough for 2 to 3 cocktails.
2. In a cocktail shaker add the gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Add ice, then cover and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass. Spoon a layer of foam on top. Garnish with dried seaweed if desired. Enjoy!

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat

Lugma: Abundant Dishes and Stories from My Middle East by Noor Murad

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter

Eat Up! Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want by Ruby Tandoh

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2022 novel Thrust. Topics include chicken stock, Neptune’s gin, water apocalypse, the Statue of Liberty (and Clueless quotes about it), the sexy bits of the novel, toxic masculinity (oh hey, we know her), and feeling your feelings. Plus, we talk about The Life of a Showgirl (of course). 

This week’s drink: Sea Foam via Rhubarb & Lavender

INGREDIENTS:

Sea salt foam:

• 2 oz liquid egg whites, equivalent to two egg whites
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Cocktail:

• 2 oz gin, such as Hendrick's Neptunia
• 1 oz simple syrup
• ½ oz lemon juice
• dried seaweed, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the egg whites, lemon juice, and sea salt. Beat on high until there are soft peaks. The extra liquid from the lemon juice will prevent the foam from becoming too stiff and some liquid will separate from the foam. Set aside while making the cocktail. Makes enough for 2 to 3 cocktails.
2. In a cocktail shaker add the gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Add ice, then cover and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass. Spoon a layer of foam on top. Garnish with dried seaweed if desired. Enjoy!

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat

Lugma: Abundant Dishes and Stories from My Middle East by Noor Murad

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter

Eat Up! Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want by Ruby Tandoh

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2005 novel Never Let me Go. Topics include the 20th anniversary of this book, how to classify it, the ethics of cloning for organ harvesting, memory and loneliness, rich people clones, talkin’ the title, Kathy as narrator (and carer), and the medical inaccuracies of Grey’s Anatomy. Plus, we talk at length about quitting social media. And remember: there’s no cow on the ice.

This week’s drink: Amaretto Sour via Friday Night Cocktails

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ ounces amaretto liqueur
• 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon rich simple syrup
• Garnish: dried orange wheel

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add amaretto, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker.
2. Add ice and shake until well-chilled.
3. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
4. Garnish with a dried orange wheel
5. For Kayla’s variation, add 1 oz of bourbon and an egg white (dry shake first before adding ice and shaking again until chilled)

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Njuta: Enjoy, Delight In: The Swedish Art of Savoring the Moment by Niki Brantmark

A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting by Casey Johnston

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Thrust by Lidia Yuknavitch

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Christopher Buehlman’s 2012 novel Between Two Fires. Topics include delicious cocktails we had in California, how this book came on our radar, our appreciation of the writing and language used, the horrors unleashed (and how extra they are), the devastation of the Black Death, Heaven vs. Hell (and religion vs. science), and our motley band of heroes. Plus, we try to parse the true nature of Delphine (God?). And we, inevitably, talk religion. 

This week’s drink: Wine

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bottle of your favorite wine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Open the bottle, pour into a glass, and drink until you forget the horrors around you

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Tilt by Emma Pattee

New season of The Great British Baking Show

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, Atmosphere. Topics include the powers of TJR, the particular charms of Lydia, Barbara (aka the WORST PERSON EVER), gaaaaaays in spaaaaaace, the iconic Sally Ride, the unbearable emotion of the last few pages, Joan’s views on God (and issues we may have with them), the utterly terrifying vastness and unknowableness of space, and toxic masculinity. Plus, we go on a tangent about gender and sex ed. Also: cannibalism.

This week’s drink: Aviation (via liquor.com)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ounces gin
• ½ ounce maraschino liqueur
• ¼ ounce creme de violette
• ¾ ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Garnish: brandied cherry

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, creme de violette and lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr

Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight by Margaret Lazarus Dean

Sally documentary (on Disney+)

Challenger: The Final Flight documentary (Netlfix)

Yellowjackets (TV show)

Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Varta

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlam

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss N. Scott Momaday’s 1968 novel House Made of Dawn. Topics include diabolical library pranks, Momaday’s influence on future Native writers, lyrical prose, Spark Notes coming in clutch, non-cringe sex scenes (including a tangent about smut), and Angela and Milly. Plus, we go down a rabbit hole about weird internet videos. And George the Cat makes another appearance. 

This week’s drink: Golden Dawn via Difford’s Guide

INGREDIENTS:

• 3⁄4 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
• 1 oz Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
• 1 oz Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
• 1 oz Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 dashAngostura Aromatic Bitters
• 1⁄12 oz Monin Grenadine Syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass. 
2. Carefully POUR grenadine into the centre of the drink so that it sinks to create a sunrise effect.

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

House Made of Dawn Spark Notes

Common Ground Pilgrimages

Every Single Album: Taylor Swift (podcast)

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel Kindred. Topics include Torrey Pines and Tawny Port, nuts, Nazi Germany vs. American slavery, why white people have such a hard time acknowledging history,  Rufus the Doofus and Tom Weylin who have 1 ¼ moral between them, (we need to talk about) Kevin, and Dana’s Conundrum. Plus, we get tipsy and talk about Keanu Reeves. And, George the Cat makes an appearance and brings some much-needed levity.

This week’s drink: the Octavia E. Butler via Buzzworthy

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 shots bourbon
• 1 shot tawny port
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• Garnish: lemon peel

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour bourbon and port into a mixing glass, and add bitters
2. Add ice and stir with a bar spoon for about 20 seconds
3. Strain into a coup glass and garnish with a thick-cut piece of lemon peel

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

• Trust by Hernan Diaz
• The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
• The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape (Katie Holten, ed.)

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s 2024 novel Bore-acle Snore-acle Oracle. Topics include Dr. Pepper, a horrible translation that pretty much ruined the book for us, incoherent plotting, algae, Austin Powers, and the utter laziness of having the male characters call every woman a bitch multiple times. Plus, we do a deep dive into the origins of the “c”-word (and introduce a new segment of the pod: C*nt Corner).

This week’s drink: Flying Dutchman via liquor.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 ounces Bols genever
• 3/4 ounce Benedictine
• 3/4 ounce yellow Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the genever, Benedictine, yellow Chartreuse and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

(Or you can be like Kayla and have Dr. Pepper and rum)

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (we just can’t quit you!)

The New Yorker magazine

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Daniel Mason’s 2023 novel North Woods. Topics include apple puns, the intricacies of Vermont maple syrup grading, beetle sex, geeking out about the writing, Taylor’s audiobook experience, the haunting magic of New England, creepy murder twins, gay tragedy, ghost sex, and the beautiful, hopeful ending. Plus, Kayla introduces a new song in her Taylor Swift parody oeuvre, talks about the food of the summer, and finally informs Taylor about her latest purchase.

This week’s drink: Applejack Rabbit via Serious Eats

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 oz fresh orange juice
• 1/2 oz Grade B Maple Syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add apple brandy, lemon juice, orange juice, and maple syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 15 seconds, and strain into a chilled coupe.

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Here by Richard McGuire

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin

Smuggler’s Cove tiki bar

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Oracle by Thomas Olde Heuvelt