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Friend and first time author Suzanne Scott Tomita joins the podcast to discuss her debut novel Until Even the Angels. Her book is the story of Mei Mei Goh, a domestic servant to the wealthy Hamilton family, and her unlikely friendship with her young mistress, Honour Hamilton, and the teenage gardner, Pashunath Roy. Set in 1950s Singapore and contemporary London, Until Even the Angels is part mystery, historical fiction, social commentary. 

Suzanne has a PhD in Education from the University of British Columbia and completed The Writer's Studio Creative WRiting Certificate at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She was born in Tunisia and raised in Venezuela, Germany, Indonesia, Canada and Australia. Her writing inclues personal essays on the topics of motherhood, mid-life and marriage, home and belonging.

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Fellow book nerd and special projects manager for Book Warehouse, Mary-Ann Yazedijan, joins the podcast to talk about her top reads for the holiday season. We discuss books new and old for holiday gift giving or your own TBR list.

Books discussed:

Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife: A Novel  by Anna Johnston

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Website: https://blackbondbooks.com/

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I drop by the recent Vancouver Writers Festival event and share insights on a panel discussion with three authors who specialize in writing about subterfuge and deceit. Ann Cleeves is a British mystery novelist known for perfecting the police procedural. Beverley McLachlin is the former chief justice of Canada who now pens legal thrillers and Nita Prose has is the master of the comedic, locked room mystery.

Book discussed:
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose 
Proof by Beverley McLachlin

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Book blogger Susan Matheson stops by the podcast to share her top picks for the fall season.

Books discussed:

Apeirogon by Colum McCann

The Trade Off by Samantha Green Woodruff

Absolution by Alice McDermott

Time of the Child by Niall Williams

The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

Big in Sweden by Sally Franson

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Instagram: @bedside_table_books
Website: https://bedsidetablebooks.com/

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I discuss two hot memoirs of the fall season: Be Ready When Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten and Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung. Both trace the trajectory of two strong, independent women who came of age during the 1960s and are leaders in their respective fields. Ina Garten is an American television cook author while Connie Chung is an American journalist who has been a news anchor and reporter for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC.

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Debut novelist Scott Alexander Howard drops by the podcast to discuss his eerie literary work, The Other Valley. We discuss Ferrante, Atwood and the story behind the term speculative fiction.
The Other Valley tells the story of Odile, an awkward, quiet girl, vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns a spot, she'll decide who may cross her town's heavily guarded border into the next valley over. There, it is the same valley and same town, but to the east, the town is 20 years ahead in time. To the west, its 20 years behind.
Scott holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard where he studied the relationship between memory, emotion and literature.

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Website: scottalexanderhoward.com
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The New York Times has released their Top 100 Books of the 21st Century so far. I discuss. 

Book discussed:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishuguro

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

2666 by Roberto Bolano

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Warm of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Educated by Tara Westover

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

H is Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen

Overstory by Richard Powers

There There by Tommy Orange

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Devil in the White by Erik Larson

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

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Book blogger Susan Matheson is back with her picks for summer reading and I have a new name!

Books discussed:

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

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Website: https://bedsidetablebooks.com/

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Hi Red Fern Listeners! I was recently lucky enough to be a return guest on The TallMikeWine Podcast and I wanted to share the episode with you.  We discuss summer reading and red wine.  Mike is a self-professed wine geek who creates fun, relatable conversations around wine. And did I mention that he is a former disc jockey?

Books  discussed:

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand
Long Island by Colm Toibin
The Women by Kristin Hannah

Wine discussed:

2021 Librandi "Segno" Cirò Rosso Classico
2015 Dovecote Syrah, Thompson Vineyard, Alisos Canyon, Santa Barbara

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Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1435309
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tallmikewine/

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I dive into two very long books that are also worth the investment. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray tells the story of a contemporary Irish family that has fallen on hard times and is full of secrets. Contemporary family saga Wellness by Nathan Hill is set in the suburbs of Chicago an explores the malaise of middle age marriage. It is also a send up on our preoccupation with the wellness industry. Both books have deep character backstories and are considered tragicomic novels.

Books and resources discussed:

One Day (2024), Netflix
Millionaire Matchmaker, Netflix
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Wellness by Nathan Hill

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