Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Suzy Krause at her website suzykrause.com/ and on IG at @suzykrause

Usually, Christmas in July sales feature new cars or mattresses, but we are giving you a Christmas in July book episode. Our guest this week is Suzy Krause, a Canadian novelist whose book I Think We’ve Been Here Before is set in the few weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday in a small town in Saskatchewan.  This book is cozy but not in a way you would expect because something terrible is about to happen.  A cosmic event is going to end the world, and residents have several weeks to prepare.  But this apocalyptic story is hopeful and uplifting and makes you feel good.  How can you combine the end of the world with Christmas and make it comforting?  That’s what we asked Suzy because she has written a book that is nothing like I’ve ever read.  It’s like a little unexpected gift under the tree. 

For our book rec section of this episode, we are talking about diaries. And no, we’re not going to be reading from our diaries because that would be a snoozefest. We’ve selected both nonfiction and fictional diaries that allow us to get a sneak peek into a historic event or a situation that we don’t know much about. 

Books Mentioned In this Episode:

1- I Think We've Been Here Before by Suzy Krause

2- We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 

3- A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold 

4- The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

5- Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin 

6- The Millicent Quibb Schook of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon

7- The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney

8- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Lizzy Roth - Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher

9- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

10- These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner 

11- This is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay 

12- The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lilly Koppel 

13- Here Comes the Fun: A Year of Making Merry by Ben Aitken 

14- The Lost Diaries of Édouard Manet by Maureen Gibbon 

Media Mentioned:

1- Adolescence (Netflix 2025)

2- We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

3- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Prime, 2012)

4- Ben Aitken Podcast episode - https://ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-7-ep-146-a-may-december-friendship-with-guest-ben-aitken-9722/

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Colleen Gleason/Colleen Cambridge at her website www.colleengleason.com or on IG @colleengleason

Typically Amy has not been a cozy mystery reader, but this week’s guest, Colleen Gleason who also writes as Colleen Cambridge, may have single-handedly converted her.  She is the author of over 57 books in numerous series but her “American in Paris” series has been a delightful escape over the last year. It is a cozy mystery set in postwar 1950s Paris with a dynamic mystery-solving duo featuring none other than Julia Child. Book 3 in the series titled A Fashionably French Murder was published in April.  So we were thrilled when Colleen agreed to chat with us about this series as well as several of her other books.

Colleen’s style of writing often includes a pairing.  She has a mystery series that involves Agatha Christie and her housekeeper, another series featuring Abraham Lincoln and his aide, and even a steampunk paranormal YA series involving an imaginary crime-fighting pairing of Bram Stoker’s younger sister and Sherlock Holme’s niece. As we know from doing this podcast, having a partner-in-crime makes things much more fun. 

In our book rec section of the episode, we are all about gardens. We are not reviewing gardening books, however. Rather, we’re talking about books in which gardens, gardeners, flowers and shrubs are part of the story in some format. We’ve got thrillers, middle grade, fantasy, contemporary family drama, murder mysteries, and Appalachian gothic. 

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

18- The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

19- Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

20- The Summer of June by Jamie Sumner 

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

This week we have Sam Miller, manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, with us to chat about books readers might want to consider for their summer reading. It is always fun to hear what is new and notable from Sam. 

This is our last episode of the season.  We will be back in July after our summer hiatus with all new episodes. Happy Reading!

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Nickolas Butler at https://nickolasbutler.com/ or on IG @wiscobutler

Amy discovered Nickolas Butler earlier this year when she attended the author event for his newest novel A Forty Year Kiss at Carmichael’s Bookstore. Nick has six novels and a collection of short stories under his belt, but A Forty Year Kiss may be his first love story.  His mind was set to wondering after he overheard a passionate conversation in his favorite local bar between two older people, a conversation that made him blush just a little. He began playing with the idea of what this couple’s back story was. Nick’s book asks readers to consider the difference between first love and love between mature adults, how life’s baggage affects personal relationships, and whether people can really change. 

Nick also talks to us about his rural Wisconsin roots, why he read Babysitter Club books in his childhood, and the debate on whether he should wear a cape.  

For our book recommendation section of this episode, we decided to find some of our favorite books we’ve read as a result of being in a book club together for two decades. For the most part, our book club chooses novels, but there is one memoir in the lot, as well as contemporary fiction, historical fiction, sci-fi, and a classic. 

Books Discussed in this Episode:

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Holly Gramazio at her website https://www.hollygramazio.net/ or on IG at holly_gramazio

When we first heard the premise of Holly Gramazio’s novel The Husbands, we were intrigued. A woman’s husband goes up to the attic to retrieve something and down comes…a different husband. Wouldn’t we all sometimes like to exchange the husband we have for a better, newer, or just different model? Holly turned this idea into a novel that is both funny and thoughtfully considered. It may not, in fact, be such a great thing to have an endless supply of potential husbands so easy to exchange.  Her book has been optioned by Apple Plus for a limited series and I just saw that Juno Temple, the actress who played Keeley in the Ted Lasso series, is slated to play the starring role.

And because it is April, and April is National Poetry Month, we’re discussing books related to poets. Not everyone loves poetry, but these books aren’t actually poetry–so you can still partake of poetry month. They are historical fiction, memoirs, essays, and children’s books written by or inspired by poets. 

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

1- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Media mentioned--

1- Severance (Apple+, 2022 - Present)

2- Reduced Shakespeare Company--https://www.reducedshakespeare.com

3- Saint X (Hulu, 2023)

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Ben Shattuck at his website https://www.benshattuck.com/ or on IG @Benshattuck_

This week we chat with Ben Shattuck, author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau published by Tin House Books in 2022.  Amy knew this book would appeal to Carrie because she is nothing if not a literary weirdo, and she has been since high school when she quoted from Thoreau in her senior yearbook. Despite her hopes that Ben would, like her, have a high school infatuation with Thoreau, he explains that his interest began much later. Even if you don’t know anything about Thoreau, if you're a walker or a hiker, you have experienced the unique meditative impact of this activity and can appreciate Ben’s insights on it. Ben also has a book of fiction out titled The History of Sound that is a finalist for the Pen/Faulkner prize so we are just really thrilled to have him with us today.

 And this week, for our recommendations section, we didn’t just pick a random topic like asparagus or comas to share books about—we actually continue with the theme of walking. We each share at least 3 books that feature walking, hiking, or being in nature in some meditative way. We have literary fiction, memoirs, essays, and even a romance.

Books mentioned--

17- In My Boots: A Memoir of 5 Million Steps Along the Appalachian Trail by Amanda K. Jaros

18- Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail by Sally Chaffin Brooks

19- The Unforeseen Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge by Wendell Berry

20- Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabelle Abbs

21- Ulysses by James Joyce 

22- The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher

23- The Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses by Patrick Hastings

24- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

25- You Are Here by David Nichols

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Rebecca Schinsky on IG @rebeccaschinsky and Book Riot at www.bookriot.com

In this week’s episode, we chat with Rebecca Schinsky, who is chief of staff for Riot New Media Group and co-host of The Book Riot podcast. Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America and book lovers can find all kinds of interesting stuff there, such as numerous podcasts, newsletters, and articles about different genres.

I have long been a listener of this podcast and love it because ….I am a book nerd through and through and this podcast gives me the inside look at the world of publishing.  If you enjoy learning about trends and want the inside scoop about how and why certain books make it to your eyeballs or just want to have your pulse on bookish news, this podcast is for you.  Rebecca talks to us about what book trends have had the biggest impact on the industry over the last 15 years, what other goodies you can find at Book Riot.com, and why social media flattens the book options we see in our feeds.

And this week for our book recommendations section, we put on our 10 gallon hats and our chaps because we’re talking about westerns. Westerns became popular in the late 1800s and derived from the dime novels of the mid-19th century. Many of these stories were later turned into movies in the 1940s and 1950s, which is probably the way most people had exposure to them. Films like High Noon and Shane were based on western stories. There was a second resurgence of western films based on novels between the 1970s-90s such as The Unforgiven and The Outlaw Josey Wales. We offer westerns that are in the graphic novel genre, the horror genre, literary fiction, and middle grade.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

17- Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

18- Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison

19- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

20- Pony by RJ Palacio

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Katherine Marsh at her website www.katherinemarsh.com or on IG at @katherinemarshauthor.

This week we chat with Katherine Marsh, author of The Lost Year, a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. I recently discovered this book after one of our book club members selected another Katherine Marsh book, Nowhere Boy, for our August read. The Lost Year is middle-grade historical fiction and it is super timely because part of it is set in Ukraine in the 1930s. The story introduced me to a topic in Ukraine history I knew nothing about called the Holodomor. Katherine tells us all about her novel which was inspired by her relationship with her grandmother who was from Ukraine. It is a perfect book selection if you are curious about Ukrainian history that influences current events; reading this book would also allow you to check off having read something for Middle Grade March. 

For our book recommendations in this episode, we’re talking about books in which cats are a central part of the story. We have some nonfiction selections, as well as literary fiction and graphic novels that will definitely appeal to your inner cat. If you don’t love cats, you can check out these books anyway for their compelling stories OR you can wait around for Amy to muscle Carrie into a future dog episode. 

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

15- The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa by Jonathan B. Losos

16- Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yue

17- The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Shawn Harris

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find Sariah Wilson at her website www.sariahwilson.com or on IG - @sariahwilsonauthor

We chat this week with Sariah Wilson, the author of many, many rom-coms, who recently published her first romantasy titled A Tribute of Fire. A Tribute of Fire is inspired by the myth of Cassandra who, if you remember, is the Trojan princess who was cursed with the ability to see the future but no one believes her. Sariah’s story focuses on Cassandra’s assault in Athena's temple by Greek hero Ajax and the resulting punishment which is that two maidens from Ajax’s home, Locris, will be sacrified. How exactly, this punishes Ajax, I’m not sure, but such is Greek myth. 

Sariah talks to us about her favorite romance trope (which she hardly ever writes herself), the whirlwind backstory to the publishing of this book, and how the popularity of The Fourth Wing series really cracked open a whole new world for romance writers.

And for our book recommendations, we’re going to share some children’s picture books that have stories and illustrations we love. Earlier this month was National Picture Book Authors & Illustrators Week, but we don’t think you need a special week as an excuse to read a delightful picture book. 

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson

9- Little Golden Book, The Christmas Story 

10-  Little Golden Book, Colors Are Nice 

11- Little Golden Book Riddles, Riddles From A to Z

12- Little Golden Book,  Mickey Mouse Picnic

13- Disney’s World of Wonders The Magic Grinder

14- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

15- Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf

16- The Mitten by Jan Brett

17- Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

18- The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

24- Mimi’s Dada Catifesto by Shelley Jackson

25- Oh, Bear by Melissa Nelson Greenberg. illustrated by Ruth Hengeveld

26- Boobies by Nancy Vo

27- The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Mickey Please

28- The Cave Downwind of the Cafe by Mickey Please

29- Shakespeare The Tempest by Georghia Ellinas, illustrated by Jane Ray

Media mentioned--

1- Stephen King/Maurice Sendak upcoming children's book - https://apnews.com/article/stephen-king-maurice-sendak-hansel-gretel-c9f8c7e18254d1e406b59e0ebe3cd20b

2- Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey - coming in 2026 - 

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/the-odyssey-matt-damon-odysseus-christopher-nolan-1236311018/

3- The Return (2024)

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.

You can find if there is a chapter of Silent Book Club near you or look into starting your own by going to their website; https://silentbook.club/

For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com.  We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a BookLover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.

Have you ever wanted to try a book club but they just seem too peopley?  Or maybe you don’t want to be told what book you have to read. OR maybe you are looking for a place away from kids and responsibilities where nothing else but the words in front of you are vying for your attention.  If any of these apply, then a Silent Book Club might be for you.  Silent Book Club began in 2012 and is, according to their mission statement, a “global community of readers, with more than 1500 chapters in 54 countries around the world led by local volunteers. SBC members gather in public at bars, cafes, bookstores, libraries, and online to read together in quiet camaraderie.”  

This week we chat with Brittany Brar, the leader of a local chapter of the Silent Book Club in Louisville, Kentucky.  Brittany started the local chapter here in 2019, right before the pandemic with 5 people.  She was new in town and didn’t know where to find a booklcub to join.  Now the group has over 2000 members of their FB group and as many as 60 people have shown up to their monthly meetings. Brittany talks to us about how people have developed a new sense of community, when a powerpoint presentation can be regarded as fun, and her go-to  genres

After our chat with Brittany, we will give you our recommendations for big honking books that meet not only your reading but also strength training goals. 

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

14- Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (546 pages) 

15- When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson (528 pages)

16- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (601 pages)

17- A Five Star Read Recommended By Fellow Book Lover Kim Wells @the_salty_islander - A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly E. Hill