Kelly Hooker joins me for the December's Real Time Reading episode where we highlight our current, past and upcoming reads.

Last: 

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore 

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Now:

Deep Cuts by Holly Blakely 

Bluebird Day by Megan Tady 

Next:

Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation by Michael Cannell 

More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

DNFs or Didn't Like:

The Fisherman’s Gift by Julia R. Kelly 

Book Mail Highlights:

The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang

Flirting With Disaster by Naina Kumar 

Last:

The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World by Ben Macintyre 

Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington 

Now:

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks 

Next:

The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard 

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman 

DNFs or Didn’t Like:

Maya and Natasha by Elyse Durham

Book Mail Highlights: 

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark 

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer  

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with Kelly Hooker on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

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Today, the Book Bumble podcast and Thoughts from a Page come together for a joint episode about books contain a strong sense of place.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper (CB)

Homecoming by Kate Morton (CB)

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (LH)

Celine by Peter Heller (LH)

The Ancients by John Larison (LP)

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (LP)

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (CB)

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

The Survivors by Jane Harper

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

Birdie and Harlow by Taylor Wolfe

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Bear by Julia Phillips

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Jane Harper Books - The Dry, Force of Nature, Exiles

Kate Morton Books - The Clockmaker’s Daughter, The Forgotten Garden, The House at Riverton

This Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Ways to contact us:

Follow us on Instagram - @thebookbumble and @thoughtsfromapage

Facebook: Book Bumble and Thoughts from a Page

Our website: https://thebookbumble.buzzsprout.com and thoughtsfromapage.com

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Mary Webber O'Malley and Pamela Klinger-Horn join me to recommend their favorites reads of the first quarter of 2025.

January:

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

Too Soon by Betty Shamiah

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

February:

A Long Time Gone by Joshua Moehling

Tilda Is Visible by Jane Tara

Isola by Allegra Goodman

March:

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian

April:

A Lesser Light by Peter Geye

January:

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen

The Three Lives of Cate Cay by Kate Fagan

The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang

Penitence by Kristin Koval

February:

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

A Forty Year Kiss by Nick Butler

People of Means by Nancy Johnson

The Snow Birds by Christina Clancy

The Lamb by Lucy Rose

March:

Saving Five by Amanda Nguyen

The Other March Sisters by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko and Liz Parker

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Support the podcast by joining my Patreon.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Twitter. 

Mary's social media handles: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Twitter.

Pamela's social media handles: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kelly Hooker and I discuss our top reads of 2024.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 

We Used to Life Here by Marcus Kliewer

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

Everyone but Myself by Julie Chavez

Drinker of Ink by Shannon Castleton

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra

Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Trafficking by Jason De Leon 

How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley

Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

The Best Lies by David Ellis

The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate

Dixon Descending by Karen Outen

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Whiskey Tender by Deborah Taffa

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley

Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

Honorable mention: Maria by Michele Moran

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with Kelly Hooker on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jayda Justus recommends books for gift giving this holiday.

Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran 

What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway 

Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear 

Evelyne Redfern series by Julia Kelly 

Shogun by James Clavell

The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill

London or New York by Edward Rutherfurd 

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe 

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner 

The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories Of A Holiday Tradition by White House Historical Society 

Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women by Diana B. Carlin, Anita B. McBride, and Nancy Kegan Smith

Jackie: A Novel by Dawn Tripp 

The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President by Edward O’Keefe 

Anne of Green Gables or Pride and Prejudice illustrated by Barbara Heller

Anne, Little Women, and The Secret Garden by Rachel Dodge

Christmas with Louisa May Alcott or Christmas with Charles Dickens

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini 

Mr. Dickens and his Carol by Samantha Silva 

Always, in December by Emily Stone 

Eat Like a Heroine by Lorilee Craker and Jenny Williams 

Tasting History by Max Miller 

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Jayda can be found on her website and Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Marybeth about Every Moment Since, the inspiration for this book, her book dedication, society's current obsession with true crime, changing agents due to writing this book, how she chose who would tell the story, pouring her heart and soul into this one, her title and cover, and much more.

Marybeth's recommended reads are:

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

Every Moment Since can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kelly and I chat about our favorite books that published in July through early October 2024.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach 

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman 

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella 

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne

The Best Lies by David Ellis 

Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman 

The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston 

Exposure by Ava Dellaira 

The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian 

The Small and The Mighty by Sharon McMahon 

May the Wolf Die by Elizabeth Heider

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

Maria by Michelle Moran

Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with Kelly Hooker on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Elly Griffiths about The Man in Black, how this group of short stories came into being, her favorite story in the collection, what surprised her the most when writing them, how the stories are ordered, her covers in the U.K. and the U.S., her work in translation, and much more.

Elly's recommended reads are:

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

The Man in Black can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Hooker joins me for the November's Real Time Reading episode where we highlight our current, past and upcoming reads.

Last: 

The Favorites by Layne Fargo 

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison

Now:

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore 

The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan 

Next:

The Fisherman’s Gift by Julia R. Kelly 

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens 

DNFs or Didn't Like:

The Garden by Nick Newman 

The Family Inside by Katie Garner

Tilt by Emma Pate

Book Mail Highlights:

All The Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch

Last:

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell 

Now:

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray

Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell 

Next:

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper 

We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo

DNFs or Didn’t Like:

Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler 

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

The Other People by C.B. Everett

We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin

The Note by Alafair Burke

Book Mail Highlights: 

We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr 

Murder Among the Pyramids by Sara Rosett 

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.     

Join my Patreon group to support the podcast.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    

Connect with Kelly Hooker on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this interview, I chat with Sy Montgomery about What the Chicken Knows, her title and cover, why she loves chickens so much, what she wants her readers to take away from this book, how each flock has its own vibe, and much more.

Sy's recommended reads are:

Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2025? Check out our third Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.    

What the Chicken Knows can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.     

Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices