Chris Wolak And Emily Fine Podcasts

Welcome to Episode 182!There is a lot of Biblio Adventure recapping in this episode, from author events (Mary Beth Keane at R.J. Julia) to movies (two book adaptations starring Kathy Bates), to bookstore visits in Vermont (Northshire and Monroe Street Books) and New York (Rogers Book Barn and Oblong Books).In the midst of wrapping up library school…

By Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

We talk about a bunch of books and biblioadventures in Episode 180. What’s new, right? #winkSome highlights include books we just read, which took us from a memoir about caring for animals (THE OTHER FAMILY DOCTOR by Karen Fine) to an idiomatic fowl in search of freedom (CHASE OF THE WILD GOOSE by Mary Gordon) and from an island in the Atlantic (SU…

Happy National Poetry Month!We kick off this episode with Emily reading Lucille Clifton’s poem, “Climbing,” and end with an in-depth conversation with poet Shuly Cawood about her poem, “Starter Marriage.” [The full text of Shuly’s poem is at the end of this description if you’d like to read it before or while listening to the episode.]Both of us ha…

Welcome to Episode 178! We are currently reading a variety of genres: Fiction (CHASE OF THE WILD GOOSE by Mary Gordon and VOYAGER by Diana Gabaldon), memoir (LIFE B: OVERCOMING DOUBLE DEPRESSION by Bethanne Patrick), self-help (WHY AM I SO ANXIOUS by Tracey Marks), and a cookbook (COOK AS YOU ARE by Ruby Tandoh).Emily discusses three gripping novel…

There are books and bookstores galore in this episode! Some highlights include –Emily went to see Aunt Ellen in Berkeley, CA, and together they visited two public libraries, a whole bunch of little free libraries, and TEN bookstores! Aunt Ellen gave Emily first dibs on her brand new copy of FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN by Elle Cosimano (now that’s …

On Episode 176 Chris and Emily give a full recap of their two-day Biblio Adventure in New York City. The trip was inspired by a research project that Chris is working on for school that created a need for her to spend time in the archives at the main branch of the New York Public library. Emily tagged along and they had some bookish fun together. H…

We just read a stack of books with an interesting variety of subjects! In between mushrooms and swimming, we spent time with an Australian rare book expert, a New Yorker wandering in Ireland, a Queer book artist in Manhattan, restauranteers in Minnesota, and an American publishing legend. We also got to know some folks in a rural hockey town.These …

On Episode 174, we share LISTENER TOP 10s of 2022. Thanks to the 70+ listeners who contributed their top 10 lists. Out of 427 books, Emily shares not only what the combined top 10 titles are (actually, 11 titles because there was a tie) but also who the most frequently listed authors are. We also talk about our READING INTENTIONS & GOALS for 2023. …

Emily started 2023 with a bit of a reading slump, but you’d never know it! Some of the books she enjoyed since our last regular episode are Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, The Change by Kirsten Miller, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (coming out 3/14/2023), and What the Fortune Teller Would Have Said by Shu…

Happy New Year! Welcome to our third annual TOP TEN READS of the year episode with our special guest, BookTuber RUSSELL GRAY of Ink and Paper Blog. Emily, Chris, and Russell whittled down the books they read in 2022 to ten of our favorites. You’d think this would add up to thirty books, but you’d be wrong. As is customary, we cheated (some more tha…

Welcome to our last episode of 2022! We surprised each other this week with some reading kismet. Each of us arrived at Book Cougars HQ with a poetry collection in hand and a poem we wanted to share. Chris reads the poem “The Margin” from The Historians: Poems by Eavan Boland. Emily reads “Improvement” by Danusha Laméris from How to Love the World: …

By Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

We were apart again while recording this episode. Emily was in Colorado visiting her son and daughter-in-law. She also shared part of her salad with a magpie at The Bookworm bookstore and cafe in Edward’s CO. We are so grateful for the technology that allows us to get together to talk about books from wherever we are. As for what we’re reading, Chr…

Episode 168 - Blair Braverman joins us to talk about her debut novel, SMALL GAME (out now from Ecco Press). It's about five contestants on a survival reality show that goes haywire. It’s a wild ride, and we had a fantastic conversation with Blair.We had an epic Biblio Adventure to The Mount in Lenox, MA. In preparation, we read three ghost stories …

We have been hitting the books and hitting road & rails!Emily had a week-long vacation on Martha’s Vineyard and read a ton. She also visited Bunches of Grapes bookstore and FOUR libraries on the island – West Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and Edgartown. Chris attended a virtual event through the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library with R…

Episode 166 is all about audiobooks! Chris and Emily talk about audiobooks in their lives and then have a wonderful chat with Karen Farmer and Craig Silva, hosts of the new Libro.fm Podcast.By Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

Welcome to Episode 165! We can’t wait for you to listen to our Author Spotlight with DIANE WILSON! We were honored to talk with Diane about her moving, multi-generational debut novel, THE SEED KEEPER. Diane also talks about her writing process, her next book project, and more.In our Just Read segment, Emily talks about Elle Cosimano’s FINLAY DONOVA…

Book Tuber Russell Gray of Ink and Paper Blog joins us to talk about his reading of this year’s Booker Prize nominees. He’s read all thirteen books on the long list, talks about the novels on the shortlist, and shares some ideas about which book he thinks will win and why.For two women who claim to have been busy lately, we sure did manage to read …

Welcome to Episode 163! Both of us had some solo Biblio Adventures, but we also went on an EPIC Joint Jaunt to New Hampshire. We visited all three Toadstool Bookstores — Nashua, Peterborough, and Keene — in a day! We left Guilford (CT) at 7 a.m. and got home twelve hours later, just before 7 p.m. In total, we visited four bookshops, two libraries, …

Chris and Emily sit down for a good old fashioned book chat. There’s no interview this episode, just us.Emily is reading an advance copy of Elizabeth Strout’s forthcoming novel, LUCY BY THE SEA (9/20/2022), and Katherine May’s memoir, THE ELECTRICITY OF EVERY LIVING THING: ONE WOMAN’S WALK WITH ASPERGER’S. Chris is deep into MANSFIELD PARK by Jane …

Episode 161 features fictional mermaids, bears, and time travel adventure to stop the not so fictional nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl. We talk with Rachel Barenbaum about ATOMIC ANNA, her new novel that’s a fascinating mix of historical fiction, thriller, and a family saga about multigenerational women working together to prevent both personal and c…

Every tenth episode we do a giveaway and here we are again with not one, but TWO giveaways! All you have to do to be entered to win is be a newsletter subscriber. (Sign up here: https://www.bookcougars.com/subscriber) We announce our third quarter readalong (thanks to everyone who voted!) and, as always, we talk about what we’re reading, just read,…

We have both done some traveling since the last episode. Emily was in Colorado and Utah and Chris was in North Carolina and Illinois. You know we hit some bookstores, which you’ll hear about in our Biblio-Adventures segment. We’ve also checked off two #BigBookSummer reads! Emily finished the Plainsong Series by Kent Haruf and Chris enjoyed her re-r…

By Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

Some highlights in this episode: Emily and Chris have kicked off their reading for Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer reading challenge! Both Book Cougars are starting off with re-reads: Chris is re-reading THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova and Emily is reading Kent Haruf’s Prairie series. She’s already re-read the first novel, PLAINSONG, and is now in…

We dedicate this episode to Jenny Colvin, host of the Reading Envy podcast. We were stunned and deeply saddened to learn of her sudden death. Jenny will be deeply missed by the book community. Our thoughts are with her loved ones and family. On this episode we recap our biblioadventure to Manchester, VT for Booktopia at the Northshire Bookstore, wh…

#BuddyRead! We had a fun time talking with our Mystery Man, JOHN VALERI, about Agatha Christie’s DEATH ON THE NILE, both her novel and Kenneth Branagh’s new adaptation. Spoiler alert: mixed reviews.Other books we read and discuss in this episode did not have mixed reviews. We both had some good reads!THOMAS MERTON: An Introduction to His Life, Teac…

A big welcome back to JESS MONTGOMERY! We have a lovely chat about the new entry in her Kinship Series, THE ECHOES: A Novel.Emily and Chris are both currently reading DEATH ON THE NILE by Agatha Christie for a buddy read with Our Mystery Man, John Valeri. Stayed tuned for our conversation with John about the novel and the new movie adaptation comin…

Emily and Chris were honored to have the opportunity to talk with author Amy Bloom about her new memoir, IN LOVE: A Memoir of Love and Loss about Amy and her husband Brian Ameche's love and his decision to end his life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Both Book Cougars are captivated by this beautifully written memoir about love, the agony o…

Announcing our second quarter readalong! TWO OLD WOMEN: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis.Emily recaps her trip to Washington, D.C. where she was able to visit three awesome bookstores and came across a lovely memorial Little Free Library.We talk about some books we READ. Shout outs to Huma Abedin (BOTH/AND) Dolly …

Spring is in the air and the Book Cougars are on the prowl! Translation: Biblioadventures are ramping up as the weather gets better and Covid rates continue to fall.We can’t remember the last time we had two joint jaunts in the same week, so it was a special treat to visit Riverbend Bookshop in Glastonbury, Connecticut and the New Bedford Whaling M…

We are thrilled to bring you our author spotlight with Michael P. Branch discussing his book On the Trail of the Jackalope: How a Legend Captured the World’s Imagination and Helped Us Cure Cancer. It published TODAY from Pegasus Books.Every 10th episode we like to celebrate by giving away books. 🎉This time around we are offering up four books: 📖 Ho…

We are thrilled to welcome back author and podcaster Bianca Marais! Bianca talks with us about her Audible Original short story THE PRYNNE VIPER and her podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing.In Biblio Adventures we recap our day up in Northampton, MA where we had a delicious lunch at Noodles, walked around Smith College (you know we hit …

Books we’ve read since last episode:HONOR by Thrity Umrigar (Algonquin Books)THE PEACOCK by Isabel Bogdan, translated by Annie Rutherford (V&Q Books)YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (Pamela Dorman Books)Two picture books: THE GOOD EGG and THE BAD SEED by Jory John and Pete Oswald (HarperCollins)THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdri…

Our 2022 reading is off to an excellent start! We read and discuss five novels, two memoirs, a biography, and a children’s picture book in this episode. They are: HOPE AT SEA by Daniel Miyares I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO MEET YOU by Jami Attenberg MAGIC LESSONS by Alice Hoffman FALLING by T.J. Newman REBECCA HARDING DAVIS: A LIFE AMONG WRITERS by Sharon…

BookTuber RUSSELL GRAY of Ink & Paper Blog joins the Book Cougars for our annual celebratory sharing of our Top 10 Reads of the year. If you think 3 x 10 = 30, you’d be wrong!Before we dive into our Top 10, Emily and Chris to have a regular, if shortened, episode where we recap our Biblio Adventure to the amazingly curated House of Books in Kent, C…

By Emily Fine & Chris Wolak

On Episode 144 we celebrate our anniversary! Join us as we take a walk down memory lane reflecting on the last five years together as the Book Cougars. We chat about memorable biblio adventures and group readalongs, highlight some of our top reads of the past five years, and take the opportunity to thank people that are part of the Book Cougar’s fa…

Terror, Murder, Death!! Our reading this episode isn’t as bleak as the themes of our “Just Read” books would suggest.Emily seriously enjoyed STATE OF TERROR by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny on audio. The action is great, and she was pleasantly surprised that it is also a story of friendship between two women. After the terror, Emily visit…

Both Chris and Emily inhaled Alice Henderson’s second Alex Carter novel, A BLIZZARD OF POLAR BEARS, which is out today, 11/9! Emily has been partaking in the Laurie Colwin renaissance and read HOME COOKING: A WRITER IN THE KITCHEN and her novel, HAPPY ALL THE TIME. Chris enjoyed Our Mystery Man John’s recent recommendation, THE VAMPYRES OF HOLLYWOO…

Emily is immersing herself in some self-love reading. She’s enjoying The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor and she re-read (!) Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen. Chris meanwhile is on a horror binge — She’s listening to an audio version of Dracula by Bram Stoker and read The Sundial by Shirley Jackson. ’Tis t…

John Valeri, our Mystery Man and host of Central Booking, returns to offer Halloween season recommendations for middle-grade, young adult, and adult readers. Emily has nothing but high praise for THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS by Ruth Ozeki. She’s also thrilled to discover author Zoraida Cordóva (THE INHERITANCE OF ORQUİEDA DIVINA), and you’ll have…

We wrap up our read along of The Doctors Blackwell with an interview with the author, Janice P. Nimura.Emily explores the life of one Tokyo housewife through Emily Itami’s debut novel, Fault Lines, and finds solace and inspiration from Maggie Smith in her book, Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. Meanwhile, Chris has been listening …

Mothers, madness, alcoholism, researching slave revolts, wilderness guides — Emily and Chris discuss recent books they’ve tackled that range widely in subject matter but are all excellent reads. And guess who showed up yet again? Marilynne Robinson! We know, we know. She seems to be everywhere. Last episode Robinson was mentioned in a biblioadventu…

Emily finished ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy, her #BigBookSummer challenge read. It was a good read, but — phew! — big and intense. Chris read Kate Moore’s new nonfiction release, THE WOMAN THEY COULD NOT SILENCE, the true story of Elizabeth Packard’s battle against her husband and the system that tried to lock her away. Although the women’s rights …

We’ve been having a great reading summer and hope you are, too! In Episode 136 we discuss a slew of different types of books we’re reading, from classics to new releases to some forthcoming novels — LIGHTNING STRIKE by William Kent Krueger and O BEAUTIFUL by Jung Yun (pre-order now or request at your library).Emily was highly impressed by Ashley Au…

Both Book Cougars rave about Jung Yun’s forthcoming novel O BEAUTIFUL (St. Martin’s Press, Nov 9). We’ve been (im)patiently waiting for this novel and we give it a solid four thumbs up! Pre-order it now or ask your library to order a copy, or ten.Thanks to Juliet Grimes for sending us a copy of CLARK AND DIVISION by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime, Aug …

Chris and Emily are making progress in their #BigBookSummer classics and diving into some brand-new fiction as well. Emily went on a thrilling, if dark, adventure through Paul McLain’s new novel, WHEN THE STARS GO DARK, and Chris time traveled to meet THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN via Marie Benedict’s and Victoria Christopher Murray’s cowritten novel abou…

Emily and Chris recorded together in person in a new space: Emily’s office, AKA the new Book Cougars recording studio! Emily shares her exciting biblioadventures in Colorado and Chris meets up with The Great Gatsby in two books and one documentary. Emily read Beach Read, the novel by Emily Henry, not the concept, and Chris is reading Books for Idle…