The Perks Of Being A Book Lover Podcast

This week we chat with Brittany Thurman, a native of Kentucky, who has recently published her first children’s picture book titled Fly illustrated by Anna Cunha. She worked as a children's specialist at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh which is where the idea to write her own book occurred, and she even took inspiration from one of the children who would come to her storytimes. Fly is the story of a young girl who wants to enter a double dutch jump rope competition but doesn’t know how to double dutch. She asks her friends for tips and while they don't know how either, they each give her a piece of knowledge that helps her be more confident in her dreams. In this episode, she tells about the creation of this book as well as other books that she has in the pipeline, including one about the first public library built for and staffed by African Americans in the United States, which is the Western branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Brittany is a very busy new author. You can find Brittany on instagram at @britjanee and at her website at www.brittanythurman.com. Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover or on Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod to see what we're up to. For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Fly by Brittany Thurman and Illustrated by Anna Cunha 2- Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez with Brittany Thurman 3- Forever and Always by Brittany Thurman 4- Addie Walker--American Girl series 5- Goosebumps series by R.L.Stine 6- Replica series by Marilyn Kaye 7- Mary Kate & Ashley series 8- A Surgeon in the Village: An American Doctor Teaches Brain Surgery in Africa by Tony Bartelme 9- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 10- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 11- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 12- Stunt Boy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds 13- A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow 14- Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

We are excited to open up Season 5 with suspense writer David Bell. He is the USA Today bestselling author of 11 books and his most recent offering hit the bookshelves yesterday. His newest Kill All Your Darlings is the interconnection of all kinds of hot topics; showing the dark side of academia and what happens when plagiarism makes you the prime suspect of a murder. Plus add some professor ickiness that would make the #Metoo movement cringe and you have a page turner that book websites like SheReads and Frolic call a most anticipated summer reads for 2021. David is a professor of English at Western Kentucky University and heads up their MFA creative writing program. Books mentioned in this episode: 1- Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell 2- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein 3- King Arthur & His Knights by Mabel Louise Robinson 4- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 5- Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell 6- OCDaniel by Wesley King, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo 7- Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo 8- Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar 9- Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin 10- Cemetery Girl by David Bell Movies mentioned-- Together, Together directed by Nikole Beckwith Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan TV shows mentioned I'll Be Gone in the Dark  - Limited series on HBO

This week Carrie and I traveled to record at the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion, which is a Victorian era mansion built in 1871, with 12-foot ceilings, hand-carved wood balusters, and intricately designed colorful wallpapers. It has been preserved and enveloped by the campus of Spalding University and is the location of their School of Creative and Professional Writing and home base for today’s guest, debut novelist Katy Yocom. Katy’s novel, Three Ways to Disappear, was published in 2019 and has won numerous awards including The Siskiyou Prize for Environmental Fiction. It has also been selected as a Barnes and Noble Indie Book Favorite. Katy has vivid memories of as a child reading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott out loud with her mother. It was a short leap to her writing her own book about the intricacies of animal conservation and family bonds. Katy tells us how her obsession with a set of newborn tiger cubs at the Louisville Zoo 14 years ago started her on the path to write her book, how a suggestion from an astute editor changed the trajectory of her novel, and why she believes much of the riskier and cutting edge literature is being published by small independent presses and how important it is to support them. Books Discussed in this Episode 1- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia 2- Severance by Ling Ma 3- The Road by Cormac McCarthy 4- Kindred by Octavia Butler

Our guests today are members of a group they comicly refer to as a “literary gang”, a book club called The Monstrous Regiment, a name based on a book by author Terry Pratchett that features a feminist manifesto. Hannah Zimmerman and Amelia Reesor started the group 3 ½ years ago with a focus on female-centric books, although as you will soon realize, every rule is meant to be broken in this high energy crowd of both male and female 20 and 30 somethings. Hannah and Amelia talk to us about the difference between being a group that is female-centric versus feminist, why having male members adds interesting insights to their book discussions, and how they were surprised that the group has gone from a typical book club to a supportive social network.   Books Mentioned in this Episode: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins Coraline by Neil Gaiman The Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett Beloved by Toni Morrison My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite The Power by Naomi Alderman The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert Medallion Status by John Hodgman The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Winter's Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.

There is a saying, “If you want a happy ending, read a cookbook”. Our guest, Laura Lucchese, is in a book club that always ends well because her group reads and then produces a group meal from cookbooks. James Beard, the great culinary expert said, food is our common ground, a universal experience. In our mind, to bring books and food together is a match made in heaven. Laura tells us how many cookbooks have a narrative story just like a traditional book, why cooking from a cuisine outside your own encourages discussion, and how modern cookbooks offer a different philosophy to entertaining that diverges from the older well-known cookbook authors like Martha Stewart. Books Mentioned in this Episode. Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman Dining In by Alison Roman Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman Indianish by Priya Krishna Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee Everyday is Saturday by Sarah Copeland How They Choked by Georgia Bragg Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi Do You Mind If I Cancel by Gary Janetti Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Bad Blood by John Carreyrou A Gentleman from Moscow by Amor Towles All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood Sourdough by Robin Sloan You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.        

Our guest today is what Mr. Rogers would call a “helper”. I first saw William Sutton on Louisville MetroTV, where he was interviewed about his work with children and it was obvious that he was something special. William works in the children’s department of the Portland branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Portland is one of the largest neighborhoods in Louisville and one that has a long and rich history. In the late 1800s it had the first trolley line from downtown and was the welcoming home to many waves of immigrants including Irish and German. In recent years this neighborhood has hit hard times; it has one of the lowest income levels in the city, but it is experiencing a rebirth with numerous art galleries, stores, and restaurants coming to the area. Nowhere is the small community spirit more evident though than in its neighborhood library. William Sutton is a favorite face there and you will see why. His joy in his work is infectious. He talks to us about why being a black male in a female heavy field is important for children to see, how comic books built the basis for his literary life, and why black superheroes can be an inspiration for teens to find the strength in themselves.   Books Mentioned in this Episode: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis Storm by Eric Jerome Dickey The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.

As this is our last episode for the season and we are in the middle of the holidays, we wanted to give you a feel good show. Today we are talking Little Free Libraries. Have you seen the cute little boxes of all colors and sizes on posts where you just open the door and you can take a book? Is there one in your neighborhood? The Little Free Library national movement is 10 years old this year and we wanted to celebrate this anniversary by exploring the movement in our community with our 2 guests this week. Mary Sullivan is a master builder with Metro United Way who spearheaded the Little Free LIbrary movement in underserved neighborhoods of Louisville which now includes 42 little libraries. Joan Dubay is a retired teacher who implemented a Little Free Library at her church and continues to maintain it by adding upwards of 50 books a week to the library. Mary and Joan talk to us about how they first found out about Little Free Libraries, why Little libraries were chosen as a way to help local children be school successful, and how this movement is a revolving door of good feels. They wowed us with the surprising number of books being shared. Mary wants our listeners to know that if you have books you would like to donate they can be delivered to Metro United Way, 334 E. Broadway in Louisville between the hours of 8:45-4:30 Monday-Friday. If you need other times call 502.583-2821 and leave a message for Mary Sullivan. Books Mentioned in this Episode: Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.

Our guest this week, Kara Evans, is a transplant to Louisville by way of New Jersey and Atlanta and was looking for a fun way to meet new people. She is a healthcare consultant specializing in technology but her hobbies have always included reading and movies. So she decided to create a book and movie club called Books Going to the Big Screen which can be found on the platform Meetup.com, a site with a plethora of different kinds of groups you can join in any geographical area. Kara tells us the benefits and the frustrations of having Hollywood pick the book selections, why she needs crazy good research skills to keep up with the ongoing movie schedule, how their discussions in this club feel completely different than a regular bookclub when you are comparing and contrasting two different mediums, and how reading has always been her escape. Books Mentioned in this Episode: I'm Down by Mishna Wolff Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.

Our guest today is a history buff who has taken his interest in the past to a whole new level. Mick Sullivan is a history educator at the Frazier History Museum and is in charge of their youth and family programs. But he is also the creator of the children’s history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which Common Sense Media lists as one of the best podcasts for kids. His quirky combo of humor and music keeps both kids and adults interested and sneaks in a little history in the process. His podcast includes a bit of an earworm song about local coffee shop Heine Bros Coffee So even if history isn’t your jam, check it out just for that tune. The success of his podcast has led to the publishing of his first children’s book, The Meat Shower, which is a fun telling of the historical event of meat (yes I just said meat) literally raining down on a Kentucky farm in the 1800s. In fact what is even more curious, there is still no explanation of this unusual event today. Mick tells us how his podcast grew out of the stories he tells kids at the Frazier’s children’s programs, how his background in musical performance has served him well when creating the variety of music for his podcast, what huge role vultures play in his new book, and all about his vision to have a series of books featuring quirky history for every reading level.   The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz Life of Pi by Yann Martel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we are playing the nostalgia card. All of the books we mention are backlist in a big way; the majority are at least 15 years old. Our episode is about books that take up space in our heads. They may be books that, when we see them on a shelf, stir up all kinds of feelings or memories from years past. Or they are books that simply left a huge impression on us and we think about them from time to time. Even though they aren’t new and shiny, these books deserve a place on your TBR. Books mentioned: 1- The Dead Boy Detectives comic series based on characters developed by Neil Gaiman 2- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith 3- Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman 4- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin 5- Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin 6- When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover - Kasey @kayree_reads 7-It by Stephen King (1986) 8- Jack Gance by Ward Just (1997) 9- Burglars Can’t Be Choosers (the Bernie Rhodenbarr series) by Lawrence Block (1977) 10- The Good Men by Charmaine Craig (2003) 11- The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir (1991) 12- Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade (1991) 13- Nora: A Biography of Nora Joyce by Brenda Maddox (1998) 14- House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (1999) 15- Eva’s Man by Gayl Jones (1987) 16- Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith (1988) 17- Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895) 18- Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 19- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs 20- Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay Shows mentioned— 1- Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, 2024) 2- Catherine, Called Birdy (Amazon Prime, 2022) 3- Ripley (Netflix, 2024) 4- Sandman (Netflix, 2022) 5- Good Omens (Amazon Prime, 2019) 6- Sherlock (Hulu, 2010) 7- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) 8- Emma ( Amazon Prime, 2020) 9- 3 Body Problem (Netflix, 2024) 10- Burglar (1987) 11- House of Sand and Fog (Max, 2003) 12- Lion in Winter (1968) 13- Jude (1996) 14- Far from the Madding Crowd (Max, 2015) Theatre mentioned— Broadway across America production of “Six” Articles mentioned— 8 Bookish Podcasts for Booklovers - www.badasswomensbookclub.com/blog/2024/…booklovers

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Judith Lindbergh at judithlindbergh.com/ and on IG @judithlindbergh. This week’s episode is one that big history nerds may find fascinating. In fact, big nerd Carrie could have gone even further down a rabbit hole of Herodotus than she did with our guest Judith Lindbergh. If you feel like playing a drinking game with this episode, between the three of us, we say the word ‘fascinating” at least nine times. Judith’s second novel, titled Akmaral, will be published on May 7 and is a sweeping story of a nomadic woman warrior in Central Asia during the 5th century. Judith tells us about her inspiration for the novel (and you can find more about the Ice Maiden she mentions in our interview on her website) and how the matriarchal community in which Akmaral lives has connections to the mythological Amazons. Judith relates the challenges of women during the Iron Age to those that modern women have through her story. A perfect saga story for fans of Madeline Miller. Books Mentioned In This Episode: 1- Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh 2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach 3- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith 4- The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh 5- Histories by Herodotus 6- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer 7- The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan - A 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Linda Lefler @lindalefler 8- This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships by Matthew Fray 9- The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 10- The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl 11- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl 12- I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai Movies mentioned-- 1- White Noise (2023) Documentary mentioned: 1- Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women, www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/amazon…women-episode/1464/. 2- NOVA: “Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYitmlS1YU. Article mentioned-- 1- The Marriage Lesson That I Learned Too Late --www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/…-dishes/629526/ 2- Tuvan Throat Singing - www.songlines.co.uk/features/essent…-singing-albums.

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. Earth Day is upon us in a few weeks, April 22, and what better time to explore literature that comments on the health of Mother Earth. This week we are talking eco-literature. Eco-literature engages readers on environmental concerns through the interactions between humans and the environment. And it encourages thought about our impact on the planet. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate 2- That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming 3- That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming 4- Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel 5- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel 6- Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul - A 5 Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Kristin M. @paws.read.repeat 7- Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver 8- Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman 9- Dune by Frank Herbert 10- Don't Call Me a Hurricane by Ellen Hagan 11- Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philips 12- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel 13- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom 14- State of Wonder by Ann Patchet 15- What Blooms From Dust by James Markert 16- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 17- Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh 18- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin 19- Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson 20- Hoot by Carl Hiassen Links to articles we reference: Library Book Returned After 102 Years people.com/family-returns-pair…ranch%20on%20Monday. Wishtree censorship— www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/…ishtree.html Sting Ray article— www.npr.org/2024/03/07/12366785…tery-north-carolina Bringing Back the Wooly Mammoth www.npr.org/sections/health-sho…-mammoth-extinction

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find this week’s Austen authors at their websites: AH Kim - www.ahkim.net/ and @ahkim.writer Melodie Edwards - www.melodieedwards.com/ and @melodiewritesedwards  Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817 but she remains a writer who has captured the minds and hearts of many readers. The themes she addressed in her time remain ones that are relevant today: the need to be an individual despite the binds of society’s rules, the complications of marriage, and the power and powerlessness that comes with changes in social class. Our guests this week, AH Kim, and Melodie Edwards, both love Jane Austen and with such gusto that they wrote their own reimaginings of her novels. They talk about the potential pitfalls of their endeavors given how exacting many Austen fans are, as well as the things they wanted to ensure they kept from Austen versus the creative license they took to make their stories unique to their own experiences and modern times. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Relative Strangers by A.H. Kim 2- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 3- Once Persuaded, Twice Shy by Melodie Edwards 4- Persuasion by Jane Austen 5- Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James 6- Jane and Edward by Melodie Edwards 7- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte  8- A Good Family by A.H. Kim 9- Long Live by V. B. Lacey - A Book recommended by a fellow book lover Brianna Wright @bwrightsbookreviews 10- Deacon King Kong by James McBride 11- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano 12- Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner 13- The Fetishist by Katherine Min 14- Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes 15- The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley TV series mentioned: 1- Northern Exposure ( Amazon, 1990-1995) 2- The Reluctant Traveler (Apple +, 2023-present) Movies mentioned- 1- Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Colin Firth 2- Sense and Sensibility (1995) with Emma Thompson 3- Persuasion (Netflix, 2022) with Dakota Johnson 4- Persuasion (2007, iTV) with Sally Hawkins 5- Persuasion (1995) with Ciarin Hinds 6- Emma (1996) with Gwyneth Paltrow 7- American Fiction (2023)

Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we’re talking about linked short story collections. What are linked short stories, though? These are stories that are collected and somehow linked to each other. That link can be very explicit or very subtle. They can be linked by one character who threads her/his way throughout every one or who is only mentioned marginally. They can be linked by several characters. They can be linked by the setting–if they are set in a certain town or state or country. But they can also be linked by theme or symbol or a common experience of characters. They could all be about a shared experience, like parenthood or death or love. Or a combination of these things. Books Mentioned in This Episode: 1- Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar 2- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby 3- Good Taste by Caroline Scott 4- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - a 5 star read recommended by fellow book lover Anastacia @ms_a_m_c 5- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 6- The Decameron by Giovanni Boccacio 7- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 8- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien 9- Dubliners by James Joyce 10- Dear Chrysanthemums: A Novel in Stories by Fiona Sze-Lorrain 11- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros 12- Birth Canal by Dias Novita Wuri 13- There, There by Tommy Orange 14- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange 15- What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better by Jody Hobbs Hessler 16- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw 17- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 18- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 19- Music of the Swamp by Lewis Nordan 20- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 21- Crooked Hallelujah by Kelly Jo Ford 22- Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta 23- Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher 24- Throne of Glass (series) by Sarah J. Maas 25- The Bone People by Keri Hulme 26- The Extinction of Irina Rey by Jennifer Croft Podcasts mentioned-- Ologies with Alie Ward - www.alieward.com/ologies/oikologyencore NPR's Book of the Day - www.npr.org/2024/03/14/11969793…-rey-jennifer-croft Movies mentioned-- 1- Oppenheimer (2023) 2- Spaceman (2024, Netflix)

To find more of Kari’s book thoughts, you can find her on instagram @checkedoutbooks. Our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we chat with Kari Heggen, a bookstagrammer from Iowa who set herself a goal to read all the Newbery Award winners from the past 102 years. Originally she had planned to read 10 a year but she ultimately decided to just get her done. She read 49 of the winners in 2023 and got a jump start on 2024 by reading this year’s winner, The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers. Kari talks about the highs and lows of her Newbery Award challenge. Books from the early days of the award were decidedly not great. But by the 1960s, Kari got into a better groove and found herself enjoying books for the first time and often the second time which brought back some childhood nostalgia. Books Mentioned in this Episode: 1- Erasure by Percival Everett 2- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach 3- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 4- Holes by Louis Sachar 5- The Giver by Lois Lowry 6- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien 7- The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loom 8- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 9- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera 10- Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins 11- The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron 12- Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman 13- A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard 14- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry 15- King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry 16- Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry 17- Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt 18- Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt 19- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool 20- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 21- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo 22- The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson 23- Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson 24- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers 25- Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin 26- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 27 - Five Star Read Recommended by a Fellow Book Lover Hope @lifewithhopeann- Divine Rivals Duology by Rebecca Ross 28- Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton Jack 29- The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon 30- Starter Villain by John Scalzi 31- Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen 32- Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch 33- The Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson 34- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Movies and TV Series mentioned: 1- Oppenheimer (2023) 2- American Fiction (2023) 3- Poor Things (2023) 4- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023, Netflix) 5- Peaky Blinders (2013-2022, Netflix) 6- The Secrets of Nimh (1982) Article about Serving on the Newbery Awards committee- www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/what-i…y-medal-winner

Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we talk about some of our favorite books coming out of small and independent presses. The Big 5 publishers print those blockbusters we love to stick in our beach bag but smaller presses support much more diverse authors and innovative and important stories that may be your next favorite read! We give you a little primer about the difference between a small press and an imprint by on the Big 5. And we give you 10 books (plus a few more) that we recommend from indie presses! Books mentioned-- 1- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle 2- The Odyssey by Homer 3- Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit 4- Everyman by Philip Roth 5- Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell 6- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - 5 star readrecommended by fellow book lover Amy Bernath @mrsmillardfillmorereads 7- The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel (Tin House) 8- Three Ways to Disappear by Katy Yocom (Ashland Creek Press) ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/ep-3…26-20/ 9- The Salt Fields by Stacy D. Flood (Lanternfish Press) 10- Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross Smith (Hub City Press) 11- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue (Hub City Press) 12- Places We Left Behind: A Memoir in Miniature by Jennifer Lang (Vine Leaves Press) 13- What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me by Donna Gordon (Regal House) ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-6-…-8-22/ 14- Menopause: A Comic Treatment edited by MK Czerwiec (Penn State University Press) 15- Bad Tourist by Suzanne Roberts (Univeristy of Nebraska Press) 16- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia(WVU Press) 17- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions) 18- Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl (Milkweed Editions) 19- Lungfish by Meghan Gillis (Catapult Books) 20- Tidepool by Nicole Willson (Parliament House) 21- The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson (Parliament House Books - coming Nov. 12, 2024) Movies/Shows mentioned-- Maestro (Netflix, 2023) The Changeling (Apple+, 2023) For All Mankind (Apple+, 2019) Links mentioned: Odysseus Lunar Landing - www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/world/mo…nasa-scn/index.html Solar Flare - www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news…outage-earth-att/ Human Isolation on Mars- www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/magazi…n-experiment.html LA Public Library now owns a small press - www.latimes.com/entertainment-art…makes-total-sense

You can Shawntaye on Instagram at @shawntaye1 Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.   This week we chat with a Lexington, Kentucky bookstagrammer, Shawntaye, who is such a devoted reader that she makes books part of virtually everything she does, from socializing to volunteering. Amy met Shawntaye in real life before COVID and the Perks has been following her bookish adventures ever since.    Shawntaye talks to us about a panel discussion she lead in which she recommended books that uplift Black women, as well as what she has learned from being a board member of her local library and how the reading events she attends enrich her life. She also shares her very strong (and funny) feelings about why she does not set numerical reading goals each year.  Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Finna by Nino Cipri 2- What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World by Henry Clark 3- What We Found in the Corn Maze and How It Saved a Dragon by Henry Clark 4- Heidi by Johanna Spyri 5- Forever by Judy Blume 6- Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan 7- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson 8- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy 9- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson 10- The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson 11- Power: The Rise of Black Women in America by Charity C. Elder 12 - My Beautiful Black Hair by St. Clair Detrick-Jules 13- My Hair is Like the Sun by St. Clair Detrick-Jules 14- Hell of a Book by Jason Mott 15- The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. 16- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 17 -Water by John Boyne (Five Star Read recommended by Book Lover Lynley @bichons_and_books_nz) 18- Enter the Body by Joy McCullough 19- Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare 20- Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen 21- The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner

You can find Amy and the Gibson Girl review at www.gibsongirlreview.com/ as well as on Instagram at @gibsongirlreview Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button. As podcast people ourselves, we are always interested in checking out other unique book-related podcasts. You can find a podcast to fit any interest no matter how obscure; there is something for everyone out in the pod universe. Our guest this week is Amy Drown, the founder, producer, and host of Gibson Girl Review, a podcast that focuses on novels from the Gilded Age and Progressive era, circa 1870-1920. Edith Wharton and Henry James are authors from this time you may have had to read in high school, but for the most part, novels from these time periods have mostly been forgotten among the general reading public. Amy likes to give them a fresh reading. She has found that many of the problems we deal with in 2024 are very similar to the ones people dealt with some 130+ years ago. Amy is a historian herself with a vast collection of old books she inherited from her family. In the end, she just wanted to read them instead of have them languishing on a shelf, and The Gibson Girl Review podcast was born. Books Discussed in This Episode: 1- The Passionate Epicure by Marcel Rouff 2- The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant 3- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier 4- A Room With A View by E.M. Forster 5- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry 6- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux 7- Jan of the Windmill by Juliana Horatia Ewing 8- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 9 - Heidi by Johanna Spyri 10- Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter 11- Poor Dear Theodora by Florence Irwin 12- The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope 13- Her First Appearance by Richard Harding Davis 14- Five Star Book Recommendation from Nelwina @toallreaders - The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan 15- The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos: Reflections on the Newark Earthworks and World Heritage edited by M. Elizabeth Weiser and others 16- The Wright Brothers by David McCullough 17- Winterfrost by Michelle Houts Movies and Shows mentioned— 1- The Taste of Things (2023) 2- A Room With a View (1985) 3- The Gilded Age (HBOMax, 2022- present) 4- Downton Abbey (Peacock, 2010- 2015)

To find out more about Minda, go to her website at www.mindahoney.com or find her on social media @mindahoney Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook- Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button. We have a remix episode for you this week on Valentine’s Day, and the book we discuss is all about love and the loss of it. We first talked with author Minda Honey back in the summer of 2019 During that interview, she spoke about her book of essays tentatively titled “An Anthology of Assholes,” which was about her dating experiences from her mid-20s to age 30 as a single black woman. In October 2023, her book now titled The Heartbreak Years was published by Little A. We catch up with Minda about her memoir. We then transition back to parts of our original interview which also focuses on the Toni Morrison documentary, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. In the summer of 2019, Speed Cinema featured this film, but if you missed it then you can find it now on most streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. When we discussed Morrison, she was still living but she died a few weeks later, in Aug 2019. Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- The Heartbreak Years by Minda Honey 2- All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai 3- Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett 4- What The Wind Knows by Amy Harmon 5- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 6- Sula by Toni Morrison 7- Beloved by Toni Morrison 8- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 9- The Mothers by Brit Bennett 10- Ruby by Cynthia Bond 11- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 12- How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson - A Five star read recommended by Jessica Bearak @tonightsbookishfeast 13- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline 14- Yinka, Where Is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn; audiobook narrated by Ronke Adékoluejo Shows mentioned-- 1- Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019) 2- Time Trap (2018, Netflix) 3- Dark (2017-2020, Netflix) 4- Will & Harper (2024) 5- Six Feet Under (2001-2005, Netflix) 6- Will and Grace (1998-2006, Hulu)

Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Face Book - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.   This week we are talking time bending books, series, and movies including time travel, time loop, and time slip. Here is a link for more info on this subgenera. https://www.abookgeek.com/exploring-the-paradoxes-of-time-travel-literature-a-journey-through-the-ages/ Books mentioned-- 1- Number The Stars by Lois Lowry 2- Intrigue in Istanbul by Ericka Ruth Neubauer 3- The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard 4- Time Machine by HG Wells 5- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 6- The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier 7- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 8- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffenegger 9- Midnight Library by Matt Haig 10- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis 11- Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen 12- Time and Again by Jack Finney 13- 11/22/63 by Stephen King 14- Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdoch 15- When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 16-Kindred by Octavia Butler 17- Neverworld Wake by Marissa Pessl 18- Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister 19- A Boy And His Dog At The End of The World by C.A. Fletcher - 5 star read recommended by Heather Crotwell @readingwithavengeance 20- Orchard by Larry Watson 21- Poor Things by Alasdair Gray 22- Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspired the World by Jean Duffy Other stuff mentioned-- 1- Radiolab episode about Einstein's brain - radiolab.org/podcast/g-relative-genius 2- Disney's Frozen (Broadway Across America) 3- Number the Stars (Stage One theater production) 4- Dark (Netflix, 2017-2020) 5- Bodies (Netflix, 2023) 10- BeForeigners (Amazon Prime, 2019- ) 11- Interstellar (2014) 12- Tenet (2020) 13- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) 14- Back to the Future (1985) 15- Sliding Doors (1998) 16- Time Bandits (1981) 17- Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) 18- Donnie Darko (2001) 19- Kindred (Hulu, 2022) 20- Florida Altering Picture Books link - popular.info/p/pressed-by-moms-for-liberty-florida ** This was not a source I was familiar with even though it was being quoted by Pen America so I consulted www.Mediabiasfactcheck.com. This was their summary of this source. "Overall, we rate Popular Information Left Biased based on story selection and editorial content that routinely favors liberal causes. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record."