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Perks of Being a Book Lover is a show about books, people who read, and how reading, at its very best, is a social experience. Whether it be a book club, a poetry slam, or the production of a play; words are meant to be shared. Keep up with us on FB.
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Normally, we don’t repeat the same guests multiple times on the show (because there are so many great guests to feature), but we decided to ask Kimmery Martin back on the show for this episode. Kimmery is a trained ER physician who is now a full time author and her niche is medical fiction about female doctors. She is the author of 3 books: The Queen of Hearts, The Antidote For Everything, and her newest, Doctors and Friends. When she spoke with us last time in Season 2, she hinted at the manuscript she was working on about a female doctor during a global pandemic and the horrible decision she has to make about her children. That manuscript became Doctors and Friends.
We asked Kimmery on because we’re still knee-deep in COVID, and we had to know what it was like to write a novel about a pandemic just as an actual pandemic was moving around the globe. Plus, Kimmery contracted COVID which added another interesting layer to her work as a writer.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
2- The Antidote For Everything by Kimmery Martin
3- Doctors & Friends by Kimmery Martin
4- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
5- Melville in Love by Michael Shelden
6- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
7- Tybee by Herman Melville
8- Until the End of Time by Brian Greene
9- My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee
10- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrass-Tyson
11- The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson
12- The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Shows mentioned--
1- Reservation Dogs (2021 on Hulu)
2- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
3- Station Eleven (2021, HBO)
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
This week’s episode features Andrew Harris, the producing artistic director at Stage One, a performing arts organization for children in our city. If you live in Louisville, you have either attended a Stage One production as a child or as the parent of a child, and the shows are always magical. Andrew chats with us about his career in theater, the unique attributes of children’s shows, and why children’s theater is essential to adult theater.
Stage One has a couple upcoming plays, which we discuss in this episode: Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly at the end of January and early February and Dragons Love Tacos in March and April. Of course, with Omicron, things could change, so be sure to contact Stage One directly for updates.
Books mentioned--
1- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
2- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
3- Jamie Whatever by Keith McGill
4- Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly by Y. York
5- Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
6- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gordichec
8- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (audio and book form)
9- Circe by Madeline Miller
10- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
10- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
11- The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
Wednesday Jan 12, 2022
Wednesday Jan 12, 2022
In this episode, we talk to Gwenda Bond, a New York Times Best-selling author whose scope of work includes middle grade and young adult fiction, most with definitive fantasy elements. Her most recent book published this past fall, however, is her very first adult rom-com, a paranormal romance titled NOT YOUR AVERAGE HOT GUY, that involves the son of Satan. An anticipated sequel is due to hit bookstores in April 2022.
Gwenda has vast experience in the literary world; she has published over 10 books, has been a writer for publisher’s weekly magazine, collaborated to write a serial podcast, and been chosen by the Duffer brothers, creators of the megahit Netflix series "Stranger Things", to write a novel that explores what Eleven’s mother’s story.
The thing that unites all these pieces is simple; it’s definitely not boring. Gwenda revels in the wacky and weird and she was a ton of fun to chat with this week.
Books discussed in this episode:
1- Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond
2- The Date From Hell by Gwenda Bond
3- Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond
4- Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond
5- The Supernormal Sleuthing Service by Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe
6- Lois Lane series by Gwenda Bond
7- Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond
8- The Birds by Daphne du Maurier
9- Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs
10- The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
11- The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
12- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
13- A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
14- Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia
15- Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
16- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Podcasts mentioned--
1- Dead Air by Gwenda Bond
Shows mentioned--
1- Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Tuesday Jan 04, 2022
Tuesday Jan 04, 2022
Carrie and Amy take a look back at books they read in 2021 and choose their favorites. Plus, past guests from 2021 share their top reads of the year.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
2- The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson
3- This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith
4- Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
5- Eat a Peach by David Chang
6- Lakewood by Megan Giddings
7- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
8- Sick Souls, Healthy Minds by John Kaag
9- Once & Future Witches by Alix Harrow
10- Stone Sky by NK Jemisin
11- Whisper Man by Alex North
12- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
13- Pax by Sara Pennypacker
14- The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
15- Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
16- Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg
17- As You Wish by Cary Elwes
18- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
19- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethaway
20- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
21- Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan
22- The Round House by Louise Erdrich
23- A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
24- The Hummingbird's Gift by Sy Montgomery
25- Piranesi by Susannah Clarke
26- Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
27- The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
28- Fox and I by Catherine Raven
29- Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia
30- City of Brass by SA Chakraborty
31- Mordew by Alex Pheby
32- Lucia by Alex Pheby
33- The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
34- The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gordichec
35- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
36- She Wouldn't Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha
37- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
38- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
39- Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
40- The World-Ending Fire by Wendell Berry
41- The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson
42- Dune by Frank Herbert
43- Will by Will Smith
44- The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
45- The Carrying by Ada Limon
Wednesday Dec 29, 2021
Wednesday Dec 29, 2021
COVID has been hard for those among us who like to travel, but one of our favorite ways to assuage that desire is to read books set in different locations. Sweeping meadows. Mountains that touch the sky. Exotic locales. These places can whisk us from our humdrum homes.
A Strong Sense of Place is both a podcast and a website where readers can find interesting bookish conversations with our guest this week, Melissa Joulwan, and her husband David, two expatriates living in Prague located in the Czech Republic. In this week’s episode, she tells us about how they select the places they will visit each season, why place in a book has to meet very stringent specifications, and how roller derby helped her make some big life decisions.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Podcasts mentioned--
Strong Sense of Place (strongsenseofplace.com)
Books mentioned--
1- Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
2- Forever by Judy Blume
3- The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders
4- Archy McNally series by Lawrence Sanders
5- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
7- My Antonia by Willa Cather
8- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
9- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
10- The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
11- She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb
12- The Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood
13- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
14- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
15- A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
16- The Curse of Jacob Tracy by Holly Messinger
Movies or TV adaptations mentioned in this episode:
1- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Amazon)
2- A Room With a View (1985 movie)
3- Jane Eyre (1945 movie with Orson Welles)
4- Jane Eyre (2011 movie with Michael Fassbender)
5- Jane Eyre ( 2006 BBC miniseries with Toby Stephens)
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
**We have a rebroadcast this week. We will resume all new episodes in Season 6 mid-January.
This week we are getting in the “spirit” of the first Saturday of May; a date that is sacrosanct for many Kentuckians because of the running of the Kentucky Derby. A love of horses and bourbon whiskey are high on the list of things that Kentuckians are proud of and want to export to the rest of the world. Bourbon is big business in our region and has had a surge in popularity over the last decade; around 90 percent of all bourbon is produced here in the Bluegrass State. At no other time of the year is bourbon more popular in Louisville KY than during Derby season.
Our guest this week, Brian Haara, is an attorney who developed an interest in bourbon through his work in the industry. He started by writing a bourbon history and law blog and has been featured in bourbon documentaries. His book, Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America, is a deep dive into the history of bourbon law that goes back almost to the founding of our country and highlights how bourbon cases have affected all types of commercial law, including consumer protections and trademark law. He wanted to tell the stories of how our country and bourbon grew up together. He is also a bourbon connoisseur who gives tasting notes on various bourbons on his blog and throughout the book.
He chats with us about how he fell down the literary “Poe” hole as a teen, how Victoria’s Secret benefited from bourbon law, and he gives me and Carrie some suggestions of bourbons to buy for the bourbon drinkers in our life; whether they be newbies or long time fans.
Websites mentioned--
sippncorn.blogspot.com
brianhaara.com
Books mentioned--
1- Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America by Brian Haara
2- Poe anthology (Edgar Allan Poe)
3- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
4- The Hobbit by J. R.R. Tolkein
5- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger
6- Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow
7- The 10,000 Doors of January by Alix Harrow
8- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9- The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
10- Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint by Jerry L. Walls (editor)
TV shows mentioned--
The Wire ( 2002-2008)
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Our guest this week, Alia Volz, wrote a book titled Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and The Stoning of San Francisco about her experience growing up in San Francisco in the late 1970s and 80s. Alia’s parents were the owners of Sticky Fingers Brownies which made pot brownies that were known all over the city. While these brownies were the source of relaxation and fun for many people, when HIV and AIDS hit San Francisco, Sticky Fingers became a lifeline for many gay men who were devastated by the disease because the pot brownies helped them with pain and appetite.
The book covers a lot of territory, not the least of which is Alia’s parents’ backgrounds and what it was like for her to grow up in San Francisco in a family that couldn’t really talk about what it did because of the illegal nature of their business. Her book was a 2020 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. It’s a fascinating read which shows the social history leading to the legalization and wider use of cannabis for medical use in the US through the lens of her own family's story.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco by Alia Volz
2- Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews
3- The Stand by Stephen King
4- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
5- Dune by Frank Herbert
6- Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul Offitt
7- In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet
8- Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa
9- The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Dead Djinn Universe #0.3)by P. Djeli Clark
10- The Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe #1)by P. Djeli Clark
11 - A Dead Djinn in Cairo (Dead Djinn Universe #0.1) by P. Djeli Clark
12- The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djeli Clark
13- Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe
Wednesday Dec 08, 2021
Wednesday Dec 08, 2021
Social media can be awful but it can also be a great way to discover wonderful things happening around the globe that give me hope. Our guests this week are an example of that. When I saw a Facebook post about a pair of teachers in Virginia that had been inspired by a book to launch a bookmobile service in their town, I wanted to know more.
The novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson which is about women who served as pack librarians in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and brought reading materials to remote areas during the Depression is the one that Lisa Signorelli and Kristin Thrower looked to to guide them in their mission. They were concerned that their students in Chesterfield public schools on the outskirts of Richmond who didn’t have easy access to WIFI while school was virtual last year were being forgotten.
Lisa and Kristin decided to start delivering books to the students. The endeavour that began out of the back of their cars has now progressed to a full book mobile that gives away free books to students and their families.
In this episode, Lisa and Kristin talk about how they met through a mentor teacher friend named Ms. Clark, how their collaboration resulted in the book mobile, and what it adds to their teaching experience.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
2- Books by Louis L'Amour
3- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4- Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
5- Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
6- The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle
7- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
8- The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi
9- The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
10- Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
11- Cackle by Rachel Harrison
12- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
13- A History Lover's Guide to Richmond by Kristin Thrower
Media mentioned--
1- Jason Reynolds on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2- Mysteries at the Museum
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Every guest we’ve had on our show thus far has been someone who interacts with books as Amy and I do--with our eyes and ears. But Valerie Saverie interacts with books in a unique way--she is a book sculptor who uses books as both her inspiration and her canvas.
Based in Colorado, Valerie is the owner and a founding member of Valkarie Gallery & Studio as well as an artist whose work is shown and sold in New York, Oregon, California, and Pennsylvania. In this episode, she talks to us about how books inspire her and what her process is for turning an already magical work into something that goes even further into creativity and the imagination.
To see all of Valerie’s art you can check her out on instagram @valeriesaverie or at her website www.valeriesaverie.com. On her site, she is offering Perks listeners a 20% discount on anything they purchase from her store for 30 days. Use the code PBBL22.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
2- Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
3- Dreams by Olive Schreiner
4- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
5- The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin (Gildart Jackson narrates)
6- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
7- Gobbledy by Lis-Anna Langston
Movies mentioned--
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
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Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
I love a good bookclub. Carrie and I have been in one together for 15 years. I am the designated book club organizer, and even though bookclubs have been one of the great passions of my adult life, keeping them organized can be an annoying process; finding a date that meets everyone’s needs, making sure everyone knows about the meetings and the books, choosing books. The administrative bookkeeping tasks are not things most people are anxious to do. But there is a relatively new website and free app called Bookclubz (that is Bookclub with a z) that can help streamline the process.
Our guest this week, Anna Ford is the CEO and founder of Bookclubz which started out as a simple computer program she used to help keep her own large bookclub organized. Over time, what was a rudimentary program has been featured in Forbes magazine and has blossomed into a business that helps tens of thousands of book clubs all over the world.
Go to their website at www.bookclubz.com
Books discussed in this episode:
1- The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols
2- Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy by Tom Nichols
3- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
4- The Secret Lives of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr
5- The Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg
6- Just Kids by Patti Smith
7- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
8- The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power
9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
10- The Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
11- Books by Elena Ferrante
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Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com