Episodes
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
S10:Ep209 - The Heartbreak Years with Guest Minda Honey - 2/24/24
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
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)
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
S10:Ep208 - Time Warps - A Book Rec Episode - 2/7/24
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
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."
Wednesday Jan 31, 2024
S10:Ep207 - Tent For Seven with Guests Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly - 1/31/24
Wednesday Jan 31, 2024
Wednesday Jan 31, 2024
You can find Marty at his website www.martyohlhaut.com/ while you can find Grace on Instagram at @grace.ly_author)
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 to the father-daughter team of Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly. They have written a travel memoir called Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West.
This book is based on the true story of their family camping trip to the Canadian Rockies which went horribly wrong in the 1990s. Marty, his wife Jolene, and their 5 children flew from Charlotte NC to the Pacific Northwest and then drove a van to several spots in the majestic Canadian mountains. They camped in their family tent, lovingly referred to as Big Blue. While there, so many things went awry but most importantly, Jolene was severely injured and had to be taken to a hospital where she spent many days. The Ohlhaut family was in disarray but Good Samaritans named the Walshes came to the rescue.
This family is genetically predisposed to adventure. You will hear Marty talk about some wild things he has seen and done, and even though Grace doesn’t doesn’t mention it, she also is an adventure seeker. She dog sleds in Finland and rock climbs in Colorado. Carrie and I are so boring in comparison.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West by Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly
2- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
3- Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
4- Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
5- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
6- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
7- In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton
8- Slow Horses by Mick Herron
9- Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron (novellas)
10- The Future by Naomi Alderman - 5 star read recommended by Shelley Anderson @shelleyanderson4127
11- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Shows mentioned--
1- Slow Horses (Apple +)
Link mentioned:
A Poem-a-Day email service - go to www.poets.org to sign up
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
S10:Ep206- Huda F Cares with Guest Huda Fahmy - 1/24/24
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
You can find Huda at her website www.Hudafahmy.com.
Our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
This week we talk to Huda Fahmy, a graphic novelist whose 4th book Huda F Cares? was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Her book focuses on a teenage Muslim girl named Huda who takes a road trip in the family’s station wagon from Michigan to Florida to visit Disneyworld with her parents and many sisters. There she grapples with wanting to fit in with her peers but also wanting to stay true to her family and her Muslim religion with issues like wearing her hijab and praying in public.
The character Huda in her book is based on the author’s experience growing up in an Egyptian family that immigrated to the US. Huda talks about her love of comics and how she picked up English in part by reading Garfield comic books. Huda began writing graphic novels at the age of 30 when two of her sisters encouraged her to turn her essays of Muslim American life into illustrated stories.
Books mentioned in This Episode:
1- Huda F Cares? by Huda Fahmy
2- Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
3- Yes, I'm Hot in This by Huda Fahmy
4- Huda F Wants To Know by Huda Fahmy
5- That Can be Arranged by Huda Fahmy
6- Murder by Degrees by Rita Mukerji
7- Hide by Tracy Clark
8- Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
9- Erasure by Percival Everett
10- Mexikid by Pedro Martin
11- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
12- Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
13- It Won't Always Be Like This by Malaka Gharib
14- Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
15- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
16- A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
17- As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
18- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juno Diaz
19- Hidden Systems by Dan Nott
20- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
21- Checkmate by Ali Hazelwood
22- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
23- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
24- The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Shows/Films mentioned--
1- Poor Things (2023)
2- American Fiction (2023)
3- The Old Man and the Pool (Netflix 2023)
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
S10:Ep205 - 2023 Year in Review - 1/17/24
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
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.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Paddling North by Audrey Sutherland (Rec by Ritu Mukerji)
2- Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Rec by Anna Pitoniak)
3- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Rec by Anna Pitoniak)
4- Working by Robert Caro (Rec by Rachel M. Harper)
5- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (Rec by Mel Joulwan of Strong Sense of Place Podcast)
6- A Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel (Rec by David Humphries of Strong Sense of Place Podcast)
7- The Gilded Page by Mary Wellesley (Rec by Kristine Eckart of Gilmore Book Club)
8- Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs (Rec by Kristine Eckart of Gilmore Book Club)
9- Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (Rec by Kika Hatzapoulou)
10- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby (Rec by Katrina Kittle)
11- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Rec by Katrina Kittle)
12- Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century by Dana Stephens (Rec by Mick Sullivan of The Past and The Curious Podcast)
13- River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West by Rebecca Solnit (Rec by Mick Sullivan of The Past and the Curious Podcast)
14- If We Were Villains by ML Rio (Rec by Katrina Monroe)
15- The Wanderers by Meg Howrey (Rec by Lydia Welker of the Appalachian Prison Book Project)
16- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Rec by Kelsey Madges, middle school librarian)
Carrie's Favorite Books of the Year
1- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
2- Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy
3- Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
4- Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith
5- We All Wants Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Amy's Favorite Books of the Year
1- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
2- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
3- Martin Marten by Brian Doyle
4- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue
5- The Keeper by Kelcey Ervick
6- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Other Recommendations:
1- American Murderer by Gail Jarrow
2- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
3- These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
4- Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
5- Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
6- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
7- Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby
8- Wool by Hugh Howey (and the TV adaptation on Apple + called Silo)
Escambia County Dictionary Ban -
www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio…ban/72202686007/
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
S9:Ep204 - Perks REMIX - Library of Lost Time with Mel and David - 10/10/24
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on
Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
Things we talked about in the intro:
Movie:
Poor Things (2023)
Adapted from the book Poor Things by Alisdair Gray
Podcast:
NPR's Book of the Day
Social Media Links
1- The Dogist - Insta and FB
2- Dancing Chickens -
Check out Strong Sense of Place Podcast and LOLT at
strongsenseofplace.com/ for show notes for these episodes.
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
S9:Ep203 - Perks REMIX with Books Are My People Podcast - 1/3/24
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
You can find Jennifer Caloyeras at her website www.Jennifercaloyeras.com or on Instagram @ jennifercaloyeras.
Website at 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.
Our Shownotes:
Books Mentioned in this Introduction:
1- The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Borwn
Movies Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Get Out (2017)
2- Saltburn (2023)
3- The Lighthouse (2019)
4- Asteroid City (2023)
5- The Boys in the Boat (2023)
5 Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover - Mindy from the Our Nerdiest Thing Podcast @ournerdiestthing
- Pucking Around by Emily Rath
Books Are My People Shownotes:
This week, I'm joined by Carrie and Amy from the podcast, The Perks of Being a Podcast Lover and we discuss some of our favorite recent reads, crochet and sweating in closets.
Books Discussed:
The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
All the Frequent Troubles of our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler by Rebecca Donner
Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier
What We're Reading Next:
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather oneill
The Rot by Siri Peterson
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carrey
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 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.
Our Shownotes:
1- Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
2- The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
3- Saltburn - (2023, Amazon Prime)
4- Ripley - (upcoming series on Netflix)
Thrillers by the Bookclub Shownotes:
Welcome to Episode 39 of Thrillers by the Bookclub Podcast! Join your hosts Chelsea and Olivia as we talk about the latest in thrillers including shout outs for Pub Day and a deep dive into two books we love.
Chelsea's Book: NIGHT FILM by Marisha Pessl
- Similar Suggestions: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, The Searcher by Tana French, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, and House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
Olivia's Book: SWEET LITTLE LIES by Karin Nordin (OUT 9.28!)
- Similar Suggestions: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier, Catch Her When She Falls by Allison Buccola
Carrie's Book: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN by Patricia Highsmith
- Similar Suggestions: THE KIND WORTH KILLING by Peter Swanson
Amy's Book: SADIE by Courtney Summers
- Similar Suggestions: Devolution by Max Brooks, Every Bone a Prayer by Ashley Blooms, The Hollow Inside by Brook Lauren Davis, The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Email: thrillersbythebookclubpod@gmail.com
Instagram: @thrillersbythebookclubpod @thrillersbythebookclub
Chelsea: @thrillerbookbabe Olivia: @oliviadaywrites
Perks of Being a Book Lover Podcast: @perksofbeingabookloverpod
Happy Pub Day!
• DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin
• NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell
• MISTER MAGIS by Kiersten White
• 101 HORROR BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU'RE MURDERED by Sadie Hartmann
• LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward
• NORTH OF NOWHERE by Alison Brennan
• IN A QUIET TOWN by Amber Garza
• THE LAST ONE by Will Dean
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
S9:Ep201 - I SPY a Riveting Thriller with Guest Anna Pitoniak
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
You can find Anna Pitoniak at www.annapitoniak.com and on socials at annapitoniak.
-Website atwww.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.
For our final episode of 2023, we chat with Anna Pitoniak, whose 4th novel, The Helsinki Affair, has been named a Best Thriller of 2023 by The Washington Post. Anna has long been a fan of spy novels and decided to try her hand at writing the genre. While spy novels have usually been written by and about men, Anna shows that women agents can be just as smart, sly, and ballsy. With a background in the publishing industry, Anna discusses how this experience impacted her journey writing, finding an agent, and working to get her novel into the world.
We also discuss how she is very different from Carrie on the Christmas front and why tacos were not her favorite food from a trip to Mexico (you’ll be surprised by what was.)
Books Discussed in This Episode:
1- The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak
2- Slow Horses by Mick Herron
3- Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak
4- The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre
5- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre
6- Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukherji
7- Mr. Lullaby by J.H. Markert
8- The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
9- The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
10- Speak Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Emily Wiggins @emwigsterbookshelf
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Shows mentioned--
1- Slow Horses (Apple +, 2022)
2- Russian Doll (Netflix, 2019)
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
S9:Ep200 Creativity Keeper with Guest Kelcey Ervick - 12/13/23
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Instagram- @perksofbeingabookloverpod
FaceBook- Perks of Being a BookLover.
To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button.
You can find out more about Kelcey Ervick on her website kelceyervick.com
This week we chat with Kelcey Ervick whose graphic memoir The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women’s Lives Amy discovered after our friend and former guest, Bethany, told us about what a great book it was.
Kelcey is the author of four books but The Keeper is her first foray into a full graphic experience. She weaves her own personal story of being a high school and Division I college soccer player with the history and effect Title IX has had on women in all areas of their lives, not just in sports. If you loved the feminist bent of the movie Barbie, this book will give you similar vibes.
The Keeper has been recommended by the NYT Book Review, Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and was the winner of the state literary prize of Ohio, the Ohioana Book Award, which has been awarded to other notable authors including Celeste NG, Ross Gay, and John Scalzi. Even if you aren’t a sports fan (and I am not), you will thoroughly enjoy this book.
Remember, that in Season 10, Amy has a new project which is to give listeners book recommendations. If you’re looking for a book set in Romania, or a book about rabbits, or a book about changelings, or anything in between, send us a message and we’ll recommend a similar read you can add to your nightstand.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women's Lives by Kelcey Ervick
2- The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3- The Bitter Life of Bozena Nemcova: A Biographical Collage by Kelcey Ervick
4- The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Graphic Literature edited by Kelcey Ervick and Tom Hart
5- Good Talk by Mira Jacob
6- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
7- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
8- Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet
9- The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
10- Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
11- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
12- Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler
13- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
14- America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger
15- Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen
16- Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year by Arwen Donahue
5 Star Book Recommendation by a Fellow Book Lover Barbara K. - @msbarbarasbookshelf - Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Podcasts mentioned--
The To Read List Podcast (Jul 2020 episode)