The Perks Of Being A Book Lover Podcast

Ep. 38 When Reading Goes To The Dogs with Emily McKeehan 3-18-20

Our guest this week, Emily McKeehan, left a job in the insurance industry to follow her dream of becoming a high school English teacher because she felt that was what she has been called to do.

When she saw a Facebook article about how therapy dogs can help young elementary students with their reading, she had the crazy idea of trying them with her students at Eastern High School, which is in eastern Jefferson county outside Louisville. What she hoped for was to build confidence in her reluctant freshman readers, but what she got was so much more.

Emily talks to us about some books that are reliable favorites of her students year after year, what kind of students she feels get the most from working with a reading therapy dog, and what TV show was her bridge to loving the true crime genre.

We feel lucky to have had the chance to interview Emily the day before the Kentucky governor called off schools in the state for the corona virus pandemic.

Books discussed in this episode:

1- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
2- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
3- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
4- The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers
5- Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
6- The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
7- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
8- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
9- Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein
10- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

 

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.

Ep. 36 Books Help the Medicine Go Down with Kimmery Martin 3-11-20

“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also the love of humanity”. This quote from Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is especially true when doctors imbue their experiences into artistic pursuits like today’s guest. Kimmery Martin is an emergency room physician turned author whose medical fiction features female doctors shouldering the life and death responsibilities of their profession but also dealing with questions of friendship, love, and the thorny cultural Issues of our times with a good dose of humor thrown into the mix.

Her first novel Queen of Hearts, published in 2018, was praised by the New York Times and cited as a most anticipated book by Southern Living and Writers Digest.

Her newest book, The Antidote for Everything, explores the friendship between a female specialist and her best friend, a male family physician who also happens to be gay. Her book explores what happens when her best friend is told by the administration of the hospital that he can no longer provide care for LGBTQ patients or risk being fired.

Kimmery talks to us about her childhood growing up in Eastern Kentucky, the humorous way she chose the profession for her main character, what the storyline of her next book will look like, and why physicians have a unique perspective for writing fiction.

Books and Authors Discussed in this Episode:

1- Any book by Bill Bryson
2- Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
3- The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin
4- Any book by Chris Bohjalian
5- Booked by Kwame Alexander
6- Emma by Jane Austen
7- The Innocents by Micheal Crummey

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.

Ep. 36 The Literary Luck of the Irish with Niamh Lutes

It’s the beginning of March; a time for signs of spring, shamrocks, and St. Patrick’s Day when we all feel a little Irish.

Our guest today, Niamh Lutes, is a local music teacher, vocalist, and avid reader who grew up near Kilkenny, Ireland. She gives us a glimpse of a childhood in Ireland and a whole new world of Irish authors to add to our TBR.

Niamh talks to us about some of the Irish folktales she learned in school including the one for which she is named, why she hates the word chick lit, and what you absolutely shouldn’t ask for on St. Patrick’s Day if you are lucky enough to spend it in Ireland.

 

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

1- The Faraway Tree series / Famous Five series / Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton

2- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3- New Patches for Old by Christobel Mattingley

4- Peig: The Autobiography of Peig Sayers

5- Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

6- P.S. I Love You / Roar by Cecelia Ahern

7- The Woman at 72 Derry Lane by Carmel Harrington

8- Crime fiction by Patricia Gibney

9- Angela and the Baby Jesus / Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

10- The Commitments / The Snapper /The Van by Roddy Doyle

11- Ulysses by James Joyce

12- In the Woods by Tana French

13- How Many Miles to Babylon by Jennifer Johnston

14- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

15- Star of the Sea / Irish Man At Home and Abroad by Joseph O'Connor

16- Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen

17- Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna

18- My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg

19- March by Geraldine Brooks

 

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.

Ep. 35 Revision and Riding the Tiger with Katy Yocom 2-26-20

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

Ep. 34 A Literary Gang of Merry Millennials with Hannah Zimmerman and Amelia Reesor 2-19-20

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.

Ep. 33 What WAS That? Let's Do It Again with Robert Eric Shoemaker 2-12-20

Our guest this week, Robert Eric Shoemaker, likes art that defies categorization. He is drawn to literary experiences that he would describe as “all kinds of crazy”. He is a poet, playwright, and translator who is the artistic director of Poetry Is: A Sound Experience, a collaboration between musicians and poets to create an event where the audience interacts with the performance in a way that perhaps makes poetry more accessible.

Eric tells us why some poets think poetry can have the power of magic, why he was drawn to write a musical about famous married poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, and why he believes poetry is currently having a resurgence.

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.

Ep. 32 What Will We Read Next with Anne Bogel 2-5-20

Our guest this week, Anne Bogel, is a fellow Kentuckian, as well as the person thousands of readers turn to for new book recommendations with both her popular book and lifestyle blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy and on her podcast, What Should I Read Next. On her blog, you can sign up for book journaling classes, be part of a monthly online book club or read lifestyle articles like her tips for cozy sweater care. Her podcast examines the reading life of her guests and suggests new titles for them based on their favorites as well as a book they love to hate.

She is also a published author of two books. Her newest, which comes out in March, is titled, Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life.

Anne talks to us about how her blog started as an off-handed suggestion by her husband on New Years Eve 10 years ago, why she doesn’t feel the need to finish books she isn’t enjoying even if she is over halfway through, and some interesting things you may learn if you read the acknowledgements at the end of a book .

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.

Ep. 31 Cooking the Books with Laura Lucchese 1-29-20

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.

 

 

 

 

E. 30 Not All Superheroes Wear Capes with William Sutton 1-22-20

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.

REBROADCAST Ep. 22- (Fun) Home is Where the Heart Is with Michael Drury 10-30-19

This is a rebroadcast of an interview we did in late October with Michael Drury,  the artistic director of a Pandora Productions. I thought this would be a great time to rebroadcast because Pandora Productions has a new musical currently on the stage called Choir Boy that will be performed until January 25.  This interview had an impact on me because it inspired me to see their show, Fun Home, which I liked so much that I was at the new show’s opening night last weekend. It completely opened my eyes to the incredible productions local theater can bring to the community.  

 

Do you love a good Broadway show?  So does Michael Drury, the producing artistic director of Pandora Productions, a theater company solely dedicated to telling the stories of the LGBTQ Plus community.  And this passion made him tenacious in pursuing the rights to produce Fun Home, a Broadway musical based on the critically acclaimed 2007 graphic memoir of the same name by Alison Bechdel, who is best known for her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.  The play adaptation won the Tony award for Best Musical and Best Original Score. Pandora’s production will be the regional premiere of this play.

 

Michael talks to us about the process theater companies go through to get rights to perform popular Broadway plays, why he feels its important to have an LGBTQ plus focused theater, and the innovative way the company is designing the Fun Home set to give a big nod to the original graphic novel.