Episodes
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Perks REPLAY - Around The World In An Anxious Mind with Guest Jeremy Hance
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
We chatted with environmental writer Jeremy Hance in 2021 about his travel memoir BAGGAGE: CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBETROTTING HYPOCHONDRIAC Season 5 Ep. 113.
Our guest this week, Jeremy Hance, writes about 3 topics in his most recent book that we are always drawn to; mental health, travel, and animals. Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-trotting Hypochondriac is a memoir that uses humor to help readers understand what life is like for someone who has a mental health issue like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In Jeremy’s case, his anxiety is always worse when he travels. While traveling to all corners of the globe is one of the best parts of his life as an environmental writer and is necessary for the work he does, travel is also fraught with rumination and fear.
Jeremy is an environmental journalist who is currently a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac by Jeremy Hance
2- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
3- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
4- My Antonia by Willa Cather
5- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
6- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
7- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
8- A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermer
9- Sorry, I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan
Websites mentioned
news.Mongabay.com
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Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Perks REPLAY -Thrill Seekers with Guest Chelsea Hoffman
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Our guest this week, Chelsea Hofmann, loves to feel her pulse quicken and gets excited by the idea that anything could happen. She lives her life spontaneously so her love of the thriller genre with its twists, turns, and surprise endings fit her personality just fine.
After finishing college and moving to Southern California with her husband, she wanted to reconnect with her love of reading books that she had as a child but none of the book clubs she tried felt like a good fit. So she started a virtual book club on the Instagram platform called Thrillers By The Bookclub. As that virtual club became became popular with members all over the globe, people started asking her about in-person book clubs. Chelsea nurtured this idea, encouraging book lovers to start their own Thriller By The Book Club chapters. There are now over 27 chapters and more are still forming. We chat with Chelsea in this episode about all the thrilling books she reads.
- You can find Chelsea on instagram at @thrillerbookbabe.
- To find out more about Thrillers By The Book club, to see if they have a chapter in your area or to get more information about starting your own, check out their instagram at @thrillersbythebookclub .
- Local Louisville listeners , there is a chapter in town. @txbc_louisville
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Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- Boxcar Children series
2- Nancy Drew series
3- Hardy Boys series
4- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
6- Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver
7- His & Hers by Alice Feeney
8- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
9- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
10- Survive the Night by Riley Sager
11- This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel
12- The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
13- Outside by Ragnor Jonasson
14- The Mist by Ragnor Jonasson
15- Snowblind by Ragnor Jonasson
16- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helena Tursten
17- An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helena Tursten
18- The Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snickett
TV series:
1- The Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix 2017-2019)
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Perks REPLAY - Double Dutch Debut with guest Brittany Thurman
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
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 @perksof beingabookoverpod 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
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Perks REPLAY - Treks with Toddlers to Teens with guest Kate Wickers
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
This is the time of year when lots and lots of people travel so it makes sense to have a travel memoirist on our show. Kate Wickers is a British writer who has spent 25 years or so writing about her extensive travel experiences and publishing in magazines and newspapers all over the world. When COVID hit, she decided to turn her many travels with her husband and three sons into a collection of essays about what travel has meant to their family and the lessons they’ve learned from the experiences travel has given them.
Her memoir, Shape of a Boy, offers a collection of really great stories that will make any parent who has traveled with children go down their own memory lane to remember both the highs and lows of travel when kids are involved. And we’re not the only ones who think her memoir is pretty awesome. National Geographic Traveller listed it as one of the “9 Best Travel Books for 2022.”
You can find Kate Wickers on Instagram at @wickers.kate and at her website www.katewickers.com
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram - @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Shape of a Boy by Kate Wickers
2- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb
3- Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal
4- The Marmalade Diaries: The True Story of an Odd Couple by Ben Aitken
5- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken
6- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
7- Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Perks REPLAY - Hyphenated Lives with guest Namrata Patel
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
We have a REPLAY episode for you this week.
Novelist Namrata Patel was on the show last June when her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave came out. Just last week she had a new novel published, The Scent of A Garden. Both books feature complex multi-generational Indian-American families.
**
Namrata Patel has been writing for 20 years, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she had more time to work on it. She had always been interested in dual culture and challenges of the diaspora, specifically Indians who had moved to the United States. The isolation of COVID really brought home how lonely life can be if you don’t feel like you fit anywhere. Her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave follows a photojournalist who inherits an apartment from a stranger. The apartment in Back Bay Boston surrounds her with a close-knit network of other Indian-Americans. Meena comes to learn more about herself and her culture, as well as understands the gift of found family and friendship through this experience.
You can find Namrata Patel on instagram at @namratapatelauthor, on Twitter at Nampatel or on her author website, www.nampatel.com.
Follow us on Facebook at The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Instagram at @perksofbeingabookoverpod
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
2- Six Days in Rome by Franscesca Giacco
3- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
4- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
5- Books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
6- Leonard: My Life as a Cat by Carly Sarosiak
7- The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
8- The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
9- Word by Word by Kory Stamper
10- Tidepool by Nicole Willson
11- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
12- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
13- Persuasion by Jane Austen
14- FBI/US Attorneys series by Julie James
15- Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Movies mentioned--
ET: The ExtraTerrestrial (1982)
Shows mentioned--
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
S8 Ep181 - Catch the June Reading Bug - 6-21-23
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
This week we celebrate all the special days of June! Want a book rec for Pride month? We have one. What about Juneteenth or Father's Day? We have you covered. And did you know it's National Audiobook Month? It's new to us as well but we love audiobooks so we give you some recommendations for that too. And we throw in one wildcard category - one of those random National Days or Months that always makes you wonder why there needs to be a month for that:)
This is the last episode for Season 8. We are taking a month off for summer family travel and some rest and relaxation. We will be back the late July/ early August with all new episodes. Until then, we will air some of our favorite past episodes in case you missed them the first time around.
Happy Reading!
For show notes for any episode or to contact us, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
2- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
4- Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo
5- Our Sister Killjoy by Ama Ata Aidoo
6- The Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel
7- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
8- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
9- Fun Home: A Famliy Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
10- Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
11- And Then the Grey Heaven by RE Katz
12- Lone Women by Victor Lavalle
13- The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
14- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
15- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
16- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
17- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
18- Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
19- The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
20- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
21- Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis by Emily Willingham
22- The Good One by Polly Stewart
23- On Earth as it is on Television by Emily Jane
Shows/movies mentioned--
1- No Country For Old Men ( 2007)
2- My Octopus Teacher (Netflix, 2020)
Articles Mentioned:
1- Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian writer who was voice of African women, dies at 81
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
S8 Ep. 180 - Who? What? Wear with guest Vicki Johnson - 6/14/23
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
This week we chat with Vicki Johnson, a debut picture book author whose book, Molly’s Tuxedo, is a delightful story about a child who doesn’t want to wear the frilly, itchy dress and tight shoes her mother thinks is appropriate for school pictures. Molly wants to wear…you guessed it, a tuxedo that has pockets. The book, which is illustrated by Gillian Reid, was published by Little Bee Books in collaboration with GLAAD, a nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ advocacy and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation. Vicki tells us all about it and the path to her becoming a writer.
She tells us about her move from DC to a small 200 year old cabin in the woods of WV, her sweaty history, and her new app that has rocked her world.
You can find Vicki at her website www.vickijohnsonwrites.com or on Instagram at @vickijohnsonwrites. You can also see her past work on Instagram at @cabin.reads.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Molly's Tuxedo by Vicki Johnson
2- Wool (Silo series #1) by Hugh Howey
3- The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
4- The Daughters of Ys by MT Anderson
5- Everywhere With You by Carlie Sorosiak
6- Negative Cat by Sophie Blackall
7- Grandad's Camper by Harry Woodgate
8- Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
9- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
10- Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Thermes
TV series mentioned:
1- Platonic (2022 - Apple +)
2- Silo (2022 - Apple +)
Apps mentioned:
1- Merlin Bird ID
2- Seek
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
S8 Ep. 179 Summer Reading With Guest Sam Miller of Carmichael’s Books 6-7-23
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
At the start of summer, we like to chat with Sam Miller, bookseller and manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore here in Louisville (We actually like to chat with Sam anytime, but she has especially useful information about new books twice a year.) Sam does the heavy lifting this week by telling us what is coming out and might be good for your TBR list.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books mentioned in this episode:
1- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
2- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
3- Be Mine by Richard Ford
4- The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
5- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
6- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
7- Color of Water by James McBride
8- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
9- The Tusk that Did the Damage by Tania James
10- Loot by Tania James
11- Happy Place by Emily Henry
12- I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks
13- Only One Left by Riley Sager
14- Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
15- Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith
16- Small Mercies by Dennis LeHane
17- Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
18- Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
19- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
20- The Other Renaissance by Paul Strathern
21- Ice by Amy Brady
22- The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II by David Chrisinger
23- Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer
24- A Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
25- Pageboy by Elliot Page
26- Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams
27- Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong
28- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
29- Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
30- Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman
31- Franklin Smoke by Aaron Franklin
32- Love is a Pink Cake by Claire Ptak
33- Back to the Dirt by Frank Bill
34- Code of the Hills by Chris Offutt
35- If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here by Louisville Story Program
36- Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
37- Tar Hollow Trans by Stacy Jane Grover
38- The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
39- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
40- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
41- Weather Together by Jessie Sima
42- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
43- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane
44- Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
45- Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott
46- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
47- Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
48- The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
Wednesday May 31, 2023
S8 Ep.178 - AAPI Month Contains Multitudes 5-31-23
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
This week are celebrating AAPI Heritage Month (Asian American Pacific Islander) and we give you a list of 10 (plus maybe a few more) of our favorite books to add to your TBR written by authors with family heritage from this part of the world. We give you books in a variety of genres; literary fiction, historical fiction, memoir, food writing, graphic novels, horror, poetry, and middle grade.
So join us this week as we explore the big wide world of Asia and the Pacific Islands heritage in literature. Plus, we talk about the most recent Jane Austen film adaptation we've watched, a new environmentally friendly product we've tried, and why sometimes it might be nice to be a disembodied head.
Books mentioned--
1- Persuasion by Jane Austen
2- Emma by Jane Austen
3- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
6- The Girls of Fall by Jessica Minyard
7- You Should Have Known by Rebecca Keller
8- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten
9- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
10- Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia
11- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
12- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
13- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
14- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
15- Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee
16- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
17- The Fervor by Alma Katsu
18- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
19- Two Brown Dots by Danni Quintos
20- World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
21- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
22- The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan
23- Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
24- Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
25- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
26- The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer by Athena Aktipis
27- A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
28- The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29- Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and 500 Miles Across Spain by Andrew McCarthy
Movies mentioned--
1- Persuasion (Netflix 2022)
2- Ted Lasso - Season 3 (Apple TV 2023)
3- Jury Duty (Amazon 2023)
4- Enchanted (2007)
5- The Terror (Hulu 2018)
Wednesday May 24, 2023
S8 Ep. 177 - Middle Grade Is Always Ok with Guest Jessica Brody - 5/24/23
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Jessica Brody is the author of the well-known writing book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and teaches classes on this writing method, but she has published over 20 books for all ages, including middle grade. Her most recent, titled Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, came out in March of this year.
Amelia is a kid who moves around a lot due to her father’s job as a hotel renovator and reimaginer. Like a lot of middle schoolers, she is trying to figure out who she is and what she’s good at. During one memorable summer in a new town, she decides to try on different personas to see which one fits best. Is she an athlete, a theater kid, or a reporter? What I loved about this book is that I could relate to it even as an adult. I still try different versions of myself sometimes.
Jessica talks to us about what words in the English language really get under her skin, how being fired from MGM Studios gave her the writing opportunity she needed, and her overwhelming passion for spreadsheets.
You can find Jessica at her website www.Jessicabrody.com and on her instagram at @jessicabrody.
For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and on FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Amelia Gray is Almost Okay by Jessica Brody
2- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
3- Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
4- Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody
5- Addie Bell’s Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody
6- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
7- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
8- Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp
9- The It Girl by Ruth Ware
10- Big Tree by Brian Selznick
11- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
12- Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick