The Perks Of Being A Book Lover Podcast

Perks Remix Ep. 186 - The Past and the Curious with Guest Mick Sullivan - 8/30/23

This week we are giving you something we are calling a "remix" episode. We have a new interview with former guest Mick Sullivan combined with some of his previous interview way back in 2019.

Amy is traveling this week so we’ve reconnected with former guest Mick Sullivan, who is the curator of guest experience at the Frazier History Museum and is also the creator of the award winning children's history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which grew out of the stories he tells people at the museum. His quirky combo of humor and music keeps both kids and adults interested and sneaks in a little history in the process.

The success of his podcast led to the publication of his first children's book, The Meat Shower, which is a fun telling of the historical event of meat falling from the sky in the 1800s. He has now published a book for older kids called I See Lincoln’s Underpants: The Surprising Times Underwear (and the People Wearing Them) Made History.

This episode is a little something new and something old. In this combo episode, we chat with Mick to see what he has been up to since his last book was published and you can also hear more about his first book which we discussed with him in the early days of the show in episode 27.

You can find more from Mick Sullivan including podcast episodes at thepastandthecurious.com/.

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 Discussed in This Episode:

1- The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough

2- The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan

3- I See Lincoln’s Underpants: The Surprising Times Underwear (and the People Wearing Them) Made History by Mick Sullivan

4- Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

5- Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontes by Devoney Looser

6- Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

7- Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz

8- Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz

9- Life of Pi by Yann Martel

10- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Podcasts mentioned—
The Past and the Curious

S9 Ep. 185 -Place Settings: The Destination - 8/23/23

A few weeks ago we talked about journeys and this week we are completing the circle with an episode about destinations; specifically about places we have visited in the last few years. Do you read books about the places you travel before or during a trip? We talk about how it can enrich both your reading and travel experience.

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.

You can find books we've talked about and other curated lists at our Bookshop page.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

1- Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello

2- When You Find My Body by D. Dauphinee

3- Alice the Cat by Tim Cummings

4- Tell the Rest by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

5- Burying My Dead by Bettie Lennett Denny

6- Martin Marten by Brian Doyle

7- Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan

8- The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

9- The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher (Corrag)

10- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

11- The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's
First Serial Killer by Skip Hollandsworth

12- Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

13- 44 Scotland Street (#1) by Alexander McCall Smith

14- Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

15- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith

18- West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

19- City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

20- The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

21- The Crow Road by Iain Banks

22- The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter

23- Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby

24- Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby

25- All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby

5 Star Recommneded Read By a Fellow Booklover - Ivana @MissTuned
1- Swear on This Life by Renee Carlino

Shows mentioned--

1- The Bear (Hulu)

2- Beef (Netflix)

3- Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Articles mentioned--

Shakespeare in FLA School

S9 Ep 184 - Alternative to Amazon with guest Andy Hunter, CEO of Bookshop.org - 8/16/23

We were honored to welcome Andy Hunter, the CEO of Bookshop.org to the podcast this week. Andy is a writer, a publisher, and now heads up a company that competes with Amazon for on-line book sales. But unlike Amazon, the proceeds of Bookshop.org’s sales go back to independent bookstores.

At the click of a button, you can order a book to be delivered while your favorite independent bookseller gets part of that sale. Independent bookstores that sell most of their books during summer or don’t have the capacity to ship books can create a Bookshop.org page and sell books to anyone at any time. Authors, schools, and book influencers can create pages, too.

We talk with Andy about why he started this endeavor a few months before COVID hit, why he loves Coney Island, and how his degree in philosophy has affected the types of books he gravitates to.

Oh, and as of this recording, we decided to get with the times. The Perks is a Bookshop affiliate; you can see any of the books we talk about on the show on our new bookshop page and order them there.

https://bookshop.org/shop/PerksOfBeingABookLover

 

You can find Bookshop at bookshop.org.

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:

Books mentioned--
1- Is It Hot In Here? (Or am I Suffering for all Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth?) by Zach Zimmerman

2- Emergency by Kathleen Alcott

3- The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut

4- When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut

5- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

6- The Wizard's Guide to Magical Baking by T. Kingfisher

7- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Movies mentioned--
1- Barbie (2023)

Podcast episode-
1- Thrillers by the Bookclub Podcast - Ep. 39 - Murder Ensues

Recipe mentioned:

Tomato and Fried Provolone Sandwich 

S9 Ep183 - Are We There Yet? A Journey - 8/9/23

This week we are talking all about journeys. Whether they be physical or mental, we whisk you away in a good book. Choose from 10 book recommendations from Carrie and Amy for when you're ready to be on the move.

For show notes for any episode, go to our website at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com.
We are also on Instagram @perksofbeingabookloverpod and
FB Perks of Being a Book Lover.

Books Mentioned in this Episode

1- How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas Foster

2- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

3- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

4- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

5- The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman

6- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (The Surgeon of Crowthorne)

7- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

8- Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Lauren Artress

9- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

10- Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

11- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

12- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

13- What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth

14- News of the World by Paulette Jiles

15- Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles

16- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

17- The Road Towards Home by Corinne Demas

18- A Pearl in a Storm: How I Found my Heart in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean by Tori Murden McClure

19- The Gran Tour: Travels with My Elders by Ben Aitken

20- Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker

21- Cosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs by Mary Turzillo

22- Your Cat and Other Space Aliens by Mary Turzillo

23- Mars is No Place for Children by Mary Turzillo

5 Star Book Recommendation by a Book Lover
1- Empire Of A Vampire by Jay Christoff recommended by Tiffany K., Omaha, NE. Instagram @chaiteaandbooksareallineed

Shows/Movies watched—

1- American Born Chinese (Disney+, 2023)

2- Annihilation (Netflix, 2018)

3- The Professor and the Madman (2019)

 

Labyrinth Locator

www.labyrinthlocator.com

Bookish News

Article about Henrietta Lacks
apnews.com/article/henrietta-l…efa34c9b79a544f0729

S.9 Ep. 182 - Creating A COVID Family with guest Katrina Kittle - 8/2/23

This week we chat with Katrina Kittle, a Dayton, OH author whose most recent novel is titled Morning in This Broken World. I met Katrina when I took her online writing class not even knowing she had a new novel coming out but had heard such wonderful things about her four previously published books. Katrina is a real delight of a person. She is fun and bubbly but she would say she is also anti-social. So maybe a mix of both Carrie and I?

Her newest novel is about a group of unlikely companions who quarantine together during the Covid pandemic.

You can find Katrina Kittle at her website www.katrinakittle.com or on instagram at @katrinakittle

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- 5 star recommednation by fellow book lover Megan Cox, Louisville KY
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

2- Morning in This Broken World by Katrina Kittle

3- Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle

4- Invitation by Mary Oliver

5- Babel by RF Kuang

6- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

7- Yellowface by RF Kuang

8- Come With Me by Erin Flanagan

9- Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane (audiobook narrated by Noah Galvin

10- The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Perks REPLAY - Around The World In An Anxious Mind with Guest Jeremy Hance

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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Website : www.perksofbeingabooklover.com

Perks REPLAY -Thrill Seekers with Guest Chelsea Hoffman

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

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- 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)

Perks REPLAY - Double Dutch Debut with guest Brittany Thurman

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

Perks REPLAY - Treks with Toddlers to Teens with guest Kate Wickers

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

Perks REPLAY - Hyphenated Lives with guest Namrata Patel

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)