Book Cougars Podcast: Two Middle-Aged Women on the Hunt for a Good Read
Book Cougars
246 episodes
5 days ago
Welcome to Episode 246!
We recap some fun Biblioadventures in this episode. Emily got to see Mel Rosenthal in conversation with Virginia Evans about her debut novel The Correspondent at an event hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers. Chris had a research visit to Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where she enjoyed their book arts exhibit and admired the mantel in front of which Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven.” She also had an impromptu browse at New Haven’s used bookstore, Grey Matter Books.
We also had some Couch Biblioadventures. Because we recently read Daphne Du Maurier’s excellent short story, “The Birds,” we thought we’d also watch Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name, which was inspired by the written word. Spoiler alert: the movie is nothing like the short story. PSA: the birds are LOUD. Other literary-related movies we watched include The Turn of the Screw, starring Michelle Dockery and Dan Stephens. Emily made an exciting discovery about A Star is Born—did you know some famous writers penned the screenplays for various incarnations of this classic story?
Some of the books we discuss include:
– All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
– Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon by Sara Catterall
– Death at the Door: A Ruby and Cordelia Mystery by Olivia Blacke
– A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhurst
And we discuss our second-to-last ghost story from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce: “The Readjustment” by Mary Austin.
Chris has finished, and Emily is currently reading our Q4 readalong book, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The Zoom conversation is on Sunday, November 9th, at 7 pm ET. It is free and open to all, but registration is required. We still have a few spots available, so email us if you’re interested (bookcougars@gmail.com).
Special thanks to this episode’s sponsors: Epic and Lovely by Mo Daviau
and Paper Roses by Debby Show.
Happy Listening and Happy Reading!
https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode246
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Welcome to Episode 246!
We recap some fun Biblioadventures in this episode. Emily got to see Mel Rosenthal in conversation with Virginia Evans about her debut novel The Correspondent at an event hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers. Chris had a research visit to Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where she enjoyed their book arts exhibit and admired the mantel in front of which Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven.” She also had an impromptu browse at New Haven’s used bookstore, Grey Matter Books.
We also had some Couch Biblioadventures. Because we recently read Daphne Du Maurier’s excellent short story, “The Birds,” we thought we’d also watch Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name, which was inspired by the written word. Spoiler alert: the movie is nothing like the short story. PSA: the birds are LOUD. Other literary-related movies we watched include The Turn of the Screw, starring Michelle Dockery and Dan Stephens. Emily made an exciting discovery about A Star is Born—did you know some famous writers penned the screenplays for various incarnations of this classic story?
Some of the books we discuss include:
– All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
– Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon by Sara Catterall
– Death at the Door: A Ruby and Cordelia Mystery by Olivia Blacke
– A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhurst
And we discuss our second-to-last ghost story from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce: “The Readjustment” by Mary Austin.
Chris has finished, and Emily is currently reading our Q4 readalong book, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The Zoom conversation is on Sunday, November 9th, at 7 pm ET. It is free and open to all, but registration is required. We still have a few spots available, so email us if you’re interested (bookcougars@gmail.com).
Special thanks to this episode’s sponsors: Epic and Lovely by Mo Daviau
and Paper Roses by Debby Show.
Happy Listening and Happy Reading!
https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode246
Book Cougars Podcast: Two Middle-Aged Women on the Hunt for a Good Read
1 hour 18 minutes 51 seconds
2 months ago
Episode 243 - Ghosts, Ghosts, and More Ghosts
Welcome to Episode 243!
Rejoice, it's officially fall, which we think is the best time of the year to read ghost stories! In the last episode, when we announced our fourth quarter readalong pick – HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE by Grady Hendrix – for our year of reading ghost stories, we said we’d share some of the other novels we considered in this episode, and we do, eight of them.
We also discuss the next story in THE PENGUIN BOOK OF GHOST STORIES, ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ by M.R. James. We had mixed reactions to this one.
Chris finished and highly recommends THE GHOST STORIES OF EDITH WHARTON. Emily recommends a cozy ghost novel, the first in the Ruby and Cordelia Mystery, A NEW LEASE ON DEATH by Olivia Blacke. Other books we’ve just read include THE RAREST FRUIT by Gaëlle Bélem (translated by Hildegarde Serle), TO CATCH A THIEF by David Dodge, and ALL THE WORLD CAN HOLD by Jung Yun (pre-order now, release date 3/10/2026).
BiblioAdventures include the Barnard College archives, Book Culture, the Columbia University Bookstore, and The Hungarian Pastry Shop.
Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Playback by Carla Malden.
Happy Listening and Happy Reading!
https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode243
Book Cougars Podcast: Two Middle-Aged Women on the Hunt for a Good Read
Welcome to Episode 246!
We recap some fun Biblioadventures in this episode. Emily got to see Mel Rosenthal in conversation with Virginia Evans about her debut novel The Correspondent at an event hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers. Chris had a research visit to Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, where she enjoyed their book arts exhibit and admired the mantel in front of which Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven.” She also had an impromptu browse at New Haven’s used bookstore, Grey Matter Books.
We also had some Couch Biblioadventures. Because we recently read Daphne Du Maurier’s excellent short story, “The Birds,” we thought we’d also watch Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name, which was inspired by the written word. Spoiler alert: the movie is nothing like the short story. PSA: the birds are LOUD. Other literary-related movies we watched include The Turn of the Screw, starring Michelle Dockery and Dan Stephens. Emily made an exciting discovery about A Star is Born—did you know some famous writers penned the screenplays for various incarnations of this classic story?
Some of the books we discuss include:
– All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
– Amelia Bloomer: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon by Sara Catterall
– Death at the Door: A Ruby and Cordelia Mystery by Olivia Blacke
– A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhurst
And we discuss our second-to-last ghost story from The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce: “The Readjustment” by Mary Austin.
Chris has finished, and Emily is currently reading our Q4 readalong book, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. The Zoom conversation is on Sunday, November 9th, at 7 pm ET. It is free and open to all, but registration is required. We still have a few spots available, so email us if you’re interested (bookcougars@gmail.com).
Special thanks to this episode’s sponsors: Epic and Lovely by Mo Daviau
and Paper Roses by Debby Show.
Happy Listening and Happy Reading!
https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode246
