Perks of Being a Book Lover is a show about books, people who read, and how reading, at its very best, is a social experience. Whether it be a book club, a poetry slam, or the production of a play; words are meant to be shared. Keep up with us on FB.


The Perks Of Being A Book Lover Podcast

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Our first show of Season 14 will begin on January 7, 2026. We’ve been coming up with ideas for book recommendations and will soon be recording with guests. But until then, Amy is going to make merry, and Carrie is going to begrudgingly deal with the holidays. And in this episode, we’re reviewing some of the notable books that we have loved over the last 12 months. Some of these are backlist titles, and some are new releases—we cannot keep up with the publishing industry, nor do we really try. You will also hear from some of our guests from this year who share their favorites of 2025. 
 
Books Discussed In This Episode:
Carrie's Favorites of 2025
1- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
2- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder 
3- The Millicent Quibb School for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
4- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh 
5- Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug
 
Amy's Favorites of 2025
1- Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce 
2- You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
3- Culpability by Bruce Holsinger 
4- The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown, RN 
5- Paris Letters: A Travel Memoir About Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris by Janice MacLeod 
 
Other books mentioned
1- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
2- The Nature of Pain by Mandi Fugate Sheffel 
3- The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker 
4- The Devils by Joe Abercrombie 
5- Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess 
6- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
7- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
8- Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
9- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow 
10- Dead Man Blues by S.D. House 
11- God of the Woods by Liz Moore 
12- The Road to Blair Mountain: Saving a Mine Wars Battlefield from King Coal by Charles B. Keeney
13- Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O' Yea 
14- Carpool Detectives: A True Story  of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan 
15- Anima Rising by Christopher Moore 
16- The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
17- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
18- Grace and Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman 
19- Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

S13:Ep269 - 2025 Year in Review

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You can find Daniel Kraus at his website <a href='http://danielkraus.com/'>danielkraus.com</a> or on IG at @kraus_author.
 
This week our episode features Daniel Kraus, a writer who has published over 20 books, but among moviegoers he may be best known as the co-author with Guillermo del Toro of The Shape of Water. The film of this story won four Oscars in 2018. Daniel’s 2023 novel Whalefall is being turned into a 20th Century Fox motion picture, and I hope that at some point his latest novel, Angel Down, will also be on film. 
Both the premise and writing in Angel Down are unique. It is the story of a group of World War I soldiers told to go into No Man’s Land to rescue what they think is a wounded soldier. What they find is an angel. If you enjoy war novels, and even if you don’t, I recommend giving this book a read. 
 
Our book rec section of the show features books related to women in politics. If you are interested in politics yet hate the nuttery of American government at the moment, these books can provide a reprieve. We have contemporary fiction, biography, memoir, alternative history, and electoral nonfiction. 
 
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Whalefall by Daniel Kraus 
2- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 
3- The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus
4- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5- The Leaphorn and Chee Series by Tony Hillerman
6- Hearts of the Missing by Carol Potenza
7- The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus 
8- Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp 
9- From Under the Truck by Josh Brolin
10- Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali 
11- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue 
12- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover State Katz @all.da.bookish.things - The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan 
13- Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Alison Winn Scotch 
14- Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza
15- The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected But Republican Women Don't by Laurel Elder 
16- Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 
17- Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton 
18- A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Arden
 
Media Mentioned:
1- Frankenstein (2025-Netflix)
2- Dark Winds (2022 - present, Netflix)
3- The Shape of Water (2017)
4- 1917 (2019)
5- Whalefall (Upcoming Fall 2026)
6- Michelle Obama Says US Not Ready for a Female President - <a href='https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/michelle-obama-says-us-not-ready-woman-president-rcna244136'>https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/michelle-obama-says-us-not-ready-woman-president-rcna244136</a>

S13:Ep268 - Angel Down with Guest Daniel Kraus + Women in Politics Book Recs - 11/26/25

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You can find out more about Kristine and Meet Me At Luke’s at www.gilmorebookclub.com or on IG at  @gilmorebookclub.
 
This week we catch up with Kristine Eckart, the founder of the online Gilmore Book Club. When we first spoke to her in Season 9, Episode 188 (2023), she talked about creating this book club, which is based on the books read by the characters in the beloved bookish TV show The Gilmore Girls. 
 
This year the show is celebrating its 25th anniversary since it first aired, and to commemorate this occasion, Kristine has written a book titled Meet Me at Luke’s, which is a compendium of essays about the show and its impact on Kristine and other book lovers. If you have a Gilmore Girl fan in your life, this might be the perfect holiday gift. In this remix episode, you’ll hear an update from Kristine as well as clips from her initial visit on The Perks. 
 
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
1- Meet Me At Luke's by Kristine Eckart 
2- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
3- The Vampyre by John Polidori 
4- Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw 
5- Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakeable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness by  Rick Hanson 
6- A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway 
7- The Paris Wife by Paula McClain 
8- The President's Wife by Tracey Emerson Wood 
9- The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson 
10- A 5 Star Read Recommnended by a Fellow Book Lover Kim Layman @the_read_rat - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 
11- The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature by Viv Groskop
 
Shows Mentioned:
1- The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
2- Gossip Girl (2007-2012)
3- The Office (2005-2013)
4- Anne with an E (2017-2019)
5- White Lotus (MAX, 2021-present)
 
Link to previous Perks episode: <a href='https://www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/blpks3ktgywx9fx-x9wxe-p3aft-j9j3f-pk2fn-wbdd3-dbsfp-hhfrc-ep6yz-alk6z-hl34a-dhhaz-l9x4z-88zrd-rh699-xd584-r9src-wkdf3-aegrx-hhnhf-zsc5j'>https://www.perksofbeingabooklover.com/episodes/blpks3ktgywx9fx-x9wxe-p3aft-j9j3f-pk2fn-wbdd3-dbsfp-hhfrc-ep6yz-alk6z-hl34a-dhhaz-l9x4z-88zrd-rh699-xd584-r9src-wkdf3-aegrx-hhnhf-zsc5j</a>
 
Whitehall Historic Home and Gardens -
<a href='https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club'>https://www.historicwhitehall.org/whitehall-book-club</a>

S13:Ep267 - REMIX Meet Me at Luke's with Guest Kristine Eckart - 11/12/25

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You can find JH Markert at <a href='http://jamesmarkert.com/'>jamesmarkert.com</a> or on IG at @jamesmarkert74
 
This week we chat with JH Markert who we spoke to pre-Covid in the before times when he was writing historical fiction. Over the last couple of years, he has changed gears and returned to the genre that first made him an avid reader: horror. JH has been cranking out horror novels and finding a great deal of success with them. We catch up with James and discuss his transition to horror and what that has been like after writing five previous historical fiction novels.  His most recent release that came out in September, Spider to the Fly, is dark horror suspense that deals with a serial killer, a true crime influencer, and a family with some bizarre dynamics. 
 
And for our book rec section, we are talking about notable nonfiction. These are nonfiction books we’ve read in the last year that have made us think differently about a topic or stood out for us in some way (even though these books might not have been published in the last year). We’ll talk about a micro-history, a biography, a true crime, a memoir, a study of morality and politics, and a niche book about cussing. 
 
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
 
1- Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert 
2- Molokai by Alan Brennert
3- A White Wind Blew by James Markert
4- Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert 
5- Mr. Lullaby by J. H. Markert
6- Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert 
7- Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert 
8- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
9- Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness by Janet and Geoff Benge 
10-The Vanishing Place by Zöe Rankin 
11- Five Star Read by a Fellow Book Lover Jasper Adams-Smith - Be Kind, My Neighbor by Yugo Limbo 
12- For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun by Rebecca Roache 
13- The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone 
14- The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss 
15- The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt 
16- Playing to Lose: How a Jehovah's Witness Became a BDSM Model by Ariel Anderssen 
17- The Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan 
18- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
 
Media Mentioned:
 
1- The Friend (2024)
2- Chief of War (Apple +, 2025)
3- The Outsider (HBO Max 2019)
4- Sinners (2025)
5- Nosferatu (2025)

S13:Ep266 - Spider To The Fly with Guest J.H. Markert + Notable Non-Fiction Book Recs

Hey Book Lovers,
 
Carrie and I are on fall hiatus this week so we don't have a new episode for you.  But what we do have is your chance to check out a new-to-you book podcast, Books with Betsy, hosted by Betsy Tomsak.
This past summer we were guests to the show where we talked about all things in our book lives, maybe even tidbits we have never shared on our own show.  It's a fun conversation and we hope you will listen in and give Books With Betsy a follow.
We will be  back with an all new episode on October 29 when we chat with horror/ thriller writer J.H. Markert about his new release, Spider to the Fly, and give you book recommendations for notable non-fiction we've read recently.  
We hope you enjoy this episode of Books With Betsy.
Happy Reading!

A Perks Appearance on the Books With Betsy Podcast

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You can find Rediscovered Books at <a href='https://rdbooks.org/'>rdbooks.org/</a> or on IG at @rdbooks
 
The American Library Association’s Banned Books Week is October 5-11, so we’re sharing an interview with one of the co-owners of Rediscovered Books in Boise, Idaho, a store that has pioneered a program in their city to push back against book banning in their state. Rebecca Leber-Gottberg talks to us about the history of the bookstore, her role there, and books that folks in Boise have been buying, but she also explains the bookstore’s Read Freely Project, which is their effort to get banned and threatened books dispersed throughout the community. 
 
And in our book rec section, we’re jumping into spooky season with books related to ghosts, but if you don’t like horror, don’t worry: a lot of these “ghostly” books aren’t horror, and some of them may only seem to be about ghosts. We’ve got a historical fiction about the Sri Lankan civil war, a detective story in which ghosts are witnesses, a nonfiction book about unexplained phenomena which may or may not involve ghosts, a funny novella, a supernatural suspense, and a ghostly gothic novel set in Mexico.
 
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
2- The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve House, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown
3- American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics by Kevin Hazzard
4- The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu
5- The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
6- Trans History: A Graphic Novel by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett 
7- Lone Women by Victor LaValle 
8- Wild Tongues Can't be Tamed: 15 Voices from the LatinX Diaspora edited by Saraciea J. Fennell 
9- Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray 
10- Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
11- House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 
12- On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder 
13- The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
14- Firekeeper's Daughter by Angleine Boulley 
15- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley 
16- Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley 
17- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 
18- Culpability by Bruce Holsinger 
19- Songs for Other People's Weddings by David Levitan 
20- A Five Star Read Recommended by Claire @bookishly_claire - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
21- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka 
22- The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
23- Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch 
24- Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons 
25- The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story by Kate Summerscale 
26- The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
27- This is Going to Hurt by Adam McKay
 
Media Mentioned:
1- The Pitt (Max 2025)
2- ER ( 1994- 2009)
3- This is Going to Hurt (2022, Amazon Prime)
4- The Craft Lit Podcast - https://craftlit.com/

S13:Ep265 - The Read Freely Project and Rediscovered Books with Guest Rebecca Leber-Gottberg + Ghostly Book Recs

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You can find Sam Sussman at <a href='http://www.samevansussman.org'>www.samevansussman.org</a> or on IG at @sam_sussman.
 
Our guest is debut novelist Sam Sussman whose book Boy From the North Country comes out this week. Sam originally wrote a short memoir piece for Harper’s Magazine that referred to the possibility that he might be Bob Dylan’s son but really the essay focused on his relationship with his mom, who had had a love affair with the musician. Eventually, Sam decided to explode the moment, or the series of moments of his life and with his mother, to get a better handle on who he was and how much that was about who his mom was and how she had raised him, not whether his father was Dylan.  The book is receiving high marks in early reviews, and Sam has been making the rounds in newspapers and magazines, including a profile by the New York Times. Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, The Library Journal, and the American Library Association have all given Boy From the North Country starred reviews. 
 
And for our book rec section of the show, we’re thinking about books that center on male relationships.  We realize that our guests and listeners are primarily female, but we thought we would equal the playing field a little by talking about books that deal with father-son relationships, male friendships or brotherly love.  We have a multigenerational story about the men in a Mexican-American family, a group of friends in a small town of the American Midwest, a pair of quirky Irish friends, a memoir about two very different guys at Harvard, two Greek heroes and their deep relationship, and boys from different cultures who develop a bond in unlikely circumstances. 
 
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
 
1- Boy From the North Country by Sam Sussman
2- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
3- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
4- In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust 
5- Anima Rising by Christopher Moore 
6- The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer 
7- The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer
8-  A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Megan Burnett - The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish 
9- We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship by Will Schwalbe 
10- The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza 
11- Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Bulter 
12- A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler 
13- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
14- Circe by Madeline Miller 
15- Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh 
16- Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
 
Media Mentioned - 
1- The Silent Type: On Possibly Being Bob Dylan's Son- <a href='https://harpers.org/archive/2021/05/the-silent-type-on-possibly-being-bob-dylans-son/'>https://harpers.org/archive/2021/05/the-silent-type-on-possibly-being-bob-dylans-son/</a>
2- School Cell Phone Ban Increases Library Visits - <a href='https://www.wave3.com/2025/09/02/school-cell-phone-ban-creates-surge-jcps-library-visits/'>https://www.wave3.com/2025/09/02/school-cell-phone-ban-creates-surge-jcps-library-visits/</a>
3- Reading for Pleasure Declines - <a href='https://abcnews.go.com/Health/americans-spend-time-reading-fun-time-screens-study/story?id=124807367'>https://abcnews.go.com/Health/americans-spend-time-reading-fun-time-screens-study/story?id=124807367</a>
4- The Four Seasons (Netflix 2025)
5- The Four Seasons (1981)
6- How the Passionate Male Friendship Died --<a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/05/men-friendship-history/682815/'>https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/05/men-friendship-history/682815/</a>

S13:Ep264 - A Boy From the North Country with Guest Sam Sussman + Dude Relationship Book Recs

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You can find Lindy Ryan at her website <a href='http://lindyryanwrites.com/'>lindyryanwrites.com</a> or on IG @lindyryanwrites.
 

For our guest this week, Lindy Ryan @lindyryanwrites, it's spooky season all year round. She grew up on a diet of <a href='https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/goosebumps?__eep__=6&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZXylFbBsV5rRh2eRV63AjkeU-rwfUG1qQk3sVFBE7c2JJNztxhXnz2y8o4pSDnIHVedGV6_DqHmqIDjEVGLr2GABJc3CPFVytSb-Na5Ejza7CamAGy0gqigRDFdnTgq-JFFWb7yklXt5Ytn2KTrmbxe9vzFEE7nWO65xJuXGYeY_pjRcMrmfG560o2czez-F68&__tn__=*NK-R'>#Goosebumps</a> books and never got over her love of the dark and twisty. Now she writes her own horror stories and her BLESS YOUR HEART series will give you some thrills and chills with the Evans women. Four generations of them--great-grandmother Ducey all the way down to angsty teen Luna run a funeral home in their small Texas town. And they also have a little side project: protecting the town from the undead. Both BLESS YOUR HEART and ANOTHER FINE MESS, the second novel in the series, follow the Evans women who, with snark and heart, protect those they love from the proverbial "bloodbath."


And for our book recommendation section of the show, we’re thinking about carnivals, fairs, and festivals. Kentucky recently held its state fair, and with that in mind, we think you should make yourself a corndog or deep fry a Twinkie and get ready to add some books to your TBR lists. We’ve got a graphic novel for kids, a thriller from the 1940s, a mystery, historical fiction, a National Book Award finalist, and a memoir.

 
 
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
1- Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan 
2- Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
3- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
4- Howl edited by Lindy Ryan 
5- The Darkest Night edited by Lindy Ryan 
6- But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
7- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison 
8- Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
9- Cackle by Rachel Harrison 
10- Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky 
11- Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck 
12- A 5 Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover @arizonabookstagrammer - Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
13- All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson 
14- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
15- Lewis Sinclair and the Gentleman Cowboys by DMS Fick 
16- The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler 
17- Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham 
18- The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts by Tessa Fontaine
 
Media Mentioned:
1- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Youtube)
2- Nosferatu (1922, Youtube)
3- Metropolis (1927, Youtube)
4- Nosferatu (2024)
5- The Thursday Murder Club (2025, Netflix)
6- Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019, Netflix)
7- Chernobyl (2019, Max)
8- Nightmare Alley (2021)
9- Shelby County KY Library books taken - 
<a href='https://www.wlky.com/article/unreturned-library-book-dispute-shelby-county-reformation-church/65875001'>https://www.wlky.com/article/unreturned-library-book-dispute-shelby-county-reformation-church/65875001</a>
10- Travels with Charley Fact Checking - 
<a href='https://www.steinbecknow.com/2020/08/01/travels-with-charley-painting-snapshot/'>https://www.steinbecknow.com/2020/08/01/travels-with-charley-painting-snapshot/</a>

S13:Ep263 - Another Fine Mess with Guest Lindy Ryan + Carnival and Festival Book Recs - 9/3/25

Our website - <a href='https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com&token=65ad89-1-1744144711601'>www.perksofbeingabooklover.com</a>.
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You can find Sarah Landenwich on her website <a href='http://sarahlandenwich.com/'>SarahLandenwich.com</a> or on IG @sarahlandenwich
 

Our guest this week, novelist Sarah Landenwich, has turned her own experience as a talented pianist who lost her passion into a compelling, many-layered book about music, competition, history, and legacy. THE FIRE CONCERTO is about a woman named Clara who left a career as a classical pianist following a devastating fire that left her hands painfully scarred. She also left behind a tortured relationship with her former piano teacher. But when that instructor dies and leaves Clara a 19th century metronome, it sends her down a path of mystery about who the metronome belonged to and how that connects to Clara.


In our book recommendation segment of the show, we complete that old chestnut of a back to school assignment: the "What Did You Do This Summer?" essay. But we do it in the form of books. Carrie gives us some German authors she read while preparing for her family trip to Germany in June. And Amy highlights some books based on her Amsterdam and Wisconsin vacation spots, while also recommending a book by an author she saw at the Columbus Book Festival.

 
Books Mentioned in this Episode
1- A Home for Friendless Women by Kelly E. Hill 
2- The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich 
3- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 
4- Possession by AS Byatt 
5- Plainsong (trilogy) by Kent Haruf
6- Old Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
7- The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
8- How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self Care Epidemic One Dubious Cure at a Time by Amy LaRocca 
9- Say Everything by Ione Skye 
10- The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
11- A Five Star Read recommended by fellow Book Lover Cathleen @wovenfromwords - Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray 
12- Sleepless by Romy Hausmann
13- What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon 
14- The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel 
15- A Death in Door County (Monster Hunter series) by Annelise Ryan 
16- Death in the Dark Woods (Monster Hunter series) by Annelise Ryan
17- Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug
18- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
 
Media Mentioned:
 
1- Speed Museum Glass Art exhibit - <a href='https://www.speedmuseum.org/the-adele-and-leonard-leight-glass-art-award-victoria-ahmadizadeh-melendez/'>https://www.speedmuseum.org/the-adele-and-leonard-leight-glass-art-award-victoria-ahmadizadeh-melendez/</a>
2- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
3- The Naked Gun (2025)

S13:Ep262 - The Fire Concerto with Guest Sarah Landenwich + Our Summer in Books

Our website - <a href='https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com&token=65ad89-1-1744144711601'>www.perksofbeingabooklover.com</a>.
Instagram - @<a href='https://soundcloud.com/perksofbeingabookloverpod'>perksofbeingabookloverpod</a>
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
 
You can find Keisha Mennefee at <a href='https://www.honeymagnolia.co/'>honeymagnolia.co</a> and <a href='https://www.honeyblossompress.com/'>honeyblossompress.com</a>
 
We have had great luck finding excellent books from small independent publishers, and so we periodically invite one on the show to tell us a little about how they operate. Our guest this week is Keisha Mennefee, a literary strategist who has worked with high profile Black artists like Jada Pinkett Smith and Kennedy Ryan.  She recently started her own publishing house called Honey Blossom Press. The mission of this press is to amplify underrepresented voices and powerful narratives that might otherwise go unheard. Some of their new titles include When Forty Blooms by Jacinta Howard and The Divorcetante by Mia Hentzelman. 
 
And since it is August, and we’re in the dog days of summer, our book rec section is focused on dogs. Amy especially loves a book where a dog features as a significant character who not only has personality but moves the plot along and helps create the theme. We’ve got some children’s lit, teen lit, Japanese narrative, literary fiction, memoir, and apocalyptic fiction. 
 
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
1- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
2- Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton 
3- The Survivors by Jane Harper 
4- Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton
5- Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon series #1) by Nevada Barr
6- When Forty Blooms by Jacinta Howard 
7- This Side of Beautiful by Tiye 
8- The Divorcetante by Mia Hentzelman
9- Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Triumph by Sheila Johnson
10- The House on the Strand by Daphne duMaurier 
11- Alive and Beating by Rebecca Wolf 
12- The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angline Boulley 
13- Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley 
14-  A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Katelyn @bookclubwithkatelyn - Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley 
15- Gather by Kenneth Cadow 
16- Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment 
17- The Body in Question by Jill Ciment 
18- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate diCamillo
19- Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg
20- The Boy and The Dog by Seishu Hase
21- A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. by C.A. Fletcher
22- Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
23- Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman
24- Martha Speaks series by Susan Meddaugh
 
Media Mentioned
1- Cat Video Fest - <a href='https://www.catvideofest.com/'>https://www.catvideofest.com</a>
2- The Survivors (Netflix, 2025)
3- Untamed (Netflix, 2025)
4- Because of Winn Dixie (Disney, 2005)
5- 5 Flights Up (2014)
6- Martha Speaks (Prime Video, 2008)

S13:Ep261 - Honey Blossom Press with Guest Keisha Mennefee + Dog Days Book Recs

Our website - <a href='https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com&token=65ad89-1-1744144711601'>www.perksofbeingabooklover.com</a>.
Instagram - @<a href='https://soundcloud.com/perksofbeingabookloverpod'>perksofbeingabookloverpod</a>
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
 
You can find Suzy Krause at her website <a href='https://www.suzykrause.com/'>suzykrause.com/</a> and on IG at @suzykrause
 
Usually, Christmas in July sales feature new cars or mattresses, but we are giving you a Christmas in July book episode. Our guest this week is Suzy Krause, a Canadian novelist whose book I Think We’ve Been Here Before is set in the few weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday in a small town in Saskatchewan.  This book is cozy but not in a way you would expect because something terrible is about to happen.  A cosmic event is going to end the world, and residents have several weeks to prepare.  But this apocalyptic story is hopeful and uplifting and makes you feel good.  How can you combine the end of the world with Christmas and make it comforting?  That’s what we asked Suzy because she has written a book that is nothing like I’ve ever read.  It’s like a little unexpected gift under the tree. 
 
For our book rec section of this episode, we are talking about diaries. And no, we’re not going to be reading from our diaries because that would be a snoozefest. We’ve selected both nonfiction and fictional diaries that allow us to get a sneak peek into a historic event or a situation that we don’t know much about. 
 
Books Mentioned In this Episode:
 
1- I Think We've Been Here Before by Suzy Krause
2- We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 
3- A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold 
4- The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
5- Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin 
6- The Millicent Quibb Schook of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
7- The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney
8- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Lizzy Roth - Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher
9- The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
10- These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner 
11- This is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay 
12- The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lilly Koppel 
13- Here Comes the Fun: A Year of Making Merry by Ben Aitken 
14- The Lost Diaries of Édouard Manet by Maureen Gibbon 
 
Media Mentioned:
1- Adolescence (Netflix 2025)
2- We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)
3- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Prime, 2012)
4- Ben Aitken Podcast episode - https://ThePerksofBeingaBookLover.podbean.com/e/s-7-ep-146-a-may-december-friendship-with-guest-ben-aitken-9722/

S13:Ep260 - I Think We've Been Here Before with Guest Suzy Krause + Diary Book Recs

Our website - <a href='https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com&token=65ad89-1-1744144711601'>www.perksofbeingabooklover.com</a>.
Instagram - @<a href='https://soundcloud.com/perksofbeingabookloverpod'>perksofbeingabookloverpod</a>
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
 
You can find Colleen Gleason/Colleen Cambridge at her website www.<a href='http://colleengleason.com/'>colleengleason.com</a> or on IG @colleengleason
 
Typically Amy has not been a cozy mystery reader, but this week’s guest, Colleen Gleason who also writes as Colleen Cambridge, may have single-handedly converted her.  She is the author of over 57 books in numerous series but her “American in Paris” series has been a delightful escape over the last year. It is a cozy mystery set in postwar 1950s Paris with a dynamic mystery-solving duo featuring none other than Julia Child. Book 3 in the series titled A Fashionably French Murder was published in April.  So we were thrilled when Colleen agreed to chat with us about this series as well as several of her other books.
 
Colleen’s style of writing often includes a pairing.  She has a mystery series that involves Agatha Christie and her housekeeper, another series featuring Abraham Lincoln and his aide, and even a steampunk paranormal YA series involving an imaginary crime-fighting pairing of Bram Stoker’s younger sister and Sherlock Holme’s niece. As we know from doing this podcast, having a partner-in-crime makes things much more fun. 
 
In our book rec section of the episode, we are all about gardens. We are not reviewing gardening books, however. Rather, we’re talking about books in which gardens, gardeners, flowers and shrubs are part of the story in some format. We’ve got thrillers, middle grade, fantasy, contemporary family drama, murder mysteries, and Appalachian gothic. 
 
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
 
1- A Fashionably French Murder (American in Paris series) by Colleen Cambridge
 
2- Food People by Adam M. Roberts

 
3- The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Ok Assistant by Liza Tully

 
4- Dept Q by Jussi Adler-Olsen
 
5- A Murder Most French (American in Paris series) by Colleen Cambridge
 
6- In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
 
7- Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City by Jacques Yonnet
 
8- The Seven Rings (The Lost Bride Trilogy #3) by Nora Roberts
 
9- The Rosie Result (Don Tillman #3) by Graerme Simsion
 
10-The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
 
11-The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
 
12- Forged by Danielle Teller
 
13- A Five Star Read Recommended by Fellow Book Lover Betsy Tomszak @bookswithbetsy - Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda
 
14- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 
15- The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
 
16- June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde
 
17- A Botanist’s Guide to Parties & Poisons by Kate Khavari

 
18- The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
 
19- Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
 
20- The Summer of June by Jamie Sumner 
 

Media mentioned--
 
1- Hacks (Max, 2021 - present)
 
2- Dept Q (Netflix, 2025)
 
3- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)
 
4- The New Look (Apple Plus - 2024)

S13:Ep259 - A Fashionably French Murder with Guest Colleen Cambridge - 7/9/25

Our website - <a href='https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.perksofbeingabooklover.com&token=65ad89-1-1744144711601'>www.perksofbeingabooklover.com</a>.
Instagram - @<a href='https://soundcloud.com/perksofbeingabookloverpod'>perksofbeingabookloverpod</a>
Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover.
To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button.
 
This week we have Sam Miller, manager at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, with us to chat about books readers might want to consider for their summer reading. It is always fun to hear what is new and notable from Sam. 
 
This is our last episode of the season.  We will be back in July after our summer hiatus with all new episodes. Happy Reading!
 
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
 
1- The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz

 
2- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry

 
3- Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen
 
4- Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
 
5- Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero
 
6- The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
 
7- Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
 
8- Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
 
9- Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
 
10- So Far Gone by Jess Walter
 
11- A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle
 
12- A Lesser Light by Peter Geye
 
13- Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippmann
 
14- El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott
 
15- Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann
 
16- Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
 
17- First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
 
18- King of Ashes by SA Cosby
 
19- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab
 
20- Katabasis by RF Kuang
 
21- Country Under Heaven by Frederic Durbin
 
22- A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
 
23- Isabella Nag and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire
 
24- The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
 
25- Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs
 
26- Plato and the Tyrant by James Romm
 
27- Turning to Birds by Lili Taylor
 
28- Is A River Alive? by Robert McFarlane
 
29- Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
 
30- Charlottesville by Deborah Baker
 
31- Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
 
32- Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser
 
33- Fulfillment by Lee Cole
 
34- If You Love It, Let it Kill You by Hannah Pittard
 
35- The Fire Concerto by Sarah Landenwich
 
36- Black Cohosh by Eagle Valiant Brosi
 
37- Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
 
38- I Am the Arrow: The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath in Six Poems by Sarah Ruden
 
39- Red Comet by Heather Clark
 
40- Bad Badger : A Love Story by Maryrose Wood
 

Media mentioned--
 
1- Derry Girls (Netflix, 2018-2022)
 
2- Christoph Waltz on Jimmy Fallon --<a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0jr-HQeT74'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0jr-HQeT74</a>
 
3- Floyd Collins Broadway show--<a href='https://floydcollinsbroadway.com/'>https://floydcollinsbroadway.com</a>

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S13:Ep259 - A Fashionably French Murder with Guest Colleen Cambridge - 7/9/25

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