Book Cougars Podcast: Two Middle-Aged Women on the Hunt for a Good Read

Episode 272 - Author Spotlight with Mary Lisa Gavenas

Welcome to Episode 272, featuring an Author Spotlight with Mary Lisa Gavenas about her new book, SELLING OPPORTUNITY: THE STORY OF MARY KAY. If you’ve been listening to t

Episode 271 - To Carrie or Not to Carrie, that is the question

Welcome to Episode 271, where Stephen King’s CARRIE takes center stage! Get it? Okay, bad joke. In our Just Read segment, we discuss King’s 1974 novel, CARRIE. We both ap

Episode 270 - Talking about Empaths, Monsters, and Magic, oh my!

Episode 270 is another 10th episode, which means it's time for another giveaway! In the spirit of this being our year of reading Page-to-Screen adaptations, one lucky new

Episode 269 - Min Jin Lee Triple Header!

Welcome to a special MIN JIN LEE triple header to celebrate her new novel, AMERICAN HAGWON. Part 1: We talk about AMERICAN HAGWON in the first part of the episode. The

Episode 268 - Goodbye Big Book Summer, Hello Shorty September!

Welcome to Episode 268! We recap our Big Book Summer reads, which were all good. There wasn’t a DNF among them, although Chris hasn’t yet finished ROOTS. Wake Now in

Episode 267 - Author Spotlight with Susan Gregg Gilmore

Welcome to Episode 267, featuring an Author Spotlight with Susan Gregg Gilmore. Her new novel, THE CURIOUS CALLING OF LEONARD BUSH, is the fiction winner of the 2025 Will

Episode 266 - Author Spotlight with Jennifer Putzi

Welcome to Episode 266, featuring an Author Spotlight with Jennifer (Jenny) Putzi, a leading scholar of nineteenth-century American women's writing. She talks with us abo

Episode 265 - In the grip of JAWS

Welcome to Episode 265! Content warning: We talk a lot about JAWS in this episode, both the novel and the movie. We jest about the content warning (maybe), but there’ll

Episode 264 - Author Spotlight with Claire Fuller

Welcome to Episode 264! We were thrilled to have a chance to speak with CLAIRE FULLER about her new novel, HUNGER AND THIRST. If you’re looking for an atmospheric, creep

Episode 263 - Author Spotlight with Denise Kiernan

Welcome to Episode 263! We were excited to talk with Denise Kiernan about her timely new book on the eve of America’s 250th birthday, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS: The Rebels, Wr

Episode 262 - Q2 Readalong: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

lcome to Episode 262! We had a fantastic discussion with an enthusiastic group of listeners about our second quarter readalong, Fannie Flagg’s novel FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Episode 261 - Still in the Grip of Frankenstein, and Now Gyllenhaal's The Bride!

Welcome to Episode 261! It looks like our first quarter readalong title, FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley, has not lost its grip on us. We both finally watched and in this e

Episode 260 - Buddy Reading with Our Mystery Man John Valeri

Welcome to Episode 260! It’s another 10th episode, which means we have a GIVEAWAY for newsletter subscribers. One lucky subscriber of our free monthly newsletter will win

Episode 259 - Busted by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Welcome to Episode 259! We got a lot of reading done since the last episode: 📖 Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan 📖 The Body

Episode 258 - Author Spotlight with Heather Harper Ellett

Welcome to Episode 258! In a first for Book Cougars Author Spotlights, we welcome back an author not to discuss their next book, but to learn about why and how their fir

Episode 257 - Author Spotlight with Emily Franklin

We have a fascinating Author Spotlight with EMILY FRANKLIN whose new novel comes out today! LOVE AND OTHER MONSTERS is historical fiction at its finest – engaging and wel

Episode 256 - Author Spotlight with Sara Catterall & Q2 Readalong Announcement

Welcome to Episode 256 featuring our Author Spotlight with biographer Sara Catterall! Sara’s new book, AMELIA BLOOMER: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon, was on C

Episode 255 - Q1 Readalong: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Welcome to Episode 255, where we dig into talking about FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley! We also discuss two adaptations that we’ve watched. We both plan to watch more adapt

Episode 254 - Author Spotlight with Tiya Miles

Welcome to Episode 254! We are so excited to welcome Tiya Miles to the podcast to discuss her most recent book, NIGHT FLYER: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free

Episode 253 - Author Spotlight with Sharon M. Harris

Welcome to Episode 247! Can you believe it is already time to share our annual Holiday Gift Ideas?? Each year, starting with Episode 2 back in 2016, we share some bookis