Books Are My People

This week, I catch up on the last couples of months, share bookish news, Booker Prize finalists and recommend six book I enjoyed reading over the summer. Books Recommended:The Foursome by Chrstine Baker KlineUngoldly Rich by Katherine McGeeKitten by Stacey YuWhy Q needs U by Dannny BateThe Shampoo Effect by Jenny JacksonBog Queen By Anna NorthBooker Prize Finalists:The End of Everything by M. John HarrisonThe Disappearers by Marlon JamesBlack Bag by Luke KennardMay We Feed the King by Rebecca PerryThe Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout John of John by Douglas StewartOther Things Mentioned: Link to my Bookish Substack Link to my in-person holiday Gel Printing Class - December 5th 9:30 - 12:30 Link to my interview with Jenny JacksonLink to my episode with Cortney and Monica of the podcast craft cook read repeat Using my Bookshop.org affiliates to purchase books is a great way to support the show and local bookstores! Support the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

In this episode, we get a visit from the amazing author, Laurie Frankel, author of the recently published, Enormous Wings. We discuss reproductive freedoms, bodily autonomy, aging and ageism.And I make a very special and bittersweet announcement. Books Mentioned: Enormous Wings by Laurie FrankelThe Beheading Game by Rebecca LehmannThe Library Book by Susan OrleanThe Future by Naomi AldermanLook What You Made My Do by John LanchesterWe Loved To Run by Stephanie ReentsOther Things Mentioned:Lauriefrankel.netLaurie.frankel on InstagramSubstack: Butt + Chair Find me on Substack here. Find me on Instagram here. Sign up for my online Gelli Printing Class here. Sign up for my in-person Gelli Printing Class here. My website Support the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

Not only is my sister Melissa Clark a force of nature, she also published a fantastic young adult novel titled Force of Nature! We discuss podcasting, writing for children's television and novel writing on today's episode, plus we offer a slew of book recommendations. This episode is sponsored by To Lay to Rest our Ghosts by Caitlin Hamlton Summie Learn more at caitlinhamiltonmarketing.comForce of Nature by Melissa ClarkBooks Recommended:The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trail by Maggie NelsonEnormous Wings by Laurie FrankelThe Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin DunneHow We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka DrakulicThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Guest Author Recommendation from Alexa Yasemin Brahme, author of Good NewsTrue Stories by Sophie CalleMore About Melissa:Melissa's Book Promo Events: 5/19 @ 6:30pm Book Launch at Diesel Books, Santa Monica, CA5/29 @ 6:00pm Village Well Books, Culver City, CA6/3 @ 7:00pm Book Soup, West Hollywood, CA6/6 Books Inc. Alameda, CA TBAIG: @msmelissaclarkTikTok: msmelissaclark Becoming Mother Nature podcastOther Things Discussed:Take a 4-Week Gel Printing Class with me 5/27 - 6/17Check out my art!Book to Film:  Midwinter Break by Bernard McLaverty on my SubstackSupport the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

Today, we're talking about dogs and art, two of my favorite topics! In The Dog's Gaze: A Visual History, historian Thomas W. Lauqeur investigates why so many dogs are depicted in great works of art. We also chat about the long history of the relationship between humans and dogs.  Shownotes: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Dancing Woman by Elaine Nell Orr Books Discussed:The Dog’s Gaze: A Visual History by Thomas W. LaqueurTime Regained - Marcelle ProustFlesh by David SzalayKing: A Street Story by John Berger The Witch by Marie NdiayeSpies of the Balkans -  Alan Furst Guest Author Book Recommendation:Sheila Yasmin Marikar, author of Incidentals recommends With Friends Like You by Amy Chosick Bonus Dog Books: The Friend - Sigrid NunezThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Hadden Link to sign up for my Gelli Print Art Class (If it’s not live yet, just keep an eye on this site!)  Come visit me at booth 210 at the Beverly Hills Art Show on May 16th and 17th.  Take a collagraph printmaking workshop with me on Sunday, June 28th from 1-4 pm at the Marin MOCA in Marin, California. Enter my book giveaway for The Optimists by Brian Platzer, closing on May 16th, 2026.  Penguin Press Instagram PageSupport the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

On episode #164 author and King scholar Caroline Bicks discusses her latest book, Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King. We talk about what makes Stephen King so ubiquitously beloved across generations, how horror stories are a way to face our deepest fears and how King called upon Shakespeare for one of his most famous manuscripts. Plus we get a guest author recommendation from Emily Franklin author of Love & Other Monsters. (Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival by Maria Pinto.And we get one from Jennifer N. Brown, author of The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton. (Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards) Notes: North Woods – Daniel MasonLondon Falling – Patrick Radden KeefeWhy Be Happy When you Could Be Normal – Jeanette WintersonThe League of Gentleman Witches by India HoltonOur Missing Hearts by Celeste NgOther Links:Enter The Optimists Book GiveawayEnter The Beheading Game Book GiveawayCome see me at the Beverly Hills Art Show! Support the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

On episode 163, I speak with Brian Platzer author of The Optimists. We discuss many things including who influenced the creation of his protagonist and whether or not optimism can be taught. This episode is sponsored by Fangs of Fate by Rebecca Parcha. Click here to listen to the audiobook.  Sheila Yasmin Marikar , author of Incidentals recommends With Friends Like You by Amy Chozick. Rebecca Lehmann, author of The Beheading Game recommends The Unveiling by Quan Barry Click here to enter the The Beheading Game book giveaway, which closes on April 30th. Book Recommendations:Hard Feelings – Daniel SmithThe Lamb – Lucy RoseMaud Martha – Gwendolyn Brooks (a novella) add to list to give to momThe Patientce Stone – Atiq RahimiNever Let Me Go – Ishiguro Brian Platzer on instagram.Brian Platzer's Websitehttps://www.brianplatzer.comTake my Gelli Printing Class in Los Angeles The International Booker Prize Shortlist:The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran - Shida BazyarShe Who Remains - Rene KarabashThe Director - Daniel KehlmannOn Earth As It Ss Beneath - Ana Paula MaiaThe Witch - Marie NDiaye Taiwan Travelogue - Shuang-zi YangSupport the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

On episode 162, I'm visited by biographer Mark Oppenheimer, author of Judy Blume: A Life. We discuss our favorite Judy Blume books, Blume's captivating draw as an author and we share some favorite book recommendations. This episode is sponsored by Fangs of Fate by Rebecca Parcha. Click here to listen to the audiobook. Books Recommended:The Director by Daniel Kehlmann translatedCursed Bread by Sophie McKintoshAir Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy by Dave HickeyThe Optimists by Brian PlatzerLake Effect: A Memoir by Rich Cohen Find Mark Oppenheimer on Substack I'm giving away a month-long giveaway to my online book club in April where we will be reading Lauren Groff's Brawler. Click here to enter. I will be returning to the Culver City Book Festival on Sunday March 29th from 10 - 5 pm. I’ll be signing books, selling upcycled journals made out of books, selling original art and Books Are My People coffee mugs and stickers, which you can always purchase here. Come say hi if you’re in the area!Purchase Books Are My People swag here. Charlotte Woods The Natural Way of THings Giveaway linkup open closes 3/31. I will contact a winner on April 1st. This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only. Thank you to Riverhead Books for sponsoring this giveaway.Click here to enter.Registration for my gelli printing class in Santa Monica is open. If you happen to be local, please join me for a four-week beginning gelli printing class at the Brentwood Art Center in Santa Monica! Click here for more information. We will have so much fun exploring printmaking and maybe even side chatting about books. Support the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

On episode 161 this week I'm visited by Booker Prize shortlist nominee, Charlotte Wood. We talk about internalized misogyny, systems of oppression, what it’s like to be a Booker Award finalist and Wood's reissue of her 2015 novel, The Natural Way of Things. Books Recommended: So Long, See You Tomorrow, William MaxwellThe Old Fire by Elisa Shua Disapin translated by Aneesa Abbas HigginsDelirious by Damian Wilkins How to Commit A Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigleyAttention: Writing on Life, Art and the World by Anne Einreight  out April 8thGuest Author: Lies We Tell About the Stars by Susie Nadler Find Charlotte on Social Media:  Charlottewoodwriter on InstagramSubstack: substractionHave an easy knitting project for me to try? Email me at [email protected] the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

This week, on episode 160 of Books Are My People, I speak with Lillian Li author of Bad Asians. We talk about identity, the perils of the internet, and the aftermath of the 2008 recession. Shownotes:How to Commit A Post Colonial Murder by Nina McConigleyVigil by George SaundersNice Places by Vincent ChuPedro the Vast by Simón Lopez Trujillo translated by Sophie HughesHouse of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama Find Lillian Lee on Social Media @zillianzee See my two new Works of Art at Red bluff GalleryWuthering Heights Giveaway Enter to Win A Free month on Books Are My PeopleSupport the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! 

It's a bit of a longer episode today but I couldn’t tear myself away from my new Bay Area Crafty friends: Monica and Cortney from the fantastic podcast Craft Cook Read Repeat. These joyful makers will inspire creativity and curiosity in the kitchen, on the needles on the nightstand and more. And, one of them answers the age-old question "Are Sophie scarves a project for beginning knitters?"Plus, they share some of their favorite book recommendations. And we get three bonus guest author recommendations this week:Christina Hammonds Reed, author of The Johnson Four recommends American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams. Rebecca Fallon, author of Family Drama recommends Almost Life by Kiran Mlgood Hargrave.Eleanor Shearer, author of Fireflies in Winter recommends Barkskins by Annie Proulx.WIN A FREE MONTH AND READ AND WATCH WUTHERING HEIGHTS WITH US on my Books Are My People bookclub on Substack. Books Discussed:On the Calculation of Volume – Solvej BalleA Sociopath’s Guide to A Successful Marriage – by M. K. OliverThe Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-DaltonThe Everlasting by Alix E. HarrowDiary of a Void by Emi Yagi  translated by David Boyd and Lucy NorthBog Queen - Anna North Where to find Cortney and Monica on Social Media:IG @craftcookreadrepeatPodcast WebsiteIG @cortneysf Other Things Mentioned:Char Hamilton's amazing art classes! Ravelrly Imagined Landscapes gnomesSupport the showGet your Books Are My People merch here!I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!