Best Book Ever Podcast

My dear friend Mark Lefebvre is back this week to teach me all about Canadian Literature, eh? Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Mark Lefebvre Website/Instagram   Editor: Emily Zumchak Website/Email   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   Bob and Doug McKenzie The Handmaids Tale and Others by Margaret Atwood Louise Penny The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis World of Wonders by Robertson Davies Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison Farley Mowat To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice A Matter of Will by Rod Carley Kinmount by Rod Carley Lives of Girls and Women and Others by Alice Munroe Steven Leacock The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot The Embroidered Book by Kate Hartfield The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee Changing Vision by Julie E. Czerneda Flash Forward Robert J Sawyer Flashforward TV series Rollback by Robert J Sawyer Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault by James Alan Gardner Eden's Eyes by Sean Costello Death Drives a Semi by Edo Van Belkom The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart Samantha M. Bailey Giles Blunt Michael Connolly Linwood Barclay Into The Fire by Rick Mofina Hollow Place by Rick Mofina Requiem by Rick Mofina Canadian Werewolf Series The Line Painter by Claire Cameron The Bear by Claire Cameron The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan The Color of Heaven by Julianne McClain Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphries Someday I'll Find You by C.C. Humphries Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill Scott Overton   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

This week's guest is one of my favorite readers, writers and humans on the planet: Mark Lefebvre. Mark has been pushing Terry Fallis' books on me practically since we met, and I'm so glad I finally took his advice. We had a great time discussing political satire, reading slumps, and the differences between American and Canadian humor sensibilities. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Mark Lefebvre Website/Instagram   Editor: Emily Zumchak Website/Email   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time. Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list. Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode: The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis Earth Abides by George R. Stewart BBE Episode 009 Mark Lefebvre on Earth Abides BBE Episode 058 Mark Lefebvre on Traveling Music by Neil Peart (this is one of those very rare occasions when Mark and I disagreed about a book, and let me tell you, my friends: saying something negative about Neil Peart in front of Mark Lefebvre was the riskiest thing I have ever done in my life. I am so brave.)  Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger BBE Episode 010 Casey Starnes on Catcher in the Rye Titles Bookstore at McMaster University High Spirits by Robertson Davies John Irving Steven Leacock McClelland and Stewart Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw My Fair Lady (1964) Best Laid Plans TV Show Dennis Hamill Operation Angus by Terry Fallis No Relation by Terry Fallis Up and Down by Terry Fallis Poles Apart by Terry Follis The Candidate (1972) Three Cheers For Me by Donald Jack The Long Way Back by Nicole Bart Number One is Walking by Steve Martin Harry Bliss The Canadian Mounted by Mark Leslie Edo Van Belkom Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

This week I'm so delighted for you to meet Kate Reynolds, also known as The Lavender Librarian. Kate is a passionate advocate of inclusive storytimes for children, and she has some innovative ideas for how to share reading time with kids.  I was initially hesitant when Kate suggested we read a children's book for this episode - afraid that we wouldn't have enough to talk about to fill the half hour. But I was so, so wrong. Talking to librarians is always a wonderful experience, but talking to this particular one about this particular book was extra-specially magic.  Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Kate Reynolds Instagram/Facebook/Youtube   Storytime Solidarity - Website/Patreon/Facebook Group   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list. Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond   Roald Dahl The Babysitters Club Beverly Cleary Mr. Rogers Sharon, Lois and Bram Sandwiches by Fred Penner Je suis une Pizza by Charlotte Diamond 123 Andres Jim Gill Little Miss Anne Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison Mouse by Art Spiegelman And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Tiffany Hammond's Instagram   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

Today I am joined by Lisa Petersen, my dear friend since college. We agreed to spend the summer revisiting our favorite childhood classics by Judy Blume, and now we're back to discuss our feelings about the books as children vs. as adults. Along the way, we talked about banned books and parenting, and how our love for Judy Blume has carried us through the years.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Lisa Petersen Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   Judy Blume The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling The Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume Are You There God? It's me, Margaret by Judy Blume Blubber by Judy Blume Deenie by Judy Blume Forever by Judy Blume It's Not the End of the World by Judy Blume Judy Blume Forever - 2023 film Are You There God? It's me, Margaret - 2023 film Terry Gross Interview In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume You've Got Mail - 1998 film Also, for fun: 87 Books Featured in "You've Got Mail" A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)  

Yolanda Skeete, an avid reader and co-host of Thrillers by the Book Club SoCal, is back on the show with our book club pal Vanessa Vicente. Yolanda and Vanessa are both bookstagrammers living in Southern California who love to review thrillers, nonfiction, romance, and other genres. As mothers ourselves, we have a lot to say about the 2022 Science Fiction novel "The School for Good Mothers" by Jessamine Chan. In this episode, we talk about our experiences, hardships, and joys as mothers, and the discussion ranges from KidLit to Black Mirror to Michelle Obama to questions like "Why aren't moms allowed to be sexy??"   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram    Guest: Yolanda Skeete Instagram    Guest: Vanessa Vicente Instagram Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022 Maribel's Year and Others by Michelle Sterling Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds The Couch Potato by Jory John The Bad Seed by Jory John Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Harambe Black Mirror TV Show The Sitting Month The Drowning Woman by Robin Harding Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen Judy Blume Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Movie Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Drowning by T.J. Newman   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

If you have not yet experienced the joy of the "Court of Thorns and Roses" fandom, we are going to fix that today.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest Panel:   Victoria Snow Instagram   Fareya Instagram/TikTok/Goodreads   Nicole Burton Instagram/Goodreads     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Wings and ruin (ACOWAR) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOFAS) by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas ACOTAR Wiki Emma Petersen mentioned the ACOTAR books as "bird porn" when she appeared on the podcast to talk about Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang on Episode 138 A Court of Tattoos and Rosé podcast Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi House of Earth and Blood: Book one of the Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas @Kaykaysbookshelf (an awesome bookstagram account – scroll her saved stories for Sarah J. Mass mini-guides [spoiler free], maps, glossaries, etc. Her account is well worth a visit if you are a fan. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Daughter of the Moon Goddess: A Fantasy Romance Novel by Sue Lynn Tan Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes (a Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Today I've got my first "three-peat" guest, Marion Hill. Just like in our two previous conversations, Marion introduced me to a book that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, that I sort of dreaded reading, and that I wound up loving and thinking about nonstop after I finished!   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Marion Hill Website/Instagram   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style. Discussed in this episode:   The Book of Strange new Things by Michel Faber The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende Eva Luna: A Novel by Isabel Allende   Marion's previous picks on the podcast Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint, which we talked about on Episode 008 Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which we talked about on Episode 083   The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell Gilead by Marilyn Robinson Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas The Sportswriter: Bascombe Trilogy 1 by Richard Ford Independence Day: Bascombe Trilogy 2 by Richard Ford The Lay of the Land: Bascombe Trilogy 3 by Richard Ford Let Me Be Frank with You: A Frank Bascombe Book by Richard Ford Be Mine: A Frank Bascombe Novel by Richard Ford The Kammbia Series by Marion Hill Marion's 25 by Marion Hill Marion's 25 Volume II by Marion Hill   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Ambika Devi Website/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn     Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins Fun With Dick and Jane Lilith by Ambika Devi The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Cupid is a Bastard by Ambika Devi Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe Danielle Garrett Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore Artemis by Andy Weir The Martian by Andy Weir Project Hail Mary   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

My guest this week is my beautiful daughter Ella. Ella just finished a semester at the University of Leicester, where she studied the novels of Jane Austen, and we have been talking nonstop about the books versus the movie adaptations, as well as feminism in Jane Austens books, and whether or not Harry Styles can smolder. It's a journey. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Ella Strauss   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   1st Annual Kids/YA Episode when Ella told me about Kate Atkinson Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Clueless Movie Bride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility Movie A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft Here comes the smolder – from "Tangled" Derek Zoolander's "Blue Steel" Here is the Mr. Darcy hand flex scene that all the kids are weirdly obsessed with We Were Liars by E. Lockhart The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird Eve Ensler Colleen Hoover Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Bunny: A Novel by Mona Awad   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

My mom is the reason I'm a reader and today she joined me to talk books. She surprised me by choosing a cookbook (she and I are both fiction junkies) but The Pat Conroy Cookbook made for a great chat. We also talked about how we both cut our teeth on trashy novels and the joys of re-reading favorite books. She even spilled some tea about her book club! Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Betsy Dunn   Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!   Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.   Support the podcast for just $5/month and you'll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.   Become a Founder for $100 and you'll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.     Discussed in this episode:   The Pat Conroy Cookbook by Pat Conroy The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope (this is just one in a whole series of Bobbsey Twins adventures) Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene The Red Tent by Anita Diamant The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Beach Music by Pat Conroy The Great Santini by Pat Conroy The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy Carlsbad Aquafarm Beaufort, South Carolina really does look like a lovely town Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home by Ina Garten Ina Garten's Beef Bourguingnon Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King The Water is Wide: A Memoir by Pat Conroy The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian Midwives by Chris Bohjalian Horse by Geraldine Brooks Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)