Kay Chronister joins me to talk about bogs and how environments influence a novel, Gothic vs horror elements, and physically experiencing a setting as part of the writing process. Kay’s novel, The Bog Wife, was published earlier this month by Counterpoint LLC.

This week our Friday Readers are glowing about Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings by Joni Mitchell, and American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures, edited by America Ferrera.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is debated on this week’s Canon or Can It. Does this novel about animals rebelling against their human masters in an attempt to improve their lives deserve its place in the literary canon? Or should it be canned forever?

This week, my Six Recs are: Outlawed by Anna North, Gun Love by Jennifer Clement, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea, Harrow by Joy Williams, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, and The Power by Naomi Alderman.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister, Dearest by Jacquie Walters, Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings by Joni Mitchell, American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Outlawed by Anna North, Gun Love by Jennifer Clement, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea, Harrow by Joy Williams, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, and The Power by Naomi Alderman.

Jessica Hendry Nelson joins me to talk about memoir vs. creative nonfiction, ownership over a story, and therapeutic outlets in writing. Jessica’s novel, Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief, came out in September of 2023 with The University of Georgia Press.

In Pop! Goes the Culture, I discuss manmade monsters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, and docuseries Chimp Crazy on HBO Max. These stories call to question what makes a human: communication, community, or creation?

This week, my Six Recs are: Dead in Long Beach California by Venita Blackburn, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian, The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and Shanghai by Joseph Kanon.

Find me on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief by Jessica Hendry Nelson, The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart, Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, The Thickness of Ice by Gerard Beirne, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Beowulf (unknown), Nosferatu by Bram Stoker and F.W. Murnau, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, Dead in Long Beach California by Venita Blackburn, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian, The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and Shanghai by Joseph Kanon.

Johanna Copeland joins Bethanne Patrick to talk about finding community post pandemic and creation in the time of motherhood. Johanna’s novel, Our Kind of Game, came out this summer with HarperCollins. She is a former corporate attorney and fellow northern Virginia resident.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about guilt, shame, and female sexuality. Bethanne discusses Hawthorne’s famous denouncement of America’s “scribbling women,” and where he falls in early American literary canon.

This week, Bethanne’s Six Recs are: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands and Hark! A Vagrant, both by Kate Beaton, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Berlin by Jason Lutes, Patience by Daniel Clowes, and The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way.

Find Bethanne on X, Substack, Instagram, and Threads.

The Book Maven: A Literary Revue is hosted by Bethanne Patrick, produced by Christina McBride, and engineered by Jordan Aaron, with help from Lauren Stack.

All titles mentioned: Our Kind of Game by Johanna Copeland, The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev, Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Will Gluck’s Easy A, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton, Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Berlin by Jason Lutes, Patience by Daniel Clowes, and The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way.