Category: Summer Reading

Ep. 205: Hena Khan on Her Banner Year of Books

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This week, award-winning author Hena Khan returns to the podcast. Known for her compassionate and relatable books for children that draw on her experiences as a Pakistani-American Muslim, Hena has 5 new books releasing in 2024. 

We discuss the creative process behind this banner year of books, what she hopes young readers take away from these stories, the impact of book bans, and much more. If you’re a teacher, librarian, or parent looking for summer reading titles for your kids, this would be a great episode to tune into.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

★ A monumental achievement and exquisite testament to the power of collaboration and community, this novel moves beyond the reality of diversity into the necessity of it.   —School Library Journal on The Door Is Open

★ A nuanced and quietly powerful story.—Kirkus Reviews on Drawing Deena

 

About the Author:

Hena Khan has been publishing books for children, including many that center Pakistani American and Muslim characters, for over two decades. She writes award-winning books in a multitude of formats, including picture books, middle grade fiction, pick-your-path adventures, and graphic novels. Her stories are often centered around her culture, community, friendship, and family, and draw from her own experiences. Hena’s bestselling novels include Amina’s Voice and More to the Story. She is also the author of the Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream, Zara’s Rules, and Super You! series. Hena’s acclaimed picture books include Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, and It’s Ramadan, Curious George. She holds an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University, has served on the board of We Need Diverse Books, and is a member of the Children’s Book Guild of DC. Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland. Learn more: henakhan.com

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 204: Clare McHugh on Royals, Romanovs, and the New Novel Perfect for Fans of The Crown

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This week, Clare McHugh is here to discuss The Romanov Brides, a novel of the last tsarina and her sisters. This is a fascinating story about two young princesses–granddaughters of Queen Victoria– who become intertwined with the Romanov family in the years preceding their downfall.

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“Two motherless German princesses struggle to choose husbands from the limited pool of European suitors, while we, as readers, know the devastating consequences their ultimate decisions will have. Clare McHugh illuminates the hearts and souls of these young women in a novel that is clever, gripping, and beautifully written. A masterpiece!” – Gill Paul, author of A Beautiful Rival

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Clare McHugh is the author of two historical novels, A Most English Princess and The Romanov Brides. After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in European history, she worked for many years as a newspaper reporter and later magazine editor. The mother of two grown children, she currently lives with her husband in London and in Amagansett, New York. Learn more: claremchugh.com

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 203: Annabel Monaghan on Her Latest Hopeful, Heart-tugging Summer Romance

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This week, I’m delighted to have one of my favorite authors, Annabel Monaghan, back on the podcast to discuss Summer Romance, another heart-tugging, hilarious love story about a recent divorcee and professional organizer whose life is a mess, and the summer she gets unstuck with the help of someone unexpected from her past.

This book is just the comfort read I needed – it’s hopeful and funny and warm and you won’t want to leave this world or the characters.

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“The romance strikes the perfect balance of stomach-butterflies and the realities of dating with kids. Sweetly satisfying.” —Booklist (starred)

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Annabel Monaghan is the author of LibraryReads pick and national bestseller Same Time Next Summer and Indie Next and LibraryReads pick Nora Goes Off Script, as well as two young adult novels and Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?, a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in the Huffington Post, the Week, and the Rye Record. She lives in Rye, New York, with her family. Learn more: annabelmonaghan.com

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 202: Sarah T. Dubb on the Journey to Joyful Romances

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This week my guest is Sarah T. Dubb, author of the delightful new romcom, Birding with Benefits, in which a newly-divorced, almost-empty-nester embarks on a “year of yes” and becomes the fake girlfriend and bird-watching competition partner of a man who changes her life.

birdingwithbenefits

“This book is unqualified joy! … Readers will absolutely relish watching the love between John and Celeste take flight!”

–Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The True Love Experiment

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Sarah T. Dubb is a writer, public librarian, parent, and activist living the dream with chickens and desert tortoises in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Birding with Benefits is her debut novel; she is currently working on her second romantic comedy. Visit her at SarahTDubb.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 201: Ruth Ware Takes on Reality TV Tropes in an Addictive New Thriller

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This week,  New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware is here to discuss One Perfect Couple, a high-tension and ingenious thriller that follows five couples who start out filming a reality tv show and end up trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them.

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“The ultimate trouble-in-paradise thriller, One Perfect Couple is timely, gripping and all too plausible. The Love Island / Lord of the Flies mash-up you didn’t know you needed.”—Erin Kelly, The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Skeleton Key

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Ruth Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language, and a press officer before settling down as a full-time writer. She now lives with her family in Sussex, on the south coast of England. She is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail (Toronto) bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; The It Girl; and Zero Days. Learn more: https://ruthware.com/

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 199: Jilly Gagnon on the Delightful, Hilarious New Rom Com You Need In Your Beach Bag this Summer

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This week I’m excited to share a conversation with Jilly Gagnon, author of the delightful new romcom Love You Mean It, featuring dueling delis, fake dating, and just the right amount of amnesia.

loveyoumeanit

“Beautifully written, brilliant, and perfectly salty, Love You, Mean It is a total dream of a rom-com—an instant favorite to savor on every reread. Ellie and Theo’s sizzling chemistry leaps off the page, and Jilly Gagnon’s hilarious subversion of the amnesia trope only adds to the deep tenderness of their slow-burn romance. I adored every moment.”—Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Payback’s a Witch

 

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Jilly Gagnon is the author of Scenes of the Crime, All Dressed Up and the young adult novel #famous. Her humor writing, personal essays, and op-eds have appeared in Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, Boston magazine, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, among others. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts, with her family and two black cats. Learn more: https://jillygagnon.com/

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links: 

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 163: Elizabeth Shick on the Expat Experiences in Myanmar That Shaped Her Debut Novel

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This week my guest is Elizabeth Shick, author of the debut novel, The Golden Land. Inspired by the six years she lived in Myanmar, and set there and in Boston, it’s a novel that digs deep into the complexities of family history and relationships.

goldenland

“Elizabeth Shick’s steady, elegant prose transported me to a place I knew little about, and I found myself wanting to learn more about this turbulent period in Myanmar’s history. The Golden Land is both a rich and intimate family portrait as well as a portal leading into another world, relevant and important to where we are in our own country today.” –Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here is Beautiful

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

About the Author:

Elizabeth Shick is the debut author of The Golden Land, winner of the 2021 AWP Prize for the Novel. A longtime American expatriate and international development consultant, she has lived and worked in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Italy. Liz currently resides in Dhaka, Bangladesh and West Tisbury, Massachusetts. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Lesley University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. Learn more: https://elizabethshick.com/ 

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links:

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 162: Madeline Martin on the Secret Libraries of Occupied Poland

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Today Madeline Martin is here to discuss The Keeper of Hidden Books, which is based on the real life heroic efforts of Warsaw’s librarians during WWII.

keeperofhiddenbooks

“The Keeper of Hidden Books is a powerful and poignant tour de force chronicling the efforts of Warsaw’s librarians and book-lovers to keep Poland’s culture alive during the dark days of the German Occupation. Impeccably researched and beautifully written, The Keeper of Hidden Books reads as a love letter to family, friendship, and the power of literature to sustain, inspire, and endure.”
-Bryn Turnbull, author of The Woman Before Wallis

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA TODAY, and international bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty different languages. For more information visit https://madelinemartin.com/

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links:

Macmillan Audio

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 161: Namrata Patel Takes Us from Paris to Napa in Scent of a Garden with a Perfumer Who Loses Her Sense of Smell

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Today, Namrata Patel is back on the podcast to discuss her new novel, Scent of a Garden, an exhilarating novel about a perfumer in Paris who is forced to return to her California roots where she winds up on a journey of self-discovery, reconnecting with family and finally taking some risks.

 

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“Full of softly beautiful descriptions and remarkably rendered characters, Patel’s sophomore novel grapples with familial pressures and legacies. It’s a sensual read, full of details pertaining not only to scents, as might be expected, but also to foods and visual descriptors.” —BookRiot.com

 

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

 

About the Author:

Namrata Patel is an Indian American writer who resides in Boston. The author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave, she examines diaspora and dual-cultural identity among Indian Americans in her writing and explores this dynamic while also touching on the families we’re born with and those we choose. Namrata has lived in India, New Jersey, Spokane, London, and New York City and has been writing most of her adult life. For more information visit www.nampatel.com.

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links:

Macmillan Audio

 

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

Ep. 160: Jane Roper on Writing a Satirical Take on Social Media Stardom, Public Shaming, and Internet Activism

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This week, Jane Roper is here to discuss The Society of Shame, a timely and witty combination of So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? that’s both a satire of social media stardom and internet activism, and a tender mother-daughter tale.

 

societyofshame

 

“If you liked Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, read The Society of Shame by Jane Roper.” —The Washington Post

 

 

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

 

About the Author:

JANE ROPER writes the popular Baby Squared blog on Babble.com and is the author of Eden Lake, a novel. Her writing has appeared in Poets & Writers, Salon, Slate, and The Rumpus, among other publications, and she holds an MFA from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Jane lives in the Boston area with her husband, singer-songwriter Alastair Moock, and their twin daughters. Learn more: https://janeroper.com/

 

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

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Links:

Macmillan Audio

 

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.