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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 Frankel The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann The Library Book by Susan Orlean The Future by Naomi Alderman Look What You Made My Do by John Lanchester We Loved To Run by Stephanie Reents Other Things Mentioned: Lauriefrankel.net Laurie.frankel on Instagram Substack: 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 show Get 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.com Force of Nature by Melissa Clark Books Recommended: The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trail by Maggie Nelson Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulic The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank  Guest Author Recommendation from Alexa Yasemin Brahme, author of Good News True Stories by Sophie Calle More About Melissa: Melissa's Book Promo Events:  5/19 @ 6:30pm Book Launch at Diesel Books, Santa Monica, CA 5/29 @ 6:00pm Village Well Books, Culver City, CA 6/3 @ 7:00pm Book Soup, West Hollywood, CA 6/6 Books Inc. Alameda, CA TBA IG: @msmelissaclark TikTok: msmelissaclark  Becoming Mother Nature podcast Other Things Discussed: Take a 4-Week Gel Printing Class with me 5/27 - 6/17 Check out my art! Book to Film:  Midwinter Break by Bernard McLaverty on my Substack Support the show Get 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. Laqueur Time Regained - Marcelle Proust Flesh by David Szalay King: A Street Story by John Berger  The Witch by Marie Ndiaye Spies 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 Nunez The 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 Page Support the show Get 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 Mason London Falling – Patrick Radden Keefe Why Be Happy When you Could Be Normal – Jeanette Winterson The League of Gentleman Witches by India Holton Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng Other Links: Enter The Optimists Book Giveaway Enter The Beheading Game Book Giveaway Come see me at the Beverly Hills Art Show!  Support the show Get 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 Smith The Lamb – Lucy Rose Maud Martha – Gwendolyn Brooks (a novella) add to list to give to mom The Patientce Stone – Atiq Rahimi Never Let Me Go – Ishiguro   Brian Platzer on instagram. Brian Platzer's Websitehttps://www.brianplatzer.com Take my Gelli Printing Class in Los Angeles  The International Booker Prize Shortlist: The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran - Shida Bazyar She Who Remains - Rene Karabash The Director - Daniel Kehlmann On Earth As It Ss Beneath - Ana Paula Maia The Witch - Marie NDiaye  Taiwan Travelogue - Shuang-zi Yang Support the show Get 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 translated Cursed Bread by Sophie McKintosh Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy by Dave Hickey The Optimists by Brian Platzer Lake 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 show Get 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 Maxwell The Old Fire by Elisa Shua Disapin translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins Delirious by Damian Wilkins  How to Commit A Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley Attention: Writing on Life, Art and the World by Anne Einreight  out April 8th Guest Author:  Lies We Tell About the Stars by Susie Nadler   Find Charlotte on Social Media:   Charlottewoodwriter on Instagram Substack: substraction Have an easy knitting project for me to try? Email me at [email protected] Support the show Get 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 McConigley Vigil by George Saunders Nice Places by Vincent Chu Pedro the Vast by Simón Lopez Trujillo translated by Sophie Hughes House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama  Find Lillian Lee on Social Media @zillianzee   See my two new Works of Art at Red bluff Gallery Wuthering Heights Giveaway  Enter to Win A Free month on Books Are My People Support the show Get 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 Balle A Sociopath’s Guide to A Successful Marriage – by M. K. Oliver The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-Dalton The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi  translated by David Boyd and Lucy North Bog Queen - Anna North  Where to find Cortney and Monica on Social Media: IG @craftcookreadrepeat Podcast Website IG @cortneysf  Other Things Mentioned: Char Hamilton's amazing art classes!  Ravelrly  Imagined Landscapes gnomes Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

Yup, I finally read part of a romance novel and watched two romance shows. Who am I in 2026? In episode #158 I announce some new forthcoming screen adaptations, we get a guest author book recommendation from Nalini Singh, author of Such A Perfect Family and I recommend five books to add to your TBR.  Join me on Substack.  Books Recommended: Such a Perfect Family Nalini Singh The Midnight Taxi - Yosha Gunasakera The Irish Goodbye - Heather Aimee O’Neill The Infamous Gilberts - Anjela Tomaski Only Son – Kevin Moffett Is This A Cry For Help? – Emily Austin The Housemaid - Freida McFadden Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

This week on episode #157, I speak with one of my favorite authors, the delightful Sara Levine, author of The Hitch, out tomorrow. I talk about some of my New Year’s resolutions, the amazing new skill I taught my dog and winter break travel plans gone wrong. We also get a guest author recommendation from Mark Medley author of Live to see the Day.  PODCAST NOTES: The Hitch by Sara Levine Treasure Island by Sara Levine War with the Newts – Karel Capek  Heart The Lover by Lily King Nature Poem by Tommy Pico Often I am Happy by Jens Christian Grondhal Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth Instagram @hitchface Substack Sara Levine’s website Live to see the Day by Mark Medley Joyride by Susan Orlean Saturday Night by Susan Orlean   Read The Empusium with me on Substack Listen to Episode #3 of Books Are My People, where my dad and I talk about Sara Levine’s Treasure Island!!! (It was only my third episode, so please forgive any sound editing issues!)  Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

This week, I go back in time to 2012 to share some of my favorite reads as well as discuss other, notable reads from that year.  We have a special guest author recommendation from Emily Wiberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka authors of Seeing Other People .  Happy New Year, everyone!  Shownotes:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey  Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane Every Day by David Levethan Me Before You by Jojo Moyes The Round House by Loise Erdrich Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carole Rifka Brunt Links to Books Are My People mugs Link to my Chair Art Link to Empusium Read Along Link to National Book Award winners Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

Check out my top reads of 2025. I also include some books I read in 2025 that were previously published. I share what craft I'm struggling with, what Thanksgiving crop I grew this year as well as some bookish news.  Books Published in 2025 Mentioned: Heart The Lover by Lily King The Ten-Year Affair by Erin Somers A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews Runs in the Blood by Matthew J. Trafford  Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy  Endling by Maria Reva Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li  Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley  Books Published Other Years:  This Motherless Land by Nikki May How to Read a Book by Monica Wood  How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair  Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell Send me a photo of your specialty library card! You can send it to: [email protected] Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

This week, I speak with Aja Gabel, author of Lightbreakers. We talk about loss, writing and book recommendations, of course! We also get a guest author recommendation from Amie McNee, author of To Kill A Queen. Books recommended: Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor Maggie: or a man and a woman walk into a bar by Katie Lee Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead   Find Aja Gabel on Instagram @AjaGabel   Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

Every once in a while I like to just record on my own! Especially when life gets hectic!  We get a guest author recommendation from Kristin Bair, author of Clementine Crane Prefers Not To. I share a story about why I'll never wear white pants again, I talk about the National Book Award fiction contenders and I recommend five great reads. Enjoy! In November, we'll be reading Washington Black and watching the TV series in my online bookclub on Substack. Come join us!  Books Recommended:  The Ex-Boyfriend’s Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee by Saki Kawashiro  Ghost Fish by Stuart Pennebaker A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma Register to watch the National Book Awards   Support the show Get your Books Are My People merch here! I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!