Season 2, Episode 25: Telling Authors What We Want + The Comfort of Cozy Mysteries

Meredith and Kaytee are giddying up with a new episode of spicy opinions.

You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each host: a new, most favorite ever, local bookshop win, and a triumphant return to the library.

Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. There’s a whole slew of goodness in here, as well as a plea for a certain title from a certain author, and reflections on re-reading a decades-old favorite.

We’ve got a brief Slow But Steady update to share with you and then it’s onward to our deep dive.

For our deep dive this week, we are chatting about cozy mysteries. Why read them? What makes a mystery cozy? What are Meredith’s favorite titles in the canon? Do they require baking and puns? Inquiring minds need to know.

Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands: we’ve got a tale reminiscent of the old west and a fun bookish fictional title that we both adore.

As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down! 

*Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

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Bookish Moments:

2:01 - Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX

4:23 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

4:33 - Currently Reading’s Top 10 Reads of 2019

Current Reads:

5:19 - Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

5:45 - The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

8:15 - The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

8:27 - Raven Black (the Shetland Series) by Ann Cleeves

8:49 - Louise Penny Interview with Ann Cleeves

12:58 - The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

17:10 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

17:11 - The Home Maker by Dorothy Canfield

18:19 - Beauty by Robin McKinley

18:22 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

18:25 - The Piper’s Pursuit by Melanie Dickerson

21:01 - The Hunger by Alma Katsu

22:09 - Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

24:14 - Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

25:10 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

25:12 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

26:20 - Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

26:24 - The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

28:25 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

29:26 - Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix

29:42 - Somebody Feed Phil (and I’ll Have What Phil’s Having) on Netflix

Slow But Steady:

30:14 - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

30:30 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

31:13 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

32:01 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Deep Dive - Cozy Mysteries:

34:15 - Louise Penny (ahem, NOT cozy)

38:58 - Aunt Dimity Series by Nancy Atherton

40:18 - The Secret, Book, and Scone Society by Ellery Adams (Book 2) (Book 3)

41:20 - Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

41:31 - On What Grounds (The Coffeehouse Mysteries) by Cleo Coyle

41:43 - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

42:09 - The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (The Cat Who… Series) by Lillian Jackson Braun

42:24 - Agatha Raisin series and Hamish MacBeth series by M.C. Beaton

42:53 - The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax (Mrs. Polifax series) by Dorothy Gillman

43:05 - A Murder At the Vicarage (Miss Marple series) by Agatha Christie

43:24 - Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart

43:56 - Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

46:00 - @howjessreads on Instagram (check out her #sillysundayshelf collections!)

Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands:

46:53 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

47:02 - Miss Jane by Brad Watson

47:09 - MomAdvice Book Club with Amy Allen Clark

47:18 - Amy’s Interview with the author, Brad Watson

49:39 - The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan