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Bookish Flights: Themed Book Recommendations & Author Interviews

Discover your next great read with themed book recommendations, author interviews, and books you won’t want to miss.

Hosted by Kara Infante, Bookish Flights is a weekly book podcast featuring conversations with authors and storytellers about books, writing, reading, and life. Every episode features a book flight: three book recommendations paired by theme, topic, or genre. Think of it as a wine flight of books! From historical fiction and mysteries to memoirs, romance, fantasy, and classics, there’s always something new to discover.

We’re not literary critics, and you certainly don’t need to be one to join the conversation. We’re simply people who love books and love talking about them. Whether you’re a lifelong reader, exploring a new genre, or just getting back into reading, you’re welcome here.

I started Bookish Flights to explore books outside my usual reading habits. Along the way, I’ve discovered that books do so much more than entertain us. They introduce us to new perspectives, help us understand one another, and bring people together. I believe books can be both a bridge and a balm for loneliness.

Tune in every Wednesday for a new conversation and a fresh book flight! Find more book recommendations, our free BFF Book Club, and Family Book Flights at www.bookishflights.com.

Latest Episodes:

Building Tiny Troops: Amy Schweizer on Raising Healthy Kids in Military Life (E207) Apr 01, 2026

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Amy Schweizer. Amy is a USMC military spouse of 15 years, mom to three boys, and an expert in youth sports development. She has played soccer for over 20 years, culminating with being a member of the Cincinnati Ladyhawks of the USL. She is the Founder and Owner of Tiny Troops Soccer, a developmental program for children ages 2-5 with 35 locations worldwide. She loves creating physical activity programs that benefit the overall well-being of military children, families, and the surrounding communities. She is also a passionate advocate for military spouse employment. Her first book - I Will Be Okay - Adventures of a Military Kid - was selected as the 2021 Inspirational Leader of the Year by The Rosie Network. If you are interested in grabbing a copy or a few of I Will Be Okay - Adventures of a Military Kid, please connect with Amy at info@tinytroops.com.

Episode Highlights:

Navigating frequent moves while trying to build and maintain a career.
The reality of parenting without nearby family support.
How Tiny Troops Soccer started from a personal need.
Why early childhood movement and play matter so much.
Building a business that can move with military life.
Supporting military kids through transition and change.
Advocacy for military spouse employment and flexible career paths.
Encouragement for military spouses trying to build something of their own.

Connect with Amy:

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Book Flight

Traction by Gino Wickham
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Never Lie by Freida McFadden

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

BFF Book Club - A Murder Most Fowl with Carmela Dutra (E206) Mar 27, 2026

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Carmela Dutra, a Bay Area–based writer who loves food trucks, family, and cozy mysteries. With a love for quirky characters and humor-filled storytelling, Carmela draws inspiration from everyday life, farmers’ markets, and the unexpected moments that make a story memorable.

In our conversation, we talk about the inspiration behind her food-truck-centered mystery, A Murder Most Fowl, writing sibling dynamics, and how she balances humor with high-stakes crime. Carmela also shares what readers can expect next in the series—including book two, Hot Wings and Homicide.

Episode Highlights:

The inspiration behind a food truck–centered mystery, including brainstorming sessions with her husband.
Writing twins and the dynamic between Beth and Seth.
Why food and cozy mysteries are such a perfect pairing.
Balancing humor with suspense in a murder mystery.
A peek into book two: Hot Wings and Homicide. If you’ve pre-ordered a copy of the book, make sure to email, marketing@crookedlanebooks.com for your exclusive recipe cards.

Connect with Carmela:

📚 Next Meet the Author Event
🗓️ April 21st | 🕓 5 pm PST / 7 pm CST / 8 pm EST

If you’d like to join us for an upcoming discussion, next month’s pick is The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake by Rachel Linden - a beautiful story set in Italy that weaves together a magical cookbook, family history, and a summer of second chances. Rachel will be joining us live, and you’re invited to read along and be part of the conversation. Register Here.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Carmela’s previous Bookish Flights episode
Sarah Adams books
And Now, Back to Youby B.K. Borison
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Book Flight

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard
A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard
Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

Loving Someone Through Mental Illness: Grief, Resilience, & the Stories We Tell Ourselves with Sheila Hamilton (E205) Mar 24, 2026

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Today’s conversation is a tender one. I’m joined by Sheila Hamilton — journalist, speaker, and author of All the Things We Never Knew, a memoir she wrote in the aftermath of her late husband’s descent into mental illness. This book is part story, part resource — and it captures the confusion, grief, hope, and fierce love that come with navigating a fractured mental health system while trying to hold a family together.

If you’ve ever loved someone who was struggling…this episode is for you. We talk resilience, motherhood, sisterhood — and the powerful books that shaped Sheila along the way.

Episode Highlights:

Why Sheila felt compelled to write All the Things We Never Knew after her husband’s mental health crisis.
How her background in journalism shaped the book into both memoir and resource.
The realities of navigating the mental health system while trying to support a family.
Why honesty about struggle can help people find connection and community.
What resilience really looks like in the middle of grief and uncertainty.
The role motherhood played in helping her move forward.

Connect with Sheila:

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Virginia Woolf books
The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch
McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh

Book Flight

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

From Military Spouse to Entrepreneur: Building Community & Women Empowering Women with Wendy Hively (E204) Mar 18, 2026

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Wendy Hively—a Navy spouse, retired scientist, and entrepreneur who has spent more than a decade building a business that supports military families. After giving up two jobs in her career field during her husband’s service, Wendy experienced firsthand the employment challenges many military spouses face. That experience led her to entrepreneurship as a way to create both stability and purpose.

She is the founder of Charliemadison Originals, a lifestyle brand named after her daughters and inspired by three generations of military service in her family. The brand not only celebrates military life but also gives back—5% of every purchase is donated to organizations supporting servicemembers and their families. Wendy also shares about her newest venture, Charliemadison Labs, a women-led coaching community that helps entrepreneurs get out of their own way and grow their businesses.

Episode Highlights:

Starting a business with $200 in the bank.
The employment challenges military spouses often face.
Why entrepreneurship can be a powerful alternative career path.
Skills military spouses develop that translate to business success.
Building community through Charliemadison Originals.
Wendy’s newest venture: Charliemadison Labs women-led coaching for entrepreneurs.
Her book flight celebrating women who empower women.

Connect with Wendy:

Show Notes

Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourne

Book Flight

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourne

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

Historical Fiction: Remarkable Women and the Rich History of the South with Katherine Scott Crawford (E203) Mar 11, 2026

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Today on Bookish Flights, I’m joined by Katherine Scott Crawford, award-winning author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant and Keowee Valley, history enthusiast, and self-proclaimed recovering academic. An eleventh-generation Southerner, Katherine directs writing retreats at a remote mountain lodge in Western North Carolina, where she lives with her family and would much rather be in the woods with her dog than anywhere else. A former backpacking guide and adjunct professor, her writing has appeared in newspapers across the country and abroad. If you love historical fiction, this conversation is for you.

Episode Highlights:

The deep, layered history of the American South
Her novel The Miniaturist’s Assistant, set in Charleston and the research and imagination behind bringing 1804 and 2004 to life
Why historical fiction is the best form of time travel
Her writing process and the rhythms of a creative life
The idea that reading is a hobby you actively choose above all else
How living in Western North Carolina means you can’t “trip over a rock without tripping over history”

Katherine describes herself as a history nerd, and it shows in the best way. We talk about time as something mysterious and porous, how the past presses into the present, and how fiction allows us to experience that overlap in deeply human ways. Her biggest hope for readers? A truly transportive experience into both 1804 and 2004 Charleston.

Connect with Katherine:

Show Notes

Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Black Wolf by Louise Penny
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Book Flight

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Lost Book of Eleanor Dareby Kimberly Brock
The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

Faith, History, and Forgiveness: Inside Historical Christian Romance with Tracie Peterson (E202) Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Tracie Peterson, often called the Queen of Historical Christian Fiction. An ECPA, CBA, and USA Today bestselling author of more than 110 books, Tracie has spent decades weaving together faith, history, and romance for readers around the world. Her guiding motto in both life and writing is Soli Deo Gloria — For God Alone the Glory. A Kansas native now living in the mountains of Montana with her husband, Jim, Tracie joins me to discuss her latest novel, Faithful of Heart, part of the Minnesota Legacy series.

Episode Highlights:

Her deep research process, especially her love of firsthand historical accounts.
Why setting functions almost like a secondary character in her novels.
The heart behind Faithful of Heart and what’s ahead for the Minnesota Legacy series.
Balancing reading and writing, and how deadlines shape her reading life.
The themes of hope and forgiveness that thread through her stories.
Her book flight includes historical Christian romances that beautifully blend faith, perseverance, and love.

This conversation is thoughtful, grounded, and rooted in a lifetime of faithful storytelling.

Connect with Tracie:

Show Notes

Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Book Flight

A Song in the Dark by Kimberley Woodhouse
Mail Order Duchess / Mail Order Baroness by Misty M. Bellar
Christy by Catherine Marshall

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

That’s What Friends Are For: Aging, Authenticity, & Found Family with Wade Rouse (E201) Mar 04, 2026

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In today’s episode, I sit down with USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and internationally bestselling author Wade Rouse. Many readers know Wade by his pen name, Viola Shipman, his grandmother’s name chosen to honor the woman whose stories and heirlooms inspire his fiction. But this novel marks something new. That’s What Friends Are For is the first book he has published under his own name. Inspired by The Golden Girls, the novel follows four gay men “of a certain age” who have built a vibrant chosen family in Palm Springs, until an unexpected family arrival begins to unravel long-held secrets.

Episode Highlights:

Why Wade chose his grandmother’s name as his pen name
What publishing under his own name represents at this stage of his life
The Golden Girls inspiration behind “The Golden Gays”
Writing about aging in America
The power of found family and chosen friendship
Humor as a doorway to deeper emotional truth
The legacy behind his beloved Viola Shipman novels

If you have ever built family beyond blood, navigated reinvention, or believe friendship carries us through life’s hardest seasons, this episode is for you.

Connect with Wade:

Show Notes

Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Erma Bombeck books
David Sedaris books
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
The Last of the Savages by Jay McInerney
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

Book Flight

Awakeby Jen Hatmaker
The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber
Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

An Invitation to Slow Down: The Sacred Work of Showing Up in Everyday Conversations with Matt Mattson (E200) Feb 25, 2026

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I’m chatting with Matt Mattson, a writer, speaker, social mystic, & spiritual leader dedicated to cultivating sacred human connection. Matt is the founder of BETWEEN, an innovative and deeply inclusive global faith community that invites people into curiosity, conversation, and shared moments of meaning. His work blends ancient wisdom with modern insight, helping people notice and name the sacred woven into everyday encounters. We are here today to celebrate the release of his newest book, Cathedrals of Connection.

Connect with Matt:

Books mentioned:

Kitchen Confidentialby Anthony Bourdain
How to Win Friends & Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie
Everything is a Storyby Kaitlin B. Curtice

Book Flight

Aflame by Pico Iyer
The Healing Power of the Santuario de Chimayó by Brett Hendrickson
Holy Envy by Barbara Brown Taylor
The Girl Who Baptized Herself by Megan Watterson

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

BFF Book Club - The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (E199) Feb 20, 2026

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Today is our latest BFF Book Club. This month, we’re joined by by Annie Harnett, author of The Road to Tender Hearts. Annie is the award-winning author of two additional novels, Rabbit Cakeand Unlikely Animals.

Episode Highlights:

The inspiration behind The Road to Tender Hearts and how Annie transformed personal anxiety into sharp, heartfelt fiction.
Her writing process of “going for the joke first” and then layering in what she calls the “emo copy” to bring emotional depth.
Why humor is her entry point into heavier themes.
How her experience as a former bookseller shaped her storytelling and reading life.
Annie’s book flight featuring four of her all-time favorite books.

Connect with Annie:

📚 Next Meet the Author Event
🗓️ March 15th | 🕓 3 pm PST / 5 pm CST / 6 pm EST

We’re thrilled to welcome Carmela Dutra, author of A Murder Most Fowl, a cozy food truck murder mystery, to our next Book Club gathering! Come for the conversation and stay for the community.👉 Register Here.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Karmen Somers episode featuring The Road to Tender Hearts(E168)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Save the Catby Blake Snyder
Emily Henry’s book
Margo’s Got Money Trouble by Rufi Thorpe
Shark Heartby Emily Habeck
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Anxious People by Fredrik Bakman

Book Flight

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Swamplandia!by Karen Russell
John Irving’s books

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

Remembering Sicily: War, Family, and Forgotten Italian American History with Lindsay Marie Morris (E198) Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Lindsay Marie Morris, a novelist and journalist based in Los Angeles whose work is deeply rooted in her Sicilian-American heritage. Lindsay’s debut novel, The Last Letter from Sicily, was inspired by her grandmother’s story and explores love, resilience, and long-held family secrets during World War II. Her second novel, Beneath the Sicilian Stars, returns to this era, following a family divided between California and Sicily as the war forces them to confront questions of loyalty, belonging, and sacrifice.

Episode Highlights:

The often-overlooked history of Sicilians and Italian Americans during World War II, including the impact of the Alien Enemy Act and the internment of Italian Americans, history rarely taught in American schools.
How family stories are often passed down in fragments, and the role fiction can play in uncovering the fuller, more complicated truth.
Exploring Sicilian culture through food, including why arancini are shaped differently depending on where you are on the island.
A Sicily-focused book flight, plus additional reading recommendations on Italian and Italian-American history.
How Lindsay connects with readers through her newsletter, sharing behind-the-scenes insights, upcoming events, and travel notes from the road.

Connect with Lindsay:

Show Notes

Some links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.

Books and authors mentioned in the episode:

Una Storia Segreta by Lawrence DiStasi
Laura Ingalls Wilder books
Neopolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante
Eternal by Lisa Scottoline
Renata Tebaldi: The Voice of an Angel by Carlamaria Casanova

Book Flight

The Peoples of Sicily by Louis Mendola & Jacqueline Alio
The Leopard by Giovanni Di Lampedusa
Sicily on My Mind by Joseph Cione

The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.

Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:

One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity

Three books. One common theme.

→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily

Support the show

Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!

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