Books Are My People

Latest Episodes:

Fertile Senior Citizens with Laurie Frankel Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

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.

My website

Support the show

Get your Books Are My People merch here!
I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

Meet Melissa Clark - A Force of Nature and My Sister! May 18, 2026

Show notes

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!

Talking Dogs and Art May 04, 2026

Show notes

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!

Monsters in the Archives - My Year of Fear with Stephen King Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

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!

Brian Platzer - The Optimists Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

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!

Judy Blume: A Life - with Mark Oppenheimer Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

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!

Booker Prize Nominee Charlotte Wood and The Natural Way of Things Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

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 booksaremypwople@gmail.com

Support the show

Get your Books Are My People merch here!
I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week!

Bad Asians - a conversation with author Lillian Li Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

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!

Meet Bookish Serial Makers: Monica and Cortney from Craft Cook Read Repeat Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

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!

Heated Rivalry: I'm Going There Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

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!