Podcast appearances and mentions of James R Benn

Welcome to Episode 218, featuring a Playwright Spotlight with Laura Thoma about her new Christmas play, MISS MARGARET'S BARTON COTTAGE CHRISTMAS SURPRISE, coming this December to Drama Works Theatre in Old Saybrook. We made up for lost time with a slew of Biblio Adventures, starting with a discussion with James R. Benn at the Mystic & Noank Library, after which we dashed over to see the new home of Bank Square Books in Stonington, who co-hosted the event. Next was the Windham-Campbell Literary Festival at Yale in New Haven, where we bought books curbside at the Possible Futures Bookmobile. Days later, we were thrilled to attend the grand opening of Montgomery & Taggert in Chester – Connecticut's first Romance Bookstore! Lastly, we saw DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Legacy Theatre in Stony Creek. We did some reading, too, since our last episode. Short stories via the Decameron Project: “Clinical Notes” by Liz Moore “Recognition” by Victor LaValle Novels:

We are thrilled to welcome James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle World War II mystery series. The nineteenth book in the series, THE PHANTOM PATROL, is out today! It's Winter 1944, and Boyle is on a mission that takes him from the beleaguered art world of Paris to the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge. Some of the novels we discuss in this episode include THE MOST by Jessica Anthony, THE GATHERING by C.J. Tudor, DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver, OUT AT THE PLATE: The Dot Wilkinson Story by Lynn Ames, and the third quarter readalong in our Year of Reading Romance, ENVY by Sandra Brown. Emily took a couple of older literary journals off her shelf and read two short stories: “The Miracle Years of Little Fork” by Rebecca Makkai in Ploughshares (Summer 2015 edition) and “Why Were They Throwing Bricks?” by Jenny Zhang in n+1 (Spring 2017). We also talk about what we are #currentlyreading, including two that are out now: A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens and, perfect for Banned Books Week: THAT LIBRARIAN: THE FIGHT AGAINST BOOK BANNING IN AMERICA by Amanda Jones. And two that are forthcoming: THE MIGHTY RED by Louise Erdrich (out 10/1/2024 from Harper) and JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF: A Rare Bookseller's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend by Rebecca Romney (2/18/2025 from Marysue Rucci Books/Simon & Schuster). In #BiblioAdventures, Emily had a lovely visit to the New Canaan Public Library, and Chris continues to rewatch the Harry Potter movies. As always, we talk about more books and adventures than we can squeeze into this quick preview. We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do, please leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen or tell a friend about us. Happy Reading! Emily & Chris

Suit Up! Join the show as we talk with James R. Benn about his Billy Boyle series, crafting memorable titles, writing historical fiction, Ian Fleming and much more! Follow James! https://www.jamesrbenn.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jamesrbenn/ https://www.facebook.com/jamesrbenn Follow The Show! https://terrancelayhew.com/suitup/ https://www.instagram.com/suitup.podcast/ https://www.facebook.com/tlayhew Check Out my Book! One Man's Treasure. Publish date 9/3/24, available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle now! https://www.amazon.com/One-Mans-Treasure-Terrance-Layhew-ebook/dp/B0DCCXDZVD

Welcome to Episode 199! We have read A LOT since our last regularly recorded episode in December, so be prepared! In our “Just Read” segment, we talk about books by Lois Hamill, Hisashi Kashiwai, Martha Dickinson Bianchi, Josie Silver, James R. Benn, Alice Hoffman, Kate Jacobs, Tiago Forte, Julie Alvarez, Luanne Rice, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ann Hood, and Abraham Verghese. Phew! Spot any of your favorite authors in that list? The funny thing is, we are also currently reading a bunch of books. Go figure! We also have some fun Biblio Adventures to tell you about. Chris went to the New Bedford Whaling Museum for part of their 2024 Moby-Dick Marathon and then had a lovely browse through the New Bedford Free Library. Emily attended Katherine May's Book Club with special guest Diane Henry, author of the cookbook Roast Figs Sugar Snow. As always, there is a lot more in the episode than we include in our blurb. But we also want to remind you that our first quarter readalong for our year of reading romance is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. We hope you'll join us. Happy Listening & Happy Reading!

Barbara Peters in conversation with James R Benn

Barbara Peters in conversation with James R. Benn

Barbara Peters in conversation with James R Benn

In Road of Bones, James R. Benn’s 16th installment of his Billy Boyle series of World War II mysteries, Billy is off to the USSR, where gaslighting is a way of life, a map cannot be found for love or money, and Night Witches take to the skies to silently rain terror on Germans fighting... Read more »

Barbara Peters in conversation with James R. Benn

"Road of Bones" is the 16th book in James R. Benn's series of Billy Boyle World War II mystery novels. Benn talks with Rick Koster about the historical backdrop for the novel, writing during the solitude of the pandemic, and the dark history of Russia's real life Road of Bones. "Road of Bones" will be released on September 7, 2021 with a book signing at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT.

Barbara Peters in conversation with James R. Benn and Francine Matthews

In The Red Horse, Captain Billy Boyle—the inimitable protagonist of James R. Benn’s remarkable series of mysteries set in World War Two Europe—is sent to a secret hospital in the English countryside where he can recover from a psychotic break brought on by an overdose of amphetamines. If only recovery was his only task, because... Read more »

James R. Benn sits down with Nancy Pearl to discuss his Billy Boyle World War II Mystery Series (currently comprised of 14 books) and how he first got the idea for the stories. He talks about the benefits of having his young protagonist be related to General Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower.  Benn, who didn't start his writing career until age 50, explains his immersive research methods and how he keeps his history-rich fiction feeling authentic. 

In When Hell Struck Twelve, the 14th installment in James R. Benn’s series of World War Two mysteries, the Allied Invasion of France is underway, but the war is far from over for U.S. Army Captain, and special detective for General Eisenhower, Billy Boyle and his friend and fellow warrior, Lieutenant Piotr Kazimierz—known as Kaz.... Read more »

Welcome back to the Big Book Club! In our introductory episode of Season 2, Jennie, Megan and Pete chat about the reading schedule for "Middlemarch" and the discussion format of this season's Big Book Club: We're reading for 3 weeks, and then taking a week off to catch up (and repeat) We're hosting 2 in person chats in the off weeks, for people who don't like online discussion We're holding the online discussion on Goodreads. It's a closed group, so if you haven't asked to join yet, do so before 8 p.m. on Sunday, if you want to take part in the conversation about chapters 1-9. We also share our feelings about introductory sentences, wonder what the prologue means, Megan schools us on how much of a badass George Eliot was (especially for a Victorian lady), and Alex makes big pronouncements about "Wuthering Heights." And of course we share our palate cleansers: Jennie - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 2 Pete - MAGFEST - the Music and Gaming Festival - and Super Art Fight - "The greatest live art competition in the known universe" Megan - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 1 Alex - "The Devouring: a Billy Boyle World War II Mystery" by James R. Benn  

Author James R. Benn shares his gripping historical mysteries set in the midst of the soldiers fighting World War II. Find out what's behind the vivid action scenes and the incredible characters. Also learn about October Library events and the PBS Great American Read. Remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. wendywrites.org

Episode Fifty Nine Show Notes CW = Chris Wolak EF = Emily Fine Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More. If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can DONATE HERE. Join our Goodreads Group! Please subscribe to our email list here. – Currently Reading – Scribe of Siena – Melodie Winawer (CW)(audio) Solumn Graves (Billy Boyle Mystery Series #13) – James R. Benn (CW) The Odyssey – Homer, translated by Emily Wilson (CW) The NY Times article discussing the new translation of The Odyssey by Emily Wilson can be found HERE. – Just Read – Scribe of Siena – Melodie Winawer (EF) The Crab from Yesterday: The Life-Cycle of a Horseshoe Crab – John Frederick Waters and W.T. Mars (CW) Rooted In Deceit (A Greenhouse Mystery #4) – Wendy Tyson (EF) The Outliers – Kimberly McCreight (EF) The Scattering – Kimberly McCreight (EF) The Collide – Kimberly McCreight (CW)(EF) – Biblio Adventures – Chris and Emily watched the 1933 film version of Little Women September 13, 2018 – Emily went to RJ Julia Madison to see Kate Walbert discuss her book His Favorites – Upcoming Jaunts – September 15, 2018 at 2:00 – Chris will be in conversation with Kimberly McCreight at Bookclub Bookstore & More to discuss the third book in the Outliers trilogy: The Collide September 17, 2018 – Joseph Olshan will be at RJ Julia Madison to discuss his new book, Black Diamond Fall. September 20, 2018 at RJ Julia Madison and October 3 at Wesleyan RJ Julia – Jason Stanley will discuss his book, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. September 27, 2018 – Bill Goldstein will be discussing his book, The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature, at RJ Julia Madison September 27, 2018 at 7:00 – Come meet the Book Cougars at Mohegan Sun for a Historical Fiction Panel. Click HERE to purchase your $5 ticket. Panelists are: Fiona Davis –The Masterpiece Marie Benedict – Carnegie’s Maid James R. Benn – Solumn Graves (Billy Boyle Mystery Series #13) Melodie Winawer – Scribe of Siena October 13 – Boston Book Festival October 18, 2018 at 2:00 – Chris will be hosting the Willa Cather book club at Bookclub Bookstore & More. The book: Death Comes to the Archbishop – Upcoming Reads – Solumn Graves (Billy Boyle Mystery Series #13) – James R. Benn (EF) The Book of Essie – Meghan Maclean Weir (EF) Strike Your Heart – Amélie Nothomb (EF) A Winter’s Promise – Christelle Dabos (EF) Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water’s Edge – Susan Hand Shetterly (CW) Horseshoe Crags and Velvet Worms: The Story of the Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind – Richard Fortey (CW) Behold the Dreamers – Imbolo Mbue (CW) The Witches: Salem, 1692 – Stacy Schiff (CW) Labyrinth of the Spirits – Carlos Ruiz Zafon (CW) – Also Mentioned – Cara Black Diane Mott Davidson The Kate – Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center showing of Little Women The movie Holiday starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant Fear: Trump in the White House – Bob Woodward Fear and Trembling – Amélie Nothomb Tokyo Fiancée – Amélie Nothomb Mel’s Bookland Adventures The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Angels Game – Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Prisoner of Heaven – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Episode Fifty Six Show Notes CW = Chris Wolak EF = Emily Fine Join our Goodreads Group! Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! Please subscribe to our email list here. – Currently Reading/Listening – The Prisoner in the Castle – Susan Elia MacNeal (CW) Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Pot – Edward Lee (EF) All About Boats: The Evacuation of Manhattan Island on September 11, 2001 – edited by Mike Magee (CW) The Stars Are Fire – Anita Shreve (EF) Middlemarch – George Eliot (CW) – Just Read – Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan (CW) The Masterpiece – Fiona Davis (EF) – Biblio Adventures – Emily went to RJ Julia’s Booksellers in Madison, CT to see James R. Benn author of the Billy Boyle series in conversation with Cara Black author of the Aimee Leduc series.   Emily went to Vermont and visited Crow Bookshop in Burlington, VT. She also walked passed, but was unable to go inside, Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Portland, ME. Chris went to Chicago and visited the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, American Writers Museum and saw the Gwendolyn Brooks statue. She also visited Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville, IL and Barbara’s Bookstore O’Hare. Chris went to Bookclub Bookstore & More to see our Mystery Man, John Valeri, in conversation with Emily Arsenault author of The Last Thing I Told You. Chris attended the grand opening of That Bookstore in Wethersfield, CT. – Upcoming Jaunts – August 8 – Chris will be headed to Bank Square Books to see Wick Griswold & Stephen Jones discuss their book Connecticut Ferries. August 24 – Institute Library in New Haven is hosting a Library Thing-a-Thon. Help them digitize their catalog! September 12-14 – Wyndham Campbell Prizes Festival September 15 – Chris will moderate a session with Kimberly McCreight, author of the Outliers Trilogy, at Book Club Bookstore & More. September 27, 2018 – The Book Cougars will be hosting an historical fiction author event in partnership with Bank Square Books at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. Please join us along with Fiona Davis, James R. Benn, Melodie Winnawer and Marie Benedict. You can order your tickets here. – Upcoming Reads – The Still Point of the Turning World – Emily Rapp (EF) Courageous Women of the Vietnam War: Medics, Journalists, Survivors and More – Kathryn J. Atwood (CW) Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Wolff (CW) Song of Kali – Dan Simmons (CW)  – Also Mentioned – Books Are Magic Bookstore Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen – cookbook by Edward Lee Reading Envy Podcast The Book Barn in Niantic, CT Fiona Davis: The Address and The Dollhouse Rosemary’s Baby– Ira Levin A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving Maud Martha – Gwendolyn Brooks Chris blogs at WildmooBooks Poster Child: A Memoir – Emily Rapp The Classics Club Maurice – E.M. Forster

The news includes: Ancestry.com has added to its website more than 1,700 recorded oral history interviews from immigrants who arrived in the U.S. through Ellis Island. FamilyLink has partnered with Historic Map Works and will soon provide access to the world's leading historical map collection. Ancestry.com has launched the largest searchable online yearbook collection with more than 60,000 yearbook records. James R. Benn, B.A., M.L.S., has become the new director of the Godfrey Memorial Library in Middleton, Connecticut. Ancestry.com has released Family Tree Maker 2011 with more than 100 enhancements to the software. Sirius Genealogy 2.0 has announced that it has completed their transformation from a simple blog, into a complete online community for Amateur & Professional Genealogists. Membership is free. In addition to the general community atmosphere, SG2 has developed numerous Google Gadgets, Web Tools and other services to assist genealogists in their mission. Many more exciting tools are on their way! "Rare colour footage" of the London Blitz has been discovered in an attic. It has digitised and made available online at http://www.westendatwar.org.uk/category_idtxt__place.aspx. RootsTech, A New Genealogy and Technology Conference, will be held on February 10-12, 2011, in Salt Lake City. Learn more at http://www.rootstech.familysearch.org. ICAPGen will host a family history conference titled "Becoming an Excellent Genealogist" on October 22-23, 2010, at the Downtown Radisson Hotel in Salt Lake City. For more information and to register, visit http://www.icapgen.org. The Federation of Genealogical Societies 2011 Conference, "Pathways to the Heartland," will be held September 7-10, 2011, in Springfield, Illinois. More information will be available in coming months at the FGS website at http://www.fgs.org. The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) has announced its annual Excellence in Writing Competition for 2011. Details and an entry form are available at their website at http://www.isfhwe.org. Paul Larsen has released the fourth edition of his book, Crash Course in Genealogy. It is available in print and in an advanced digital eBook format (CD or instant download). Visit http://www.crashcoursebook.com to learn more or to purchase the book or download it. A recent article in the Toledo [Ohio] Blade at http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100916/NEWS16/9150359 provides an update to the story of the Clyde, Ohio, cemetery that was struck by vandals. Repairs and restoration are under way. Listener email includes: Mitch is looking for details about his 3rd great-grandfather and hopes our listeners can help. He believes his ancestor appears on the 1852 California State Census for Placer County, Page 60, Line 28. However, the digitized image at Ancestry.com is so dark that he is having difficulty reading the first initial. He is hoping that the original census page or a better copy of the microfilm exist and can help him discern the intial. Can anyone visit the California State Library and personally check the microfilm for Mitch? Bill suggests that The Guys regularly report on what they are researching and the resources they are using. Walter commented on the discussion in the podcast from the FGS Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, concerning which is the older U.S. public university: the University of North Carolina or the University of Georgia. He reports that, while Georgia was chartered first, UNC was the first to accept students and begin classes. William & Mary is older but was originally a private university. Dan suggested to Drew that he work with Newark City Directories for 1920 in his quest to locate his grandparents at that time. Karl followed up on our interview with Dr. John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., that was aired in February. Dr. Colletta discussed the use of "the Federal Cases" books for federal court research. Karl indicates that these books have been digitized and are available at the Internet Archive site at http://www.archive.org. He states that Volume 30 is the index, accessible at http://www.archive.org/details/gov.uscourts.fedcases.30_2. This will help you use Volumes 1-29. Clive asks for Drew's opinion about getting the most from a Y-chromosome DNA test, and whether he also needs results from the mtDNA test. Ann asks about viruses and phishing with the iPhone and iPad. Kay says hello and comments on how very much she enjoyed the FGS Conference in Knoxville. She is hooked and plans to attend other national conferences. Michael shares his method of storing information in the form of metadata with his JPEG images. Denis provided a link to the French version of Wikipedia for information about the town of La Clayette. (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Clayette) Jenna asks Drew about the iPad and whether Legacy or RootsMagic 4 can be run on that device. She also asks about Dropbox. Audrey Collins from The National Archives in the UK reports that she is enjoying her iPad and accesses books from Google Books and the Internet Archive, and that she uses the GoodReader app. She also enjoyed George's "Carolina French." She shared copies of French marriage documents in TNA's collection so that Drew can practice his French. Dan is using an iPad app called Traces of the Past, a genealogy app. Drew will check it out and report on his experience with it.