The Watchung Booksellers Podcast
Watchung Booksellers' community of writers and readers dive deep into what they do for the love of books. Watchung Booksellers is located in the heart of Montclair, NJ, a literary beacon filled with writers, journalists, publishers, and avid readers. Each year we host hundreds of author events and every day the most interesting and dedicated readers walk through our doors. Their insights and enthusiasm have inspired us to share our conversations with book-lovers everywhere. We invite you to listen and be a part of our community!
Episodes
In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers podcast, our customers tell us what their favorite reads of 2025 were. Memoir, fiction, manga, YA and more ... these rave reviews will help you find a perfect book for someone on your list.
Resources:
Libby (Audiobooks through your library)
Libro.fm ( Audio books through your indie bookstore)
Books:
A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here.
Regist...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, our buyers and booksellers give you recommendations for getting your holiday shopping done early! Nicole, Caroline, Asia, and Susie offer a slew of great ideas for gifts for everyone on your list. Listen to their suggestions (you can see them listed here), then come in store on Festivus Friday ready to shop!
Nicole Ban is a lifelong New Jersey resident who began her bookstore care...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature author Mona Awad, author of the bestselling novel Bunny, for the release of its sequel, We Love You, Bunny. She talked with Laura Sims about coming back to the dark and hilarious characters in Bunny, her love of fairy tales, and what's next in the Bunny-verse.
Mona Awad is the bestselling author of the novels Rouge, All’s Well, Bunny, and 13 Ways of Looking at a F...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Henry Neff and Cyndie Spiegel return to talk about how they stay creative during stressful times. From being soulful to joining a kinetic "kommunity," they share some great tips (and laughs) on how to ignite your creativity when life is hard.
Henry Neff is the author and illustrator of seven fantasy novels, including the 5-book "Tapestry" series and a...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Tom Perrotta and Warren Zanes discuss the process of adapting their books into film and television.
Tom Perrotta is the author of eleven works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher, which were adapted into acclaimed HBO series. His new novel is Ghost Town.
Go back in time and listen to this conversation about Historical Fiction from Season 2!
In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laurie Lico Albanese and Anastasia Rubis discuss reading and writing historical fiction.
Laurie Lico Albanese is a historical novelist, most recently of the acclaimed novel Hester, which gives voice to Hester Prynne in a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. Hester was a Book of the Month cl...
In honor of spooky season, enjoy this repeat episode from Season 1!
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laura Sims and Hillary Frank discuss thrillers--how we define them, why we are drawn to them, and how they compare in different mediums: print, audio, film, and television.
Laura Sims is the author of How Can I Help You, a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and CrimeReads Best Book of ...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, food writer Marissa Rothkopf Bates and bookseller Nicole Ban talk about the joy of cooking and cookbook reading.
Marissa Rothkopf Bates is the creator and host of The Secret Life of Cookies podcast. A professionally trained chef and journalist, she writes for The New York Times, Newsweek, Food52, and Publishers Weekly. Her first cookbook The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies ...
In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, our customers, authors, and booksellers read excerpts from their favorite banned books.
Books:
A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here.
Register for Upcoming Events.
The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ.
The ...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, writers Ian Frazier and Cora Frazier discuss the art of writing humor and the family stories they mine for comedy.
Ian Frazier is the author of Travels in Siberia, Great Plains, On the Rez, Lamentations of the Father and Coyote V. Acme, among other works, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. His latest work, Paradise Bronx: The Life and Times of New York's Greatest Bo...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature the launch event for Bobbi Brown's memoir Still Bobbi. In this lively and heartwarming conversation, Bobbi discussed her book, her businesses, and her life in Montclair with business leader Carolyn Everson.
Bobbi Brown is a renowned makeup artist and entrepreneur, best-selling author, sought after speaker, beauty industry icon, and a hotelier. She founded two succe...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, our events team discusses how we select and host author events. Aubrey Cece, manager of The Kids' Room and Margot Sage-EL, owner emeritus talk with podcast co-producer Kathryn Counsell, who is also the store's Director of Author Events.
Aubrey Cece is the Kids’ Room manager, children’s book and gift buyer, and children’s author event planner. She’s a born creative with t...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, Kate Zernike and Rachel Swarns talk about their professions as journalists and authors, and how they developed their long-form articles into books.
Rachel L. Swarns is a journalism professor at New York University and a contributing writer for The New York Times. She is the author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church and Americ...
In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, author Jemimah Wei and editor Lee Boudreaux discuss the author/editor relationship and the work each does to develop and publish a novel.
Lee Boudreaux is an executive editor at Doubleday, specializing in fiction. She edited James by Percival Everett and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and also has the great pleasure of working with such writers as Claire Lombardo, Kate Atk...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, four of our community's authors read excerpts from their current and upcoming books. Anne Burt reads from Please Don't Lie, Christina Baker Kline reads from The Foursome, Henry Neff reads from The Witchstone, and Jemimah Wei reads from The Original Daughter. All can be ordered (or preordered) from Watchung Booksellers.
Christina Baker Kline is the Number 1 New York Time...
In this episode of the Watchung Bookselelrs Podcast, authors Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt discuss collaborating together on their first thriller, Please Don't Lie.
Christina Baker Kline is the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World. She is the recipient of the New England Society prize for fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes &am...
In this bonus episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we share a recording from an in-store event this spring with Amy Larocca, author of How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time, in conversation with Jason Tanz.
Amy Larocca is an award-winning American journalist. She spent twenty years working at New York magazine as both fashion director and editor at large. Her writing has appeared in Th...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, librarians Laura Sims and Kerri Sullivan discuss their alternate jobs as writers and editors and how the two careers mesh together.
Laura Sims is the author, most recently, of How Can I Help You, a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and CrimeReads Best Book of the Year. She works part-time as a children's librarian in Millburn, New Jersey.
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Anne Berest and Claire Berest discuss their novel, Gabriële, with moderator Violaine Huisman during a partnership event with the Montclair Literary Festival, the Montclair Public Library, and the Montclair Campus of L'Alliance-New York.
Anne Berest’s first novel to appear in English, The Postcard (Europa, 2023), was a national bestseller, a Library Journal, NPR, and ...
In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature a compilation of book recommendations from our customers, recorded in store on Independent Bookstore Day. Enjoy this varied and wonderful list of books!
Libro. Fm Audiobook of Walking Practice
Books:
A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here.
Register for Upcoming Events.
The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by ...
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