Literature & Libations

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Kristen Mei Chase’s 2023 novel A Thousand Miles to Graceland. To be honest, we spend most of the time talking about Elvis and Taylor Swift. And we’re not sorry about it.This week’s drink: Velvet Elvis via drunkardsalmanac.comINGREDIENTS:1.5 oz Tennessee whiskey (like Jack Daniels)1 oz black raspberry liqueur½ oz fresh lime juiceLemonade or lemon-lime sodaGarnish: lime wedgeINSTRUCTIONS:Add whiskey, raspberry liqueur, and lime juice to a shaker.Add ice and shake until frosty cold.Strain into ice-filled glass.Top with lemonade or lemon-lime soda, stir gently. Garnish with lime wedge.Current reads, recommendations, and links:Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen CambridgeLast Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter GuralnickElvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu PresleyFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. Topics include the absolute legend that is Marcellus the octopus, elderly care via robots, and how much we Do Not Like a certain character…This week’s drink: The Marcellus (a Taylor original!)INGREDIENTS:2 oz dark rum1 oz orange juice½ oz orange liqueur (Grand Marnier if you have it)Ginger beerGarnish: orange peelINSTRUCTIONS:Add rum, orange juice, and orange liqueur to a shaker filled with ice and shake until well chilled.Pur into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with an orange peel.Current reads, recommendations, and links:The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom HanksYellowface by R.F. KuangFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss A Thousand Miles to Graceland by Kristen Mei ChaseHere is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!Velvet Elvis via drunkardsalmanac.comINGREDIENTS:1.5 oz Tennessee whiskey (like Jack Daniels)1 oz black raspberry liqueur½ oz fresh lime juiceLemonade or lemon-lime sodaGarnish: lime wedgeINSTRUCTIONS:Add whiskey, raspberry liqueur, and lime juice to a shaker.Add ice and shake until frosty cold.Strain into ice-filled glass.Top with lemonade or lemon-lime soda, stir gently. Garnish with lime wedge.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Sulari Gentill’s 2022 murder mystery The Woman in the Library. Topics include whether the pandemic should be included in contemporary fiction, inception narratives, and garden snails. Plus, a murder takes place ON THIS VERY PODCAST (dun dun duuuuuun)!This week’s drink: Ward Eight via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:2 ounces rye whiskey1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed1/2 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed2 teaspoons grenadineGarnish: 2 or 3 speared cherriesINSTRUCTIONS: Add the rye whiskey, lemon and orange juices and grenadine to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.Garnish with speared cherries.Current reads, recommendations, and links:After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill56 Days by Catherine Ryan HowardThe Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoLessons in Chemistry by Bonnie GarmusBecoming a Gardener: What Reading and Digging Taught Me About Living by Catie MarronSecond Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Michael PollanFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!The Marcellus created by Taylor2 oz dark rum1 oz orange juice.5 oz orange liqueurginger beerShake rum, OJ, orange liqueur in shaker with ice, pour over glass with crushed ice, top with ginger beer, garnish with orange peel.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. Topics include Gatsby the Hopeless Romantic, the carelessness of Daisy, and the tragedy of America. Plus! We talk about the 2013 Baz Luhrmann film adaptation, featuring Tobey Maguire’s baby face.This week’s drink: Gin Rickey via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:2 oz gin½ oz lime juice, freshly squeezedClub soda, to topGarnish: lime wheelsINSTRUCTIONS:Fill a highball glass with ice and add the gin and lime juice.Top with club soda.Garnish with 2 lime wheels.Current reads, recommendations, and links:The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoThe Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. TwittyFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss The Woman in the Library by Sulari GentillHere is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!Ward Eight via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:2 ounces rye whiskey1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed1/2 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed2 teaspoons grenadineGarnish: 2 or 3 speared cherriesINSTRUCTIONS: Add the rye whiskey, lemon and orange juices and grenadine to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.Garnish with speared cherries.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Torrey Peters’s 2021 novel Detransition, Baby. Topics include the responsibility of parents, femininity and gender, and A-plus metaphors. Plus, Taylor literally sings the praises of ramps.This week’s drink: the Torrey Peters via BuzzworthyINGREDIENTS:1 ½ shots hibiscus-infused white rum1 shot coconut water½ shot orgeat syrup½ shot fresh lime juice½ shot pineapple juice1 shot aquafabaGarnish: pineapple leaves and orchidINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish.Current reads and recommendations:Kayla is reading cookbooks!The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine: A Cookbook by Erin FrenchMatty Matheson: A Cookbook by Matty MathesonFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldHere is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!Gin Rickey via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:2 oz gin½ oz lime juice, freshly squeezedClub soda, to topGarnish: lime wheelsINSTRUCTIONS:Fill a highball glass with ice and add the gin and lime juice.Top with club soda.Garnish with 2 lime wheels.

In this week’s bonus episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss more books about Hollywood/the movie business to add to your TBR!  Topics include obscure ‘90s animated films, Janet Snakehole, and old Hollywood photos…Books, etc. discussed in this episode:A Touch of Stardust by Kate AlcottDelayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee KoeMercury Pictures Presents by Anthony MarraHollywood: The Oral History by Jeannine Basinger and Sam WassonYou Must Remember This podcastThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoVelva Jean is the…American Blonde by Jennifer NivenCity of Flickering Light by Juliette FayFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next week as we discuss Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!the Torrey Peters via BuzzworthyINGREDIENTS:1 ½ shots hibiscus-infused white rum1 shot coconut water½ shot orgeat syrup½ shot fresh lime juice½ shot pineapple juice1 shot aquafabaGarnish: pineapple leaves and orchidINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Nghi Vo’s 2022 novel Siren Queen. Topics include the Hollywood studio system, fame vs. art, and our upcoming  movie podcast “Films and Focaccia” (just kidding!).This week’s drink: Corpse Reviver No. 2 via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:Absinthe, to rinse¾ oz London dry gin¾ oz Lillet blanc¾ oz orange liqueur¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezedINSTRUCTIONS:Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe or cocktail glass with absinthe, discard the excess and set the glass aside.Add the gin, Lillet blanc, orange liqueur, and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.Strain into the prepared glass.Current reads and recommendations:Tune in next week for our episode on more Hollywood books to add to your TBR!Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!the Torrey Peters via BuzzworthyINGREDIENTS:1 ½ shots hibiscus-infused white rum1 shot coconut water½ shot orgeat syrup½ shot fresh lime juice½ shot pineapple juice1 shot aquafabaGarnish: pineapple leaves and orchidINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss two seminal Montana-set novellas: Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison and A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean. Topics include whiskey vs. bourbon, the beauty of nature, and how pleasantly surprised we were at how the women were written!For this episode, pour a glass of your favorite whiskey or bourbon, on the rocks. Kayla will be drinking Blackfoot River Bourbon from Montana Whiskey Co.Current/recommended readsA Really Big Lunch: The Roving Gourmand on Food and Life by Jim HarrisonJim Harrison: Complete PoemsYoung Men and Fire by Norman MacleanHome Waters: A Chronicle of Family and a River by John N. MacleanThe Last Best Place: A Montana AnthologyFor more Montana book recommendations: https://wildmontana.org/2020/03/20/community/our-picks-15-montana-books-to-keep-you-busy/Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss Siren Queen by Nghi Vo.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!Corpse Reviver No. 2 via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:Absinthe, to rinse¾ oz London dry gin¾ oz Lillet blanc¾ oz orange liqueur¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezedINSTRUCTIONS:Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe or cocktail glass with absinthe, discard the excess and set the glass aside.Add the gin, Lillet blanc, orange liqueur, and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.Strain into the prepared glass.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel The Bell Jar. Topics include Sylvia/Esther’s thoughts on sex and marriage, the humor (?) in trying to kill yourself, and the makings of a great sandwich. This week’s drink: The Pink Lady via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:1 ½ oz London dry gin½ oz applejack (apple brandy)¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed¼ oz grenadine1 egg whiteGarnish: brandied cherryINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker and vigorously dry-shake (without ice)Add ice and shake again until well-chilledStrain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherryCurrent Reads and Recommendations: Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton by Gail CrowtherThe Collected Poems of Sylvia PlathRed Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather ClarkThe Golden Spoon by Jessa MaxwellFollow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss two Montana-set novellas: A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean and Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison.For this episode, pour a glass of your favorite whiskey or bourbon, on the rocks. Kayla will be drinking Blackfoot River Bourbon from Montana Whiskey Co.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss the second half of Mira Jacob’s 2014 novel The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing. Topics include grief, emotional walls, and how Taylor really feels about Jamie Anderson. Plus, Kayla gets on her soapbox for National Library Week.This week’s drink: Chimayó via The Spruce EatsINGREDIENTS:1 ½ oz tequila¼ oz crème de cassis liqueur1 oz unfiltered apple cider½ oz freshly squeezed lemon juiceApple slices, for garnishINSTRUCTIONS:In an old-fashioned glass filled with ice, pour the tequila, creme de cassis, apple cider, and lemon juice.Stir well. Garnish with apple slices. Current Reads and Recommendations: Nothing new to report, but here is the link to the American Library Association’s National Library Week page. Specifically, here is where you can let Congress know that you stand with school libraries and they should, too!Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. Join us next time as we discuss The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.Here is the beverage recipe for the upcoming episode if you want to drink along with us!The Pink Lady via liquor.comINGREDIENTS:1 ½ oz London dry gin½ oz applejack (apple brandy)¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed¼ oz grenadine1 egg whiteGarnish: brandied cherryINSTRUCTIONS:Add all ingredients to a shaker and vigorously dry-shake (without ice)Add ice and shake again until well-chilledStrain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry