Your Shelf or Mine

Misery

Becky, Jakob, Heather M, and Jennifer talk about Misery by Stephen King, the 1990 movie starring Kathy Bates, and season two of Castle Rock. Plus more! Spoilers abound, plus some discussion of graphic violence in the book, movie, and show.

Summer Book Club Convo

Becky, Jennifer, Austin, Jakob, and Jo talk about library book club selections from summer 2024.

Ann Patchett

Becky and Austin talk about the work of Ann Patchett including:
These Precious Days, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Tom Lake, The Patron Saint of Liars, The Magician's Assistant, The Dutch House, Commonwealth, and more!

Introductory reading from Commonwealth.

Listen to Ann Patchett in conversation with Cheryl Strayed at Literary Arts here: https://literary-arts.org/archive/ann-patchett-cheryl-strayed/

The Tom Lake jam is no longer available, but other Michigan jams are from American Spoon: https://spoon.com/collections/cherries

Visit Parnassus Books here: https://www.parnassusbooks.net/ 

M.T. Anderson

Becky, Austin, and Jakob talk about the work of M.T. Anderson including:

Feed (2002); 
Landscape with Invisible Hand (2017); 
Landscape with Invisible Hand movie (2023); 
Elf Dog & Owl Head (2023); 
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad (2015); 
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. I: The Pox Party (2006); 
The Daughters of Ys (2020)

introductory reading from Feed. 

Wired article: https://www.wired.com/story/m-t-anderson-feed-20-years-later/

Contemporary Romance

Becky and Jo dish on contemporary romance novels, particularly the work of Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood including:

"Love, Theoretically" by Ali Hazelwood;
"Check & Mate" by Ali Hazelwood;
"People We Meet on Vacation" by Emily Henry;
"Happy Place" by Emily Henry;
"Funny Story" by Emily Henry;

Introductory reading from "Book People" by Emily Henry.

Rita Mae Brown

Becky, Austin, and Shelley talk about the work of Rita Mae Brown including:

Six of One; 
Rubyfruit Jungle; 
Wish You Were Here (Mrs. Murphy #1); 

and more!

Spring Book Club Convo

Becky, Jo, Jakob, Jennifer, and Austin talk about Longview Public Library book club selections from March, April, and May! Including those from our:
Adult Book Club, Romance Book Club, Graphic Novel Book Club, Kids Book Club, Little Kids Book Club, Evergreen Teen Book Club, and American Girl Book Club!

Books discussed include: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Subeik Lubeik by Deena Mohammed, Family Style by Thein Pham, Bride by Ali Hazelwood, The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga, The Red Palace by June Hur, Melody: No Ordinary Sound by Denise Lewis Patrick, Lola Levine is Not Mean! by Monica Brown,

and more!

National Poetry Month 2024

Becky, Austin, and Jennifer discuss various poets and their own personal experiences with poetry. Discussed topics and poets include:

E.E. Cummings

Shel Silverstein

Chen Chen

Kwame Alexander

William Stafford

Gwendolyn Brooks

Poetry Foundation

Mary Oliver

and more!

Introductory reading "Some Things I Like" by Lemn Sissay

Other readings:

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein

"Ask Me" by William Stafford

"Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem" by Matthew Olzmann

"Fire" by Matthew Dickman

"In the Desert" by Stephen Crane

 

Kate DiCamillo

Becky and Austin discuss the work of children's author Kate DiCamillo including:

The Puppets of Spellhorst

The Beatrice Prophecy

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

Raymie Nightingale

and more!

New Yorker profile: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/09/18/what-kate-dicamillo-understands-about-children

Betsy Bird review: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/03/08/review-of-the-day-ferris-by-kate-dicamillo/

Ann Patchett at Literary Arts: https://literary-arts.org/archive/ann-patchett-cheryl-strayed/ 

 

Winter Book Club Convo

Becky, Jo, Jakob, and Austin talk about the books from this past season's book clubs including: 

Secret Explorers series by DK and SJ King

Rainbow Days series by Valerie Bolling

Miles Lewis King of the Ice by Kelly Starling Lyons

Time Villains by Victor Piñeiro

Courtney Changes the Game and Courtney Friendship Superhero by Kellen Hertz

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis

The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Knock Out by Sarah MacLean

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

and more!