Stacks and Stories

Memoirs with Katie and Riley

Join Katie and Riley as they discuss memoirs and why they like them. Listen in as they talk about death, eels, families, ships, and more, so stay tuned.
Books Mentioned
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
I'm A Terminal Cancer Patient, But I'm Fine by Hilnama
I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Picture Books with Charlie and Elisabeth

Join Charlie and Elisabeth as they talk their favorite picture books: past classics, current faves, and new books they're looking forward to!
 
Titles discussed in this episode include:
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke, illustrated by Khoa Le
Doña Flor by Pat Mora, illustrated by Raul Colón
¡Fiesta! A Festival of Colors by Duncan Tonatiuh
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex
Hot Dog by Doug Salati
Noodle Conquers Comfy Mountain by Jonathan Graziano; illustrated by Dan Tavis
Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen, illustrated by Minnie Phan
The video of April Genevieve Tucholke reading Beatrice Likes the Dark can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIHB-LO2Wbg

Kooky Narratives with Tracy and Zach

Join Tracy and Zach as they discuss what kooky structures and narrations mean to them, why they like them, and some of their favorite examples, so stay tuned.
Books Mentioned
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Wellness by Nathan Hill

Genre Swap: Horror & Young Adult

Amanda's a fan of YA and hasn't read much horror. Riley's a fan of horror and hasn't read much YA. Join us at Amanda & Riley each read a recommended book from the other's favorite genre and discuss their forays into the wider world of reading!

Judge a Book by its Cover

Join Alex and Amanda as they talk all things book covers! From books that are better than their cover, covers that are better than their books, cover reprints that are just kind of bad, cover trends, and cover marketing, they cover (get it?) almost everything in the wide world of book design!
 
As a note, Alex mentions a book with an orange cover set on Jupiter that she can't remember the title of. This book is The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older.
 
Books mentioned in this episode
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
The Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Old Enough by Haley Jacobson
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Wayfairer series by Becky Chambers
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Tia Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries series by Mia P. Manansala.
The Donut Legion by Joe R. Lansdale.

Dark Academia

Join Riley, Shellie, and Tracy as they discuss dark academia, why they enjoy it, and if not, what they do enjoy that’s adjacent.
Books Mentioned
Blue Angel by Francine Prose
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessel
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Remembering Beverly Cleary with Alex and Tracy

Join Alex and Tracy as they discuss the influential children’s book writer Beverly Cleary. Listen as they talk about their favorite books by her, toothpaste, wigs, and bad accents.

Nonfiction with Katie and Natalie

Join Katie and Natalie as they discuss why they prefer nonfiction to fiction, what their favorite nonfiction reads are, and more.
Books Mentioned
1776 by David McCullough
A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy by Joyce Kaufman
Educated by Tara Westover
The Encyclopedia of the Cat edited by Bruce Fogle
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown
Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham
The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values by Sam Harris
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A Promise Land by Barack Obama
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Mississippi Book Festival 2023

Join Shellie and Tracy as they talk about authors and panels they're looking forward to at this year's Mississippi Book Festival!

All Together Now

This year’s collaborative summer library program theme is ‘All Together Now’. The theme focuses on friendship, unity, kindness, and togetherness. We’ve asked various MLC staff to give a quick overview of a book or movie they love that they feel fits the theme. Want to hear seven different recommendations? Then stay tuned!
 
Books and films mentioned in the episode:
Calendar Girls, directed by Maria Loohufvud & Love Martinsen.
Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gómez.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
Hello Bookstore, directed by A.B. Zax.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune.
Lala's Words by Gracey Zhang.
Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton.
Still Life by Sarah Winman.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.