Stacks and Stories
This fun and informative podcast focuses on books, reading, and Mississippi’s libraries. MLC staff, public librarians, and other friends cover a wide variety of book and library related topics. Find out what makes Mississippi one of the most literature-rich states in the country.
Listen on:
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
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.
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Join Shellie and Tracy on this installment of Shelf Absorbed as they discuss what they’ve recently read and if one of them has started appreciating rereads. So, stay tuned.
Books Mentioned
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
Fifteen by Beverly Cleary
Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin
“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith
The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett
The Weeds by Katy Simpson Smith
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Join Katie and Lacy as they talk about adaptations and reworkings of books! They talk Mississippi movies, Mississippi musicals, and Mississippi books based off of previously existing books in three, quick, five minute MLC Moment snippets.
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
If you turn on the Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio station on Saturdays at 11 am, you’ll hear a short, five minute little MLC Moment from us. These are quick tidbits of information, all drawn from what you can find at your local public library. Because they’re so short, we’re combining some of them into a longer episode for our regular podcast feed. This episode is all things historical. Join Tracy as she talks about microhistories and a famous murder case, while Alex takes you deep into the WPA files created in the 1930s.
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
What's 'middle grade' mean to begin with? Join Charlie and Elisabeth as they talk all things middle grade, from past to present to future!
Books mentioned in the episode:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
The Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Hatchet by Gary Paulson
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
The Lucky Ones by Linda Williams Jackson
Lily's Promise by Kathryn Erskine
J.D. and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard
Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Munoz Ryan
Gussy by Jimmy Cajoleas
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Weird Kid by Greg van Eekhout
Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf
Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas
The Secret Battle of Evan Po by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Join Tracy and Elisabeth as they talk about their favorite modern Mississippi authors!
Authors mentioned:
Angie Thomas
Brad Watson
Beth Ann Fennelly
Kiese Laymon
Natasha Tretheway
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Join Tracy as she chats with Akeylah, Amanda, and Colleen about the mystery genre. Listen as they discuss what they like about this series, and what mystery novels and shows they enjoy.
Books Mentioned:
All of Us by N.F. Carter
The Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by George Gould and Walter Pyle
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia
Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders
The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
The Hardy Boys Series by Frank W. Dixon
It's Always the Husband by Michele Campbell
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth and Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine by Thomas Morris
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Nemesis by Agatha Christie
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith
Perry Mason by Earle Stanley Gardner
Possession by AS Byatt
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery Series by Mia P. Manansala
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Join Charlie and Lawrence as they dive into the wide world of patents and trademarks! Learn about plant patents, the Batmobile, and monkeys taking selfies. Relevant links: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/ppubsbasic.html (patent number 3216423) https://patents.google.com/patent/USD205998S/en
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Join Colleen, Katie, and Russell as they talk all things long book series! They talk both series involving long books as well as series that consist of ten or more books. They talk about what draws them to these long series, what types of series they enjoy, and provide recommendations for readers and each other. Books mentioned: The Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher The Nightlord series by Garon Whited The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith Discworld by Terry Pratchett The Baby-Sitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin Hank the Cowdog by Gerald L. Holmes Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park How To Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori Bleach by Tite Kubo Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto Deadpool, various writers, Marvel Comics
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Shelf Absorbed, a YouTube series started by the Mississippi Library Commission during the pandemic, returns as a regular podcast feature with Tracy and Shellie! Join them as they discuss books about friendships and how even adults struggle to navigate these relationships on this episode of Stacks and Stories. Books Mentioned 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff The Friend Who Got Away: Twenty Women's True-Life Tales of Friendships that Blew Up, Burned Out or Faded Away edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell Just Kids by Patti Smith Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan Love and Saffron by Kim Fay The River by Peter Heller The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader
The Mississippi Library Commission was established in 1926 by an Act of the Mississippi Legislature. The agency was charged with giving advice, when asked, to schools and public libraries and to communities desiring to establish libraries. Further, the agency was required to obtain annual reports from all libraries in the state and to make a biennial report to the legislature of its work. The Act also authorized the Board of Commissioners to purchase and operate traveling libraries which might circulate to just about any library, organization or group including charitable and penal institutions. Today, the Mississippi Library Commission offers a wide variety of direct and indirect services to libraries, government agencies and the citizens of Mississippi.