A LITTLE TOO QUIET: THE FERNDALE LIBRARY PODCAST

Ypsilanti-based photographer Jim Roll talks about incorporating a bit of chaos and the subconscious into his process, as well as the double-exposure "film soup" development of his mesmerizing, polychromatic, dream-like images, all of which is captured from the natural landscapes surrounding the Huron River. www.jimroll.com | Jim is also a musician and audio engineer who has been a part of the Mich...

Librarian Susan Paley joins us again to talk about her favorite books of the year..., so far! That includes three mystery titles from the collection she helps develop here at the Ferndale Library, as well as one biography! Books discussed include The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, The Maid by Nita Prose, The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale and The Master by Christopher Clarey. 

Today, we're talking about our favorite and least favorite depictions of librarians (& libraries) on screen, through movies and television, from The Mummy to the Music Man! 

Today, we're talking about what it was like to become a Youth Librarian in the midst of a pandemic, whilst also reflecting on everything we learned from visiting our libraries during childhood. We also talk about how the Kids Corner is built for kids, and what it means when a librarian says "reading is reading!" Joining us on this episode is youth librarian Mary Grahame Hunter, who develops our no...

Bestselling legal thriller author Lisa Scottoline returns to the podcast, discussing the common thematic elements that are threaded through all of her books, no matter what the genre or elevator pitch may be... She's also specifically discussing her latest book, What Happened to the Bennetts, about a family that has to be taken into the Witness Protection Program. The name of this book's villain i...

This former Michigander, now based in Chicago, recently published his first novel for adult readers and it's a time-bending/mind-bending amalgam of a corporate thriller, existential futurism, philosophic psychedelia, quantum mechanics, and, yes, romance! | James Kennedy is the author of The Order of Odd-Fish and the founder and director of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. Before becoming a wri...

Author Kelsey Ronan joins us to discuss her debut novel Chevy in the Hole, a series of interconnected vignettes spanning generations of two families living in Flint throughout WWII, the Civil Rights Movement, and the recent Water Crisis. At the heart of Ronan's book is a love story, and most importantly, a story of resilience. Kelsey grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her fiction and journalism have appe...

Host Rodi Brown welcomes Librarians Sarah Bowman and Kricket Hoekstra to the podcast to discuss #classicliterature, and it inevitably becomes a bit of a takedown of #ernesthemingway, although gents like #johnsteinbeck and #fscottfitzgerald are also..., well, let's say scrutinized through a modern lens... We discuss what we love about the classics, what we can't stand about the classics, and so muc...

Author Donald Levin joins us to talk about his latest novel, a work of historical fiction centering around a tumultuous week in Depression-era Detroit (1932), with crime, murder, union-busting, and four distinctive main characters caught up in the middle of it all. Levin is a veteran of the mystery genre but has also written works of dystopic fiction and poetry. Tune in for our chat and hear about...

Lisabeth Posthuma was a teacher, photographer, and (most importantly) video rental clerk before becoming a writer. ~ And a video store is the central setting of her amazing novel, which we discuss: "Joel's new job at the video store is just what the therapist ordered. But what happens if the first true friend he's made in years finds out about What Was Wrong With Him?..."  https://www.lisabethpost...

Paula Regossy is a detective novel by literary artist Lynn Crawford. The inspiration for the novel began with a painting by artist Peter Williams, which Crawford first saw on view at the gallery Paul Kotula Projects in Ferndale, Michigan, nearly a decade ago. Crawford is a fiction writer, art critic, a founding board member of MOCAD, and a 2010 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow. https://threefoldpress.o...

Well, this was quite an epic episode! Who doesn't love a good villain? Tune in for our nearly comprehensive dissertation featuring library staffers Rodi and Mary Grahame. From Darth Maul to the Phantom of the Opera, Maleficent to Iago, and many many...(ahem, MANY) more! Why do we sometimes root for the villain? Why do we sometimes....love the villain?!? 

The modern librarians' take on Wikipedia and how it relates to/concerns information literacy.  This is a free/open-access multilingual online encyclopedia, written and maintained by a community of volunteers through a model of open collaboration, and it's been around for 20 years, now! So let's talk about it! 

Acclaimed author Brit Bennett joins us to talk about The Vanishing Half (out on paperback ), as well as what draws her to the themes explored in both of her books (including The Mothers). We also talk about the impact that her writing continues to have on readers, modern literature, and the public discourse; what it was like releasing two novels during two comparatively tumultuous times in history...

Jeff, Rodi and Mary Grahame talk about what's been happening to our impulses to curate 'home libraries...' To buy or not to buy? Should we check out ALL of our books from the library? What about a library test-drive? And what about #booktok? We cover it all. 

Supriya Kelkar is an author, illustrator, and screenwriter who grew up in the Midwest, where she learned Hindi as a child by watching three Hindi movies a week. We're chatting about several of her books this week, including That Thing About Bollywood, Strong as Fire Fierce as Flame, and American as Paneer Pie--the latter of which is featured among our six selections for our 2022 Battle of The Book...

Librarian Sarah Bowman joins Jeff and Rodi to talk about the delicate art of recommending books. In this episode, both Jeff and Rodi will receive four recommendations based on their preferences, including... Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, City of Brass, Dread Nation, The Revisioners  |  House of Broken Angels, Nothing to See Here, This is Where I Leave You, The Sun Down Motel. www.fadl.org  

Lisa Gardner's new protagonist, Frankie Elkins, is driven to help find missing persons from old/forgotten cold cases; in this latest novel she's venturing into a national forest in Wyoming to look for a man who disappeared without a trace. Tune in to hear our conversation about crafting a suspense novel in the wilderness. https://www.lisagardner.com/  

Jonathan Evison’s Small World is an epic novel for now. Set against such iconic backdrops as the California gold rush, the development of the transcontinental railroad, and a speeding train of modern-day strangers forced together by fate, it is a grand entertainment that asks big questions.  https://jonathanevison.net/    

We're talking about Ferndale's efforts to encourage sustainable habits with new Zero Waste Program Coordinator Claire Dion. When it comes to "the three R's" of being environmentally conscious, we were all raised on the importance of recycling, but today we're really talking about just how important REDUCING and REUSING can be... Claire will be joining us in the late winter for an event on sustaina...

Aaron Blatt teaches English Language Arts at Ferndale Middle School; he's been teaching for 20 years and has experience as a reading specialist. Blatt also cohosts our Middle School Book Club. He recently joined us on a weekday, just as school had let out, to talk about the experience of teaching during the pandemic, and so much more--including culturally responsive teaching and his aspirations of...

Since its founding in 1921, the Detroit Historical Society (DHS) has been dedicated to safeguarding the history of our region so that current and future generations of metro Detroiters can better understand the people, places, and events that helped shape our lives. 100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society, written by senior curator Joel Stone, captures in words and photographs the little-known...

Staff discuss the joys of reading romance novels, as well as addressing previously stereotyped tropes and celebrating the new wave of contemporary authors of the genre. Circulation specialist Rodi Brown is back, along with Youth Librarian Mary Grahame Hunter--both are ardent fans of this literary genre and they are putting on a master class for the podcast host. Provided below are their top 5 auth...

Peter Markus is the author of the novel, “Bob, or Man on Boat,” as well as three books of short fiction, the most recent of which is “We Make Mud.” He lives in Trenton, Michigan, and is the Senior Writer with the InsideOut Literary Arts Project of Detroit. His first book of poetry, When Our Fathers Return to Us as Birds is an exploration of the grieving process, as well as the healing that can be...

We're chatting with Cleveland-based author Genevieve Gornichec about her debut novel, The Witch's Heart: "When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology." Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as...