Book Lounge by Libby

On today's episode, Adam sits down with Sarah Gailey to discuss their debut noir novel Magic for Liars. They break down the structure of the magical rules in the book, the problematic issues with magic in Harry Potter, and the importance of secondary characters.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Jill share some brief thoughts on Toni Morrison who was, truly, one of a kind. Her books, speeches, and commentary gave a voice to African Americans who felt underrepresented all their lives. She gave a voice to many who felt voiceless. There will never be another Toni Morrison  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, Adam chats with debut authors Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones about their heartwrenching novel I'm Not Dying with You Tonight. In our opinion, this is the most important Young Adult novel to come out since The Hate U Give and should be read by every teenager and parent around. Despite the heavy material of the book, this conversation is very lighthearted as Gilly and Kim are hil...

On today's episode, Adam has a chat with Holly Throsby all the way from Australia. She is the author of Cedar Valley, which was selected as the next Together We Read book club pick for Australia and New Zealand. They discuss the difference between writing songs and books, creating stories in small-town settings, and they get rudely interrupted by Adam's pups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

We are more than halfway through the year (omg) and Adam and Jill are going through the PBN Reading Challenge to see what books they have read so far.  Visit professionalbooknerds.com to get your own Reading Challenge template to fill in! After you complete the challenge, be sure to send it to us at professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com or tag us on social @ProBookNerds to be entered into a device g...

On today's episode, Adam nerds out with Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Past Perfect Life and the Shelby Holmes books! We discuss the difference between writing for middle grade and young adult, why she hated Sherlock Holmes growing up, and the creation of crime scene investigations. This was all over the place.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's that time once again! We're talking about the books we're most excited to read in August! Also, in case you missed it, we were profiled by Authority Magazine for being a binge-able podcast. You can check that article right here: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/how-to-become-the-center-of-influence-through-nerdy-podcasting-with-the-hosts-of-show-of-the-3be028f2f81f Also, also - We're int...

On today's episode, Adam sits down with Kat Cho, debut YA author of the splendid and fantastical Wicked Fox! They discuss how Kat realized her story and heritage were interesting to others, how K-Dramas relate to Young Adult literature, and the power of having a positive writing group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the podcast, Jill has an interview with New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva. His new book The New Girl is out now. Daniel shares the real-life kidnapping that inspired the book and why he decided to get rid of the first 200 pages and start over.   Music: Provided royalty free from www.bensound.com Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and th...

You know her from her podcast and writing for NPR. Now getting to discover Linda Holmes as one of the best debut writers of 2019. Evvie Drake Starts Over will make you laugh and move you to tears. Her writing is so powerful and real and the characters jump off the page. In this conversation, Adam and Linda discuss baseball, the struggle to break the 25,000-word barrier and act two of books, and th...

On today's episode, Adam and Jill welcome Lizzy Saxe to the show to nerd out about the connection between food and stories. We get into the power of food in fantasy novels, their favorite fictional meals from books, wonderful food memoirs of the past, and the new and unique forms of cookbooks coming out including graphic novels and comics. Fair warning, this episode will make you hungry! Book ment...

Today on the podcast, Jill talks with Lisa Taddeo about her new book THREE WOMEN. This discuss what made Lisa want to write the book and what her process was.    Music: Provided royalty free from www.bensound.com   Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks available through pu...

Today’s episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. To get a free month of access to their incredible online courses just visit:  https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/probooknerds   On this episode, Adam sits down in New York with Danika Stone, author of Switchback, a wonderful human vs. nature story of two teens who get lost in the mountains during a class trip and struggle to survive. They al...

On today's episode, Jill is joined by Sydney to talk all about her new prison librarian memoir Reading Behind Bars. Thanks to all of the listeners who sent in questions. The pair discuss some of Jill's experiences and her writing process.   Music: Provided royalty free from www.bensound.com Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work...

It's almost July, which means it's time for Jill and Adam to discuss the books coming out next month they can't wait to read! Books mentioned in today's episode: Reading Behind Bars by Jill Grunenwald Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo Del Toro Three Women by Lisa Taddeo The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Dark Age by Pierce Brown Lock Every Door by Riley Sager Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul T...

Adam sat down with Christine Riccio, debut author of Again, but Better and created of the immensely popular PolandBananasBooks YouTube channel. They discuss her travels abroad, writing as catharsis, and how Christine realized her feelings of isolation and loneliness are shared by countless other people around the world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. To get a free month of access to their incredible online courses just visit:  https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/probooknerds   Get your headphones ready because today Jill and I are offering up a big pile of audiobook recommendations! A cool new update in Libby that just came out lets you enjoy your audiobooks through Apple CarPlay and Andr...

On today's episode, Adam chats with Cadwell Turnbull about his novel The Lesson, which comes out June 18th. This story about an advanced race of aliens coming to The U.S. Virgin Islands explore colonialism and the history of an oft-overlooked part of the world.  Today's episode is sponsored by Blackstone Publishing. In addition to The Lesson, here are two more great books to check out from Blackst...

On today's episode, Adam chats with LP Fergusson, author of A Dangerous Act of Kindness, which was selected as the latest Big Library Read global ebook club title. They discuss her upbringing as a child with two parents who fought in WWII, how her childhood and her local libraries inspired this historical fiction, and not judging individuals for the acts of the many.    About the Big Library Read...

On today's episode, Adam and Jill are back in the same room finally and are handing out some wonderful LGBTQIA book recommendations for PRIDE month and beyond!   Books mentioned in this episode Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian Gentleman Jack by Anne Chrome Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard Check Please by Ngozi Ukazu The Stonewall Reader, edited by NY...

Today's episode is an interview Jill did with bestselling author Blake Crouch about his new book Recursion. They discuss false memories, the reality of time, and even the Berenstain Bears.  Interview was recorded live at ALA Midwinter 2019.  Music: Provided royalty free from www.bensound.com Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who wor...

On today's episode, Adam interviews Sarah Enni in New York City about her debut novel Tell Me Everything! Sarah also hosts the wonderful First Draft podcast where she interview authors and they discuss how this experience has affected her writing and her publishing life. They also get into their shared appreciation for creating stories through human connections. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Today's interview is one Jill did with the immensely popular author, Jennifer Weiner about her new book MRS EVERYTHING. The book covers multiple decades and the pair discuss Jennifer's research process, the idea of "chick lit" and how Jennifer's mom inspired this book.  Music: Provided royalty free from www.bensound.com   Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds a...

It's almost June which means it's time for Adam and Jill's monthly roundup of books to read this month. Books Mentioned In This Episode: Mrs Everything by Jennifer Weiner The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo Recursion by Blake Crouch Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Natalie Tan's Bo...

On today's episode, Adam chats with Ali Benjamin about her latest novel, The Next Great Paulie Fink. The book is all about how storytelling can shape an individual, how we experience stories, and how we relate them to others. Adam and Ali discuss finding oneself in stories, and the various forms of storytelling throughout history.  Today’s episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Visit http...