Book Lounge by Libby

On today's episode, Adam chats with Jason Reynolds about his powerful children's and YA books including Long Way Down, Ghost, and Patina. They discuss the stories from his life that inspire his books and why he gets angry when people say he's "Just a children's book author." Jason's books are beyond inspiring and his attitude towards young readers is so wonderful. You'll love this discussion and w...

On today's episode, Adam and Jill recap OverDrive's Halloween extravaganza before discussing the books they're reading currently. Then, the main event: Nancy Pearl live and in our offices! Nancy visited Cleveland for some library events and took time out of her busy schedule to talk books with us because she is simply the best. Take a listen!  Books mentioned in this episode The Silent Companions...

On Today's episode, Jill and Adam talk about their Halloween plans and mutual love of classic candy before getting into a conversation Adam had with two-time New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco. Both of Kerri's YA thrillers, Stalking Jack the Ripper and her newest book Hunting Prince Dracula debuted on the NYT list and they are wonderful. Adam and Kerri discuss the haunted house she...

It's that time again! Our heroes journey out to the land of pre-pub books and offer up the ones their most excited about coming out in November. Come along, won't you!  November Releases mentioned in this episode The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg Breaking Free: How I escaped polygamy, the FLDS cult, and my father, Warren Jeffs by Rachel Jeffs Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdr...

On Today's episode, Adam sits down with Drew Magary, author of The Hike and contributor to GQ, Deadspin and several other sites Adam is obsessed with. They chat about the book (think modern day Iliad) as well as a myriad of topics ranging from covering sports, whether social media has been good or bad for how news is covered and whether he feels the need to have hot takes on everything that happen...

Last week, Adam talked Young Adult Horror with Andrea and Christina. This week, Christina and Andrea are back with Jill, along with their coworker Shannon, to discuss Adult Horror!  Books Mentioned in this Episode: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton City Infernal by Edward Lee Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix My Best Friend's Exorcism by Gra...

Today's episode is an interview Adam did with young adult author Anna-Marie McLemore at Book Expo America. Anna-Marie writes fairy tale style magical realism and her latest book Wild Beauty is now available. They discuss the origin of her stories and what defines "magical realism" in her mind. Take a listen!  Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforLibraries and Twitter at @ProBookNer...

We're getting spooky on today's episode as Adam first chats with Andrea and Christina in the office about their YA Horror recommendations before calling the queen of YA Horror, Dawn Kurtagich, to get her picks. Adam and Dawn also chat about Halloween traditions and what Dawn has been working on since we last spoke. Books Mentioned in this episode   Odd & True by Cat Winters The Merciless by Daniel...

On this special BONUS Big Library Read episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast, Adam welcomes back author Chelsea Sedoti to the show. Chelsea shares the real life stories that built the story in The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett, how falling down a rabbit hole on the internet can be both a blessing and a curse and why she feels readers of all ages love going back to the Young Adult genre. Y...

On today's episode, Jill got to interview one of her most favorite writers ever: Tana French, author of the award winning Dublin Murder Squad series. Tana shares where her ideas come from, how she approaches each book and detective and they even talk about just what exactly happened in "In the Woods." If you're a mystery fan and haven't yet picked up any of Tana's books, do it today! Tana's Books...

Rarely do single books come out that the we feel the need to do an entire episode on by themselves but the Harry Potter universe is an exception they'll always make. On today's show, we're celebrating the release of the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!  These books have played a massive part in both Jill and Adam's lives and this title is the first of the series tha...

On today's episode, we harken back to to June when Jill and Adam sat down with debut author Linsey Miller at the American Library Association's annual meetings. Linsey's book Mask of Shadows is now available and *spoiler alert* IT.FRICKIN.ROCKS.  Our trio talks all about Linsey's book, her background going from Biology student to writer and then wax poetic about their first library cards.  Say Hel...

Best day of the month! On today's episode the Nerds dive into the the new books coming out in October that they're most excited about. Spoiler Alert: There are SO. MANY. Laughs are had. Books are shared. Adam is awkward. The usual. Check out all the links below to get more information on every book discussed in this episode! Books Mentioned in this episode: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks Mistress of A...

On today's episode, Adam sits down with author Annalee Newitz to discuss her debut novel, Autonomous. Annalee is a giant in the science and tech industry as one of the founding editors of i09.com and Gizmodo and the Tech Culture Editor at Ars Technica. Annalee shares what she's most excited about in the tech industry and the two of them geek out over The Dark Crystal prequel that's coming soon. Fa...

On today's episode, Jill and Adam talk about Banned Books Week, the National Books Awards and their newfound love of the the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Lootcrate. Below, you'll find all the books we discussed as well as the full Banned Books and National Book Award longlist collections from OverDrive.com:   OverDrive's Banned Books Week collection   The full National Book Awards longlist coll...

On today's episode, Adam sits down with Ben Blum who wrote the recently released Ranger Games. Ben's book is a nonfiction recounting of his cousin's life as he prepared to become an Army Ranger since he was a child only to be arrested the week before his deployment for robbing a bank. Ben goes into the indoctrination of Rangers as well as what led to Alex's crime and the aftermath. This book is in...

Last weekend, Jill and Adam both watched the new adaptation of Stephen King's IT and loved it so much they decided to talk about it -- both the film, the book it is based on, and a little bit about the original TV miniseries.  SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the movie yet! Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforLibraries and Twitter at @ProBookNerds. Email u...

In today's episode, Jill is joined by Melissa, Megan, and Briana to talk about a genre they all love: memoirs! From celebrity memoirs like Eddie Izzard's "Believe Me" to a behind-the-scenes peek at the romance publishing business with "Romance Is My Day Job" by Patience Bloom to the difficult but necessary books of kidnapping survivors like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard, this episode has a lit...

On today's episode, Adam sits down with author Adrian J. Walker and they instantly bond over their shared love of running, dogs and the dystopian genre that Adrian writes in. They discuss his books, The End of the World Running Club and The Last Dog on Earth as well as dealing with the tragic loss of heroes we may have never even met.  Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforLibraries...

Our friend Nancy Pearl is back with some book recommendations!  Nancy's Recommendations Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Less by Andrew Sean Greer The Blue Hour by Laura Pritchett Reading With Patrick by Michelle Kuo   Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforLibraries and Twitter at @ProBookNerds. Email us directly at professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com Music "Buddy" provided royal...

On Today's episode we finally get to share an amazing chat we had with E. Lockhart back in the Spring to promote both We Were Liars and her new release Genuine Fraud! We also discussed Broadway musicals and her inspiration for becoming a writer. We also touch on why she thinks adults still love YA books (us included) and so much more. Enjoy!   Say Hello! Find OverDrive on Facebook at OverDriveforL...

It's our favorite episode of the month! Today we're talking about the new books coming out in September we can't wait to read. Jill and Adam go back and forth discussing September's big new releases for the first half of today's show but we also give you some bonus content! We break down the season finale of Game of Thrones and try to decide if it was as good as the internet seems to think it was....

On today's episode, Adam sits down with Jack Gantos, who has written books for readers of all ages. The conversation focuses on Jack's latest work, Writing Radar, in which he details all the ways aspiring writers can set themselves up for success. We also discuss the many twists and turns his life has taken, including getting caught for helping traffic drugs and how this turned out to be a blessin...

Half an hour after peak viewing time of the 2017 Solar Eclipse, Jill sat down with three of her colleagues (including first time caller, long time listener Bob) to discuss science fiction! From hard science fiction to dystopian fiction to everything in between.     Books Mentioned in Today's episode Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski Hyperion by Dan Simmons The Martian by Andy Weir Artemis by...

On today's episode, Adam chats with his favorite debut author of 2017, Amanda Foody! Amanda is the author of Daughter of the Burning City which Adam lovingly describes as a YA-Fantasy Carnival Freak Show Murder Mystery. That's a lot of words... Amanda takes us through building her worlds, determining how magic works in these and explains why this incredible fantasy is a standalone novel. After tak...