Book Squad Podcast

Did you know it was National Book Month? And National Pickled Pepper Month?? And World Menopause Month??? October is wild, y'all. We decided to combine National Book Month with some of the others and give you reading material to celebrate whatever holiday month you prefer! Except picked peppers -- we forgot books for that one, sorry.  show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/048-national-american-...

On this episode, the inimitable Dan Coleman — LPL Librarian, Papier-mâché wizard, and #weneeddiversebooks advocate — talks to Polli and Kate about places where children's literature is sorely lacking. They also discuss alarm clocks and bird things. Listen up! Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/047-crow-funerals-papier-mache-and-unsung-kansas-heroes Two Book Minimum: The Language of Crows by...

We've got a jam-packed episode for you -- book recs, personality types, Jewish mourning customs, and an amazing debut novel about memory that made us both laughcry.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/046-memories-and-other-lies Two Book Minimum: Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall (R.I.P. 2019) The Enneagram Made Easy by Renee Baron Good Talk by Mira Jacob Kaddish.com by Nathan Englan...

August is Read a Romance Month which is perfect because it's hot outside aaaaaand hot inside the pages (oh my!) Whether you're a regular reader or not, we've got some great insights for why romance matters and how you can find your steamy (or sweet) reads. Warning: there are some terrible romance-related puns in this one.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/045-isnt-it-romantic-read-a-romanc...

Hey listeners, what's your sign? Your BOOK sign, that is! We took the "Universe of Stories" summer reading theme and astrologified it... or bookstrologified? Either way, check out this episode for a ton of recommendations, even if you're on the cusp!  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/044-oh-my-stars-its-bookstrology/ Two Book Minimum: Look How Happy I'm Making You by Polly Rosenwaike A Peo...

Well, Polli FINALLY got Kate to read a Jane Austen book. Find out if she hated it as much as she hated the audiobook intro music! Also get some great recommendations for some sweet gay reads and a few new releases coming out this fall!   Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/043-bennett-darcy-gramlich-kenn Two Book Minimum: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai Autoboyography by Christina Laure...

If you made it out to Happy Shirt for our first Adults-Only Summer Reading Book Nerd Party (whadda title, right??) we'd like to say THANK YOU! If you didn't make it out, fret not for we will do it again! Listen to Kate and Polli rave about our community of nerds and swap some new and upcoming titles to add to your reading pile!  Show Notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/42-the-answer-to-life-the-un...

This is an episode about Doing Nothing. Well, it's about Doing Something to Do Nothing. It's also about lemons and cows. What? Yeah. Just listen. Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/041-how-to-podcast-nothing/ Two Book Minimum: The Farmer's Son (or The Cow Book if you're in Ireland) by John Connell The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead  The Book of Flora by Meg Elison The Natural Home by Isabel...

Glennon Doyle (of Momastery fame) has written one heckuva powerful book. Love Warrior is sorta memoir, sorta self help and all-the-way beautiful. Hang out with Polli and Kate as they talk about body image, breakdowns, grief, "hot loneliness," higher powers, and a bunch of other TOTALLY LIGHTHEARTED TOPICS.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/040-lifes-messy-welcome-to-the-podcast Bookish New...

In celebration of Jesmyn Ward coming to Lawrence on April 11th (tickets are free but required), we discussed Salvage the Bones, a novel that tackles many, many social issues in an incredibly human way. That is to say... beautiful and devastating All. Of. The. Time.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/039-systemic-oppression/ Bookish News: All the Light We Cannot See will be adapted to a Netl...

Sometimes a book is much more fun to discuss than it was to read. This, friends, is one of those times. Join Polli and Kate as they rip apart a not-so-thrilling thriller... and say "get that bread" far too many times for women of their ages.  Show Notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/038-death-of-desire-to-read-agatha-christie Two Book Minimum: Washington Black by Esi Edugyan Atlas of Blues and Red...

We are welcoming Mr. Bradley Allen, director of Lawrence Public Library, on this episode of the podcast. Brad's here to help discuss this year's Read Across Lawrence pick, Sourdough. Learn about the power of reading and fermentation aaaand about making milk pickles. Can three Scorpios share one podcast? Oh jeez, tune in to find out... (also, vote for us for Best of Lawrence! #shamelessplug) Show n...

Show Notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/036-its-okay-not-to-be-okay/ Two Book Minimum: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson Dare to Love A Duke by Eva Leigh Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer Beautiful No-mow Yards by Evelyn Hadden (also, Kiss My Aster by Amanda Thomsen) She Said/She Said: Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram "Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and...

New year, new reads. Polli and Kate scoped out some upcoming book releases and are here to share their faves! Also, heads up: the 2019 Book Squad Goals Reading Challenge is HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE:  http://tinyurl.com/LPLBSG2019 The show-notes are huge for this episode, so head over to our site to get the list of books: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/035-booking-new-year/ Note: We’ve included links...

Note: This was recorded in August 2018, and then Kate... lost it? Something happened. We're back in action with episode 30: The Lost Cowboy Episode. Show Notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/030-the-lost-cowboy-episode/ Recently there has been a resurgence of the Western genre (good conquering evil is all the more necessary for WHATEVER REASON.) According to Lauren Havens, the Modern Western has sh...

Sooner or later, it happens to everyone. It might be happening to you right now. You go about your day, your week, and eventually you realize that something crucial is missing: books. YOU ARE IN A READING SLUMP. If this sounds familiar, you're soooo not alone. Polli and Kate are here to help for when you just can't even (read.)  -------------------------------------------------- Twice(-ish) a mont...

NNEDI OKORAFOR IS COMING!!! On 11/8 she will be at Liberty Hall as our latest Beach Series author, and we really hope to see you there! Go here for more info, clear your schedule, and then come back and listen to Polli and Kate discuss Akata Witch. Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/033-nnedi-okorafor-literal-blackgirlmagic Bookish News: The Great American Read results are in!  “A CENTURY OF...

What do the genres Romance and Horror have in common?  They bring the feels. Learn more about Horror as a genre, and get LOTS of recommendations based on different appeal factors and interests. Huge thanks to Becky Spratford and Kelly Peter for being our spoopy gurus!  There are soooo many links on the show notes this time that we suggest you head on over: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/032-crying-o...

October 8th is Indigenous Peoples Day in Lawrence (and in several other cities across the country). To celebrate the occasion -- and because it looked flippin awesome -- Polli and Kate discuss There There, a brilliant debut novel by Tommy Orange (Cheyenne and Arapaho). Spoiler: it was flippin awesome.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/031-the-one-in-which-we-ostensibly-sing/ ("Hey, what ha...

On this episode we got to interview Danny Caine, owner of The Raven Bookstore! Along with owning a bookstore, Danny is also a published poet, a brand new dad, a dog person with 3 cats, and an all-around good human. Learn what's going on in the Lawrence bookish community this fall and how one boy's chicken nugget obsession turned into a... grown man's chicken nugget obsession.  Show Notes: https://...

Two podcasters give four thumbs up for Mem, a fab book for book clubs (and folks who like to ponder what makes a human a human and/or are into awesome books.) Also a quick hit of some neuro-divergent heroines and Asian heroes, serial killer ladies, and ancient indigenous magic. Our take on dancing, wine, and the "dog zoomies" round us out! Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/028-murder-farms-...

Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/027-the-podcast-is-not-an-apology/ Bookish News: If you have not already, check out the trailer for the upcoming movie, The Public, written by/starring/directed by Emilio Estevez, who Polli got to stand sorta next to for a brief second at a conference!  She got to see the film in its entirety at the American Library Association annual conference. Estevez wo...

Humblebrag: we maaaaaybe have the best friends in the world. The Friends of the Lawrence Public Library bring in an incredible amount of funds to our library each year, making possible things like Book Club in a Bag, Read Across Lawrence, Summer Reading, Volunteer Recognition, all our cool LPL swag and much, much more! To celebrate their upcoming Summer Book Sale July 12-15th, we put together a li...

What is your most-loved read? Through a national survey, PBS has shared a list of 100 of the most well-loved reads, which will be the focus of an eight-part series over the summer. Want info on how the books were chosen and how the process works? Here's some official deets. Want to hear what we have to say about this? LISTEN UP, FRIENDS! Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/025-the-great-ameri...

Magic! Friendship! Gratitude! Tom Petty! We may have thought fantasy wasn't our thing, but it turns out... we were wrong. (First time for everything!)  Read the show notes here: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/025-do-you-even-fantasy-bro/ Two Book Minimum: Human Acts by Han Kang No Time To Spare by Ursula K. LeGuin ("The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is 'escapism' an accusation of?")...