Books and Bites

On this episode, we discuss the fifth prompt in the Books and Bites 2022 Reading Challenge , a book published in the decade you were born. We're covering the hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s—brought to you by WJCPL! Book Notes Michael recommends Pet Sematary by Stephen King. Carrie enjoyed Pet Sematary 's direct opposite, the memoir All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. Adam discusses The...

Books and Bites Podcast, Ep. 64 JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them. On this episode, we discuss the fourth prompt in the Books and Bites 2022 Reading Challenge , a biography or autobiography. You may be surprised to find biographies and autobiographies come in varied formats and styles to match any reader’s tastes. Book Notes Adam r...

 On this episode, we discuss the third prompt in the Books and Bites 2022 Reading Challenge , books recommended by young people. Young is a subjective term, so feel free to define it by whatever seems young to you! Reference Librarian Mycah Sylvain kindly fills in for Michael, who is busy welcoming a new young person into his family. Book Notes Carrie and her niece recommend Cat Kid Comic Club by...

On this episode, we discuss the second prompt in the Books and Bites 2022 Reading Challenge, inclusive and diverse award winners. Our Teen Librarian Jacqueline Cooper stops by to talk about the Global Reads for Teens challenge. [Content warning: the books we discuss describe abuse and racism.] Book Notes Adam recommends The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman Michael recommends The Nickel Boys by Col...

Book Notes Adam recommends: Can’t Stop Cursing You with art by Natsuko Uruma and story by Kensuke Koba Michael recommends: Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy Carrie recommends: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Bite Notes In the duplicitous spirit of Can't Stop Cursing You , savor the sweet, fireside smell of Yaki Imo while you and your friends suss out the traitor in your midst....

Book Notes Michael recommends Furious Hours : Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey N. Cep Carrie recommends Ivory Shoals by John Brandon Bite Notes Pair Furious Hours with Harper Lee's satirical recipe for Crackling Cornbread . Swamp Cabbage Stew makes a satisfying meal when you're roughing it on the Florida frontier.

Book Notes Carrie recommends: Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin Michael recommends: Haunted Nights : a Horror Writers Association Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton Adam recommends: Witch Hat Atelier , by Kamome Shirahama Bite Notes Complement Early Morning Riser’s Taco Tuesdays with Tacos with Roasted Winter Vegetables and...

Book Notes Michael recommends: The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward Adam recommends: Dragon Goes House Hunting , written by Kawo Tankui and art by Coco Aya Carrie recommends: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Bite Notes Saddle up to the bar with a Vampire’s Kiss Martini while vampire Joey Peacock regales you wit...

Book Notes Michael recommends: The Everything Ghost Hunting Book: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Exploring the Supernatural World by Melissa Ellis Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and   Them by Jason Stanley Carrie recommends: How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell Playing with Image Transfers: Exploring Creat...

Book Notes Adam recommends: Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky The Ballad of Yaya, Book 1: Fugue by Jeanne-Marie Omont, Charlotte Girard, and Golo Zhao Michael recommends: Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones Carrie recommends: The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Bite Notes Accompany the uncomfortable juxtapo...

Book Notes Michael recommends: In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy The Thicket by Joe R. Landsdale Carrie recommends: Outlawed by Anna North True Grit by Charles Portis News of the World by Paulette Giles Hearts of Horses by Molly Glass The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland by Walter Thompson-Hernandez Adam r...

Book Notes Adam Recommends Flamer by Mike Curato Ever After by Olivia Vieweg Michael Recommends The Troop by Nick Cutter The Night Will Find Us by Matthew Lyons Carrie Recommends The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam Bite Notes Tasty Campfire Apples in Tinfoil contain the best parts of a flame. Find the recipe in Camp Cooking by the Nat...

Book Notes Carrie recommends the first issue of DC Comics' digital series, Represent!: It's a Bird by Christian Cooper and Alitha Martinez.  Carrie also recommends The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary. Michael sleuthed out American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan.  Michael also recommends Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark. Adam shares YA nonfict...

Michael Recommends The Apocalyptic Mannequin by Stephanie M. Wytovitch WWJD and Other Poems by Savannah Sipple Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words of Race and Hope by Kwame Alexander Carrie Recommends Monument by Natasha Trethewey Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay Fanny Says by Nickole Brown Adam Recommends The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in this One by Amanda Lovelace Clap When You...

Book Notes Adam enjoyed the novel-in-verse Black Flamingo by Dean Atta. Carrie recommends the award-winning parable-in-poems Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky. Michael suggests The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded: Poems by Molly McCully Brown. Bite Notes Accompany Black Flamingo with Mahalepi, a cool, firm Cyprian pudding. Find the recipe on AtoZ World Foods , a library database...

Michael Recommends: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White Alice by Christina Henry Usher’s Passing by Robert R. McCammon Carrie Recommends: Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal Longbourn by Jo Baker Adam Recommends: The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovel...

 We're changing the Books and Bites format up a little bit with this episode and dividing this month's discussion into two separate episodes. Today we'll each give a detailed review of one book, and then in a couple weeks we'll air another episode with some brief recommendations from each of us. Book Notes Carrie enjoyed The Mere Wife by Maria Dhavana Headley, a feminist retelling of Beowulf . Unl...

Book Notes Michael recommends: The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey Redshirts by John Scalzi Salvation Day by Kali Wallace Adam recommends: Wires and Nerve v. 1 , written by Marissa Meyer; illustrated by Doug Holgate Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Takeuchi, Naoko; translated by William Flanagan Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa; translated by Alethea Nib...

Book Notes Carrie recommends: Still Life by Louise Penny Autumn by Ali Smith The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith Michael recommends: Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan Nevernight by Jay Kristoff Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse Adam recommends: Quincredible: Quest to Be the Best , written by Rodney Ba...

Book Notes Adam and Michael recommend: Food : A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan Michael also recommends: Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery by Matty Matheson Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, With Recipes by Ronni Lundy The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffmann Adam also recommends: The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo...

Book Notes Adam recommends: Madam Belle: Sexy, Money, and Influence in a Southern Brothel by Maryjean Wall Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman The Thing About Leftovers by CC Payne Echoes Between Us by Katie Mcgarry Michael recommends: Whispers in the Dark by Laurel Hightower Hillbilly Hustle by Wesley Browne Battletown Witch: Leah Smock, the Evolution of Witc...

Book Notes Carrie recommends: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia Things in Jars by Jess Kidd Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Beloved by Toni Morrison Adam recommends: The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker Taproot : A Story about a Gardener and a Ghost , written and illustrated by Keezy Young Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark by Peter Milligan Michael recommends: The Siren...

Book Notes Michael recommends: Black Fire by Hernan Rodriguez Night Witches by Garth Ennis Carrie recommends: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson The Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis Adam recommends: Dreadful Ed & Mary Scary ; written by Andrew Cosby and illustrated by Troy Nixey  The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey  Bite Notes Transport yourself to the abandoned village in Black Fire with the trad...

Book Notes Adam recommends: Much Ado About Nothing , adapted by Richard Appignanesi and illustrated by Emma Vieceli. Wonderland , written and illustrated by Yugo Ishikawa Michael recommends: The Auctioneer by Joan Sampson We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Carrie recommends: The Street by Ann Petry So Big by Edna Ferber Bite Notes Accompany the tart romance of Much Ado About Not...

Book Notes Carrie recommends: The Book of Delights by Ross Gay Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer Adam recommends: The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1 , written by Brian Holguin Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens , written by Sarah Webb, Bartosz Sztybor, Aud Koch, and Chan Chau Michael recommends: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah We Live Inside Your Eyes by Kealan Patrick Burke B...