Drinks in the Library

I’m so excited to bring you something a little different—not a book, but a genre that’s new to me: FanFiction. Specifically, Dramione Fanfiction , which features stories pairing Harry Potter villain Draco Malfoy with Hermione Granger, the series’ female lead, heroine, and Harry’s BFF. In this episode, I’m joined by a fellow RVA book-lover, Jaclyn Wilkins, who explains to me (and you!) the ins and...

Today we’re stepping into the surreal, tragic, and darkly comedic world of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five —a story about war, time travel, and what it means to say, 'So it goes.' My guest this week is Kat McClesse. Kat is an Archaeologist with her M.A. in Bioarchaeology and an amateur photographer. Slaughterhouse Five has been one of her favorite books since childhood and sparked a li...

Artist and author Julia Marshel is someone who sees the world through a lens of wonder and joy. From a young age, Julia discovered that if you look closely, the world reveals an infinite variety of amazing things. That same sense of discovery became a gift she and her wife, Claudia, shared with their three daughters, raising them to see and celebrate the beauty in nature. Her books  How Many Will...

Hello Libration Nation! This week’s book is Daring Greatly by Dr. Brené Brown, and I’m talking about it with my fellow librarian and library advocacy rockstar - Sonya Durney! Sonya is a passionate advocate for libraries and open education. Sonya is the Scholarly Communication Research & Teaching Librarian at the University of New England, is past president of the Maine Library Association, a m...

Hello Libration Nation! This week we are discussing the classic series Animorphs by K.A. Applegate. Animorphs is a collection of 54 middle-grade books in which five young adults are gifted the power to morph into animals. It was a bit of a cult phenomenon when it was originally published in the late '90s and has recently seen a resurgence online. My guest is Fiona Fenn . Fiona is an author of...

Hello Libration Nation! In this week’s episode I’m chatting with David Crowley, nonprofit leader and podcaster, about  The Good Life : Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz. Over a glass of Longevity Cabernet Sauvignon , we explored the Harvard study’s core finding: strong, meaningful relationships are key to happiness and health. D...

Listener update: I am taking a short pause over the holidays from all the editing and content creation that goes into this podcast. I have plenty of recordings completed that I can’t wait to share with you, and I plan to air new content every-other week starting next week Tuesday December 3rd. Today’s episode is a replay of an episode I released back in June, I hope you enjoy it! So, after all the...

Hello Libration Nation! This week, we're diving into a beautifully heartwarming poetry collection, Dog Songs by the illustrious Mary Oliver. Joining me is the wonderful Amanda Sue Creasey, a high school English teacher and the Outdoors Writer for  Cooperative Living Magazine . Her novel An Expected End was published in 2023. She holds an undergraduate degree in German, English, and Secondary E...

Welcome back Libration Nation! This week, we're delving into a classic piece of Southern writing with The Prince of Tides by the remarkable Pat Conroy. My guest this week is the amazing, award winning author, Laura Elliott, who I had the pleasure of interviewing while we both were attending the Virginia Library Association Conference last month. Laura really helped us hit a home run with tying...

Hello, Libration Nation! This week, we're diving into the vibrant world of "Paper Girls," an imaginative comic series  by Brian K. Vaughn with artwork by Cliff Chiang. This series, which intertwines coming-of-age narratives with sci-fi elements, is a thrilling ride that takes us through time travel and interwoven destinies. Joining me this week is comedian and bookseller Mary Jane Fren...

It's Spooky Season Libration Nation! In this spine-tingling episode, I'm joined by Grace Todd, fellow Richmond podcast host of the " Didn't Read It " podcast, to delve into Shirley Jackson's chilling classic, The Haunting of Hill House . Over Dark Manhattans, we uncover the eerie atmosphere of Hill House, its unsettling characters, and ghostly legacies. Grace shares her dee...

Hello Libration Nation! In this podcast episode, I'm excited to discuss The Rose Code by Kate Quinn with my cousin Christine O'Brien—a nurse, wife, fur-mom, and avid reader. We'll delve into the lives of female codebreakers at Bletchley Park during WWII, exploring their friendships, struggles, and key plot twists. Christine shares her insights on the serious tone of the novel and its h...

In this episode, we are discussing Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott, a novel originally published in 1929 and a fascinating account of the experiences of women during the Jazz age. I'm joined by Juliana Soltis , an internationally acclaimed cellist, to discuss the book's continued relevance and its portrayal of female independence during the Jazz Age, akin to a 'Sex and the City' for that...

This week we are discussing The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, a thrilling account of Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister of the UK, and some of the darkest moments for England and Allied forces. My guest is Helen Gabay from Richmond, Virginia. She's the mom of an awesome 12-year-old boy, Charlie, and married to Tim, aka "Mr. Fix-it," a talented local contractor. He...

Hello Libration Nation! Ready to go back to the 90s? Today, we're talking about one of the defining books of a generation: Generation X by Douglas Coupland. I'm joined by David How—father, husband, music lover, and proud Canadian 🇨🇦. David shared how this book shaped his life, his love of music, and what it was like coming of age during that unforgettable era. So grab your own drink, settl...

I had an amazing chat with Katie Dolan about “ The Midwife” by Jennifer Worth, the book that inspired the TV show “Call the Midwife”. We dived into all things birthing, motherhood, and the magic of community. Katie dove into her birthing and mothering experiences, the book's rich historical backdrop of East End, London, after WWII, and how media shapes our views on childbirth. We also celebrat...

For the dog lovers of Libration Nation, have we got the episode for you! This week, we are discussing Abigail Thomas’s memoir, A Three Dog Life which documents her experience living with her husband after his traumatic brain injury. "The startling power and beauty of Abigail Thomas's memoir comes not only from her acute perceptions of a man without memories and her fear of losing her husba...

Calling all #librationnation leaders! This week we are discussing the groundbreaking book for managers, “ First Break All the Rules ” By Marcus Buckingham with Ira Holliday. Husband, father, avid golfer and business strategist are several of the key attributes used to describe Ira Holliday. With over 25 years of Fortune 200 experience in the areas of digital transformation, HR services and agile d...

What if I told you that your entire life boils down to just 4,000 weeks? Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks will change the way you think about how you spend your time, and this is the exact topic of the amazing conversation I had with Rebecca Schinsky from BookRiot! Rebecca Schinsky is the Chief of Staff for Riot New Media Group, which runs Book Riot, the largest independent publication co...

Good Morrow Libration Nation! This week we are LIVING in Henry VIII’s court, delving deeply into Hilary Mantel's historical novel, Wolf Hall Exploring the complex character of Thomas Cromwell, the historical context of Henry VIII's reign, and Mantel's meticulous attention to historical accuracy. My guest this week is Valerie Adachi. Valerie is a self-proclaimed bookworm who even enjoye...

Welcome to another episode Libration Nation! Today, we're diving deep into the surreal and thought-provoking world of Victor Pelevin's "Generation P," also known as "Homo Zapiens" in English. Joining us is Pelevin aficionado Dr. Albert Arias, and we unravel the complex tapestry of post-Soviet Russia's chaotic transition to capitalism, examining the Western cultural inva...

Welcome back, Libration Nation! Today, we're diving into the timeless world of Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Joining me is the my fellow librarian Jess Harshbarger, as we explore the impact of this iconic coming-of-age story. From touching on friendship, puberty, and identity, to discussing its still-relevant themes 50 years after publication, we’ve got i...

This week we are reading a BOOK, and I mean that in the best possible way. The Book of Night Women by Booker Prize winner Marlon James is moving, heartbreaking, magical, and dark. It is also a favorite of this week’s guest, Elizabeth Klaczynski. Elizabeth is a public historian and a curator currently living in Richmond, Virginia.  She blames the American Girls series for her love of both history a...

It’s Christmas in July! This week we are visiting the world of Narnia , where it is always Winter but never Christmas, at least until the Pevensie children get involved. This week’s guest is Erin Surber, Erin is an avid reader and an enthusiastic library patron. She has four children ages spanning 18 months to 9 years old. Erin has worked in the video production industry for 14 years and now hold...

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Because you are super hot! Yes, this is a very corny way to start this post, but this week’s episode features the pod’s first romance novel, and it was recorded on a very HOT summer day. This weekI am talking about Always Only You by Chloe Liese with Sara Mueller. Sara is a library assistant manager and has been working in libraries for 11 years. An avid rea...