Keep It Fictional

We've explored books that have been adapted into movies and TV shows on a previous episode . Today, we flipped the table around and talked about novelizations of video games, movies, and TV shows. Books mentioned on this episode: God of War by Chris Roberson and Tony Parker, By the Time You Read This I'll Be Gone (Murder, She Wrote) by Stephanie Kuehn, Rapture (Bioshock) by John Shirley, The Rise...

To cheer on everyone participating in NaNoWriMo this November, we decided to dedicate an episode to books about writers and the art of writing. Books mentioned in this episode: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, Greenland by David Santos Donaldson, Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, and The Prisoner by Hwang Sok-yong (translated by Anton Hur and Sora Kim-Russ...

November 2 is I Read Canadian Day. Pick up a book by a Canadian author and celebrate the rich diversity of literature in this country. We recommend: Len & Cub by Dusty Green and Meredith Batt, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama, Mocassin Square Gardens by Richard Van Camp, The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur, and Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

It's almost Halloween and we thought we would talk about some of our recent reads that involve different kinds of monsters and creatures, in addition to our strong feelings towards Twilight, and... Sweden? Books mentioned in this episode: Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki, Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara, and Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo.

Keep It Fictional Goes Non-Fiction today.  If there is a topic you're interested in, chances are, there is a book about it. At least that's what we've found as we explore niche subjects we are passionate about (and concluded that we are all nerds). Books mentioned on this episode: Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix, Atlas of the European Novel: 1800-1900 by Franco Moretti, Catherine the Gr...

In today's episode, we offer you five different contests you can compete in. Which one would you choose, and who will reign supreme? Books mentioned in this episode: The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky, Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz, Hide by Kiersten White, House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess, and The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar.

Let these books transport you to the Victorian Times. You will also learn some delightful Victorian slang terms. Books mentioned on this episode: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, Moriarty the Patriot written by Ryosuke Takeuchi and art by Hikaru Miyoshi, The Gentleman by Forrest Leo, and A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee.

September is National Translation Month. We want to take this opportunity to thank all the translators who make literature from around the world accessible to us. We are so grateful for all the work you do! 🙏  Books mentioned on this episode: Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi and translated by David Boyd and Lucy North, All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami and translated by Sam Bett and D...

Our Keep It Fictional librarians celebrate this special month by highlighting some of our favourite books by authors from Latin American and South American countries, and writers of the diaspora. We also have some strong feelings about taking "tacky" touristy photos. Books mentioned on the episode: Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gordo by Jaim...

Set sail for adventure and treasure with the books Fiona, Mark, and Virginia brought to our Keep It Fictional episode today. Books mentioned: The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester, and The Vinland Sagas.

It's Back to School week and the Keep It Fictional Librarians found themselves quenching their thirst for knowledge with some dark academia books, wondering what they are willing to do to get free tuition. Books mentioned on this episode: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Babel by R.F. Kuang, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, and Cather...

It's our 100th episode! We celebrated this milestone by reading a "secret santa" book, which prompted us to contemplate questions like "have you ever considered your future as a pickle?", or "am I perhaps an octopus?"  Books mentioned on this episode: Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper, The Emissary by Yoko Tawada, The Raven Boys b...

We continue to gush about the many amazing Fall 2022 releases that we can't wait to get our hands on. Now let's see how many Keep It FIctional Bingo Board categories you can cross off. Books mentioned on this episode: Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen, The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi, African Risen edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Sheree Thomas, and Zelda Knight, Motherthing by Ainslie Hoga...

New Fall book releases, we are ready for ya! See what Corene, Fiona, Gabriel, Mark, and Virginia are looking forward to reading. Parallel universe, old man with a bag, worms, murder, existential crisis, and more. Books mentioned on this episode: Kilometre 101 by Maxim Osipov, Leech by Hiron Ennes, Self-Portrait with Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka, The Sunbearer Trial by Aiden Thomas, I Want to Die But...

Suit up and get ready to dive into the immersive, melodramatic, character-driven world of space opera! Books mentioned on this episode: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell, Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott, Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee, and An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon.

Creatures made of paper coming alive. A magical mathematical formula that takes away emotions. A toilet baby?!? These are just some of the fantastic stories we read this week from our short story collections. Are you a fan of short stories? Books mentioned on this episode: The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Cursed Bunny by Bora C...

Go bananas! Get ready for some strange, bizarre, and surreal tales. Books mentioned on this episode: My Volcano by John Elizabeth Stinzi, The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales, Modelland by Tyra Banks, The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Take some real historical figures and throw them into a fictional world. What would you get? These five amazing books: A Clash of Steel by CB Lee, Stoker's Wilde by Melissa Prusi and Steven Hopstaken, The Twilight World by Werner Herzog, See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt, and Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue.

It's absolutely delightful when finding one book leads you to another book, and another book, and another book. In this Keep It Fictional episode, we talked about the rabbit holes we have been in and a book we discovered while we were there. Books mentioned in this episode: The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli (translate...

Summer is here and Gabriel has asked all their book friends to go exploring in this episode of Keep It Fictional. Books mentioned in this episode: The Hike by Drew Magary, Atlas Obscura by by Dylan Thuras, Ella Morton, and Joshua Foer, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui, and Eighty Days by A.C. Esguerra.

Even if you are not a huge sports fan, we hope you will enjoy these sports fiction and non-fiction. Books mentioned in this episode: Real by Takehiko Inoue, Take Your Eye Off the Puck: How to Watch Hockey by Knowing Where to Look by Greg Wyshynski, and Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler.

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. Read a book by an indigenous author along with our Keep It Fictional librarians. They recommend: The Björkan Sagas by Harold R. Johnson, Medicine River by Thomas King, The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, Borders by Thomas King, and Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.

Celebrate Pride Month with the Keep It Fictional Librarians from the Port Moody Public Library! Books mentioned on this episode: Gender Failure by Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon, Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman, The Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, and Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.

We are so excited to introduce you to Port Moody Public Library's Adult Summer Reading Club in this episode. Learn more about our "Book of Life" game and what the Keep It Fictional librarians are going to read for their game. More information about our reading club at https://portmoodylibrary.ca/BookOfLife Books mentioned in this episode: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedd...

As part of our mini-series where we read books on a topic that we tend to associate with one of our book friends, this week, we dive into one of Corene's interests: cults. Books mentioned in this episode: Cult X by Fuminori Nakamura, The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn, and Salvation Day by Kali Wallace.