Not Your Mother's Library

Leah talks about her favorite books about dogs, but be warned—they all are set around 9/11. Here's everything mentioned in the episode: "Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust" by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory. "Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other" by Craig Grossi. "Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Lear...

Rachel takes a deep dive into comic maxiseries Watchmen. Also included are read-alikes and view-alikes. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: Comics mentioned: "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. "Watchmen: Motion Comic" narrated by Tom Stechschulte. The "Before Watchmen" series by various artists and "Doomsday Clock" by Geoff Johns. "Swamp Thing," "Batman: The Killing Joke," "T...

Leah shares her all-time favorite movies and tells us about the books some of them are based upon. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: Movies mentioned: Jurassic Park (1993), Director Steven Spielberg Congo (1995), Director Frank Marshall The 13th Warrior (1999), Director John McTiernan Clue (1985), Director Jonathan Lynn Romancing the Stone (1984), Director Robert Zemeckis Red (2010...

Rachel talks about Uncharted, a video game series available on PlayStation. Also included are play-alikes, movies, and books with a similar theme. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: The Uncharted video game franchise, including: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Uncharted: Golden...

Rachel and Leah celebrate National Poetry Month by reading some of their favorite poems (to the best of their ability). Check out what we talked about: "The Ruined Garden" by Charles Baudelaire, translated by Robert Lowell. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. "Blackberry-Picking" by Seamus Heaney. Lyrics from Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm," "Blowin' in the Wind," and "The...

Leah discusses one of her favorite places in the world, and one of her favorite books in the world. Also included are read-alikes, TV shows, and movies with a similar theme. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: Books mentioned: "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed. "Zero Days" by Barbara Egbert. "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. "The Lost City of Z" by David G...

Rachel introduces one of her favorite TV shows, Community. Also included are view-alikes. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: TV shows mentioned: Community, ABC / Yahoo! Screen Rick and Morty, Adult Swim The Office, NBC Parks and Recreation, NBC Arrested Development, Fox / Netflix Check out books, movies, and other materials through the Milwaukee County Federated Library System: coun...

Leah discusses one of her favorite books, "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson. Also included are read-alikes, TV shows, and movies with a similar theme. Here's everything we talked about in the episode: Books mentioned: "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson. "The Emperor of All Maladies" and "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee. "Rabid" by Bill Wasik. "Pale Rider" by Laura Spinney. "Dr. Mütter's Marvels"...

Rachel and new co-host Leah welcome a special guest to recommend all of their favorite podcasts. Check out what we talked about: "This American Life" from Chicago Public Media; "Heavyweight" from Gimlet; "99% Invisible" by Roman Mars; "Radiolab," "Dolly Parton's America," "Nancy," and "Sooo Many White Guys" from WNYC; and "How I Built This" from NPR. Also: "WTF with Marc Maron," "Conan O'Brien Nee...

Rachel introduces a new special guest to discuss musical movies and television shows as well as OCPL’s monthly Musical Sing-along Nights program. Check out what we talked about: “Mamma Mia!” and the supergroup ABBA. “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Three Smart Girls,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Silk Stockings,” and “Mulan.” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Across the Universe” and the band The Beatles, “Dr. Horribl...

Rachel hosts the first episode of 2020 with returning guest Jill Lininger to talk about books that they will never, ever read. Check out what we talked about: "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin The "Animorphs" series by K. A. Applegate The "Warriors" series by Erin Hunter "The Host" and the "Twilight" series by Stephanie Meyer "The Da Vinci Code" by D...

Melody and Rachel host their last episode of 2019, discussing comic books as well as superhero-centric shows and movies. Rachel takes over the reins as Melody moves on: here's hoping things don't go totally off the rails! Check out what we talked about: "The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes" by Neil Gaiman with readalike "The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House" by the same author. Also, the BBC...

Melody and Rachel welcome collaborators Alyssa, Lizzie, and Sam from the podcast Book Chat at North Shore Library to tell each other scary stories! Check out what we talked about: "Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History” by Tori Telfer with readalike "I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Search for the Golden State Killer” by Michelle McNamara, the podcast “Broken Harts,” and the film “Cri...

Rachel and Melody welcome special guest, Maria, to discuss narrative nonfiction reads this month! Check out what we talked about: "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer with readalikes "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster" by the same author, "The Wild Truth" by Carine McCandless, and the film "Into the Wild." "The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Ru...

In this episode—not for the faint of heart—Rachel and Melody discuss deep questions about death, dying, and decomposition! Check out what we talked about: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory" by Caitlin Doughty with readalike "From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death" by the same author. Also, Caitlin's YouTube channel Ask a Mortician, website Or...

Rachel and Melody welcome special guests Sarah and Jill to discuss the art of happiness! Check out what we talked about: "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero with readalike "The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck" by Sarah Knight. "The Book of Joy" by Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu with readalikes "The Art of Happiness" by Dalai Lama XIV and "How to Change Your Mind" by Michael Pollan. "10% Ha...

Rachel and Melody welcome special guest, Sarah, to discuss LGBTQ reads this month! Check out what we talked about: "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz with readalike "The Inexplicable Logic of My Life" by the same author. "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters with readalike "Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932" by Francine Prose. "The House of Impo...

Rachel and Melody talk about their favorite disaster novels and discuss whether they'd survive an apocalypse! Check out what we talked about: "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen with "One Year After" and "The Final Day," the remaining books in the After series. Also, the 2018 films "A Quiet Place" and Netflix's "Bird Box." "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel with readalike "The Gracek...

Rachel and Melody discuss their latest steampunk reads, as well as two TV and film adaptations based on graphic novels! Check out what we talked about: "Soulless" by Gail Carriger with readalike "The Dark Days Club" by Alison Goodman. "Mortal Engines" by Philip Reeve with his other works including the Fever Crumb series and "Night Flights" as well as readalike "Worldshaker" by Richard Harland. Als...

Join Melody and Rachel as they discuss what they've been reading. This month, we chat about "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis, "Descender" Volumes 1-3 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, and "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple. Check out these books and more at the Oak Creek Public Library, hoopladigital.com, wplc.overdrive.com, or the Hoopla Digital and Libby apps!