Quick Picks

We had a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with another library podcast and I thoroughly enjoyed talking books with Tessa an Sara from the Checked Out podcast from the Green Hills Public Library. We chose the topic of books for all seasons, where we recommended 2 books each that evoke and are meaningful for each season. Discussed: Summer Tessa: Death at Morning House, by Maureen Johnson Nikki:...

Tana joins me this time to discuss books with really interesting older characters well worth reading. Discussed: Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block - Jesse Q. Sutanto (Mention: Dial A for Aunties, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers) The Forgotten Book Club - Kate Storey Life: A Love Story - Elizabeth Berg Mad Mabel - Sally Hepworth Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett - Annie Ly...

I don't know what our fascination is with twins, but there sure are a lot of books out there featuring twins, and I have some to recommend if you're in the mood. Discussed: Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death -- Maxie Dara A Rather Peculiar Poisoning -- Chrystal Schleyer The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland -- Rachel Herron High Season -- Katie Bishop The Forgotten Girls -- Sara Bla...

Tana and I address some great books that have mistakenly been dubbed "historical" but are set in the recent past and we have a beef with the "historical" description. Discussed: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder, by Nina McConigley What Kind of Paradise, by Janelle Brown Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid Mary Jane, by Jessica Anya Blau The Women on Platform Two, by Laura Ant...

With my library being renovated, I don't have access to my equipment or my studio, so here's a solo episode of my favorite recent cozies. Discussed: Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, Oliver Darkshire The Enchanted Greenhouse, Sarah Beth Durst The Lost, Sarah Beth Durst The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, Ally Carter A Rather Peculiar Poisoning, Chrystal Schleyer The Emily Wilde series,...

Nick and Tana join me this time to talk about shows and movies they've enjoyed. Discussed: Thursday Murder Club Reacher Monster: The Ed Gein Story Scarpetta Bosch Fallout Righteous Gemstones Invincible The Residence Only Murders in the Building The Diplomat Lincoln Lawyer Mobland James Bond Movies Batman Traitors The Rehearsal Chair Company The Pitt Black Rabbit Ozark Task Heated Rivalry Prima...

Tana and I *love* to recap our year in books, and we're happy to share our favorites this year, with emphasis on books that aren't getting talked about enough. Discussed: Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, by Kylie Lee Baker This Motherless Land, by Nikki May The Everlasting, by Alix E. Harrow The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans Symphony of Mon...

Tana and I spent November honoring Native American Heritage Month by reading lots of books by or about indigenous people, and we discussed the highlights. Mentioned briefly: Council of Dolls, by Mona Susan Power Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones Mongrels, by Stephen Graham Jones The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich Calling For a Blanket Danc...

With the holidays coming up, food is on everyone's mind and Michelle Habrych and I are here to talk about some of our favorite books that feature different foods. Secret, Book, and Scone Society, Ellery Adams (#1 of 7 Secret, Book, and Scone Society Series) Death By Dumpling, Vivien Chien (#1 of 12 Noodle Shop Mysteries) Spellshop, Sarah Beth Durst (#1 of 2 in Spellshop series) Vera Wong's...

Witches are an integral part of spooky season and related fall celebrations. Since witches as a subject are so wide-ranging in genres, I attempt to tag and separate them into sub-genres. Nonfiction: The Witches by Stacy Schiff (2015, Salem Witch Trials) The Witch by Ronald Hutton (2017, world history) Folklore and Myth Retelling: The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (2022, folklore,...

September is back-to-school time which is a perfect opportunity to read some books about dark academia, no matter your age or favorite genres. Discussed: Secret History, by Donna Tartt Society of Lies, by Lauren Ling Brown Katabasis, by RF Kuang My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell Discovery of Witches (#1 in All Souls series), by Deborah Harkness I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Ma...

Michelle Habrych joins me again to talk about some of our favorite books (and a couple movies) that are either about vacations or have a setting where we'd like to go on vacation.

Fast, exciting reads for your summer consumption. Discussed: Dead of Summer, by Jessa Maxwell Cape Fever, by Nadia Davis Saltwater, by Katy Hays King of California, by Jordan Harper She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby Where They Last Saw Her, by Marcie Rendon Dying to Meet You, by Sarina Bowen Don't Tell Me How to Die, Marshall Karp Rage, by Linda Castillo Serial K...

What better genre for fun summer reads is there than magic and magical realism? Tana and I thoroughly enjoyed our books and discussion on some of our recent favorites. Discussed: Forget Me Not Library, by Heather Webber Amalfi Curse, by Sarah Penner Cat Who Saved the Library, by Sōsuke Natsukawa Not the Witch You Wed, by April Asher Murder Most Owl, by Sarah Fox The In-Between Bookstore, by Edward...

If you're a reader, you have a TBR list. And if you're like us, you have more books to read than books completed in your repertoire. Today, Tana and I are joined by Michelle Habrych to talk about books we've had on our TBR lists for a long time, and things we recommend you add to your own. Discussed: Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid If I Had Your Face, by Frances C...

We all know them and for some of us maybe we are them, but grouchy old people who are actually quite great have a special place in our hearts and these are some of the books Tana and I discussed. Nosy Neighbors, by Freya Sampson How to Age Disgracefully, by Clare Pooley Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, by Clare Pooley A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You...

Since March is Women's History Month, I've invited Michelle Habrych, friend and writer, to talk about some wide-ranging books, fiction and nonfiction, that tell stories of women in history. Michelle's list discussed: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, by Lisa See Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, by Allison Pataki The Women, by Kristin Hannah Becoming Ma...

Inspired by Groundhog Day and the move by the same name, Nick and I are here to discuss things we've liked that have to do with cycles and time loops. Discussed: The OA (TV series) Hades (videogame) 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton Until Dawn (videogame) Mickey 7, by Edward Ashton Steins;Gate (anime) Rick and Morty (animated series) Supernatural (TV series) Happy Death Day (fil...

Tana and I give a rundown of the books we read this year that were our favorites. What were yours? Discussed: What the Chicken Knows, Sy Montgomery Life Hacks for a Little Alien, Alice Franklin What Does It Feel Like?, Sophie Kinsella Migrations, Charlotte McConaghy Puzzle Master, Danielle Trussoni Puzzle Box, Danielle Trussoni Daughter of Ruins, Yvette Manessis Corporon Museum of Failures, Thrity...

Friend, patron, reader, and author, Michelle Habrych, is back to talk about holiday books of all kinds. Discussed: One Big Happy Family, Susan Mallery (4 candy canes) Merry Matchmaker, Sheila Roberts (5 candy canes) Baking It Merry, Samantha Chase (5 candy canes) Night Before Christmas, Nicola Knight (3 candy canes) Wishing Bridge, Viola Shipman (5 candy canes) Second Chance Year, Melissa Weisner...

It isn't just all over the news, it's all over the fiction: climate and ecology. Cli-Fi and eco-fiction are far more prevalent than Tana and I realized and went outside our boxes to read and discuss some dystopian and some more conventional fiction that deal with the environment. Discussed: The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton The Morningside, by Téa Obreht How High We Go In the Dark, by Sequoi...

My favorite! It's ghosty time again and Nick Rodriguez joins me to talk about ghosts across many types of media, for consumers of everything from cozy ghost stories to the stuff that will give you nightmares. Discussed: Thirteen Ghosts (movie) Scream (movie) Sleepy Hollow (movie) Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving (book) Grave Encounters (movie) Grave Encounters 2 (movie) Talk To Me (mo...

With the start of another school year, Michelle Habrych joins me again to talk about literature near and dear to our hearts, Classics. Discussed: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde A Separate Peace, by John Knowles Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton Stories I Only Tell...

Tana joins me again today to talk about novels we've read that have fine art or artists in their plots. Discussed: A Death in Cornwall, by Daniel Silva The Riviera House, by Natasha Lester The Last Mona Lisa, by Jonathan Santlofer The Lost Van Gogh, by Jonathan Santlofer Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland Horse, by Geraldine brooks Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier The Virgin...

Tana and I share some of our favorite ARCs we've read and other books that will be published this summer (and beyond). Discussed: Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley Night Guest, by Hildur Knutsdottir Daughter of Fair Verona, by Christina Dodd The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier The Next Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine Briar Club, by Kate Quinn Maria, by Michelle Moran Lion Women of Tehran, by Marja...