Russell Reads with the Rach(a)els

Amanda Paez, assistant to the city manager, and wearer of many hats, talks about her library crimes. *CORRECTION: A note from Rachael -  Our Classics book club meets on Monday, September 30 at 5:30 PM to discuss “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. Call 434-799-5195 to register! We hope you join us. Books we discuss include: “I Want a Pet - A School Zone Start To Read Book” “And Then The...

Russell and the Rach(a)els explore works by authors with Hispanic heritages.  Book we discuss include: “The Bullet Swallower” by Elizabeth Gonzalez James “Family Lore” by Elizabeth Acevedo “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” by Ingrid Rojas Contreras “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters” by Emil Ferris “River Woman, River Demon” by Jennifer Givhan “Mexican Gothic” and “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” by Silvia M...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael welcome our first guest from beyond the library walls, Michelle Larking, IB Literature teacher at Galileo Magnet High School. We discuss how to foster a love of reading through education and whether Russell should have been in the Zebra reading group. Books we discuss include: “Babar” series by Jean de Brunhoff “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel “The Boxcar Childre...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael discuss our August challenge, books set by the beach or sea, and regrettably did not prepare any sea shanties. Books we discuss include: “A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks” by David Gibbins “The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found” by Martin W. Sandler “Pirate Latitudes” by Michael Crichton “The Wreck of the Medusa” by Jonathan Miles “The Outlaw...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael welcome guest Jess McAllister, Youth Library Services Specialist, to talk about every book ever written and how to read at light speed. Books we discuss include: “Tracker” by Gary Paulsen “Amelia Bedelia” by Peggy Parish “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by T.J. Klune “Legends & Lattes...

Russell, Rachel and Rachael discuss our July challenge, books set in another country, and a few extras just for good measure.  Books we discussed include: “The Women” by Kristin Hannah “Sooley” by John Grisham “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori “Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” by Lisa See “Run Me to Earth” by Paul Yoon “City of Thieves” by David Benioff “A...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael welcome guest Jess Austin, Technical Services Librarian, to talk about 'book joy'.  Books we discussed include: “Holy City” by Henry Wise “Razorblade Tears” by S. A. Cosby “The Which Way Tree” by Elizabeth Crook “If the Creek Don’t Rise” by Leah Weiss “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michele Richardson “Broiler” by Eli Cranor (coming July 2, 2024)...

Russell and the Rach(a)els discuss the June reading challenge and what it means to go on an adventure. Books we discussed include: “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien “The Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis “Northwind” by Gary Paulsen “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carrol “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael welcome guest Chrislyn Gardner, Youth Services Librarian, to discuss Summer Reading, literary favorites, and childhood memories. Books we discussed include: “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn “A Chair for My Mother” by Vera B. Williams “The Vingananee and the Tree Toad: A Liberian Tale” Retold by Verna Aardema “The Monster at the End of this Book (Starring Lovable, Furry Ol...

The reading challenge continues into May with graphic novels. A lot of titles get discussed on the show.  The many, many books we discussed include: “Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History” by Joel Christian Gill “Stamped From the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America” by Joel Christian, adapted from the novel by Ibram X. Kendi “March” by John Lewis, Andrew Ayd...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael welcome Riley, the first guest star, to the show to discuss some of her favorite books and tell a few fun stories. Books we discussed include: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow “Ten Thousand Doors of January” by Alix E. Harrow “Midnight Library” by Matt Haig “Weyward” by Emilia Hart “Storm Front” by Jim Butcher - Dresden Files Book 1 “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros “Bl...

Rachael, Rachel, and Russell explore the world of poetry. The Rach(a)els share very moving poems while Russell opts for pirates. Books we discussed include: “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander “Good Different” by Meg Eden Kuyatt “The World’s Wife” by Carol Ann Duffy “You Better Be Lightning” by Andrea Gibson “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein Nick George the Poet “The Rose that Grew from...

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael introduce the new podcast and point out that listening to audio books is still reading. Book we discussed include: “Who Owns This Sentence?: A History of Copyrights and Wrongs” by David Bellos “Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor” by Alan Gratz “North Woods” by Daniel Mason “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” by Walter Mosley “The Golden Spoon” by Jessa Maxwell

Rachel, Rachael, and Russell discuss the library reading challenge and reading literature written by female authors.  Books discussed in this episode include: “She Gets the Girl” by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick “The American Queen” by Vanessa Miller “The Which Way Tree” by Elizabeth Crook “Legend” by Marie Lu “The Other Black Girl” by Zakiya Dalila Harris “Arsenic and Adobo” by Mia P. Man...