The Friendly City Books Podcast

Legendary Mississippi sportswriter, Rick Cleveland joins Emily to discuss his new book, The Mississippi Football Book: Stories and Records From the Greatest Teams, Coaches, and Players - Who Lived and Played in the Greatest Football State. Plus, some fascinating Columbus, MS history! - Rick Cleveland , a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Today’s sports columnist s...

THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FOURTH WING! (It is spoiler-free for Iron Flame though!) - Why We Love - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Fourth Wing ( bookshop.org )( libro.fm ) is the first of five books in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series. A Special Edition of Fourth Wing with bonus chapters and sprayed edges has just released. Copies are limited! To check in-store availability or to add your n...

Greg Marshall was raised in Salt Lake City and currently lives in Texas. A National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Prose, he is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers. His work has appeared in The Best American Essays and been supported by MacDowell and the Corporation of Yaddo. His memoir, Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew From It ( bookshop.org )( libro.fm ) is a hilarious a...

Alex Pheby is a British author and academic. He is currently a professor at Newcastle University and lives in Scotland. He studied at Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Goldsmiths. and UEA. Alex’s second novel, Playthings , was shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize. His third novel, Lucia, was joint winner of the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize. Mordew , the fir...

We've read all there is to read in the ACOTAR series (for now) and it's finally time to dive into Crescent City! But first, Melissa and Randi join Caroline to explore a few final ACOTAR hot takes and fan theories, and tell her everything she needs to know going into the Crescent City series. - Heads up! This episode contains spoilers for the ACOTAR series, but is spoiler-free for the Crescent City...

This month, Caroline and Rachel are talking about Latin American horror, specifically five incredible Latin American women authors - Agustina Bazterrica, Mariana Enriquez, Silvia Moreno Garcia, Isabel Cañas, and Samanta Schweblin. We'll be using Rachel's Hot Possum Horror Meter to signify the fear-factor of each book! - Level 1 - Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell ( boo...

Friendly City Bestsellers is a quarterly deep dive into FCB's bestsellers and customer favorites. - FCB’s Always Bestsellers How to Read - Thomas Richardson ( friendlycitybooks.com ) Stretch Like Scarlet - Emily Liner, Illustrated by John Clark IV ( friendlycitybooks.com ) - July - September 2023 Best Sellers Wolfboy - Andy Harkness ( bookshop.org ) Wolfboy is Scared - Andy Harkness ( bookshop.org...

Ally Burguieres is an artist, designer, and inventor specializing in popular and conceptual pieces. She has shown work in Brazil, England, France, Germany, Ireland, and the US. She currently teaches Media Arts at Tulane University and holds a PhD for her writing and research on art and media in everyday life. In addition to her artistic work, she is also a wildlife rehabber and the creator of the...

Tyriek White is a writer, musician, and educator from Brooklyn, NY. He has received fellowships from Callaloo and the New York State Writer’s Institute, among other honors. He is currently the media director of Lampblack Literary Foundation, which seeks to provide mutual aid and various resources to Black writers across the diaspora. He holds a degree in Creative Writing & Africana Studies from Pi...

Clémence Michallon was born and raised near Paris. She studied journalism at City University of London, received a master’s in Journalism from Columbia University, and has written for The Independent since 2018. Her essays and features have covered true-crime, celebrity culture, and literature. She moved to New York City in 2014 and recently became a US citizen. Clémence's new novel, The Quiet Ten...

5 books down, 3 to go! We're breaking down the fifth and final (for now) installment of ACOTAR - A Court of Silver Flames. - Heads up! This episode contains spoilers for A Court of Silver Flames (Book 5) and for the four books prior. - Preorder the Indie Exclusive version of House of Flame and Shadow in store or at friendlycitybooks.com now! - Read along with us! We'll be reading and discussing on...

A native and current resident of Southern California, Suzanne Enoch loves movies almost as much as she loves books, with a particular soft spot for anything Star Wars. She is a New York Times bestselling author, who has written more than 50 books, including Regency romances, historical romances, and contemporary romantic suspense. She shares a home with various humans, tropical fish, a dog (Tiki),...

It's officially spooky season! Rachel and Caroline are here with book recommendations based on your favorite Halloween movies! - If you liked this movie, you should read... The Amityville Horror The September House by Carissa Orlando ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) Crimson Peak Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia ( booksho...

We've compiled all of our favorite audiobooks of 2023 in one libro.fm playlist . At the end of each month we'll update the playlist with the audiobooks that we loved listening to that month. - Our favorite audiobooks that we listened to in August 2023: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, narrated by Meryl Streep ( libro.fm ) ( bookshop.org ) The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, narrated by D...

Nyani Nkrumah was born in Boston and raised in Ghana and Zimbabwe. She developed her love of reading and writing from her mother, who taught English Literature and Language and encouraged her children to recite poems and Shakespeare soliloquies. After graduating from Amherst College with a dual major in Biology and Black Studies, Nkrumah received her master’s at the University of Michigan, and a P...

Rose Hackman is a British journalist based in Detroit. Her work on gender, race, labor, policing, housing and the environment—published in The Guardian—has brought international attention to overlooked American policy issues, historically entrenched injustices, and complicated social mores. Rose's book, Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power ( bookshop.org...

Andy Harkness is a Mississippi native and children's book author and illustrator. For nearly thirty years, he has worked in animation, including Art Direction and Visual Development at Disney Feature Animation and Sony Pictures Animation on projects like Moana , Wreck-It Ralph , Frozen , Bolt , Tangled , Big Hero 6 , and Zootopia . He won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation...

Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and graphic novels. He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus coauthored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix...

FCB's To Be Read stacks never stop growing! Fall 2023 is going to be an incredible season for books - here are the ones we can't wait to read: Emily's TBR - Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) In the Pines: A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning by Grace Elizabeth Hale ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) The World Central Kit...

Dr. Christie Collins is an author and poet currently living in Starkville, MS. She is a professor at Mississippi State University, where she teaches courses in writing and literature. She received her Ph. D. in Critical and Creative Writing from Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales. Christie was an official panelist on the Poetry Panel at the 2023 Mississippi Book Festival. She will also be a pres...

4 books down, 4 to go! For our farewell to Feyre, we go deep into the Sarah J. Maas universe and fandom... Apologies in advance for some chaotic hot takes and for calling Eris "Eros." - Heads up! This episode contains spoilers for A Court of Frost and Starlight (Book 4) and for the three books prior. - Preorder the Indie Exclusive version of House of Flame and Shadow in store or at friendlycityboo...

Michael Farris Smith is an award-winning author currently living in Oxford, MS. His novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets. He has also written the feature-film adaptations of his novels Desperation Road and The Fighter, titled for the screen as Rumble Through the Dark. He is the author...

Notorious horror-pusher Rachel sits down with friend-of-the-bookstore and known scaredy-cat Michael to discuss all of the creepy books she's made him read. - Books that traumatized Michael - Devil House by John Darnielle ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ( bookshop.org ) ( libro.fm ) The Cla...

We've compiled all of our favorite audiobooks of 2023 in one libro.fm playlist . At the end of each month we'll update the playlist with the audiobooks that we loved listening to that month. - Our favorite audiobooks of July 2023: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, narrated by Gisela Chípe ( libro.fm ) ( bookshop.org ) Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, narrated by Mela Lee ( libro.fm ) ( bo...

Vishwesh Bhatt is a chef and cookbook author who has made his home in Oxford, Mississippi. He has been a part of the Chef John Currence's City Grocery Restaurant Group since 1997, and has been the Executive Chef of Snackbar since 2009. He was nominated for People’s Best New Chef by Food & Wine and won the 2019 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South, as well as the 2019 Southern Living’s Sout...