Librarian Sarah Bowman joins Jeff and Rodi to talk about the delicate art of recommending books. In this episode, both Jeff and Rodi will receive four recommendations based on their preferences, including... Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, City of Brass, Dread Nation, The Revisioners  |  House of Broken Angels, Nothing to See Here, This is Where I Leave You, The Sun Down Motel. www.fadl.org  

Lisa Gardner's new protagonist, Frankie Elkins, is driven to help find missing persons from old/forgotten cold cases; in this latest novel she's venturing into a national forest in Wyoming to look for a man who disappeared without a trace. Tune in to hear our conversation about crafting a suspense novel in the wilderness. https://www.lisagardner.com/  

Jonathan Evison’s Small World is an epic novel for now. Set against such iconic backdrops as the California gold rush, the development of the transcontinental railroad, and a speeding train of modern-day strangers forced together by fate, it is a grand entertainment that asks big questions.  https://jonathanevison.net/ 

We're talking about Ferndale's efforts to encourage sustainable habits with new Zero Waste Program Coordinator Claire Dion. When it comes to "the three R's" of being environmentally conscious, we were all raised on the importance of recycling, but today we're really talking about just how important REDUCING and REUSING can be... Claire will be joining us in the late winter for an event on sustainable mending, so stay tuned for that as well! For more information on the city's recent compost pilot program, click here. And, if you live in Ferndale and have any questions about Zero Waste, you can reach Claire here: [email protected] 

Aaron Blatt teaches English Language Arts at Ferndale Middle School; he's been teaching for 20 years and has experience as a reading specialist. Blatt also cohosts our Middle School Book Club. He recently joined us on a weekday, just as school had let out, to talk about the experience of teaching during the pandemic, and so much more--including culturally responsive teaching and his aspirations of cultivating joy in the classroom setting. 

Since its founding in 1921, the Detroit Historical Society (DHS) has been dedicated to safeguarding the history of our region so that current and future generations of metro Detroiters can better understand the people, places, and events that helped shape our lives. 100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society, written by senior curator Joel Stone, captures in words and photographs the little-known story of the people who have been telling Detroit’s stories and preserving its material culture for the last century.

Staff discuss the joys of reading romance novels, as well as addressing previously stereotyped tropes and celebrating the new wave of contemporary authors of the genre. Circulation specialist Rodi Brown is back, along with Youth Librarian Mary Grahame Hunter--both are ardent fans of this literary genre and they are putting on a master class for the podcast host. Provided below are their top 5 authors of romance novels. 

We're chatting with Cleveland-based author Genevieve Gornichec about her debut novel, The Witch's Heart: "When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology." Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration.

Jeffery Deaver RETURNS to the podcast, talking about his latest thriller 'The Midnight Lock,' featuring his beloved protagonists Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs as they search for a criminal whose fascination with breaking locks terrorizes New York City. https://www.jefferydeaver.com/novel/the-midnight-lock/