Beyond the Desk

Librarian Desirae and library assistant Bianca sit down to discuss the importance of representation in romance and highlight three of their favorite reads.

Works mentioned: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf, Electric Idol by Katee Robert, and How to Dance by Jason B. Dutton.

Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

WAPL staffers Desirae, Sarah and Karen discuss The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. This standout literary mystery follows the disappearance of a teen in the same woods where her brother went missing years before.

Also mentioned: Long Bright River by Liz Moore.

Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Katie, Desirae and Sarah talk about their favorite reads of the year. We suggest thrillers, nonfiction, graphic novels and more.

Works mentioned: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston, America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger, All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews, the movie Lady Bird, The Wedding People by Alison Espach, the movie Table 19, and A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat, The Tea Dragon Society by K. O’Neill, and No Cats in the Library by Lauren Emmons.

Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

WAPL librarians Desirae and Sarah are joined by Jenn from Brown Deer Public Library for a discussion on why they love audiobooks. They talk about some of their favorites, including ones featuring terrific solo narrators as well as those with a full cast.

Works mentioned: The Wedding People by Alison Espach; The Storyteller by Dave Grohl; From Cradle to Stage by Virginia Hanlon Grohl; Surrender by Bono; Me by Elton John; the movie Rocketman; The Teacher, Never Lie, The Inmate and Ward D by Freida McFadden; The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix; The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton; the Lily Adler mysteries by Katharine Schellman; And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie; The Guest List by Lucy Foley; King of Wrath and the Twisted series by Ana Huang; Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt; the Whatever After and Wings of Fire series; and the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny.

Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Desirae and Sarah discuss Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries, including the most recent, Death at the Sign of the Rook. They also chat about other character-driven mysteries and TV series.

Works mentioned: Death at the Sign of the Rook; Case Histories; One Good Turn; When Will There Be Good News?; Started Early, Took My Dog; Big Sky and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson; the movie Knives Out; the TV series Case Histories and Downton Abbey; The Hunter by Tana French; the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith; the TV series Vera and books by Ann Cleeves; the TV series The Chelsea Detective, Professor T and Death in Paradise; and the TV series Dark Winds and books by Tony Hillerman.

Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Meagan and Sarah talk about the guilt and angst of their TBR lists as well as books they are looking forward to reading ... someday. They also talk about how author events can be fun—and add to the TBR pile.

Books mentioned: Perfect World and The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, True North and Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, No One Belongs Here More Than You and All Fours by Miranda July, One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware, and Little Labors by Rivka Galchen.

Learn more about West Allis Reads at westallislibrary.org/weread.

Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarian Katie talks to four members of the library’s Teen Advisory Board, or TAB, about books they are reading this summer. TAB is made up of students in grades 7-12 who earn volunteer hours by helping plan library programs for teens and working on library projects.

Titles discussed include: Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

Also mentioned: Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson; The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han; If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang; and the Grishaverse books by Leigh Bardugo. 

Check out our teen Instagram page @wapl_teenspace to keep up with teen events. If you or a student you know is interested in TAB, check out our teen events page for more information: www.westallislibrary.org/TeenEvents

Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Episode 41: Manga

Librarian Desirae and library patron Bryan discuss the ever-widening world of manga, including manga basics, their favorite series, and tons of reading recommendations!

Also mentioned: Manga/Anime – Bleach, Cat Massage Therapy, Death Note, Delicious in Dungeon, Fist of the North Star, Frieren, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Joshiraku, K-On!, A Man & His Cat, My Hero Acadamia, Naruto, Nichijou, One Piece, Spy x Family, and The Way of the House Husband. Movies – Dune and My Neighbor Totoro. TV Shows – League of Legends and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Sarah talks with local author Hannah Morrissey about her thrillers Hello, Transcriber; The Widowmaker; and When I’m Dead. They comprise the first three books in the Black Harbor series set in a fictional Wisconsin city along Lake Michigan.

Librarians Desirae and Sarah discuss The Hunter, Tana French’s latest novel which follows characters introduced in The Searcher. In The Hunter, Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the town.

Also mentioned: In the Woods, The Likeness, The Witch Elm and Faithful Place by Tana French; True Grit by Charles Portis; Shane by Jack Schaefer; the movies Kill Bill, Tombstone and Maverick; the TV shows Westworld and Dublin Murders; the Jackson Brodie mysteries, including Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson; and The Family Upstairs and The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell.

Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay