Beyond the Desk

Just in time for summer, we talk about what we think makes for a good beach read and offer a variety of recommendations, several of which are recent releases. We also chat about why we enjoy reimagined stories, whether inspired by Jane Austen novels, fairy tales or other source material.

Titles discussed in this episode include: Book Lovers by Emily Henry; Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld; Hooked, Scarred, Wretched and Twisted by Emily McIntire; This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs; The Last Word by Taylor Adams; and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Also mentioned: Beach Read and Happy Place by Emily Henry; Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev; Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin; Eligible, Prep and Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld; Crossed by Emily McIntire; The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-Reverte; the movie Notting Hill; Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto; and The Maid by Nita Prose.

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

Thirty years after it was published, The Secret History by Donna Tartt remains as influential as ever, mentioned on cover blurbs and social media. It even informs the Dark Academia subculture. Librarians Meagan and Sarah discuss the atmospheric campus novel and talk about the joys of rereading.

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

Were you excited about the return of Alex Stern? Four years after Ninth House, Hell Bent heads back to the Yale campus, where magic is practiced in secret societies. Librarians Sarah and Desirae discuss why they enjoy the mystery/fantasy series, plus they talk about what magic they’d like to practice.

Titles discussed in this episode include: Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo.

Also mentioned: Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson; The Secret History by Donna Tartt; The Cloisters by Katy Hays; The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin; A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (also a TV series on DVD); The Magicians by Lev Grossman; The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu; and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

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

WAPL librarian Sarah talks with Liam Callanan about his latest novel, When in Rome. It’s about a woman who must choose between the chance to save a struggling convent and a life with her old flame. Plus, Sarah and Callanan talk about Paris, Milwaukee and Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs.

Titles discussed in this episode include: When in Rome, Paris by the Book, The Cloud Atlas and All Saints by Liam Callanan.

Also mentioned: The podcast The Bittersweet Life, Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher Beha, The Symmetry of Fish by Su Cho and The Archive Is All in Present Tense by Elizabeth Hoover.

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

WAPL librarians Desirae and Katie talk about their favorite love stories. They chat about sports themed romance, as well as other novels they recommend. Plus, they talk about fanfiction and romance tropes they love and hate.

Titles and series discussed in this episode include: The Hellions Angles series by Lia Riley; the Playbook series by Alexa Martin; the Chicago Stars series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade; the Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally; If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy; One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London; And They Lived by Steven Salvatore; and the Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard.

Also mentioned: The After Series by Anna Todd and Disney Twisted Tales

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

Do you have reading resolutions for the new year? Whether you want to focus your efforts on reading outside your comfort zone or simply want to read more, check out these suggestions from librarians Katie, Meagan and Sarah. They also talk about book discovery resources and what they’re looking forward to reading next.

Titles mentioned in this episode include: Empire of Pain and Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe; Rust Belt Femme by Raechel Anne Jolie; Olga Dies Dreaming by by Xochitl Gonzalez; The World Record Book of Racist Stories and You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin; The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas; My First Popsicle, edited by Zosia Mamet; The Song of the Cell and The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee; The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty; Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America by Cody Keenan; A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny; and Now Is Not the Time to Panic, The Family Fang and Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson.

Also mentioned: Archive of Our Own

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

In this episode, we welcome WAPL librarian Gina to the podcast. She, Desirae and Sarah suggest gift ideas, both fiction and nonfiction, for the various book lovers in your life—and maybe for yourself.

Titles discussed in this episode include: The Boys by Katie Hafner; Go to Sleep (I Miss You) by Lucy Knisley; Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff; How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis; Dinner in One by Melissa Clark; The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart; The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec; Marple: Twelve New  Stories by various writers; Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney; Slenderman by Kathleen Hale; and Strange Planet and Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle.

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

We welcome Meagan, an adult services librarian at WAPL, to the podcast. She joins Sarah to recommend books you might enjoy during Native American Heritage Month and beyond.

Titles discussed in this episode include: The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer, Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Carry:  A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Read about the exhibit Border Cantos: bordercantos.com

Learn about another photography project that transformed immigrants’ discarded items into art: https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/02/22/tom-kiefer-photos-el-sueno-americano

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

Intern Beth P. chats with local author Anna Lardinois about haunted history in Wisconsin and the release of her new book, Madison Ghosts and Legends, a companion book to Milwaukee Ghosts and Legends. Lardinois reveals some of her top spots for paranormal activity and discloses how she researches Wisconsin history to find stories for her books. She also talks about being a tour guide for shipwreck tours in Milwaukee and shares what attracts her to storytelling.

Titles discussed in this episode: Madison Ghosts and Legends, Milwaukee Ghosts and Legends, Storied & Scandalous Wisconsin, Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, The Ghostly Tales of Milwaukee, and The Ghostly Tales of Flint.

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

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Sept. 15, WAPL librarians Sarah, Desirae and Katie discuss Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. The novel follows a wedding planner and her politician brother and involves family relationships, romantic relationships, Puerto Rican culture and politics, and much more. Plus, they offer readalikes that touch on aspects of the book.

Also mentioned: Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber, Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera and the podcast Mother Country Radicals.

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

Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay