Book Pop!

Happy Indie Bookstore Day!

Spring is here, which can only mean one thing - Independent Bookstore Day happened! Over 1,600 bookstores around the country (including Lake City Books!) celebrated on April 26th with a record number of readers taking part in the festivities in the Madison area. Molly and Jamie sit down to take a breath after the craziness, talk about bestsellers from the weekend and the year so far, as well as what they’re reading now.

Books mentioned:

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins  

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson 

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green 

Funny Because It's True by Christine Wenc 

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 

Butter by Asako Yuzuki 

A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman 

I See You've Called In Dead by John Kenney

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley 

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor 

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Molly and Jamie sit down with Wisconsin author Christine Wenc to discuss her smash-hit novel Funny Because It's True, detailing the rise of The Onion, an irreverent newspaper started by a group of UW Madison students that became a cornerstone of modern satire.

Christine’s reading list:

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Debt by David Graeber

The Freaks Came Out to Write by Tricia Romano (colloquially known as ‘The Oral History of the Village Voice’ - we recommend listening instead of reading this one!)

Tales From the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne

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Bare with us on this whirlwind of an episode as Molly and Jamie settle in to talk about all the recent titles they have read, announce exciting April events, and give you a sneak peek into new products coming to the store. 

What are they reading...
Both: 
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson  
Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire by Christine Wenc

 Jamie:
Inward by yung pueblo
Bind Me Tighter Still by Lara Ehrlich
Kate & Frida: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Books by Kim Fay

Molly: 
Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

Don't forget to check out our event at https://lakecitybooks.com/events

Shop all the books we mentioned!

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@lakecity.books

Visit us! https://www.lakecitybooks.com

Spring is in the air! Jamie and Molly and a room full of excited readers are bringing you a new kind of episode this week with a live recording of Lake City Books' Spring Preview Event. The ladies each picked five upcoming titles they are excited about and break them down for you. A big thank you to our audience for sharing some of the books they are looking forward to this spring. 

Molly's Spring Picks:
The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
Fish Tales by Nettie Jones 
We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle,  Abby Wambach,  Amanda Doyle
The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett by David Demchuk,  Corinne Leigh Clark
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 

Jamie's Spring Picks:
The Lilac People by Milo Todd
The Names by Florence Knapp
Life and Art by Richard Russo
The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

PRE-ORDER NOW AT LAKECITYBOOKS.COM

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Molly and Jamie announce the Book Pop! Spring 2025 Read-Along pick and catch up on what they read over their break!

What are they reading....
Molly:
The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3) by Katherine Arden
Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton,  Rebecca Podos 
Jamie:
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
First-Time Caller by B K Borison 
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell,  Ashley Mackenzie

Also Mentioned in this episode:
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler 
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

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Jamie and Molly are back with a new episode with the best selling author Nickolas Bulter. They talk to Nick about the success of his debut novel Shotgun Love Songs, his new book The Forty Year Kiss, and everything in between. 

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As promised, Molly and Jamie are back to wrap up their Winter Read-Along after both reading Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. Hear what listeners thought of the book including best take-aways, favorite chapters, and impactful quotes.

Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman

What are they reading...
Jamie:
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon

Molly:
Be Ready When the Luck Happens A Memoir by Ina Garten  

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We are rounding out Season 2 of Book Pop! LIVE with guest author Christina Clancy. Christina's newest novel The Snowbirds out February 4th, 2025 and available for pre-order NOW! She also talks about her other works including Second Home and Shoulder Season. We were also lucky enough to have some friendly faces in the audience including Maggie Ginsberg, Laura Anne Bird, and Hailey Mclaughlin.

Mentioned in this episode:
The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
Leaving by Roxana Robinson
A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler
Birds of America  by Lorrie Moore
Who Do You Love by Jean Thompson 
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Loigman
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
Long Bright River by Liz Moore 
The Women by Kristin Hannah
One Summer America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
Where Bigfoot Walks by Robert Michael Pyle
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam 
Heartwood by Amity Gaige  

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Visit us! https://www.lakecitybooks.com

Are you reading along with us? Take the survey for Meditations for Mortal here!

Shop all the books we mentioned!

Follow us on Instagram:
@bookpop.podcast

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@lakecity.books

Visit us! https://www.lakecitybooks.com

Molly and Jamie are ready to shop this holiday season! They share some of the Small Business Saturday events they are excited about around Madison including Downtown Madison's Holiday Open House where you can ride a free trolley to around the capital square and along state street as you shop some great deals from local businesses. The ladies share some of there favorite places including CocoVaa, Madison Chocolate Company, Little Luxuries, The Soap Opera, Table Wine and more. It's also a special time of year with the announcement of this years literary winners.
Molly and Jamie talk about some notable titles and surprise pick from the Booker International Prize, National Book Award, Kirkus, and Nobel Prize for Literature. 


What are they reading?
Molly:
This Will Be Fun by E B Asher
Jamie:
The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy 
Wreck My Plans by Jillian Meadows

Also Mentions in this episode:

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
James by Percival Everett
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Deborah Smith
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, Michael Hofmann
Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De León
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A new fantasy series set a thousand years before The City of Brass by Shannon Chakraborty
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe


For free shipping on a copy of Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman use Promo Code: MORTAL

Shop all the books we mentioned!

Follow us on Instagram:
@bookpop.podcast

Follow Lake City Books on Instagram:
@lakecity.books

Visit us! https://www.lakecitybooks.com