Cedar Mill & Bethany Libraries Podcasts

Our new teen council met on September 14th to talk books and what was their favorite read this summer.

Books discussed were:

All time favs:

• Hunger Games
• School of Good and Evil 2
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Lockwood and Co.
• Twilght

Books they would live in (if bad things didn't happen):

• Hogwarts
• Dungeon from Dungeon Crawler Carl
• Six of Crows
• Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Red Queen

Favorites from this summer:

• Anne of the Green Gables
• Dungeon Crawler Carl
• Strange Case of Jeckyl & Hyde
• Queen of Shadows

"Chowder Chat Forever" - immortal words from Dylan as we say goodbye to our two seniors in this episode of Chowder Chat recorded on May 18th, 2026.

Books and movies discussed:

• Borat
• Scythe
• I could give you the moon
• Train Dreams
• Persepolis
• Crown of Midnight
• Twilight
• In the After

How well does the teen council know the library? They have shared a lot of information about the library throughout the year, but who remembers the details?

Some of the questions they get asked are:

• How many books can you check out with a WCCLS library card?
• What service do we use for reading challenges like Summer Reading?
• What's the app that you can use to check out ebooks?

These questions and more are expored in this episode of Chowder Chat. Recorded on April 13, 2026.

The teen council debates and votes on their own March Madness bracket this year to decide which teen book is the best. The usual suspects are in the mix, but there are a couple surprises. Listen in to see which book bests all the rest. Discussion was recorded on March 9th, 2026.

Books and movies discussed are:

Ten things I hate about you Taming of the Shrew

New Books coming soon! They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc Flirting with Murder by Amanda Sellet Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai Last Kiss of Summer by Jessica Felleman

March Book Madness

American Born Chinese vs Dragon Hoops Cinder vs the Lightning Thief Divergent vs Scythe Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone vs Keeper of the Lost Citites Hunger Games vs Legend Inheritance Games vs the Summer I Turned Pretty Giver vs Maze Runner Outsiders vs. Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Listen to the podcast to learn who wins.

Our teen council spoke with members of the Sunset High Youth HPV Awareness club for this podcast. They also report on their favorite recent reads and music they enjoyed after the recent Grammy Awards.

The Youth HPV Awareness Club seeks to help teens understand how reduce their cancer risk. To learn more about the group and their work, check their Instagram page or the larger organization that supports teens across the state.

• https://www.instagram.com/sunset_youthchamps
• https://youthhpvchampions.org/

We also discuss two new books that are coming soon. Which one would you read?

• Midnight on the Celestial by Julia Alexandra
• In Time With You by Kristin Dwyer

Other books discussed during the podcast. Some of these are adult books, so make sure to check age ranges on the titles if you aren't sure the book is right for you.

• Pablo Neruda Odes
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
• A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Music we love right now.

• Bad Bunny
• J. Cole
• Bob Dylan
• Hayley Williams
• Tate McRae

Our teen council talked about how their reading stacked up in 2025 and what some of their favorite reads were. They look at some new books coming out in February and what their reading goals are this year. Recorded in January 2026.

Books Mentioned:

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph

New books:

Hearts Gambit by JD Myall Fall of Iris Henley by Jennifer Graham They Call Her Regret by Channelle Desamours

Older favorites:

Shadow and Bone

Scythe

Project Hail Mary

Can sports be as exciting as comics? That's the question that Gene Luen Yang set out to answer with this graphic nonfiction work, Dragon Hoops. Our teen council discusses the book for our December Chowder Chat episode.

The teen council also discusses their recent reads along with some advanced reader copies that the library received lately. They are all listed below.

Favorite Recent Reads:

Coldwire by Chloe Gong

Drive by Daniel Pink

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

Monument 14 by Emmy Labourne

New books coming soon - Should you read them?

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber

Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis Featherstone

The Swan's Daughter: a possibly doomed love story by Roshani Chokshi

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph

Is fantasy better than dystopian fiction? Historical fiction vs. realistic? Our teen council debates which genres are better. They also share book news, local sports and what new books are coming to the library soon. Recorded on November 10th, 2025

Books discussed are:

Coldwire by Chloe Gong

A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody

My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

The teen council interviewed Peter Leonard, the Executive Director of the Cedar Mill & Bethany Libraries, on October 13th, 2025. He is retiring soon after 29 years here at the library. Learn about what has changed in our libraries, why he thinks libraries are still important, and why he wanted to work in libraries in the first place.

Read the book he recommended, the Goldfinch.

Meet our new teen council, much like the old teen council with some new members! Our members tell us a bit about themselves, what books, movies, and music they like, their favorite apps, and what things annoy them.

Our Favorite Books:

• Project Hail Mary
• Scythe
• Twilight
• Foul Lady Fortune
• Hunger Games
• Eragon
• Sunrise on the Reaping

Favorite Movies:

• Zootopia
• Ratatouille
• Harry Potter
• Friends TV show
• Up
• Coco
• Catching Fire
• Donnie Darko
• Kpop Demon Hunters

Which new books should we read?

• Moonsick by Tom O'Donnell
• Balancing Act by Paula Chase