Completely Booked - Official Podcast of the Jacksonville Public Library

Keith Marks wants us all to get curious. He's the founder of Avant, a nonprofit organization bringing musical acts to the Jacksonville area—many of which the people of Jacksonville have never heard of. He's also the donor of the Jacksonville Public Library's Radical Jewish Music collection, which he tells us all about during our engaging conversation.

In this episode of Completely Booked, Ken explains the vision and process of the name change and what he hopes to bring to the Jacksonville community. He discusses his career at the Washington Post; starting as an intern and rising to the position of Vice President of Advertising, and most recently, Chief Revenue Officer of Washington Post Media and General Manager of Washington Post Digital.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Baseball 2019 season starts April 4, and you can purchase tickets on their website or at the box office at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Ever wondered what it takes to take a book from manuscript to publication? Literary editor Jessica Hatch of Hatch Editorial Services is here to walk us through the process. How does a book get picked up for trade publishing? What does it take for a book to become a bestseller? Find out on this episode!

Jessica also tells us some of her favorite books:

Tonight I'm Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

This is it! R.L. Stine is on Completely Booked this week. We fainted just before we recorded this so hopefully you can't tell. Bob (he let us call him Bob) was one of the nicest and most jovial people ever. He told us about his start writing for a comedy magazine, and how he tried to resist writing the Goosebumps books at first. He also tells us why he thinks Jack Black did such a poor job portraying him in the first Goosebumps movie.

DJ, rapper and queer-identifying social justice warrior GeeXella is on our show today. We discuss Duval Folx, an inclusive dance party they established in 2018, as well as the tragic car accident that shaped their life.

Follow GeeXella on Instagram.

Jax Book Fest is this Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019! Goosebumps author R.L. Stine and author of the Black Lagoon series, Mike Thaler will be there to meet you and sign your books. Hurley and Jenna are giving you the inside scoop on how to guarantee you have a spot in line for R.L. Stine's presentation and book signing. Don't miss this incredible event! More details and full event schedule can be found at jaxbookfest.org.

Rodney Hurst is a civil rights activist, a black historian, and the author of two award-winning books. He joins Hurley and Jenna on Completely Booked to tell the real history of the bloody events of August 27, 1960, when 200 whites with ax handles and baseball bats attacked members of the Jacksonville, Florida Youth Council NAACP who were demonstrating peaceably at White lunch counters in downtown Jacksonville. This event is now known as Axe Handle Saturday.

Jacksonville native, Victoria Crawford or Alicia Fox as she's known in the ring, is on the show today! Alicia is the longest contracted WWE Diva, or female WWE wrestler. She tells us about her career in the ring, and what she has coming in her life beyond WWE. 

We love books around here, especially new and exciting books. Our resident Librarian Ninjas are telling us what's hot in 2019, and how the library decides which books to buy.

Books Jenna and Hurley are reading:

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Nick Offerman + Megan Mullally

And We're Off by Dana Schwartz

Inevitable Bestsellers in 2019:

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Connections in Death by J.D. Robb

A Justified Murder by Jude Deveraux

Silent Night by Danielle Steel

Run Away by Harlan Coben

Books to watch out for in 2019:

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

White by Bret Easton Ellis

Nathan Ballentine aka the Man in Overalls is here to save the day and your dead plants. Nathan is a huge advocate for growing your own groceries, and he offers lots of free resources to help you do it. He also lends his expertise (for a fee) getting your personal garden started. 

Hurley and Jenna also start a new segment called "Renew or Return" where Producer Bryan asks if they would renew (keep it) or return (didn't like it) different stuff. Check the new theme music too!

Learn more about the Man in Overalls: http://maninoveralls.blogspot.com/