Completely Booked - Official Podcast of the Jacksonville Public Library

William has been an educator for 31 years and has a passion for technology and teaching students about STEAM. William is also a proud Educator Cardholder and listener of the Completely Booked podcast. He tells us about his love of educating and why STEAM is so important for children.

WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS! And our guests on the show today, Dontavious Pittman and Natalie McGriff both agree. These incredible authors have taken it on themselves to write encouraging and diverse children's book. Natalie wrote her first book when she was just seven years old! Learn more about Natalie and her series "The Adventures of Moxie McGriff": https://moxiemcgriff.com/. Learn more about Dontavious and his book "I Didn't Ask to be Creative": https://cardboardclouds.com/#Authors. 

Author, historian, and local celebrity Tim Gilmore shares some of his favorite memories of writing and researching the sketchy history of our peculiar city. Tim is the author of 17 books, the founder of the JaxbyJax literary festival, and the creator of jaxpsychogeo.com. 

We're taking a break this week, but we wanted to make sure you got to listen to one of our favorite episodes of the year. Happy New Year friends, we'll see if you in 2019!

What happens when you put 400 alligator eggs from Louisiana on a rooftop in Jacksonville, FL? Find out in our interview with Adam Rosenblatt, assistant professor of Biology at the University of North Florida! Dr. Rosenblatt tells Hurley and Jenna all about his recent experiment, as well as his journey toward a lifelong love of alligators.

Happy Holidays everyone! Hurley and Jenna are joined by their most famous guest yet ... SANTA! The jolly ole chap gives some crucial advice to kids still trying to make the nice list, and let's in on some of his favorite reads. 

Some incredible books were released in 2018; Becoming by Michelle Obama, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and so many more! Hurley and Jenna, and several library staff members tell us about their favorites from the year! Visit our podcast page to put these great reads on hold!

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected thousands of stories from people all across the United States. The NPR oral history project archives each story in the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center. We spoke with the site manager Jacqueline Van Meter, who's parked the StoryCorps Airstream mobile studio in Memorial Park to collect stories from the people of Jacksonville.

Record your own story at the library! Visit jaxpubliclibrary.org/podcast for more information.

The latest exhibit in the Jax Makerspace Gallery is called Ties and Knots: Weaving Narratives of Northeast Florida. Hurley and Jenna talk with three of the extremely talented artists during the opening reception at downtown Art Walk. They tell us about their processes as an artist and what compelled them to begin working in this notoriously traditional medium.

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird has impacted generations. The book was voted America’s best-loved novel during The Great American Read. We spoke with Cheryl Goodman, English teacher at Nease High School, about the ways this book stays relevant in the 21st century.

Celeb chef Kenny Gilbert is here to share his top BBQ secrets.  He discusses his journey to becoming a multi-restaurant owner and contestant on Top Chef and Beat Bobby Flay, plus his experience writing his first book, A Chef’s Journal. We also get into a heated round of rapid fire questions, plus a pimento cheese and smoked conch dip tasting that leaves Hurley and Jenna speechless.