Completely Booked - Official Podcast of the Jacksonville Public Library

Jenna and Hurley go live with author Tim Dorsey from the Beaches Branch Library. Tim Dorsey is a dark satirical Florida author from Tampa, known for his outrageous serial character Serge A. Storms. Tim takes time before his appearance at the Flamingo Book Club at the Beaches Library to talk about his transition from life as a reporter to writing 23 novels. 

Angelina (4 years old) and Berkeley (2 years old) are our youngest, and dare we say cutest, guests on Completely Booked thus far. With the help of their mom Erica they are showing the world how to have fun while doing science projects on their Instagram account @ScienceSis. Learn more about their favorite library service, the Traveling Tales. Our Early Childhood Specialist Susan Mankowski tells why the Traveling Tales are a great way to engage kids in learning. 

The Jaguars are back baby! Hurley and Jenna talk burgers, bacon, and Jaguars with local sports reporter Cole Pepper. Cole discusses his relationship with Mark Brunell and what it's like to work with Mark after covering his career as a Jag. Cole makes a bold prediction for the season, and gives us his analysis of the "was Myles Jack down" debate.

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.

The Zine scene is strong in Jacksonville. It also just so happens the Jacksonville Public Library has the largest Zine Collection in the Southeastern United States! Aysha Miskin is a local artist and co-contributor to the Nickname Zine. She explains zine culture and how creating her own has given her more confidence in herself as an artist. Jenna is inspired to create her own friendship-centered zine. 

Josh Cobb grew up on a dairy farm before moving to Florida and slowly moving his way up the coast to Jacksonville. Josh owns Rockbot Studios right down the street from our Willowbranch Library in Riverside and is a long-time friend of our very own Producer Bryan. Producer Bryan makes his debut on the mic talking about how he met Josh and all of his different bands that have recorded at Rockbot Studios. Hurley and Jenna realize their dream of recording their own album ... the dream dies after a sad attempt to rap. 

The Jax Makerspace Gallery has a new photography exhibit called Jacksonville: A Tale of My City. Jenna and Hurley talk with three of the photographers, Malcolm Jackson, Bob Self, and Cheryl McCain, during the opening reception at Downtown Art Walk. The three photographers tell us about their work and how they went about capturing the true identity of their favorite Jacksonville neighborhoods and monuments.

Cirque du Soleil is back in Jax! We caught up with Circus Artist Sante and Corteo's publicist Maxwell at the Lexington Hotel. Sante tells us how her dance career evolved into a circus artist career, and what it's like to perform on a chandelier. Use promo code CORTEO15 to receive an exclusive discount for library customers on tickets for the Aug. 1 - 5 show at the Veterans Memorial Arena. Learn more about our weekly podcast at jaxpubliclibrary.org/podcast.

Chef Dennis Chan is the owner of Blue Bamboo Restaurant on Southside Boulevard, and author of the Hip Asian Comfort Food Cookbook (in our collection, obvi). He is also a huge supporter of the Friends of the Library bookstore at the University Park Branch Library. Chef Dennis shares his families history with owning restaurants in Jacksonville and teaches Hurley and Jenna how to kill it in the kitchen with three simple ingredients.