Holy smokes, it's a whole new year! The show is officially a year old, and we're celebrating the start of season two(!) with a monstrous episode full of hijinks! This month the Library Pros™ learn what boofing is *spoiler alert: Matt's wrong*, we see the return of Peach Powered Thighs, we all agree that Joe Rogan has a very punchable voice, and that we still hate Ronald Regan. Heather introduces us to Diamond Dick (we promise, it isn't what you think), Matt's book might change the world, and Brittany teaches us about the Kombucha Lady. And somewhere between Matt's Ivermectin Advice and Laurel's uncharacteristically "cute" read, Brittany and Heather get on their School Library Soapbox.

P.S. Hey, Nicholas Sparks? Joey Batey did it better!

DISCLAIMER: This episode is a doozy, and it's manly because Heather and Brittany spend a solid 20 minutes discussing a Tennessee school board's recent banning of the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. This is an unusually political and heavy episode of Top Shelf Librarians, and though we know that isn't necessarily what you listen to our show for, we thought it was important to keep it in the episode. We live in times where a book about the Holocaust has been banned. Freedom to Read is critical to a successful democracy. We didn't want to add to the censorship by editing ourselves on this subject. We believe it is vital to talk about, and we hope you agree. 

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Sapiens: a Graphic History: The Birth of Humanknd by Yuval Noah Harari

Laurel:

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún by Nagabe

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Brittany:

Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut and Susanne McConnell

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Heather:

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Tim Madigan (adapted for Young Readers by Hilary Beard)

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music.