JoCoLibrary Uncovered

We have recommendations to help make your fall more cozy! Charles takes the host seat and is joined by Librarians Piepie Baltz and Allie Gibler to recommend books and more from our collection that will make you feel cozy as we begin to spend more time indoors during the fall.

Check out these recommendations mentioned in the episode »

Wanna get away? We've got your passport to podcast pleasure. Join Charles, Gregg and Dave for beach-reads, summer audiobooks and the Library as a “third space.”

Segments:

• 03:47—Beach-reads

What’s a Momoir you ask? Well, a Memoir, as you know, is essentially a personal account of memories—it’s narrative nonfiction. A Momoir is a personal account of memories from a mother’s perspective. We invite you to enjoy another collection deep-dive with Gregg as he hosts a discussion with Kelsey and Caitlyn about a subgenre worth your time and attention: Momoirs! 

There is a lot of good in Johnson County. Our schools, libraries, parks, cultural diversity and community. Those things don't happen without the vision and hard work of unsung heroes who fight the good fight and overcome odds. On this episode of the JoCoLibrary Uncovered podcast, Andrew Gustafson—Curator of Interpretation, Johnson County Museum, Arts and Heritage Center—presents the fascinating stories of three individuals who truly helped make this little corner of the world that we call home, better.

Learn about the contributions from:

• John Barkley 

Their stories are intriguing, and yet, they are Unsung Heroes!

Our Unsung Heroes Recommendations:  

Did you know that Romance is the most popular fiction genre out there?  It's true! According to WordsRated—a research group that focuses on the book industry—romance novels sold 39 million volumes from 2022 to 2023, bringing in $1.44 billion. 

This is probably not news to those readers out there trying to request some best-selling romance novels and finding long holds lists for authors like Colleen Hoover. Her books became a popular on TikTok last year, and though we now are doing a better job keeping up with demand, when it released in October of 2022 her book “It Starts with Us” already had nearly 900 people with it on hold through the Johnson County Library. 

What draws people so passionately to this genre? For those who may have never picked up a romance novel, where should they start? Gregg is back with some friends who just might have the answer to those questions!

What draws people so passionately to this genre? For those who may have never picked up a romance novel, where should they start? Gregg is back with some friends who just might have the answer to those questions!

Our Romance Recommendations:  

Have you ever been confused by a word that looked like another word? You know, like bear and bare or idol and idle?  

Our Recommendations:    

• jocolibrary.org/español

In his writing blog, Find Your Creative Muse, Dave Hood provides a great summary definition of Creative Nonfiction:

“A historical text presents the facts and causes and effects, and significance. Creative nonfiction does the same, but also adds narrative, including storytelling, dialogue, setting, character development. Writing Nonfiction History relies on an authoritative tone and is written in the third person." 

In this episode, we interview Jim Cosgrove, author of the creative nonfiction title Ripple: A Long, Strange Search for A Killer. You may be familiar with Cosgrove as a nationally recognized, award-winning children’s entertainer known by young fans as Mr. Stinky Feet. He is also the author of three children’s books and Everybody Gets Stinky Feet, a collection of inspirational essays from his time as a parenting columnist for The Kansas City Star. Cosgrove spent his time during the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdown to finish his incomplete investigative work focused on finding the killer of a family friend, Frank McGonigle. His resulting book, Ripple, is Cosgrove's story about Frank's cold case. He uncovers connections to a ruthless local crime boss and the blunders by the threadbare sheriff's department.

“Our story is no different from what a lot of families have dealt with. A child, a brother, whoever. They got murdered in a violent way that didn’t make any sense.

~Ripple, A Long Strange Search for a Killer - Jim Cosgrove

We use Jim's book as an exemplar of creative nonfiction because he walks us through his experience researching and writing. We truly get the story behind the story! We also bring in Local History Librarian Amanda Wahlmeier who walks us through regional reference resources available so you too can research the next great creative nonfiction true crime novel!

Our Recommendations:     

From our guests: search for Jim Cosgrove in our catalog and you’ll find the title we discussed today: Ripple in print, eBook and downloadable audiobook formats. You’ll also see 12 other titles by Jim—music and books for kids—which just goes to show what a diversely talented individual Mr. Cosgrove is!  

It’s National Preparedness Month which is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. So, get prepared:

1. Get informed (we suggest registering at NotifyJoCo for emergency alerts.)

And, make sure there's a good book in that kit! Can we suggest a Post-apocalyptic fiction title?

We welcome back Gregg Winsor and friends to take a deep-dive into Post-apocalyptic fiction—a subgenre of science fiction where some disaster has occurred, and we discover IF the characters were … prepared.

Our Recommendations:  

• Official National Preparedness Month website: ready.gov

In honor of Labor Day, we invited five staff members with very different behind-the-scenes jobs to answer three simple questions. You’ve heard the saying, “That’s like comparing Apples and Oranges” right? Well, Dave and Charles take it one step further with Apples, Oranges and Bananas. We picked staff with jobs that touch every part of the Library system—Josh: the Warehouse Manager, Patti: the Executive Assistant, Bryan: a Courier, Julie: a Training Specialist and Brian: a MakerSpace Facilitator. Hear what these individuals do and learn about the Library from unique perspectives. We even let them play Librarian and suggest great titles.   

Our Recommendations:  

"Like most cities during Prohibition, Kansas City had illegal alcohol, bootleggers, speakeasies, cops on the take, corrupt politicians and moralizing reformers. But by the time the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, Kansas City had been singled out by one observer as one of the wettest cities, as well as the wickedest.“     

Your history-loving hosts, Charles "T-Bone" Hower and the "Jackalope"—AKA Dave "Curtains" Carson—spill the beans and sing like canaries to reveal the darkside of Kansas City history. It's Kansas City True Crime on the JoCoLibrary Uncovered Podcast. 

Join us as we explain how a lawless culture that began before the Civil War evolved into political and criminal empires that ultimately drew the FBI's focus as they fought to put an end to decades of crime and violence. We bring in special guest Erik Stafford who is a historian, storyteller and a Kansas City History Tour Guide to shed some light on stories that have lived in the dark for too long.

Show notes and booklist for recommended reading and research.