March is National Small Press Month. We want to give a shout out to all the amazing small publishers out there that make our book world so much richer and more interesting! Thank you. We encourage you to pick up a book from a small press this month, and every month of the year. Books mentioned in this episode: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste (Algonquin), Dislocations by Sylvia Molloy (Charco Press), Just Jen: Thriving Through Multiple Sclerosis by Jen Powley (Fernwood), and Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth (Graywolf Press). 

We say goodbye and good luck to Gabriel, one of our book friends who has been with the Port Moody Public Library for the last year. Thank you for all the book (and video game) recommendations, Gabriel. Books mentioned on this episode: Bioshock: Rapture by John Shirley, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Vicious by V.E. Schwab, Minecraft: The Dragon by Nicky Drayden, and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

This week (February 19 - 25, 2023) is Freedom to Read Week in Canada. Our Keep It Fictional librarians are here to talk about banned books that people don't want you to get your hands on. Show your support and commitment to freedom to read by picking up and reading a banned book.

Books mentioned on this episode: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe.

Our librarians recommend fantastic reads by Black authors for every month of the year. Books mentioned on this episode: Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi, The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy, and Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia.

Get ready for some earworms! In today's Keep It Fictional Book Chat, Corene, Fiona, Mark, and Virginia talk about books that have the same titles as songs. Also on the episode, a revelation that blew Corene's mind. 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa, You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo, Girl in a Coma by Douglas Coupland, and She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen.

This episode provides some incentives for our librarians to pick up a book by an author they have always meant to read. And with Sadie back, a topic that hurts Corene's brain resurfaces: buying series. Books mentioned on this episode: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Ravelstein by Saul Bellow, Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, and Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer.

Are you a fan of books with multiple perspectives? Corene, Fiona, Mark, and Virginia have recommendations for you in today's Keep It Fictional Book Chat. Romance, Frankenstein retelling, swimming pools, and reality shows are on the menu today. Books mentioned on this episode: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka, Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez, and Love From Mecca to Medina by S K Ali.

The Keep It Fictional librarians challenge themselves to read a loooong book. Are you a fan of a doorstopper? What is the longest book you've read? 

Books mentioned on this episode: Books mentioned on this episode: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (different translations available), Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez and translated by Megan McDowell, Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura and translated by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iida, and A Perfect Spy by John le Carré.

In case your To-Be-Read (TBR) list is not long enough already, we have more books to suggest to you. Fiona, Gabriel, and Mark talk about the books coming out from January to April that they are looking forward to reading. Memoirs, mysteries, haunted houses, shogi, guerilla gardening group, and more. Let us know what books you are excited to read!

Books mentioned on this episode: Stravaging "Strange" by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, translated by Joanne Turnbull, Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, Miss Major Speaks by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy, The Wounded Age and Eastern Tales by Ferit Edgü and  translated by Aron Aji, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, March Comes In Like a Lion by Chica Umino, Central Places by Delia Cai, After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling, Sink by Joseph Earl Thomas, Wolfish by Erica Berry, and The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.

Happy New Year, book lovers! 2023 is here, and Corene and Virginia are putting together their lists of upcoming books to read. This season's lineup includes murder, more murder, mysterious suitcase, French elf, anxious robot vacuum, dark academia, and chicken soup. Books mentioned on this episode: