Hey world, we're back to recording. In this episode Garrett and Alyssa catch up on the books they've been reading and listening to over the past few months. You'll also finally hear their thoughts on The Hobbit and they'll talk about the movies they think were actually better than the books. It's good to be back 💛

This week on Open Book we got the honor of having Raven Solomon, a local author and all-around incredible human being, on our show to talk about the writing process for her first book as well as the self-publishing process. Raven is a leadership guru and two years ago wrote and published Leading Your Parents: 25 Rules to Effective Multigenerational Leadership for Millennials and Gen Z. She was incredibly open about her writing process and how difficult it was, but then she tackled the self-publishing industry after, making her a total badass in our eyes. Plus, hear what Garrett and Alyssa are reading right now and maybe, just maybe, learn some big news about Alyssa that she finally shares.... 

New year, new book discussion! Alyssa has finally read one of Garrett's favorite books, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and watched the movie so they can have an in-depth argument about it. To help ease the tension, they have special guest Taylor Florio, a close friend who happened to watch and read the book the weekend before this discussion, on as well. There's also some weird mentions of hand hugging, podcasts to fall asleep to and Garrett's daemon animal from the His Dark Materials series. 

Happy holidays from Open Book! In our last episode of the year, Garrett and Alyssa talk all about their favorite reads of 2020, giving you short descriptions and what we liked about each. Don't be shocked... prehistoric sharks are mentioned once again. We also talk about some of the local businesses we're supporting this holiday season (support local business, y'all) and what we're reading right now for the end of the year. 

This is the type of podcast episode you get when things get crazy for the holidays and Alyssa doesn't have time to prepare a better topic: we rapid fire answer a bunch of bookish questions we found on the internet for ya. Do we judge books by their covers? Where is our favorite place to read? Do we have a favorite book character of all time? You'll just have to listen to find out. 

This week we're honored to have local children's author Lawrence Gordon on the show sharing about his two published books and his plan for what comes next. Lawrence co-authors each of his book, making them extra special. His whole mission is to get more fathers reading with their children and talking about emotional issues with them. Garrett and Alyssa also discuss their favorite children's books and share what they're reading. 

The day has finally come: over two months after finishing up our buddy read of Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians, Garrett and Alyssa are finally ready to discuss the breathtaking horror novel in all its glory. *Warning* there are spoilers ahead. We also talk about the books we're currently reading, what our Small Business Saturday plan is, books that have changed our lives and Garrett's favorite horror movies. 

Garrett finally finishes his buddy read, we talk about our holiday plans for the store and we have a special guest on to talk about all things writing and journaling ahead of November's National Novel Writing Month! We're pumped to welcome Ashley Wright, a local author and journaling expert, to the show to talk about how writing affects her life and journal prompts. 

Alyssa ribs Garrett for not finishing their buddy read on time - surprise surprise. They also discuss how they read so much and what they'd say to folks who say they don't have time to read. You'll also hear some business updates and a debate on hardcover versus paperback books. 

Garrett and Alyssa talk about the latest JK Rowling controversy. Yup, she's at it again. We discuss whether you can truly separate an artist from their art, or in this case, and author from their books, given that Harry Potter has meant so much to us as readers in the past. You'll also hear us discuss books we believe everyone should read and Garrett will talk about his prehistoric shark book that he *finally* finished.