My favorite! It's ghosty time again and Nick Rodriguez joins me to talk about ghosts across many types of media, for consumers of everything from cozy ghost stories to the stuff that will give you nightmares.

Discussed:

Thirteen Ghosts (movie)

Scream (movie)

Sleepy Hollow (movie)

Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving (book)

Grave Encounters (movie)

Grave Encounters 2 (movie)

Talk To Me (movie)

Ghost Station, by S.A. Barnes (book)

Haunt Sweet Home, by Sarah Pinsker (book)

Murder Road, by Simone St. James (book)

Wendy Webb (author)

Darcy Coates (author)

Left Right Game (podcast)

Agatha All Along (TV series)

Devil's Gate in Libertyville, IL (location)

Ursula Bielski (author)

Ressurection Mary (legend)

Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois (location)

Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (location)

Jane Addams Hull-House in Chicago, Illinois (location)

1408 (movie)

Phasmophobia (video game) on PC, soon on PS5 and Xbox X/S

Silent Hill (video game) on most platforms

Luigi's Mansion (video game) on Game Cube and Nintendo 3DS

Rebecca (movie)

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (book)

Ghost Story (movie)

Personal Shopper (movie)

You Should Have Left (movie)

You Should Have Left, by Daniel Kehlmann (book)

How To Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix (book)

Stephen Graham Jones (author)

Gone To See the River Man, by Kristopher Triana (book)

Along the River of Flesh, by Kristopher Triana (book)

The Old Lady, by Kristopher Triana (book)

September House, by Carissa Orlando

Other authors to check out:

Dan Simmons

Joe Hill

Stephen King

Leigh Bardugo

Diane Setterfield

Riley Sager

Barbara Erskine

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Neil Gaiman

T. Kingfisher

Other staff recommendations:

Expedition X (TV show)

Haunted Road Atlas, by Christine Schiefer, Em Schulz (book)

Ghost Bride, by Yangsze Choo (book)

Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (book)

Horror Hotel, by Victoria Fulton (book)

Dead Silence, by S.A. Barnes (book)

Nothing But Blackened Teeth, by Cassandra Khaw (book)

Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (book)

You Like It Darker, by Stephen King (book)

Rattlesnakes, by Stephen King (book)

Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (book)

Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune (book)

Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstein (book)

Ghosts (TV show) British version

Supernatural (TV show)

Wellington Paranormal (TV show)

Not Dead Yet (TV show)

Ghostbusters (movie)

Muppet Christmas Carol (movie)

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (movie)

Welcome to Nightvale (podcast)

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home, by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor (book)

Being Human (TV series) British version

What Lies Beneath (movie)

With the start of another school year, Michelle Habrych joins me again to talk about literature near and dear to our hearts, Classics.

Discussed:

Tana joins me again today to talk about novels we've read that have fine art or artists in their plots.

Discussed:

A Death in Cornwall, by Daniel Silva

The Riviera House, by Natasha Lester

The Last Mona Lisa, by Jonathan Santlofer

The Lost Van Gogh, by Jonathan Santlofer

Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland

Horse, by Geraldine brooks

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

The Virgin Blue, by Tracy Chevalier

The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier

The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier

Cooking for Picasso, by Camille Aubray

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

The Celebrants, by Stephen Rowley

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, by Gregory Maguire

Still Life, by Louise Penny

Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde

The da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Reflex, by Dick Francis

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

Ink Black Heart, by Robert Galbraith

The Curse of Pietro Houdini, by Derek B. Miller

Tana and I share some of our favorite ARCs we've read and other books that will be published this summer (and beyond).

Discussed:

Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley

Night Guest, by Hildur Knutsdottir

Daughter of Fair Verona, by Christina Dodd

The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier

The Next Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine

Briar Club, by Kate Quinn

Maria, by Michelle Moran

Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love, by Marianne Cronin

The Big Empty, by Robert Crais

Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune

Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets, by Kate Khavari

Tell Me Who You Are, by Louise Luna

That Night in the Library, by Eva Jurczyk

A Body by the Henhouse, by Kate Wells

Last Hunt, by Audrey Cole

Arsenic Eater's Wife, by Tonya Mitchell

Pitch Dark, by Paul Doiron

Elsewhere, by Sarah Tierney

The Burning, by Linda Castillo

A Hunger to Kill, by Kim Magers

Guide Me Home, by Attica Locke

Bear, by Julia Phillips

Love Letters to a Serial Killer, by Tasha Coryell

Trust Her, by Flynn Berry

Breaking the Dark, by Lisa Jewell

Summer Pact, by Emily Giffin

Black Bird Oracle, by Deborah Harkness

Burn, by Peter Heller

Spirit Crossing, by William Kent Krueger

By Any Other Name, by Jodi Picoult

Dark Wives, by Ann Cleeves

Death at the Sign of the Rock, by Kate Atkinson

Where They Last Saw Her, by Marcie Rendon

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust, by Alan Bradley

Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty

We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman

Sleep Tight, by JH Markert

Witches of Santo Stefano, by Wendy Webb

The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich

Second Smartest Dog That Ever Lived, by Will Pass

What Does it Feel Like?, by Sophie Kinsella

Absolution, by James VanderMeer

The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny

Robert Parker books

NetGalley

Edelweiss Plus

ARCs (Advanced Reader Copy) at your library

**We apologize for the poor audio quality of this episode**

So many of the books we've read all our lives were written in another language and translated into English. Tana and I talk about some of the ones we've read recently that we've enjoyed.

Discussed:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, (Japanese) by Toshikazu Kagawuchi

Full Moon Coffee Shop series, (Japanese) by Mai Mochizuki

Olga, (German) by Bernhard Schlink

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, (Japanese) by Michiko Aoyama

Decagon House Murders, (Japanese) by Yukito Ayatsuji

The Cat Who Saved Books, (Japanese) by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, (German) by Patrick Süskind

Enigma of Room 622, (French) by Joël Dicker

The Door, (Hungarian) by Magda Szabó

Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, (Swedish) by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

Travelling Cat Chronicles, (Japanese) by Hiro Arikawa

Old Woman with the Knife, (Korean) by Gu Byeong-mo

Elderly Lady is Up To No Good, (Swedish) by Helene Tursten

The Japanese Lover, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

In the Midst of Winter, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Violeta, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Maya's Notebook, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Fresh Water for Flowers, (French) by Valérie Perrin

Forgotten on Sunday, (French) by Valérie Perrin

Books by Fredrik Backman (Swedish)

Books by Jo Nesbø (Swedish)

Books by Stieg Larsson (Swedish)

Kurt Wallander series, (Swedish) by Henning Mankell

We'll Prescribe You a Cat, (Japanese) by Syou Ishida

This episode I'm joined by my friend, Michelle Habrych, to talk about a wide variety of moms, as depicted in books.

Discussed:

Darling Girls, by Sally Hepworth

The Mother-In-Law, by Sally Hepworth

Becoming Madam Secretary, by Stephanie Dray

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon

Wishing Game, by Meg Shaffer

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?, by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

Class Mom, by Laurie Gelman

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, by Elle Cosimano

House of Eve, by Sadequa Johnson

Emily Gone, by Bette Lee Crosby

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

You Are Not Alone, by Michelle Habrych

My Darling Girl, by Jennifer McMahon

A Light in the Forest, by Melissa Payne

The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins

Crossroads, by Rachel Hightower

The Changeling, by Victor LaValle

A House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher

Though there are so many sub-genres of fantasy and science fiction, and so many formats to enjoy, Nick joins me to talk about some of our favorite books, movies, and video games.

Discussed:

Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin

Roadside Picnic, by Arkady Strugatsky

Pacific Drive (video game)

Dead Silence, by SA Barnes

Circe, by Madeline Miller

Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

God of War (video game)

Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree

Stardew Valley (video game)

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik

Temeraire series, by Naomi Novik

The Scholomance trilogy, by Naomi Novik

Alice Isn't Dead, by Joseph Fink

Welcome to Night Vale (fiction podcast)

Sworn Soldier series, by T. Kingfisher

The Lighthouse Witches, by CJ Cooke

The O.A. (Netflix)

The Odyssey, by Homer

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Annihilation (Southern Reach trilogy), by Jeff VanderMeer

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Poor Things (movie)

Heartstopper (manga series), by Alice Oseman

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Other recommendations from our library:

The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

Six Crimson Canes by Elizabeth Lim

Caraval series by Stephanie Garber

Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo

Ark of a Scythe by Neil Schusterman

Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed series) by Octavia Butler

Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight trilogy) by Katherine Arden

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

Anything by Neil Gaiman

Anything by Douglas Adams

Anything by Terry Pratchet

Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Martian by Andy Weir

Artemis by Andy Weir

Rat Queens by Kurtis Weibe

I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young

Poppy War by RF Juang

Bone by Jeff Smith

Arrival by Shaun Tan

All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones

Hell's Library series by AJ Hackwith

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Tana saves the day with her vast knowledge of all the Oscar nominations for Best Motion Picture and shares her predictions and favorites.

Discussed:

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

Zone of Interest

The surest way to give books free publicity and promotion is to point fingers at them and attempt to ban them. Often those books are so valuable, enlightening, and great for forging connections, that depriving certain people of the ability to experience them is a hot topic. Nick Rodriguez, our Teen Librarian, is starting a Banned Book Club at our local high school and he joins me to talk about potential titles for this program and the importance of fighting censorship.

Discussed:

Maus, by Art Spiegelman

Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

1984, by George Orwell

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien

Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Flamer, by Mike Curato

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe

Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Alice Isn't Dead, by Joseph Fink

Video game: Outer Wilds

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

Every episode of Quick Picks is essentially a list of stuff we recommend, but the list of our favorite books at the end of the year is the episode Tana and I look forward to the most. Below are the books we discussed and a list of the books others at the library thought were the best.

Discussed:

Calling for a Blanket Dance, by Oscar Hokeah

Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby

The Queen of Dirt Island, by Donal Ryan

Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano

Small Mercies, by Dennis Lehane

The Running Grave, by Robert Galbraith

Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

The Fox Wife, by Yangsze Choo

The River We Remember, by William Kent Krueger

House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher

I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai

Lone Women, by Victor Lavalle

Delicious Monsters, by Liselle Sambury

The Starling House, by Alix E. Harrow

We Meant Well, by Erum Shazia Hasan

The Celebrants, by Stephen Rowley

The Last Devil to Die, by Richard Osman

Vampires of El Norte, by Isabel Cañas

September House, by Carissa Orlando

Twyford Code, by Janice Hallett

Highway of Tears, by Jessica McDiarmid

Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, by Michiko Aoyama (Alison Watts (Translator)

Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride

Bea Wolf, by Zach Weinersmith

Other recommendations:

The Change, by Kristen Miller

Blood and Ash series, by Jennifer Armentrout

Red, White, and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston

Rhapsodic, by Laura Thalassa

Children of Chicago, by Cynthia Pelayo

Once Upon a Broken Heart series, by Stephanie Garber

If He Had Been with Me, by Laura Nowlin

Before We Were Strangers, by Renee Carlino

Sword Catcher, by Cassandra Clare

Small-Town Crafter series, by Tom Watts

Battle Mage Farmer series, by Seth Ring