Quick Picks

Attention videogamers, RPG players, and Japanese gaming fans! Today we're going to talk about Japanese role-playing videogames with an expert and connoisseur, Aleece. Whether you're playing on your Switch or feel nostalgic for the old Nintendo days, or use a Playstation somewhere in between, we have some series to talk about. 

Discussed:

Ys

Tales (of)...

Nikki's Pick:

Nick's Library suggestion:

Round Lake Library's Facebook Page

Tana and I both read a lot of books that have settings outside the US and we give you our first installment of books from other countries.

Discussed:

Sweden: Fredrik Backman

Australia: Liane Moriarty

Nigeria: Oyinkan Brainthwaite

Iran: Marjan Kamali

Nikki's Pick

Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Nick's Library Suggestion:

NoveList

Not all books are read for joy or laughter -- sometimes we read things with very difficult subject matter that give us a taste of someone else's hardships, which are important and present us with an opportunity to discuss them, like the books Tana and I discuss today.

Discussed hard reads:

Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Nikki's Pick:

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Nick's Library Suggestion:

Tutor.com

Who among us did not grow up having books read to us and stories told to us by our family? It's a tradition that predates written word. We love telling and hearing stories, that stir the mind as well as the emotions. Tana and I are huge connoisseurs of audiobooks and we are here to share our love and our favorites with all of you.

Discussed narrators and audiobooks:

Titus Welliver (Harry Bosch series by Michael Connolly; Cole & Hitch series by Robert B. Parker)

Richard Ferrone (Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford; Lucas Davenport series by John Sandford)

Scott Brick (narrates for Clive Cussler, Steve Berry, Janet Evanovich, and more)

Julia Whelan (Educated by Tara Westover; Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab)

Sissy Spacek (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Carrie by Stephen King)

Tom Hanks (The Dutch House by Ann Patchett)

Trevor Noah (Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah)

Kevin Hart (I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart)

Amy Poehler (Yes Please by Amy Poehler)

Matthew McConaughey (Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey)

Prentice Onayemi (Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue)

Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chris Chalk & Rutina Wesley (Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward)

Dominic Hoffman (Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi)

Stephen Shananhan (Jane Harper novels)

Sneha Mathan (Henna Artist & Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi)

Indira Varma, Himesh Patel, Antonio Aakeel (Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara)

Jim Dale or Stephen Fry (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

Daniel Henning (House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune)

Nikki's Pick:

Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones

Nick's Library Suggestion:

Hoopla

Tana is back again for more fun talking about the whodunnits we love, that won’t leave you reeling from the language and violence, but introduce you to some of our favorite quirky characters you might also love. Join us for some lighter fare with occasional dead bodies and lots of laughs and heart.

The Maggie Hope Series by Susan Elia MacNeal

Book 1: Mr. Churchill's Secretary

Flavia de Luce Series by Alan Bradley

Book 1: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osmond

Nikki's Pick:

Nick's Library Suggestion:

In this episode, Kelly returns to talk about growing opportunities in children's literature for marginalized voices to showcase their stories. Teaching your children empathy and correcting bullying behavior can be accomplished through celebrating diversity in books and extrapolating it to life, and we have a list of many books to suggest for enrichment for you and your children.

On the podcast

We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard

Sugar in Milk by Thrity Umrigar

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

When Stars are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson

Others

Picture books:

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua

Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho

Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan and anna Bron

Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz and Micah Player

Between Us and Abuela by Mitalik Perkins and Sara Palacios

Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez

Easy Readers:

Yasmin series by Saadia Furuqui

King and Kayla series by Dori Hillestad Butler

Nonfiction:

All Thirteen: The Incredible Rescue of the Thai Boys Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

Graphic Novels: 

The Witches: The Graphic Novel by Roald Dahl

The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Juvenile Fiction:

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

Jason Reynold's Track series

Nikki's Pick:

Nick's Library Suggestion:

Creativebug

Over a year into this pandemic and now we can do things again, which instantly makes me think of taking a road trip! If your family (with children) is planning on a road trip or you'll have time to listen to chapter books on audio, we have a list of suggestions for you. Kelly from our Youth Services Department is my expert for this episode and we'll discuss a handful of titles for your family, and a list of titles we never even got to discuss listed here. There should be something for everyone! We are including, title, author, narrator, and length of the audiobook.

Titles discussed:

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (narrated by Jim Dale or Stephen Fry)

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani (narrated by Priya Ayyar) 5:55

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (narrated by Priya Ayyar) 4:37

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman (narrated by the author) 3:50

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (narrated by Bahni Turpin) 6:31

Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Ana Meriano (narrated by Kyla Garcia) 6:22

Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea by Lynne Rae Perkins (narrated by Brittany Pressley) 3:12

Titles we did not get to discuss but still suggest:

American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar (narrated by Priya Ayyar) 5:57

Aru Shah and the End of Time series by Roshani Chokski (narrated by Soneela Nankani) 10:24

August Isle by Ali Standish (narrated by Kyla Garcia) 8:16

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead (narrated by Nora Hunter and Rob Dircks) 3:02

Copycat by Wendy McLeod MacKnight (narrated by Reba Buhr) 6:40

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (narrated by Kirby Heyborne) 3:18

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (narrated by Words Take Wing Repertory Company of Syracues)

Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish (narrated by Kirby Heyborne) 7:25

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (narrated by the author) 0:58

Front Desk by Kelly Wang (narrated by Sunny Lu) 6:30

Ghost by Jason Reynolds (narrated by Guy Lockard) 3:39

Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega (narrated by Almarie Guerra) 5:31

Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee (narrated by Imani Parks) 6:46

How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell (narrated by David Tennant)

Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley (narrated by January LaVoy) 4:23

One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (narrated by Patricia Castelao) 3:46

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson) 5:07

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (narrated by Vaneh Assadourian) 3:50

Patina by Jason Reynolds (narrated by Heather Alicia Simms) 5:46

Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqui, et al (narrated by Nikhaar Kishani) 7:37

Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqui (narrated Reena Dutt) 7:38

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (narrated by Janet Song) 4:58

Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry (narrated by Kirby Heyborne) 3:54

You can also consult winners and nominations for the Odyssey Award to find others.

Nikki's Pick:

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (narrated by Judith Ivey) 1:55

Nick's Library Suggestion:

Tana is back and together we discuss things for which we have a bit of a soft spot: book books. Whether it's a book about a bookstore or a library, the people who work in them are like cousins to us, and we love reading about our people. We're only scratching the surface with this list, but it's a good tasting if you're a booklover and looking to connect with characters who are also booklovers.

Paris Library – Janet Skeslien Charles

Library of Legends – Janie Chang

Lost and Found Bookshop – Susan Wiggs

Bookish Life of Nina Hill – Abbi Waxman

How to Find Love in a Bookshop – Veronica Henry

Book Woman of Troublesome Creek – Kim Michele Richardson

Giver of Stars – Jojo Moyes

Bookshop of Yesterdays – Amy Meyerson

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matt J. Sullivan

Camino Island – John Grisham

Camino Winds – John Grisham

The Last Bookaneer – Matthew Pearl

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library – Sue Halpern

Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend – Katarina Bivald

Storied Life of AJ Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin

Library of the Unwritten – A.J. Hackwith

The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan

Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Nikki's Pick

Nick's Library Suggestion:

Mango -- https://mangolanguages.com/

Something we all share, no matter who or where you are, is the planet Earth, and Steve is going to chat with me today about three of his favorite books about the environment. I learned so much from these books, it took a while to process everything I was given, and I see changes in the way I live each day thanks to what I read. I invite you to be inspired by these books, to leave a lighter footprint, and to share it with others.

Our House is On Fire by Greta Thunburg and Family

A Life on Our Planet by Sir David Attenborough

Nikki's Pick:

Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Recommendations for things you can get from a library aren't just limited to books anymore! My library has an entire section of board games and even if your library doesn't have games, they are easily obtainable from online or bigger chain department stores. Marina is here, our resident gaming expert, and she has three games to recommend that are fun for the whole family.

Codenames

Forbidden Island

Ticket to Ride

Nikki's Pick