The Book Drop

On the latest episode of the New Title Drop, Angela, Melanie and Mark share their favorite kinds of non-fiction reads in a quick conversation before highlighting the must-read titles coming out in May 2026.

Check out this month's titles and place holds here or visit omahalibrary.org/podcast.

• Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberle Williams Crenshaw
• Artifacts by Natalie Lemle
• Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen
• Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children by Mac Barnett
• Canon by Paige Lewis
• House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaase
• We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel
• The Echoing Universe: How Radio Astronomy Helps Us See the Invisible Cosmos by Emma Chapman
• Homebound by Portia Elan
• All in: An Autobiography Billie Jean King
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
• Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer Lee
• Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen
• Kaikeyi: a Novel by Vaishnavi Patel
• Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel

Check in with us on the first Tuesday of every month to hear about books we think you should be excited about.

This week on The Book Drop, OPL is breaking in the brand-new Media Production Room at Central Library with an absolutely incredible guest interview: The Rock Bottom Remainers. Join us for the studio’s debut session (video available on YouTube) as Maggie and Angela sit down with seven of the world’s most famous authors, featuring Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson, Mitch Albom, Matt Groening, Scott Turow, Alan Zweibel.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast.

Happening at the Library:
The Pen and the Sword: D&D Club | Saturday, May 2, 1 to 4 p.m. at Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch

We Are the Buffalo and the Buffalo Are Us | Sunday, May 3, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Central Library

Intro to Sustainable Fashion: Exploitation of Women’s Work in the Fashion Industry and Faux Feminism | Monday, May 4, 6 to 7 p.m. at Central Library
 
Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Give us your favorite library memory or moment! Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Give us your favorite library memory or moment! Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

This week on The Book Drop, Amy and Maggie welcome library friend B.J. Novak (The Office) to help OPL break in the brand-new podcast studio as one of the first remote guests in the new digs. Building on the joy of his visit for the Omaha Public Library Foundation’s Between the Lines fundraiser, B.J. joins us for a special encore conversation to share his latest book recommendations.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

Happening at the Library: 

• DÍA Celebration/Celebración del DÍA | Saturday, April 25, various activities from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Central Library
• Writers Workshop: Writing for Our Lives | Monday, April 27, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Willa Cather Branch
• Stories in Stone: A Bohemian Cemetery Exploration Tour | Saturday, May 2, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Bohemian Cemetery

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Give us your favorite library memory or moment! Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

​This week on The Book Drop, we're joined by Zedeka Poindexter, with Nebraska Writers Collective. for a conversation in honor of National Poetry Month and a preview of the upcoming National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

Happening at the Library: 

• Stories After Dark: Human vs. Nature | Friday, April 17, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at A.V. Sorensen Branch
• Intro to Sustainable Fashion: Evolution of Fashion - Tailor Tags to Ateliers | Saturday, April 18, 11 a.m. to noon at Millard Branch
• Checkmates | Monday, April 20, 2 to 3 p.m. at Saddlebrook Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Give us your favorite library memory or moment! Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

On the latest episode of the new title drop, Angela and Melanie are joined by another member of OPL’s Collection Development team, Mark.

Check out this month's titles and place holds here or visit omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

• Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear With Stephen King by Carline Bicks
• A Room in Bombay: A Memoir by Manil Suri
• Japanese Gothic: A Gothic Dual-Timeline Novel of Ghosts, Hauntings and Redemption by Kylie Lee Baker
• In Trees: An Exploration by Robert Moor
• The Madman's Orchestra: The Greatest Curiosities From the History of Music by Edward Brooke-Hitching
• Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor
• The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
• What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed
• The Radiant Dark by Alexandra Oliva

Check in with us on the first Tuesday of every month to hear about books we think you should be excited about.

This week on The Book Drop, we're joined by Megan Simonich, library specialist, to discuss our latest reading challenge theme to read a book about writers or writing.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

Happening at the Library: 

• Our Musical Stories | Saturday, April 4, 1 to 2 p.m. at Downtown Branch 
• Book Bedazzling | Tuesday, April 7, 6 to 7 p.m. at Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch
• Pollinator Planting | Thursday, April 9, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Saddlebrook Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Give us your favorite library memory or moment! Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

This week on The Book Drop, get a "fly-on-the-wall" listen as OPL staff gather to train on the technology at the new Central Library. From geeking out over 3D printers and Glowforges to answering your big questions about parking, these candid conversations capture the genuine excitement and new-mic jitters of getting ready for day one.

We’re all learning these new spaces together, and we can’t wait to welcome the community to Central Library.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast.

Happening at the Library:
Audiobook Crafting Club | Saturday, March 28, 3 to 4 p.m. at W. Clarke Swanson Branch

Starting or Growing Your Small Business | Monday, March 30, 6 to 7 p.m. at Charles B. Washington Branch

Book Bedazzling | Tuesday, March 31, 6 to 7 p.m. at A.V. Sorensen Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Tell us what is your favorite library memory or moment? Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

This week on The Book Drop, we're joined by Angela Fernandez, Collection Development Librarian and co-host of Libroteca and New Title Drop, to discuss our latest Reading Challenge: Read a book about an immigrant’s experience.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

Happening at the Library: 

• Stories & Scrapbooks | Friday, March 20, 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Charles B. Washington Branch
• Descendants Meet and Greet with Circle Theatre | Saturday, March 21, 2 to 3 p.m. at W. Clarke Swanson Branch
• Pollinator Planting | Monday, March 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Downtown Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Tell us what you're planting in your garden this year? Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

This week on The Book Drop, we visit with public historian Nicole Blackstock, whose new podcast Rooted in the Plains explores Great Plains history through narrative storytelling. In this episode, Nicole dives into Nebraska’s Carnegie libraries and how these remarkable buildings came to towns like Broken Bow and Chadron, what they meant to their communities, and the lasting legacy they created across the state.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast. 

Happening at the Library: 

• Life in a Different Light | Saturday, March 14, 2 to 3 p.m. at Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch
• Cooking Workshop with No More Empty Pots | Monday, March 16, 2 to 3 p.m. at A.V. Sorensen Branch 
• Audiobook Crafting Club | Tuesday, March 17, 6 to 7 p.m. at Saddlebrook Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Tell us what you're planting in your garden this year? Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!

This week on The Book Drop, we’re happy to have back a true fan favorite, David Dick, assistant branch manager at Downtown Branch. We’re using the upcoming 311 Day as a springboard to reminisce about Omaha’s music scene and celebrate the thriving musicians and bands playing today. Plus, we share how you can discover local gems yourself in OPL’s music collection.

But wait, there's more! Keep listening until the end for a bonus segment featuring moments from "An Evening with Anna Quindlen" on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in partnership with The Bookworm.

All the books and resources we talk about in this episode can be found here or by visiting omahalibrary.org/podcast.

Happening at the Library:
Stories After Dark: Experiments Gone Wrong | Sunday, March 8, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Downtown Branch

Audiobook Crafting Club | Tuesday, March 10, 6 to 7 p.m. at A.V. Sorensen Branch

Cooking Workshop with No More Empty Pots | Thursday, March 12, 2 to 3 p.m. at Charles B. Washington Branch

Explore all upcoming events at omahalibrary.org/events.

Join the conversation for the next episode! Tell us what you're growing in your garden this year? Share your answers by email at [email protected] or DM on social media!