The Library Laura Podcast

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, your host Laura shares her reading list from September 2021. She read a surprising amount of both middle grade books and non-fiction this month, as well as some more mysteries! Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org.

Come tell us what you've read in September or if there's a book Laura read this month that now you want to read on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or on the Podcast Blog.

Also, this is an announcement that due to the upcoming birth of Baby Miller (and the busy holiday season) the podcast is officially moving to 2 or 3 episodes a month rather than weekly episodes until further notice. Thanks for your flexibility during this exciting time.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our Library Laura Podcast guest is author, illustrator and animator Ken Priebe. He's the author of several books for children, including The Ice Cream Truck at Midnight, Let There Be Owls Everywhere, and Gnomes of the Cheese Forest And Other Poems. His next book, Goblabet, is coming in 2022 and being published by Bandersnatch Books. This episode is a treasure trove of book recommendations for kids and kids-at-heart. We talk about influences on his work and art, his love for whimsically spooky monsters, the joys and trials of having multiple library cards, and the delights of reading with your children.

Follow Ken @booksbykenpriebe and @ken.a.priebe on Instagram, and check out his website.

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our guest is debut author Rab Ferguson. He's written a young adult climate change novel, Landfill Mountains, that blends all the coming-of-age and young love of YA with a bleak, futuristic landscape and eerie characters plucked straight from folktales. The result is an ode to the fragile beauty of our planet and the timeless art of oral storytelling. I first met Rab through the Big Kids Book Club Podcast, and today we have a great chat about storytelling and its role in his life and career, as well as what inspired his first book. We also swap some great book recommendations!

Don't miss the giveaway of one copy of Landfill Mountains on the Library Laura Podcast social media accounts thanks to Onwe Press.

Get in touch with Rab on his website and @rabtales on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Buy a copy of Landfill Mountains as a book or ebook today! (affiliate links)

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org (affiliate link)

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our Library Laura Podcast guest is Author Risa Nyman. She's written two middle grade mysteries, Swallowed by A Secret and Spooked by A Suspicion. She's a Boston native -- and has the accent to prove it -- but recently moved to Rhode Island. Before becoming a published author, she worked for many years for the League of Women Voters.

Get in touch with Risa Nyman on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on her website. Pick up a copy of Swallowed by a Secret and Spooked by a Suspicion today!

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. If you or a friend needs help or support, you can reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) anytime. Take care of yourselves, friends!

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, podcast host Laura tells about all the books she read in August 2021. We've got loads of mysteries and fantasy this month, with some middle grade adventure and even some non-fiction thrown in for good measure.

Drop a comment and let me know what you've been reading lately! Or is there a book from this list that you're interested in reading?

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our Library Laura Podcast guest is Emily VanderBent. She's the author of Crimson Time, a YA Historical Fantasy novel, and is releasing the second book in that series, Fractured Past, in December 2021. She loves looking at the untold and underrepresented stories of women in history, as well as presenting history in a different light through fantasy fiction. In addition to being an author, she's a historian and an author coach with New Degree Press. We have a great conversation about with lots of book recommendations, as well as stories about the reading and writing life.

Pick up a copy of Emily's book, visit her website, and follow her on Instragram @emilyvanderbent_author

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our guest is Jennifer Neves. She's a mother and writer living in Palermo, Maine. This year she published a collection of essays called Freedom Farm, about growing up in Maine and later moving back to raise her four children there. We talk about poetry and essays, authors from Maine, the writing process, and swap some great book recommendations.

Pick up a copy of Freedom Farm and visit Jennifer on her website, Facebook, or Instagram.

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, your host Laura talks about her July 2021 reading. There's quite a variety, from middle grade to YA, non-fiction, to romance. Laura also ponders why she might like mysteries better than romances, and talks about the parenting/baby books she had been keeping mum about the last several months.

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love and literary enthusiasm, our guests Daniel Friend and Daniel Hsieh are here to talk about A Compass for Deep Heaven: Navigating the C.S. Lewis Ransom Trilogy. They are two of ten contributors to this brand new book, edited by Dr. Diana Pavlac Glyer and Julianne Johnson. My sister, Rachel Roller, is also a contributor, which is how I got connected with this fascinating project. Written to be accessible and useful to fans and scholars alike, A Compass for Deep Heaven provides the background information, historical context, and literary insight readers need to navigate the cosmos of Lewis's science fiction. It does not merely inform; it shows how these contexts clarify key messages and reveal the real-world warnings hidden there.

Purchase a copy today, or find out more about at CSLewisCompass.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.

On this week's dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm, our guest is author and anthropologist Mackenzie Finklea. She's written "Beyond the Halls: An Insider's Guide to Loving Museums" and has a work of fiction set to come out in December 2021. She's also given a Ted Talk and is a publishing coach. We talk historical fiction and museums, swap some great book recommendations, and more.

Find Mackenzie on her website, Twitter, her personal and author Instagram accounts, and on Facebook. Pick up a copy of Beyond the Halls online or from your local indie bookstore.

Books from today's episode are on the Library Laura storefront on bookshop.org

Follow the Library Laura Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the Podcast Blog.