The Mulberry Book Drop

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We adore independent bookstores and were excited to learn how many prolific authors are also owners & co-owners of bookstores all around the US!   

Do you have a favorite independent bookstore we should add to our future travel plans? Email the podcast at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Bookstores Mentioned in the Episode

Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN - Ann Patchett

Books & Books in Key West, FL - Judy Blume

An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA - Jeff Kinney 

Birchbark Books & Native Arts in Minneapolis, MN - Louise Erdrich

Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY - Emma Straub

The Lynx Books in Gainesville, FL - Lauren Groff

Butcher Cabin Books in Louisville, KY - Jenny Kiefer 

Loudmouth Books in Indianapolis, IN - Leah Johnson

What Are We Reading Now

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Big Little Truths by Laine Moriarty

This project was funded in part by a TBLC Innovation Grant, administered by Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Inc. 

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Welcome to a listener suggestion episode! Today we are talking about books you can read to complete our library’s 2026 Adult Reading Challenge – The Declaration of Reading. 

If you have a listener suggestion for a future episode, use the Send us Fan Mail link at the top of our show notes or email the podcast. We can be reached at [email protected] or on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Worried with our new space that you’ll miss hearing Bethany’s dog Norbert in the background? Fear not! He was at the library filming a social media feature for National Library Card Signup Month. Check your favorite social media app for his acting debut!

Books Mentioned in the Episode

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd

The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

Without You:  A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical 'Rent' by Anthony Rapp

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson

Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane by Lindy West

We Burned So Bright by T. J. Klune

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 

The Lady’s Mine by Francine Rivers

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi Swayze  

A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution by Peter Irons

Mount Vernon Love Story: A Novel of George and Martha Washington by Mary Higgins Clark

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Heartwood by Amity Gaige

Blue Highways: A Journey Into America by William Least Heat-Moon

What Are We Reading Now

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon

So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

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Did you know August 18th is National Bad Poetry Day AND August 31st is National We Love Memoirs Day? Celebrate these special writing techniques with us by enjoying a few haikus paired with our short list of memorable memoirs!

Feeling creative? Send us a haiku describing a book you can't stop thinking about! You can Email the podcast at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom by Christine Brown Woolley

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Sully: My Search for What Really Matters by Chesley B. Sullenberger III

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

What are we reading now:

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson

This Is Not About Running by Mary Cain

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Sometimes a short story or novella can really pack a punch. In honor of the big birthday our country recently celebrated, we decided to challenge ourselves by selecting books which are each 250 pages or less. We were honestly surprised when we noticed how many different genres made our list!

Happy 250th Birthday, America. Now let’s talk books!

If you have a book that is 250 pages or less to share with us, send it our way! Email the podcast at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Poems and Prayers by Matthew McConaughey

Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova

The Vampire Gideon's Suicide Hotline and Halfway House for Orphaned Girls by Andrew Katz

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder with the Truth by Amy Dugger King

What are we reading now:

Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End by Alua Arthur

 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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Curious about the library and the folks who work there? If so, this is the episode for you. Sarah & Bethany created a short questionnaire for their coworkers and are excited to share the results. Book related or not, there are NO silly questions at the library!

Do you have a question you've been afraid to ask? Send it to us! Email the podcast at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

A New Kind of Clean by Iain Reid

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion V 9 by Beth Brower

Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross & Susan Magsamen

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV & Desmond Tutu

 Poems and Prayers by Matthew McConaughey

The Happy Place by Emily Henry

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

What are we reading now:

Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Harriett's Bookshop by Jeannine A. Cook

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

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Books and movies are one of our favorite pairings. There is nothing like a perfectly cast and executed movie honoring a book you adore.

Send your thoughts, comments, and questions about our list, and let us know which adaptions we are missing! You can email us at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

In Pieces by Sally Field

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Dracula by Bram Stoker

What are we reading now:

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Absolute Power by David Baldacci

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We have each exceeded our reading expectations for 2026 and several books have given us major WOW feelings! This month we decided to celebrate the end of season 5 by sharing 3 WOW books each.

Do you have any memorable books we should check out? You can always message us your thoughts & comments by email at [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Game Changers by Rachel Reid

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Why I Love Horror by Becky Siegel Spratford

Dating After the End of the World by Jenova Rose

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

What are we reading now:

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate

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These days, everywhere we look there are lists filled with the next 'Hot New Thing'. This month, Bethany and Sarah decided to try out 2 super-hyped up books, and try to determine if the book influencers have found something special. 

If you have thoughts, comments, and questions for us, you can email them to [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

What are we reading now:

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Dating After the End of the World by Jenova Rose

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We LOVE an unexpected plot twist. Especially when we are invested in a seriously good book! Tune in and find out which 4 books shocked us enough that we STILL think about them.  

If you have thoughts, comments, and questions for us, you can email them to [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Special plot twist shoutout to Agatha Christie for:

Murder on the Orient Express

Crooked House

Death on the Nile

And Then There Were None

What are we reading now:

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Better Life Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

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We adore our monthly Cookbook Club at the library. To celebrate their incredible cooking skills and love of food, we decided to bring a mini cookbook club to you! Send us your go-to cookbooks and favorite meals. We would love to give them a try.

If you have thoughts, comments, and questions for us, you can email them to [email protected] or share them with us on your favorite social media platform: @mulberrypubliclibrary

Books mentioned in this episode:

101 Asian Dishes You Need to Try Before You Die by Jet Tila

Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals By Dolly Parton & Rachel Parton George

I Love You: Recipes From the Heart by Pamela Anderson

The Official Bridgerton Cookbook by Regula Ysewijn

Plant You by Carleigh Bodrug

Baking Yesteryear by B. Dylan Hollis

What are we reading now:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick