Top Shelf Librarians

The curse of the ice machine continues as Heather pulls back the curtain on big Cherry™ and Brittany raves about Sam J. Miller again, despite not reading any Sam J. Miller this month. We also talk about Star Search and Ikea lightbulbs, booze, and some books.

Book Mentions:

Heather:

Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business by Roxane Gay

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Brittany:

System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

Riding the Nightmare by Lisa Tuttle

A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak

As ever, thanks to Shane Ivers of ⁠⁠silvermansound.com⁠⁠ for the use of "VHS Dreams" as our intro and outro music.

Buckle up, folks, because things only get worse from here...

*sings* Let's do the Time Warp again!

Hop in your TARDIS and travel on back to October with us, as we talk all things booze, books, and MURDER.... ahem, sorry. Murderbot.

Brittany outs herself as an avid Jason Mraz stan, Heather has some conspiracy theories about her local coffee shop, and we rant about the American Healthcare System.

We also remind you that, while we are Library Pros™, we are not Podcast Pros, nor are we Law Librarians. We just like books, man.

Book Mentions:

Brittany:

Refuse to be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell

Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

The Murderbot Diaries (#s 1-6) by Martha Wells

Heather:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Adventure Zone, Volume 1: Here There Be Gerblins by the McElroys and Carey Pietsch

Sunshine: A Graphic Novel by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

As ever, thanks to Shane Ivers of ⁠silvermansound.com⁠ for the use of "VHS Dreams" as our intro and outro music.

The saga continues with Saga Volume 6! We really hope you're reading along with us, because things only get more weird from here...

This month's show is chaotic and tangential af. Buckle up for some pineapple fun facts with Heather, the world's most opinionated ice machine, and a list of Barnes & Noble pros and cons.

Brittany plugs libro.fm, Heather does some book learnin', and we both tell the British Museum to get bent. But, goofs aside, we do get serious for a moment – but only a moment! Then it's right back to being Murder Mystery-Solving, Maple Syrup-Loving Professionals. All right?

All right.

Book Mentions:

Brittany:

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde

Delicates by Brenna Thummler

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

Heather:

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Feel the Bern: A Bernie Sanders Mystery by Andrew Shaffer

As ever, thanks to Shane Ivers of silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" as our intro and outro music.

This volume of Saga is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from disgusting, wholesome, and heartbreaking. Why would you ever settle for a graphic novel that couldn't deliver on all three?

Real talk, we recorded this weeks ago, and Brittany forgot to take show notes. But we're funny and opinionated as ever. And there's a lot of talk about Montucky Cold Snack, so like, sponsor us already, yeah?

If you've made it this far, then you know what to expect by now.

Book Mentions:

Heather:

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Brittany:

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann

The Dig by John Preston

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music.

This volume was particularly jarring, mainly because both Heather and Brittany managed to Etch-a-Sketch it from their brains completely. Buckle up as we do our best Gandalf impressions, because we have no memory of this volume...

Gather round and lend us your ears! We're accessing our higher education and having a wild time in a new and improved space (aka Brittany's house). Heather admits she's a Berry Bitch™, Brittany can only describe Neil Gaiman as "fantastic", but we both agree: We miss you, Matt!

Then Brittany threatens her friends with vegetables, Heather confesses she's pre-funked the podcast, and the entire show devolves into a Pride & Prejudice Podcast. We aren't even the least bit bothered by it, either.

Book Mentions:

Brittany:

Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

The Wick by Julianna Baggott

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book by Allison K. Williams

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Foster by Claire Keegan

In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt

Be the Bus: the Lost & Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon by Mo Willems

Music Cats Board Book by Mudpuppy and Angie Rozelaar

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Lugosi: the Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi

Heather:

Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Applications, 12th Ed. by Geoffrey E. Mills and L.R. Gay

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music.

In keeping with the Saga aesthetic, things are WILD this volume y'all. Our characters are scattered around the galaxy, but The Will and Prince Robot have each set their sights on Quietus.

Will Alana and Marko get their family to safety in time?

There's only one way to find out... Actually, you could, like, read the book. Or google it, maybe. But the BEST way to find out is by putting this episode directly in your earholes!