Top Shelf Librarians

Welcome back to our Fine Podcast Establishment™! It's another doozy of an episode, in which Laurel get carried away, Heather gets very Rita Hayworth, Brittany's a book Smaug, and Matt's looking grizzled. This month Shrek and Cider Sluts Unite, there's a fun (lesbian) twist, and we beg Guillermo DelToro to remake Brigadoon. 

This note could go on forever, so maybe just listen and laugh and act like we wrote it all down? kthxbye.

Book Mentions:

Heather:

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Laurel:

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

The Hotel: a Series of Ghost Stories with a Feminist Twist by Daisy Johnson

Elsewhere: a Novel by Alexis Schaitkin

The Family Fang: a Novel by Kevin Wilson

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

Matt: 

Hip Hop Family Tree Book 3: 1983-1984 by Ed Piskor

Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martinez

Brittany:

The Story of the Hundred Promises by Neil Cochrane

Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers by Brandon Marie Miller

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

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

Hit it! Top Shelf's back with all four hosts, so things are even weirder that usual. This month we wrap up our Trevor Project Back-to-School Reading Challenge, Matt has an imaginary feud with Jeff Vandermeer (sorry, Jeff), and Laurel drinks so. much. gin. Then Heather admits she's had some Snoop in her, we get invited to Matt's Children's Corner (yikes!), and we ask the hard questions. Like, what does Zuck have that we don't?

There could have been another solid two paragraphs of shows notes, because this one is not only a doozy, but also... a banger. Buckle up, because we're welcoming you back to our Fine Podcast Establishment™. We sincerely hope you enjoy your stay.

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Sweet Child O'Mine by Guns 'N' Roses

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Heather:

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Laurel:

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Brittany:

The Crossroads at Midnight by Abby Howard

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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

We have a surprise for you this month, Dear Listeners: a guest host! while Matt and Laurel travel to undisclosed locations, our dear friend Morgan joins the show. She shares with us her marketing tips, her love of petty joy, her Best Friend Promise™. Heather tells us about the Mystery Man in her Imagination and the Romantic Long Con while bringing some serious Matt Energy to the table. Brittany's on the hunt for Intellectual Booty while she raves about Sam J. Miller (again), and we all agree that Anthony Bridgerton has an Olfactory Kink. 

And you know that whoever smelt it dealt. Sorry Al Gore, them's the rules. 

Book Mentions:

Morgan:

The Verifiers by Jane Pak

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Heather:

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

Brittany:

Boys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. Miller

Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth edited by Isabel Oliveira and Jed Sabin

The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards

A Poetry Handbook: A Prose Guide to Understanding and Writing Poetry by Mary Oliver

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

Buckle up because we are getting back in that time machine to talk about June! Matt and Laurel are still doing their best Carmen San Diego impressions, so Brittany and Heather go on a Banned and Challenged books rant (again), Dr. Swami and Bone Daddy make an appearance (again), and we ask Roxane Gay to be our friend (again). We learn that Brittany is a whale nerd and she talks a lot about pirates (again). Heather regretfully informs Jane Austen that she is Queen of the Straights. R.I.P.

Book Mentions:

Brittany:

Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process edited by Joe Fassler

Breath of a Whale: the Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants by Leigh Calvez

Shades of Magic vol. 1: The Steel Prince by V.E. Schwab

Born to be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Saved a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith Thomson

Heather:

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

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

Summer is here and it has thrown the Library Pros™ for quite the loop. 50% of your hosts succumbed to the plague, so we can definitely Vouchie for the Fauci Ouchie. Brittany goes on another Author Rant, Heather talks about disappointing Gay Grannies, and we almost forget about Joy. Travel back in time with us, and see what we read in May!

Book Mentions:

Heather:

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram

Brittany:

The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado and DaNi

Fangs by Sarah Anderson

Love the House You're In: 40 Ways to Improve Your Home and Change Your Life by Page Rien

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

The Library Pros™ are back, babeyyy! In this month's episode we meet The Cheddar Goblin, Laurel asks, "What Happened to Neil Young?", Matt's aliases get downright unwieldy, and we get thoroughly distracted before we even finish the Booze Roll Call. Heather suggests we get "Daddy Musk Enough," Martha Stewart has the smoothest Tomatoes, and Brittany is basically herding cats. We get another good ol' education rant, we see the triumphant return of Matt's Cooking Corner, and we all agree that Nick Offerman would fight a bear for Heather.

Book Mentions:

Heather:

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: the Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant Man Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

Laurel:

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

The Trespass Collection by Various Authors, presented by Amazon Original Stories

Matt:

Shaq's Family Style: Championship Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends (a Cookbook) by Shaquille O'Neal

Brittany:

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Culturize: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever it Takes. by Jimmy Casas

I Would Leave Me if I Could: a Collection of Poetry by Halsey

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

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

We can't speak for you, but we can confidently say that March was a weird weird month for the Library Pros™. This month Brittany admits she's micro-dosing meth (Legally!), Matt's side gig is dubious at best, and Reganland Returns. Laurel and Heather get a little too excited about cults, Matt "pauses the stream" to take a leak, and we all agree, we will NOT slander Jimmy Carter on this podcast. 

Book Mentions:

Matt:

*crickets*

Brittany: 

Anoka: a Collection of Indigenous Fiction by Shane Hawk, "Soilborne" and "Wounded"

The New Voices of Fantasy, edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman, "Left the Century to Sit Unmoved" by Sarah Pinsker and "Wing" by Amal El-Mohtar

Laurel:

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Heather: 

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

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

Another doozy of an episode this month. You can thank Laurel and her plethora of oddly upbeat books. Matt's DJ names take on a life of their own, we debate the merits of a 1-5 Star rating system, and we all agree George Saunders definitely isn't a prick. Brittany goes full Standerson over a graphic novel, we get Mattsplained™ Pokémon, and Heather pulls a Matt. But, the real journey was the friends we made along the way, or something. 

Book Mentions:

Heather: 

Fuzz by Mary Roach

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

Matt:

Penny: a Graphic Memoir by Karl Stevens

Sapiens: a Graphic History, volume 2: the Pillars of Civilization by Yuval Noah Harari 

The Handbook to Lazy Parenting by Guy Delisle

Laurel:

Fox 8 by George Saunders

In. by Will McPhair

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Brittany:

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner

Dark One by Brandon Sanderson and Jackson Lanzing

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

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

Holy smokes, it's a whole new year! The show is officially a year old, and we're celebrating the start of season two(!) with a monstrous episode full of hijinks! This month the Library Pros™ learn what boofing is *spoiler alert: Matt's wrong*, we see the return of Peach Powered Thighs, we all agree that Joe Rogan has a very punchable voice, and that we still hate Ronald Regan. Heather introduces us to Diamond Dick (we promise, it isn't what you think), Matt's book might change the world, and Brittany teaches us about the Kombucha Lady. And somewhere between Matt's Ivermectin Advice and Laurel's uncharacteristically "cute" read, Brittany and Heather get on their School Library Soapbox.

P.S. Hey, Nicholas Sparks? Joey Batey did it better!

DISCLAIMER: This episode is a doozy, and it's manly because Heather and Brittany spend a solid 20 minutes discussing a Tennessee school board's recent banning of the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. This is an unusually political and heavy episode of Top Shelf Librarians, and though we know that isn't necessarily what you listen to our show for, we thought it was important to keep it in the episode. We live in times where a book about the Holocaust has been banned. Freedom to Read is critical to a successful democracy. We didn't want to add to the censorship by editing ourselves on this subject. We believe it is vital to talk about, and we hope you agree. 

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Sapiens: a Graphic History: The Birth of Humanknd by Yuval Noah Harari

Laurel:

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún by Nagabe

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Brittany:

Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut and Susanne McConnell

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

Heather:

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Tim Madigan (adapted for Young Readers by Hilary Beard)

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