Top Shelf Librarians

It's the holiday season and the Library Pros™ are feeling festive af. There's a Gay Boy Christmas Extravaganza, Brittany shares her Eggnog Trauma, we vow to keep St. Paddy's Day local, and Matt gives the worst book review ever. We take a look back at 2021 in all its trash-fire glory, we introduce a new segment, and Brittany admits what we all already know: she's a Draco Malfoy stan. Heather brags about "motherfucking Momofuku" and that she's feeling 2022, and we make a Podcast Pandemic Pact. Goodbye, 2021. We won't miss you.

Book Mentions:

Heather:

Cheese Sex Death: a Bible for the Cheese Obsessed by Erika Kubick

Laurel:

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

Brittany:

Major Detours: a Choices Novel by Zachary Sergi

The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe by Arvind Ethan David

Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders

Matt:

Prince Valiant vol. 15 by Hal Foster

Durarara! vol. 2 by Ryohgo Narita

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

Not even a Snowpocalypse could keep the Library Pros™ from bringing you another wild ride of an episode. This month we ask the important questions, like "Is Laurel's Rum Racist?" and "Who Hurt You, Alice Hoffman?". Brittany fangirls over Caitlin Starling, Laurel judges a book by its cover, we meet Ghost Daddy and other Matt aliases, and Heather teaches us the Three Cs: Candles, Cats, and Crows! Some jag-off makes a great pizza and we won't deny we love Ewan McGregor. I mean, who doesn't?

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Foodheim: a Culinary Adventure by Eric Wareheim

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Brittany:

Dragon Age: Dark Fortress by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis

The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

Laurel:

Revelator: a Novel by Daryl Gregory

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Heather:

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

The Library Pros™ are doing the Time Warp (again!), this time all the way back to October! It's a wild ride of a month in which Laurel and Brittany have a little too much fun with Harry Potter names, we test a new segment known as Missed Opportunities: Barking Dawn Edition, some books just don't have enough pectin, and Modern Teens meet Millennial Nostalgia. Brittany gets defensive about Grunge music, Heather invents a new social media platform, we meet Anthony Porkchop in Matt's Cooking Corner, and we had to see a guy about a werewolf. All in a (spooky) month's work.

Book Mentions:

Laurel: 

The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

Sisters by Daisy Johnson

Heather: 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

The Project by Courtney Summers

Matt: 

Antoni: Let's Do Dinner by Antoni Porowski and Mandy Fox

Brittany:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Mary Shelley's Monster: the Story of Frankenstein by Mark Tropp

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

This month the Library Pros™ get drink, drank, drunk. This episode is full of hijinks, shenanigans, tomfoolery, and, of course, books! In which Heather has some Fun with Urban Dictionary, we take a visit to Matt's Cooking Corner, and Lola Makes Her Debut. Matt manages to spoil a 175 year old book, we have Round Two of the Poirot Fight, and Brittany somehow spoils a Science Fiction retelling of a book she's never read. To top it all off, we dunk on Sarah Palin and Crack the Cornell Code. All in a Month's Work for the Top Shelf Librarians!

Book Mentions:

Matt: 

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie

Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy

Heather:

Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson

Laurel:

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

In the Quick by Kate Hope Day

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

Brittany: 

The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge

Ghosted in L.A. vol. 3 by Sina Grace and Siobhan Keenan

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

It's been a hot minute but the Library Pros™ are back in action! Travel back in time with us, all the way to August! We talk about The Baconssaince and Matt's Golden Age, we have a very serious Kantaro Convo, we reminisce about Hot Sauce Homework, and Brittany REALLY loves ramen. Oh, yeah! And we talk about books. And booze.

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Asian-American: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from the Philippines to the Bronx by Dale Talde

Brittany:

The Hanged Man by K.D. Edwards

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Kick-Ass Writer: 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Heather:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Laurel:

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

You by Caroline Kepnes

As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

The Library Pros are reunited, drunk and in-person! Get ready for a buckwild episode in which Brittany and Matt make a bet, we doubt Heather's definition of "cautious", Laurel recounts several occasions in which she almost died, and Brittany recommends you stop listening to our podcast. Twice. We discuss several riveting topics, such as The 5 People You F*ck in Heaven, The Jeff Bezos Network, The Half-Price Books Scam, and we suggest you spend a little money on Amazon. But don't worry , it's not like Dildo Rocket Ship Money. Also, there's no peen in this one. You're welcome.

Book Mentions:

Laurel: 

I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death: the Breathtaking Number One Seller by Maggie O'Farrell

Matt:

Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral

Heather:

Graceful Burdens by Roxane Gay

Brittany:

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Carey Pietsch

Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

This month the Gang stumbles into a multitude of copyright infringements. On the way Matt Daddy meets Dad Matty, we buckle up for Brittany's Brené Brown rant, Heather mires herself in Pandemic Porn, and Laurel manages to dig herself into an even BLEAKER novel than ever before! Things get a little too Musk-y en route to Mars and we all gush about Eurovision. Be warned, there's more than the usual amount of singing this month.

Book Mentions:

Matt: 

Homestyle Cookery by Matty Matheson

Reincarnation Stories by Kim Deitch

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Brittany:

Laguardia by Nnedi Okorafor

The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

Heather:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Laurel:

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

This month the Library Pros are feeling that Pandemic Fatigue, y'all. Matt hops aboard the 90s nostalgia train, Heather has some Strong Lesbiatronic Energy, Laurel laments her musty read, and Brittany gets Distracted™. There's weird shit with plants, conspiracy theories abound, and the Gang Blasphemes Ursula K. LeGuin. Enjoy.

Book Mentions:

Matt:

Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Cooking by Bryant Terry

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Heather:

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Flamer by Mike Curato

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Laurel:

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link 

Brittany:

Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs by Ben Garrod

Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling

Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

This month on Top Shelf Librarians Laurel gets relaxed and murderous, Brittany cultivates Jesus, Matt rails against the term "Kafka-esque", and Heather summons some really bad Ben Shapiro imitations. Which begs the question, is there such a thing as a good Ben Shapiro imitation? The gang gets weird with marinara and debate the legitimacy of kale salads. So, y'know, the usual.

Book Mentions:

Laurel:

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Brittany:

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett

Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Muhammad

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Matt:

Men without Women by Haruki Murakami

Heather:

Notes from an Apocalypse by Mark O'Connell

Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.