Podcast – Shelf Life

For the 4th year in a row, AV Librarian Becky King comes onto the podcast to talk about the Academy Awards ceremony. Nate and Becky discuss the night’s biggest moments, plus share a few 2018 movies not mentioned during the awards but that you definitely don’t want to miss. Find out what movies to catch…

If this cold winter is starting to feel like it was last forever, we’ve got a suggestion for something to give you a bit of that hygge feeling until spring shows its face. Join our Up Lit Adult Winter Reading Club and find some uplifting and heartwarming titles to get you through the last few…

Jo is back on the podcast to help us review the year 2018 in books. She shares highlights from our annual Favorite Fiction/Nonfiction booklets now available online and at the Reference Desk. We talk about the titles that topped the national best-of lists along with the unique reads our staff couldn’t stop raving about. This…

Jennifer Segal is the classically trained chef and busy mom behindOnce Upon A Chef, a popular cooking blog where she uses tips and tricks learned in culinary school to create tested and perfected recipes for the often hectic family life. This year Jenn made the transition from cooking blogger to cookbook author with the Once…

What better way to spend a chilly, blustery day than with a good read (and maybe a warm drink)? Andrea stops by to share five titles that she recommends for this fall. Titles mentioned: Draculby Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker Night of Miraclesby Elizabeth Berg November Roadby Lou Berney (read Jo’s review here) Washington Blackby…

Mr. & Mrs. American Pie is “riotously funny with a surprising amount of heart” according to Erica who interviews McDaniel about her debut novelalready in the works to be adapted for television. Their conversation touches on a wide variety of topics including 80’s beauty pageants, the challenges and tricks to writing good child characters, and…

Aspen Drive Library Manager Brooke Bahnsen talks about reading Jason Reynolds’ award-winning youth fiction novelGhostas part of PBS’s The Great American Read. We talk about why this contemporary book series written for junior high readers deserves to be recognized, the enjoyment of reading youth literature as an adult, and the benefits of reading diverse perspectives…

Popular Services Librarian Jo Hansen shares her thoughts on John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, a novel she read for the first time as part of PBS’s The Great American Read. We talk about why she selected this novel out of the 100 finalists, her favorite Owen Meany quotes, and why it should be…

Mary Shelley aficionado Emily Stensloff joins us on the podcast to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein’s publication. We talk about Shelley’s life, her feminist/anarchist upbringing, the differences between Frankenstein the novel and the idea of Frankenstein in popular culture, and why this 1818 book is Emily’s all-time favorite. Check out Frankenstein from the library…

In Locally Sourced we ask local business owners to talk about an influential or special book they’ve read. Chris Hamel is one of the owners of the new ice cream and Hawaiian shaved ice shop in Libertyville – My Flavor It! Place. Chris stopped by the library to talk about a favorite book with a…