DMPL Podcast

Eisner-nominated artist Scott Chantler joins us on the DMPL Podcast today to discuss his newest graphic novelBix. It's a biography of Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke, a Davenport native and a revered member of the Golden Age of Jazz in the 1920s and 1930s.

Chantler and host Aaron Gernes talk about Chatler's creative process in writing graphic novels and about the trials and tribulations of Bix's life that lead to his tragic death at an early age.

Show Notes

• Bixon library shelves
• Other Scott Chantler books at DMPL
• Scott Chantler | Website
• Scott Chantler | Instagram
• Scott Chantler | Facebook
• Scott Chantler | YouTube

Gen and Katie from the Book Chat team join the podcast today to talk about books that give them "all the feels." They both picked one "swoony" book, one "scary" book, and one "funny" book to share.

Book Picks

• The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman
• The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones
• The New One,by Mike Birbiglia
• A Duke in Shining Armor, by Loretta Chase
  • Sequel:Ten Things I Hate About the Duke
• The Murders of Molly Southbourne, by Tade Thompson
  • Sequel: The Survival of Molly Southbourne
• S***, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema, by Lindy West

On today's podcast, host Aaron Gernes talks with Iowa author Debra Landwehr Engle, whose novelTwentycame out this past spring. It follows an Iowa woman who makes an important decision about her life after grieving the losses of her daughter, mother, and marriage.

Show Notes

• Twentyin the catalog
  
• Other books by Debra Landwehr Engle
• Debra Landwehr Engle | Website | Facebook | Twitter

On today's DMPL Podcast, Janeé with theBook Chatteam is here to discuss her favorite genre, horror. She's picked out six books - two children's, two YA/Teen, and two adult titles - to chat with us about today.

Show Notes

• Book Chat
• DMPL Express

Janeé's Picks

• Clown in a Cornfield, by Adam Ceasar
• Harrow Lake, by Kat Ellis
• Hide and Seeker, by Daka Hermon
• The Puppet's Payback and Other Chilling Tales, by Mary Downing Hahn
• The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix
• Killadelphia Vol. 1: Sins of the Father, written by Rodney Barnes

On today's podcast, host Aaron Gernes is joined by Iowa author S.C. Sherman. Earlier this year Sherman releasedBeer Money: A Tale of the Iowa City Beer Mafia, a historical fiction novelabout the events that led up to the real-lifeIowa City Beer Riots.

Show Notes

• BorrowBeer Moneyfrom the library
• S.C. Sherman's Website
• S.C. Sherman | Facebook
• S.C. Sherman | Twitter

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month with some great books by Latinx authors. Janeé is up first to talk about kid's books, and then we're joined by Elizabeth, who gives us some adult book selections:

Show Notes

Book Links

• Vamos! Let's GoEat, by Raul the Third; illustrations by Elaine Bay
• We Are Not From Here, by Jenny Torres Sanchez
• Merci Suárez Changes Gears, by Meg Medina
• Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Undocumented Americans, by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Elizabeth's Other Book Picks:

• The Last Great Road Bum: A Novelby Héctor Tobar

#ownvoices Fiction

• The Taste of Sugar by Marisel Vera
• Afterlifeby Julia Alvarez
• A Long Petal of the SeabyIsabel Allende
• Untamed Shoreby Silvia Moreno-Garcia

#ownvoices Nonfiction

• Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn Americaby Maria Hinojosa
• More Than Ready: Be Strong and Be You... and Other Lessons for Women of Color on the Riseby Cecilia Muñoz
• Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americasby Roberto Lovato
• Children of the Landby Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
• Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noe Alvarez

Upcoming Programs

• Calle Sur: Music and Bilingual Virtual Storytime/Calle Sur: Música, y Cuentos y Canciones Bilingües | September 24 | 4:00 PM
• Voting Rights in Iowa: Don't Be Intimidated, Vote | September 24 | 7:00 PM
• Flu Shot Clinic with Polk County Health | September 28 | 5:00 PM
• Teen Chefs: Homemade Tortillas with Marianela Blanco | September 30 | 5:30 PM
• Fall Book Bites | October 1 | 6:30 PM

Today on the podcast, Carrie recommends some books that are in non-traditional formats. This is one of the twelve categories in this year's ongoing DMPL Reading Challenge. Don't forget - it's not too late to sign up and take part in the Reading Challenge!

Carrie's Picks

• Loving Vs. Virginia, by Patricia Hruby Powell
• They Called Us Enemy,by George Takei
• Dear Committee Members, by Julie Schumacker
• The Boy Next Door, by Meg Cabot
• Belonging, by Nora Krug
• The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Events and Programs Mentioned:

• 2020 DMPL Reading Challenge
• Library Learning Bag
• Upcoming Program: Don't Be Intimidated, Vote

Iowa author Kali White joins us on the newest edition of the DMPL Podcast. White's newest novel,The Monsters We Make, was released last month. It is set in Des Moines in the mid 1980s and is partially based on the real-lifeDes Moines Registerpaperboy disappearances of that time. You may know her from her previous worksThe Space BetweenandThe Good Divide, which she wrote under the name Kali VanBaale.

White and host Aaron Gernes talk about the intense research White did for the novel to ensure its accuracy, as well aswhy she decided to write under a new pen name.

NOTE: Spoilers forThe Monsters We Makeare discussed from 9:45-25:30.

Show Notes

Kali's Books

• The Monsters We Make(2020)-Borrow from the library
• The Good Divide(2016)-Borrow from the library
• The Space Between(2006) -Borrow from the library

Kali Online

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Upcoming Events

• Upcoming Book Discussions
• Reid Forgrave Virtual Q & A

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, Book Chat's Alissa joins us to discuss Magical Realism books. As Alissa says in the podcast, magical realism is "a realist fiction that blends magic into the everyday world," with deep roots Latin American literary traditions.

Books Discussed on the Podcast

• The Astonishing Color of After, by Emily X.R. Pan
  
• When the Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore
  
• American Street, by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
  

Alissa's Other Recommendations

• The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
• Don't Date Rosa Santos, by Nina Moreno
• With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo
• The Night Tiger, by Yangsze Choo
• Bone Gap, by Laura Ruby
• Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie
• Summer of Salt, by Katrina Leno
• The Weight of Feathers, by Anna-Marie McLemore
• The Murmur of Bees, by Sofia Segovia

Dr. Richard Deming joins the DMPL Podcast today to discuss his new book,Above and Beyond Cancer.

Dr. Deming is the director at the MercyOne Cancer Center in Des Moines and the founder of Above + Beyond Cancer, an organization dedicated to elevating the lives of those impacted by cancer.

During the podcast, Dr. Deming and host Aaron Gernes chat about the journey cancer patients and their loved ones take, what it's like being an oncologist during a pandemic, and the fun writing process that Dr. Deming embarked on for this book, with assistance and support from Drake Community Press.

Links

• Drake Community Press
• OrderAbove and Beyond Cancer
  
  
• Above and Beyond Cancer links
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram