Episodes
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Librarian Katie talks to four members of the library’s Teen Advisory Board, or TAB, about books they are reading this summer. TAB is made up of students in grades 7-12 who earn volunteer hours by helping plan library programs for teens and working on library projects.
Titles discussed include: Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
Also mentioned: Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson; The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han; If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang; and the Grishaverse books by Leigh Bardugo.
Check out our teen Instagram page @wapl_teenspace to keep up with teen events. If you or a student you know is interested in TAB, check out our teen events page for more information: www.westallislibrary.org/TeenEvents
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Episode 41: Manga
Librarian Desirae and library patron Bryan discuss the ever-widening world of manga, including manga basics, their favorite series, and tons of reading recommendations!
Also mentioned: Manga/Anime – Bleach, Cat Massage Therapy, Death Note, Delicious in Dungeon, Fist of the North Star, Frieren, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Joshiraku, K-On!, A Man & His Cat, My Hero Acadamia, Naruto, Nichijou, One Piece, Spy x Family, and The Way of the House Husband. Movies – Dune and My Neighbor Totoro. TV Shows – League of Legends and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Sarah talks with local author Hannah Morrissey about her thrillers Hello, Transcriber; The Widowmaker; and When I’m Dead. They comprise the first three books in the Black Harbor series set in a fictional Wisconsin city along Lake Michigan.
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Librarians Desirae and Sarah discuss The Hunter, Tana French’s latest novel which follows characters introduced in The Searcher. In The Hunter, Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the town.
Also mentioned: In the Woods, The Likeness, The Witch Elm and Faithful Place by Tana French; True Grit by Charles Portis; Shane by Jack Schaefer; the movies Kill Bill, Tombstone and Maverick; the TV shows Westworld and Dublin Murders; the Jackson Brodie mysteries, including Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson; and The Family Upstairs and The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Staffers Sarah, Meagan and Tiffany chat about Come and Get It, Kiley Reid’s follow-up to her bestseller Such a Fun Age. Come and Get It is a campus novel about money that follows a resident assistant in the dorms, a professor with questionable ethics, and a transfer student with a complicated history.
Also mentioned: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality by Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Laura T. Hamilton, and Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Librarians Meagan and Sarah talk about what they’ve been reading, including nonfiction books about history, ambition, happiness and spies as well as a couple of novels.
Titles discussed in this episode include: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith, Four Shots in the Night by Henry Hemming, Build the Life You Want by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey, All the Gold Stars by Rainesford Stauffer, The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy, Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson, and The Palace by Gareth Russell.
Also mentioned: Cultish by Amanda Montell, the TV series C.B. Strike, Tana French, Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries, Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, Belfast Diary by John Conroy and A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Desirae and library assistant Kate discuss chilling horror stories, including author Jonathan Edward Durham's debut novel, Winterset Hollow.
Also mentioned: Skin Thief by Suzan Palumbo; Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw; Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff; Watership Down by Richard Adams; What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher; and Bunny by Mona Awad.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moore via Pixabay
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Are you looking for inspiration to make the next year your best? Librarians Sarah and Meagan discuss “year of” books, or project books that involve making a change over the course of a year.
Titles discussed in this episode include: Coop by Michael Perry, Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, The Year of Miracles by Ella Risbridger, The Moneyless Man by Mark Boyle and Year of Yoga by Kassandra Reinhardt.
Also mentioned: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; Population 485 and Truck by Michael Perry; the Lonely Planet guide to Peru; A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg; and Yoga with Adrienne.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Librarians Sarah and Desirae talk about Nita Prose's new novel The Mystery Guest, a sequel to The Maid.
Also mentioned: Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Librarians Sarah and Meagan talk about the delightful novel Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. In it, a former actress recounts her summer with a famous actor, as she and her adult daughters pick cherries during the pandemic shutdown.
Also mentioned: Our Town by Thornton Wilder; Bel Canto, The Dutch House, Truth and Beauty, and State of Wonder by Ann Patchett; Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy; The Sentence by Louise Erdrich; and Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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West Allis residents and library book clubbers Jen and Jessi join Sarah for a discussion of what they’ve been reading. They also talk about why they enjoy book clubs, how they choose what to read next, odd jobs they’d like to pursue, and more.
Titles discussed in this episode include: How Can I Help You by Laura Sims, Murder Is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns, the Fox and O’Hare series by Janet Evanovich, Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont, and Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah.
Also mentioned: My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, Burnt by Clare Frank, Toni Morrison, the Dead-End Job mysteries by Elaine Viets, and the Chloe Ellefson mysteries by Kathleen Ernst.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Julia the intern hosts this episode and is joined by librarian Sarah as they discuss cozy mysteries. This is a shared favorite genre of the two. They discuss the basics of cozies, what readers can expect when they open up a cozy, and favorite titles of theirs!
Titles discussed in this episode include: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan, Shady Hollow by Juneau Black, the Hannah Swensen Series by Joanne Fluke, Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney, Happiness Falls by Angie Kim and the Cat in the Stacks Series by Jackson Braun.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Katie and Sarah talk about books that will tickle your funny bone.Whether you enjoy essays, memoirs or novels, you’ll find a story guaranteed* to make you laugh.
Titles discussed in this episode include: King of the Mild Frontier byChris Crutcher, Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Hey Ladies! by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss, Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro, Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster, Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, Survival of the Thickest by Michelle Buteau, Dear Girls by Ali Wong, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, the TV show Somebody Somewhere, and Shrill by Lindy West (also adapted for TV).
Also mentioned: Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson; the TV show Killing Eve, based on the Villanelle series by Luke Jennings; the movie Bridesmaids; Early Morning Riser and Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny; A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost; The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris; The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz; and Verity by Colleen Hoover.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
*Just kidding! There are no guarantees, but you can tell us what youthink and share your favorite funny books with us at [email protected].
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Intern Julia joins Sarah and Katie to discuss Gabrielle Zevin’s must-read novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which follows Sam and Sadie who design hit video games. It’s an unforgettable, moving tale about storytelling, friendship and the creative process.
Also mentioned: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, Looking for Alaska and The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Anne Tyler, and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.
To play Emily Blaster, go to gabriellezevin.com/emilyblastergame
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Just in time for summer, we talk about what we think makes for a good beach read and offer a variety of recommendations, several of which are recent releases. We also chat about why we enjoy reimagined stories, whether inspired by Jane Austen novels, fairy tales or other source material.
Titles discussed in this episode include: Book Lovers by Emily Henry; Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld; Hooked, Scarred, Wretched and Twisted by Emily McIntire; This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs; The Last Word by Taylor Adams; and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto.
Also mentioned: Beach Read and Happy Place by Emily Henry; Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev; Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin; Eligible, Prep and Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld; Crossed by Emily McIntire; The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-Reverte; the movie Notting Hill; Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto; and The Maid by Nita Prose.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Thirty years after it was published, The Secret History by Donna Tartt remains as influential as ever, mentioned on cover blurbs and social media. It even informs the Dark Academia subculture. Librarians Meagan and Sarah discuss the atmospheric campus novel and talk about the joys of rereading.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Were you excited about the return of Alex Stern? Four years after Ninth House, Hell Bent heads back to the Yale campus, where magic is practiced in secret societies. Librarians Sarah and Desirae discuss why they enjoy the mystery/fantasy series, plus they talk about what magic they’d like to practice.
Titles discussed in this episode include: Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo.
Also mentioned: Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson; The Secret History by Donna Tartt; The Cloisters by Katy Hays; The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin; A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (also a TV series on DVD); The Magicians by Lev Grossman; The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu; and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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WAPL librarian Sarah talks with Liam Callanan about his latest novel, When in Rome. It’s about a woman who must choose between the chance to save a struggling convent and a life with her old flame. Plus, Sarah and Callanan talk about Paris, Milwaukee and Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs.
Titles discussed in this episode include: When in Rome, Paris by the Book, The Cloud Atlas and All Saints by Liam Callanan.
Also mentioned: The podcast The Bittersweet Life, Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher Beha, The Symmetry of Fish by Su Cho and The Archive Is All in Present Tense by Elizabeth Hoover.
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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WAPL librarians Desirae and Katie talk about their favorite love stories. They chat about sports themed romance, as well as other novels they recommend. Plus, they talk about fanfiction and romance tropes they love and hate.
Titles and series discussed in this episode include: The Hellions Angles series by Lia Riley; the Playbook series by Alexa Martin; the Chicago Stars series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade; the Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally; If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy; One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London; And They Lived by Steven Salvatore; and the Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard.
Also mentioned: The After Series by Anna Todd and Disney Twisted Tales
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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Do you have reading resolutions for the new year? Whether you want to focus your efforts on reading outside your comfort zone or simply want to read more, check out these suggestions from librarians Katie, Meagan and Sarah. They also talk about book discovery resources and what they’re looking forward to reading next.
Titles mentioned in this episode include: Empire of Pain and Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe; Rust Belt Femme by Raechel Anne Jolie; Olga Dies Dreaming by by Xochitl Gonzalez; The World Record Book of Racist Stories and You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin; The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas; My First Popsicle, edited by Zosia Mamet; The Song of the Cell and The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee; The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty; Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America by Cody Keenan; A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny; and Now Is Not the Time to Panic, The Family Fang and Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson.
Also mentioned: Archive of Our Own
Check out books and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com and hoopladigital.com. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.
Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay
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