A LITTLE TOO QUIET: THE FERNDALE LIBRARY PODCAST

This week, we're getting nostalgic AND providing some reading recommendations! It's our podcast's annual Summer Reading Spectacular! We're talking about books that we have fond memories of reading during the summers of our past, as well as particularly fond memories tied to the Summer Reading Programs hosted by the public libraries we attended as kids/teens!    Correction: We discuss the 2024 book Bitter Water Opera by Nicolette Polek, because we're huge fans and it's a fine novel to read during the summertime, HOWEVER, we mention that Polek graduated from Harvard, but she in fact graduated from the Yale Divinity School ~ and currently teaches creative writing at SUNY Purchase. Hopefully Polek will be a guest on this podcast some day soon!    Also, mark your calendars for our Kickoff Party happening here on Saturday, June 7, from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm: www.fadl.org/summer     

Michigan Author and poet Linda Nemec Foster joins us to cap off Poetry Month and discuss her latest book, The Lake Huron Mermaid, with Anne-Marie Oomen; recently released on WSU Press.   https://wsupress.wayne.edu/9780814347416/  https://www.lindanemecfoster.com/works/the-lake-huron-mermaid/  https://anne-marieoomen.com/  https://lafontsee.com/artist/meridith-ridl 

The Library of Michigan is the state library of the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the state capital, Lansing. It is housed in the 5-story Michigan Library and Historical Center building. Our guest, Adam Oster, is the Community Engagement Librarian for the Library of Michigan. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Grand Valley State University with a minor in Political Science and Secondary Education Certification.    Adam loves history! He loves Michigan; he loves libraries! He also loves local authors, which we discuss in this episode, particularly highlighting the upcoming Michigan Notable Books tour! All that, and so much more!  https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan 

This week, our staff discuss their passion for the fiber arts, from crochet to knitting to cross-stitch and beyond! We have plenty of resources here at the library that you can check out to get started on your crafting journey, but our panelists also provide some pointers and some charming banter! Don't forget to join us on April 24 for the Opening Reception of FiberClub's Group Show, Material Motives! 

The Verse for Now is the ninth book from poet Jacqueline Suskin. This meditative collection asks us to accept ourselves as planetary, at once vast and cosmic, while equally small and animal. The Detroit-based poet and educator will be celebrating the launch of her latest book on Earth Day, April 22, at 27th Letter Books! Suskin has appeared on this podcast once before, back in late 2023; she's been teaching workshops, writing books, hosting retreats and creating spontaneous poetry around the world since 2009. She has a couple of substacks you can follow, and you can find more information about the Launch Event on April 22 here

This week, we're chatting with Katie Shulman, founder of Fiber Club*, a network of artists and creative practitioners working in Southeast Michigan, joined here by one of the community's key administrators, Jessica Paruch! Both of these artists joined us to talk about an upcoming Group Show featuring Fiber Club Members, hosted here at the Ferndale Library, titled Material Motives! The Opening Reception is Thursday, April 24, 6p-8p. Learn more here: https://www.fiberclubdetroit.org/ 

This week, our Youth Librarians will shift and relabel their Nonfiction section as we switch from the Dewey Decimal System to the new Ferndale-METIS system! This change is only effecting nonfiction books in the Kids Corner, but it was quite a "journey." Tune in to hear the whole story! 

This week, our panelists are simply discussing what they've read lately, what they're currently reading, AND what they're looking forward to reading! March is National Reading Month and your library is here to help with some enticing recommendations! 

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public and academic libraries that offers films, TV shows, educational videos and documentaries. This week, our staff are talking about the wonders of Kanopy, recent films they've watched, and how you can get started streaming at home with your library card! 

This week, we're chatting with Stefanie Black, the Marketing Coordinator at the Grand Ledge Area District Library.  https://gladl.org/  Providing community support & enrichment through books, movies, music, electronic resources, and more Meanwhile, Stefanie is also a crafty artist creating plush creatures, enamel pins, stickers, and more, with Creepy Kawaii! https://creepykawaii.com/ 

March is National Reading Month! A time to cross off some of your long-held reading goals, like, say, finishing a door stopper! Today, we're talking about books with formidable page counts and how to not let them intimidate you! 

It's our ongoing miniseries, featuring voices & personalities from public libraries all across Michigan! This week, we've turned the spotlight on us--the Ferndale Library--as we interview our new Director, Drew Macaulay, who's had quite a journey, career-wise, to wind up here in library world! 

We're talking all about opera on the podcast this week! But, for those who haven't ever fully immersed themselves in this age-old art form, we'll spotlight two particular operas that could serve as potent gateway/introductions, including Don Giovanni and Carmen! We'll also talk about how you can learn more about opera at your local library, of course! 

It's the latest installment in our ongoing Library Spotlight series, aka "Cool Library People," where we bring you interviews with a variety of staff members from libraries across the state of Michigan. This week, we're chatting with librarian Storm Hawthorn from the East Lansing Public Library, currently serving as that community's Teen Services and School Liaison Librarian! alittletooquiet.podbean.com      

Tune in to our podcast this week for an interview with local author Kelly J. Baptist. One of Baptist's recent books, 'Eb & Flow,' was selected for this year's Battle of the Books, where Ferndale Upper Elementary Fifth-Graders form teams to compete in a trivia-style tournament answering questions about the books they've read! Baptist was raised in Detroit and currently resides on the west side of the state. alittletooquiet.podbean.com              

This week on the podcast, come along with staff on comical (mis)adventures as they play GOBLIN ERRANDS: it's a short role-playing game as three goblins (and one "tall person") simply trying to complete seemingly mundane tasks! You'll also hear information about our bi-monthly RPG Group!      

Continuing our "Cool Library People" mini-series, in which we introduce you to a variety of library workers from across the state of Michigan! This week on the podcast, the spotlight is on Troy Public Library with Director Emily Dumas! alittletooquiet.podbean.com              

This isn't a test, you can totally copy from our lists! Get some recommendations from our staff when we reveal our "To Be Read" lists for 2025, i.e., books we're looking forward to reading in the New Year!   The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke Private Rites by Julia Armfield Oathbound by Tracy Denon Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett The Witcher Series The Wicked Series The Murderbot Series Who Deserves Your Love by KC Davis The Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case  Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch Good Things by Samin Nosrat The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst Queen Demon by Martha Wells  When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi 

It's the last episode of the year! We're catching up on the books we're currently reading and previewing an upcoming change to the organizational layout of items in the Kids Corner! 

This week, pod cohost Mary Grahame is back, and we're catching up on all the good things we've read and watched this year. Plus, we'll share our thoughts on WICKED and A CHRISTMAS CAROL!

It's our continuing series, "Cool Library People," where our staff (here at Ferndale) help introduce you, dear listener, to a variety of library workers based all around Michigan. It's a fun chance to hear different perspectives on the awesomeness of libraries, as well as get to know other institutions, as we do today, with the Berkley Public Library. We're chatting with one of its clerks, Lisabeth Posthuma, who notes her previous experience in teaching, as well as her life as a writer and published author! She also has nostalgic experience of working in a video store, which informed her recent novel Baby & Solo!  Let's hear about Lisabeth, let's here a bit about Baby & Solo and let's here all about the Berkley Public Library!   

Our staff provide you with their personal recommendations, listing their favorite books of 2024! 

This week, we're spotlighting the Van Buren District Library with our guest, Elissa Zimmer! Elissa is currently Van Buren's Assistant Director. Still, she was once, not too long ago, a Youth Librarian here at Ferndale, which will explain why our hosts are so familiar with Elissa from the get-go. Van Buren District Library serves residents with seven branch libraries. Elissa has been the branch manager of the Webster Memorial Library for more than two years; she became VBDL's Assistant Director in May of this year. https://www.vbdl.org/   

On this week's episode, we have a panel discussion focusing on BAKING SEASON! Staff are talking about their favorite (and sometimes least favorite) things to bake, as well as playing a fun True-False-structured quiz to dispel myths and spread knowledge! We ALSO have some fun recommendations of books to check out from the library! 

This week, we're interviewing Rae Stoloff, the community engagement librarian at the Madison Heights Public Library. We're also joined by a special guest cohost, Becca Russell (former guest, as well), from the Royal Oak Public Library! We're talking about makerspaces, third places, libraries of things, and so much more! https://www.madison-heights.org/library  https://ropl.org/1532/Library 

Every once in a while, our staff will pick up a book that has a bit of a strange premise, something that might be a little difficult to describe... Today, we're providing a roundup of odd books that we loved, weird books that we'd still recommend, eccentric reads that we found appealing!   

Part of our ongoing series of chats with "cool library people," we're interviewing Sean Peacock from the Center Line Public Library! Sean is a library clerk at Center Line Library and has generated some amazing content for social media, but he's also an illustrator and comic artist! Find "A Little Too Quiet" wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.centerline.gov/202/Library    https://www.allsorrows.com/about 

Our staff provide you with a round-up of scary book recommendations! 

This week, Jeff and Mary Grahame are chatting with Katie Rothley from the Northville District Library. Katie is the Marketing & Public Relations Librarian at Northville! She has a lot of energy and ideas and plenty of interesting things to share about her library and the resources it offers to the community of Northville! https://northvillelibrary.org/ 

  What's a book you Did Not Finish? This week, our staff confess to some of their unfinished reads that still haunt them to this day! Sometimes it's just because we couldn't stand the book, but often it "just wasn't the right time..."     

This week, we're starting a new series where we invite librarians and staff from other libraries to chat with us about a number of different library-adjacent topics, particularly giving our guests a chance to talk about the specific libraries where they work. This week, Becca Russell, Youth/Teen Librarian at ROPL, joined us to talk about her passion for connecting with teen patrons and developing diverse collections, among many other things. And, yes, we briefly talk about bugs, so be warned...  https://www.ropl.org/  

We're back, after a brief hiatus, here on the last day of 2024's Banned Books Week. Hosts Jeff & Mary Grahame talk about the importance of observing Banned Books Week and why they prefer a bit of a cuter phrase for it, such as "Freedom to Read 'Em."  This ongoing podcast is hosted and produced from inside the Ferndale Area District Library, just one mile north of Detroit, Michigan. Coming up in this season, we'll continue to bring you unique portraits of life inside of a library while demystifying misconceptions around the mission of libraries and the work of library staff--we'll also have fun literary-themed panel discussions and interviews with other librarians from around the state! 

This week, we're chatting with Metro Detroit's own Josh Malerman, the NY Times Bestselling author of Bird Box, as he looks ahead to the forthcoming release of his latest work of suspenseful (and supernatural) horror, Incidents Around The House (out on June 25, via Del Rey). Malerman talks about his deep dive into the literary tradition of "haunted house" tales with this new story about Bela, an 8-year-old narrator who discovers a malevolent entity inside of her house that she refers to as "Other Mommy," a strange and possibly ghostly imaginary-frienemy who starts to creepily ask Bela a strange question: “Can I go inside your heart?”  More info at: https://joshmalerman.com/ And follow Josh on Instagram for details about his upcoming book-launch at Ant Hall in Hamtramck! https://www.instagram.com/joshmalerman/ 

Looking for something to read this summer? We've got you covered! Not only can you get a list of great recommendations from our staff, but you can also mark your calendars for SATURDAY, JUNE 8, when we will host a Summer Reading Kickoff Party here at the library! Swing by to sign up for our fun reading challenge! www.fadl.org/kickoff   The Summer Book by Tove Jansson The Guest by Emma Cline Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe The Guest List - Lucy Foley New Animal - Ella Baxter Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree The Animators - Kayla Rae Whitaker Incidents Around The House - Josh Malerman Dracula - Bram Stoker You Should Be So Lucky - Cat Sebastian Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan This Was Our Pact - Ryan Andrews Rebel Girl - Kathleen Hanna

Tune in to the podcast this week to hear our chat with Sheela Lal, the host of Ferndale Radio 100.7 FM's South Asian Shuffle (streaming Wednesday nights)! We also chatted with Sheela about the Unerased Book Club, which she co-founded back in 2018. Oh, and we ALSO chat about our monthly Chess Club!  https://www.unerasedbookclub.com/  https://ferndaleradio.com/  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCRdejUlw4Tmdo7g0nLFcZ_h_bDV-W43p 

Sacha Lamb is a 2018 Lambda Literary Fellow in Young Adult fiction, and graduate in Library and Information Science and History from Simmons University. Their debut novel, When The Angels Left the Old Country, is a Sydney Taylor and Stonewall award winner, a Printz Honor book, and a National Jewish Book Award finalist, and received the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Sacha lives in New England with a miniature dachshund mix named Anzu Bean. When The Angels Left The Old Country was a shared-FAVORITE Book of 2023, selected by two of our Youth Librarians, and your hosts for this week's episode.    For more information, visit: https://sachalamb.wordpress.com 

Ruth Behar is a Cuban-American author and currently a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Her work, spanning fiction, poetry, and memoir, includes Lucky Broken Girl, Letters From Cuba, and her latest, Across So Many Seas. As you'll hear on the podcast, Ruth has a lot of fans here at the Ferndale Library.  About her latest book, Across So Many Seas: Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar's epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life. Behard was born in Havana, Cuba, grew up in New York, and has also lived in Spain and Mexico. In addition to writing for young people, her work includes poetry, memoir, and the acclaimed travel books.  https://www.ruthbehar.com/bio/ 

This week, we're chatting with esteemed studio artist Boisali Biswas, who specializes in mixed-media fiber arts. Biswas recorded this podcast episode just before the closing of her exhibition, which was hosted here at the Ferndale Library throughout the late winter and featured some of her painted weavings and quilts. Biswas has an incredible story—she grew up and studied art in India before moving to Michigan—and she shares it here on our podcast, so tune in!  You can find more information here: http://www.boisalibiswas.com/  Also, we discuss Biswas' upcoming show at the Buckham Gallery in Flint, titled Bonded Thru Threaded Memories. You can find more information about that exhibition, and the opening reception (April 12) at the Buckham Gallery's website here: https://www.exploreflintandgenesee.org/event/bonded-thru-threaded-memories-and-founders-feature/3741/   

We went ahead and recorded an entire episode using the phrase "Third Space," which is used significantly less than the original phrase: "Third PLACE." But oh well. As library staff, we like the word "space" because it just seems to imply much more possibility! Anyway, whether you say "Third Place" or "Third Space," the idea is simple: it's not your  workspace, it's not your home space, it's your THIRD SPACE..., a communal space where you can exist, relax, be creative, and ideally not be expected or required to pay any admission or purchase something in order to be there.  Your library is here for you. Comfy furniture, free wi-fi, and a relatively quiet--though not TOO quiet--atmosphere. It has always been, and remains, an ideal third "place"! TODAY: We have guests from the Ferndale Library, the Royal Oak Public Library, and the Fowlerville District Library, sharing their thoughts and perspectives on this subject, as well as talking about some of their own favorite "spaces" in their libraries.   

Felicia B. George is a native Detroiter who loves Detroit history and culture. She earned her doctorate in anthropology from Wayne State University, where she is now an adjunct professor. Her new book, When Detroit Played The Numbers, tells the true story of how Detroit entrepreneurs created a thriving - if illegal - lottery system to support themselves and uplift their communities. On Friday, March 29, Source Booksellers hosts a night of storytelling and history, delve into the world of Detroit's underground number games, with George's official book launch. Click here for more info.   

Roman Historian, author and podcaster, Emma Southon joined us on the podcast (all the way from Belfast) to discuss two of her recent books, A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome and A Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire.  Emma Southon has a PhD in Ancient History from the University of Birmingham and researches subjects of sex, the family, gender, and religion. She holds a long running obsession with the bad guys of the Roman empire, blogs at Agrippinilla.com, and tweets at @NuclearTeeth. She lives in England.   https://www.emmasouthon.com/  https://www.emmasouthon.com/podcast https://www.emmasouthon.com/roman-women   

This week, we have a panel comprised of DOCTOR WHO fans who are not only ready to discuss their favorite "doctors," their favorite episodes, and their favorite companions, but they're also here to explain the long popular British science-fiction television series to the "uninitiated," and get them excited about diving in. In fact, curious new fans will receive recommendations of "where to start" and even hear about some of the titles that are available here at the Ferndale Library, as well as Doctor Who-related titles that are available digitally as ebooks, audiobooks, and beyond! 

They're considered classic for a reason, right? This week, our film-loving staff are talking about movies that have stood the test of time, from 1934's The Thin Man, to 1979's Alien, to a pair of John Carpenter picks, including 1988's They Live. Find us on social media and tell us YOUR picks for "classic films that still hold up..." And remember, you can find ALL of our picks HERE at the Ferndale Library. 

We're talking about music books! Books about musicians and music history! In your local library, following the Dewey Decimal System, you'll likely find them between 780-782, as far as call numbers go.  Titles discussed include: Meet Me In The Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman Life by Keith Richard Please Kill Me by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil Season of the Witch by Peter Bebergal Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr Mo Meta Blues by Queslove Out of the Vinyl Deeps by Ellen Willis

Our staff discuss some of the most historic and alarming "snubs" in the history of the Oscars (aka The Academy Awards), all of which are, of course, subjective. But we also remind you that your public library is already circulating nearly all of the films that have received nominations this year. Plus, there's still time for you to mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 28th, when we'll host an evening program all about this year's Best Picture Nominees! More info at: www.fadl.org/oscars 

Fresh off her appearance on The Today Show, having had her most recent book, The Waters, selected as their January 'Read with Jenna' Book Club pick..., the acclaimed Michigan-based author Bonnie Jo Campbell joins us on our podcast! A master of rural noir returns this winter with a fierce, mesmerizing novel about exceptional women and the soul of a small town--tune in to hear our conversation!   https://www.bonniejocampbell.net/  https://www.bonniejocampbell.net/blog-podcast  https://www.today.com/video/bonnie-jo-campbell-answers-read-with-jenna-book-club-questions-202932805803 

Dan Cafferty is a multifaceted artist with several unique projects spanning the genres of rock, R&B, soul, and funk. He'll be leading an upcoming SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND event, here at the Ferndale Library on Sunday, February 18, at 2pm, featuring Steve Taylor, Emily Rose, and Michelle Held.  Find more information on Dan Cafferty here: https://www.reverbnation.com/dancafferty  And sample some music by Dan, here: https://www.reverbnation.com/dancafferty/videos 

Join us on February 8th for an Opening Reception to Mara Magyarosi-Laytner's exhibition and book launch: The Untended Garden.  The Untended Garden is a visual reflection structured in three acts – the expectations of women as informed by society and culture, the transformation that women reach as they break through during their coming of age, and the resolution of self that comes from the acceptance of flaws and the reality of aging. By combining still life and self-portrait photographs with experimental photographic alcohol transfer methods, this project explores multiple facets of the cyclical nature of life in a garden as a metaphor to reflect on the experience of women.   https://www.maramagyarosilaytner.com/book 

The staff of the Ferndale Library can often be found...OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY. Learn about all of the valuable community partnerships we've forged over the years and listen to exclusive interviews with local organizations and businesses like Drifter Coffee, the Ferndale Project, Ferndale Public Schools, and Affirmations Community Center.   

This week, Jeff and Mary Grahame are looking back at their recent presentation at the Michigan Library Association's annual conference--a session on HOW we talk about Intellectual Freedoms with our library patrons. At that conference, our podcast hosts were greeted by Matthew Lawrence, who currently works at the Herrick District Library. Lawrence was the interim director of the Patmos Library in 2022, right in the thick of that library, weathering a flurry of book challenges that eventually resulted in the library being defunded. (Its millage was recently renewed in November of 2023). Suffice to say, we had a lot to talk about! 

Our staff provides reading recommendations from our non-fiction sections! We have three librarians on this panel discussion providing their favorites among the many recently added titles, covering the arts, the sciences, the histories, and everything in between!    Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens by David Mitchell Alice Neal: People Come First - MetPublications The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon You Are History: From the Alarm Clock to the Toilet, the Amazing History of the Things You Use Every Day by Greg Jenner The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought this Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith On Photographing Peoples and Communities by Dawoud Bey A First Guide to Cats / Dogs by Dr. John Bradshaw How Music Works by David Byrne Detroit in 50 Maps by Alex B. Hill Renegades: San Francisco in the 1990s by Chloe Sherman  A Rome of One's Own by Emma Southon