CJPL's Beyond the Bookshelf

This week we're talking about books that release in 2023 that we're super excited about! There's a whole lot of gushing and a whole lot of excitement - you can be sure your libraries will have these stocked as soon as we can, and we're going to love chatting them up with you after you've read them! Make sure to hop on over to Libraries Beyond the Bookshelf to follow up with more episodes of our newly revamped podcast!

It's been a hot minute since we've been here chatting about books with you, but we're so excited to bring this joint venture between the Anamosa Library and Learning Center, where Erin is now director, and the Columbus Junction Public Library, where this all originated! We'll be in your ears every Wednesday for short, sweet, and *mostly* to the point conversations about books and their intersection with our daily lives. So, allow us to reintroduce ourselves to you and what we're reading now.   We'll be posting the first 5 episodes here, but please make sure to follow us on under our revamped podcast title Libraries Beyond the Bookshelf at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/libraries-beyond-th/episodes/Whatcha-Reading-e23e670

We love a good pet story - the furry friends in our lives keep us entertained to no end! In this episode, we talk about a variety of picture books and juvenile fiction with pets as the central theme but tons of variations around it - dragons, seahorses, goldfish, horses, and more! Alternative titles to this episode include "The One Where Mandy Definitely Does Not Have Gills" and "The One Where We Overshare Entirely too Much About Our Own Pets." But seriously, we'd love to see pictures of your pets, hear stories of your pets, meet your pets...it doesn't much matter! We want it all! Feel free to email us at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com Exit music credit: AleXZavesa via Pixabay

We're taking a quick detour this episode from books and onto programs available within the Louisa County community. On this episode, MaKayla Glenn from the RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) shares about the various programs the Iowa Department on Aging supports in our area, including services for aging in place and opportunities for volunteerism! We hope you take a listen about the amazing things she has to offer and get in contact with her directly if you're interested! MaKayla serves Iowa, Keokuk, Louisa, and Mahaska counties currently, but if you're in another area, we're sure she'll help you get in contact with the person you need to! iowaaging.gov/rsvp makayla.glenn@iowa.gov Alternate title to this episode: "What is your drink of choice at work?" and honestly, it sounded a lot better in Mandy's head. Exit music from: AleXZavesa via Pixabay

We're putting this year's favorite books up against each other in a single elimination style March Madness bracket! Each day during the month of March, visit our Facebook page (@ColumbusJctPublicLibrary) for a poll for that day's match up - the winning book (with the most votes) will move on to the next bracket until we have one final winner by the end of March! So in this episode, we give you a run down of all 38 eligible books! Alternative titles to this episode include "The One Where Erin Discloses She Actually Has Gills" and "Patty Wilson." As always, feel free to email us with all your burning questions and recommendations: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com Closing music credit: AleXZavesa (Via Pixabay)

We're back with PART II (*FINALLY*) with our interview with LeAnn Kunz, answering the burning question of which main character from a book would you like to be snowed into a cabin with? We also discuss side characters and authors. As you can imagine, there's a wide variety of reasons for our choices and we're excited to share with you! Alternative titles to this episode: "It All Comes Back to Outlander" and "LeAnn wins the podcast!" We'd love to know which characters (and reasons why) you'd like to be snowed in with them! Email us at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com Closing music credit: AleXZavesa (Via Pixabay)

We're SUPER EXCITED to get part 1 of our interview with Washington Public Library's Assistant Director, LeAnn, out today! After some wild audio issues and technology that decided to have a case of the Mondays for weeks on end, we're super excited for you to hear a little bit more about LeAnn and some of the amazing things happening right down the road from us! We'll have part 2 out next week, where we dive into some burning questions with LeAnn, specifically, which book characters she'd like to be stuck inside with! Alternative titles to this episode include “That's an unfair question” and “Erin has strong opinions about Collections.” Closing music credit: AleXZavesa (Via Pixabay)

In this episode, Erin and Mandy chat about Iowa-adjacent books - books with Iowa as a setting, Iowa authors, crowd-sourced by Iowans, or some other connection to the state! Also in this episode - a slight digression about words that sound made up, some of our own spooky stories, and Mercury Retrograde. We hope you enjoy! Thank you for your patience, as our release schedule got ALL messed up. We're hoping to have other episodes up next week, and the following week, to get us back up-to-date with our normal schedule but also get out a FANTASTIC guest episode in 2 parts (again, tech issues, tears, and all around what is happening vibes with this). We'd love to hear from you! Email us at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com Visit our website for all the information about previous episodes and a list of all the books we've talked about: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast

We've come to the end of another year, so it's another wrap-up list! Top books checked out in the library and online, top videos and TikToks, and podcast year in review. Have you read any of these top titles?! There's some surprises along the way as well! As always, feel free to check out all of our podcast episodes on our website: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast. If you're feeling so inclined, we'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com. Close music credit: Take Me Out To The Ball Game sung by Edward Meeker in 1908 on a phonograph cylinder by Edison recordings

We're throwing DOWN for DONUTS! Over winter break, the Library has challenged our local elementary school to a reading contest! We're sending home logs to record every 20 minutes read over break, and the winning classroom will be surprised with a donut breakfast party the first week back after break! Prizes will also be awarded for the individual in each grade level who reads the most. So to help with the reading challenge, we've collected 8 middle grade (elementary level) books to chat about! These are perfect chapter books and graphic novels to read independently, read together, or have older kiddos even read to younger ones. As always, head over to https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast for info on each episode and a list of all the books referenced in those episodes! We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com Close music credit: AleXZavesa (via Pixabay)

In this episode, Erin and Mandy share their favorite book descriptions of food, just in time for Thanksgiving. It started off as three books, but morphed into four, and then some honorable mentions at the end, always coming back to potatoes (again, just in time for Thanksgiving). But before we begin and end with potatoes, we travel the world through food. Alternative episode titles include: "Her-shay"and "The One Where Erin Never Mentions the Title, or the Dish." We'd love to hear your favorite book-ish descriptions of food, or your culinary adventures in trying some recipes you've only read about. Email us at columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com As always, all our episodes and the titles/links for everything we've chatted about can be found at: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast Closing music credit: AleXZavesa via pixabay.com

On this episode, Erin and Mandy chat about different reading platforms, including those available with your library card and those available for everyone via the worldwide interwebs. From classics to animated children's books to a new-ish storytelling via text message, these platforms have something for everyone. So when you're looking for new content but the winter weather has you down, check out any one of these! As always, check out: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast for all items we've discussed on the podcast. And we would love to hear from you, so email us at columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com

Ever wonder what the inspiration was behind some of your favorite books and authors? Well, do we have some doozies for you - gruesome, weird tales from author's real lives and how they've inspired their writing. From the birth of science fiction to authors who regretted the births of their own children, murder mystery writers living their own murders and mysteries, and unexplainable happenings. Perfect spooky season listening! Alternate titles to this episode include: "how many times can we say wild in this episode?" and "the Romantic poets were really just the first frat boys." Check out our wakelet/website for everything we discussed in this episode: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast As always, we'd love to hear from you about this episode, future episodes, or anything in between: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com

In this episode, Erin and Mandy kick off spooky season with 12 new books (and some others that randomly pop up) that are perfect for your spooky season reading! Some non-fiction, some fiction, some weaving together elements from different genres like horror and true crime, and some graphics! It's a potpourri of spookiness! Alternate titles to this episode: “The One Where We Make Lots of Weird Sounds” and “This Has Not Been a Good Podcast for my Image.” If you have spooky season recs (or just want to chat, fill us in on something, anything), email us at: columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com As always, all the books we talk about in this episode are listed on: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast Music: "Recurring Vision"- Ghost Stories Incorporated https://ghoststoriesincorporated.bandcamp.com/

In this episode, Erin and Mandy discuss tropes - plot devices that follow a traditional pattern or trajectory that will seem familiar or allow the reader (or viewer of movies) to know what is happening without the author needing to explain (think, love triangle). We'll talk about the ones we love, the ones we hate, and the ones we conditionally tolerate! Listener beware - Mandy's 80's are showing A LOT in this episode, and Erin goes off the deep end about "Twilight." It's a doozy of an episode but we can't wait to hear which tropes you love (or hate) or any hot takes where you disagree with us! Check out all the books and movies we talk about in this episode at: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast Stop by the library or send us an email at columbusjunctionlibrary@gmail.com for any thoughts about this (or previous episodes)!

The wild, bananas case of Chuck, in prison for first-degree murder, and Sara, world famous author. Buckle up, buttercup - this one is a rollercoaster! Sara Gruen, of "Water for Elephants" fame, befriends a convicted murderer following a fan letter. What happens next costs Sara everything - money, health, sanity, her book deal.... Alternative names: The One with Bad Fish or The One Where Erin Feels She Can No Longer Trust Mandy Check out our website: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast for a rundown of all episodes, links, books, and more.

On this episode of Beyond the Bookshelf, Erin and Mandy chat about favorite mysteries and crime-related books. Some may be classified as other genres, but we'll make the case as to why these books made the cut for this episode. Alternative titles to this episode include "The One Where We Use Steak Temps to Classify People...Again," "The One Where We Discuss Sherlock's Cocaine Habit, and Compare to Nowadays Habits," and "The One Where Erin Learns about Chain Letters but Can't Believe People Spent Money to Send Spam." Check out our website for a list of all the books included here: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast

A quick update and check-in on Erin and Mandy's reading challenges - what they've read, what they're supposed to be reading, and a whole bunch more! If you're joining us for the reading challenge we developed, or you're looking for inspiration for a different challenge, this 25 minute episode covers 29 books!

This episode is a wild ride full of spooky places, scary movies, true crime, books, and more with Iowa gothic horror author S. Feaker! She shares a bit about her own "are you kidding me?!" stories and writing process. If you're looking for a great list of true crime stories to delve into, recommendations of fantastic books, or amazing paranormal investigations, this episode is for you! We think the perfect alternative title for this episode is "Goosebumps"...for the chills we got and the throw back to the R.L. Stine books that started our fascination with creepy things!

On this episode, Erin and Mandy chat about books they're glad they didn't finish for a variety of reasons...terror...content...just plain boring. Who knows?! No beef with any of these books - sometimes it's just not the right time in your life to click with a book. Tell us your own books that you're glad you didn't finish - we totally want to hear about them! Also, because this comes up, we want to know what your bougie thing is! Let us know after you've listened! Alternative titles to this episode include: "the one where Erin dances the entire time," "I don't have time to be sad," "It all comes back to Outlander," and "the one where we talk about the birds and the bees."

Take a trip around the world with Erin and Mandy today! Reading Colors Your World is the summer reading theme for Iowa libraries, and we're issuing a special challenge! Read one book from each continent (except Antarctica) by the end of summer reading (July 31) and get entered into a special drawing for a private pool party! These books can also be used in your regular passport for prize entries as well! So since we issued that challenge, we figured we should highlight some books around the world! The books we talk about could be set on those continents, be about those continents, or have authors from those continents - anything goes if you can connect it to the location! We highlight 24 books - 4 for each continent - for you to consider as part of your summer reading!!! Alternate title for this episode is "the one where Erin calls out the publishing industry." Really, that's all we could come up with. There was a chunk that got edited out about serial killers. Maybe someday we'll release it, but for now, please just think of us as your sweet neighborhood library and not the creepy ladies who like murderous books and podcasts. Check out our library website for a Wakelet board of all the books we talk about in this episode: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast

Alternative Titles "rated R for romance" "The one where Mandy outs her Mom" "The one where we say spicy a lot" "The one with a Sue recommendation" The episode you all have been waiting for...Love Books!

Pandemics? Concern over books transmitting diseases? Quarantine? Sanitizing processes? If this all sounds familiar, you're right - we ARE indeed talking about the great book scare of 1880-1920!! Alternate titles to this episode include "I said what I said," "Please don't lick things," and "Andrew Carnegie, the patron saint of libraries." Join us for a wild ride about books and pestilence! As always, check out our website for everything we chatted about during this episode: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast

This episode, Erin and Mandy share their favorite read alouds for all ages! Some nonfiction, picture books, and juvenile fiction can be found in here! Check out our website for the complete list of all the books discussed in this episode: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast Alternate titles for this episode include "The One Where King Louis Throws Hands," "The One Where Erin Achieves All of Her Daily Happy Dances," and "The One Where Everything Comes Back to Spooky Season."

We're trying something a little different this time and bringing our love of true crime to you, but with a library connection. The story of the Transy book heist - it's a doozy of movie references, hilarity, and theft. At this point, we couldn't even come up with alternative titles to this one because we're still laughing about how much college guys dig "Reservoir Dogs." Check out our website for more info on what happened afterward to our cast of characters!

Our opinions about graphic novels (READ THEM) and some recommendations of graphic novels we love for specific reasons, what we've been reading in graphic format, and what we're looking forward to checking out soon! Alternate titles to this one are "Where Mandy Dogs Dickens 2.0" or "Is Hugh Jackman Our Australian Listener?" Check out our podcast website and all books discussed in this episode here: https://www.columbusjct.lib.ia.us/programs/beyond-bookshelf-podcast

In honor of National Library Week, we give you a blooper reel and an "inside" listen to recording with us. Spoiler: it's a mess...oh look, a squirrel! Play along with us as we quiz each other on our classics reading - have you read more classics than your local librarian? Honestly, probs. Also, alternative titles to this episode is "The One Where Mandy Dogs on Dickens" or "The One that Proves This is Why We Edit." Enjoy a joyous peak into the back room where the magic happens! Also, please send us your list of "classic" reads for our next rapid fire insider look!

Our interview with MHS teacher librarian and CJ resident Jen Keltner! We talk books we love, what we're reading, being a school librarian, and more!

Erin compares people to steaks, and we talk books we're super glad we finished, including some that are outside of our usual box. Be prepared to be surprised, and maybe a few laughs along the way!

Beginning of the year reading challenges can always be hard! Which one do you pick? How long do you give a book before you move on? Do audio books or graphic novels "count" as reading on your challenge? We'll give you our opinion on all those questions and more!

Erin and Mandy talk all things Bridgerton - books, show, social media, and THAT scene. Join us for a lively convo about everyone's favorite Regency family. PG-13