The mean girl gets murdered in this one (not a spoiler)! Dive into the mind of Cindy RX He as she delves deep into her debut title, Perfect Little Monsters. Find out why it's hard to trick thriller readers with your twists, what makes the queen bee so compelling, and where Cindy's inspiration came from for this story.

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

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Join Joe and Emma on this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast as they dive deep into the ever-evolving landscape of the literary canon. They shine a spotlight on contemporary books that challenge traditional notions of what it means to be considered "canonical" and explore the complexities of defining literary greatness.

Emma and Joe offer up some modern works and their potential to reshape our understanding of literature and join a new canon. From diverse voices to innovative storytelling techniques, they celebrate the richness and diversity of contemporary literature that deserves a place in the canon.

Titles mentioned in this episode:

Emma’s Titles: 

• Atonement by Ian McEwan 
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins  
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas  
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  

Joe’s Titles:  

• The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel  
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara 

Past episodes mentioned in this episode:

• The Hunger Games Retrospective
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Ep. #135 - Colson Whitehead, 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Underground Railroad

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

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Emma is thrilled to welcome Carley Fortune to talk about her new book, This Summer Will Be Different. In this fun chat, you'll also hear about Carley's life-changing writing advice from Taylor Jenkins Reid, writing about different kinds of family dynamics and dreamy male leads, Anne of Green Gables, long-distance best friends, the power of libraries, and how romance books can and do save and change lives.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
• Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
• Meet Me At the Lake by Carley Fortune

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

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Emma is joined by Sydney and Jane to discuss 1990s nostalgia, essential books of the 90s, and share a list of fresh books set in their favorite decade! This episode is packed full of book recommendations and waxing poetic about malls, layered tank tops, time travel, and revisiting our favorite decade from a 2024 perspective.

Emma’s Picks:  

• Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid  
• This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub  
• The Mall by Megan McCafferty  

Jane’s Picks:  

• How to Build a Girl - Caitlin Moran 
• Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison 
• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 
• I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai 

Sydney’s Picks:  

• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides 
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 
• The Crow Road by Iain Banks 

If you want to listen to our conversation with Rainbow Rowell, you can listen here. If you want to listen to the conversation with Emma Straub, that's here. If you're a librarian and you're looking to shop more 90s reads in OverDrive Marketplace, check out As If: Modern Books Featuring 80s and 90s Nostalgia, Books of the 90s, and Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's that magical time again - Joe and Emma are sharing the books being released this May (2024) that they're most looking forward to. The Nerds talk about the eclipse, catch up, and have a silly, goofy time!

Titles mentioned in this episode:

Author Interviews for May: 

• This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune 
• Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy RX He 
• Think Twice by Harlan Coben  
• And Then? And Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler  

Emma’s Titles: 

1. You Never Know by Tom Selleck  
2. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren 
3. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton 
4. Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown  
5. When Among Crows by Veronica Roth 
6. Very Bad Company by Emma Rosenblum 
7. Evocation by S.T. Gibson  
8. When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips 
9. The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson 
10. Swiped by L.M. Chilton  

Joe’s Titles:  

1. Cunning Folk by Tabitha Stanmore 
2. Keepers of the Stones and Stars by Michael Barakiva 
3. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 
4. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler 
5. In Our Stars by Jack Campbell 
6. Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall 
7. Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda 
8. If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay 
9. The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley 
10. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life by Helen Fisher 

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Emma and Joe talk about some VERY specific reading moods and offer recommendations to match! 

Emma’s moods & book picks:  

A romance book that’s 10/10 and has Easter eggs a plenty  

1. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez 
2. Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez 
3. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez  

A cozy fantasy book that's equal parts wholesome and magical  

1. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 
2. The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields  
3. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

A memoir written by the cast member of a 2000s mega-sensation tv show  

1. Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz  
2. The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop  
3. Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly  
4. The Next Chapter by Jana Kramer 

A book with a couple that are murders/serial killers/contract killers 

1. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing  
2. Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver  
3. Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver ** 
4. They Never Learn by Layne Fargo  

Joe’s moods & book picks:  

A secluded cabin in the woods or small town were something creepy is definitely going on 

1. The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan 
2. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf 
3. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay 
4. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger 
5. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey 
6. Misery by Stephen King 

Books that feel like a hug/cozy vibes

1. The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth 
2. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emile Lang 
3. The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley 
4. Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn 

Gentrification thrillers 

1. When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole 
2. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older 
3. The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller 

Uh-oh, there’s a stalker 

1. With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson 
2. Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall 
3. Watching You by Lisa Jewell 
4. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica  
5. Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron 

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. 

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Today on the pod, Joe is joined by Jane, Quinton and Sarah to chat coming of age stories. Today's recommendations run the gamut from middle grade through adult fiction, from graphic novels to fantasy. These character-driven narratives open our eyes to the many ways we all experience life. There's a story here for everyone, and we hope you enjoy!

Titles mentioned in this episode:

Quinton’s Titles:  

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 
• Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher 
• The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi  

Sarah’s Titles:  

• Tumble by Celia Perez  
• Huda F are You? By Huda Fahmy  
• Mid-Air Alicia D Williams  
• Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow 

Jane’s Titles:  

• Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton 
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt 
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau 
• Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley 

Joe’s Titles: 

• Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez 
• If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla 
• Damned by Chuck Palahniuk 
• What the Fireflies Know by Kai Harris 

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

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On this episode, Joe talks with fellow Clevelander Douglas Westerbeke about his debut novel A Short Walk Through a Wide World (out April 2 from Avid Reader Press).

They talk about writing an adventure story, the difficulties between writing strong "walk-on" characters versus writing your main character's whole life story, and of course, what the library means to Doug.

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma and Joe are back for their casual nerd chat. The nerds discuss what they've been reading, audiobook preferences, comfort reads, the upcoming solar eclipse, reading pauses, and live events at Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Emma’s books:  

• Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez 
• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez 
• Just for the Summer by Abby JImenez 
• House of Earth and Blood (GraphicAudio)  
• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas 
• This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune 
• Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn 
• To Sir Phillip with Love by Julia Quinn
• Think Twice by Harlan Coben (Tickets for the CCPL event here)
• So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

Joe's books:

• Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin 
• The Long Walk by Stephen King
• The Running Man by Stephen King 
• The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh 
• The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul
• And Then? And Then? What Else? by Daniel Handler (Register for the CCPL event here)

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. 

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Emma welcomes Abby Jimenez to the podcast to discuss her new book, Just for the Summer! In this casual chat, they also talk high standards, "if he wanted to he would, " drawing inspiration from pop culture, Easter eggs galore, how being a reader made Abby a writer, vanilla cappuccinos, book tour with baby goats, and so much more!

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
• Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma and Joe return for their monthly round up of books they're most looking forward to in the upcoming month! Settle in for a long list of great books due to release in April 2024.

Author interviews:  

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
• A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

Joe’s Picks:  

1. A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon 
2. Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee 
3. The Black Girl Survives in This One Edited by Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell 
4. Women! In! Peril! by Jessie Ren Marshall 
5. Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho 
6. The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling 
7. Henry Henry by Allen Bratton 
8. The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell 
9. The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge by Matthew Hubbard 
10. We’re Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua 

Emma’s Picks:  

1. Funny Story by Emily Henry  
2. She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica  
3. The Rule Book by Sarah Adams 
4. How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang 
5. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio 
6. The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes 
7. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth 
8. The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence  
9. The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson 
10. Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh  

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to [email protected]. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA Literacy Clearinghouse).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices