Professional Book Nerds

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 Fi

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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the A

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'

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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. We’ve got merch! Check out our two

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:   A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon  Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee  The Black Girl Survives in This One Edited by Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell  Women! In! Peril! by Jessie Ren Marshall  Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho  The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling  Henry Henry by Allen Bratton  The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell  The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge by Matthew Hubbard  We’re Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua    Emma’s Picks:   Funny Story by Emily Henry   She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica   The Rule Book by Sarah Adams  How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang  The Husbands by Holly Gramazio  The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes  Darling

In this episode, Emma and Joe are joined by their coworker Katie to discuss their favorite new features of the Libby app. They talk about the evolution of Libby over the years and how user feedback has played a crucial role in shaping the app. They also highlight features like multi-library search, deep search, and notify me tags that make it easier for readers to find and access titles! Come and listen to hear this and so much more on today's episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Titles mentioned in this episode: The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh House of Earth and Blood (GraphicAudio Dramatization) by Sarah J. Maas Happiness Falls by Angie Kim Think Again by Adam Grant 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 subscri

Joe is joined by Natasha Pulley to talk about her new book, The Mars House (out March 19). Natasha shares how her high school astronomy class inspired her first dive into Sci-Fi writing, writing a marriage of convenience plot to save a character's political aspirations, her deep love of science and doing your own calculations (even if they might be wrong). Come and hear how Natasha's experiences in life, academia and travel shaped her writing of this work. 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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. We’ve g

On this episode, Joe and Emma play a little game of Borrow, Buy, Bin, a bookish take on the infamous game, Snog, Marry, Avoid. They've provided each other with authors to choose from, but without knowing what the books will be, Emma and Joe have to decide if they're going to Borrow the book for a little bit, Buy it to add to the collection at home, or put it in the donate Bin! Titles in this game: Sarah J Maas  A Court of Thorns and Roses House of Earth and Blood Throne of Glass Stephenie Meyer New Moon The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Midnight Sun Meg Cabot  The Princess Diaries Series The Mediator Series Queen of Babble Rachel Harrison Black Sheep Such Sharp Teeth The Return Tana French   In the Woods The Searcher The Secret Place Caroline Kepnes You You Love Me For You and Only You Penny Reid  Truth or Beard Beard Science Beard Necessities Lemony Snicket The Bad Beginning The Hostile Hospital The End Emily Henry  Book Lovers People We Meet on Vacation Happy Pl

Emma catches up with Tarryn Fisher to discuss her new book, Good Half Gone. Tarryn also shares the inspiration behind the story, her fascination with siblings and the dynamic between twins, how women nurture in different ways, her friendship with Colleen Hoover, and being BOLD. 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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the podcast, Joe and Emma talk with their reading pals Andrea, Melissa and Shannon about how they set reading goals for the year to keep motivation and celebration high while also battling the reading slump. Join us for different ways to inspire how you view your year in books! Don’t forget to Register to watch the virtual Libby Book Awards ceremony presented by us, your very own Professional Book Nerds via Zoom, or tune in on YouTube or Facebook Live. What Everyone's Reading Right Now: Nightbane by Alex Aster Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings / House of Earth and Blood (GraphicAudio) by Sarah J. Maas Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward 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 pod

Emma and Joe are back with another casual, chatty episode! They discuss Joe's Frieda McFadden reading marathon, Emma's thoughts on House of Flame and Shadow, and share candle recommendations, craft updates, recent book mail, and answer some questions from an AMA. Don't forget to Register to watch the virtual Libby Book Awards ceremony presented by us, your very own Professional Book Nerds via Zoom, or tune in on YouTube or Facebook Live. Books mentioned in this episode: Book Lovers by Emily Henry  Game Changer by Rachel Reid Beard Science by Penny Reid  A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas  House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas  Freida McFadden The Coworker by Frieda McFadden  The Teacher by Freida McFadden  Manacled fanfiction  The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien Grave Expectations by Alice Bell  You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose  In the Company of Witches  by A

It's that time again - time for Emma and Joe to look at the upcoming month's releases and share what they're most excited for! So many books, so little time... To make sure we're keeping things fresh, we've excluded titles included in our Most Anticipated Books of 2024 episode. Don't forget to Register to watch the virtual Libby Book Awards ceremony presented by us, your very own Professional Book Nerds via Zoom, or tune in on YouTube or Facebook Live. Books mentioned in this episode: Author Interviews for March:   Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher  The Mars House by Natasha Pulley Emma’s Titles:  Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle   A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair   Happily Never After by Lynn Painter   This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan   Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering   Annie Bot by Sierra Greer   The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird   The Extinction of Irena Ray by Jennifer Croft   Such a Lovely Family by Aggie Blum Thompson  Joe’s Titles:

Joe and Emma are joined by their colleague, Tiffany, to chat about seasonal reading! They chat about how they "plan" out their reading year, if the seasons influence what books they read and when, and recommend some of their favorites along the way. The group also realize what their reading "patterns" or schedules say about their tastes and preferences! Books mentioned in this episode: You series by Caroline Kepnes The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Will They Escape? by Daniel Huiet Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas  Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas  Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas  A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket  The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han  The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson New Kid by Jerry Craft Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell Laura Vanderkam I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michell

On this episode, Joe is joined by Hafsah Faizal to discuss her new book A Tempest of Tea (out February 20). Hafsah is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the Sands of Arawiya series, a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree and owner of IceyDesigns. They talk about finding their favorite teas, Victorian blood dens in tea rooms, and planning the perfect heist. 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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. We’ve got merch! Check out our two shirts in The OverDrive Shop (all profits are donated to the ALA

Romance readers, assemble! This episode is for you. Emma chats with Dominique Raccah, Publisher and CEO, of Sourcebooks, the publisher behind some of your favorite romance reads at Sourcebooks Casablanca and Bloom Books imprints. They’re joined by Paula Amendolara (Senior Vice President of Sales), Mary Altman (Assistant Editorial Director), Molly Waxman (Executive Director of Marketing), Deb Werksman (Executive Editor), and Pamela Jaffee (Sr. Director Publicity/Brand Marketing), just some of the incredible team at Bloom Books and Sourcebooks Casablanca. They discuss insider info about how the publisher approaches each romance imprint, share trends in romance, and leave us with a long list of titles to get in the Valentine's Day spirit all February long. Books mentioned in this episode: Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh Chloe Walsh books Never by Jessa Hastings Neon Gods by Katee Robert Emily McIntire books A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair Wicked Villains series by Katee Robert Elsie Silver book

On this episode, Joe is joined by return guests Claire and Kristin to talk all about cozy mysteries! Whether you're looking for quoziess, foodie titles, bookish mysteries or the like, this episode is for you. Joe also introduces Claire and Kristin to the PokéRap. Titles mentioned in this episode: Claire’s Titles:  The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy  Grave Expectations by Alice Bell  Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes  Fifty-Four Pigs by Philipp Schott    Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien    Kristin’s Titles:   The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis  Farm to Trouble by Amanda Flower  Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews  In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace  Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett    Joe’s Titles:  The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell  Board to Death by CJ Connor  Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp  Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito  Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler  Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentio

Emma is joined by bestselling author, Ali Hazelwood, to discuss her new paranormal romance, Bride. Emma and Ali also manage to discuss fated mates, the writing process, Ali's next release and what's been on her TikTok FYP lately. Ali's chess book, Check & Mate, released last fall. Not in Love comes out later this year. 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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. 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 a

Emma and Joe try something new in this chatty, casual episode. They discuss some recent life updates, new hobbies, books they've been reading lately, mood reading, and more. Joe’s recent reads:   All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers   A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson  Released by Gypsy Rose Blanchard  The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell  #CrimeTime by Jeneva Rose & Drew Pine  The Coworker by Freida McFadden –    Emma’s recent reads:   Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas  (inspired by @newlynovabooks ) Crank by Ellen Hopkins  Impulse by Ellen Hopkins  The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell   Emma’s want to reads:   Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver  A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle Jensen   Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth  The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden   This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune   Happily Never After by Lynn Painter   Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode on OverDrive.com or in Libby. Libra

It's that magical time again - let's see what books Emma and Joe are most looking forward to in February 2024. Join the Nerds as they talk about the cold weather, the February blahs, and of course, eagerly awaited reads. Titles mentioned in this episode: Emma’s Titles:  The Women by Kristin Hannah   The Teacher by Freida McFadden The Guest by B.A. Paris   A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen   At First Spite by Oiivia Dade   A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams  The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden  Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard   Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek   The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers by Sarah Tomlinson     Joe’s Titles:  Ways and Means by Daniel Lefferts  The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale   The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by CJ Miller  The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond  Out of Body by Nia Davenport  No Time Like Now by Naz Kutub   Bunt! By Ngozi Ukazu (shoutout Freshman Year by Sarah Mai)  Everyone Who Can Forgi

Emma chats with Saara El-Arifi about her new book, Faebound. They also chat about world-building, writing sex scenes, the book's original title, the plan for this new trilogy, fated mates, enemies to lovers, and so much more! 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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices