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On this episode we hear a recording of an event that took place at the Northside Library earlier this month, So I Married a President: How to Become First Lady in One Easy Step. We also talk about what we’re reading.

Originally, this episode was going to cover JMRL’s five tiered COVID-19 response plan, but the local situation developed so quickly that the episode was out of date before it was published, and JMRL is closed until at least the end of March. Find a list of digital resources that you can access through the JMRL blog.

• Katie read Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
• Abby read Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Next, we hear a recording of JMRL’s Historical Collection Librarian, Miranda Burnett, giving a presentation on several former first ladies, in a program called So I Married a President: How to Become First Lady in One Easy Step.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Friends of the Library have postponed their spring sale until a not yet determined time. We will keep you updated as we find out more.

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On this episode we hear a recording of an event at the Northside Library featuring music and poetry by Richelle Claiborne and Tucker Rogers. We also talk about what we’re reading.

• Katie read The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
• Abby read The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg

Next we hear a recording of Acoustic Soul, an event that took place at the Northside library last month. Acoustic Soul features singer Richelle Claiborne and guitarist Tucker Rogers with an evening of music and poetry. Claiborne, also a poet and actress, shares her process and original works and takes questions from the audience. Rogers plays everything from Bluegrass to Hip Hop and is known for the deep and honest connection he forms with both his instrument and audience. 

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we talk to Monticello’s Niya Bates about an event she moderated at the Northside Library centered around the largest sale of enslaved people in Monticello’s history. We also talk about what we read.

• Abby read American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer

• Katie read Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips

We also hear from Monticello’s Niya Bates, Director of African American History and the Getting Word Oral History Project, about an event held at the Northside Library in January. This event was Roots and Remembrance: From the Descendants of Monticello’s Enslaved Families, which allowed descendants of people enslaved at Monticello to reflect upon and remember their ancestors.

Niya is reading:

• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter by Kerri Greenidge
• A Black Woman’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry & Kali Nicole Gross

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss or reading challenges you’d like to invite us to join, please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we are talking about our reading goals in the new year and checking in with the new Gordon Avenue Library Branch Manager.

• Katie read 
  • Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  • The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
• Abby read
  • The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding
  • Trinity Sight by Jennifer Givhan

Tell us about your reading goals!

• Katie’s reading goals
  • Reading more diversely – different genres, age groups, and authors
  • Reading Women Challenge
• Abby’s reading goals
  • Shamelessly reading more books with leading characters named Abby
  • Read more nonfiction
• Both are participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge (Book Riot provides suggestions for each challenge.)

We also chat with Gordon Avenue Library’s new Branch Manager, Camille Thompson, about what it’s like to step into that role and what Gordon Avenue Library users can expect in the coming months.

Camille:

• Mentioned the following programs
  • Romp & Stomp at Central Library
  • Seeds of Culture with Storyteller Page Hill – Sat. Feb 8 3-4pm
  • Author Visit: Crazy Horse and the Lakota people through the eyes of his family –  Mon. Feb. 24 6:30-8:30pm
• Is reading 
  • Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
  • The Vegetable Butcher by Cara Mangini
  • User Friendly by Cliff Kuang

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss or reading challenges you’d like to invite us to join, please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we are wrapping up 2019 with our top reading picks, JMRL news, and a look ahead to what’s in store next year at JMRL. 

• Katie’s top picks are 
  • Fiction
    • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
    • The Nickle Boys by Colson Whitehead
    • Marilou is Everywhere by Sarah Elaine Smith
    • There There by Tommy Orange
    • Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audiobook)
  • Nonficiton
    • The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
    • Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
• Abby’s top picks are
  • YA
    • The Disasters by MK England
    • Dream Country by Shannon Gibney
    • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
  • Adult
    • Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds by Ian Wright
    • The Deep by Rivers Solomon
    • American War by Omar El Akkad

Big JMRL news

• 2 near branch managers (we met our new Scottsville Library branch manager on an earlier episode)
• The Louisa County Library underwent renovations (we talked learned about the renovations on an earlier episode)
• The Nelson Memorial Library’s expansion saw its groundbreaking this year.
• Last year’s Same Page author was Lisa See, and we’re welcoming Jacqueline Woodson in March 2020 to talk about her award winning memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming.
• We helped create a soil exhibit memorializing John Henry James’ life and lynching as part of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project (we heard from participants in the related 2018 Charlottesville Community Civil Rights Pilgrimage on an earlier episode)
• We hosted our 3rd annual How-To Festival at the Central Library and can announce that the 2020 How-To Festival will take place during the Central Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff on Saturday, June 6
• Poem In Your Pocket Day was a big success!
• We celebrated 2 years of our Local Voices Collection. (We announced the creation of the collection in an earlier episode in 2017!)
• As of mid-November we have offered over 2,700 free programs for nearly 100,000 attendees! 

Library materials with the highest rates of circulation for the year

• Print titles
  • Adult
    • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was checked out 473 times
    • Educated : a memoir by Tara Westover was checked out 291 times
    • City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert was checked out 244 times
    • Normal People : a novel by Sally Rooney was checked out 243 times
    • One Good Deed by David Baldacci was checked out 200 times
  • Young Adult
    • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was checked out 66 times 
    • Smile by Raina Telgemeier was checked out 47 times
    • The House of Hades by Rick Riordan was checked out 34 times
    • The Titan’s Curse : the graphic novel by Rick Riordan &  adapted by Robert Venditti with art by Attila Futaki, color by Gregory Guilhaumond, and lettering by Chris Dickey was checked out 32 times
    • Amulet Book Eight: Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi was checked out 28 times
  • Juvenile
    • I Will Take a Nap! By Mo Willems was checked out 88 times
    • Should I Share my Ice Cream? by Mo Willems was checked out 87 times
    • Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems was checked out 85 times
    • Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems was checked out 84 times
    • Diary of a Wimpy Kid : the Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney was checked out 75 times

• Most frequently downloaded ebooks from OverDrive 
  • Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover was checked out 239 times
  • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was checked out 192 times
  • Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel by Celeste Ngwas checked out 186 times
  • A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towles was checked out 177 times
  • The Great Alone: A Novel by Kristin Hannah was checked out 157 times
  • An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones was checked out 155 times
  • The Couple Next Door: A Novel by Shari Lapeña was checked out 151 times
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was checked out 149 times
  • The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel by Lisa See was checked out 149 times
  • A Dangerous Act of Kindness by LP Fergusson was checked out 147 times

• Most frequently downloaded audiobooks from OverDrive 
  • Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by JD Vance was checked out 166 times
  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt was checked out 156 times
  • Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover was checked out 138 times
  • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was checked out 132 times
  • The Fix: Amos Decker Book 3 by David Baldacci was checked out 130 times
  • The Whistler by John Grisham was checked out 124 times
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling was checked out 122 times
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was checked out 119 times
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahisi Coates was checked out 118 times
  • Yes Please by Amy Poehler was checked out 114 times 

We recommend checking out the headliners announced for the 2020 Virginia Festival of the Book.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we hear a panel discussing starting a minority-owned business. We also talk about what we’re reading.

• Katie read Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby (her earlier book, Bone Gap, and it reminded Abby of  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)
• Abby read Pursuit by Joyce Carol Oates

Next we hear a recording of a panel that spoke at the Northside library in November. The presentation focused on starting a minority-owned business. Panelists included:

• Quinton Harrell, moderator (Founder & CEO of Heritage United Builders, and co-owner of A Taste of Home Southern Cuisine food truck)
• Hollie Lee (City of Charlottesville’s Minority Business Program & Economic Development)
• Stephen Davis (The Community Investment Collaborative, ie. CIC )
• Yolunda Harrell (CEO New Hill Development Corp. and co-owner of A Taste of Home Southern Cuisine food truck)
• Zoie Smith (City of Charlottesville’s Minority Business Program & Economic Development)

Panelists mention:

• CIC Entrepreneur Workshop
• ACE Grant
• Business Equity Fund
• Bank On of Greater Charlottesville
• Fountain Fund
• Leadership 101 by John C. Maxwell
• The E Myth by Brian Gerber

Attendees got the chance to learn from an expert panel about an array of existing and emerging resources to help build the foundation and the relationships that make a business a success.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we hear a recording of an event that took place at the Northside Library last month. In it, Martin Chapman, a local medical biotech entrepreneur, reviews the book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. We also talk about what we’re reading.

• Katie read Build Yourself a Boat by Camonghne Felix.
• Abby read Pet by Awaeke Emezi

Next we hear a recording of the October session of  the Northside library’s Books Sandwiched In program. Martin Chapman discusses Bad Blood, which Katie also talked about reading in an earlier episode.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.

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On this episode we hear a recording of an event that explores aviation history and explains how flying went from being a rich man’s novelty to a basic mode of mass transportation. We also talk about what we’re reading.

• Katie read Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• Abby read Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Next we hear a recording of an event that took place at the Northside library last month. In it, John Doyon, airline pilot, and former flight instructor and aviation history professor at Vermont Technical College, reveals the fascinating evolution of air travel.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website. The Friends of the Library’s Fall Book Sale is happening now from Saturday, November 2 – Sunday, November 10.

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On this episode we hear a recording of an event with author Sofia Samatar exploring the world of contemporary science fiction and fantasy literature. We also talk about what we’re reading.

• Katie read Mythos by Stephen Fry
• Abby read This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Next we hear a recording of an event that took place at the Northside library with Sci-Fi and Fantasy author Sofia Samatar. It it, she explores the landscape of contemporary science fiction and fantasy literature and offers a glimpse into her own creative process for her works, including A Stranger in Olondria and Monster Portraits.

She mentions:

• Jeffrey Ford The Physiognomy
• Kai Ashante Wilson
• Ted Chiang
• China Mieville
• Theadora Goss
• Ursula Le Guin

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website. The Friends of the Library’s Fall Book Sale is coming up soon from Saturday, November 2 – Sunday, November 10.

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On this episode we chat with our Louisa County and Scottsville Library Branch Managers to find out about exciting updates from their branches.

• Katie read Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey and The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell
• Abby read Pride by Ibi Zoboi and Educated in Tyranny ed. by Maurie D. McInnis and Louis P. Nelson.

Next we hear a recording of chat with Louisa County Library Branch Manager Ophelia Payne about some new renovations and the grand re-opening of that branch. 

She mentioned the following programs:

• The branch debuts renovations on Sunday, October 6.
• Magic Show on Saturday, October 5.
• Friday evening – Louisa Hometown Spirit on October 4.
• Blood Drive on Thursday, October 10.

Ophelia is reading Maid by Stephanie Land.

Then we chat with Scottsville Library’s new Branch Manager, Megan England, about what it’s like to step into that role and what Scottsville Library users can expect in the coming months.

Megan mentioned the following programs

• Computer Classes for Adults – starting Wednesday, October 9.
• Books on Tap – James River Brewery – next on October 7.
• Harry Potter Festival on Saturday, October 26.
• Health Fair on Tuesday, November 5.
• Varied children’s programming (find more on our calendar) including Dinosaur Day on Friday, November 8.

You can also listen to an earlier episode featuring the recording from her book release party for The Disasters. Her next book,  Spell Hacker, will be released on 1/21/2020.

Megan is reading The Mighty Heart of Sunny St James by Ashley Herring Blake.

If you have books you’d like to recommend we read and discuss please email us at podcast@jmrl.org.

This podcast is made possible through generous support from the Friends of the Library. If you’d like to learn more or join the friends please head to their website.