Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat with our guest Lori Merricks, Director of Marketing and Communications at Danville Regional Foundation. We discuss the simple pleasure of little golden books, the joys of a good cozy culinary mystery, and why sometimes you need a spreadsheet to keep up with all your reading.

Books/Authors we discuss include:

• “Little House” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• “Fudge” series by Judy Blume
• “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper
• “Elephant and Piggie” series by Mo Willems
• “Charlie & Lola” series by Lauren Child
• “Curious George” series by H.A. Rey, Margaret Rey
• “Secret, Book, & Scone Society” series by Ellery Adams
• “Library Lover’s Mystery” series by Jenn McKinlay
• “Bibliophile Mystery” series by Kate Carlisle
• “Monster Hunter” series by Annelise Ryan
• “‘Til Death” by Jason Anspach
• “Father Brown” series by G.K. Chesterton
• “Chief Inspector Armand Gamache” series by Louise Penny
• “Flavia de Luce” series by Alan Bradley
• “Golden Girls Cozy Mystery” series by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
• “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens
• “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maude Montgomery
• “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes” by Edith Hamilton
• “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series by Rick Riordan
• “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke
• “Bearskin” by James A. McLaughlin

Russell, Rachael, and Rachel discuss the June Reading Challenge, “Yes, It Counts!” reading audiobooks. In celebration of Audiobook Appreciation Month, we discuss the many things there are to love about reading books on audio.

Books/Authors we discuss include:

• “The Green Ember” by S.D. Smith, read by Joel Clarkson
• “The Great Library” series by Rachel Caine, read by Julian Elfer
• “Mr. Tucket” by Gary Paulsen, read by John Randolph Jones
• “The Last Battle” by C.S. Lewis, read by Patrick Stewart
• “The Shadow of the Gods” by John Gwynne, read by Colin Mace
• “Cold Burn” by A.J. Landau, read by Gregory Abbey
• “The First Law” series by Joe Abercrombie, read by Steven Pacey
• “Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera, read by January LaVoy and Will Damron
• “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” by Kelly Barnhill, read by Christina Moore
• “The Astral Library” by Kate Quinn, read by Saskia Maarleveld
• “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, read by Julia Whelan, Alma Cuervo, and Robin Miles
• “Chomp” by Carl Hiaasen, read by James Van Der Beek
• “The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife” by Anna Johnston, read by Tim Carroll
• “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, read by the author
• “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf” by Rebecca Romney, read by author
• “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” by Omar El Akkad, read by the author
• “The Cooper Kids Adventures” series by Frank Peretti, read by the author
• “Rules” by Cynthia Lord, read by Jessica Almasy

Rachael’s Fun Fact:
*Deuteragonist refers to the second most important character in a narrative.

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat with our guest Adrian Nester, English Department chair at Tunstall Highschool, and self-admitted library girlie. We discuss cutting edge reading technology such as audiobooks on cassette and magazines on sticks, our newest idea for a party bus for reading(™), and the importance of formats like audiobooks and graphic novels to make reading accessible and enjoyable for all.

Books/Authors we discuss include:

• “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories” series by Carolyn Keene (a pseudonym for various ghostwriters, notably Mildred Wirt)
• “Sweet Valley Twins” series by Jamie Suzanne, created by Francine Pascal
• “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks
• “The Marriage Portrait” by Maggie O’Farrell
• “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
• “Their Eyes Are Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
• “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
• “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy
• “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt
• “Goosebumps” series by R.L. Stine
• “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
• “Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders” by Vincent Bugliosi
• “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
• “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, illustrated by Harmony Becker
• “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray
• “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay
• “Knuffle Bunny” by Mo Willems