Professional Book Nerds Evergreen Podcasts
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We're not just book nerds. We're professional book nerds! We are staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks from public libraries and schools. It's our job to discuss books all day long so we thought, "Why not share the conversation!" Hear about the best books we've read, get recommendations, and learn about the hottest books coming out that we can't wait to dive into. Titles discussed are available to borrow through public libraries. Get started reading at overdrive.com and subscribe to our podcast today!
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Dreaming Big with Carley Fortune
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 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).
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You Might Also Like: The New Yorker Radio Hour
Introducing Jonathan Haidt on the Plague of Anxiety Affecting Young People from The New Yorker Radio Hour.
Follow the show: The New Yorker Radio Hour
Both anecdotally and in research, anxiety and depression among young people—often associated with self-harm—have risen sharply over the last decade. There seems little doubt that Gen Z is suffering in real ways. But there is not a consensus on the cause or causes, nor how to address them. The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes that enough evidence has accumulated to convict a suspect. Smartphones and social media, Haidt says, have caused a “great rewiring” in those born after 1995. The argument has hit a nerve: his new book, “The Anxious Generation,” was No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list. Speaking with David Remnick, Haidt is quick to differentiate social-media apps—with their constant stream of notifications, and their emphasis on performance—from technology writ large; mental health was not affected, he says, for millennials, who grew up earlier in the evolution of the Internet. Haidt, who earlier wrote about an excessive emphasis on safety in the book “The Coddling of the American Mind,” feels that our priorities when it comes to child safety are exactly wrong. “We’re overprotecting in [the real world], and I’m saying, lighten up, let your kids out! And we’re underprotecting in another, and I’m saying, don’t let your kids spend nine hours a day on the Internet talking with strange men. It’s just not a good idea.” To social scientists who have asserted that the evidence Haidt marshals does not prove a causative link between social media and depression, “I keep asking for alternative theories,” he says. “You don’t think it’s the smartphones and social media—what is it? … You can give me whatever theory you want about trends in American society, but nobody can explain why it happened so suddenly in 2012 and 2013—not just here but in Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Northern Europe. I’m waiting,” he adds sarcastically, “for someone to find a chemical.” The good news, Haidt says, is there are achievable ways to limit the harm.
Note: In his conversation with David Remnick, Jonathan Haidt misstated some information about a working paper that studies unhappiness across nations. The authors are David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu, and it includes data on thirty-four countries.
DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm. -
All That and a Bag of Chips: 1990s Book Recs
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 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 ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
May 2024 Book Picks
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:
You Never Know by Tom Selleck
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Very Bad Company by Emma Rosenblum
Evocation by S.T. Gibson
When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson
Swiped by L.M. Chilton
Joe’s Titles:
Cunning Folk by Tabitha Stanmore
Keepers of the Stones and Stars by Michael Barakiva
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
In Our Stars by Jack Campbell
Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall
Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life by Helen Fisher
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PBN's Hyper-Specific Reading Moods & Recommendations
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
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
A cozy fantasy book that's equal parts wholesome and magical
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
A memoir written by the cast member of a 2000s mega-sensation tv show
Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly
The Next Chapter by Jana Kramer
A book with a couple that are murders/serial killers/contract killers
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver **
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
The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan
The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Misery by Stephen King
Books that feel like a hug/cozy vibes
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emile Lang
The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Gentrification thrillers
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller
Uh-oh, there’s a stalker
With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson
Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
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 professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com.
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Don't Lose Your Whimsy - Coming of Ages Stories for All Readers
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 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 ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices