Beyond the Shelves: A Podcast from the Des Moines Public Library

Des Moines Public Library
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The official podcast of the Des Moines Public Library, featuring hosts Jes and Sarah!

  1. 5d ago

    Special Episode: AViD with Shannon Chakraborty

    Our regularly scheduled episode of Beyond the Shelves is a little bit delayed, but we have a special episode for you while you wait! On May 14, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi and The Tapestry of Fate author Shannon Chakraborty took part in our annual Authors Visiting in Des Moines series. This is a recording of that appearance. The program was moderated by author and library employee Linden Thompson.

  2. Jul 15

    Beyond The Shelves: Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim Book Club

    In this episode of Beyond The Shelves Jes and Sarah host a book club for Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim and discuss some book news ranging from a controversial trademark to AI narrations and a rage bait article coming out of the UK. What we're reading                 Darling Daffodils Farm Brittanée Nicole                 Crash Test Amy James                 No Friend to this House Natalie Haynes                 Take a Chance, Sasha Sinclair Ashley Herring Blake                 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter Stephen Graham Jones                 Girl's Girl Sonia Feldman To Be Read (TBR)                 The Unicorn Hunters Katherine Arden                 Meals You Can't Mess Up  Shay Spence                 The Disappointment Scott Broker                 Under Story Chloe Benjamin Book Club: Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim                What is Sublimation about? When you immigrate, you leave a copy of yourself behind, an instance. One person enters their new country; the other stays trapped at home. Some instances keep in touch, call each other daily, keep their lives and minds in sync in the hopes of reintegrating and resuming a life as one person. Others, like Soyoung Rose Kang, leave home at ten years old and never speak to their other selves again. Rose, in America, never imagined going back to Korea until her grandfather died and her Korean instance called her home for the funeral. She doesn't know that Soyoung plans to steal her body and her life. How far would you go to live the choice you didn't make? Book Bulletin Anthony Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso Actor, Dies 'Hot Girls Read' Trademark Sparks Intense BookTok Controversy Romantasy in the UK – Bad Girl books Two websites restrict reviews of JD Vance's book after savage critiques Michael Caine's AI-Generated Voice to Narrate 'The Odyssey' Audiobook Ahead of Christopher Nolan's Movie

    Beyond The Shelves: Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim Book Club

  3. Jun 15 ·  Video

    Beyond The Shelves: Librarians in Pop Culture

    In this episode of Beyond the Shelves, the hosts talk about city budget cuts, share their latest can't‑put‑down reads, and dive into the wild world of librarians in pop culture. It's equal parts advocacy, book love, and pure millennial nostalgia. Tune in for laughs, library pride, and a reminder of why stories (and librarians) matter. What we're reading Canon by Page Lewis We Hexed the Moon by Mollyhall Seeley Here we go Again by Alison Cochrun Moonrising by Claire Barner  To Be Read (TBR) Nerve damage by Annakeara Stinson Into the Blue by Emma Brodie Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim  One Day, everyone will have always been against this by Omar El Akkad  Pop culture Librarians Tammy 2 from Parks and Rec (17:41) The Loud Librarian from Nickelodeon's All That (20:01) Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (22:20) Evelyn Carnahan from The Mummy Series (26:06) Barbara Gordon AKA Batgirl AKA Oracle. (30:09) Flynn Carsen from The Librarians (33:36) Book Bulletin 'Pretty Little Liars' EBook Changes Have the Internet Fuming: 'Should I DNF?' Let's Stop Comparing 'Off Campus' & 'Heated Rivalry' Deeper reading insights unlocked: Rakuten Kobo and StoryGraph announce integration Got an Old Kindle? It Might Not Work Anymore. Here's What to Do.

  4. May 18

    Beyond The Shelves: Inside the Summer Reading Magic

    A lively, book‑packed conversation with special guest Jen from the Franklin Avenue Library as they dive into what they're reading, the hottest upcoming releases, and, most importantly, the inside scoop on this year's Summer Reading Program. From murder mysteries at 30,000 feet to adorable fantasy graphic novels and the power of preventing the summer slide, this episode celebrates stories, community, and the joy of getting books into kids' hands all summer long. SHOW NOTES What We're Reading Rites of the Starling by Deveny Perry The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty   Famesick by Lena Dunham Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker  Murder at 30,000 Feet by Susan Walter Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa American Fantasy by Emma Straub Exciting New Releases The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle Girls Girl by Sonia Feldman The Princess Diaries: The Graphic Novel by Meg Cabot The Second Life of Snap by Erin Entrada Kelly Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister Read with Me book recommendation:  Doggy Dance Off by Steve Smallman Readers Book Recommendation:  The Spirit Glass by Roshani Chokshi (middle grade) The Champions by Kara Thomas (teen) Snow Globe by Soyoung Park (teen)  Book Bulletin  Amazon pulls support for older Kindles New Empyryean book – not book 4   Beach Read Casting

  5. Apr 20

    Tasty Recommendations: Pairing Cookbooks with Novels

    In this episode of Beyond the Shelves, hosts Sarah and Jes kick things off with a lively conversation about what they've been reading lately and the spring publishing season's standout titles. Along the way they craft thoughtful cookbook–novel pairings built around themes like memory, heritage, legacy, flavor, and identity. Watch this episode on Youtube What We're Reading Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley Adult Braces by Lindy West Gunk by Saba Sams The Children by Melissa Albert Exciting new releases The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin American Spirits by Anna Dorn Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker Yesteryear by Cara Claire Burke Cookbooks and Novels Praisesong for the kitchen ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson The Kamogawa food detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai Butter by Asako Yuzuki The Butter Book by Anna Stockwell Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev Cook Once Eat Twice by Nadiya Hussain The legendary frybread drive in by Intertribal stories Turtle Island: foods and traditions of the indigenous peoples of North America by Sean Sherman Maydan by Rose Previte The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer The particular sadness of lemon cake by Aimee Bender Dorie's anytime Cakes by Dorie Greeenspan Book Bulletin Release Dates for Next 2 'ACOTAR' Books Revealed by Sarah J. Maas New! Did Not Finish Shelf is On Its Way A.I. Is Writing Fiction. Publishers Are Unprepared.

  6. Mar 16

    Beyond the Shelves: Brontë, the Big Screen, and the Backlash

    In this lively episode of Beyond the Shelves, the hosts dive deep into Wuthering Heights—the novel, the new film adaptation, and the passionate discourse surrounding both. After a quick roundup of upcoming author events and current reads, the conversation shifts to Emily Brontë's legacy, the novel's complicated publication history, and why this famously chaotic story continues to captivate readers nearly 200 years later. SHOW NOTES What We're Reading Evil Genius by Claire Ohshetsky (also mentioned Chouette by Claire Ohshetsky) Heap Earth Upon It by Chole Michele Howarth  Tough Guy by Rachel Reid The Fine Print by Lauren Asher Shield of Sparrows by Deveny Perry To Be Read The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It by Lisa Rinna  Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy Roots of Darkness by Demi Winters Dawn of the North by Demi Winters This Kingdom will not Kill me by Ilona Andrews Wuthering Heights Links: Emily Brontë in Her Smut Era: The Romance Rebranding of "Wuthering Heights" by Shawna Lipton Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights is a Deranged, Half-Assed Bodice-Ripper That Entirely Misses the Point Book Bulletin Spotify Partners With Bookshop.org and Debuts Page Match Feature to Bridge Physical, E-book, and Audio Formats Can AI Chatbots Write Emotional Rich Romances? Nationwide Book Banning bill introduced Iowa Library Association Bill Tracker  Man breaks up with woman due to library card American Girl, Samantha: The Next Chapter

  7. Feb 11

    Beyond The Shelves - Libraries as Third Spaces

    This month on Beyond the Shelves, Sarah and Jes unpack the idea of "third spaces"  why we crave them, why they're disappearing, and how libraries have stepped in to fill the gap. Stick around for the Book Bulletin, where they unpack everything from LGBTQ+ publishing setbacks to Shakespearean fan fiction, Bridgerton‑era romance trends, and the wild saga of a possibly‑AI‑written novel. SHOW NOTES What We're Reading Back after this by Linda Holmes Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë To Be Read In the veins of the drowning by Kalie Cassidy Big in Sweden by Sally Franson Dominion by Addie E. Citchens The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss  Books on Third Spaces The great good place by Ray Oldenburg Palaces of the People by Eric Klinenberg The Overlooked Americans by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett Meet me at the library by Shamichael Hallman Arbitrary Lines by Nolan M. Gray (zoning laws) The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (redlining) Walkable City by Jeff Speck Why public space matters by Setha Low Finding your third space by Richard Kyte The death and life of the great American cities by Jane Jacobs Book Bulletin Publishers are stepping back from LGBTQ books amid bans Hamnet = Shakespeare fanfiction? Julia Quinn launching romance book subscription service

  8. Jan 12

    Beyond The Shelves: 2026 Reading Challenge Recommendations

    In this episode of Beyond the Shelves, Sarah and Jes discuss the 2026 reading challenge, recomend books to complete your bingo board, and in the book bulletin, talk about the hit series Heated Rivalry on HBO.  Learn more about the reading challenge here Watch the video on Youtube SHOW NOTES What We're Reading The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow Discontent by Beatriz Serrano The Correspondent by Virginia Evans Game Changer by Rachel Reid The Rediscovery of America by Ned Blackhawk   Big Reads of 2026 American Fantasy by Emma Straub The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke Go Gentle by Maria Semple No Friend To This House by Natalie Haynes Reading Challenge Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz Exiles by Mason Coile The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton The Colony by Annika Norlin Always Never by Jordi Lafebre The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason Exit West by Mohsin Hamid All Of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles

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The official podcast of the Des Moines Public Library, featuring hosts Jes and Sarah!

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