Professional Book Nerds Evergreen Podcasts

Join Joe and Emma on this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast as they dive deep into the ever-evolving landscape of the literary canon. They shine a spotlight on contemporary books that challenge traditional notions of what it means to be considered "canonical" and explore the complexities of defining literary greatness.
Emma and Joe offer up some modern works and their potential to reshape our understanding of literature and join a new canon. From diverse voices to innovative storytelling techniques, they celebrate the richness and diversity of contemporary literature that deserves a place in the canon.
Titles mentioned in this episode:
Emma’s Titles: 


Atonement by Ian McEwan 


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins  


The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 


A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 


The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas  


Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  


Joe’s Titles:  


The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 


Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 


The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 


Life of Pi by Yann Martel  


Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 


A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara 


Past episodes mentioned in this episode:

The Hunger Games Retrospective

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Ep. #135 - Colson Whitehead, 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Underground Railroad


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).
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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).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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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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. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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