100 episodes

Listen to stories from local Jacksonville residents, learn something new, and get updates about events happening at the Jacksonville Public Library.

Completely Booked - Official Podcast of the Jacksonville Public Library Jacksonville Public Library

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.9 • 40 Ratings

Listen to stories from local Jacksonville residents, learn something new, and get updates about events happening at the Jacksonville Public Library.

    Lit Chat Interview with Bestselling Environmental Writer Jeff Goodell

    Lit Chat Interview with Bestselling Environmental Writer Jeff Goodell

    You May Never See a Hot Summer Day the Same Way Again... Jeff Goodell is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, which was picked as a New York Times Critics' Top Book of 2017, as well as one of Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2017. Goodell's previous books include Sunnyvale, a memoir about growing up in Silicon Valley, which was a New York Times Notable Book, and Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future. 
    His latest book is the New York Times bestseller The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet - about the impact that temperature rise will have on our lives and our planet. 
    This program was presented in partnership with the St. Johns Riverkeeper and the Jacksonville Climate Coalition. 
    Jeff Goodell has covered climate change for more than two decades at Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, his work has been recognized by the American Meteorological Society, New America, and the inaugural Covering Climate Change Now Journalism Awards for Feature Writing. He is a Senior Fellow at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and serves on the board of the McHarg Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.
    Interviewer Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy award-winning producer, an award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black & Published podcast. Her latest novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, was acquired by Scout Press and will be published in 2025. A Chicago native, Nikesha is a columnist with JAX Today. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and VOX. She lives in Florida with her family.
    READ THE AUTHOR'S WORK Check out Jeff's work from the Library!
    THE LIBRARY ALSO RECOMMENDS Other climate change reads:
    Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe
    Are We Screwed?: How a New Generation is Fighting to Survive Climate Change by Geoff Dembicki
    The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
    ---
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    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
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    • 1 hr
    Lit Chat Interview with Award-Winning Author Siera London

    Lit Chat Interview with Award-Winning Author Siera London

    Hallmarky Romance with Some Light Spice Siera London says, "I write sassy, sensual heroines." Whether it's the Forbidden series, Fiery Fairy Tales, The Bachelors of Shell Cove, you're sure to find plenty of heat, humor, and a rollercoaster of emotions.
    Dubbed a "Hallmarky romance with a little extra heat" by author Lizzie Shane, London's latest book, Fake It Till You Make It, is no exception. 
    In it, we meet Amarie Walker, who has just left her cheating ex and her entire D.C. life in the rearview. It's not long after crash landing in a small town with no money, no plans, and no job, that Amarie meets certified veterinarian (and certified grump) Eli Calvary. He may not be cracking many smiles but his animal clinic is the only gig for miles. 
    The only problem? The practice Eli inherited from his father is in financial trouble and when he needs to invent an investor on the fly, it's Amarie's name that comes to his lips! Can the gorgeous, bubbly, and business-savvy Amarie help save the clinic from foreclosure? And can the two ignore the nonstop sparks between them long enough to save his family business?
    The Lit Chat Interview with Siera London took place live at the Bradham and Brooks Library on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
    USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Siera London crafts tales with a message to heal the heart and soul. From contemporary to paranormal, Siera weaves stories with heroines you know, heroes you love, and romance you feel. When not writing, Siera roams with Mr. Awesome and Frie, her cat muse. Siera is a retired Navy veteran and a Jacksonville native. Learn more about the author and her literary catalog online at sieralondonauthor.com
    Interviewer Jessica Hatch has a passion for writing genre-blind, character-first fiction with a love of words and a strong beating heart. Her work has appeared in such publications as Writer’s Digest, The Millions, Fast Company, Neutral Spaces, and Surely Magazine, and she hosts the virtual reading series Comp Title Book Club. Her freshman and sophomore novels were published by Hachette UK’s Bookouture imprint, and her debut novel, My Big Fake Wedding, a Lonely Victories Book of 2022, appeared in the Top 50 women’s fiction and Top 100 romantic comedy titles on Amazon. Before becoming an author, Jessica worked and interned in New York trade publishing institutions Writers House and St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
    READ Check out Siera's work from the library: https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=AUTHOR%3D%22siera+london%22&te= 
    SIERA RECOMMENDS “I enjoy lazy days at the museum and learning about people who inspire me to invest in myself and others. Check out Fort Mose, a free black settlement established in 1738 in America’s oldest city, Saint Augustine, FL.”
    ---
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    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/
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    • 58 min
    Teen Lit Chat with Science Fiction & Fantasy Author Bethany Baptiste

    Teen Lit Chat with Science Fiction & Fantasy Author Bethany Baptiste

    A born-and-raised Jacksonvillian, Bethany Baptiste is a preschool inclusion specialist by day and a young adult SFF novelist by night. If she’s not writing an inclusion support plan or a story, she does retail therapy in Florida bookstores and takes scheduled naps with her two chaotic evil dogs. You can visit her website at bethanybaptiste.com
    Check out all of Bethany's books in our catalog: https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=&qu=AUTHOR%3Dbethany+baptiste+&h=1
    BETHANY RECOMMENDS
    BOOKS
    Here are some dark, unputdownable Black YA reads perfect for fans of thrills, chills, and anything but ordinary:
    📖 DEAD GIRLS WALKING by Sami Ellis (out March 26)
    📖 THE DARK PLACE by Britney S. Lewis - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=TITLE%3D%22dark+place%22&qu=AUTHOR%3Dlewis&te=
    📖 MONSTROUS by Jessica Lewis - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=TITLE%3D%22monstrous%22&qu=AUTHOR%3Dlewis&te=
    📖 TENDER BEASTS by Liselle Sambury - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=tender+beasts+sambury&te=
    GO-TO STOPS FOR A PERFECT NIGHT IN JACKSONVILLE (IN THIS ORDER)
    2nd & Charles: Score affordable, used books Soupa Noodle Bar: Enjoy a hot, delicious bowl of ramen. Cinemark Tinseltown: Catch the latest movie and munch on some movie snacks. Insomnia Cookies: Treat yourself to warm cookies and ice cream. SHOWS & MOVIES
    📺 BLOOD & WATER (Netflix): This show is perfect for fans of shadowy family secrets, elite schools, and crime underworlds.
    📺 GEN V (Amazon): This show is about superheroes in college but like on really, really dark, twisty steroids.
    📺 TINY PRETTY THINGS (Netflix): This show gives you a glimpse into the glamorous yet cutthroat world of ballet.
    📺 SELAH AND THE SPADES (Amazon): If elite boarding schools, dark academia aesthetics, and cunning Black female leads are a vibe to you, check this movie out.
    ---
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    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/
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    • 1 hr 2 min
    Lit Chat Interview with author and former Georgia State Legislator McCracken Poston, Jr.

    Lit Chat Interview with author and former Georgia State Legislator McCracken Poston, Jr.

    Death, Love and Redemption "In October 1997, the town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia was shaken by reports of a murder in its midst. A dead woman was found in Alvin Ridley's house..." 
    Georgia attorney-turned-writer, McCracken Poston Jr., joins us live via Zoom to tell the story behind one of his most famous defense cases and his upcoming book, Zenith Man: Death, Love and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom.
    "Like a nonfiction John Grisham thriller with echoes of Rainman, Just Mercy, and a captivating smalltown Southern setting, this is the fascinating true story—sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking—of an idealistic young lawyer determined to free an innocent neurodivergent man accused of murdering the wife no one knew he had." - from the Publisher
    McCracken Poston Jr. is a practicing criminal defense attorney and former state legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and received his law degree from The University of Georgia. He gained national attention for his handling of several notable cases that were featured on CNN Presents, Dateline NBC, A&E's American Justice, and Forensic Files. He lives in Ringgold, Georgia.
    READ Check out McCracken's work from the library!
    THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS
    True crime stories to investigate:
    Bone Deep: Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder Case by Charles Bosworth  Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson  Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search For Justice by Ellen McGarrahan  ---
    Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates 
    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl
    Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

    • 58 min
    Lit Chat with Local Poet and Author Michelle Lizet Flores

    Lit Chat with Local Poet and Author Michelle Lizet Flores

    The Friends of the Bill Brinton Murray Hill Library sponsored a special Lit Chat Interview with local poet Michelle Lizet Flores. Michelle spoke with fellow poet and Lit Chat alum, Jessica Q. Stark, about her latest book of poetry. 
    Michelle Lizet Flores is a graduate of the FSU and NYU creative writing programs. She currently works as a Creative Writing Instructor at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and co-hosts the What's in a Verse Poetry Open Mic at Rain Dogs. Publications include The NCTE English Journal, Salt Hill Journal, and The Talon Review. A finalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Poetry, she wrote the chapbooks Cuentos from the Swamp and Memoria, and the picture book, Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat. Her short fiction is in the anthology, Places We Build in the Universe. Invasive Species, her first full-length collection of poetry, is currently available from Finishing Line Press.
    Interviewer Jessica Q. Stark is the author of Buffalo Girl (BOA Editions, 2023), a finalist for the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award, Savage Pageant (Birds, LLC, 2020), and four poetry chapbooks, including INNANET (The Offending Adam, 2021). Her poetry has most recently appeared in Best American Poetry, Pleaides, among other literary journals. She is a Poetry Editor at AGNI and is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Florida. She co-organizes the Dreamboat Reading Series in Jacksonville, Florida.
    READ Check out Michelle's work from the library: https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=AUTHOR%3D%22michelle+lizet+flores%22&te= 
    THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS More poetry to enjoy:
    If They Come For Us, by Fatimah Asghar Pity the Beautiful, by Dana Gioia Third Winter in Our Second Country, by Andres Rojas ---
    Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates 
    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl
    Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

    • 52 min
    Lit Chat with Emily Rath author of Jacksonville Rays Romance Series

    Lit Chat with Emily Rath author of Jacksonville Rays Romance Series

    Recently re-released with bonus content, Pucking Around (the first book in the series) is now a USA Today bestseller! The sequel, Pucking Wild, debuted at the top of the Kindle store in multiple countries: #2 in the USA, #1 in Canada, #1 in Australia, and top 50 in the UK!
    From the author: "The signed paperback preorder campaign for the Kensington editions of Pucking Around is now LIVE!! I’ve partnered with Femme Fire Books, which is a Jacksonville-based independent bookstore, to help me run this preorder campaign. You can secure your preorder HERE." - https://femmefirebooks.com/products/pucking-around-by-emily-rath?_pos=1&_sid=cebabb0a5&_ss=r&variant=44219323121891 
    Emily Rath is an international bestselling author of fantasy and romance. Born in Florida and raised in Kentucky, she is a former university professor, holding PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Her works include the "TikTok sensation" and Amazon Charts bestselling Jacksonville Rays Hockey romance series, as well as the Second Sons Regency Romance series. She currently lives in Jacksonville with her husband, son, and cat. They regularly comb the local beaches looking for shark teeth.
    Interviewer Jessica Hatch has a passion for writing genre-blind, character-first fiction with a love of words and a strong beating heart. Her work has appeared in such publications as Writer’s Digest, The Millions, Fast Company, Neutral Spaces, and Surely Magazine, and she hosts the virtual reading series Comp Title Book Club. Her freshman and sophomore novels were published by Hachette UK’s Bookouture imprint, and her debut novel, My Big Fake Wedding, a Lonely Victories Book of 2022, appeared in the Top 50 women’s fiction and Top 100 romantic comedy titles on Amazon. Before becoming an author, Jessica worked and interned in New York trade publishing institutions Writers House and St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
    READ Check out Emily's work from the library! https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=AUTHOR%3D%22emily+rath%22&te= 
    EMILY RECOMMENDS If you are new to the world of hockey romance, here are some other great authors you can check out:
    Helena Hunting, Liz Tomforde, Jessa Wilder, Saxon James, and S.J. Tilly.
    I owe so much to TikTok for helping me reach a whole new world of readers. I spend a lot of time on the #Booktok side of TikTok, where there are some truly amazing content creators. They have brought me so much laughter and whimsy! Some of my current personal favorite non-book-related creators are Brian Morabito (@morathanenough), Laura Ramoso (@lau_ramoso), Prince Stash (@realprincestash), and Sean the Sheepman (@seanthesheepman). If you're looking for an awesome bookish content creator to follow, go follow Reid Moon (@moonsrarebooks)--his rare book collection is absolutely fascinating!
    ---
    Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates 
    Jacksonville Public Library
    Website: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl
    Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

    • 1 hr 1 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
40 Ratings

40 Ratings

AaronBugKilla ,

CHART THE TOPS BABY!!!

Keep up the great work!

MomasaurusLife ,

Awesome!

Love this podcast!

Tom Tiner ,

A Must Listen

If you live in DUUUVAL you have to give this podcast a listen. It’s the podcast I wish I had created. Interesting, lively conversation. Jacksonville Public Library you need to plug this podcast!

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