The Desk Set

King County Library System
  • 4.3 (52)
  • BOOKS
The Desk Set

A bookish podcast for reading broadly. Librarians interview authors, share reading suggestions and explore literary topics through lively conversations. Each episode is based on reading challenge categories, which encourage listeners to expand their reading horizons. You can find show notes, including a list of books discussed in each episode and transcripts at kcls.org/deskset.

  1. 12/28/2021

    The Best Books of 2021

    Librarians talk about staff picks for the best books of 2021. We also chat about books we're looking forward to reading in 2022 and the value of reading broadly.

    37 min

  2. 09/17/2021

    Epistolary Time Travel

    Hear interviews with authors Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone, and E.J. Koh. El-Mohtar and Gladston chat about their spy novella, This Is How You Lose the Time War. Koh discusses her memoir, The Magical Language of Others. Each author talks about how letter writing can act as a form of time travel. We also share some of our other favorite epistolary works.

    35 min

  3. 08/17/2021

    Race, Place, and Coming of Age

    Hear interviews with authors Monica West and Brittany Ackerman. West talks about Revival Season, a story about a Black evangelical family and a crisis of faith. Ackerman chats about The Brittanys, a novel about teen friends growing up in Florida. We also discuss our picks for books set where we were born.

    1h 1m

  4. 06/24/2021 · BONUS

    Feed Drop: Mateo Askaripour

    Hear Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck, in conversation with Marcus Harrison Green of the South Seattle Emerald moderates.

    29 min

  5. 06/09/2021

    The Future, Real and Imagined

    Explore the future through the lens of science and fiction. We chat with scientist Kelly Weinersmith about the nonfiction book Soonish. Then, we talk to Sarah Pinsker, author of the science fiction novel, We Are Satellites.

    39 min

  6. 04/13/2021 · BONUS

    Feed Drop: Syed Masood

    Syed Masood, author of The Bad Muslim Discount, in conversation with Shahina Piyarali. This feed drop is an audio recording of a live webcast event.

    39 min

  7. 03/12/2021

    Wild Characters and Re-Reading

    Hear interviews with authors: Emily St. John Mandel (The Glass Hotel, Station Eleven) and Kira Jane Buxton (Hollow Kingdom) We chat about revisiting Station Eleven during the pandemic and writing nonhuman characters. Librarians Emily and Britta also have a conversation about rereading old favorites.

    43 min

  8. 02/16/2021

    Fake It Til You Make It

    Authors Rachel Lynn Solomon and Gabrielle Korn join us as guests to chat about their new books. Rachel talks about her adult debut The Ex Talk, a romantic comedy set at a Seattle public radio station. In the book, Shay and Dominic fake a past relationship as a pretense for the podcast they host together. Then, Gabrielle talks about her memoir Everybody (Else) Is Perfect. The book shares her experiences working in women's media, recovering from an eating disorder, street harassment, queer identity, and overcoming imposter syndrome as the youngest Editor-in-Chief at NYLON.

    38 min
See All (36)

4.3
out of 5
52 Ratings

About

A bookish podcast for reading broadly. Librarians interview authors, share reading suggestions and explore literary topics through lively conversations. Each episode is based on reading challenge categories, which encourage listeners to expand their reading horizons. You can find show notes, including a list of books discussed in each episode and transcripts at kcls.org/deskset.

Information

  • Creator
    King County Library System
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2021
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    The Desk Set

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