I hope our faithful readers of this blog (and even the occasional passers-by) understand how much we love helping patrons here at the library. Let’s face it, you’re all why we’re here in the first place. We love helping you find just the right title you’re looking for or turning you onto something new. Sometimes, though, we love helping you help yourselves. We try to be as diverse as we can here at the library and I know sometimes our enthusiasm may seem superhuman, but we are just people after all and we simply can’t keep up with absolutely everything in the ever-expanding world of books. (I know, say it isn’t so! But it’s true…) The good news is there are some awesome resources out there to help you keep up with the world of books and help you explore it much in the way we would: with bookish enthusiasm and occasional, random bursts of excitement. Today, I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite ways to keep up with bookish news and upcoming titles: podcasts. The world of books and the world of podcasts intersect a surprising amount with some fantastic offerings by both publishers and independent sources.
For the uninitiated, a podcast is like a cross between a radio broadcast and a blog post; it is in audio format accessible through the Internet on-demand, and is an opportunity for hosts to share information about which they are particularly knowledgeable or enthusiastic. Most podcasts have a specific theme or topic and publish a new episode weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, with some posting multiple times each week. Podcasts can be downloaded onto media players like tablets, smartphones and iPods, but they can also simply be listened to on a computer. Downloading can be done through iTunes (which is free software), but can also be done through the podcasts’ individual website. The podcast’s website will allow you to listen on your computer, without any special equipment. You also have the luxury of subscribing to podcasts you particularly enjoy so you won’t miss an episode. However, if yo do miss an episode, you can often find scads of backlist episodes for your listening pleasure. There are hundreds of topics to choose from and, fortunately for us, there are some amazing bookish podcasts that offer current, relevant information and insights into the bookish world.
A word about sponsors: Many of the podcasts that have the best production value need money in order to keep their quality standards high. (This isn’t something the public library generally encounters because our funding largely comes from the City and donations like those received on behalf of the Friends of the Peabody Institute Libraries or the Peabody Library Foundation.) As a result, podcasts may briefly be interrupted by “commercials”, in which the podcast presenter talks about who has sponsored the show. This doesn’t necessarily make the podcast less reliable in terms of information. In the case of most podcasts I’ve listened to, the sponsors are at least tangentially related to the podcast content and hosts do not seem to introduce a sponsor that they are not familiar with or comfortable recommending. The appearance of sponsors does not seem to affect the content of the podcast. That said, most podcasts have an “advance 15 second” feature so you can skip through the sponsor notices like fast-forwarding through a commercial. Please know that any sponsors mentioned in the podcasts listed below are in no way affiliated with or recommended by the Library. As in most things, you should use your own best judgement.
All the Books – This podcast is a lively bundle of enthusiasm that allows you to keep up with the newest books coming out each week. Run by blog favorite Book Riot, each week the hosts, known as the “Well Redheads” run through their favorite books that have come out that week, offering brief plot summaries and the reasons why they are mentioning those particular books out of the very many books that come out each week. You’re unlikely to find the newest James Patterson or Danielle Steel book mentioned here as the hosts prefer to give love to some of the lesser known books that they feel deserve attention. That said, many of the books they talk about end up on bestseller lists or other popular book lists, like Library Reads, so you won’t be getting a list of obscure books you can’t find in the library here. Just good reads.
Get Booked – This is a readers’ advisory podcast in which the hosts take readers’ questions about what they should read next. The podcast started off as a bi-weekly program, but was so popular and the hosts wanted to accommodate the flood of questions that came in, they’re now posting a new podcast weekly. This is also a Book Riot podcast, which pretty much guarantees that the presenters will love what they do and have an absolute blast doing it. This is a great podcast to learn about new genres as they sometimes have themed shows and it’s a great resource to hear about books that might not be new, but might be just to your liking.
New York Public Library Podcast – If you want to get to know the stories behind the stories, this is the podcast for you. This podcast is filled with author interviews, critic interviews, culture and art talks and more, often in front of a live audience, all of which allow you to delve deeper into the world of books and culture. The podcasts are widely varied in topic so there’s something for everyone here.
What Should I Read Next? – Blogger Ann Bogel (known in the blogosphere as Modern Mrs. Darcy) is an inherent bookworm who loves making reading recommendations. Each week, she has a guest on the show and the guest tells her what he/she is reading now, two books they love, one book they hate and if there’s anything they want to change in their reading lives (ex. I want to read books my more people of color, I want to read more nonfiction, etc.). With that information, she makes 3 suggestions for what the guest should read next. She recently had a “what did they read?” follow-up episode and it sounds like her suggestions were right up her guests’ alley. It’s a fun, non-fussy approach to readers’ advisory and you can get some fantastic recommendations from Bogel.
Publishers are also offering some pretty interesting podcasts that, while the publishers are likely hoping to boost sales for their individual titles by addition additional content, still offer some interesting background into books, book news and authors. Author interviews and audiobook previews (perfect for June, which is Audiobook Month!) are often included content. News outlets are offering similar podcasts and while they may not be as wildly enthusiastic as the more independent podcasts who are doing it mostly for a love of books, they have undeniable access to big-names that smaller, more independent outfits simply wouldn’t have. Some of these podcasts include: Harper Audio Presents, Slate’s Audio Book Club and The Guardian Books Podcast.
After the Funeral – In the “timely coincidence” category, we have this serialized podcast that is broadcasting a full reading of Agatha’ Christie’s After the Funeral. This podcast is presented by Sophie Hannah, who is the only author to have received authorization from the Christie estate to write new Hercule Poirot novels The Monogram Murders and the upcoming Closed Casket. It is read by Hugh Fraser. This is one of those publisher-presented podcasts; in this case it’s part of Harper Audio Presents.
That’s one of the cool things about podcasts. You can also find original, fictional, serialized content that can be pretty addictive. I have not personally listened to, but have heard many wonderful things about the podcast “Welcome to Night Vale” which gained such momentum that it was turned into a novel. Currently there’s “Alice Isn’t Dead,” a creepy, bi-weekly podcast about a woman following her missing wife’s trail by taking a job with a tractor-trailer company and crisscrossing across the US, encountering some very strange people and events. It’s like listening to an audiobook in small doses.
I hope this post has offered you some options for discovering new books or other things in the wonderful bookish world for yourself. Don’t forget, though, the Library is always here for you, whether you want to find those cool books that you just heard about through a podcast, or if you’d like recommendations a more traditional or personal way. We’re always happy to help! Till next week, dear readers, keep your ear to the ground for new bookish news. If you hear something you like, tell us! We always love to hear about new discoveries.