Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast August Recap

Each month, we release a new episode of Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our episode!


Nostalgia Reads

We’ve talked a lot about what books we read when we were younger that have stuck with us, but we’re not done with that topic just yet! Below are the titles discussed in the episode!

Stephanie’s Picks:
Amelia’s Notebook by Marissa Moss 
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney 
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka 
Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 
Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch 

 

Brittany’s Picks
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
There was an old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Pam Adams
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

Beth’s Picks
The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling


Cancer Support Community Iowa and NW Illinois at Gilda’s Club

Our resource spotlight shines on Gilda’s Club Quad Cities, newly known as Cancer Support Community Iowa and NW Illinois at Gilda’s Club. Since 1998, Gilda’s Club has been a pillar of hope and support for cancer patients and their families. From its beginnings at the Mansion with the Red Door on River Drive to its current locations inside the Genesis Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club Davenport, and the UnityPoint Health – Trinity Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club Moline has continually expanded its services, reaching nearly 4,500 individuals.


Value Line

Value Line is the most trusted and prestigious name in the investment field. For more than 75 years, Value Line has been synonymous with trust, reliability, objectivity, independence, accurate information, and proven performance for investors. Click on the title to learn more about this free resource!

 


Retellings!

Are you a fan of retellings? Here we have gathered a list of classic literature retellings, reimaginings, and remixes. 

Stephanie’s Favorites:
Jane Eyre retelling
   – The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
King Arthur legend retelling
   –Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Pride and Prejudice retellings
   –Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin 
   –Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Romeo & Juliet retelling
   –A Pho Love Story by Loan Le 
Sherlock Holmes retelling
   –A Study in Scarlet Women (book 1 in the Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas
Trojan War retelling
   –A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The Odyssey retelling
   –Circe by Madeline Miller
The Wizard of Oz retelling
   –Wicked by Gregory Maguire 

Brittany’s Favorites:
Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 comedy with Cary Grant
   Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
Cinderella
   –Cinder by Marissa Meyer
   –The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark
   –An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
Little Red Riding Hood
   –Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Dr. Moreau inspired reads
   –The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Alice and Wonderland
   –The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Historical Retellings
   –My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
Jane Austen
   –Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
   –Sense and Second Degree Murder by Tirzah Price 

Beth’s Favorites:
Remixes — Classics presented as graphic novels
   –The Alchemist – original by Paulo Coelho; graphic novel by Derek Ruiz
   –Diary of a Young Girl – original by Anne Frank; “Anne Frank’s diary : the graphic adaptation” by Ari Folman
   –The Giver by Lois Lowry ; adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
   –The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; art and adaptation by Renee Nault
Little House on the Prairie
   –Caroline by Sarah Miller
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
   –The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Bible – Book of Genesis
   –The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 


FRIENDS

August 17th is National Nonprofit Day! Did you know that we have a non-profit group that raises funds and manages an endowment portfolio to support The Library? The FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library is a 501(c)3 organization powered by members and volunteers that advocates, volunteers, and runs used bookstores in all three locations giving money back to the Library for programming and other services! We are so grateful for their support in enriching the lives of our community! To learn more about the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library, click on the title of this section!


Emotional Reads

With the recent box office success of Inside Out 2 and after being inspired by another library, we showcased titles that gave us all of the feels (good and bad!).

  Brittany  Beth  Stephanie 
Joy  Anything by Emily Henry   Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater 
Sadness  Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls  Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 
Anger  Normal People by Sally Rooney Maus by Art Spegelman   Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez 
Disgust  A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Alexander Robertson 
Fear  Room by Emma Donoghue Devil in the White City by Erik Larson  American Predator by Maureen Callahan 
Envy  The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Anything by Mindy Kaling  Soulmate Equation & The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Embarrassment  The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro Really Good Actually by Monica Heisey  Hello Stranger by Katherine Center 
Ennui  Last One Home by Debbie Macomber Blankets by Craig Thompson  The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Anxiety  Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson  Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 
Nostalgia  A Nice Place on the North Side by George F. Will Landline by Rainbow Rowell  Throwback by Maurene Goo 

 

What Our Hosts Read In June

Beth’s Reads:
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Stephanie’s Reads:
Lethal Licorice by (Book 2 in Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series) by Amanda Flower 
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Solomon
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller
The Red Harvest: A Novel of the Terror Famine in Soviet Ukraine by Michael Cherkas

Brittany’s Reads:
Bear with Me Now by Katie Shepard
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis


If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast July Recap

Each month, we release a new episode of Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our episode!


Favorite Audiobook Narrators to Celebrate World Listening Day on July 18th 

To celebrate World Listening Day, the hosts came up with a list of some of their favorite audiobook narrators!

Stephanie’s Picks:
Julia Whelan
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Zachary Webber 
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
The Happy Ever Playlist by Abby Jimenez

Vikas Adam
Evander Mills Series by Lev AC Rosen
Jim Dale
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Cassandra Campbell
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Full Cast Narrators
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstren
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sadie by Courtney Summers
One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
American Gods by Neil Gaiman 

Brittany’s Picks
Read by the Author
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Zeno Robinson
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Beth’s Picks
Full Cast Audiobooks
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff
Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman


woman laying in the sun readingLibby App

Are you struggling to find time to squeeze in a Library visit or to read a physical book? Libby has you covered! Download the Libby App to access thousands of Audiobooks and e-books for free with your Davenport Public Library card! All items will check out for up to 21 days and will automatically return. Place holds on up to 10 titles and check out 5 items at a time to ensure that you are never short on content to read! Download the App today!


National Parks and Recreation Month Interview

During this segment, Brittany and Claire interviewed Becca Niles from Davenport Parks and Recreation about some of their amazing projects. During the interview, they also discussed partnerships between The Library and Parks currently in progress and for those occurring in the future. If you are interested in Parks programming, follow this link to visit their website!


Many Ways to Listen

There are many ways to enrich your life through listening with your Davenport Public Library Card, below are a few of our favorites!

QC Beats
QC Beats is an online streaming audio collection of original music featuring Quad Cities musicians and artists. QC Beats is built in partnership with Davenport Public Library, Bettendorf Public Library, and St. Ambrose University Library.

Freegal
Freegal Music gives you access to millions of songs from over 40,000 labels. Stream 24-hours a day. Download up to 5 songs per week.

Physical Items
The Library has music CD’s, audiobooks on CD, and playaways to check out to listen through your stereo or headphones. By clicking the link above, you can begin searching for your next great listen!

If you are looking for a program to join, consider looking into our Audiophiles Walking Club beginning in August!


three women sitting near podcasting equipment

What Our Hosts Read In June

Beth’s Reads:
If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos
The Boys in the Cave: Deep Inside the Impossible Rescue in Thailand by Matt Gutman

Stephanie’s Reads:
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Poppy Done to Death (book 8 in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series) by Charlaine Harris
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image by Siobhan Gallagher
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor (book 1 in Irish Village Mystery series)
The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (book 2 in The Agathas Mystery series)
Puzzled: a memoir about growing up with OCD by Pan Cooke
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

Brittany’s Reads:
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok


If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

Mystery Reads: Record Shop Mystery Series by Olivia Blacke

If  you’re ever not sure what to read, I highly recommend you listen to our podcast, Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. As of this writing, we have sixteen episodes ready for you! Our podcast is hosted by three librarians: myself and two others. Each month we talk about different topics, plus we share our reading recommendations and what we are currently reading. My latest read came recommended on the podcast  when we were discussing new cozy mystery series. This read was a very fun start to a new series with a concept that I hadn’t read before: murder in a record shop.

Vinyl Resting Place is book one in the Record Shop Mystery series by Olivia Blacke. Blacke has a criminology degree, something that is apparent as you read this title. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers as well as Sisters in Crime. Her writing hooked me from the start – the punny title alone grabbed me and made me want to read.

Vinyl Resting Place tells the story of three sisters and their journey to open a family business in their hometown. Juni Jessup and her sisters, Tansy and Maggie, have put everything into Sip & Spin Records, a record and coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas. Juni has moved home from Oregon, her sisters quit their jobs, and they put their savings into opening up a new record store in the same storefront that their grandparents had their record store. In case it’s not evident yet, family is everything to the Jessups.

At the kick-off party the night before the store is set to open, friends, family, and people from town fill the store. The Jessup sisters have high hopes that their store will fill a need. Being that they are so close to the Austin, Texas music scene, they are able to stock their store with local musicians. As the party winds down and they start cleaning up, the three are excited everything went so smoothly. Their joy pops when they find a dead body in the supply closet. Things escalate quickly: their uncle is arrested, they put up Sip & Spin for collateral, and then Uncle Calvin disappears! They are devastated that he would put them and their business at risk. Juni and her sisters decide they have to find Uncle Calvin. The best way to do that: to find the murderer. At least the three have each other, but even their help might not be enough to keep Juni safe and to solve the crime.

This start to a new series is charming. It’s full of tropes that make up a cozy mystery: a small town, a new entrepreneur turned amateur sleuth, a meddling family, and a love triangle! This isn’t your conventional cozy though: the setting and the protagonist are edgier than others. The family dynamic is different, the mystery and killer were unexpected (looking back now, I can see the hints), and Juni is intriguing. Plus there were so many music references that eventually I started writing them down, so I could look them up later! I can’t wait for the next one to come out!

Record Shop Mystery series:

  1. Vinyl Resting Place (2022)
  2. A Fatal Groove (2023)
  3. Rhythm and Clues (2024)