Celebrating Independent Bookstore Week!

Summary

Book Talk, etc. – Episode Summary: Celebrating Independent Bookstore Week!

Release Date: April 22, 2025
Hosts: Tina (@tbretc) and Hannah (@hanpickedbooks)
Podcast Description: A book recommendation podcast that's bound to grow your TBR!

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1. Introduction to Independent Bookstore Week

In this special episode, Tina and Hannah delve into the vibrant world of independent bookstores, celebrating Independent Bookstore Week. They share personal anecdotes, favorite local shops, and the significance of supporting these literary havens.

Notable Quote:
Hannah [01:36]: "Indie Bookstore Day is just my favorite time of the year. It's like a holiday every time."

2. Hosts' Plans for Celebrating

Both hosts express their excitement about the upcoming Independent Bookstore Day, discussing their plans to visit local stores and engage in bookstore crawls.

Notable Quotes:
Tina [01:20]: "I got in a real rabbit hole this morning when prepping for this episode... it was a lot of fun reminiscing about different indies I've been to."

Hannah [03:26]: "Me and my friend Alyssa already made plans to do a bookstore crawl. It's going to be a fun little trip."

3. Exploring Favorite Independent Bookstores

Tina and Hannah share a curated list of their favorite independent bookstores across the country, highlighting what makes each unique—from stunning interiors to curated selections and inclusive environments.

Highlights Include:

• Exile Bookville (Chicago): Housed in the historic Fine Arts Building, known for its beautiful marble stairs and the last manual elevator in Chicago.
  Tina [26:22]: "It's gorgeous and I probably visit it more than any other bookstore."

• Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh): Renowned for its curated book selection and vibrant kids' section.
  Hannah [27:03]: "They also have a used bookstore section, which I love."

• Novalette (East Nashville): An LGBTQ-owned bookstore with a diverse selection and a welcoming atmosphere.
  Tina [28:37]: "It's vibey with pink shelves and inclusive space."

Notable Quote:
Tina [24:22]: "I've visited 39 independent bookstores throughout my life. Each has its own charm and community."

4. Book Recommendations

The hosts present a series of book recommendations, spanning various genres and age groups, all sourced from independent bookstores or recommended by local staff.

A. Fiction

• "Famous Last Words" by Gillian McAllister
  A domestic suspense novel that intertwines the perspectives of a wife and a hostage negotiator during a critical hostage situation.
  Tina [05:50]: "If you liked 'The Last Thing He Told Me' by Laura Dave, this one will definitely be in your wheelhouse."

• "Gothic Town" by Emily Carpenter
  A Southern gothic tale set in Juliana, Georgia, with a blend of history and light horror elements.
  Tina [45:50]: "It's a three-star read for me. Interesting history but middling middle sections."

• "Last Night at the Telegraph Club" by Melinda Lo
  Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the Red Scare, this novel explores a forbidden love story between two women.
  Tina [53:17]: "Expect to hear a review from me on it pretty soon."

B. Nonfiction

• "Everything Is Tuberculosis" by John Green
  An exploration of tuberculosis, blending personal narratives with historical and scientific insights.
  Hannah [35:34]: "I picked it up because John Green can make you care about anything."

• "Medicine River: A Story of Survival and Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools" by Mary Annette Pember
  Delving into the traumatic legacy of Native American boarding schools and their impact on communities.
  Hannah [54:25]: "This book offers hope and love amidst heavy historical truths."

C. Middle Grade

• "The War That Saved My Life" by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  A historical fiction novel about a young girl escaping her abusive mother during World War II and finding a new life in the countryside.
  Hannah [49:00]: "A beautifully told story on found family and healing."

D. Friendship and Relationships

• "Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close" by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
  A nonfiction exploration of maintaining deep and lasting friendships, drawing from the authors' own experiences and interviews.
  Hannah [47:09]: "They introduce the concept of 'big friendship,' emphasizing intentionality in relationships."

Notable Quote:
Hannah [50:52]: "Friendship has always been something that's been really important to me. It's a core value of mine."

5. Supporting Independent Bookstores

The hosts emphasize various ways listeners can support independent bookstores, whether by visiting in person, participating in bookstore crawls, or making purchases through platforms like Libro.fm.

Notable Quotes:
Tina [22:20]: "You can even curate your own bookstore crawl day as a way to celebrate and shop locally."

Hannah [22:59]: "If you don't have a local bookstore, you can support one by selecting a recommended indie when purchasing online."

6. Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Tina and Hannah wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to share their Independent Bookstore Day experiences, support their favorite local shops, and continue exploring diverse and enriching books.

Notable Quote:
Hannah [31:02]: "It's really fun to reminisce about the stores we've been to. It's making me want to get out and shop."

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Conclusion

In this heartfelt episode, Tina and Hannah not only celebrate the charm and importance of independent bookstores but also provide a wealth of book recommendations that cater to diverse interests. Their enthusiasm underscores the vital role indie bookstores play in fostering literary communities and enriching readers' lives.

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For more information and to find participating bookstores, visit the links provided in the show notes.

Transcript

[Hannah]

Oh my gosh. You're wearing your indie bookstore shirt. Of course. I just realized that. That is so cute.

[Tina]

Of course. Thank you.

[Hannah]

I am not, but I am wearing my Chicago sweatshirt.

[Tina]

I feel it. I feel it. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your tbr. I'm Tina from TBR Etc.

[Hannah]

And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.

[Tina]

This is a con podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And today we are talking about independent bookstores.

[Hannah]

If you enjoy listening, we'd love for you to follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. And if you have a quick minute, please consider leaving us a review on Apple podcasts or sharing us on social media. It truly helps us connect with other book lovers.

[Tina]

Hey, Hannah.

[Hannah]

Hey, Tina. How's it going?

[Tina]

Good. Doing fine, you know, Doing fine. Can't complain.

[Hannah]

Doing fine over here too. I'm excited to chat about indie bookstores.

[Tina]

I am too. I got in a real rabbit hole this morning when I was prepping for this episode and I'll talk about what I was up to, but it was a fun one to prepare for and a lot of fun reminiscing because we're. I was looking at different indies I had been to and things like that, so I had a good time with it.

[Hannah]

Well, I'm excited to hear about it. I also had a fun time prepping for this episode and Indie Bookstore Day is just my favorite. It's just my favorite time of the year. It's like a holiday, I feel like every time. And it's fun to talk about it and shop local.

[Tina]

Do you think you're going to do some shopping this weekend?

[Hannah]

Yeah, I definitely will. We'll go to our local bookstore and it's fun. Now that my kids are a little bit older, last year was a hot mess. My toddler was like full toddlering and he has never been a good traveler. He has always really struggled with car rides, with being out in public, with just. He's just not a great traveler. Whereas my oldest, my d. She's a great traveler. She loves being out and about. She loves. She loves shopping. But yeah, it wasn't a fun time with, with my toddler last year. So I'm hoping that this year, now that they're both older, we can also go to the kids bookstore which is attached to our. Our local indie, which is always really fun and we can make it kind of a family day. What about you?

[Tina]

I love it. I was thinking it was this coming weekend and so in my head, I'm like, wow, I gotta really squeeze in.

[Hannah]

A lot of things this Saturday, Easter weekend.

[Tina]

As I know I was like, that's odd. But as we're recording this, we have a little bit of time. You know, my days are all mixed up. But, yes, I hope to get out. I think it would be really fun. I've never gone shopping on Independence Day, I don't think, because I don't live in downtown Chicago or the city of Chicago, where there's a million bookstores. So I will have to do some investigating. I mean, of course I'm like, wouldn't it be fun? It's always been my dream to be like, let's go to 10 bookstores. Because I believe some places, like, some cities participate. If you can go to, like, a number of bookstores, you get a discount for the rest of the year. And what we're. What I'm looking at right now, actually, is the American Booksellers association website. And it has all the information you need about Independent Bookstore Day. The catalog, freebie items and things like that. And we can talk about that more in book talk. But I hope to get out. I really do. We'll see.

[Hannah]

I actually just remembered, and I can't believe that I forgot this when you first asked me, but me and my friend Alyssa from Worlds Within Pages actually already made plans on the 26th to do, like, a bookstore crawl. I completely forgot about that. So, Alyssa, if you're still listening after I completely, you know, forgot about our plans, I do apologize. But anyway, so that's what I'll be doing for Indie Bookstore Day. I can't believe I forgot about that. But, yes, I'm hoping that that'll be a fun little trip.

[Tina]

Good. Now, be sure to take some photo, video, what have you.

[Hannah]

Oh, I will.

[Tina]

Well, I will dive right into my loving lately.

[Hannah]

Perfect.

[Tina]

And it is what's on my nails right now. You're seeing it on YouTube. If you're watching it, it is my favorite nail polish for longevity. And this is opi, Infinite Shine. Now, listen to me. I know you people that are in the nail polish community have. They're very loyal to brands. And I know you're going to say, tina, have you tried this or that or the other brand? And I have. I guarantee I've tried it. And this is the one that lasts the longest on me. Now, you have to get Infinite Shine. You cannot get regular OPI because it does not have the lasting power that this one. On their OPI's website, it says it they advertise 11 days of gel like application. And I found it to be true. I tried it, I did not touch it for two weeks and it was still serviceable. Not like perfect, of course, but still really serviceable. And what I like about this is when it chips, it doesn't like peel back an enormous chip. It sort of just like fades away from the edges. I don't know how to say it differently. It's very subtle and so it very much does not make my brain hurt because I don't like when my nails are chipped. I do not use the full kit of this. You can get, I think, a three step process. There's a base coat, whatever color you get, and then a top coat. I just use the colors because I am very loyal to my own personal favorite top coat, which is the glistening glow top coat. I've talked about that many times. That one is incredible. But I love this formula. I want more colors. Again, I've tried all the nail polishes out there. The one that I get recommended the most is the olive in June. Or is it called Is that right?

[Hannah]

That's right.

[Tina]

And no, that kit doesn't work for me. It's like fine. It gives me maybe five days of looking good. And I've done it millions of, you know, tons of different ways. It just doesn't last. They do have good colors. I love their colors.

[Hannah]

Yeah, they do have good colors.

[Tina]

Moon Cat's my favorite for different colors and they last a long time too. So this one though is wins for longest lasting. Now, OPI High Shine. They've been getting more and more colors available, but they're still not the most fun colors out there. But you'll get your basics, your whites, your blacks, your grays like I'm wearing. And the color specifically that I'm wearing is called Strong Coalition. It's just like very, I don't know.

[Hannah]

I like that name. And it does look like a cool, like a cool color. And that's like a fun play on words. I like it.

[Tina]

Yeah, I am digging it. So anyway, wanted to give a shout out if you're looking for some nail polish to give a shot. This one's really good. They sell it at Ulta or you can get it from their website and I'm sure other places. But this is the OPI Infinite Shine nail polish.

[Hannah]

Nice. I know when you posted on your stories a while back, you were sharing your three week like your, your three week run with OPI and they looked so impressive for three weeks. And I know you and I know you are not super easy on your hands.

[Tina]

No, I'm not sitting still.

[Hannah]

No, you're not sitting still.

[Tina]

Washing hands, wiping butts.

[Hannah]

So, yeah, clickety clacking on your computer.

[Tina]

Clacking all day.

[Hannah]

Exactly.

[Tina]

Really good.

[Hannah]

No, that's impressive. My loving lately is podcast and YouTube channel and it is one that many of you probably already know. It's Mr. Ballin and he does a series on medical mysteries and he has several channels on different topics, mostly around just dark and mysterious stories. But Dustin actually got me into this because he knows how to suck me in to a story. And he had me watch this YouTube video with him on one of Mr. Ballin's medical mysteries. And I will link to that specific video in the show notes. That kind of got me started. But the way he goes about these stories is definitely very produced. Like it's. It's a story, it's a production, but it's very entertaining. And I do like that some of these stories aren't just, you know, like your typical true crime. They are, in fact, some of them are even like weird things, like spooky things that have happened that like scientists haven't been able to explain that we still don't have answers to. Like the story about the blobs that fell in Washington. I think it was in the 90s, like these like gelatinous blobs were falling from the sky and it made some people sick. And they still to this day have like ideas about what it was, but we still don't know. But interesting like story and how it got. So I've just been enjoying the stories. Some of them are only 20, 30 minutes long, which is nice because it's hard to commit to an hour long episode sometimes. And it's also been fun because one of my nephews who is 13, he has also been listening to them. And when he was visiting over spring break, I was asking what he was listening to in his headphones. I was like, what are you listening to? And he was like, Mr. Ballin. And it was fun to be able to say, oh, I've listened to him too. I've actually just started getting into his stuff and it was really fun to connect with him over this loving lately. So that was kind of an added bonus. But I have been enjoying Mr. Bolland's medical mysteries on YouTube and his podcast.

[Tina]

Well, I have never heard of this man, so I was happy to be introduced. Now we. I've said this before, we are a family that watches a lot of YouTube. We don't really watch a lot of shows, but John especially my husband, does a lot of YouTube channels and he's got his favorites. But I feel like that's one we could both get into.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

And I do love true crime, but obviously I have, you know, get my fill of it. So I would like to see like interesting weird stories that's up my alley.

[Hannah]

Just weird stories. So. Really? Yeah. If you're definitely one who's like morbidly curious, then give it a try.

[Tina]

Give it a shot. All right, well, this one that I'm recommending for my latest read, I just finished 10 minutes ago. Ish. And it is Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister. So this is not one that I got from an indie. This one I got from the publisher. I think I've said this before, my book club was chosen as one of the book club girls book clubs for 2025, which is really cool. And if you. So cool. I applied on a whim and we can link to what that program is. They were putting out a call for applications last year in November and we got selected. So now they send us each month a couple of book. It's really nice. But this one I was really excited to get. They sent this to all of their participants because I was excited for this one because it's a domestic suspense novel and I love a good domestic suspense. I just love it. They're similar to psychological thrillers, but often less manipulative, less gritty and more just a straight up mystery. Not cozy, but definitely just more, I don't know, almost lighter, almost a nicer mystery. Anyway, let me get into what it's about. This one is about Camilla, who is a new mom. And it opens with her heading back to work after maternity leave. And she wakes up to find her husband Luke missing. And he's just gone, right? And she's like, oh, he must have gone into the office early. And she has this note and it's kind of this weird note. It looks like he got cut, cut off early, which is the famous last words that he. That we're referencing in the title. And she's trying to figure things out, whatever. She's like more worried about dropping her kid off and being, you know, off of maternity leave. And then breaking news hits. There is this hostage situation in London. She finds out that her husband is not the victim, he is the one holding people hostage. She's like, I'm sorry, what? And has no clue what to do with this information. And in fact, she doesn't believe it. She's like, my husband's this mild mannered man. He's the one that's always calm. I'm the one that's riddled with anxiety. What do you mean? He is the gunman. This one I'm going to be very vague about because I have to be, because any more information than that will be spoilers. I can tell you that this is a book told in four parts. The initial part is all about the hostage situation. And I was really into it. I was very much on the edge of my seat, like, what would you do? And I think that's what this book does really well is the author brings you into the situation and makes you question, like, what would you do if this man that you loved or this person you loved did this horrible crime, allegedly, even though you can see him on film doing it. The good part about this was that the other point of view was that of the hostage negotiator. His name is Niall. And so you're getting these dual point of view. The wife who's obviously grieving her husband's actions and the Nile who is trying to talk him out of, you know, harming anybody. And I will say, in terms of pacing, act one, awesome. Two and three was a little bit of a. Okay, let's see where we're going here. Not boring, just pleasant. Like, I was like ready for it to start getting twisty. But I will say it pieced together what happened very well. The characters were compelling. I was really interested in Camilla. I wanted to see what she was going to do. I also enjoy that in this novel she is a literary agent and her husband is an author. You're in the literary space, which I always like in a book. I thought all of the characters in this were written with compassion and depth and I love that. Again, we just did a bonus episode on this for the show where a thriller with main characters that aren't dumb. This, I think would fall under that she's not dumb, she's somebody to root for. And it just really made me think about marriage and about identity and like, again, what would you do in this situation? You know, I like to comp books. If you liked this, you might like that. This one. It reminded me of the Last thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. So if you liked that novel, this one will definitely be in your wheelhouse. I happen to really like that. This one has that same blend of domestic suspense with high emotion and. And while I was ready for it to land the plane a little bit sooner, I was very invested to see how it all ended. I did the audiobook for this one. I sort of did a tandem read. I thought the narration was really done well. It was British narration and I enjoyed it very much. I'd give it four stars. I've never read this author, but I would definitely pick her up again. This one is Famous Last words by Gillian McAllister.

[Hannah]

I was just going to ask you if you'd read her other books and how they would compare, but I didn't realize you hadn't read from this author before.

[Tina]

I have. Not the most recent one. She had. Wrong place, wrong time. Plays with time travel. And I'm like. Or time. And I'm like, no, thanks.

[Hannah]

That's fair enough.

[Tina]

You know me, and it's okay to.

[Hannah]

Have an author where you read one book from them and you know that some of their other books might not be for you, and that's okay too.

[Tina]

And I'll be on the lookout, though, for upcoming ones because I want to see.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I didn't realize that she was a British author. Is she from the uk? Is she a British writer?

[Tina]

Yeah. I don't know where, but gathering now that I'm thinking about it.

[Hannah]

Right.

[Tina]

I'm like, hold on a minute. Yeah, she lives in Birmingham, England. Huh.

[Hannah]

I don't think I realized that. For some reason I made the assumption that she was an American author, but proved wrong.

[Tina]

She also has a podcast called Honest Authors, which I didn't know about.

[Hannah]

Oh, I didn't know that either.

[Tina]

Huh.

[Hannah]

I'll have to check that out.

[Tina]

Okay.

[Hannah]

My latest read. While I didn't read for Indie Bookstore Day with my latest read, it, it does come highly recommended by several bookstores on Libro fm. Libro FM has a cool feature that it will show you if it's been recommended by a bookseller and from what bookstore. Which is. Which is cool. And this is the Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. So this is the same author who wrote Braiding Sweetgrass, which I feel like got some. It got some accolades and some recognition when it came out a few years ago. And this is her novella. It's pret Short. It's still nonfiction. I really loved what Josh from Underground Books says on the Libro FM website. He says, can a book be cozy, loving, encouraging, compassionate, and a threat to the brutal and cutthroat consumer capitalism of our era? I present to you this book, and that is the perfect description of this amazing little book. So as a scientist, Robin Wall Kimmerer takes us through harvesting service berries alongside the birds and nature and she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most and how we take care of our belongings? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of our resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the Serviceberry, which she explores in this story, has a relationship with the natural world and embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness and gratitude. Robin says serviceberries show us another model, one based on reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self sufficiency, which is just such a good quote. Also, Robin donated her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift back to the land for land protection, restoration and justice. So I thought that was really cool and just a wonderful way of demonstrating that she is also practicing what she talks about and she's really passionate about it. This was a beautiful book. It was also lovely on audio. I listened to it. It was just a few hours long and it honestly felt like a spiritual devotion. Like, it just felt like a daily devotion. It was just so beautiful. As we're dealing with a lot of political upheaval and unknowns in our current economy, this book offers hope and love and the gift of community. I needed a palette cleanser. Something short and sweet between some pretty massive book hangovers, one of which I will be talking about later. But I didn't necessarily want to read a romance or a thriller or something that I would normally reach for as a palette cleanser. I still wanted something deep and meaningful. And I found this in my Libro FM library. And I'm so happy that I stumbled upon it because I really feel like it found me at the right time. This was just perfect. It was so lovely. And I highly recommend this one. And I recommend the audio as well. And that is the Serviceberry by Robin Wall kimmerer.

[Tina]

I'm glad you brought that one. I definitely want to read Braiding Sweet Grass at some point. I have it. I bought it at a used bookstore, speaking of indies. Grabbed it there. And it's just one of those books that's sitting there ready and waiting whenever I get to it.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

But I was curious about this one, so I'm. I'm happy to hear your review.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Super short and definitely one that was so, I don't know, meaningful and. And wonderful that I could see myself listening to it again. Or it Being like a comfort book because it was only, I mean, a few hours long. And I listen on, you know, 1.82 times speed. So definitely a book that you can literally listen to while you're making dinner. Like, and then it's done. So it's done. And then it's done.

[Tina]

Then you can feel accomplished.

[Hannah]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tina]

And then you learn something, I'm sure. Yes.

[Hannah]

And feel like, you know, lifted and like it not all hope is lost.

[Tina]

There you go. We all need that. We all need that now and again. All right, well, for today, we're doing Independent Bookstore Day. And honestly, Hannah, when I was prepping for this again, I won't lie, I was thinking it was weekend and I'm like, we should have really planned this to where the episode is going to drop before Independent Bookstore Day so we could talk about it. And indeed we did. Good job.

[Hannah]

We did.

[Tina]

Good job to you on that because it's such a fun event and. All right, so what is Independent Bookstore Day? This year in 2025 marks the 12th annual Independent Bookstore Day. And this is a national party and it's the last Saturday in April which celebrates independent bookstores across the country, both online and in stor store. And a lot of these stores that are participating will have exclusive books or literary items, contests, snacks, and just anything, you know, that they can do to bring people to the community, bring people out, get people shopping. And I understand it's one of their busiest days of the year, kind of tied with the holiday season. So definitely want to encourage you all if you can't get there in person, hit up Libro fm. I know they're doing some sales with if you get one credit, you get two free if you're a new member, things like that. And you can also head to this website, which we are linking in our show notes here, and it will show you the map of participating bookstores. So if you're curious and you want to see like, okay, is my bookstore there? Take a look here.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And Libro FM typically does some sales as well of audiobooks. I know that they typically have a few days during Independent Bookstore Week where they do, like, actual audiobooks that you can get at a discounted price. I am looking at their website now and I don't see that they are running that now, but they have in the past. So I'm going to be looking out for that as well because that's another great way that you can support your local bookstore or a adopted local bookstore of your choice. So thought I would mention that I love that.

[Tina]

Yeah. And that's another thing too. You don't have to necessarily be near one. I have found on Indie Bookstore Finder. This is indie. Indiebound.org which is the place that I was playing with earlier when I said I got into a bit of a rabbit hole. And it gives you a map of participating stores. And you can actually jump down to list of bookstore crawls because some states have massive bookstore crawls, which I think is really fun. So Illinois has one. It's called the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl. And I know when we were talking with Stephanie, from so much more to the story for North Carolina, it's the entire month of April. They're sort of having different events, which is so fun. In Charlotte area looks like Wisconsin, northeast Illinois. Anyway, head to our notes if you're at all interested. Like, hey, what areas are doing these bookstore bookstore crawls? Because it looks so fun.

[Hannah]

It looks so fun. And it might be, you know, if the area that you are in has a decent amount of independent bookstores or even just a few, you could do your own. It might not be as, you know, event filled because I know with some of these bookstore crawls, the participating bookstores will have events and raffles and fun things you could do. So even if you wouldn't be able to participate, participate in that. If you wanted to, you know, spend the day book hopping yourself and maybe, you know, grab lunch at a local spot in between or something like that, you know, you could kind of curate your own bookstore crawl day as a way to celebrate and shop locally as well.

[Tina]

Yes. And I just found shylovesbooks.com. this is the Chicago specific one. And this is what I was talking about. They have this passport you can get from the stores. And if you are able to visit 10 stores in one day, you get 10 off all participating bookstores for the entire year.

[Hannah]

Wow.

[Tina]

Get to 15, you get 15 off for the entire year. Which is actually really cool. And of course I'm like, well, I mean, I could do that, right? I feel like I can get to 10. No, I can't.

[Hannah]

If anyone could, it's you. Tina. I'm serious.

[Tina]

I appreciate it.

[Hannah]

If anyone could, it's you.

[Tina]

I'm a little nuts, but that sounds like a really good time. I'm gonna have to look into this. John, if you're listening, you are passionate. I know you are.

[Hannah]

You're passionate.

[Tina]

True, I'm passionate. And Jonathan, if you're listening, which I know you are, since you edit our show, let's think about it. You Know, let's think about it. Let's think about it. But. So what I was doing is, I was. This morning, I got it in me. I was on Indiebound.com and I'm like, how many bookstores have I visited in my life? How many? Because I've been to a lot, and I. Anytime I travel somewhere, I always make it a point to go to a local indie. And I used to travel a lot more for work, and I still travel for work. So I counted and I have visited, and I didn't do, like, a real extensive analysis, and, like, I might be wrong. I'm positive there are some that I forgot. But I visited 39 independent bookstores.

[Hannah]

That is so cool. I love that you counted all of the ones that you went to. That's such a fun idea.

[Tina]

I did, and I went to.

[Hannah]

I'm gonna have to do that.

[Tina]

It's really fun. And I've been to some biggies that, you know, people have heard of Parnass's Books, which is owned by.

[Hannah]

Oh, yeah. In Nashville. Right.

[Tina]

And in Nashville. Yeah. It's owned by Ann Patchett I've been to. The one that I visited last summer was Elliot Bay Books in Seattle. Gorgeous space. I mean, I could have spent three days there. It was so nice. And of course, the last bookstore in la, I know that one is really pretty. I'd love to go back there someday.

[Hannah]

One local bookstore that I really want to go to that's not local to me but is. Is, like, on my bucket list, is to go to Luis Erdrich's bookstore, and it's called Birch Bark Books and Native Arts. It's in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've always wanted to visit Minneapolis, too, because it's such a staple Midwestern city, and I've actually never been there. In fact, I've never been to Minnesota.

[Tina]

So there you go.

[Hannah]

Never been.

[Tina]

But I've been to Minnesota. I've been to Minneapolis, and now I'm mad. I didn't know about this at the time when I was there, because I spent, like, a week there again for work. Oh, man.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

I digress. Michigan has one of my favorites. I love Literati.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Tina]

In. Is it east, or is it Ann Arbor?

[Hannah]

I think it has multiple locations.

[Tina]

Oh, okay. Yes. The one I went to is in Ann Arbor. The one that's, like, very iconic from the outside. It's got these really cool.

[Hannah]

Yep. No, you're right. I don't know. I get confused because Literati also was a book subscription for a minute, and I think it actually stopped or at least stopped some of its services. It was like a book club book subscription that was also called Literati, but that was different than the bookstore. So Literati Bookstore is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is like Middle South Michigan. Middle South Southern Southern Middle Michigan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's. It's definitely a cool. A cool bookstore.

[Tina]

Oh, well, let me not. Let me not forget. I'm going to shout out my local. Well, it's kind of local. It's close to where I work. It's in downtown Chicago. It's called Exile in Bookville. It was formerly called the Dial and I'm wearing my Exile and Bookville top today. I love their book. I probably visited that one more than any other bookstore. And they're gorgeous. It's in this old building in Chicago called the Fine Arts Building.

[Hannah]

Do you like, take an elevator up or something?

[Tina]

You do? Yeah. You don't have to. There's stairs, but they're just like these gorgeous marble stairs. Or you can take an elevator. And I believe it is the last manual elevator in the city of Chicago.

[Hannah]

That's so cool.

[Tina]

So there's a person in there, or there was last time I was there, iconic, whatever.

[Hannah]

Yeah, that runs it.

[Tina]

I'm sure he's not like pulling a rope, but he does whatever.

[Hannah]

The things you do to get you.

[Tina]

Up to the second floor.

[Hannah]

Yeah, he runs. He runs the elevator. That's really cool. My favorite, there were a lot of used bookstores that I would frequent when I was living in Raleigh, the Raleigh, Durham area. And my favorite and probably the most popular is. Is Quail Ridge Books, and that is right in North Raleigh. It's a beautiful store. They have a really pretty kids section. They usually run a lot of events and I know they'll be doing something for indie bookstore day. So if you are in the area, it would be a great bookstore to check out. They also have a bookstore in Chapel Hill called Flyleaf Books. And I loved this one because it was very, very curated in terms of book selections. Like, you could tell that the staff members in that bookstore had a lot of. In what was getting displayed on the shelves. The tables always just felt immaculately curated. Like a lot of thought was put into what they were displaying on the tables and things like that. And they also had a used bookstore section in the back of the store. And I always loved. I always love when bookstores also have a used bookstore like within it, or they sell new and used because I just like having the option for both. And they also, at Flyleaf have a Lot of merch. So just a lot of fun bookish stuff, which is always really fun. Quill Rich Books has some. But if you really want a lot of the stuff and, like, a used book option, then Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill is a great spot as well.

[Tina]

That's a spot. So the I think most visually aesthetically pleasing bookstore that I've been to is Novalette. That one is in East Nashville. It is so awesome. It's vibey, It's LGBTQ owned, and they had not. It wasn't just pretty. They have this big wall, and I'll try and post a photo that says, like, we love books. I think a big heart. It's pink shelves. It's stunning. We went in there with Jonathan and Lily and I went in there, and it was just so nice. A lot of diverse authors. I think it's new and used, if I'm not mistaken. But I just want to dish out that one out. That one's just so pretty. And you can tell they do a really good job with curating their selection, to your point, and just making it this inclusive space. I loved that one. And I got a really funny keychain, which I don't know if I can say on the podcast, but it says, and I really like it.

[Hannah]

I love that.

[Tina]

Carry it with me. And I forget it's there. And, like, this person I know from my day job was like, oh, look at your keys. I'm like, I like to read.

[Hannah]

Well, if we can't say that on the podcast, those who are watching can at least see the keychain. If you.

[Tina]

There you go.

[Hannah]

And you show it for us.

[Tina]

I sure will.

[Hannah]

That's perfect. My. My current local bookstore. I do want to give that a little shout out because I really love them and that it's literally called this is a bookstore. And their extension is called Bookbug. That's their kids bookstore. And they are literally connected, and they are just the best. Again, a very, very inclusive bookstore. Very, like always, tons of LGBTQ recommendations. They just have a very diverse selection of not only recommendations, but even staff members. And it just feels like a very inclusive and warm place to be whenever I go. And I really love it. And I love that there's a focus on kids books as well, because my kids are both just huge readers, and so it's been great to kind of have them share the love for independent bookstores as well.

[Tina]

Well, maybe I do need to bring the girls on this trip, because, yes, they love to. If there's one thing Lily loves To do it's shop. And I have taken her to Call and Response books before. That's here in Chicago in Hyde Park. Love that space. And that one had a great little children's section. They had coloring pages. It really felt more of like a space where they wanted people to like, come in shop, but like stay a.

[Hannah]

While and like, you know, hang out.

[Tina]

Be a part of a community. Yeah, it was really nice. Well, we just did a really extensive list sharing some of our bookstores that we have really enjoyed. So if you are going out this weekend to shop, I'd love to see your photos. Feel free to tag us. We would love to take a look. If you're not going to any indies, maybe you're making a purchase on Libro fm. Feel free to select one of the places that we recommend as your local bookstore if you don't have one that's local to you because they are all definitely worthy of our patronage. And it was so fun to really reminisce about the stores that I've been to. It's really making me want to get out and shop. So for today, your books that you brought, did you. Are these ones that you purchased from indies or how did you select your books today?

[Hannah]

Yeah, so I ended up purchasing one from actually my local indie and that was one recommended by a staff member that I'm bringing. And then the other one is a book that I am actually bringing from before that I read before I joined the show, but I haven't really talked about it much much online and I definitely haven't talked about it on the podcast. But it was also recommended by my personal local indie. I was browsing their website because that's another thing. If you don't have a local bookstore close to you, almost every bookstore, independent bookstore that has a website will have a staff picks section. And that's what I did. I needed another book to bring and I was browsing the staff section and I found this book and I was like, you know, I never get an opportunity to talk about this book and I love it. And it's being recommended by my local bookstore and so I'm going to use it as an opportunity to bring it to the show today. How did you choose your books?

[Tina]

Same thing. I have this thing where I can tell you, like, okay, I know Clara and the sun is behind me somewhere. I picked that one up from the dial when it was the dial. Like, I know the bookstore that I've bought, bought the books from.

[Hannah]

So cool.

[Tina]

I just. Yeah, I just grabbed two. The first one I don't have in front. I actually don't have either of those in front of me, oddly. But the first one we grabbed on our way to our last North Carolina trip. It's Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. Let it be known I cannot say that word very well, so if I mispronounce it, apologies. But John Green, you might know him, he is the author of the Fault in Our Stars, very big in the YA space. And he also wrote the Anthropocene Reviewed, which was a nonfiction book. So this one is his second nonfiction book. And this one, he. John Green is just such an interesting person. He runs a lot of. He runs a YouTube channel with his brother Hank Green called Vlogbrothers. They have, like, just. They're both so sweet. They are the coolest people and they're big advocates for all sorts of things. But one of John's special obsessions, and he talks about this in the. In the novel or in the. The book, is healthcare and global healthcare reform. And what I love about this is he took his interest in tuberculosis and sort of gave us the history of it, but also made it very personal. And so he was inspired to write this in 2019 when he visited Sierra Leone and met Henry, who was a young tuberculosis patient at a hospital. And he thought that he was the same age as his own son, who's also named Henry. Henry at the time was nine, but this man was in his late teens and he was just so small because of this illness. And so from there, it sort of led him on this quest to really understand the disease and advocate for it, because tuberculosis has been around for forever, for millennia. And it used to be very romanticized as a disease that, you know, it was in fashion to look like you had this illness, like the very pale face, the rosy cheeks. I remember being introduced to it from Moulin Rouge, the movie, because I remember one of the characters had it in there. And he talks about this history of it and sort of what. Where it's at now, and also talks about how this is the most. This is the deadliest infectious disease and it's curable. And it's the health care inequities that allow this disease to kill 1.5 million people every year. A statistic in this book that he shared stopped me in my tracks because it is about a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with tb. Now, if you. You potentially could be infected with it, but not develop symptoms and ultimately get the disease, only about 5 to 10% of those people.

[Hannah]

Is it like a gene makeup kind of a thing?

[Tina]

Rampant. Now listen, I'm not the scientist. I don't know. I'm sure John knows and he probably talked about it in the novel. I did this one in audio because I love his voice and he's just, I can listen to it and tell me about anything. So I did the audio, but Jonathan has the print. And so I want to go back and be like, okay, let me understand this a little bit better. But again, what I loved about this is he gives you these statistics and he gives you sort of this history, but then tells about. Centers it almost on this young man named Henry and his present day struggle. And I think he really did a good job illuminating the fact that this is not a disease that. And I thought it had been eradicated. Frankly, I didn't know.

[Hannah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most of us have had a test done or, you know.

[Tina]

Yeah, yeah, I remember the TB test. But I just think this is such an important story because he was it sparked from his interest, you know, from this meeting this one person, and now just basically decides to share this information widely, ideally with the hope that we can get some interventions and sort of reduce the prevalence of it. I, I don't often rate nonfiction, but I feel like I learned a lot from this one. I loved audio, listening to the audiobook experience of it. And I love how it really was this combination of facts and storytelling in a way that John Green is really, really good at. He can get me to care about literally anything. And he's as into it as he tends to be with things he's interested in. I just loved it. He's also very clear about the ways that racism and classism have contributed to the persistence of tb. And you know, he talks a lot about. He gives a lot of statistics and things like that as well. I highly recommend this one. I think if you are at all interested in infectious disease, you will definitely like this story. I also think it's really accessible. You don't have to be that interested in it to enjoy your reading experience. This one is Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green.

[Hannah]

Green. Yeah, I love John Green, but this one was not one that I was immediately super excited for. I mean, yes, because it's John Green, but I don't think about tuberculosis as being something. Oh, I'm really interested in that. But I do love it when an author can take a topic like that that's not universally interesting, I guess, and really make it a very universal like. Like they make it a universal subject in the way they talk about it and the way they include all, you know, people and like you said, like the way racism and classism has affected it. And I just love that he was able to do that. I work in healthcare, so this is definitely one that I will probably pick up at one point because you said the way you talked about it just made me more excited to, to read it.

[Tina]

Yeah. Thank you. It's also really short. I think it's like six hours on audio max. So easy breezy, not that easy to get through things. But yeah, I was like, oh, it's over already. Okay. I didn't feel like it was cut short, but I was just like, that was pleasant.

[Hannah]

Look at, look at us bringing two short non fiction informational reads for for our listeners. I love that my first book is the War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradbury and this was recommended, like I mentioned, by a staff member at my personal local indie and this bookstore does focus on children's literature and they have amazing staff with great recommendations. So I wanted to choose a middle grade novel specifically for this episode. I really love middle grade, but I'm very particular about it. So I always like I go to my sources that I have for middle grade recommendations on what is like the cream of the cross because that is what I saved my middle grade reading for. And this was such a good recommendation and I'm so happy that I chose it for this episode. This book is about 10 year old Ada who has never left her one room apartment. Her mother is absolutely horrible. She is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside of their apartment ever. And she is severely mistreated and abused at home. She has a little brother, Jamie, who is shipped out of London to escape the war and Ada does not waste a minute. She sneaks out with him and joins him and follows him all the way to Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take these two kids in as evacuees. Ada learns to embrace this new life, teaches herself to ride a pony. She learns to read, she watches for German spies and she begins to trust Susan. And Susan begins to fall in love with Ada and her little brother Jamie. This book has a 4.5 rating on both Goodreads and Storygraph and I totally see why. This is a beautiful story on found family, finding love, learning to heal, and also parenting and motherhood, even when it's not biological. And this is a great example of middle grade that is powerful regardless of your age. There are powerful political messages insinuated that are really impactful as an adult reader who can read between those lines, but they're not bold enough for those reading it within the marketed age range. It's just a brilliantly told work of historical fiction which I've promised myself I'm going to read more of. And I'm really glad that so far I'm holding myself accountable. And this book book just demonstrated also a piece of World War II from the eyes of children. So that offered a new perspective for me as a reader. I haven't read a ton of World War II historical fiction, but I do know that it is a very saturated market. And from the books that I have read set during that time period, I hadn't read one about this particular experience. Children that were evacuees from London, from these bigger cities that were getting bombed by the Germans and those kids who are having to find safe places. I actually didn't even know that that happened as much as it did. And so that kind of sent me on a deep dive to research something that I didn't previously know a lot about. I loved this and would recommend it for both adults and children. And I think it would be great World War II literature to add to your curriculum. If you homeschool and are looking for books books to add to your kids read aloud or reading curriculum. And that is the War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker, Bradbury.

[Tina]

Good. I have not heard of this one, but I'm again not in the middle grade space all that often yet, which I'm sure I will be at.

[Hannah]

Yeah, right.

[Tina]

But I love what you said about going to the stores and saying, okay, yes, I know that this is their specialty. Like what's. Yeah, like what are the. What are the hot ones? Right. Not the hot ones, but what are the people enjoying? Yeah, exactly. Now, my next one I liked, but I had some quibbles with it. Squabbles, whatever. I was fighting with this book while I was reading it. It is Gothic Town by Emily Carpenter. Now, what hooked me from the for this book was its eerie setup. Now you have Billy Hope, who is a New York City restaurateur who is offered the deal of a lifetime and for $100 she can buy a grand Victorian home in in Juliana, Georgia, in the south as a part of the town's post pandemic economic revival initiative. She gets this email. She's like, oh my God, this sounds amazing. I'm ready to get out of Manhattan or get out of New York. And they want more space for their daughter who's really into nature, and they, like, do it. And the whole time I'm like, this is too good to be true. I would have deleted that email so fast. Like, you couldn't get. You couldn't get me. But it's actually a legitimate offer because they do get a home for $100. But of course, not everything is as it seems. I picked this up because I thought the house was going to be haunted. And I do love a creepy haunted house. I would say more so with this. It's the entire town, including the house, that's got its secrets, right? What I loved about this was the history lesson, because I did not know that. I didn't know much about the gold rush in Georgia. And initially, you are brought into this story from the history, from the past, and you understand that the town of Juliana has this long, storied history, and there's some murkiness at play, but it has to do. Things kicked off during the Civil War with something that happened to some of their women and children that lived in the town. And I really, really liked that opening. I thought it was so smart. And then you fast forward to the present when you're meeting Billy and her family, and they get, you know, wrapped up in Juliana, gentle Juliana. And it's just the narration for this I sort of struggled with. There's Southern narration for a lot of it, and I thought that was pretty good. I did not love the narrator as much as I like to, so I would say maybe try this in print and you might enjoy it more than I did. I'm trying to be vague. And I also thought, based on the COVID of this, that it was going to be horror. And it's sort of horror, but it was light horror. I wouldn't call it, like, straight up horror, because I kept waiting for things to truly get scary. They got dark, they got messed up, but not in the way that horror can typically do. And I do like that you get some answers as to why things are the way they are. For me, the ending ramps up. The ending really gets you over the top. I was pretty satisfied with it, but it took a long time to get there. And the middle section meandered a lot. Like, you're meeting this person, you're at this person's diner. You're over here. She's selling old, you know, know antiques. You're like, okay, where are we going with this? I just felt like I almost quit, actually. And I looked. I was 60% in. And I'm like, I can't do it. I cannot quit at 60%. I looked at Goodreads and someone said that they were having the same thing where they were struggling, but they appreciated the last 40%. And I was like, okay, I will go in. I think this was fine. It's kind of a interesting story. It's got a great premise. If you like books with small town secrets, if you like, like Southern gothic horror. Again, I really loved the history that was woven into it. I'm more interested in that. In fact, I was like, this could be really cool. I want to hear that story. Like, that would be really interesting. I also didn't like the main character. I didn't care for her. Billy didn't care for her. So if you like all the other things, and this sounds interesting, this could work for you. Just be prepared to slog through a little bit of some of the slower sections to get to the good stuff at the end. Overall, three stars. And this one is Gothic Town by Emily Carpenter.

[Hannah]

Yeah, when you had told me you were reading this, I don't know, a week or two ago, I had never heard of it before. So I'm glad that, you know, you're at least bringing something that might be a little bit under the radar that people might not have heard of before.

[Tina]

Yeah. If nothing else, there's that.

[Hannah]

Yeah, exactly. Okay, so the second book that I'm bringing was again recommended by my personal local indie. This is a bookstore and I read this a couple of years ago. But it has since been a book that, while I don't talk about it a lot in my public reading spaces, it's one that I recommend to a lot of people in real life. And it is called Big How We Keep each Other Close by Aminatu so and Ann Friedman. Who am I bringing all this non fiction today?

[Tina]

Literally me and you both.

[Hannah]

But this is one that I just want more people to read. I think that it is such an interesting book. It is about two friends. Well, it's not about two friends. It's. It's nonfiction. These two friends end up coming together to write an honest, funny and moving exploration of what it really takes to maintain a deep and lasting friendship. And that, that, that is literally this book. They draw from their own decades long bond and they also, they do host a podcast called Call youl Girlfriend Podcast. And they share their highs and lows of their relationship from the wonderful points of connection and how much their friendship with each other has built them up and carried them through life, to painful rifts that they've had and fights that they have have had together. And they introduced the concept in this book of big friendship. And it's this bond that transcends distance and life changes and emotional shifts. They share a lot of their personal stories and also interviews that they've had with other people to really highlight the vulnerability and intentionality that it takes to not only acquire a really deep big friendship, but to also maintain those friendships. And it is an often overlooked work and labor that it takes to really maintain close people in your life. Friendship has always been something that's been really important to me. It's like a core value of mine. And one thing that I thought was really interesting when they were in one of the sections of this book that I still remember over time, is that so often, you know, throughout our life, and I want to say, especially with women, I guess I don't know because I only know my experience, but that we will acquire friendships and then oftentimes they're seasonal and sometimes that doesn't feel as deep or heavy, but sometimes it'll be a friendship that you've had for a really long time. And it is a breakup, basically, that happens. And these two friends didn't experience a breakup, but they were just talking about this kind of collective experience that people have where they have a close friendship and sometimes those end. And how, you know, with a romantic relationship, you're expected to. You're expected to grieve and you're expected to go through a time in which you are experiencing a grieving process. But when you lose a friend, there's not that expectation, but it's still just as much of a deep loss. And they really explore that and how much losing friends can negatively impact you almost as much as it would a romantic relationship. And they open up the floor to talk about even going to therapy over losing friends. I just thought it was really interesting, kind of the different concepts that they brought up, like that one that really make you think more deeply about the friendships that you have have and that you choose to have the intentionality that you have in those friendships. And I just. They also too, their relationship is really special. And I really like how honest they were about the closeness of their bond. And I think that if you are interested in, I don't know, just relationships and. And learning more, kind of like the social science behind friendship, then you should pick this up. And that is big Friendship. How we Keep each Other close. By Aminatu so. And Ann Friedman.

[Tina]

Yes, I've heard of this one before. I can picture the COVID And I. I have friends from when I was in first grade, literally. I have like. Yeah, I have so many. I'm really lucky. It's very odd. We have a friend group of maybe, I don't know, 13 now. There's partners and kids and things like that. But we're really lucky that we kept in touch all these years. Like, still to this day, they're like my best friends from elementary school and middle school. So special. And it's so special. It's funny, when I moved to a different high school and I almost didn't make that many friends in high school. Cause I was like, I have all these friends from elementary and middle school. I don't need all these new people. But, yeah, no, that one sounds very interesting. And I've heard of their podcast as well, but I've not yet tried it out.

[Hannah]

You know, I haven't listened to it either, obviously mentioned it here, because that's a big part of kind of why I think they even wrote this book and why they were able to get a publishing deal, I think is actually through this podcast. But I've actually never listened to the podcast. I just read the book. But I really. I really liked it.

[Tina]

You want to write a book? Someday, maybe, if we get enough listeners. I don't know.

[Hannah]

Me and you.

[Tina]

Yeah. Yeah, let's do it. All the. All the big podcasters next up these days.

[Hannah]

BookTube, et cetera. Book deal.

[Tina]

I got nothing. I got nothing up there. Now I can write a dissertation. Maybe nonfiction is the way to go. Because I think. I always think about it. I'm like, would I be able to write a novel? No, I don't think so.

[Hannah]

I could write about the history of book influence.

[Tina]

There you go.

[Hannah]

Do it. Do a dissertation.

[Tina]

Now you're talking. All right, well, I will wrap it up with my shelf edition, which is a book I did indeed pick up at an indie. I got it most recently from my North Carolina trip. This book is called Last Night at the Telegraph Club, and it's by Melinda Lo. Do you know this book?

[Hannah]

I almost read it for this episode.

[Tina]

Stop it. Do you have it, too?

[Hannah]

I. I do. On audio. I have the audio on Libro fm. But it was also recommended by my personal local indie because I was like, I either wanna read a middle grade or a young adult. And that was the. But it was a little long and. Which made me nervous.

[Tina]

So exactly why I'm not bringing it today is a book I read because it is a little long. It's, I don't know, 400 something pages. And I kind of wish I had. But what made me grab this? We didn't quite talk about what we'd like to see in an independent bookstore, but for me, I was looking at the shelves, I was kind of browsing and then I looked at this cover and I'm holding it now. It's got four different circles on it.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

For awards. It's one National Book Award winner, something from the ALA A Stonewall Book Award and Youth Literature Award. So I was like, okay, this many accolades, surely it's doing something right.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

So I definitely want to read this one asap. What is about? That's a great question. All right, so this one is a story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare. This one's about 17 year old Lily who can't remember exactly when the question took root. And the question that she is centering this book on is that book. It was about two women and they fell in love with each other. Have you ever heard of such a thing? So she sort of has had this question bouncing around in her mind her whole life. But the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club in America in 1954. It was not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red scare paranoia threatened everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father, despite his hard won citizenship, Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. That sounds so good to me and I'm kicking myself for not reading this as though it's like expired. So I'm not holding the book currently in my hand. You can't start it today.

[Hannah]

You can still read it.

[Tina]

I can still read it, but I just think it sounds great. I also really appreciate in the beginning of the novel it gives you a little timeline here. I love when books do that so you just know what you're working with. And it does. It takes place pretty between 1950 and 1951, but it also includes some historical events that took place during that time as well. Yeah, I'm really into this one. Expect to hear a review from me on it pretty soon. But this book is Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Melinda Lo.

[Hannah]

I'm excited you picked that one up. I am keeping with my nonfiction trend and I am bringing a book that I recently received in the mail and that is Medicine River A Story of Survival and Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools by Mary Annette Pember. That one is being released today on April 22nd. So if it sounds interesting to you, you can run and grab it today. This is by Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember, and she explores the lasting trauma of Native American boarding schools, which, from the mid-1800s to 1930s, forcibly removed Native children to assimilate them, often through abuse and cultural erasure. And this draws on personal reflection and her own mother's experience, and she reveals the generational impact that it's had on her and how Native communities are reclaiming their heritage. So this sounds heavy, but it also sounds compelling and like a really important and powerful read. So hopefully I will be able to get to this one soon. And that is Medicine River A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools by Mary Annette Pember.

[Tina]

Good one. That is not one that I'm familiar with. And I need to go because Cassia apparently has learned how to bounce in her bed and she's just like, in the air. I'm like, what the hell?

[Hannah]

Do that. So do that. Outro, girl.

[Tina]

That is it. That's it for today. We thank you for spending a part of your day with us. Links to all the books mentioned can be found in the show notes. If you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following wherever you listen and by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show out to new listeners and grows our audience. And don't forget, if you'd like access to exclusive bonus content and community, you can join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk etc.

[Hannah]

If you'd like to connect with us, you can email us at Booktalk. Etc. You can also connect with us both at Booktalk Etc, On Instagram and on YouTube. You can connect with Tina, TBR etc, and Hannahdpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. In the meantime, remember, everything's better with books. Yay. All right, go get that baby girl.