Professional Book Nerds

#479 - On today's episode, Jill interviews Caroline B. Cooney, author of the iconic Face on the Milk Carton, about her new adult book Before She Was Helen. Caroline talks about the "What if?" question that inspired her to write Before She Was Helen, transitioning creatively from writing young adult to adult, and tells the best librarian story ever (according to Jill). Today's episode is sponsored by Freshly. Get $40...

Ep. #478 - Back to school time has arrived and who doesn't love books set around fancy private schools? Also, there is a lot of murdery mysteries in these selections. Books mentioned in this episode The Sidekicks By Will Kostakis The Secret History By Donna Tartt Truly Devious By Maureen Johnson Black Chalk By Christopher J. Yates The Tenth Girl By Sara Faring Catherine House By Elisabeth Thomas A Spy in the House By Y. S. Lee...

Ep. #476 - On today's episode, Jill and Adam catch you up on what they've been reading lately! It's pretty straightforward. They also discuss the amazing Fall book bingo template that Jill made which you can find at professionalbooknerds.com or on our instagram (@probooknerds) Books mentioned in this episode Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp Slay by Brittany Morris A Beautifully Fooli...

Ep. #474 - On today's episode, Adam and Jill preview the new books coming out in September that they can't wait to read. Buckle up, because there are so many! This month features books ABOUT books, spooky mysteries, stories by some of our favorite writers of all time, and more than a few ghosties. Books mentioned in this episode The Evening and the Morning By Ken Follett Transcendent Kingdom By Yaa Gyasi A Deadly Education ...

Ep. #473 - On today's episode, Adam interviews Margaret Owen about her books The Merciful Crow and The Faithless Hawk. They talk about her unique magical systems, the caste structure she developed, the similarities between her fantasy world and current world, and how Dungeons and Dragons has helped her writing process. They also have some fun chatting about absolutely wild birds. Today's episode is sponsored by GiveWell. Vi...

Ep. #472 - On today's episode, Adam and Jill share some book recommendations for another task in the Professional Book Nerds 2020 Reading Challenge. This time, they're sharing some of their favorite first books in a series! Get your special "Libby Brings Readers Together" shirt here: http://shop.overdrive.com/ Books mentioned on this episode Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King  The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell  Neand...

Ep. #471 - On today's episode, Adam interviews Jordan Ifueko, debut author of Raybearer. Her book is being compared to Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir and rightfully so. They discuss how her small class growing up affected her story, how her loneliness led to creating world building and character development, figuring out how to set timelines when there are large passages of time, and so much more.  TODAY'S EPISODE IS SPONSORE...

Ep. #470 - On today's episode, Adam is joined by Kristin and Emma to dig into what they've been reading lately. Buckle up, because this is random list loaded up with all sorts of books! Today's episode is sponsored by GiveWell. Visit https://www.givewell.org/probooknerds and select [Podcast] and [Professional Book Nerds] at checkout to have your donation matched up to $100. Books mentioned in this episode  Me and White...

Ep. #469 - On today's episode, Adam interviews author Interview with Francisco X. Stork about his newest book, Illegal. They discuss immigration and asylum in the United States, Francisco's career as a lawyer, and injecting important adult themes into YA books. Today's episode is sponsored by Literati and Freshly. -Get 25% off your first two orders by visiting literati.com/probooknerds -Get $40 off your first two orders...

Ep. # 468 - On today's episode, Adam and Jill offer up book recommendations for another task in the Professional Book Nerds 2020 Reading Challenge. This time, we're looking at books published between 2000 and 2010. Books mentioned in this episode The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Andy Catlett by Wendell Berry The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead The Thirteenth Tale by Dian...

Playwright and novelist Tim Mason joins Jill and Adam to discuss The Darwin Affair, his historical fiction mystery novel set in London. They also discuss his life as a playwright, his inspirations, and working with Dr. Seuss. About the Big Library Read Big Library Read (BLR), facilitated by OverDrive, is a reading program through your library that connects readers around the world with the same ebook at the same time without any w...

Ep. #466 - On today's episode, we're diving into the new book releases we're excited for in August! There are incredible titles coming in all genres and we had a blast breaking them all down. Books mentioned in this episode Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Post...

Ep. #465 - In today's episode, Jill is joined by author Alisson Wood to talk about her new memoir Being Lolita. Alisson's book is the powerful and personal story of a seventeen-year-old girl who was groomed by an English teacher at her high school who used the book Lolita to transform Alisson from student to lover to victim. But Alisson's book is also a memoir of survival that looks at the ways she rewrote her own story...

Ep. #464 - Last week, we held a special social justice event via Zoom with Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, the New York Times bestselling co-authors of I'm Not Dying With You Tonight. We wanted to make sure as many people as possible could listen in so we decided to release the full conversation and Q&A here as well. We discuss what's going on in the world related to the Black Lives Matter movement and Covid-19, having ...

Ep. #462 - Jill is joined by her friends Kate and Lauryn from the Generation BSC podcast to talk all things Baby-Sitters Club! From the beloved books they all grew up reading to the recent Netflix television adaptation, the women discuss why the books are still cherished so many years later, which of the BSC members they most identify with, and more. Follow Generation BSC on Twitter and Instagram @generationbsc and find them o...