We have a special Check This Out episode featuring three librarians from around the state chatting about their favorite books of the year and offering suggestions for this holiday reading season.
We also discuss how librarians feel about audiobooks — does it count as reading? Plus, the explosion of "Young Adult" titles and whether the name should be changed, how libraries decide which books to put on their shelves, and the pros and cons of self-publishing.
Our guests are:
Amy Lappin: Amy is the deputy director of the Lebanon Public Libraries and a member of the American Library Association’s Executive Board. She lives in Plainfield, NH.
Sondra VanderPloeg: Sondra manages the Circulation Department at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH. She lives in Wilmot, NH.
Melissa Mannon: Melissa is the director of the Kingston Community Library and chair of the New Hampshire Library Association’s EDI committee.
And Rachel Barenbaum gives us her favorite books of 2024 that didn't make the show.
The book recommendations include:
Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers by Abraham Chang
Songs for the Broken Hearted by Ayelet Tsabari
Shanghailanders by Juli Min
Memento Mori by Eunice Hong
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor
Better Must Come by Desmond Hall
Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski
Shut Up, This is Serious by Carolina Ixta
Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc
The Wingman by Stephanie Archer
The Most by Jessica Anthony
The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad
Troubled Waters by Mary Annaise Heglar
The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter
