Reading with Libraries podcast

We are a book group podcast, looking at a new genre each week. We enjoy a beverage that matches the theme of the episode, we talk about some books we like with our Guest Hosts, and we share resources for finding more books. We work in a library system, and many of our guests work in libraries - so we have a lot of fun books to share! Grab a beverage, and let's start talking about books!

A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 06/08/2023

A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 Thank you for joining us again on our book group and Reader’s advisory podcast! We are here to talk about books and share library ideas! And now we are wrapping up the season! We’ve really enjoyed reading books with you, and having book group fun! If you have missed any RWL, our archives are on the website. You can go back to cmle.org any time and listen to any of our podcast episodes. The book group is always here for you! This week is pretty frustrating to discuss. We are librarians, and CMLE helps to support over three hundred different kinds of libraries across Central MN. We support the freedom to read, and the freedom to choose the books you want to read. If you have kids, you can encourage them to read the books you like and think are good. But it does not give anyone the right to tell other people they cannot read and enjoy a book. It’s so wrong to keep books away from people, just because of the irrational fears or prejudices of a few individuals. Check out for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. If you want to talk with me about library training, you can reach me at [email protected]. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324538

A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 06/01/2023

A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 This is a week of fun books, because the idea of starting a new TV series or a new movie is always exciting! It might be great, it might be terrible - but the possibility is real and there are so many opportunities to enjoy new things. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26348118

A book where the main character's name is in the title 05/25/2023

A book where the main character's name is in the title It’s fun to feel like you are in the know, that you see a small secret or an easter egg - and knowing the secret of a title is actually a character’s name can be a fun way to encourage us to get in there and try some new books! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26347974

A book with a song lyric as its title 05/18/2023

A book with a song lyric as its title We aren’t going to sing about it this week, but we are going to celebrate this week’s books with song titles! Enjoy all of the books that always sound like they are going to be fun - but sometimes go in sad, scary directions. So this is a good week to try some new books of all genres! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26347881

A modern retelling of a classic 05/11/2023

A modern retelling of a classic This is such a fun week - retelling a classic story with a modern twist! Did you read a book in high school that was maybe okay - but you want to read a better version? Do you have a favorite book from a long time ago - and reading a current version would be fun? Or, have you always wanted to try a specific book - but never got around to reading it, and maybe a current version would be more fun? This is your week! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26347794

A book published in spring 2023 05/04/2023

A book published in spring 2023 It’s spring time! When everyone’s fancy turns to thoughts of love - of books! It’s a time of melting snow, flowers growing, green everywhere; and it’s also a time for all kinds of new books to try. This week we are looking at books that have just been published, and are ready to enjoy all sorts of new, interesting stories. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26347707

A book about or set in Hollywood 04/27/2023

A book about or set in Hollywood We see the glamor of Hollywood this week, along with some of the backstage sadness and ick. This is a genre where we know a lot of the story, but only the front-facing ideas. We can always learn more about the secrets and mysteries that we don’t see. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324976

A book about a forbidden romance 04/20/2023

A book about a forbidden romance This week will be filled with drama, intrigue, hijinks, and of course romance! So basically yes: it will be the best week for finding all kinds of good books to read! You know that Ariel is our romance expert, and we can all count on her to share some great book ideas and insights. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324829

A book with "Girl" in the title 04/13/2023

A book with "Girl" in the title This week’s books are a slightly strange genre - easy to pick out but not always easy to categorize. They can be all kinds of genres and all kinds of different stories, and that is the fun of exploring these books! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324565

A book with a color in the title 04/06/2023

A book with a color in the title This week our books all have a color in the title! Sometimes the colors are relevant to the storyline, and sometimes they are just fun things to enjoy. Feel free to wear your favorite colored items while we all enjoy this week’s books. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324781

Episode 10-05: A celebrity memoir 03/30/2023

Episode 10-05: A celebrity memoir This week’s books are such an easy genre to find, and to enjoy! There are tons of celebrity bios, covering all types of celebrities in all sorts of areas. They can be fun, silly, inspirational, and even life-changing. Jump into it with us this week! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26324688

Episode 10-04: A romance with a fat lead 03/20/2023

Episode 10-04: A romance with a fat lead We have so many books to enjoy this week! There are so many good developments happening with romance books; adding in fat characters make them more like real life and let many of us see ourselves in these stories. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26275950

Reading With Libraries Episode 10-03: A book with mythical creatures 03/16/2023

Reading With Libraries Episode 10-03: A book with mythical creatures We are ready to have a good time this week, as we explore books with mythical creatures! If you can dream it up, it’s in a book somewhere; so let’s explore some stories that will be filled with adventures. Check out for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26203836

Episode 10-02: A book by a first-time author 03/09/2023

Episode 10-02: A book by a first-time author This week we are exploring some first-time authors! Of course, everyone is a first-time at some point. And whether they go on from there, or decide they are one and done - those first books are special. Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26172006

A book about a vacation 03/02/2023

A book about a vacation This season we are exploring all new ideas for books and book suggestions, so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at prompts from the 2023 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. This week will be a fun one, because we can all use a vacation right now. And of course it’s always fun to have your favorite people on vacation with you. So we invited the coolest person we know: Ariel Kirst, our official Podcast Correspondent, from the Great River Regional Library System! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/26054718

Browsing Books: Mill City Museum 02/21/2023

Browsing Books: Mill City Museum This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. This is the end of Season One. You can get Season Two on our Linking our Libraries feed! We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Mill City Museum. “Built within the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill, Mill City Museum is packed with fun for all ages.” Celebrate this by reading a book about baking or cooking. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137861

Browsing Books: Marine Mill 02/14/2023

Browsing Books: Marine Mill This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Marine Mill. “On a bluff overlooking the St. Croix River is the site of what was a thriving industrial sawmill. Today, the ruins of the mill are as much a part of the site as the river, trees, and trails that run through it.” Read a book about nature. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137831

Browsing Books: Comstock House 02/07/2023

Browsing Books: Comstock House This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Comstock House. “A true Moorhead landmark, the house was home to the Comstocks, a family who worked tirelessly to bring business and educational opportunities to this Red River Valley community.” We suggest that you celebrate these opportunities by reading a book about schools. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137807

Browsing Books: James J. Hill House 01/31/2023

Browsing Books: James J. Hill House This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the James J. Hill House. “Explore upstairs and downstairs life in Minnesota's Downton Abbey — a 36,000-square-foot mansion built for railroad titan James J. Hill.” To commemorate Hill’s life, we suggest that you read a book about business. When you look for new books to read in this area, branch out beyond that word - otherwise you will be mired in older books by white male voices, and there are so many different voices and different options for you! For example: many cozy mysteries are all about women owning different kinds of businesses and their struggles with them - but they never turn up on lists of novels about business. We give you links to each of these books on o, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137783

Browsing Books: Lower Sioux Agency 01/24/2023

Browsing Books: Lower Sioux Agency This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Lower Sioux Agency. “As the Civil War raged on in the South, tensions between the Dakota and the newly formed Minnesota government erupted at this site in 1862.” To honor this history, we suggest that you read a book set in Minnesota. We give you links to each of these books on taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137750

Browsing Books: Charles Lindbergh House and Museum 01/17/2023

Browsing Books: Charles Lindbergh House and Museum This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum. “Discover the childhood home of Charles A. Lindbergh, the famed environmental activist, inventor, and aviation pioneer.” To help you, we suggest that you read a book about airplanes or flying. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137717

Browsing Books: Historic Fort Snelling 01/10/2023

Browsing Books: Historic Fort Snelling We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore Historic Fort Snelling. “Learn stories of the military fort and its surrounding area, home to a wide history that includes Native peoples, trade, soldiers and veterans, enslaved people, immigrants, and the changing landscape.” To celebrate this, we suggest you read a book about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We give you links to each of these books on taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137648

Browsing Books: Lac qui Parle Mission 01/03/2023

Browsing Books: Lac qui Parle Mission Welcome to Browsing Books! We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the Lac qui Parle Mission. “Lac qui Parle is the French translation of the Dakota name, “Lake that speaks.” It was at this aptly named site that Joseph Renville worked with missionaries to create the first written Dakota alphabet.” To celebrate this site, read a book that has been translated into English. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137624

Browsing Books: Mille Lacs Indian Museum 12/27/2022

Browsing Books: Mille Lacs Indian Museum We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we encourage you to explore the story of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe through museum exhibits, objects, demonstrations, and tours, and shop for locally made Native American arts and crafts in the restored 1930s trading post. To celebrate this museum, read a book about arts and crafts. We give you links to each of these books on , taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137591

Browsing Books: Folsom House 12/20/2022

Browsing Books: Folsom House This season, we continue to travel around Minnesota, but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we admire the 19th-century home of lumber baron W.H.C. Folsom, located in Taylors Falls, nestled among other New England style buildings and filled with original furnishings. To celebrate that style, read a book set in New England. We give you links to each of these books on taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE! /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/25137573

Episode 915: A book featuring a parallel reality 12/15/2022

Episode 915: A book featuring a parallel reality This is our final episode of the season! It’s been so great reading with you for the last few months. Don’t worry - we aren’t leaving you. We’ll be back with our short book suggestion podcast on Tuesday. This season we have been exploring a wide variety of book genres and topics so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at the prompt from the 2022 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. This week we are exploring a fun genre: books with a parallel reality! It’s always fun to think about another world where we might be richer or smarter, or where troubles that missed us may have managed to clobber us in that parallel universe. Was it part of the multiverse, where every single decision each of us makes spawns a new universe? Is it a virtual reality, where we are NPCs in a video game being played by our ancestors? We’ll never know for sure, but it’s endlessly fascinating to read people’s ideas about some possibilities. Check out for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/23758595

Episode 914: A book about someone leading a double life 12/08/2022

Episode 914: A book about someone leading a double life This week we are exploring books about someone leading a double life! Are they spies? Are they bad guys? Do they just have secrets? We have to read them to find out! Check out for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. This season we continue to explore a wide variety of book genres and topics so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at the prompt from the 2022 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/23758655

Episode 913: A book that features two languages 12/01/2022

Episode 913: A book that features two languages This week we are looking at cool books in at least two languages! It’s not just a neat thing, not just a way to learn about other cultures, not just good to enhance your job prospects; but also knowing more than one language will help to keep your brain functioning at top capacity as you age. Lots of coolness here! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. This season we continue to explore a wide variety of book genres and topics so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at the prompt from the 2022 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/23758715

Episode 912: A book featuring a party 11/24/2022

Episode 912: A book featuring a party This season we continue to explore a wide variety of book genres and topics so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at the prompt from the 2022 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. This week will be a fun one, though not without some challenges along the way! Let’s read books featuring a party. Grab a nice outfit, and let’s get started! Check out page for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/23648039

Episode 911: A book set in Victorian times 11/17/2022

Episode 911: A book set in Victorian times This week we are taking a step back in time to the Victorian era, to explore all sorts of interesting new books. And of course the best way to explore is with cool people around. So we invited the coolest person we know: Ariel Kirst, our official Podcast Correspondent, from the Great River Regional Library System! Check out our for links to our beverages, our resources, and the books we share today. This season we continue to explore a wide variety of book genres and topics so you can expand your reading horizons, and share more information with your library community. We are looking at the prompt from the 2022 this season. You can read along with their challenge, linked in our show notes, or just enjoy some different books. /episode/index/show/readingwithlibraries/id/23758784

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