By: Adam Sockel, co-host of the Professional Book Nerds podcast

Professional Book NerdsThis morning, the Professional Book Nerds podcast released it’s 100th episode, an interview with YA author extraordinaire, Barry Lyga. Barry’s latest novel, Bang, tells the story of a four-year-old toddler who accidentally shoots and kills his infant sister, and how he struggles to cope with this horrible tragedy ten years later as a teen. Barry discusses how difficult it was to write this book, especially with young children in his house, as well as the lighter aspects of his novel, his love of comics and what it’s like being married to someone who is also in the publishing world.

For over a year, The Professional Book Nerds podcast has been introducing listeners to authors and offering book recommendations with new episodes coming out every Monday and Thursday. These episodes offer great curated collection ideas as we base our recommendations on topical themes and genres. Recent episodes include:

Big Library Read author Kate McDermott

Our latest Big Library Read just kicked off and we celebrated by speaking with the queen of pies, Kate McDermott. Kate, who was just named a finalist for the James Beard Book award, joined us to explain how she got her start in baking, what makes a great pie and what her favorite is. Take a listen but be warned: you will walk away hungry.

 

March Sadness:

For college basketball fans, this month is the time for March Madness but we decided to switch it up by doing an episode titled March Sadness. These are the books that make us cry, sob, weep, bawl …. you get the picture.

 

Our top books for March

At the beginning of each month, we offer up a collection of the hottest new book releases. These are a mix of buzz books that are getting lots of publicity as well as some mid-list titles your readers are sure to love. These monthly lists make perfect curated collections!

Kwame Alexander

Newberry Medal Winner and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander sat down to discuss how poetry can change the world. Kwame also shared why he feels poetry is the key to creating a love of reading in children as well as chatted about his wonderful international literacy programs.

Elizabeth Kostova

Fans of the #1 bestselling novel The Historian will love this conversation with Elizabeth Kostova as she shares a preview of her latest book, The Shadow Land, explains her love of Eastern Europe, how her research process works and, of course, dives deep into the world of Dracula.

Books based in Mythology 

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is currently the #1 book in the country and so we thought it’d be fun to discuss more titles based in mythology and lore. Join us as we discuss Percy Jackson, Achilles, the Minotaur, Merlin and much more.

 

You can listen to the Professional Book Nerds by searching for them anywhere you listen to podcasts. This includes iTunes, iHeartRadio, Player FM, Stitcher, the TuneIn app and any other app you use.