We can't speak for you, but we can confidently say that March was a weird weird month for the Library Pros™. This month Brittany admits she's micro-dosing meth (Legally!), Matt's side gig is dubious at best, and Reganland Returns. Laurel and Heather get a little too excited about cults, Matt "pauses the stream" to take a leak, and we all agree, we will NOT slander Jimmy Carter on this podcast.  Book Mentions: Matt: *crickets* Brittany:  Anoka: a Collection of Indigenous Fiction by Shane Hawk, "Soilborne" and "Wounded" The New Voices of Fantasy, edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman, "Left the Century to Sit Unmoved" by Sarah Pinsker and "Wing" by Amal El-Mohtar Laurel: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward Heather:  The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music.

Another doozy of an episode this month. You can thank Laurel and her plethora of oddly upbeat books. Matt's DJ names take on a life of their own, we debate the merits of a 1-5 Star rating system, and we all agree George Saunders definitely isn't a prick. Brittany goes full Standerson over a graphic novel, we get Mattsplained™ Pokémon, and Heather pulls a Matt. But, the real journey was the friends we made along the way, or something.  Book Mentions: Heather:  Fuzz by Mary Roach The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Matt: Penny: a Graphic Memoir by Karl Stevens Sapiens: a Graphic History, volume 2: the Pillars of Civilization by Yuval Noah Harari  The Handbook to Lazy Parenting by Guy Delisle Laurel: Fox 8 by George Saunders In. by Will McPhair Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel The Return by Rachel Harrison Brittany: The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik The Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner Dark One by Brandon Sanderson and Jackson Lanzing Noor by Nnedi Okorafor As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music.

Holy smokes, it's a whole new year! The show is officially a year old, and we're celebrating the start of season two(!) with a monstrous episode full of hijinks! This month the Library Pros™ learn what boofing is *spoiler alert: Matt's wrong*, we see the return of Peach Powered Thighs, we all agree that Joe Rogan has a very punchable voice, and that we still hate Ronald Regan. Heather introduces us to Diamond Dick (we promise, it isn't what you think), Matt's book might change the world, and Brittany teaches us about the Kombucha Lady. And somewhere between Matt's Ivermectin Advice and Laurel's uncharacteristically "cute" read, Brittany and Heather get on their School Library Soapbox. P.S. Hey, Nicholas Sparks? Joey Batey did it better! DISCLAIMER: This episode is a doozy, and it's manly because Heather and Brittany spend a solid 20 minutes discussing a Tennessee school board's recent banning of the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. This is an unusually political and heavy episode of Top Shelf Librarians, and though we know that isn't necessarily what you listen to our show for, we thought it was important to keep it in the episode. We live in times where a book about the Holocaust has been banned. Freedom to Read is critical to a successful democracy. We didn't want to add to the censorship by editing ourselves on this subject. We believe it is vital to talk about, and we hope you agree.  Book Mentions: Matt: Sapiens: a Graphic History: The Birth of Humanknd by Yuval Noah Harari Laurel: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún by Nagabe No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood Brittany: Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut and Susanne McConnell Things in Jars by Jess Kidd Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire Heather: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Tim Madigan (adapted for Young Readers by Hilary Beard) As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers of Silvermansound.com for the use of VHS Dreams as our intro and outro music. 

It's the holiday season and the Library Pros™ are feeling festive af. There's a Gay Boy Christmas Extravaganza, Brittany shares her Eggnog Trauma, we vow to keep St. Paddy's Day local, and Matt gives the worst book review ever. We take a look back at 2021 in all its trash-fire glory, we introduce a new segment, and Brittany admits what we all already know: she's a Draco Malfoy stan. Heather brags about "motherfucking Momofuku" and that she's feeling 2022, and we make a Podcast Pandemic Pact. Goodbye, 2021. We won't miss you. Book Mentions: Heather: Cheese Sex Death: a Bible for the Cheese Obsessed by Erika Kubick Laurel: Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno Brittany: Major Detours: a Choices Novel by Zachary Sergi The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe by Arvind Ethan David Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders Matt: Prince Valiant vol. 15 by Hal Foster Durarara! vol. 2 by Ryohgo Narita As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

Not even a Snowpocalypse could keep the Library Pros™ from bringing you another wild ride of an episode. This month we ask the important questions, like "Is Laurel's Rum Racist?" and "Who Hurt You, Alice Hoffman?". Brittany fangirls over Caitlin Starling, Laurel judges a book by its cover, we meet Ghost Daddy and other Matt aliases, and Heather teaches us the Three Cs: Candles, Cats, and Crows! Some jag-off makes a great pizza and we won't deny we love Ewan McGregor. I mean, who doesn't? Book Mentions: Matt: Foodheim: a Culinary Adventure by Eric Wareheim Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro Brittany: Dragon Age: Dark Fortress by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet Laurel: Revelator: a Novel by Daryl Gregory The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Heather: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

The Library Pros™ are doing the Time Warp (again!), this time all the way back to October! It's a wild ride of a month in which Laurel and Brittany have a little too much fun with Harry Potter names, we test a new segment known as Missed Opportunities: Barking Dawn Edition, some books just don't have enough pectin, and Modern Teens meet Millennial Nostalgia. Brittany gets defensive about Grunge music, Heather invents a new social media platform, we meet Anthony Porkchop in Matt's Cooking Corner, and we had to see a guy about a werewolf. All in a (spooky) month's work. Book Mentions: Laurel:  The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang Sisters by Daisy Johnson Heather:  Sadie by Courtney Summers Twilight by Stephenie Meyers The Project by Courtney Summers Matt:  Antoni: Let's Do Dinner by Antoni Porowski and Mandy Fox Brittany: Dracula by Bram Stoker Mary Shelley's Monster: the Story of Frankenstein by Mark Tropp The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

This month the Library Pros™ get drink, drank, drunk. This episode is full of hijinks, shenanigans, tomfoolery, and, of course, books! In which Heather has some Fun with Urban Dictionary, we take a visit to Matt's Cooking Corner, and Lola Makes Her Debut. Matt manages to spoil a 175 year old book, we have Round Two of the Poirot Fight, and Brittany somehow spoils a Science Fiction retelling of a book she's never read. To top it all off, we dunk on Sarah Palin and Crack the Cornell Code. All in a Month's Work for the Top Shelf Librarians! Book Mentions: Matt:  The Grownup by Gillian Flynn The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy Heather: Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson Laurel: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker In the Quick by Kate Hope Day Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips Brittany:  The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge Ghosted in L.A. vol. 3 by Sina Grace and Siobhan Keenan As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

It's been a hot minute but the Library Pros™ are back in action! Travel back in time with us, all the way to August! We talk about The Baconssaince and Matt's Golden Age, we have a very serious Kantaro Convo, we reminisce about Hot Sauce Homework, and Brittany REALLY loves ramen. Oh, yeah! And we talk about books. And booze. Book Mentions: Matt: Asian-American: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from the Philippines to the Bronx by Dale Talde Brittany: The Hanged Man by K.D. Edwards The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab The Kick-Ass Writer: 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse Heather: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab Laurel: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough You by Caroline Kepnes As ever, thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

The Library Pros are reunited, drunk and in-person! Get ready for a buckwild episode in which Brittany and Matt make a bet, we doubt Heather's definition of "cautious", Laurel recounts several occasions in which she almost died, and Brittany recommends you stop listening to our podcast. Twice. We discuss several riveting topics, such as The 5 People You F*ck in Heaven, The Jeff Bezos Network, The Half-Price Books Scam, and we suggest you spend a little money on Amazon. But don't worry , it's not like Dildo Rocket Ship Money. Also, there's no peen in this one. You're welcome. Book Mentions: Laurel:  I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death: the Breathtaking Number One Seller by Maggie O'Farrell Matt: Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral Heather: Graceful Burdens by Roxane Gay Brittany: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Carey Pietsch Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.

In which Matt is always wrong, Laurel teaches us about water births at Reggae on the River, Brittany talks about some (not-so) chaste monster action, and Heather relives her convenience store days ("like Clerks, but more methy"). We make fun of Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro while Heather shares her Queer Book Round-Up for Pride Month! It might be almost a month late, but this episode is peak Library Pros™. Book Mentions: Matt: Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Comic by Joel Hodgson Laurel: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murada Earthlings by Sayaka Murada Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science by Erika Engelhaupt Brittany: For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Heather:  Pumpkin' by Julie Murphy You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson The Project by Courtney Summers Thank you to Shane Ivers at Silvermansound.com for the use of "VHS Dreams" for our intro and outro music. Contact us at [email protected], or follow us on twitter @Liboozians.