Books And Bites

Start the new year with the Winter-Spring Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge! We hope our prompts will inspire you to read and have fun while doing it.Up first, we share wintry books perfect for reading by the fire. Our picks include an Irish Christmas story, a horror novel set in a Pennsylvania orphanage, and a YA fairy tale.Carrie's PickTime of the Child by Niall WilliamsPairings: Fish and Chips, classic Irish pub food. Or sip an Irish tea.Michael's PickBoys in the Valley by Philip FracassiPairing: Smoked Over-the-Top Chili, one of Michael's favorite wintertime dishes.Jacqueline's PickWintersong by S. Jae-JonesPairing: German Vanilla Crescent Cookies

It's time to wrap up the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge! On this episode, we discuss books published in 2024. Our picks include a suspense novel that is also an immersive alternate reality game, a National Book Award-winning adaptation of an American classic, and a YA mystery by a bestselling author. Michael's PickWe Used to Live Here by Marcus KliewerEve Palmer answers the door on a cold, snowy night to a family wanting to know if they can take a quick look around since the father, Thomas, used to live there as a child. Eve, still waiting for her partner to get home, reluctantly invites them in. As they’re touring the house, Thomas’s daughter goes missing. Eve and Thomas begin their search in the basement, and that’s when Eve notices some disconcerting things.We Used to Live Here is part of an ever-evolving immersive alternate reality game that allows you to hunt clues and decipher messages in web code, message boards, and social media accounts long after you've finished the book.Pairi

On this episode, we discuss books about chosen or found family, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. According to library database NoveList, books with this theme focus on families "formed by choice, rather than birth." Close friends, nontraditional families, and people who bond over their circumstances can all form chosen families.Our picks include a YA novel about a found family of unhoused teens trying to save the world; an alternative history about a ragtag crew working to rid the Mississippi River of its feral hippo problem; and a historical novel about a chosen family in post-World War II England and Italy.Jacqueline's Pick: The Sword of Summer by Rick RiordanRiordan weaves Norse mythology into a mythical fantasy novel for modern day teen readers. When main character Magnus’s mother is murdered in their Boston apartment by wolves, he becomes homeless. Magnus keeps ahead of the truant officers and the wolves who killed his mother with the help of two other home

On this episode, we discuss Southern Gothic books, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. Southern Gothic is a sub-genre of Gothic fiction--or, as Michael says, it's "Gothic with a twang." According to Book Riot, some of the characteristics of Southern Gothic include, “eccentric, flawed characters, sinister events, elements of the supernatural or fantastical, and themes relating to race, class, decay, violence, and isolation.”Our picks for this month include a Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, a YA mystery, and a haunting, surprisingly spicy novel.Carrie’s PickThe Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora WeltyIn this 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning novella, Laurel McElva Hand, a widow in her mid-forties, travels from her home in Chicago to New Orleans, where her father is having a routine eye operation that proves fatal. Laurel and her crass, young stepmother accompany his body back to Mississippi.After the funeral, Laurel is left alone in her childhood home to reckon with her past an

 On this episode, we discuss books with kings and queens, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. Our picks include a page-turning history of the Magna Carta; a novel about Mary, Queen of Scots; and a YA novel that imagines an American royal family. Michael's PickMagna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by Dan JonesDan Jones crafts a historical narrative that is compelling and as close to a page turner a book of history can be. Over 800 years ago, at Runnymede in England, the Magna Carta was born out of a bunch of very angry barons and King John I coming to terms of peace after a serious fraying of relations with each other. Since that day in 1215, the Magna Carta has come to influence countless constitutions across the world and is still seen as a cornerstone of Western traditions of liberty and democracy. Pairing: Spit Roasted or Grilled Steak, a medieval recipe featured on the British Museum's blog.Carrie's PickThe Tower by Flora CarrIt's 1567 when this debut historical fi

On this episode, we discuss books that are hybrids of at least two genres, one of the prompts on the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. Jacqueline's favorite romantasy novels are a good example. They combine elements of romance and fantasy. Other books mash up elements of science fiction and horror or, in the case of both Michael's and Carrie's picks, Westerns and dystopian fiction.Some nonfiction titles blend different genres, too, such as A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa or The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock. Both mix the authors' personal memoirs with biographies of historical women.Jacqueline's PickMy Lady Janeby Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi MeadowsNot only is My Lady Jane a hybrid romantic comedy, it is also a fantastical historical fiction novel. The novel is a re-imagined account of England’s shortest ruling monarch, Lady Jane Grey. The novel is told in the alternating perspectives of our three main characters and narrator historians who often break the fourth wal

July is Disability Pride Month! Learn more about the history, experiences, and contributions of the disabled community by reading books by authors with disabilities.On this episode, we also introduce the Summer-Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge.Teens and adults, from now through December 30, 2024, keep track of books you read or listen to by writing the title and author in the matching square. Complete all 25 squares for a chance to win a $100 Joseph-Beth gift card or an Amazon Kindle. You’ll also earn an enamel pin (while supplies last).Carrie's PickIn How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir, Lexington resident Shayla Lawson explores what it means to travel the world as a Black, nonbinary, and disabled person. The reader accompanies Lawson (who uses they/them pronouns) on journeys that span from young adulthood to early middle age, from New York City to Tokyo to Zimbabwe and many other places.Pairing: Banana Pie, a recipe found in the Bermuda entry of library database AtoZ Wor

No matter the genre, when you read a book with a map, you're in for an adventure. This month, we share a YA historical fiction meets fantasy novel; a mystery set in 1920s Bangalore; and a dystopian novel set during a future American Civil War.Don't forget to turn in your bingo sheets for the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge by June 30, 2024! If you still need book suggestions, check out the book lists on our Books & Bites page. Jacqueline's PickDivine Rivals by Rebecca Ross is book one of the YA Letters of Enchantment series. After centuries of sleep, two ancient gods are warring again, using human armies in this fantasy set during World War I. Pairing: Simple Plum Pudding, a World War I-era recipe.Carrie’s PickSet in colonial Bangalore, India, in 1921, The Bangalore Detectives Club is the first book in a mystery series by Harini Nagendra. If you like your mysteries on the cozy side and enjoy learning a little history and culture while you’re at it, this might be the book for y

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with books by AAPI authors! It's one of the prompts on the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. Our suggestions include an action-packed adventure tale, a YA romance, and a comic but realistic immigration story. Michael's PickThe Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin begins with Ming Tsu traversing the salt flats of the Utah Territory, making his way to a Union Pacific camp to kill a man. The past couple years, Ming Tsu had been serving his sentence laboring for the railroad, all because he made the mistake of falling in love and marrying the daughter of a railroad baron.This is an action-packed, cinematic adventure tale full of brawls, gunfights, showdowns, betrayal, and ambushes. It also gives a peek at the xenophobia and racism experienced in the Old West by Chinese immigrants and marginalized folks.   Pairing: Pit Beans is a hearty dish that's perfect for any cowboy.Jacqueline's PickEmergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi i

 On this episode, we discuss books set in or about the outdoors, one of the prompts on the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. We recommend a memoir by a teenage naturalist and environmental activist; a popular YA dystopian novel; and a horror novel set in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Carrie's PickDiary of a Young Naturalist is by Dara McAnulty, a young autistic writer, environmental activist, and naturalist from Northern Ireland who began writing the book when he was just fifteen years old. It chronicles one year in his life, from winter to spring.In lyrical prose, Dara writes about his experiences in nature with his family, his work as a climate activist, and what it's like to be autistic. Pairing: Kale and Bean Stew from Rachel's Irish Family Food by Rachel Allen, available on Hoopla.Jacqueline's PickThe Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an award-winning dystopian, action-adventure YA novel. The districts of Panem must send two people (tributes) between the ages of twelve and eig

 On this episode, we celebrate Women's History Month with fiction and nonfiction about women's history, one of the prompts on the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. From a graphic novel about Soviet women fighter pilots to a page-turning book about the evolution of female bodies, we'll show you that there's nothing dull about women's history. Michael's PickThe Night Witches is a graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Russ Braun. During World War II, the Soviet Union formed the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, recruiting women to fly night missions, bombing the invading Nazis as they cut deeper into Russia. The Nazis came to dub them the “Nachthexen” or “Night Witches.”The novel follows Anna Kharkova, a fictional Night Witch. It opens as Anna is recruited to join the 588th regiment with her friend and gunner, Zoya. If you're a World War II history buff or a fan of military history, you might enjoy this powerful story.Pairing: A glass of Kompot, homemade fruit juice enjoy

 On this episode, we discuss romance novels, one of the prompts on the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. This popular book genre has something for everyone, even the horror fans among us! Jacqueline's PickOnce Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a young adult fantasy novel. Seventeen year old Evangeline had loving parents who raised her on tales of magic, fates, and fairytales. She believes in hope, true love, and “happily ever after” until she learns that the boy she loves is going to marry someone else.Then she makes a bargain with Jacks, a Fate whose kiss is deadly to all but his one true love, leading her into a dangerous adventure.Pairing: Tempt yourself with French Apple Cake, a recipe with the appeal of an apple pie or apple tart, but in a decadent, custard-like cake.Michael's PickThe Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw is a gorgeously written novella that perfectly mashes up horror, fairy tales, and romance. An unnamed, mute narrator sets off from the kingdom she’s be

 On this episode, we ring in the New Year with the Winter-Spring 2024 Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge! From now through June 30, 2024, keep track of books you read or listen to by writing the title and author in the matching bingo square. Complete all 25 squares for a chance to win a $100 Joseph-Beth gift card or an Amazon Kindle. You’ll also earn an enamel pin (while supplies last). Ease into the challenge with our suggestions for books you can read in one sitting. Grab a cozy blanket to read under, and you'll be able to check off two prompts on your bingo card. Carrie's PickFoster by Claire Keegan is about a young Irish girl sent to live with distant relatives while her mother prepares to give birth to yet another child. The Kinsellas give the girl the care and attention that is sometimes lacking in her own chaotic home. But there are details to suggest that the couple has their own sadness.This is a quiet, spare story full of tenderness and the solace these three bring to one another.Pairing: Rhu

This month, we discuss books with magic, our final prompt from the 2023 Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge. Our picks include an anthology of witchy tales; a novel about the magic of sourdough starter, robot arms, and the human who works with both; and a YA fairytale set in contemporary times.If you’re participating in Books & Bites Bingo, don’t forget to turn in your bingo card throughout the month of December!Michael’s PickThe anthology Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery, edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering, contains 18 stories from authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon, Sarah Langan, Tananarive Due, Alma Katsu, and Kelley Armstrong. These stories of witchery range from cozy and humorous, to fantastical, to spooky and downright scary.Pairing: Channel your inner Audrey from the story “Bless Your Heart” and whip up a batch of Seven-Layer Magic Bars.Carrie's PickIn Robin Sloan’s novel Sourdough, main character Lois is a young programmer who works at General Dexterity, a San Francisco te

 In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, we discuss books by Indigenous authors, one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge. Our picks are as varied as ever, with a ghost story set in a bookstore, a teen mystery, and, of course, horror! Jacqueline's PickFirekeeper's Daughter is a young adult mystery by Angeline Bouley. The story mostly takes place on the Sault St. Marie Reservation in northern Michigan. Main character Daunis Fontaine is torn between two worlds: her mother’s wealthy French/white family and her father’s Ojibwe Firekeeper’s side. Although she code-switches easily between both cultures, Daunis does not feel like she fits in her hometown or on the Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of getting a fresh start by going away to college. When tragedy strikes her family, she puts her dreams on hold.Pairing: Fry bread, which you can read more about in Kevin Maillard's children's book, Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Michael's PickDon’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen

For October, we discuss Gothic fiction, one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge. Our picks have all the creepy mansions, women in the attic, and brooding characters you could possibly want. Not to mention fungi! Carrie's PickO Caledonia is a little-known classic that, according to the publisher, “has been compared to the works of the Brontes, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey.” This atmospheric and witty novel opens with the death of 16 year-old Janet, who has been murdered in her family’s dilapidated castle in the Scottish Highlands. Except for her pet jackdaw, nobody seems to miss her much: her family wants her quickly buried and forgotten. What follows is not a traditional mystery. Instead, the book goes back in time to tell the story of her sad and misunderstood life.Pairing: Cinnamon scones from Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook or, for a vegan option, Buttery Scottish Teatime Scones. Jacqueline's PickHave you ever felt strongly about a house? You do n

This month, we discuss books about music or musicians, one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge. From mixtapes to AI, music memoirs to YA novels, we share our thoughts on both music and books. Michael's PickMichael recommends The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl. This memoir describes the passion that Grohl has had for music since he was a kid and goes into his punk-rock roots. He tells stories that are hilarious and heartfelt, from his days in Scream to the rise and fall of Nirvana and the formation of the Foo Fighters and everything in between.Pairing: KFC and champagne, a staple the Foo Fighters enjoy after special occasions.Carrie's PickCarrie enjoyed Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. Williams writes about her journey to becoming an artist, from her chaotic childhood to her struggle to get signed by a recording company to her eventual success. If you've ever aspired to make art, whether music, li

 This month, we discuss adventure stories, one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge. Choose your own adventure, whether it's with a group of teens on a road trip, on top of Mount Everest, or on a pirate ship! Jacqueline's PickJacqueline enjoyed Five Survive by New York Times bestselling author Holly Jackson. Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends. When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead. With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target.Pairing: No-Bake Peanut Butter Protein Cookies, a yummy road-trip treat.Michael's PickMichael took a trip to Mount Everest with Jon Krakauer's nonfiction book, Into Thin Air. Working for Outside magazine, Krakauer was given the opportunity to ascend Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, during the 1

 In honor of this year's summer learning theme, Dig In, we're digging into some authors we already know with the Books and Bites Bingo prompt, read another book by an author you love. Carrie's PickNorthanger Abbey by Jane Austen, a coming of age story that satirizes Gothic novels. Seventeen year-old Catherine Morland visits Bath with family friends, where she indulges in her love of reading Gothic novels. When her new friends, Henry and Eleanor Tilney, invite her to their home in a former abbey, Catherine’s overactive imagination almost gets the better of her.Pairing: Bath Buns, a sweet enriched yeast dough bun that was reportedly a favorite of Austen’s. Michael's PickGone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana. This splatterpunk novel follows Lori, a superfan of the notorious serial killer, Edmund Cox. She corresponds with him regularly and even goes as far as to visit him in prison. During one visit, he gives her a task to prove her devotion that she of course eagerly accepts.Pairing: Mississippi Delta I

 On this episode, we discuss books by LGBTQIA+ authors, one of the prompts for Books & Bites Bingo. We've got a diverse group of characters and settings for you, including a Splatterpunk novel set in 1990s New Orleans, a Booker Prize-winning novel set in the United Kingdom, and a YA novel set in 1987 El Paso, Texas. Michael's PickMichael read Exquisite Corpse by Billy Martin (formerly Poppy Z. Brite). This Splatterpunk novel about a pair of gay, necrophiliac serial killers in New Orleans is not for everyone--even Michael admits he had to put it down at times. But the lyrical writing and focus on the AIDS epidemic kept him reading. Pairing: Immerse yourself in the New Orleans setting with a bowl of Duck and Andouille Gumbo, a recipe that be found in Justin Devillier’s The New Orleans KitchenCarrie's PickCarrie recommends the Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, an Anglo-Nigerian writer. Each chapter is told from the third-person point of view of eleven different British women and