Cook Memorial Public Library Podcast

As the year wraps up, Readers Advisor Jo talks about the most beloved books of 2019 according to the staff at Cook Library. We go over highlights from our immensely popular 2019 fiction and nonfiction booklets available at the reference desk and online.

Listen to this quick 20 minute episode to remember the books and authors everyone was talking about and discover under the radar titles unique to your library.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/cooklib/Favorite_Books_of_2019.mp3

Local History Librarian Jenny Barry shares some of the quirkiest newspaper headlines and articles she’s encountered in her years researching Libertyville’s history.

Visit our local history page to discover your own oddities in Cook Library’s newspaper archives!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/cooklib/Local_History_Headlines.mp3

Library Director David Archer returns for one last episode about wrapping up the Aspen Drive Library expansion project. Construction is complete and the library is open for business! We hope you will join us for the Saturday, November 23rd Grand Opening Celebration.

Dave talks about response from the community so far, what it feels like to finish a construction project of this magnitude, and some of the last minute features that were added to the building. We close the episode with Dave’s latest podcast recommendation.

More details on Aspen’s Grand Opening.

Listen to Far From Home.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/cooklib/A_Final_Update_on_the_Aspen_Drive_Library_Expansion.mp3

Cook Library’s own horror aficionados Lindsay and Mark deliver the thrills and chills with some horror book recommendations just in time for Halloween.

IN THIS EPISODE

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Blood Sugar by Daniel Kraus

The Shining by Stephen King

Full Throttle by Joe Hill

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll | Emily Carroll’s website

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

http://traffic.libsyn.com/cooklib/Horror_Book_Recommendations.mp3

Author Photo: ©Kristee Mays Photography

Why haven’t more people heard of Nancy Wake?

An upper-class expat who smuggled documents and people out of WWII Paris, armed the French Resistance, and killed a Nazi commander bare-handed, this war heroine should be a household name — but she isn’t. Author Ariel Lawhon sets out to rectify the oversight in her latest novel, Code Name Hélène. The book is a meticulously researched and compulsively readable account of Nancy Wake’s life, tracing her journey from journalist to society wife to spy.

Erica spoke with Ariel about writing Code Name Hélène, why this story has been overlooked for so long, and the fascinating truth behind Nancy’s signature red lipstick. They also discuss Ariel’s approach to writing fiction about real people, her favorite fictional marriages, and even get a behind-the-scenes peek at her next project.

Code Name Hélène is available to check out in regular print or large type, as well as ebook formats in CloudLibrary and Libby/Overdrive. You can also purchase it at your favorite bookstore.

Find out more about Ariel here.

Books Discussed In This Episode

• All Arial Lawhon books
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins