Category: PODCAST EPISODES

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The joy of poetry – podcast 43

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Lynne and Tanya

Today’s episode is all about our love of poetry.  All of the books mentioned can be found on our library catalogue

What we have been reading and listening to:

Tanya has been reading and listening to:

  • Mindfulness in Knitting by Rachael Matthews
  • How to Raise a Feminist by Allison Vale

Lynne has been reading:

  • Anna Mazzola – The Storykeeper
  • WTF podcast with Marc Maron

New and forthcoming adult books:

  • Agency by William Gibson
  • Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
  • A Little Hatred: Book One (The Age of Madness) by Joe Abercrombie
  • The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
  • So Lucky by Dawn O’Porter

New and forthcoming children’s titles:

  • Oi! Puppies by Kes Gray (0-4 yrs)
  • Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Grown-Ups by Lauren Child  (5-7 yrs)
  • Amelia Fang and the Lost Yeti Treasures by Laura Ellen Anderson (7-9 yrs)
  • We Are The Beaker Girls by Jacqueline Wilson & Nick Sharratt (Illustrator) (9-11yrs)
  • The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne (Teen)

DVD recommendations

  • The Queen’s Corgi (PG)
  • John Wick Parabellum (15)

Our Reading Agony this week:  ‘I’ve been asked to speak or say a poem at my aunt’s funeral.  Help!’

  • Lament : Scottish poems for funerals and consolation by Lizzie MacGregor
  • Poems and readings for funerals by Julia Watson
  • In loving memory : a collection for memorial services, funerals and just getting by by Sally Emerson
  • The good funeral guide by Charles Cowling (a chapter on how to write a tribute)

Staff quote of the day ‘Have I said anything hilarious this week?  Probably’

Our Discussion was all about National Poetry Day on 3rd October (look out for the multi-lingual postcards).  We discussed our favourite poems and why poetry is wonderful.  Tanya read Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll  and Lynne raved about Edwin Morgan (and lots more)

Did You Know?  There are poetry collections in all our libraries, but it’s well worth a visit to Grangemouth Library which has a special poetry collection which is pretty amazing.

Coming soon in October, we’ll be running some Big Climate Conversation discussions around climate change and what Scotland can do about it in our libraries – these will feed into the Scottish Government’s climate change work.  Keep your eyes open on social media or drop us a line if you’d like to get involved if you’re in the Falkirk area.

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then  subscribe to our podcast.  We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, then go to our blog LibraryLoveFalkirk.com, @LibFalkirk on Twitter, or Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or Instagram.  Bye

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Literary Heartthrobs – podcast 42

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Daryl and Tanya

Today’s episode is all about our literary heartthrobs.  All of the books mentioned can be found on our library catalogue

What we have been reading and listening to:

Tanya has been reading:

  • Ilona Andrews Innkeeper series

Daryl has been listening to:

  • Coming Out with Lauren and Nicole

New and forthcoming adult books:

  • How the Dead Speak by Val McDermid
  • The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
  • The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson (non fiction)
  • Postscript: The sequel to PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
  • Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré

New and forthcoming children’s titles:

  • The Most Beautiful Child by William Papas (0-3 yrs)
  • Weather and the Seasons  (4-6 yrs)
  • Billy and the Minpins by Roald Dahl (7-9 yrs)
  • The Dog Who Saved the World by Ross Welford (9-12 yrs)
  • SeaFire by Natalie Parker (Teen)

DVD recommendations

  • The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG)
  • Booksmart (15)

Our Reading Agony this week:  ‘I keep reading about climate change and I’m feeling overwhelmed.  Can you help?’

Okay, this is a massive topic that we’ll all need to get to grips with , but it can seem so big that it’s tempting to hide under the blanket and pretend it’s not there.  However, as with most things in life, knowledge really helps.  There are some brilliant books about climate change and about what you can do to help:

  • The ecology book by Dorling Kindersley
  • Small acts to save our world : simple, everyday ways you can make a difference by the World Wildlife Fund
  • Live green : 52 steps for a more sustainable life by Jen Chillingsworth
  • 50 ways to help the planet : easy ways to live a sustainable life by Sian Berry

If there are areas of becoming more green that you want to explore, like gardening, cycling, growing your own veg, cleaning with less polluting products, crafting with re-used items, rather than new, etc, then we also have lots of books about these.  Another resource locally is Falkirk Environment Link who run various workshops and run ebike hire and how to ride sessions.  There’ll be somewhere that does something similar close to you.

Staff quote of the day ‘Hmmm, kiss, marry, kill is a step too far – we are librarians’

Our Discussion was all about our literary heartthrobs.  We Loooove books here, and that easily becomes loving particular characters in novels.  Wee proviso – if any of them have been in a film, then we are thinking of them as how they were written in the book, not how they are portrayed in film.  Difficult to separate the people who we would personally love and those who we love as they are loved by another character.  Quite a lot of these involve a sort of ‘platonic’ love, the love of a character because of what they stand for, and who they represent. The love of seeing a character you can relate to in some way.

  • Captain Wentworth in Persuasion by Jane Austen
  • Harry Dresden in the Dresden series by Jim Butcher
  • Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling
  • Sam Merlotte from the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris
  • Mr Thornton in North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Rhysand and Feyre both from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • Stargirl from Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
  • Elena Greco in My Brilliant Friend
  • Honor Harrington in the novels by David Weber
  • Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones’ Diary
  • Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Tank Girl

Did you Know?  If you can’t find a book you are looking for on our shelves, come speak to us and we can see if it’s available at any of our other libraries. Failing that we may also be able to check our suppliers stock and if they have it we might be able to order it in for you for only a £1 charge. This service can be very handy if you are trying to find that book that someone mentioned on the radio, or even any of the books we have mentioned here today or on our other podcasts.

Coming soon in October, we’ll be running some Big Climate Conversation discussions around climate change and what Scotland can do about it in our libraries – these will feed into the Scottish Government’s climate change work.  Keep your eyes open on social media or drop us a line if you’d like to get involved if you’re in the Falkirk area.

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then  subscribe to our podcast.  We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, then go to our blog LibraryLoveFalkirk.com, @LibFalkirk on Twitter, or Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or Instagram.  Bye

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Comedy women in print – podcast 41

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Tanya and Daryl. You can find the books at our library catalogue

Today’s episode is all about comedy women in print.  All of the books mentioned can be found on our library catalogue at

What we have been reading and listening to:

Tanya has been reading:

  • People and Permaculture by Looby Macnamara
  • Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett

Daryl has been reading:

  • The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
  • The Paper and Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie

New and forthcoming adult books:

  • Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell
  • Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
  • The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
  • Blue Moon by Lee Child
  • The Institute by Stephen King

New and forthcoming children’s titles:

  • Where’s the Butterfly? By Sam Taplin (0-3 yrs)
  • Florence and the Mischievous Kitten by Megan Rix (4-6 yrs)
  • The Secret Jungle by Adam Blade (7-9 yrs)
  • Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange (9-12 yrs)
  • Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott (Teen)

DVD recommendations

  • Pokemon Detective Pikachu (PG)
  • Rocketman (15)

Our Reading Agony this week:

‘My child thinks the Junior Fiction books are too young for them, but can I start to let them read teen fiction. Can you offer any advice?’

If you are ever feeling stuck and are worried that your child is still too young for some of the topics brought up in our teen fiction, then feel free to ask us for any recommendations or read them yourself first. Some examples: 

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
  • Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
  • Meg Cabot – The Mediator series and Airhead series
  • My Hero Academia series (manga)
  • Lumberjanes (graphic novel)

Staff quote of the day ‘Here, you can have your own stress cactus’ – it’s knitted

Our Discussion was all about funny women in print.  We picked some we liked, plus we recommend looking at the Comedy Women in Print Award for some more ideas https://www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk/

  • Caitlin Moran – Moranthology; How to be a woman; Moranifesto
  • The Guilty Feminist: From our noble goals to our worst hypocrisies by Deborah Frances-White
  • Sara Pascoe – Sex power money; Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body
  • Susan Calman – Cheer up love;  Sunny side up
  • Sue Perkins – Spectacles; East of Croydon

Did you Know?  Our Writing Rammy continues until 31st Oct – The Writing Rammy is open to all ages, from 5 to 105! Taking part couldn’t be easier; just write a short piece of fiction or poetry on a theme of your choice.

We’re encouraging the whole family to have a try. In fact, we are setting the families in the wider Falkirk area a direct challenge: get as many members of your family to write a story as you can and send them in. You could claim our special Family Rammy prize at our award ceremony!

Entries will be judged by a panel of library staff and a winner and runner up will be chosen in each of the following categories:  12 and under; 13 – 17; 18+; Family Rammy (best family entry)

Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then  subscribe to our podcast.  We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, then go to our blog LibraryLoveFalkirk.com, @LibFalkirk on Twitter, or Falkirk Libraries on Facebook or Instagram.  Bye

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Debut novels – podcast 40

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Hello and welcome to the Falkirk Libraries podcast with Tanya and Vikki

Today’s episode is all about debut novels. You can find all the books we mentioned on our library catalogue

What we have been reading and listening to:

Tanya has been reading and listening to:

  • The bullet journal method by Ryder Carroll
  • The news quiz (BBC) Podcast

Vikki has been reading:

  • My Soul To Take, Yrsa Siguardardóttir   (Thóra Gudmundsdóttir second in the series)
  • The Island: Hidden Iceland Series, Book Two by Ragnar Jónasson
  • Lyrebird, Cecelia Ahern

New and forthcoming adult books:

All non-fiction this podcast

  • Hunting Killers, Mark Williams-Thomas
  • Bird Therapy, Joe Harkness
  • Small space style: clever ideas for compact interiors, Sara Emslie
  • My Scotland, Val McDermid
  • Close to where the heart gives out: a year in the life of an Orkney doctor,  Malcolm Alexander

New and forthcoming children’s titles:

Some Junior Non Fiction Titles

  • Marvel ultimate fact book: become a Marvel expert!  (7-9 Years)
  • Let’s make art with hands and feet , Susie Brooks (5-7 Years)
  • Ask a scientist: Professor Robert Winston answers 100 big questions from kids around the world! (7-9)
  • Ground Breaking Rebels, Adam & Lisa Murphy (9-11)
  • How to design the World’s Best Sports Stadium, in ten Simple Steps Paul Mason (9-11)

DVD recommendations

Mary Queen of Scots (15)

The Favourite (15)

Our Reading Agony this week:

My baby is drooling every time I eat a banana, do you have any books on weaning I need some tips and advice?

Don’t worry we have a big selection of weaning titles below are a small selection

  • Weaning : what to feed, when to feed, and how to feed your baby, Annabel Karmel
  • Baby at the table : a 3-step guide to weaning the Italian way, Michela Chiappa
  • The flavour-led weaning cookbook : easy recipes & meal plans to wean happy, healthy, adventurous eaters – Zainab Jagot Ahmed
  • Weaning Made Easy: baby-Led and Purees Your Way, Rana Conway
  • Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook: over 130 delicious recipes for the whole family to enjoy, Gill Rapley

Staff quote of the day

Staff member 1 ‘ I don’t like wriggling’

Staff member 2 ‘Give it a go, you might enjoy it’ 

Our Discussion was all about debut novels for 2019

Here is a small selection:

  • My Sister the Serial Killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
  • The Doll Factory, Elizabeth MacNeal
  • The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Sara Collins
  • A Good Enough Mother, Bev Thomas
  • The Parisian, Isabella Hammad
  • What Red Was , Rosie Price
  • The Flatshare,  Beth O’leary
  • The Familiars, Stacy Halls
  • The Last Ones Left Alive, Sarah Davis-Goff
  • Blood Orange, Harriet Tyce
  • The Chestnut Man,  Søren Sveistrup

 Did you Know?

Falkirk Libraries are thrilled to welcome your newborn with a special library card of their very own. When you visit the Registrars to register the birth of your baby, you’ll be given a pack which includes an invitation to visit the library and sign up for My 1st Library Card. Please visit our website for more information

‘Thank you for listening to the Library Love podcast, we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself and if you did, then give us a review on itunes so more people get to hear about us.  We love to hear from you and if you’d like to get in touch with us, then go to www.librarylovefalkirk.com for our blog, @LibFalkirk for Twitter and Falkirk Libraries for both Facebook and Instagram