Jason Mott's Hell of a Book took home the National Book Award fiction prize and Tiya Miles won the nonfiction prize for All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake. The winners were announced during a virtual ceremony Wednesday evening. Hell of a Boo...
Read MoreToday on the podcast, Annie Nelson, a Bereavement Coordinator at Hospice of the Midwest, joins the podcast. With the holidays coming up, she recommends some books about grief and grieving to help us make sense of what can be a tough time of year for many people. Apple Podcasts/iTunes |&n...
Read MoreThanksgiving is just two weeks away, and time is running out for holiday cooking preparation. When you need immediate inspiration, check out our cooking eMagazine collection on the Libby app! With Thanksgiving and holiday editions hitting the virtual shelves, it’s the perfect time to pull these eMag...
Read MoreThe Promise, by Damon Galgut, was named the winner of the 2021 Booker Prize in London this afternoon. His novel follows the life of three South African siblings reunited over the course of three decades by four different funerals, all while the turmoil of their nation reflects on their own lives. ...
Read MoreKathy Leonard sits at her desk facing a wall lined with new books staff is prepping to put out on Des Moines Public Library shelves. New books waiting to be read, loved, and enjoyed sit on carts in the aisle near her cubicle. Leonard is one of two librarians who buy all the books, movies, music, ...
Read MoreOn today's DMPL Podcast, host Aaron Gernes chats with Janeé, from the Book Chat team, about some of her favorite horror books in the past year. Janeé is DMPL's horror aficionado, so you can be sure that her picks are some of the best around! Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Google Play ...
Read MoreThe National Book Award has release the finalists for their annual awards. Each year, the National Book Foundation receives hundreds of nominations, narrowing down the list to ten, and then five, in several different categories. To be eligible, a book must have been published between December 1 of l...
Read MoreSteph from the Book Chat team joins us today on the DMPL Podcast to talk about books for Latinx Heritage Month! She has a book picked out for adults, young adults, and children and discusses what she loves about each. Be sure to check out the bookmarks in the Show Notes for more Latinx Heritage Mont...
Read MoreThe Booker Prize has announced six books that have made their 2021 shortlist. Four writers are finalists for the first time, including Patricia Lockwood making her debut with a debut novel, while Richard Powers and Damon Galgut return as finalists for their respective novels. The Booker Pri...
Read MoreOn the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, Aaron Gernes chats with local author Anthony Paustian about his book, A Quarter Million Steps, and Bookpress Publishing, a local publisher where Paustian works as a writing coach. A Quarter Million Steps is an award-winning leadership book th...
Read MoreSusana Clarke has won the 2021 Women's Prize for fiction for her novel Piranesi! The fantasy novel is just her second book, published sixteen years after her acclaimed debut Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. The Women's Prize for Fiction began in 1992, in the aftermath of a 1991 Booke...
Read MoreAs the weather begins to cool this fall, the inclination to curl up with a book increase. Thankfully, there are tons of great new books this fall to spend all day reading. We’ve highlighted a few below – be sure to get your holds in for these! Don't forget to check out our Popular Page to see what e...
Read MoreBook Chat librarians Rebecca and Maddie join the DMPL Podcast to discuss Book Chat's newest service, Book a Book Chat Librarian. This service gives you the opportunity to have a librarian visit and chat with your book club, classroom, business, or other organization to discuss books and get reading ...
Read MoreNo matter your age, you can go back to schools this fall by reading these "Dark Academia" books. These books take place in schools and explore philosophy and existentialism - think the secret societies that exist in every school holding classes in a gothic building. Murder mysteries, magic, the para...
Read MoreOn the one-year anniversary of the derecho that ripped through Iowa, meteorologist Terry Swails joins the DMPL Podcast to talk about Swails' newest book, Derecho 911. During the podcast, Swails recalls the events of that day and discusses what makes derechos so hard to predict. He also talks...
Read More