Advertise on podcast: Beyond the Desk

Brynne and Sarah talk about Chloe Benjamin's Under Story with local book buyer Jason. The novel follows Laurel, a scientist reeling from a personal loss, who flees to Antarctica, only to encounter a strange, beguiling light across the ice. Also mentioned: The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, and Wedding of the Foxes by Katherine Larson. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Sarah discusses Ann Patchett’s Whistler with West Allis book club regulars Michele and Heather. The novel is a moving look at family relationships and tells a story you won’t soon forget. Also mentioned: The Dutch House, Tom Lake and The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett, the movie The Holiday, Writers & Lovers and Heart the Lover by Lily King, Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín, and The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Whether you enjoy a character-driven mystery, cozy or suspenseful ride, you’re sure to discover something to add to your TBR list in this episode featuring librarians Desirae and Sarah. Books mentioned: Missing by E.A. Jackson, How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin, That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally, With My Little Eye and Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson, Heartwood by Amity Gaige, Whidbey by T Kira Madden, Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. Find the bonus chapter of That’s Not My Name here: https://www.meganlallywrites.com/tnmn-bonus-chapter Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Angie, Brynne and Sarah discuss Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. The award-winning memoir follows the author’s surprising relationship that develops with a wild hare during the pandemic shutdown. Also mentioned: Pet by Chloe Dalton (forthcoming), H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman, A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg, and The Serviceberry and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Desirae and Sarah talk about Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The novel follows Joan as she becomes one of the first women scientists in NASA’s space shuttle program in the 1980s and finds love. Also mentioned: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, film adaptations of Batman and Little Women, Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr, To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage, John Irving, In the Quick by Kate Hope Day, and Lesbians in Space. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Sarah and Brynne discuss Lily King’s latest novel, Heart the Lover, a moving exploration of love, friendship and how our choices are everything. Also mentioned: Writers & Lovers, Euphoria, and the story collection Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King and Normal People by Sally Rooney. Read Lily King’s essay here: https://www.vogue.com/article/boyfriend-best-friend-love-story Find instructions to play Heart the Lover here: https://lilykingbooks.com/htl-card-game Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Katie and Desirae talk about books in verse just in time for poetry month! Books mentioned: Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Enter the Body and Everything Is Poison by Joy McCullough, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Crank, Glass, and Fallout by Ellen Hopkins, Starfish by Lisa Fipps, Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Shout, Speak, and Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson, and One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones. Also mentioned: The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, Tweak by Nic Sheff, and the movie Trainspotting. You can find Cristal Morris on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@cristalthetford4791 Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Sarah and Kaitlyn discuss what romantasy is as well as popular titles in the genre—including A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) and Fourth Wing. Books mentioned: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, and Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. Also mentioned: A Game of Thrones and Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin; the TV series Bridgerton, based on the books by Julia Quinn; the Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent; and From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Staffers Desirae and Karen talk about the author Freida McFadden and two of her twistiest books. Books mentioned: The Housemaid, The Boyfriend, and The Tenant. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com,hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visitwestallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Staffers Sarah, Desirae and Brynne talk about the best books they read the past year.  Books mentioned: A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko; The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey; The Wrong Daughter, One Small Mistake, The Perfect Match and The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith; All Fours by Miranda July; The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo; and Love, Mom by Iliana Xander. Also mentioned: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson; Wild by Cheryl Strayed; The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim by Pete McBride; the documentary Into the Canyon; Biography of X by Catherine Lacey; The Last Word by Taylor Adams; author Freida McFadden; Ninth House, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo; Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke; and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Co-hosts Brynne and Desirae discuss Mona Awad's novels Bunny (2019) and We Love You, Bunny (2025) following the latter's release. The novels follow five women in a fictional MFA writing program at a presitgious university and delves into their unique, unsettling, and magical creative processes. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Staffers Sarah, Karen and Emily talk about The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, the historical novel follows the 18th-century midwife as she delivers babies, prepares to testify in court, and deals with a patriarchal culture in her small community in Maine. Also mentioned: A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and the documentary A Midwife’s Tale. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Sarah and Brynne discuss the Secrets of the Nile duology featuring What the River Knows and Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez. The historical fantasy novels follow Inez from Argentina to Egypt, where she seeks answers about her parents’ deaths. Along the way she discovers magical objects, adventure and romance. Also mentioned: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie and the movie adaptation from 2022, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Desirae and Sarah talk about the atmospheric thriller Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. When a writer’s wife goes missing, his career stalls. Then his agent gives him an opportunity to start fresh on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. But it’s filled with secrets and mysteries, and he begins to see his wife everywhere. Also mentioned: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, the movie The Wicker Man, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, and His & Hers and Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Librarians Desirae and Sarah talk about this suspenseful novel that follows a woman trying to uncover the truth of her mother’s death 30 years prior on the Italian island of Capri. On an annual family visit there, one of their party goes missing, and the decades-old case gets reopened. Also mentioned: The Cloisters by Katy Hays, The White Lotus TV series, Revenge TV series, The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins, Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (see episode 47), Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay