Advertise on podcast: Middle Ground Books: After Hours

Megan, Debra, and Lance take on The Juniper Tree, a Brothers Grimm fairy tale with a long history of being retold, edited, and softened for younger audiences. Before the performance, they look at where the story came from and why some versions chose to remove its harsher material. Listen along as they give the tale the full reader’s theater treatment for Halloween. ⚠️ Content Warning This episode includes themes of child abuse, violence, cannibalism, and death. 📖 Question of the Chapter What fairy tale from childhood has stuck with you the longest? 🔔 Subscribe for more book recommendations, bookstore life, reader’s theater, and after-hours conversations. 📚 The Covered Pages: The Juniper Tree and Grimm’s Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm, selected by Lorrie Segal and Maurice Sendak, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Maurice Sendak 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🌐 Website & Events: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An ACOTAR Series Recap Megan, Debra, and Lance attempt the questionable task of explaining ACOTAR in one episode, with Megan doing most of the actual explaining while the other two try to keep up. With Middle Ground Books preparing for its midnight release party on Monday, October 26, they work through the world, the lore, and why Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy series has readers so invested. Join them for the crash course, whether you already know your High Fae from your humans or you’re just as lost as Lance and Debra. ⚠️ Spoiler Warning This chapter includes spoilers for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series as Megan attempts to explain several books’ worth of story in one sitting. Some of the readings also contain explicit language and mature material. Pasted markdown 📖 Question of the Chapter If you had to convince someone to read ACOTAR, what would you tell them without spoiling it? 📚 Covered Pages “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 “Inherit the Stars” and The Giants Trilogy by James P. Hogan 🌙 ACOTAR Midnight Release Party Monday, October 26 at 11:00 PM Middle Ground Books 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS Come dressed in your High Fae court best for special drinks, trivia, a craft, a photo backdrop, and ACOTAR-themed merchandise. Book sales begin at midnight and continue until 1:00 AM. 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🌐 Website & Events: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan, Debra, and Lance get into the Halloween spirit with books that still unsettle them just talking about them. They break down what they like about each story’s structure and how each one finds its own way to deliver a scare. 📖 Question of the Chapter What is the scariest thing you’ve ever read or watched? 📚 Covered Pages “It Could Have Been Her” by Lisa Jewell “The Book of Night” and “The Thief of Night” by Holly Black “Slewfoot” by Brom “At the Mountains of Madness” by H.P. Lovecraft “The Tommyknockers” by Stephen King “The Resurrectionist” and “The Cult of Dr. Black” by E.B. Hudspeth “Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon” by Matt Dinniman “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series by Sarah J. Maas 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🌐 Website & Events: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan, Debra, and Lance look back on the October they grew up with and the one they now get to create at Middle Ground Books. Now those old Halloween memories sit beside the kind of October they’re building for the bookstore and its community. 📖 Question of the Chapter: What Halloween tradition from your childhood do you still miss? 📚 Covered Pages “Dreamland” by Olive Blake “The Book of Night” by Holly Black “The Pirate Queen” by Ariel Lawhon “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown “The King in Yellow” “Twilight” “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series “Throne of Glass” series “A Court of Splintered Harmony” Pasted markdown 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🌐 Website & Events: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some books are a Snickers bar. Others deserve the full fine-dining treatment. Megan, Debra, and Lance turn the focus from what we read to how we read, digging into attention, reading habits, and whether every book deserves the same kind of time and thought. 📖 Question of the Chapter: How do you read when you really want a book to stick with you? 📚 Covered Pages “Proust and the Squid” and “Reader, Come Home” by Maryanne Wolf “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau “The Iliad” by Homer “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien “Yes I Can” by Sammy Davis Jr. “The Fine Art of Lying” “Why Your Five-Year-Old Could Not Have Done That” 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, meet the team, and find your next read at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

📖 Question of the Chapter: When fall hits, what kind of book do you reach for first: something spooky, something cozy, a classic, or something completely different? The possibility, the rumor of fall. Megan, Debra, and Lance settle into fall reading season and the shift in what sounds good once the weather starts to turn. Some readers lean spooky, some want something cozy, and some finally reach for the classic or new release they have been meaning to start. Fall is also a good time to clear the reading list. Life is too short to keep forcing your way through a book you are not enjoying when there are so many others waiting. The gang keeps that idea going by looking at what feels worth picking up next when the season changes. Chapter Forty-Seven: Let Those Leaves Fall The DNF Episode for Fall Reading Season 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more book recommendations, bookstore life, new releases, and after hours conversations from Middle Ground Books. 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 17th at 5:30 PM.Late Night with Metalark follows Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.Family Story Time is Saturday, September 19th at 11:00 AM.Second Breakfast Book Club meets Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 PM to discuss Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, with themed food from the book.The fall sale begins Tuesday, September 22nd with yellow, orange, and red tag discounts.The first Crochet and Knitting Ensemble, also known as CAKE, meets Tuesday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM.The Threshing Day midnight release party begins Monday, September 28th at 11:00 PM, with the book available at midnight. 📚 Covered Pages A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Animal Farm by George Orwell Autumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen Fuller Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel Hollywood, Ending by John Green Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert 1984 by George Orwell Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher Sabriel by Garth Nix Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway Victorious by V. E. Schwab Vicious by V. E. Schwab 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. Email: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSound YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬ Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a seat as Middle Ground Books After Hours tests the old line: “the book was better.” Megan, Debra, and Lance look at what books can hold that screen versions often lose, from internal character work to narrator voice, then turn toward the rare cases where another format may understand the story better. Percy Jackson missed the point. The Princess Bride may have improved the source. Winnie-the-Pooh might not belong on screen at all. Chapter Forty-Six: The Book Was Better, Right? You Don’t Know Pooh 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and reader conversations from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages Nine Goblins by T. KingfisherPercy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenProject Hail Mary by Andy WeirStarship Troopers by Robert A. HeinleinThe Empyrean series by Rebecca YarrosThe Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. TolkienThe Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. TolkienThe Odyssey by HomerThe Princess Bride by William GoldmanThe Return of the King by J. R. R. TolkienThe Witcher series by Andrzej SapkowskiWinnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 17th at 5:30 PM.Late Night with Metalark follows Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.Family Story Time is Saturday, September 19th at 11:00 AM.Second Breakfast Book Club meets Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 PM to discuss Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, with themed food from the book.The fall sale begins Tuesday, September 22nd with yellow, orange, and red tag discounts.The first Crochet and Knitting Ensemble, also known as CAKE, meets Tuesday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM.The Threshing Day midnight release party begins Monday, September 28th at 11:00 PM, with the book available at midnight. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. Email: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSound YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬ Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

💬 Comment Question: What book would you defend even if everyone else calls it strange? Descend into madness with Middle Ground Books: After Hours as Chapter Forty-Five slips between mad science, cosmic horror, octopus intelligence, and fiction that eats away at memory. Kate McKinnon’s "The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science" with weird kids, theatrical audiobook narration, Tim Burton vibes, and middle grade storytelling that still works once you’re grown. Also on the shelf: "At the Mountains of Madness", "The Mountain in the Sea", "There Is No Antimemetics Division", Megan’s fantasy homework for ACOTAR, and books that lose something when they leave the page. 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and reader conversations from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnonAt the Mountains of Madness by H. P. LovecraftThe Mountain in the Sea by Ray NaylerRemarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltGreen City Wars by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra AndrewsThere Is No Antimemetics Division by qntmThe Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon ChakrabortyThornhedge by T. KingfisherACOTAR series by Sarah J. MaasThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryWinnie-the-Pooh by A. A. MilneFrog and Toad by Arnold LobelWhirlwind: My Life Reporting the News by Bill Kurtis 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Page to Screen Book Club discusses Remarkably Bright Creatures on Thursday, September 10th at 5:30 PM.Great American Market takes over downtown Emporia on Saturday, September 12th.Storytime with Debra is Saturday, September 12th at 11:00 AM.Sci-Fi Book Club meets Saturday, September 12th at 4:00 PM to discuss Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky.Bill Kurtis will be at the Emporia Granada Theatre on Sunday, September 13th at 2:00 PM for a journalism panel with Max McCoy and Alec Loganbill. Middle Ground Books will be there selling copies of Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News.Book Club meets Wednesday, September 16th at 5:30 PM to discuss The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. Email: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSound YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬ Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Middle Ground Books After Hours introduces Readers Theater, a new audio narrative format where the hosts read a selected portion of a story and the production turns it into a theater-of-the-mind experience. For this first installment, Megan, Debra, and Lance read from Nephilim X Russia, an unpublished story presented as a first look with the author redacted for now. Chapter Forty-Five: Readers Theater Nephilim X Russia ⚠️ Listener Discretion: This Readers Theater episode contains uncensored profanity, gun violence, knife violence, a graphic injury scene, and sudden loud noises. Listener discretion is advised, especially for younger listeners or anyone sensitive to intense audio scenes. 💬 Comment Question: Do you want to hear more of Nephilim X Russia in a future Readers Theater episode? Like the video and leave a comment if Middle Ground Books After Hours should continue the story. 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk, bookstore life, and audio storytelling from Middle Ground Books. 🎭 About Readers Theater: Readers Theater is designed to give local authors, new writers, and published authors a way to hear their work performed in an audio narrative format. This episode includes only the opening portion of Nephilim X Russia, not the full book. It was recorded as a first-read performance, so the reactions and discoveries are part of the experience. If you have a story you would like considered for a future Readers Theater episode, reach out to Middle Ground Books. 📚 Featured Story: Nephilim X Russia 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Check the Middle Ground Books website, newsletter, and socials for the latest store events, book clubs, author visits, and community updates. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. This Readers Theater installment was edited and sound designed by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios for an immersive audio narrative experience. If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step. Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project. You can email or follow the social media handles below! Email: [email protected]  / cosmicatomsounds    / cosmicatomsound   YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬ Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Middle Ground Books After Hours checks in with a short episode while “Cosmic” Ron, the show’s producer and audio engineer, works on something much bigger for next week. Megan, Debra, and Lance use the quick episode to catch up on store news, listener comments, and the events coming up before the next full chapter. There is also a very direct reminder that the website and newsletter exist for a reason. Chapter Forty-Three: We Didn’t Forget You Read the Newsletter 💬 Comment Question: Do you actually read the newsletters you sign up for, or do you let them pile up? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 📚 Covered Pages Her Last Breath by Taylor AdamsThe Call of Cthulhu by H. P. LovecraftYes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. by Sammy Davis Jr., written with Jane and Burt Boyar 🗓️ Store Events and News: All events are at Middle Ground Books and Gifts, 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas, unless otherwise noted. Fantasy Book Club meets Thursday, August 27th from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.Wichita Comic Con is August 29th and 30th in Wichita, Kansas. Kai and Diego will be there representing Middle Ground Books.Dungeon Crawler Carl Lit Group meets Sunday, August 30th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.The first Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 3rd at 5:30 PM for fantasy, science fiction, horror, romantasy, and other fiction writers.First Friday is September 4th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM in downtown Emporia, featuring artist Anisa Rodriguez.Max McCoy will present his new book at Red Rocks, the home of William Allen White, on September 8th at 2:00 PM.Horror Book Club meets September 8th at 5:30 PM to discuss Her Last Breath with Diego. There are also other events happening between this episode and next week’s full episode, so check the Middle Ground Books website, newsletter, and socials for the most current schedule. And yes, sign up for the newsletter if you want the full rundown of what is happening at the store.... 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step. Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project. You can email or follow the social media handles below! Email: [email protected]  / cosmicatomsounds    / cosmicatomsound   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sammy Davis Jr. and H. P. Lovecraft make a strange pairing, but the conversation gets to the same question from two very different directions. Megan, Debra, and Lance talk about Lovecraft’s influence, his racism, and whether his writing still earns the reputation people give it. Then Yes I Can brings the episode somewhere much more human, following Sammy Davis Jr. from Vaudeville into the Army and beyond. Chapter Forty-One: Fight With Your Head, Not Your Fists Sammy Davis Jr., H. P. Lovecraft, and Problematic Art 💬 Comment Question: When do you separate the art from the artist, and when do you stop reading? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages Yes I Can by Sammy Davis Jr., Jane Boyar, and Burt BoyarThe Best of H. P. Lovecraft by H. P. LovecraftThe Call of Cthulhu by H. P. LovecraftAt the Mountains of Madness by H. P. LovecraftDagon by H. P. LovecraftThe Nameless City by H. P. LovecraftThe Street by H. P. LovecraftThe White Ship by H. P. LovecraftThe Cats of Ulthar by H. P. LovecraftHerbert West, Reanimator by H. P. LovecraftThe Statement of Randolph Carter by H. P. LovecraftThe Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: All events are at Middle Ground Books and Gifts, 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas, unless otherwise noted. Late Night with Meadowlark is Thursday, August 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, with an open mic night and writer’s workshop.Family Story Time is Saturday, August 22nd at 11:00 AM.National Dog Day is Wednesday, August 26th.Fantasy Book Club meets Thursday, August 27th to discuss The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step. Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project. You can email or follow the social media handles below! Email: [email protected]  / cosmicatomsounds    / cosmicatomsound   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Middle Ground Books passed 1,000 subscribers, and the hosts are still figuring out what it means to talk like people are actually listening. Megan, Debra, and Lance settle into a loose host blurbs episode about bookstore life, community, folklore, dragons, Egyptian mythology, and the strange things people believe when stories travel across cultures. It is part milestone episode, part after-hours conversation, and part reminder that a bookstore can make room for everything from Walmart dancing to vending machine monsters. Chapter Forty-One: Podcast Like No One’s Listening A Folklore and Bookstore Life Episode 💬 Comment Question: What strange myth, monster, or folklore story has stuck with you the longest? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages The Red Pyramid by Rick RiordanThe Truth About Dragons by Julie LeungAll Creatures Great and Small by James HerriotThe Necronomicon, associated with H. P. LovecraftPercy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick RiordanMiddle Egyptian Grammar by Haak 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. Here: Middle Ground Books Biblio Shop 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Page to Screen Book Club meets August 13th at 5:30 PM to discuss Jurassic Park.Family Story Time is August 15th at 11:00 AM for children ages 0 to 5, or older kids who enjoy songs and stories.The Red Pyramid Second Breakfast Book Club meets August 15th at 4:00 PM with an Egyptian-themed menu.An author event for Leap of Faith Farm is planned for August 16th from 2:00 to 3:00 PM.Middle Ground Books will be closed August 17th, but the store will have a booth at the ESU Block Party to welcome students back.Mystery Book Club’s next selection is Poppy Montgomery Gets Even. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Ronald L. Wilkins II of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you have a podcast, audio story, film, song, small business, or creative project you want to bring to life, you do not have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Cosmic Atom Sound Studios works with people who have a vision, even if they are still shaping the next step. Reach out for podcast production, narrative audio, background music, film sound, audio cleanup, or business media for your small business, brand, or creative project. You can email or tap the links attached to the social media handles below! Email: [email protected]: @cosmicatomsoundsFacebook: @CosmicAtomSound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wine night comes to Middle Ground Books, and nobody is spitting. Megan, Debra, and Lance use Tom Gilby’s Thirsty as their guide through a tasting episode where wine becomes less about knowing the right words and more about figuring out what anyone actually tastes in the glass. The Vine Witch brings the bookish side of the night, with a cursed vineyard, old magic, and the kind of fantasy premise that pairs better with wine than anyone expected. Chapter Forty: Class or Pass  A Wine Tasting with The Vine Witch 💬 Comment Question: Are you more likely to trust wine advice from a book, a friend, or the first bottle with a decent label? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages Why We Drink Too Much by Dr. Charles Knowles Thirsty by Tom Gilby The Vine Witch by Luanne Smith The Glamourist by Luanne Smith The Conjurer by Luanne Smith Exo by Colin Brush Japanese Gothic Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ International Cat Day is August 8th at Middle Ground Books.Saturday Morning Story Time is August 8th at 11:00 AM for children ages 0 to 5, or older kids who enjoy songs and stories.Alien Worlds Book Club is discussing Exo by Colin Brush on August 8th at 4:00 PM.Horror Book Club is discussing Japanese Gothic on August 11th at 5:30 PM.Teacher Appreciation Night is August 12th starting at 7:00 PM, with snacks, drinks, and discounts for teachers.Page to Screen Book Club is discussing Jurassic Park on August 13th at 5:30 PM. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Douglas Adams built one of science fiction’s strangest comic universes, but what happens when someone else tries to hitch a ride? Megan, Debra, and Lance return to "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy," then follow the series into "And Another Thing" by Eoin Colfer to see what happens when a beloved universe keeps going without the original voice behind it. The episode asks whether the sequel is funny enough, and whether funny was ever the whole point of Douglas Adams in the first place. Chapter Thirty-Nine: Don’t Panic, We’re Reading a Sequel The Hitchhiker’s Guide Continues 💬 Comment Question: What sequel by a different author actually worked for you? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Don’t Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Neil Gaiman The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan Thirsty by Tom Gilbey The Necronomicon, associated with H. P. Lovecraft Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Where God Went Wrong by Oolon Colluphid Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes by Oolon Colluphid Who Is This God Person Anyway? by Oolon Colluphid Well, That About Wraps It Up for God by Oolon Colluphid 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: National Coloring Book Day is Sunday, August 2nd, and Middle Ground Books will be featuring coloring books, including clearance selections.First Friday returns August 7th with artist-in-residence events along Commercial Avenue.Story Time with Debra and the Second Breakfast Book Club return August 8th with The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan and Egyptian-themed food.August 8th is also International Cat Day, so listeners are encouraged to share photos of their cats interrupting reading time.The café is also adjusting hours and menu options due to reduced oven use. Check the Middle Ground Books website and socials for the latest updates. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

>>>>Viewer discretion advised After promising to read a Harlequin romance if the channel reached 500 subscribers, Lance sits down with Hot Sheets by Jeannie London for a special episode outside the usual Middle Ground Books lane. Megan, Debra, and Lance bring their bookstore instincts to a romance novel full of innuendo, satin bedsheet logistics, questionable bad-boy behavior, and an ending that gives everyone at the table something to react to. ⚠️ Special Episode Note: This episode is a little more explicit than usual because the hosts are discussing a Harlequin romance novel. Listener discretion advised. 💬 Comment Question: What book should the hosts read if Middle Ground Books reaches 1,000 subscribers? 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more after hours book talk from Middle Ground Books. 📚 Covered Pages Hot Sheets by Jeannie London https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks (Use this code once you use the link: 9781426866784 ) The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods Tom Lake by Ann Patchett The Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman The Names of a Hare by Bernice Berry Delvers LLC by Blaise Corvin 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. 🌎 Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. 📖 Print and Ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Carrie Moyer and Julie Baker Brinn will be at Middle Ground Books for a quick-draw poetry slam on Saturday, July 25th at 1:00 PM.Family Story Time returns Saturday, July 25th at 11:00 AM. There will be no Story Time on August 1st due to store vacation.The Princess Donut Institute for Princess Donut Studies is discussing The Parade of Horribles on Sunday, July 26th at 5:00 PM.Megan’s book club is discussing The Spear Cuts Through Water on July 23rd at 5:30 PM.Debra’s mystery book club has already met and selected its August title. 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.