The Bookshop Podcast

Send us a textIn this episode, I’m chatting with Jennifer Caspar, the owner of Village Well Books & Coffee, about community, books, and moving through tragedy.Village Well Books & Coffee is a community-focused & impact-driven bookstore-café in the heart of Downtown Culver City, California. Supporting the community is part of their DNA as they regularly explore various social causes and encourage the community to learn, share ideas, and lend a hand.Owner Jennifer Caspar says Village Well Books & Coffee is a third place to go for rest and nourishment between home and work. A place where neighbors have surprise encounters and people who might otherwise feel lonely at home can be surrounded by the comfort of lively, friendly human interaction.Village Well Books & Coffee 100 Best Book Podcasts Crying In H Mart, Michelle ZaunerThe Power Of Now, Echhart Tolle The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan DidionCharlotte’s Web, E.B. WhiteHarry Potter, K.K. RowlingLike a House on Fire, Lauren McBrayerThe Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, Karina Yan GlaserSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I chat with author Fiona Barton about her life as a journalist, volunteering in Sri Lanka where she worked with journalists facing exile, and her latest novel, Local Gone Missing.Fiona Barton is the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow, The Child, and The Suspect. She has trained and worked with journalists all over the world. Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail On Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. Fiona lives in England, and her latest novel, Local Gone Missing is about Detective Elise King and her investigation into a man’s disappearance in a seaside town where the locals and weekenders are at odds.  Fiona BartonReporters Without FrontiersOlive Kitteridge, Elizabeth StroutOlive Again, Elizabeth StroutLessons in Chemistry, Bonnie GarmusSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I chat with Deon Stonehouse about books, dogs, the magic of writing with an exquisite pen, and the beauty of Sunriver, Oregon.Sunriver Books & Music is located in Sunriver, Oregon, about 17 miles from the city of Bend. The bookshop is owned by Deon and Rich Stonehouse, who believe books are a wonderful way to experience the world through someone else's perceptions and that reading is a fabulous way to expand your horizons from the serious to the silly to the sublime.   Fencing with the King, Diana Abu-JaberLes Miserables, Victor HugoLessons in Chemistry, Bonnie GarmusRemarkable Creatures, Tracy ChevalierThe Soul of an Octopus, Sy MontgomeryNowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life, Brianna MadiaThe Seed Keeper, Diane WilsonSalman Rushdie booksSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn today's episode, I'm chatting with Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script about switching from writing YA to adult fiction, what it's like living with a house of males, getting back to in-person book tours, and her publishing story!Annabel Monaghan grew up in Los Angeles and attended Duke University, where she studied English. She has an MBA from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania and a brief history as an investment banker. She also taught novel writing at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Annabel now lives in the suburbs of New York City with her husband, three sons, and a little dog who sheds. Annabel MonaghanNora Goes Off Script, Annabel MonaghanA Girl Named Digit, Annabel Monaghan Double Digit, Annabel Monaghan On Gin Lane, Brooke Lea Foster The Love of My Life, Rosie Walsh  Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I chat with Diane Castro, owner of Sweet Home Books, about her dedicated customer base, the skills she's learned since opening her indie bookshop, places to visit in Wetumpka, and local authors. Diane Castro opened Sweet Home Books in downtown Wetumpka, Alabama, in May 2021. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and previously worked as a therapist for a non-profit organization. Diane feels blessed to be surrounded by a supportive family, including her husband Tim and their amazing kids, Tyler ( 20) and Ellie (18). Her favorite days are spent at the bookstore--sometimes working alongside Ellie, sometimes with one of her fantastic employees, and occasionally with her high-maintenance Goldendoodle named Bagel. Sweet Home BooksBel Canto, Ann PatchettBeartown, Fredrik Backman The Children on the Hill, Jennifer McMahon Other Birds, Sarah Addison Allen My Brother’s Faith, Carlton Fisher Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Melodie Edwards, host of The Modern West podcast, about how locals are being outpriced in the Wyoming real estate market, the evolving identity of the American West, and fun things to do if you find yourself in Laramie, Wyoming.Melodie Edwards is the recipient of the Public Radio News Director award for her investigation of the reservation housing crisis, several regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, and two Hopwood Awards for fiction and nonfiction. She hosts the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning and Peabody-nominated podcast The Modern West and co-owns Night Heron Books and Coffeehouse with her husband in Laramie, WY. Night Heron Books & CoffeehouseThe Modern West PodcastThe Lesser Known History of African-American Cowboys, The Smithsonian MagazineKiss The GroundEvan Graham Arango Talks about Regenerative Farming on The Bookshop PodcastAkorena & the League of Crows, Melodie EdwardsSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Jhoanna Belfer, the owner of Bel Canto Books in Long Beach, California.Bel Canto Books, is a proud woman- and BIPOC- owned independent bookstore. Founded by Jhoanna Belfer, a Filipina-American poet and former hospitality executive, Bel Canto Books offers a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, and children's books, organized around a theme of the month, in particular celebrating books by women and people of color. Bel Canto BooksSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I chat with Hillary S. Webb, PhD. about her new book, The Friendliest Place In The Universe: Love, Laughter, and Stand-up Comedy in Berlin, what led her to Berlin, and grappling with depression, fear, and anger after the election of Donald Trump.Hillary S. Webb, PhD. is a cultural anthropologist, author, and mixed-media storyteller. Her work explores how we human beings make meaning of this wonderful, terrible, ecstatic, startling, and often absurd world in which we live. Hillary gained an undergraduate degree in Journalism from New York University, an MA in Consciousness Studies from Goddard College, and a Ph.D. in Existential-Humanistic Psychology from Saybrook University. She’s worked professionally as a college professor, a journalist, and research director for an institute dedicated to studying the link between sound and altered states of consciousness.Hilary S. WebbHilary S Webb, Audio EssaysThe Meaning of Anxiety, Rollo MaySupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Ben Gunter, the owner of Dave's Olde Bookshop in Redondo Beach, California, about the pros and cons of gentrification in the South Bay, what he enjoys most about being an indie bookshop owner, and how he's evolving his business.Dave's Olde Bookshop A Gentleman In Moscow, Amor TowlesRules of Civility, Amor TowlesSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I caught up with Stephanie Stillo Ph.D. and Emily Moore from the Library of Congress about what's new with the Aramont Library, the definition of "modern book," what they've discovered about themselves while working with the collection, and an exciting symposium taking place next year!Stephanie Stillo is the Curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Graphic Arts Collection in the Rare Book and Special Collection Division at the Library of Congress. After receiving her Ph.D. in the Early Modern Atlantic World from the University of Kansas, Stillo served as the Mellon Professor of History and Digital Humanities at Washington and Lee University. There she taught classes on digital exhibition and design, public history, and digital storytelling. She also served as a CLIR/Mellon fellow in the Library of Congress’ Preservation, Research and Testing Division researching how preservation technology can reveal important historical information about the Library of Congress's rare book collection.Emily Moore is the Assistant Curator of the Aramont Library in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. With a BA in Art History and Cinema from the University of Toronto and an MLIS from the University of Maryland, Moore brings her passion for art into the world of archives, examining how production and process intersect with memory and object. At RBSC, you will find her processing the archive of book artist and publisher Walter Hamady or in the stacks, dreaming over the livre d’artistes of the Aramont Library.Library of CongressFrom The Vaults! Illustrating Langston Hughes  Man Ray's Revolving DoorsFrom The VaultsSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links