The Bookshop Podcast

Send us a textIf you have children to buy books for, this is the episode for you!  Flashlight Books is an independent bookstore located in Walnut Creek, California. Owners Shoshana Smith, Marian Adducci, and Gigi Reinheimer are dedicated to promoting a sustained love of reading in children and see the bookstore as a community-focused space that celebrates curiosity, passion, and learning.Shoshana Smith (originally from Brookline, MA) and Marian Adducci (Homewood, IL) met in college. Both moved to the Bay Area in 2011, where they both worked at The Reading Bug in San Carlos, CA, and decided the bookstore life was for them. In 2017 they teamed up with Gigi Reinheimer, and the three founded Flashlight Books which opened in Walnut Creek, CA, in late February of 2019. Shoshana loves to read young adult and romance, Marian's favorite genres are fantasy and middle grade (especially when based on mythology), and Gigi loves literary fiction and mysteries.Flashlight BooksOne Life, Megan Rapinoe The Unexplainable Disappearance Of Mars Patel, Sheela Chari Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish, Pablo Cartaya Bodies Are Cool, Tyler Feder Eyes That Speak To The Stars, Joanna Ho Chex Bob, Bob Shea Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, Lisa Yee Yummy: A History Of Desserts, Victoria Grace Elliott Frankie & Bug, Gayle FormanThe $150,000 Rugelach, Allison Marks I Must Betray You, Ruta SeppetysMirror Girls, Kelly McWilliams Gear Breakers, Zoe Hana Mikuta Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao  Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textChristopher Finan is NCAC’s executive director. He previously served as president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFE), the bookseller’s voice in the fight against censorship. He has been an advocate for free expression since 1982. Prior to joining ABFE, he was executive director of Media Coalition, a trade association that defends the First Amendment rights of producers and distributors of media. He is a former chair of NCAC and Media Coalition. He was a trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation and received its Roll of Honor Award in 2011.A native of Cleveland, Chris is a graduate of Antioch College. After working as a newspaper reporter, he studied American history at Columbia University where he received his Ph.D.He is the author of From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America (Beacon Press), which won the 2008 Eli Oboler Award of the American Library Association. He also wrote Alfred E. Smith: The Happy Warrior (Hill and Wang) and edited National Security and Free Speech: The Debate Since 9/11 (IDEBATE Press), a reader for high school students. The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation honored the latter with its First Amendment Award. His latest book is Drunks: The Story of Alcoholism and the Birth of Recovery (Beacon Press).Chris is married to Pat Willard, author of several food histories, including America Eats! On the Road with the W.P.A.–The First Fries, Box Supper Socials, and Chitlin’ Feasts that Define Real American Food (Bloomsbury).  They have two sons and live in Brooklyn.Christopher M. FinanNational Coalition Against CensorshipHow Free Speech Saved Democracy, Christopher M. FinanSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I chat with Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer and general manager at the Boulder Book Store in Boulder, Colorado. I asked him about the plethora of local authors, such as Jon Krakauer and Stephen Graham Jones, hiking, books in translation, and Allen Ginsberg’s time in the Boulder community.Arsen received the 2006 Gordon Saull Award for outstanding bookseller from the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Maeve Conran and Arsen Kashkashian host the monthly KGNU-Boulder Book Store Radio Book Club.Boulder Book StoreReprieve, James Han Mattson Marcel ProustBreakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman CapoteTo Break a Covenant, Alison AmesStephen Graham JonesKaye GibbonsPercival Everett Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel, Anthony Doerr Burntcoat: A Novel, Sarah Hall The Temps, Andrew DeYoungStephen King Joe Hill Stargazing, Jen Wang John Krakauer The Trojan War Museum: and Other Stories, Ayse Papatya Bucak The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Emily Wilson Gloriana: Or, The Unfulfill’d Queen, Michael MoorcockSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textRuthie Marlenée is a Mexican-American novelist, screenwriter, and poet born and raised in Orange County, California. She earned a Writers’ Certificate in Fiction from UCLA and is the author of Isabela’s Island, Curse of the Ninth, nominated for a James Kirkwood Literary Prize and Agave Blues from which an excerpt A Good Tabernero Listens is nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Ruthie MarlenéeThe Human Stain, Philip RothThe Tortilla Curtain, T.C. BoyleThe Vanishing Half, Brit BennettWhere The Crawdads Sing, Delia OwensSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textFiona Dutrayn is the owner of Damn fine Bookstore in Lyon, France. The bookshop offers an international selection of books in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, along with a cafe. You can find the bookshop online at damnfinebookstore.com.   Damn Fine BookstoreA Stopover In Lyon: The Adventures Of The Three Storks, Alexandra Horvath & Stephane Perraud Plain Bad Heroines, Emily M. Danforth We Ride Upon Sticks, Quan Barry CIRCE, Madeline Miller Normal People, Sally Rooney Conversations With Friends, Sally Rooney Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste NG Milk Fed, Melissa Broder Good And Well Restaurant, Lyon Sept ´Epices, Lebanese Restaurant, Lyon Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textAfter reading James Nestor's book, Breath, I had plenty of questions. James and I chat about his approach to research and writing, what it's like to swim with sperm whales, breathing through your nose, and his upcoming breath retreat in Costa Rica.James Nestor is an author and journalist who has written for Scientific American, Outside, The New York Times, and more. His latest book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, was released May 26, 2020 by Riverhead/Penguin Random House and was an instant New York Times and London Sunday Times bestseller. Breath explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly--and how to get it back. Breath spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the first year of release, and became a bestseller in Spain, Italy, Germany, and Croatia. Breath will be translated into more than 35 languages in 2022. Breath was awarded the Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was a Finalist for Best Science Book of 2021 by the Royal Society. Nestor has spoken at Stanford Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, the United Nations, Global Classroom, and appeared on more than 60 radio and television shows, including Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the Joe Rogan Show, and more. He lives and breathes in San Francisco. James NestorInstagram: instagram.com/mrjamesnestorFacebook: facebook.com/mrjamesnestorTwitter: twitter.com/mrjamesnestorI Am Water FoundationTEDx Talk - James NestorPROJECT CETISupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textThis episode is about children's books, from picture books to YA readers. We've got you covered!In October of 2016, Melissa Music & Stephanie Cannon created The Story Shop, an independent children's bookstore, in Monroe, Georgia. The Story Shop is a place where reading, imagination, and celebration are experienced and appreciated daily. The Story Shop is co-managed by creative director Lisa Dibble and director of operations Lauren Brown.The Story Shopthe-story-shop.square.siteTiny T. Rex And The Impossible Hug, Jonathan Stutzman, Jay FleckSong For A Whale, Lynne KellySkin of the Sea, Natasha BowenDream Animals, Emily Winfield MartinBooks by Sara O’LearyFablehaven, Brandon MullWithin These Lines, Stephanie Morrill  Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textBooks and TV series have kept me sane during the past few years. Two series that pop into mind are The Durrells in Corfu and, more recently, Around the World in 80 Days. As the credits rolled by, I smiled when I saw Steve Barron's name pop up as episode director multiple times. My mind drifted back to the 80s when I’d been lucky enough to work on a few music videos Steve directed out of Limelight Production in Los Angeles. Steve was one of the good guys, a gentleman who didn’t scream or pout, and due to his background in the camera department, he understood and appreciated film crews.  Steve Barron started in films as a camera assistant on epic productions such as Richard Donner's Superman, Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far and Ridley Scott's The Duellists. He began directing what were known in the UK as promotional videos in the early eighties for bands such as The Jam, Human League, and Adam & the Ants.  In 1982 he conceived and directed the award-winning Billie-Jean music video, the first single from Michael Jackson's incredible Thriller album. More seminal videos followed, and at the 1986 MTV Awards, Steve’s work was acknowledged when Dire Straits' Money for Nothing won Best Video, and A-Ha's Take On Me was awarded Best Director.  Steve’s cult classic film Electric Dreams was released in 1984. His second film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1986), stunned the industry by becoming the first independent feature to break the $100 million theatrical mark. Steve directed other features, including Coneheads, Rat, Mike Bassett: England Manager, and TV network mega-series Merlin, Arabian Nights, Dreamkeeper, and Treasure Island, all garnering him a slew of awards, including 27 Emmy nominations, 5 Gold Globe nominations, and a DGA nod.Oh, and he’s also a hemp farmer!Steve Barron IMDBEGG N CHIPS & BILLIE JEANAround the World in 80 DaysThe Durrells in CorfuSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textHave you ever wanted to know what makes a first edition book valuable, apart from the obvious?! Let me introduce you to Harvey and Louis Jason, the father and son team behind Mystery Pier Books. Turn through an unexpected entryway on the famed Sunset Strip, proceed down a few stone steps, then just a bit further through a slim, magical passage tight out of old Europe, and be met with blooming flowerbeds fronting a charming English cottage that might well have been plucked from Stratford-upon-Avon. Oh, and this cottage is filled with first edition books!Mystery Pier BooksSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with author and short story writer Nadia L. King about her decision to open up about her past, her love of indie bookshops, and her interesting path from a finished manuscript to a publishing deal.Nadia L King is an Australian author of Indian and Irish descent. She is a children’s author and award-winning short story writer who believes passionately in the power of stories to make the world a better place. Her books include Claire Malone Changes the World, The Lost Smile, Claire Malone Makes a Friend. Can the Real JR Stand Up, Please? and Jenna’s Truth. Nadia is currently undertaking postgraduate studies in English and creative writing. She lives in Western Australia with her family and an ever-expanding collection of books. Nadia L. KingNadia's booksNadia's books available from Paper Bird, Western AustraliaThe Bottle of Scent, Nadia L. King, Short StoryFreedom from Violence and Lies: Anton Chekhov’s Life and Writings, Michael C. Finke Books in Homes The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World, Peter Wohlleben      Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links