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Discussing Hope House by Joe Bond

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 119

Join us for the podcast version of our book club! Carrie talks to author Joe Bond about his debut novel Hope House, which takes place at a group home for teen boys in Eastern Kentucky. Reading Hope House or another book about teens is one of the prompts on the Fall Books & Bites Bingo card.

Carrie and Michael then discuss the novel and suggest some readalikes for Hope House. And, of course, they share some recipes and snacks to pair with it. (No burnt beanie weenies here!)

Want to talk about the book in person? Join us on Monday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 pm. Registration is required.

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Get Informed for the 2026 Kentucky Midterms

Learn more about the midterm candidates and issues with help from online news sources and voting guides.

While most of the sources below focus their attention on national candidates, they may still be helpful for state and local candidates.

Some, such as Ballotpedia and Vote 411, provide voluntary surveys that can help you learn where a candidate stands on the issues.

more: Get Informed for the 2026 Kentucky Midterms

Prompt to Page with Joe Bond

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 61

Author Joe Bond thinks “it’s okay to struggle in the wrong direction for a while” with your writing.

It took Joe a long time to find his subject matter. But once he began writing about the boys in his novel Hope House, the stories—inspired by his experience growing up around group homes—came flooding back.

Joe doesn’t regret that initial struggle. “I learned a lot through my mistakes,” he says.

On this episode, Joe shares some of the moments and images that prompt his writing and offers tips for how you can learn to recognize those moments in your own life.

more: Prompt to Page with Joe Bond

Books about Heroes and Villains

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 118

It’s October, which means it’s time for fall reads, Comic Surge— and a new bingo card!

We cover all three with books about heroes and villains, one of the prompts on the Fall Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge.

Our picks include a modern classic with a literary villain, a YA dystopian novel, and a novel about the making of an epic superhero movie. Listen below!

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Prompt to Page with Melissa Scholes Young

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 60

If writing sometimes feels like a chore, author Melissa Scholes Young has some advice for how to change your outlook.

“I like to think about when I show up to my writing desk as sort of a date rather than a punishing part of the process,” she says, “and I wanna set that date the night before.”

That means setting out her favorite pen, journal, and coffee mug—all of which helps her look forward to her writing time.

Shifting perspectives is something Melissa likes to do in her work as well, and she shares a writing prompt that will help you think “bigger and then smaller about the world.”

She also discusses her new Lexington bookstore Bond House Books, the art of revision, and more. Listen below!

more: Prompt to Page with Melissa Scholes Young

9 to 5: Books about Workers or the Workplace

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 117

Summer bingo is winding down this month, and the Books & Bites team is back on the job with books about workers or the workplace.

Carrie talks to author Kayla Rae Whitaker about the role of work in her novel Returns and Exchanges, how she balances her writing life with a full-time job, and more.

Michael shares a horror story that will give a whole new meaning to your retail experience at big-box furniture stores. And Jacqueline reviews a YA romance about a teen who finds herself drawn back into competitive chess to help support her family.

more: 9 to 5: Books about Workers or the Workplace

Prompt to Page with Josh Boldt

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 59

Author and editor Josh Boldt knows how challenging it can be to find a publisher. “It’s just really hard to find the exact right fit that you need,” he says. “So the person out there that’s…feeling that way right now, I’m there with you.”

On this episode, Josh discusses Brown Hound Press, a literary magazine he started partly as a way to reach other writers like him.

He also shares a writing prompt that will help you get out in the world, something that’s important to his own creative process. Listen below!

more: Prompt to Page with Josh Boldt