The Distracted Librarians, with the help of BTPL staff, laid out their favorite books, tv shows, movies, and music in the 2024 Favorites episode. Below is a list of all the titles mentioned with links to where you can find them.
From the Distracted Librarians discussion (in order of mention on podcast)
Wolfsong / TJ Klune
When Joe Bennett, a charming and handsome shapeshifter who is haunted by scars he cannot heal, returns to Green Creek three years after a murder sent his pack scattering, 26-year-old Ox can no longer ignore the attraction between them.
No-Girlfriend Rule / Christen Randall
When her boyfriend excludes her from participating in a roleplaying game, high school senior Hollie joins an all-girls group where an in-game romance has the potential to be more than just pretend.
Ambition Monster: a memoir / Jennifer Romolini
A deeply personal memoir about workaholism, the addictive nature of ambition, and the humbling process of picking yourself up when the world lets you down-an anti-girlboss tale for our times.
Warm Hands of Ghosts / Katherine Arden
In 1918, field nurse Laura Iven returns to Belgium to uncover the truth about her brother Freddie’s supposed death in combat, while Freddie, unable to return to the killing fields, take refuge with a mysterious man who has the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
Agatha All Along / TV series
A spell-bound Agatha Harkness regains freedom thanks to a teen’s help. Intrigued by his plea, she embarks on the Witches’ Road trials to reclaim her powers and discover the teen’s motivations.
Here We Go Again / Alison Cochrun
Two former best friends, Logan and Rosemary, who went ten years without talking to each other, reunite when their beloved former English teacher and mentor tells them of his dying wish for a cross-country road trip.
Mothership: a memoir of wonder and crisis / Greg Wrenn
Wrenn turns to the healing properties of nature in search of a cure for his complex PTSD.
Dune Part 2 / Movie
The mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
The Cemetery of Untold Stories / Julia Alvarez
Inheriting a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, celebrated writer Alma Cruz creates a graveyard for the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life, but they have other ideas as they rewrite and revise themselves, revealing their true narratives to those who will listen.
Make the Season Bright / Ashley Herring Bright
Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance.
Ditching her California life for the open road, a restless, semi-famous artist leaves her husband, child and career and reinvents herself in a motel room, embarking on a journey of self-discovery and what it means to be alive and free.
Unreal Unearth / Hozier / Music Album
The highly anticipated new album from the Grammy-nominated Irish singer-songwriter.
Recommendations from BTPL staff
Somewhere Beyond the Sea / TJ Klune
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one. He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes / Hisashi Kashiwai
We all hold lost recipes in our hearts, and a very special restaurant in Kyoto helps find them.
The Bright Sword / Lev Grossman
Arriving at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, a gifted young knight Collum, instead finds only a handful of knights left after the Battle of Camlann, and together, joined by Merlin’s apprentice Nimue, set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath / Moniquill Blackgoose
A young, Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy after bonding with a hatchling-and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things-in the first book of a brilliant new fantasy series.
The Facemaker : A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I / Lindsey Fitzharris
A biography of the plastic surgeon Harold Gillies with an emphasis on the development of plastic surgery during WWI.
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me / Jamison Shea
Striking a deal with the river of blood to take center stage in the Parisian ballet, Black dancer Laure gains everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward until she discovers, despite her vicious desires, she isn’t the only monster around.
True Detective Season 4: Night Country / TV Series
In Season 4, Elizabeth Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, former partners, join forces to investigate the mysterious disappearance of eight scientists from the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska.
I Love You So F***ing Much / Glass Animals / Music Album
The British band’s fourth album.
Songs of a Lost Album / The Cure / Music Album
After sixteen years, The Cure is back with their fourteenth studio album.
Faith Crisis Part 1 / Middle Kids / Music Album
Third studio album of Australian alternative rock band.
Walking Trees / Marie-Louise Gay
Illustrated children’s book that reminds us that-if we dare to imagine it-we can change the world, one tree at a time.
Epic: The Underworld Saga / Jorge Rivera-Herrans / Music Album
A soundtrack into Odysseus’ journey into the underworld.
Not recorded, but highly recommended from staff-member, Amy:
3 Body Problem / TV Series
Across continents and decades, five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges.
Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter / Kate Conger
In vivid, cinematic detail, Conger and Mac follow the inner workings of the company as Musk lays siege to it, first from the outside as one of its most vocal users, and then finally from within as a contentious and mercurial leader.
The Distracted Librarians can be found on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and PlayerFM.
Want to join the conversation? Email us at distracted@btpl.org
Many thanks to BCTV for their support in recording, editing, and releasing this podcast; and to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring closed captioning on every episode.
