There is a saying, “If you want a happy ending, read a cookbook”. Our guest, Laura Lucchese, is in a book club that always ends well because her group reads and then produces a group meal from cookbooks.

James Beard, the great culinary expert said, food is our common ground, a universal experience. In our mind, to bring books and food together is a match made in heaven.

Our guest today is what Mr. Rogers would call a “helper”. I first saw William Sutton on Louisville MetroTV, where he was interviewed about his work with children and it was obvious that he was something special. William works in the children’s department of the Portland branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system. Portland is one of the largest neighborhoods in Louisville and one that has a long and rich history.

This is a rebroadcast of an interview we did in late October with Michael Drury, the artistic director of a Pandora Productions. I thought this would be a great time to rebroadcast because Pandora Productions has a new musical currently on the stage called Choir Boy that will be performed until January 25. This interview had an impact on me because it inspired me to see their show, Fun Home, which I liked so much that I was at the new show’s opening night last weekend. It completely opened my eyes to the incredible productions local theater can bring to the community.

We are so excited to introduce you to our guest today, Rheonna Nicole, a spoken word artist and poet. 4 years ago she started an all female poetry slam In Louisville KY called Lipstick Wars. She started in a small theater that holds 600. That filled up and the next year she filled another theater that held 1200. This year Lipstick Wars is being held in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, a venue that holds more than 2300 people. Rheonna is a woman who will not take no for an answer. She is an example of how persistence and dedication pay off.

Today we talk with guest, Amanda Ciejko, the creator behind the book blog, The Lexington Bookie. She works with horses as part of her day job but being a voracious reader is her hobby. .She even has the horses listening to her audiobooks. Amanda shares with us how a New Year's resolution helped her create her blog, why sometimes she needs a recovery period after finishing a particularly wonderful book, and how publishers recruit readers to help create buzz for their new releases. The world of social media and the internet play a big part in our guest’s story.

And as this is our last episode for the season and we are in the middle of the holidays, we wanted to give you a feel good show. Today we are talking Little Free Libraries. Have you seen the cute little boxes of all colors and sizes on posts where you just open the door and you can take a book? Is there one in your neighborhood? The Little Free Library national movement is 10 years old this year and we wanted to celebrate this anniversary by exploring the movement in our community with our 2 guests this week. Mary Sullivan is a master builder with Metro United Way who spearheaded the Little Free LIbrary movement in underserved neighborhoods of Louisville which now includes 42 little libraries. Joan Dubay is a retired teacher who implemented a Little Free Library at her church and continues to maintain it by adding upwards of 50 books a week to the library.

Our guest this week, Kara Evans, is a transplant to Louisville by way of New Jersey and Atlanta and was looking for a fun way to meet new people. She is a healthcare consultant specializing in technology but her hobbies have always included reading and movies. So she decided to create a book and movie club called Books Going to the Big Screen which can be found on the platform Meetup.com, a site with a plethora of different kinds of groups you can join in any geographical area.

Our guest today is a history buff who has taken his interest in the past to a whole new level. Mick Sullivan is a history educator at the Frazier History Museum and is in charge of their youth and family programs. But he is also the creator of the children’s history podcast, The Past and the Curious, which Common Sense Media lists as one of the best podcasts for kids.

We are now just a few days before Black Friday and the start of the crazy holiday shopping season. We are all book lovers here which means chances are high we will all probably buy a book or related gift for at least 1 person on our shopping lists. Carrie and I plus our guest today, Bri Esposito, are here to help. Bri has been the marketing coordinator for Carmichael Books, Louisville’s oldest independent bookstore, for the last few years and puts together their holiday buying guide.

Today’s guests, mk Eagle and Hannah Elliott, are librarians at Louisville’s new Northeast Regional Library’s branch and also coordinate much of the adult programming system-wide. They started a program 4 years ago called Books and Brews 502, which is just like the LIbrary’s summer reading program for kids but in this case an awesome winter program for adults that can include beer, coffee, and food.