This week Carrie and I traveled to record at the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion, which is a Victorian era mansion built in 1871, with 12-foot ceilings, hand-carved wood balusters, and intricately designed colorful wallpapers. It has been preserved and enveloped by the campus of Spalding University and is the location of their School of Creative and Professional Writing and home base for today’s guest, debut novelist Katy Yocom.

Our guests today are members of a group they comicly refer to as a “literary gang”, a book club called The Monstrous Regiment, a name based on a book by author Terry Pratchett that features a feminist manifesto.

Our guest this week, Robert Eric Shoemaker, likes art that defies categorization. He is drawn to literary experiences that he would describe as “all kinds of crazy”. He is a poet, playwright, and translator who is the artistic director of Poetry Is: A Sound Experience, a collaboration between musicians and poets to create an event where the audience interacts with the performance in a way that perhaps makes poetry more accessible.

Our guest this week, Anne Bogel, is a fellow Kentuckian, as well as the person thousands of readers turn to for new book recommendations with both her popular book and lifestyle blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy and on her podcast, What Should I Read Next. On her blog, you can sign up for book journaling classes, be part of a monthly online book club or read lifestyle articles like her tips for cozy sweater care. Her podcast examines the reading life of her guests and suggests new titles for them based on their favorites as well as a book they love to hate.

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.