The library is celebrating ten years of podcasting!

 We began recording episodes of The All the Books Show back in August of 2015 as a way to highlight the library collection and services. Shortly after, it was added to the schedule for the Angelica County Radio Station (where the current iteration still airs Wednesdays at 4pm). In 2016, we were awarded the Best Use of Social Media Award from STLS for our use of SoundCloud and other social media apps in conjunction with the podcast. After Eric Mikols (who served as Head of Youth Services from 2015-2020) moved on, the podcast began a new life as Howe's Things with an increase on author interviews and special guests. Then in 2023 Ally Fesmire (Youth Librarian 2021-Present) joined the show, which became ButHave You Tried, where she and I trade off trying new things like ukulele, needle point, cooking, and more!

 Since its inception the David A. Howe Library podcast has had approximately 100k listens! You can find back episodes on YouTube or any podcast app. It has been a great way to share unique things about the library and its collections.  And we've had a lot of fun doing it.

 To celebrate the tenth year, we have a special episode where Eric and I recreate the original show to discuss the best books since 2020. Thanks for Listening!

Direct Link: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/atbs-episode-276-the-phoenix

 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Mz6LDM42atGOoWoeA4Yel?si=066f608c6d674f7d

The current show, But Have You Tried: https://buthaveyoutried.podbean.com/

Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant-Sized Annual #4

 This year, Eric and I reunited for a special episode of Comic Book Coffee Break, discussing our favorite comics from 2024.  We had so much to cover we broke it into two parts!  

Here are some of the things we discussed: 

• Eric - 

• Movies/TV/Games

• Deadpool & Wolverine

• Marvel 

• Lee/Kirby FF

• Hellions

• X-Men Red

• X-Men ‘92 Krakoa

• Thunderbolts

• Maestro 

• Classic Daredevil

• DC- 

• Demon Knights

• Aquaman by Geoff Johns

• Flash/Impulse Marc Waid

• Batman & the Joker

• Batman Chip Zdarsky

• Others

• Science Dog

• Berserker
  
  

• Nic

• Movies/TV/Games

• Gotham Knights TV/Game

• Venom Last Dance

• Superman & Lois

• Joker Movies

• Penguin

• Games

• Spider-Man 2

• Star Trek Prodigy

• Marvel 

• She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell and Andres Genolet

• Phoenix Resurrection by Matthew Rosenberg

• Black Bolt by Saladin Ahmed

• DC

• Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonem

• Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby

• One Star Squadron by Mark Russell

• Bad Dreams by Nicole Maines

• Others

• Fire Power by Robert Kirkman

• Green Hornet: Sky Lights by Scott Lobdell

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

• 
  

• Quarter Bin Selection: 

• O So Long APC Puzzle from Batman 298

• The End

Find the episodes here:

CBCB Giant-Sized Annual 4.1

CBCB Giant-Sized Annual 4.2

Listen to Eric on Previously on X-Men!

Listen to Nic on This Endorian Life!

PLA Conference 2024

 

This year, I was awarded a full scholarship to attend the PLA Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I had never attended one before and was eager to check out the schedule of programs, guests and exhibitors. I found the app to be a useful tool as I sat down to plan my conference experience.

I began by pouring through the daily schedules and adding any session that grabbed my interest. Obviously, this resulted in a substantial overbooking of my time. I took another pass, focusing on sessions that spoke to initiatives I’d like to see about adapting for my home library as well as areas where I felt I could use some professional growth. Even after the culling, I still had a few sessions that overlapped, but I was close enough! Coffee in hand, I headed out for day one.

One that really stood out to me was called The Library as Studio: Why Original Content Is Important For Libraries Today and Tomorrow, led by Mary Kapusta and Casey Corneil. The concept of a library putting out original content was not wholly new to me. Here at the David A. Howe Public Library, we have had a podcast that also airs locally on FM radio since 2015. When the pandemic forced us to quickly rethink everything, I was very relieved that we already had the podcast as a programming outlet. It went on, unfazed by the shutdowns, and truly showcased its importance to the library overall.

As the speakers in this session covered, 2020 made us all start to look to video options. We did things we hadn’t done before and found that, some of them, we liked! While we’ve continued in some of these veins, video did not go on to become a major part of our output. This session made me question why. When discussing YouTube content, Kapusta and Corneil cautioned against treating it as an archive for content (often outdated) to languish. I did feel a little called out by that. Running through our
library channel in my mind as the session continued, I identified several things that I knew were there that shouldn’t be. 

They went on to express the importance of simple production values. Things like sound, clarity and camera work can often feel like afterthoughts, especially in live videos or quickie content. I appreciated some of their practical advice, and they really drove home the idea of making original content stand on its own. Aside from the podcast, I realized I considered a lot of our online and video work as just supplemental. I was really challenged to flip that and explore all that we might be leaving on the table.

                It was great to hear from a library and librarians who have found success in this area, and it was encouraging to look around and see so many people in the seats having the same realizations as me. Now, we are better prepared to charge forward. Let’s do it!

Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant Sized Annual #3

 Well now it's officially a tradition.  For the third year in a row, Eric and I reunited to talk favorite comics of 2023. Listen to Giant Sized Annual #3 on youtube or in the feed for Previously on X-Men. Here are some of my picks: 

• Movies/TV/Games

• The Marvels

• The Flash

• Shazam Fury of the Gods

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

• Marvel 

• Storm by Greg Pak

• Dark Web by Zeb Wells and Adam Kubert

• Amazing Spider-Man Beyond by Zeb Wells and Kelly Thompson

• Amazing X-Men: World War Wendigo by Craig Kyle and  Carlo Babiery

• DC

• Nightwing: Leaping Into the Night by Tom Taylor

• Superman: Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor, Nicole Maines and Cian Tormey

• Infinite Frontier by Josh Williamson and Alitha Martinez

• Wonder Woman: The Four Horsewomen by Steve Orlando, Jesus Marino and Keiran McKowan

• Others

• TMNT: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink by Brendan Fletcher

• Star Trek Discovery: Adventures in the 32nd Century by Mike Johnson and Angel Hernandez

• Quarter Bin: Action Comics #444 from 1975: “The Black Canary is Dead” art and story by Mike Grell, written by Elliot S! Maggin

------------------

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break: Giant Sized Annual #2

 New year, new episode of Comic Book Coffee Break! Eric and I settled in for our second annual episode of the show covering our favorites from 2022. And, of course it wouldn't be complete without a dive into my quarter bin. This time Superboy is in the spotlight with #99.

------------------

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Brake: Giant Sized Annual #1

After a nice, long break Eric and I returned to mic for a Giant Sized Annual edition of Comic Book Coffee Break. We covered our favorites of 2021 and I dusted off my long boxes for a a look at Adventure Comics #383 straight from the quarter bin. Tune in!

------------------

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library. 

Comic Book Coffee Break #54

  Thanks for joining me on my Comic Book Coffee Break!  Today I'm having Jockey Streets Three Falls blend coffee with cream and Vanilla.

It's been a minute, but I eventually finished my New 52 Superman reread.

DC Comics

I don't even remember why now, but I decided to do a reread of the New 52 Superman.  My memories were that It started clunky, but by the time I reached Final Days of Superman I was completely invested. I went back to see if I could capture that magic again, and found I really couldn't. 

Wait though. 

I was going to have my wife read along, but was only going to give her the necessary and/or top tier volumes to read.  That proved harder than I'd expected.  I did enjoy the second half of the reread, but I kept waiting for the one that knocked it out of the park and it just never really came. Still, when I got to Final Days, I found it just as moving. That Truth to Final Days stretch is some of my favorite Superman of all time.  The issue is that it's not any one volume or story. And taken piecemeal, it doesn't really hold up. It's a package deal, and you've got to be in the right place for it or it doesn't land. So it didn't really work to isolate the best stories from the era. I think what I like is deeper than that. It gets the essence of Superman and his core goodness better than most. 

Starting with Truth his powers are in decline, but he can't stop being Superman.  Not because of outside pressure or expectations, he just can't stop.  It's who he is.  Powers are irrelevant.  So he just keeps going, even when it stops being practical or realistic. 

Then you move into a false sense of security when powers are restored, only to be undercut with the events leading in to Final Days.  Again, I don't think this should really work, but for me it did. The final issues are incredibly moving and I found myself mourning the New 52 version of the character.  Even with the reveal that the original is back on the job, you still have to accept that the fact that the character you've been following since the Grant Morrison relaunch is just dead. And that's forever. 

What's stark about that is typically, when a character dies in comics, it's rare that real feelings are attached because you know it isn't going to stick. This is different though, because, yes there will always be a Superman.  Just not this one.  

And I liked this one. 

------------------

You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.
The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 
You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast and This Endorian Life, both for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 
I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.