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/

Press Release: Dragnet II - The Big Small

 The David A. Howe Public Library will be presenting a special audio drama based on the classic 1950s radio program Dragnet.

	Premiering April 30th at 7pm on the library's YouTube page and podcast feed, the Valley Theatre will be performing the episode The Big Small written by John Robinson and originally airing January 11, 1953. The cast includes Michael Blankenship as Sgt. Joe Friday and David A. Howe Public Library's own Eric Mikols as Officer Frank Smith. The two are returning to characters they played in a stage version of Dragnet for a 2010 production from Houghton College, directed by Nic Gunning. 
	The episode will be available through the library's YouTube page as well as in a special episode of the library's podcast The All the Books Show, available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Press Release: Write Me a Murder

The Valley Theatre returns with a staging of Frederick Knott’s twisty mystery Write Me a Murder directed by Nic Gunning.  Performances are set for Saturday, October 27, at 7pm and Sunday, October 28, at 2pm in the Nancy Howe Auditorium of the David A. Howe Public Library.

Frederick Knott, the author of the Hitchcock classic Dial M for Murder and the thrilling Wait Until Dark, was adept at taking the audience for an unexpected ride. In Write Me a Murder, the death of the Rodingham patriarch stirs conflict between two estranged brothers, one a playboy (Jeff Babbitt) and the other a successful author (Stephen VanValkenburg) called home by the family doctor (Alison Reusser). Sensing discord, an opportunistic businessman (Christopher Tetta) with designs on the family estate makes the Rodinghams an offer they can’t refuse. However, things become complicated when a story written by the younger Rodingham and the businessman’s wife (Joanna Bates) plants the seed for the perfect murder. If the would-be killer puts the story to practical use, they put everything at risk and will need to make sure they stay one step ahead of the cops (Christopher Winkens and Hannah Mills Woolsey) at all times. So, the question becomes… is there such a thing as the perfect crime?

Find out on Saturday, October 26, at 7pm and Sunday, October 27, at 2pm in the Nancy Howe Auditorium of the David A. Howe Public Library (155 N. Main Street, Wellsville, NY).  The performances are sponsored by the Friends of the Library and will be presented free of charge.

Joanna Bates sat down for an interview on the All the Books Show to discuss her experience playing Julie Sturrock.  Find it here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/off-the-books-write-me-a-murder

Book Review: Harry's Last Tax Cut

Harry's Last Tax Cut

by Jim Weikart

I came across this book when I ran a report for items in my library that have never circulated. We use them for a special Lonely Hearts Book Club segment on the library radio show, The All the Books Show. We take a look at the books and try to figure out why they haven't circulated. You can find the full episode about this here. 

This one has a goofy 90s cover that looks like a Biblical tract and is about a tax specialist who is also an amateur detective. I started reading samples and it just cracked me up. I was hooked. So I decided to sit down and read it cover to cover. 

It is the second, and last, of the the Jay Jensen mysteries, a sequel to Casualty Loss. I haven't read that but was able to keep up. The premise is that Jay Jensen and his bisexual business partner, Carol, get caught up in a tax related prostitution and murder scandal. Jay is the guardian of his nephew and niece whom he "inherited" after his brother's death. (Now, I think 'inherited' is a weird term to use, but it only adds to the charm.)

Jay makes dumb mistakes and falls in love while stumbling through an open murder investigation of an almost-business partner named Harry Sage. Harry had a mistress and his wife is in a cult, but don't worry about it. Meanwhile, Carol has fallen for the same woman as Jay (this happens instantaneously and irrevocably for both characters) adding hurt feelings and awkward conversations to a situation that is already beyond the job description of your typical enrolled-agent. (I don't know what that means either.) Jay Jensen makes his way through this twisty mystery meeting colorful characters such as the Johnsons, Judy, Jackie, Jennifer, Julia and Judith (different from Judy). Also, there's a Cheryl to go with the aforementioned Carol, but I'm getting bogged down. I think Jay sums it up best, "I seem to attract more than my share of trouble - tax trouble, that is."

Was this a mess? You betcha. Were mistakes made? Most certainly. Did it result in an intriguing mystery that kept me guessing the whole time? The answer is yes. Will I be reading book one? You know that I will. I think you should too. 

Also, at one point an embittered prostitute spits a human finger in someones face and that person then clumsily tosses it into a river. 

You're welcome.

Julia Spencer Fleming Visits the Library and The All the Books Show!

The first NYLA conference I attended was held in Saratoga Springs. My wife and son came along and since I had evenings free it felt like a mini vacation too. One of the guest speakers for the weekend was Edgar Award winning author Julia Spencer Fleming.  I was familiar with her work, but hadn’t read it.  Regardless, I was looking forward to meeting her.  I picked up a copy of her first book for myself and one for my mother-in-law. It was almost her birthday so I thought I’d see if Julia would sign them for me.

                She did and we had a nice conversation. I gave her my card and invited her to come do an event in Wellsville sometime.  She had some early connections to Western New York, so I thought that might be enough of a draw. I told her I would be in touch.

                Back at the library we did the first of her Clare Fergusson books for the book club and it was a big hit.  She was pretty popular with our regulars. I reached out via email to see if we could set something up.  After months of emails and proposed dates we finally found something that would work.  We set a date in March of 2017 and the promotions began. As part of the deal she also agreed to be on the All theBooks Show so Eric and I were excited and a little nervous about that.

                Eric and I mulled over the best way to do it.  We figured the simplest way would be to set up the podcast equipment backstage and do a quick Q&A before we started. Alternatively we could do it live on stage with the audience there.  That felt a little daunting, but the idea of doing a live podcast interview was too exciting. We settled on having her do her talk, then doing the podcast interview before taking questions from the audience. Eric could get it set no problem.

                Then, Eric had to go out of town for a funeral.  Obviously there was no warning on that and we had everything set. Still, we decided to press on and I would do it solo.  Eric set the equipment before he left and library staff helped with some of the logistics on the day of the event. I didn’t like the idea of him missing out so I did the next best thing and printed a picture of his face to hold up on a stick when he would normally talk. From my conversations with Julia, I knew she was a good sport and would play along.

                The interview went great. She really engaged with my questions and was a really game for jokes with the Eric sign.  She got a kick out of his delighted expression and “hipster beard.” Afterwards everyone hung around to get books signed and take pictures.  The whole thing went great.

We cut the interview into episode 85 of the All the Books Show, beginning at the 35 minute mark.  Take a listen.

https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-80-take-five-with-julia-spencer-fleming

Podcasting

     As soon as Eric came on board with me at the David A. Howe Public Library, I wanted to start up a podcast.  I knew he'd know how to do it and I thought it would be super fun.  He started in March of 2015 and it took us a few months to get it started.  All the Books aired it's first episode in August of 2015.  

     The format consists primarily of us talking about books we've read recently, followed by talk of new releases, discussing the NY Times Bestseller list, library news and a rotating segment.  We started with a Lonely Hearts Book Club selection, choosing Thinning the Turkey Herd by Robert Campbell in our inaugural episode.  In this segment, I choose a book from the stacks that has never circulated and we try to figure out what the problem was.  It's become one of our favorite segments.  Others include author and subject spotlights, giving first lines of classics and reading negative reviews of highly regarded books.  When we started we would record and Eric would edit the episode to streamline things and get the timing right.  Then once out of necessity we had to record and post right away with no time to edit.  We liked the energy that that brought and since then have left the episodes uncut (with a few exceptions.)  I think we've managed to find a pretty good audience and we even air weekly on the Angelica Radio Station.  Since we began there has been an episode every single week.  We most recently wrapped episode 31, a spotlight on Superman, just in time for the movie Batman V Superman to hit theaters.

    The podcast is a win-win because it's a popular program at the library, and it's something we look forward to every week.