The coziest season is upon us, so the Keep It Fictional librarians have chosen some books to go with your cozy beverage of choice. Also play along with our "Cozy, Not Cozy" game. Books mentioned on this episode: The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee, translated by Sandy Joosun Lee The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi, translated by Jesse Kirkwood The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett...
Oct 15, 2024•58 min
In this week's episode, an Aries, a Gemini, a Cancer, a Scorpio, and a Pisces share a book that they think embodies their star signs. What's your star sign, and what book would you recommend? Books mentioned on this episode: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet and Why We're Followi...
Oct 08, 2024•58 min
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation takes place on September 30 to honour the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. Please join the Keep It Fictional Team in reading works by Indigenous authors. Books mentioned on this episode: Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson, Tilly and the Crazy Eights by Monique Gray Smith, And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott, and...
Oct 01, 2024•48 min
We continue our 200th anniversary episode with more existential questions: What book would you make every book friend read? How much influence does your book friends' recommendations actually have on your reading? Do you plan what you read ahead of time or see what your mood takes you? We also played a game of "how well do we know our book friends", and of course, we had to debate questions like what qualifies as a fantasy book, what animals do we not care to read in books, what's the point of s...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 21 min
1085 books and 9607 minutes later, we have arrived at our 200th episode of the Keep It Fictional podcast from the Port Moody Public Library. Thank you, listeners, for joining us in the past four years, and we hope we'll get to spend many more with you. For this special 200th episode, you will not only get to hear from Corene, Emma, Sadie, and Virginia, but also from three former book friends, who have come back for a reunion! We are so thankful that they have made the time to join us for a trip ...
Sep 17, 2024•58 min
Long time listeners know that we are big, big fans of books in translation on Keep It Fictional. As September is National Translation Month, we dedicate this episode to all translators and publishers that specialize in translation. Thank you for all the work you do! Books mentioned on this episode: The History of My Sexuality by Tobi Lakmaker, translated from Dutch into English by Kristen Gehrman, His Name Was Death by Rafael Bernal, translated from Spanish into English by Kit Schluter, and The ...
Sep 10, 2024•55 min
Emma and Virginia finally got a chance to do an entire episode on the series Bungo Stray Dogs! This series is especially dear to them because it has introduced and inspired them to seek out many classic Japanese authors, whom they will talk about today. They are a bit insufferable because they love this series so much, so thanks for listening! Books mentioned on this episode: The Poems of Nakahara Chuya by Nakahara Chuya, translated by Paul Mackintosh and Maki Sugiyama, Tangled Hair: Selected Ta...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 18 min
This week, we hear from Emma and Sadie about the books they are looking forward to reading this Fall. You can expect heists, assassins, queer relationship stories, and lots of cats. Books mentioned on this episode: Latin America Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara, The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C. M. Waggoner, Invisible Kitties: A Feline Study of Fluid Mechanics or The Spurious Incidents of the Cats in the Night-Time by Yu Yoyo, Translated by Jeremy Tiang, The Dagger and the Flame by C...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 2 min
For the next two episodes, we are going to talk about books we are excited to read coming out in the last quarter of the year. Of course, as you can imagine, Corene and Virginia are going to bring two very different sets of books to the table today. Books mentioned in this episode: Overstaying by Ariane Koch, translated by Damion Searls, Real Ones by Katherena Vermette, The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington, Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur, Model Home by Rivers Solo...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Is romance dead? Not on Keep It Fictional today! Corene, Emma, and Sadie dive deep today into all things romance, from what they like about the genre, to how they feel about the many tropes in romance fiction. Books mentioned on this show: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley, Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong, and A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole.
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min
We will be mixing it up today and taking on the persona of a book friend and reading one of their favourite genres, subjects, or formats. What are the lessons learned from this exercise? We shall find out! Books mentioned on this episode: Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen, Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen, A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, and Flying Witch by Chihiro Ishizuka.
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Perhaps the strangest Keep It Fictional experience yet... Corene, Sadie, and Virginia have to read a book that have characters with the same names as them. Books mentioned on this episode: I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang, Corinne by Rebecca Morrow, and The Chandelier by Clarice Lispector, translated by Benjamin Moser and Magdalena Edwards.
Jul 30, 2024•50 min
For our 193th episode, we are finally going to tackle Westerns. We also discussed how to get out of a reading slump. Books mentioned on this episode: Frontier by Grace Curtis, A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon, True Grit by Charles Portis, and Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson.
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 6 min
We read historical fantasy, Sadie's favourite genre mashup, and share some feelings about trains, clothes in Medieval times, romantic leads named Ralph, and people on the internet. Books mentioned on this episode: The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks, The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker, The Last Heir to the Blackwood Library by Hester Fox, and A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur.
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr
Are two heads always better than one? Today, Corene, Emma, Sadie, and Virginia finds out by reading a book that is co-written by two or more authors. Books mentioned on this episode: Bury the Lead by Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti, Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel, My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton, and Ghost Roast by by Shawnee Gibbs and Shawnelle Gibbs, illustrated by Emily Cannon.
Jul 09, 2024•55 min
Corene, Emma, and Virginia dive into the mysterious world of Booktok today. Are you a fan of Booktok and do you read books popular on Booktok? Books mentioned on this episode: Carrie Soto is back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, A Shameful Life (also known as No Longer Human) by Osamu Dazai, translated by Mark Gibeau, and Bride by Ali Hazelwood.
Jul 02, 2024•56 min
2024 is the year of the dragon, so we thought we would do a dragon episode. Find out what happens when two librarians who are pretty "meh" towards dragons read a dragon book. Books mentioned in today's episode: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill and When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker.
Jun 25, 2024•30 min
Sadie assigns us to judge a book by its colour today. What is your favourite colour? Will you read a book just because the cover has your favourite colour? Books mentioned on this episode: The Blizzard by Vladimir Sorokin, translated by Jamey Gambrell, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan, and Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs.
Jun 18, 2024•40 min
Let's travel back in time to... 2023. What are some books we didn't get to that we finally read for today's show? Books mentioned on this episode: Homecoming by Kate Morton, Grave Expectations by Alice Bell, and Blackouts by Justin Torres.
Jun 11, 2024•42 min
Happy Pride Month everyone! Pick up a book by the many amazing 2SLGBTQIA+ authors in June (and all year around, of course). Books mentioned on this episode: The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag, Antiman by Rajiv Mohabir, Family Meal by Bryan Washington, and In the Form of a Question by Amy Schneider.
Jun 04, 2024•51 min
Is the best present for a book lover a book? In today's episode, Corene, Emma, Sadie, and Virginia read books gifted to them, and discussed what makes a perfect gift. Books mentioned: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, and Beyond the Curve by Kobo Abe, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter.
May 21, 2024•59 min
Our long-time listeners will be familiar with our "most anticipated upcoming releases" episodes, where we talk about books we are looking forward to reading. Sadie wonders, how many of these "most anticipated" books did her book friends actually end up reading? Well, at least one, since she is making us read one for today's episode. Books mentioned on this episode: The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence, HellSans by Ever Dundas, and The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams.
May 14, 2024•55 min
It's just three of us today, so in addition to telling you about the books we read for this Asian Heritage Month episode, we also sneak in a few bonus reading suggestions. Books mentioned on this show: The Lantern and the Night Moths edited and translated by Yilin Wang, Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
May 07, 2024•49 min
Here are some more upcoming releases Corene, Emma, Sadie, and Virginia are looking forward to this season. Plus, find out what is the best book each of them has read so far this year. Books mentioned on this episode: Cicada Summer by Erica McKeen, Dark Wire by Joseph Cox, Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong, Funeral Nights by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer by Faith Erin Hicks, Toward Eternity by Anton Hur, Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi, and The ...
Apr 23, 2024•40 min
It's that time of the year again for us to look forward into the future to see what books have the potential to be our favourites of 2024. We will be talking about books coming out in May, June, July, and August in 2024. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week. Books mentioned on this episode: Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer, Yona of the Dawn Volume 41 by Mizuho Kusanagi, The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin, Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa and translated by Stephen B. Snyder, The Bri...
Apr 16, 2024•45 min
Today, we talk about the book equivalent of a "turducken": genre mashups. Do the authors we read for today have the chops to mix things up and create something amazing? Let's find out. Books mentioned on this episode: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, Yona of the Dawn series by Mizuho Kusanagi, Perdido Street Station by China Miéville, and Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister.
Apr 09, 2024•57 min
Celebrate National Poetry Month with us and check out a poetry collection or a novel in verse from your local library. Books mentioned on this show: The Carrying and The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon, Gay Girl Prayers by Emily Austin, The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson, Root Fractures by Diana Koi Nguyen, and Crushed Wild Mint by Jess Housty.
Apr 02, 2024•49 min
We welcome all tea and non-tea drinkers to another episode of Keep It Fictional! This week we dive into Sadie's obsession and read books with tea in it. We also try to figure out what tea we would be, if we were a type of tea. Books mentioned on this episode: The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill, The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton, The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly, and The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard.
Mar 26, 2024•50 min
This week, we explore one of Emma's obsessions and read books about warrior women, real and fictional. Books mentioned on this show: The Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera, The Best Bad Things by Katrina Carrasco, Madame Fourcade's Secret War by Lynne Olsen.
Mar 19, 2024•46 min
How does an episode on books about families lead to a discussion on dinosaurs? Find out in today's Keep It Fictional Book Chat. Books mentioned on this episode: Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis, The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh, Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth and translated by Charlotte Barslund, and The Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich.
Mar 12, 2024•55 min
