Recently Returned: Recent Episodes
Wyndham City Libraries
A Wyndham City Libraries podcast talking about books and literature. Featuring special guest interviews, top ten lists, new and upcoming titles to watch out for, book recommendations, audio from our quarterly book panel Live with the Librarians and much more.
In the final episode of Recently Returned librarians Kirsty and Anita reveal their favourite reads from last year. We hear from other librarians and podcast listeners about their picks, and what Wyndham City Libraries members borrowed most in 2023!
Listen now to find out if one of your favourites made the list.
Transcript to come.
In this episode, librarians Kirsty and Johneen reveal their favourite reads from last year. We hear from other librarians and podcast listeners about their picks, and what Wyndham City Libraries members borrowed most in 2022!
Listen now to find out if one of your favourites made the list.
Full book list on the website, transcript to come.
In our final episode of the summer series we’re joined by Wren for a journey into the heart of New Zealand with her book recommendation. Listen to the end to find out how you can be part of our next big episode!
Transcript to come
Arthur loves stories, culture and food. He shares favourite recipe books. Arthur’s recommendations will bring a Summer of memorable and delicious shared meals and memories.
Lisa an avid and passionate reader shares her most challenging read this year and takes us down memory lane with a favourite title. Join us for a wonderful Sumer Reading recommendation and a very bad reading habit.
In this episode of the summer series, we’re joined by Declan, who has a darker summer reading recommendation for anyone who needs a bit of a respite from the holiday cheer.
Transcript to come.
Ever read a book on a long train journey that become a perennial favourite? Find out what book captured Emily’s heart as only books can. Books can be annoying sometimes and there is one that truly infuriated this keen reader. Join us for a wonderful Sumer Reading recommendation and another bad reading habit.
In this episode of the summer series we’re joined by children’s librarian Sandra who shares a cheeky secret reading habit with host Kirsty. Her recommendation for you is out of this world!
Transcript to come.
Aidan takes us on a journey of discovery and wonder as he shares tales from favourite and challenging graphic novels. He recommends an engaging but unexpected crime story to engross us over summer.
Recently returned is back for another summer of reading recommendations.
In this first episode of the summer series, podcast regular Anita spills the truth about her to-be-read pile and shares her refreshing summer reading recommendation. Listen to find out why a change is as good as a holiday.
Transcription to come.
In this episode of Recently Returned, librarians Kirsty and Johneen reveal their favourite reads from last year. We hear from other librarians about their picks, and what Wyndham City Libraries members borrowed most in 2021!
Listen now to find out if one of your favourites made the list.
Intro - 00:00
In-depth recommendations
- We Were Not Men - 01:02
- Magic For Liars - 05:15
Wyndham's Top Loans - 09:41
Staff favourites - 14:34
Full book list on the website, transcript to come.
Our youth librarians have taken over the podcast!
In this episode, hear some great Young Adult book recommendations ranging from contemporary fiction to conspiracy and dark fantasy. You can check out the library Instagram page @librariesinwyndham for #YABookOfTheWeek posts all year round.
Transcript to come.
Books discussed:
Can’t Say it Went to Plan / Gabrielle Tozer
Four Dead Queens / Astrid Scholte
Carry On / Rainbow Rowell
Ash Princess / Laura Sebastian
The River Has Teeth / Erica Waters
Kingdom of the Wicked / Kerri Maniscalco
In this episode librarians Kirsty, Margaret, and Troy recommend some graphic novels filled with adventure and emotion.
Check the library website for the full book list and transcript.
Main recommendations:
Spinning / Tillie Walden
On a Sunbeam / Tillie Walden
Saga / Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples
Fence / C.S. Pacat, illustrated by Johanna the Mad
Invincible / Robert Kirtman, illustrated by Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker
We’re back with more biographies and memoirs!
In this episode, librarians Kirsty, Emily, and Paulina discuss books which range from epic historical biographies to small, intimate portraits of life.
Books discussed:
Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior/ Catherine Hanley
Untwisted: the story of my life / Paul Jennings
The Erratics/ Vicki Laveau-Harvey
My Family and Other Animals/ Gerald Durrell
Assassinations That Changed the World/ Nigel Cawthorne
Travelling With Ghosts/ Shannon Leone Fowler
Visit our website for a full book list and transcript.
We turn the tables on Kirsty in the final episode of the Summer Series!
Join us as we chat about space travel and find out which remarkable Australian novel from 2020 Kirsty couldn’t put down. Remember to listen out for the codeword for your chance to win a copy of Kirsty’s pick.
Competition closes March 5 2021, T&Cs apply.
See our website for more info and an episode transcript.
Meet Fariha in the latest episode of out Summer Series.
Get ready to add a new book to your ‘to read’ list as Fariha recommends a powerful book about race, identity, and love by an award winning Nigerian author.
Remember to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition!
Visit our website for more information and an episode transcript.
Competition closes March 5 2021, T&Cs apply
https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/recently-returned-podcast
Elizabeth is our guest in the latest episode of our Summer Series.
Hear about Elizabeth’s Summer reading recommendation of a French crime novel that bends the rules of the genre and shines a light on the criminal underworld.
Remember to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition!*
www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/recently-returned-podcast
*Competition closes March 5 2021, T&Cs apply
Transcript available soon
Meet Eva in the newest episode of our Summer Series!
Discover which mischievous animal helped a family through challenging times, and hear about the changes Eva has seen during her time working at the library.
Don’t forget to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition*!
Transcript available soon
*terms and conditions apply, more information on our website
Viv is in the hot seat for the latest episode in our Summer Series!
Find out which super sleuth is on Viv’s list of favourite characters, and which book she can’t stop thinking about this summer.
Remember to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition!
https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/recently-returned-podcast
Competition closes March 5 2021, T&Cs apply
Emily joins us for the latest episode in our Summer Series!
Discover which fictional wizard Emily would choose to go on an adventure with and hear her summer reading recommendation for you. Don’t forget to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition*!
*terms and conditions apply, more information on our website
Meet Paulina in the newest episode of the Summer Series!
In this episode, Paulina recommends a very topical summer read for us, and we find out which character she likes reading about but would hate to meet in real life.
Don’t forget to listen out for the codeword for your chance to win a copy of this episode's book!
Transcript available soon
Meet Jenny in the newest episode of the Summer Series!
We find out the most interesting thing Jenny has learnt from a book in 2020, and she recommends her pick for our summer reading list.
Don’t forget to listen out for the codeword to enter the competition! *
Transcript available soon
*terms and conditions apply, more information on our website
Meet Gary in the second episode of our Summer Series!
After some fascinating answers to our rapid fire questions, Gary recommends a great political satire to add to your summer reading list.
Transcript to come.
Anita joins us for the first episode in the Summer Series; a set of mini-sodes where each guest answers a lightning round of book themed questions before recommending something great to read this summer.
In this episode Kirsty chats with guest librarian Tom about space travel, organs in bags, and all things science fiction.
Titles discussed:
Emergency Skin / N.K Jemisin
The Calculating Stars / Mary Robinette Kowal
To Be Taught if Fortunate / Becky Chambers
The Book of M / Peng Shepherd
The Pioneer series / Bridget Tyler
Exhalation/ Ted Chiang
Transcript available soon on the library website.
We dive deeply into biography and memoir in this episode as Kirsty is joined by librarians Paulina and Riki to discuss and recommend some heartbreaking and hilarious works of non-fiction.
Books discussed:
100 Years of Dirt / Rick Morton
I Want You to Know We’re Still Here / Esther Safran Foer
Talking as Fast as I Can / Lauren Graham
The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory / Corey White
Your Kind of Girl / Clare Bowditch
Educated/ Tara Westover
Visit the library website for a complete list of books mentioned, and the episode transcript.
Love is in the air!
Librarians Caroline and Emily join Kirsty for a discussion about the Romance genre, followed by recommendations for some romance books they've enjoyed.
*Recommendations start at 13:25
Books (and authors) discussed:
The Little Beach Street bakery by Jenny Colgan
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
Stephanie Laurens
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Ask, Tell by E.J Noyes
Author and ageing advocate joins Marcus Riley joins librarian Sophie for this special guest episode of Recently Returned. They talk about his book Booming - A Life-Changing Philosophy for Ageing Well; ageism; tips on staying healthy and happy entering the second half of your life; and how the current situation with COVID-19 is impacting our ageing community.
This podcast exclusive edition of Live with the Librarians was recorded remotely during the Covid-19 lockdown (April 2020). Librarians Anita, Kirsty, and Sophie share which titles have been keeping them busy, and where they are getting their books while the library doors are closed.
Titles discussed (in order of mention):
Persuasion/ Jane Austen
The Bone Houses/ Emily Lloyd-Jones
All the Wrong Moves: a memoir about chess, love, and ruining everything/ Sasha Chapin
The Ruin/ Dervla McTiernan
The Scholar/ Dervla McTiernan
The Good Turn/ Dervla McTiernan
Uprooted/ Naomi Novik
The Eyre Affair/ Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next series)
The First Stone: questions of sex and power/ Helen Garner
Monkeygrip/ Helen Garner
Consider the Fork/Bee Wilson
Upright Women Wanted/ Sarah Gailey
In this episode of Recently Returned, host Kirsty is joined by librarians Lachlan, Michaela, and Jess for a chat about LGBTQIA+ literature in honour of Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival.
Books discussed (in order of discussion):
The Men with the Pink Triangle/ Heinz Heger
The A-Z of gender and sexuality : from ace to ze/ Morgan Lev Edward Holleb
Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda / Becky Albertalli
Bold : stories from older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & intersex people / edited by David Hardy
Out of the shadows : reimagining gay men’s lives / Walt Odets
From prejudice to pride: a history of the LGBTQ+ movement/ Amy Lame
If the Shoe Fits/ E.J Noyes*
Growing up queer in Australia / edited by Benjamin Law
Also referred to: 'Ask, Tell' and 'Ask Me Again'* by E.J Noyes
This episode of Recently Returned is from our Live with the Librarians series. Initially broadcast live via our Facebook page on December 6, 2019, host Anita is joined by Librarians Anu, Jess, and Lachlan to discuss some of the books they’ve been reading, and what they're looking forward to next.
Titles discussed (in order of mention):
Lachlan
- Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
- The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power
- Bone China by Laura Purcell ebook
- Melmoth by Sarah Perry eaudio
- Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
- A Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
- Ghostland by Edward Parnell eaudio
- The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley ebook eaudio
Jess
- Toil and Trouble - Augusten Boroughs
- Braving the Wilderness - Brene Brown ebook
- Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire
Anu
- The Green Road by Anne Enright
- The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie ebook
- Don’t Stop Believing: A Memoir by Olivia Newton-John ebook eaudio
- I Am Change by Suzy Zail ebook
Also mentioned:
- We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Adichie ebook
- Running with Scissors by Augusten Boroughs
- The Haunting of Hill Houseby Shirley Jackson
- Becomingby Michelle Obama ebook eaudio
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Heart by Brene Brown ebook eaudio
- A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine
- Peter Wimsey Mysteries (series) by Dorothy L Sayers
- Have His Carcaseby Dorothy L Sayers
- The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers
- The Weekend by Charlotte Wood ebook eaudio
- The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood ebook
Download the Live with the Librarians episode transcript
In our spooky Halloween episode, librarians Anita and Kirsty explore horror literature: delving into what makes it different to its onscreen counterparts; talking about a few of their own favourites; and sharing recommendations from staff and from our listeners.
Books discussed:
Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy) by Mira Grant
The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
You by Caroline Kepnes
Let the Right Ones In by John Ajvide Linqvist
Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink
Southern Reach Trilogy/Area X by Jeff Vandermeer
Ballad of Black Tom (Novella) by Victor LaValle
Graphic Novels of Junji Ito
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Welcome to Recently Returned, a Wyndham City Libraries podcast about books and literature. In this first episode, librarian Kirsty introduces the series before we play the audio from a Live with the Librarians panel recorded on April 5 2019. Live with the Librarians is a quarterly Facebook livestream with a panel of librarians chatting about what they've read and are looking forward to next. To see all Live with the Librarians sessions, visit our Facebook page @LibrariesInWyndham or our website.
Visit the library website to download the Live with the Librarians episode transcript