Child of the Library: Recent Episodes
Mareike S.
Hi, welcome to the 'Child of the Library' podcast, where we discover the words on our shelves and in our hearts. I am Mareike, a 30-year-old book lover living in Germany, but mostly reading literature in English. In this podcast I share bookish stories, news and recommendations. Additionally, my two friends Jordanne from the 'Books To Last' podcast and Ruby join me in talking about popular books and series in our 'International Committee' format. If you would like to send me a collaboration request, a question, a comment, a recommendation request or a tip for an awesome read just write me an e-mail or a direct message on Instagram: childofthelibrary@gmail.com @childofthelibrary
This episode will be a very new format for me as I will react 'live' to what books I read are rated best and worst over on the bookish social media platform Goodreads.
I use it very religiously to catalog my reading and also my tbr, so if you are curious about that go check it out here: https://www.notion.so/childofthelibrary/The-Child-of-the-Library-Podcast-4bf6521faae24f93917fbd354be4744e
It would be lovely if you could rate my podcast on whatever platform you are listening to it - that would mean the world to me!
Yet again I was reminded why it is important to read. You sometimes stumble upon works of literature that just touch you, make you reflect and you never would have thought it would have the impact it had beforehand.
'Kim Jiyoung, born 1982' was one of these books for me. I loved it and can wholeheartedly recommend it. Go check it out!
Hey guys, 'Bridgerton' took the world by storm when Netflix decided to adapt its first book 'The Duke and I'. So I was very keen to make up my own mind about what I think of the 8 book series and its screen adaptation. While Netflix decided to intentionally do a few things differently, I will also dive deep into what I liked and maybe found a bit problematic with the book source material.
I hope you enjoy this episode, because I clearly had a lot of fun with!
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
The Duke and I - 3 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110391.The_Duke_and_I The Viscount Who Loved Me - 3 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/861326.The_Viscount_Who_Loved_Me An Offer From a Gentleman - 2.5 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9408584-an-offer-from-a-gentleman Romancing Mister Bridgerton - 4 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110384.Romancing_Mister_Bridgerton To Sir Phillip, With Love - 2.5 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110386.To_Sir_Phillip_With_Love When He Was Wicked - 4 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110396.When_He_Was_Wicked It's in His Kiss - 3 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110393.It_s_in_His_Kiss On the Way to the Wedding - 4 ⭐️ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110388.On_the_Way_to_the_Wedding
You've heard me talk about awesome series, great main characters and awesome plot lines. But this is the hall of fame for all those side characters, who are the hidden heroes within the main characters' stories. This is a tribute to their role in bringing the story forward, entertaining us and making us fall in love with them.
This episode is in partnership with Ana Luisa, whose 'Dobby' earrings inspired the topic of today's episode because Dobby is such an awesome secret hero as well. You can follow my personal link here, where you can easily find all the jewelry I talked about: https://shop.analuisa.com/childofthelibrary
!Spoiler Warning! I will talk about a few popular series and I will go into spoiler territory for the fate of the side characters, so please skip ahead if you want to avoid being spoiled for: 1) Dobby from the Harry Potter series 2) Rig from the Skyward series 3) The Arrow of Dodona from the Trials of Apollo series 4) Shigure Soma from the Fruits Basket Manga series 5) Zelle from the Girls of Paper and Fire series 6) Iko from the Lunar Chronicles 7) Steris from the second part of the Mistborn series
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Before January is over I wanted to take my chance and talk about how my past reading year went and what I have set out to do in 2022.
So many great books, I can't wait :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I really do love jewelry, but I am very happy that my life is not drastically changed by it like it happens for some bookish characters. Join me on this little expedition with some books I read over the years where that is exactly the case!
I am so happy to partner with Ana Luisa again for this episode! I got inspired for today's topic by their Rei Mother of Pearl earrings, the Hannah necklace and the Mecca Off White ring.
Get yourself and your loved ones the perfect gift with up to 40% off. You can follow my personal link here: https://shop.analuisa.com/childofthelibrary
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Come join my special guest Jordanne and me on a little Q&A session about my last year of podcasting. Thank you so much for everyone who sent in a question! You will also hear a little cameo from Randy who even sent in voice clips :D
My Goodreads with all my reading lists: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/66373224-mareike-from-the-child-of-the-library-podcast
Jordanne's Christmas special episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32lYuwT8m5PgZ6twGQgyWY
This episode was recorded at the beginning of December because we wanted to make sure that Jordanne's little one would have enough time to decide his birthday in peace :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I am so happy to partner with Ana Luisa for this episode! I got inspired for today's topic by their Capricorn necklace and wanted to recommend books fitting for each sign of the zodiac.
I LOVE Ana Luisa and had my eye on them for months now. Their pieces start at $39, and they are currently running the biggest sale of the year. You can get 60% off on the second item if you go on https://shop.analuisa.com/childofthelibrary
Here are the links to the books matching my recommendations:
CAPRICORN: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52578297-the-midnight-library AQUARIUS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give PISCES: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34895950-the-tea-dragon-society ARIES: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41886271-the-sword-of-kaigen TAURUS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860605-tokyo-ever-after GEMINI: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25526296-every-heart-a-doorway CANCER: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30319086-if-we-were-villains LEO: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27774758-an-ember-in-the-ashes VIRGO: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.The_Final_Empire LIBRA: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54017820-little-thieves SCORPIO: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22328546-red-queen SAGITTARIUS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28449207-strange-the-dreamer
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
It's so crazy that it is already December, where has the year gone?! Come chat with me about what has been going on in my life in the past couple of weeks, reading- and otherwise.
I am super excited for the upcoming weekends with one highlight being my best friend's new puppy that will arrive in the middle of the month. Come check out her dog photography Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamashinu_photography/
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
To be honest, sometimes I am not too invested in the games my husband plays. I bet that's a feeling that every backseat gamer knows too well. However, sometimes he tries to make it a little extra special for me and picks a game that caters exactly to what I like.
So in today's episode - inspired by the game 'Alan Wake' - we will talk about some books with open endings...you hate them or you love them...
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Hey guys, I am so excited to present you my 2021 Frankfurt Book Fair recap. It was so lovely to meet author Mark Tullius in person! I also talk about all the mystery books I read during the cozy fall season already. And I wanted to shout out the 'Alphanumeric' podcast as their promotion of new and established authors and their short-form literature perfectly matches a book I absolutely loved when I read it recently. Check out the episode for more info and click here if you want to know more about 'Alphanumeric': https://www.zoeticpress.com/alphanumeric
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I'm back in front of my microphone after my summer/wedding break in September and it feels so good.
Come join me while I talk about what I did for this bridal tradition on my own wedding day and combine these prompts with matching books.
It's going to be fun :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Hi guys, I am back after my summer and wedding break and I am super excited for today's episode.
It was recorded in August, so please do not be irritated that my now husband is still called my fiancé and that the Olympics are still running.
But I had so much fun to talk with Randy about the genre of stories and television that we both love so much. Come check out our collaboration episode over on his podcast where we talk about some cool theme parks we went to. You can find all his information on here: https://thestoryneverends.com
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Oh yes, Jordanne and I had a wonderful time talking about books, but our conversation lasted so long that I had to divide it into two parts for the podcast.
I hope you enjoy this part as much as the last. We have quite some controversial books to talk about, so stay tuned ;)
As we found out that we also like the same books we decided to do a buddy read of 'Skyward' by Brandon Sanderson and we are so excited!
Come check out Jordanne over on all her channels: https://jordannedunn.carrd.co
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
On my podcast I interviewed authors and spoke with people who want to get back into reading again. But today's episode is super special to me as I am talking with someone who is also an avid reader and book podcaster: Jordanne from the 'Books To Last' podcast!
As we talked about so many cool topics I divided our collaboration into two parts. This one will be about our reading goals of 2021, reading translated books and talking about learning foreign languages, as well as sharing our latest reads.
Come check out Jordanne over on all her channels: https://jordannedunn.carrd.co
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I am so excited for this episode because I have watched the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag for so many years in YouTube videos and now I finally have a medium to do it myself. Come join me on my way through the bookish questions for the first half year of 2021 and let's see what high and low lights I stumbled upon along the way!
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
你好! Have you ever had a plan for a creative project and then something comes your way and you throw all plans to the wind? That is what happened to me and my next episode plans when I read Chloe Gong's 'These Violent Delights'.
I enjoyed it so much and literally decided on page 1 that I want to talk about it very soon. Listen to the episode to find out why ;)
图书馆的孩子 -> that's 'Child of the Library' in Chinese, by the way :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
The Konmari method of organizing has become very popular ever since Marie Kondō published her book 'The life-changing magic of tidying up' and got her own Netflix show. But her recommendation to only keep 30 books for the sake of decluttering has kept quite a few book lovers shying away from that. Don't worry, there's a loophole, but what if I challenged myself to really narrow my bookshelf down to my top 30 picks? Check out this episode to find out ;)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Thanks so much for everyone who participated and sent over the first famous paintings they could think of! It was so much fun to interpret these masterpieces and see what first thoughts are being conjured...and then go to my Goodreads and match books that I am very excited to read. It was a great time for me and I hope that you will get a lot of very good book recommendations along the way :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
My fiancé and I recently watched a documentary about loneliness and how it has taken root more and more in our society, but is still a taboo to talk about.
This really got me thinking and I wanted to recommend some books that make you feel less lonely and give you the feeling of being included and follow along in the story. I hope they help you in case you do feel lonely and please be ensured that everything will get better eventually.
If you want to see my quote illustrations leading up to the episodes just follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
In this episode I will be interviewing American author Mark Tullius, who has plans to expand into the German market with his book portfolio.
We speak about his passions, what drives and inspires him to write, get to know a lot about his future publishing plans and we are even visited by his youngest cat Midnight (one of my personal highlights of the episode as you can clearly hear...Midnight even made it into the bloopers).
Check out Mark's website, podcast and social media here: https://marktullius.com/podcast/ https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkTullius https://www.instagram.com/author_mark_tullius/
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I love doing these episodes where I suddenly think about books that I have not thought about in years - and this one is no different. I read my 400th book last week and thought this would be the perfect occasion to talk about the good and the bad in terms of books that I encountered in the past 27 years. My German listeners will definitely recognize quite a few of them from my childhood ;)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I got the idea for this podcast episode when I watched the series 'Warrior' with my fiancé and while I was reminiscing on what moved me to switch my reading to mainly foreign languages I had a lot of really emotional memories coming back to me. I hope you enjoy this personal getting-to-know-me style of episode.
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Don't we all find ourselves wondering where time flies with all the media we consume? There is so much to choose from to occupy us with: Books, movies, TV shows, series, video games... At some point a lot of people start to focus on one or two of these for themselves, which is what happened with my fiancé and me. As each of us chose a different medium, we are now working on expanding the knowledge of the other in a field that he or she is not that familiar with...which automatically leads to discussions about what elements would make great adaptations in other mediums. This is what we want to think about today! We hope you enjoy it!
And just let us know if you want us to expand more on a certain genre through Instagram @childofthelibrary or e-mail.
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
What happens when a German reader and an American comic lover and comedy podcaster do a collaboration? In this case it means that Randy contacted and asked me whether I can help him to get back into reading and give tips and recommendations specifically catered to his taste and daily life.
We had so much fun doing this collaboration and we found out that we actually have quite a few things in common. But does this mean that he actually liked my recommendations? Give this episode a listen to find out ;)
And check out Randy's podcast! We have a special collaboration episode on there where we talk about embracing Asian cuisine when we were traveling there.
https://thestoryneverends.com/Topfive/ https://www.instagram.com/randomtopfive/
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I took a popular format on YouTube - the tag - and created a version that centers all around podcast making. In a so called 'tag' you formulate a set of prompts around a certain topic and then translate these prompts into fitting questions and answer them. If you want to hear what I mean, just give this episode a listen ;)
I really enjoyed making this and I think it shows in my voice when I talk about some of my favourite books. Enjoy!
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
I realized last month that the old way how I organized my bookshelves was not supporting me in picking my next read. So I did some shuffling around and found a new organization style that I quite like. It also cleared some shelf space that I could use for new books, which is why a mini book haul is also included in this episode. I asked a few family members and friends and got some really interesting answers on how they approach bookshelf organization. I hope you enjoy and get inspired from it :)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
In this episode I am reminiscing about why poetry has not played a big role in my life ever since high school and why I am now more interested to look into it again. Additionally, I look up how one of THE classic German poems that you need to learn by heart for school is called in English and have a minor life crisis on being 27 years old already ;)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
We probably all have a hard time every now and then to incorporate reading in our busy schedules. Or we might even encounter a period of time where we don’t feel like reading or start to believe that there are hardly any books we enjoy. I hope I can give you a couple of tips to fall in love with reading again and find the books that inspire you to pick up more. AND I introduce a new podcast section in this episode - so jump on in.
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
In January I always love to make a list of books I want to prioritise to read that particular year. Usually it turns out that there are more on my list than I can actually read. But hey, at least so I get to choose the ones from there that I am most in the mood for. Do you make a list of books you want to read in the year? Or do you prefer it per month, season or not at all?
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
What a year 2020 was...it definitely had an impact on all of our lives, but also my reading was affected. From decreasing commute times, a change in reading taste or the discovery of book podcasts and starting my own. In this episode I will recap it all and give you an outlook on what I plan to achieve in 2021. Wish me luck ;)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/
Everyone of us has had different influences that ignited the love of reading in us. For me it was quite a bumpy ride through my teenage years thanks Required Reading List but my mother and friends always kept that spark burning. I hope your journey was smoother ;)
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/childofthelibrary My StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/child_of_the_library_podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childofthelibrary/