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PODCAST

Beyond the Desk

West Allis Public Library

A West Allis Public Library podcast about books, resources, lifelong learning and what makes this Milwaukee area community great. Join WAPL librarians as they chat with fellow staffers, authors, neighbors and each other about stories that moved them—and that they hope will inspire you.

arts books

All Episodes

00:28:52

The Frozen River

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/10/24

Staffers Sarah, Karen and Emily talk about The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, the historical novel follows the 18th-century midwife as she delivers babies, prepares to testify in court, and deals with a patriarchal culture in her small community in Maine. Also mentioned: A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and the documentary A Midwife’s Tale.Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and

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00:31:50

Secrets of the Nile

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/09/26

Librarians Sarah and Brynne discuss the Secrets of the Nile duology featuring What the River Knows and Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez. The historical fantasy novels follow Inez from Argentina to Egypt, where she seeks answers about her parents’ deaths. Along the way she discovers magical objects, adventure and romance.Also mentioned: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie and the movie adaptation from 2022, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, Dinner with King Tut

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00:33:58

Beautiful Ugly

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/08/27

Librarians Desirae and Sarah talk about the atmospheric thriller Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. When a writer’s wife goes missing, his career stalls. Then his agent gives him an opportunity to start fresh on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. But it’s filled with secrets and mysteries, and he begins to see his wife everywhere.Also mentioned: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, the movie The Wicker Man, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, and

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00:31:30

Saltwater by Katy Hays

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/07/28

Librarians Desirae and Sarah talk about this suspenseful novel that follows a woman trying to uncover the truth of her mother’s death 30 years prior on the Italian island of Capri. On an annual family visit there, one of their party goes missing, and the decades-old case gets reopened.Also mentioned: The Cloisters by Katy Hays, The White Lotus TV series, Revenge TV series, The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins, Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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00:36:32

Q&A with Harini Nagendra

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/06/26

Sarah, a librarian at WAPL, interviews Harini Nagendra, author of the Bagalore Detectives Club Mystery series. Her most recent novel, Into the Leopard’s Den, takes amateur detective Kaveri Murthy to the mountains of Coorg while investigating a series of murders.Also mentioned: The Bangalore Detectives Club, Murder Under a Red Moon and A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra; Tommy and Tuppence mysteries by Agatha Christie; Sherlock Holmes books by Arthur Conan Doyle; Baroness Emma Orczy; the Wyndham

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00:32:36

Sunrise on the Reaping

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/05/28

Librarians Katie and Sarah chat about Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. This Hunger Games prequel follows Haymich Abernathy as he navigates his way through a Quarter Quell, in which twice as many tributes compete in the Hunger Games. It’s a worthwhile page-turner with an emotional punch.Also mentioned: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Battle of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins; The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and the TV series; the movie Mean Girls; and

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00:35:02

Q&A with Meg Kissinger

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/04/25

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so Sarah sat down to talk with Meg Kissinger, author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence. Meg grew up in a large family, and some family members struggled with bipolar disorder and depression. But even as they struggled to understand what was happening, they were a close-knit clan whose humor helped them cope with loss.For more about Meg, visit megkissinger.com. To request her book from the card catalog, go

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00:46:45

The Twilight Saga

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/03/28

Librarians Desirae and Katie sit down to discuss the lasting impact of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series.Works mentioned: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Midnight Sun, Forever Dawn, and Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer; The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan; Looking for Alaska by John Green; The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld; Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling; The movie Avengers: Infinity War; The Fast and the Furious

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00:27:33

The Women

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/02/28

West Allis resident Tammy joins WAPL staffers Sarah and Karen to discuss the bestseller The Women by Kristin Hannah. It tells the story of Frankie, a sheltered young woman who joins the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam and encounters difficulty reacclimating to civilian life upon her return.Also mentioned: The TV series M*A*S*H, about the Korean War; the movie Born on the Fourth of July; the TV series China Beach; The Nightingale and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel

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00:46:14

Representation in Romance

Beyond the Desk ·

2025/02/02

Librarian Desirae and library assistant Bianca sit down to discuss the importance of representation in romance and highlight three of their favorite reads.Works mentioned: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf, Electric Idol by Katee Robert, and How to Dance by Jason B. Dutton. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

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00:27:48

The God of the Woods

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/12/26

WAPL staffers Desirae, Sarah and Karen discuss The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. This standout literary mystery follows the disappearance of a teen in the same woods where her brother went missing years before.Also mentioned: Long Bright River by Liz Moore. Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org. Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

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00:33:09

Great Reads 2024

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/11/25

Katie, Desirae and Sarah talk about their favorite reads of the year. We suggest thrillers, nonfiction, graphic novels and more.Works mentioned: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston, America Redux by Ariel Aberg-Riger, All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews, the movie Lady Bird, The Wedding People by Alison Espach, the movie Table 19, and A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat, The Tea Dragon Society by K

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00:38:21

Audiobooks

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/10/28

WAPL librarians Desirae and Sarah are joined by Jenn from Brown Deer Public Library for a discussion on why they love audiobooks. They talk about some of their favorites, including ones featuring terrific solo narrators as well as those with a full cast.Works mentioned: The Wedding People by Alison Espach; The Storyteller by Dave Grohl; From Cradle to Stage by Virginia Hanlon Grohl; Surrender by Bono; Me by Elton John; the movie Rocketman; The Teacher, Never Lie, The Inmate and Ward D by Freida

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00:25:39

Death at the Sign of the Rook

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/10/01

Librarians Desirae and Sarah discuss Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries, including the most recent, Death at the Sign of the Rook. They also chat about other character-driven mysteries and TV series.Works mentioned: Death at the Sign of the Rook; Case Histories; One Good Turn; When Will There Be Good News?; Started Early, Took My Dog; Big Sky and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson; the movie Knives Out; the TV series Case Histories and Downton Abbey; The Hunter by Tana French; the Cormoran

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00:29:34

TBR Guilt

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/09/05

Librarians Meagan and Sarah talk about the guilt and angst of their TBR lists as well as books they are looking forward to reading ... someday. They also talk about how author events can be fun—and add to the TBR pile.Books mentioned: Perfect World and The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, True North and Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, No One Belongs Here More Than You and All Fours by Miranda July, One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware, and Little Labors by Rivka

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00:23:04

Teen Takeover

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/07/26

Librarian Katie talks to four members of the library’s Teen Advisory Board, or TAB, about books they are reading this summer. TAB is made up of students in grades 7-12 who earn volunteer hours by helping plan library programs for teens and working on library projects. Titles discussed include: Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Also mentioned: Good Girl, Bad Blood by

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00:49:56

Manga

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/06/26

Episode 41: MangaLibrarian Desirae and library patron Bryan discuss the ever-widening world of manga, including manga basics, their favorite series, and tons of reading recommendations! Also mentioned: Manga/Anime – Bleach, Cat Massage Therapy, Death Note, Delicious in Dungeon, Fist of the North Star, Frieren, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Joshiraku, K-On!, A Man & His Cat, My Hero Acadamia, Naruto, Nichijou, One Piece, Spy x Family, and The Way of the House Husband. Movies – Dune and My Neighbor

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00:31:33

Q&A With Hannah Morrissey

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/05/29

Sarah talks with local author Hannah Morrissey about her thrillers Hello, Transcriber; The Widowmaker; and When I’m Dead. They comprise the first three books in the Black Harbor series set in a fictional Wisconsin city along Lake Michigan.

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00:26:56

Tana French’s The Hunter

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/04/26

Librarians Desirae and Sarah discuss The Hunter, Tana French’s latest novel which follows characters introduced in The Searcher. In The Hunter, Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the town.Also mentioned: In the Woods, The Likeness, The Witch Elm and Faithful Place by Tana French; True Grit by Charles Portis; Shane by Jack Schaefer; the movies Kill Bill, Tombstone and Maverick; the TV shows Westworld and Dublin Murders; the Jackson

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00:28:24

Come and Get It

Beyond the Desk ·

2024/03/26

Staffers Sarah, Meagan and Tiffany chat about Come and Get It, Kiley Reid’s follow-up to her bestseller Such a Fun Age. Come and Get It is a campus novel about money that follows a resident assistant in the dorms, a professor with questionable ethics, and a transfer student with a complicated history.Also mentioned: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality by Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Laura T. Hamilton, and Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess. Check out

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