All Episodes

Pick of the Week: Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen

Pick of the Week: Go Gentle by Maria Semple

Pick of the Week: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

Local Genealogists Speak: A Conversation with Dana

Pick of the Week: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

The Bookies' Must-Read Books of Spring 2026

Pick of the Week: The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

Local Genealogists Speak: A Conversation with Phil

Pick of the Week: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Pick of the Week: The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

Pick of the Week: How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh

Pick of the Week: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Local Genealogists Speak: A Conversation with Linda

Pick of the Week: Vigil by George Saunders

Pick of the Week: Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

Pick of the Week: The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead

Pick of the Week: Is This A Cry For Help? by Emily Austin

Local Genealogists Speak: A Conversation with George

Pick of the Week: The Silver Book by Olivia Laing

2025 Holiday Fiction Round-Up

Pick of the Week: Palaver by Bryan Washington

Connecting with Our Ancestors: A History of Spiritualism for Genealogists

Seeds & Our Immigrant Ancestors

What Do Seeds Have to Do with Genealogy?

Oscars Preview & The Year in Film

Bookies Talk: Welcome, Allie!

Bookies Talk: Author Crossovers

Bookies Talk: Historical Fiction Hot Takes

Bookies Talk: The Power of Book Clubs

Bookies Talk: New Historical Fiction

Bookies Talk: The ACOTAR episode

The Year in Film (2023) / Oscars Recap

Bookies Talk: Immersive Stories

Bookies Talk: Bandits, Babies, and Brendan Slocumb

Bookies Talk: Our Favorite Titles of 2023

Libertyville Celebrity Spotting Part 2 (1943-1960)

Bookies Talk: Family Stories & Surprising Legacies

Bookies Talk: Meet Mary (Again!)

Bookies Talk: Reaching Out

Bookies Talk: Small Town Stories

Bookies Talk: Unexpected Delights

Bookies Talk: Summer Reads for Everyone

Libertyville Celebrity Spotting Part 1 (1845-1942)

Bookies Talk: New Faces and Old Favorites

Bookies Talk: Book Club Selections & Two New Murder Mysteries

Early Women-Owned Businesses of Libertyville

Bookies Talk: Thrillers, a novella, and a self-made widow

The Year in Film (2022) / Oscars Recap

Need a Reading Reboot? Let us help!

Runaway Animals in Libertyville

5 Unique Ways to Connect with Your Library

The Year in Film (2021) / Oscars Recap

Fresh Start Books

Our Favorite Books of 2021

All in the Family

Centennial Stories: Cook Library's First Forty Years

Hauntingly Good Books

Fall Book Buzz

Everything you need to know about the 2021 Summer Reading Club

The Year in Film (2020) / Oscars Recap

Women of Cook Library

Happiness Guaranteed: Romance Recommendations for Valentine's Day

Our Favorite Books of 2020

Publishing During A Pandemic: A Conversation with Skip Dye of Penguin Random House

Author Ariel Lawhon on Nazi-killing socialite spy Nancy Wake

CMPL Podcast Presents: A History of Racism in Libertyville and the North Shore (part 3)

CMPL Podcast Presents: A History of Racism in Libertyville and the North Shore (part 2)

CMPL Podcast Presents: A History of Racism in Libertyville and the North Shore (part 1)

Phil Christman on Being Midwestern

10 Movies to Stream on Hoopla Right Now

The Past is Present: Dr. Norma Munson

The Year in Film (2019) / Oscars Recap

Our Favorite Books of 2019

The Past is Present: Headlines! Libertyville Edition

A Final Update on the Aspen Drive Library Expansion

Horror Book Recommendations

Authors Out Loud: Gemma Hartley - Fed Up

Books We Are Excited About / Ways to Discover Upcoming Books

Update on the Aspen Drive Library Expansion

Authors Out Loud: Suzanne Slade on writing Children's Nonfiction

"Be A Voter!" - A guide to the April 2nd local election

The Past is Present: 3 Women of Libertyville

The Year in Film (2018) / Oscars Recap

Up Lit Adult Winter Reading Club

Our Favorite Books of 2018

Authors Out Loud: Jenn Segal - Once Upon A Chef

Bookies Recommend: Fall Reads

Authors Out Loud: Juliet McDaniel - Mr. & Mrs. American Pie

Great American Reads: Brooke reads Ghost

Great American Reads: Jo reads A Prayer for Owen Meany

The 200th Anniversary of Frankenstein

Locally Sourced: Chris from My Flavor It! Place talks about The Devil in the White City

Bookies Recommend: Beach Reads

Authors Out Loud: Catherine Price on How To Break Up With Your Phone

The Past is Present: The Forgotten Influence of Samuel Insull

National Library Week - What does a librarian do?

Book Pick: Educated by Tara Westover

The Year in Film / Oscars Recap

Authors Out Loud: Chris Harris - I'm Just No Good at Rhyming

The Aspen Drive Library Expansion Project

Reading Resolutions

Our Favorite Books of 2017

Authors Out Loud: Jac Jemc

Genealogy at the Library

Authors Out Loud: Mark Russell - The Flintstones

Ep. 50: Authors Out Loud - Annie Spence: Dear Fahrenheit 451

Ep. 49: Authors Out Loud - Gail Lukasik: White Like Her

Ep. 48: The Past is Present - Murder at Cook House?

Ep. 47: Meet the Bookies - Jo

Ep. 46: Teen Lit for Grownups

Ep. 45: Authors Out Loud - Elizabeth Berg

Ep. 44: Bonus Features - Growing Up Smith & One More Time With Feeling

Ep. 43: Meet the Bookies - Ellen

Ep. 42: The Past is Present - Why are we called Cook Memorial Public Library?

Ep. 41: Meet the Bookies - Lindsay

Ep. 40: Locally Sourced - Paul from GRIL talks about Your Best Life Now

Ep. 39: Meet the Bookies - Nate

Ep. 38: The Past Is Present - Frederick Grabbe and Libertyville's Spring Water

Ep. 37: Meet the Bookies - Becky

Ep. 36: Authors Out Loud - Mystery Writer Lori Rader-Day

Ep. 35: New at the Library - Text Notifications & 3D Printing

Ep. 34: Meet the Bookies - Andrea

Ep. 33: Book Pick - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Ep. 32: A librarian's perspective on fake news

Ep. 31: Quick Draw - Dept.H

Ep. 30: Oscars recap and a review of the year in film.

Ep. 29: Marlon Brando's coming of age in Libertyville

Ep. 28: Quick Draw - Cook Korean!

Ep. 27: Local Book Pick - Libertyville Illustrated

Ep. 26: Quick Draw - Kate Beaton

Ep. 25: Thanksgiving Special Edition

Ep. 24: Bonus Features - Hunt for the Wilderpeople & Sing Street

Ep. 23: Halloween Special! Investigating the spooky legend of The Gate

Ep. 22: The Past Is Present

Ep. 21: Locally Sourced - Ana from Orinoco Fitness talks about The Alchemist

Ep. 20: Olympics Book Pick- The Boys in the Boat

Ep. 19: The new studio recording space at Cook Park

Ep. 18: Summer Reading Club recap and a look at what's ahead

Ep. 17: Locally Sourced - John from Pizzeria Deville talks about The Little Red LIghthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

Ep. 16: Locally Sourced - Dave from Firkin talks about Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Ep. 15: Book Pick - The Vinyl Detective

Ep. 14: It's. Nice. Outside. & Jim Kokoris

Ep. 13: Locally Sourced - Tom from Hansa Coffee talks about Kitchen Confidential

Ep. 12: Book Pick - Everybody's Fool

Ep. 11: The Raven Cycle

Ep. 9: Book Pick - Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ep. 8: Pick of the Week - Four Seasons in Rome

Ep. 7: Quick Draw - The Influencing Machine

Ep. 6: How do I know if this book is right for my child?

Ep. 5: Oscars Recap

Ep. 4: Processing Go Set A Watchman as we remember Harper Lee

Ep. 3: Book Pick- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Ep. 2: Book Pick - The Road to Little Dribbling

Ep. 1: Book Pick- The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend