Debra, Megan, and Lance settle in after a long week for a looser, after-hours recording. The conversation drifts through Emporia Kansas events, Comic Con memories, merchandise ideas, and the podcast’s unexpected international reach, with side tangents that stretch from Bob Ross to Scooby-Doo. Another chance to spend time with the hosts outside the usual book talk. Well…for the most part.

Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.

Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.

Print and ebooks

https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks

Audiobooks

https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks

If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read.

You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com

Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community.

📖 The Covered Pages

American Fantasy by Emma Straub

The Egyptian Book of the Dead by E. A. Wallis Budge

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Absent by Brendan P. Bellacourt

Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

Will the Pigeon Graduate by Mo Willems

You’re On Your Way by Melanie Watt

Marcie and the Giraffe by Kim Gregory

12 Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu

A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Independent Bookstore Day is almost here, so the shop is in prep mode. There are plans for a costume event for kids, raffle prizes, local authors coming through, and a couple golden tickets hidden somewhere in the store. In between all the planning, the trio still finds time to give the rundown.

When a bookstore turns an event into something interactive, does it bring people in or just add to the noise around it?

Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.

Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well.

Print and ebooks

https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks

Audiobooks

https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks

If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read.

You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com

Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community.

This chapter centers on Independent Bookstore Day at Middle Ground Books, with plans for a costume event, raffle prizes, local authors, and a couple golden tickets hidden somewhere in the store. Megan, Lance, and Debra talk through what’s coming together, what’s already in motion, and what they’ve been reading in the middle of it all, from mystery and horror to a few unexpected standouts.

📖 The Covered Pages

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Vicious by V. E. Schwab

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Delvers LLC by Blaise Corvin

Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan, Debra, and Lance open with a Comic-Con recap before moving into a National Poetry Month reading. They explore haiku from Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki, selections from Shel Silverstein, slam pieces by Taylor Mali and Mike McGee, and Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est.” The conversation also includes original Midwestern poetry from Kerry Moyer and a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Bed in Summer.” This special episode releases after the Comic-Con video production timeline, with the full convention footage now available on YouTube.

Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are.

📖 Physical books and ebooks through the shop’s Bookshop page

https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks

Audiobooks

https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks

If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read.

You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at the shop at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com.

Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community.

📖 The Covered Pages

Haiku (Amber Books illustrated collection) by Matsuo Bashō, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, Masaoka Shiki

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Haiku Kaiju Achu by George McClements

“Labeling Keys” by Taylor Mali

“Open Letter to Neil Armstrong” by Mike McGee

“Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen

“Bed in Summer” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Poems by Kerry Moyer

Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.