Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Books and Bites
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
4_23 Books and Bites
===
Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Books and Bites podcast. Each month we bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them. I'm Carrie Green and I'm here with my co-hosts, Michael Cunningham and Jacqueline Cooper.
Michael: Hello.
Jacqueline: Hi.
Carrie: And today we're talking about books set in or about Appalachia,
one of the prompts on the Books and Bites Bingo reading challenge, and one of our colleagues, John David Hurley, is sitting in with us today. John David, do you wanna tell us a little about yourself?
John David: Yeah. My name is John David. I'm from Mount Vernon, Kentucky which is in the foothills of Appalachia.
And so I'm always happy to talk about Appalachia. And yeah, I work here at the library and I'm usually helping put books away, putting movies away, and it's an incredible job and I'm just happy to be here .
Carrie: Well, we're happy that you joined us and joining you, you have a [00:01:00] little friend.
John David: Yeah. On the podcast, you all can't see him, but I have a possum, not a live possum, but a stuffed possum here.
His name is Bert and he is named after one of Kentucky's governors Bert T Combs who was governor from 1959 to 1960. And he's most famous for coming into the governor's office and been a proud mountain governor that he was brought his experiences with him and he helped build roads, build hospitals, and build schools and helped modernize the state of Kentucky that it is today.
And I thought, well, Burt would be a great name for this little guy . So, but yeah, ,
Carrie: he kinda looks like a Burt.
John David: It kinda looks like a Burt. Yeah.
Carrie: So John, you wanna tell us a little bit about the books that you'd like to recommend for a book set in Appalachia or about Appalachia.
John David: Yeah, I'm gonna recommend three books and I think these three books are just really good fillers and really good primers for those who are interested in Appalachia.
And one of them is like just a personal favorite of [00:02:00] mine. I love politics and I love history. So the third one which I'll get to in a minute is about like the politics of Appalachia in the sixties, but the first one I want to recommend is What You're Getting Wrong about Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte.
This book is more of an activist history of the region. It's a very short book. It's about 100 pages. And it's a response to JD Vance's book, Hillbilly Elegy. And this one is not really meant for academics. It's more geared towards anybody who wants to come away from The stereotypes that they have about the region, and look at it from a person who, who has lived there, who is from there, and who has an in-depth look about it.
The book covers everything from the stereotypes that JD Vance's book conveys in his book to what is Appalachia really like? What are the mountains like, what is home like, what does The people there view about the mountains and the beauty of the mountains and what does the people think about coal minings.
So you really go into this book and I think the stereotypes that you have, especially if you're not from Appalachia, are really kind of [00:03:00] busted. She really just lays it bare and lets you kind of like conclude what you think about the region.
Carrie: Yeah. As I was mentioning before, both Michael and I have read this book.
I know I talked about it on the On Books and Bites a while ago. Did you also talk about it?
Michael: Probably mentioned it like just in. Not passing, but like we never really discussed it, I don't think.
Carrie: But it is a, I mean, I definitely agree. It's a great, it's a great primer in history and it's not, because it's so short.
John David: Yeah.
Carrie: It's not overwhelming.
John David: Yeah. There's, there's a lot of books that are in the same stream as her book. Some of them are mainly academic. Some of them are definitely more for people who are non-academic. But I feel like this is the best book to kind of get like just a good introduction into the region, the people and the land.
And why are these stereotypes so bad? Why are they so wrong? And, and so I feel like I feel like if you wanna know about Appalachia, definitely go with this book and [00:04:00] start with this book. We have it here in the library. I've seen it, and it's a really great book. So, mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Yeah. The second book is written by the late great bell hooks who
was this writer from Eastern Kentucky and a lot of her writings dealt with the issues of masculinity, feminism dealt with the issues of what does it mean to be a person in this country. And she was a black woman who also identified as queer, but towards in the middle part of her career, she sat down and she wanted to know what does it mean to be a person from Appalachia, from Eastern Kentucky.
And the book is called Belonging as the subtitle was a culture of place, and it really looks at this defining question of what makes a person a person, what. Makes a person have an identity. Like what does it mean for bell hooks to identify as a hill person, from a person from Appalachia? And for some there's right now a big movement of young Appalachians like myself and countless others of how do, how can we identify as Appalachian and a [00:05:00] culture that.
isn't Appalachian friendly? Where do we fit into the picture? Where do we come to the table? And for those who are from Appalachia or who have friends who are from Appalachia, or even if you know anyone who's like struggling for this sense of identity this book, in my opinion, is probably a great book to start at cuz it's really just about how do you identify and what does that
identification matter. What does it mean to be an Appalachian? And this book is very personal to bell hooks. It's one of, it's a semi autobiography piece, but it's also, I think, A defining voice in the region. So much of our Appalachian books sometimes tend to leave black voices outta the matter or tend to leave queer voices outta the matter.
And this one really sets the standard and says, Hey, there's more voices in this debate than than what we're used to. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And my last one, this one is a, a favorite of mine. I'm a big John. I'm a big Kennedy person. I joke with my friends. I'm an amateur Kennedy historian, and a lot of times we [00:06:00] tend to forget that the Kennedy's, especially Robert F.
Kennedy, had a very personal interest in Appalachia. And so before he ran for president and before his untimely assassination, he actually visited Eastern Kentucky and he held congressional hearings. He met with people he almost got shot by a coal operator who did not like a Kennedy stepping on his property.
And it's really a story of not just Robert F. Kennedy, but the story of this region trying to really come out of the stereotypes and trying to come out of the Great Society and New Deal era to be. We just Robert F. Kennedy. Matter of fact, in this book, he says, you know, I'm not wanting to give everybody a handout.
I want to give people a hand up. I want them to be the people that they are meant to be. And so this book is told mainly through the people who were there with Robert F. Kennedy. It's towed through the eyes of Robert F. Kennedy, who is no longer here, but left so much papers behind. And it really tells a story about this region [00:07:00] struggling with exploitation of land, exploitation of the people, but also their hopes and how they found hopes in this one, this this guy who could have been president, and how the death Robert F.
Kennedy kind of dashed those hopes. Matter of fact, the book even starts out with a poem. I'm not gonna read it, but it's called The Dreamer, and it talks about this, this guy from Massachusetts who is rich. Had all the money in the world, but dreamed of building a better, better country and a better Appalachia for all people.
And by all the counsel in this book, Robert F. Kennedy, left that three day trip in eastern Kentucky a very changed man and believing that he could do something for the people of Appalachia that other people couldn't. But I recommend this book that the title's called All This Marvelous Potential by Matthew.
And I recommend that all these books are here and I recommend that you read these. I think they're very good. And I think if you're going with these books hoping that they kind of bust your [00:08:00] stereotypes I think they will do that. And I know they've helped me kind of form my own identity and my own voice, and I recommend them to anybody.
So, Yeah.
Carrie: Great. Well, thank you so much for the recommendations.
John David: Oh, you're welcome.
Carrie: I, I'm curious. Because I know Michael and I have talked about it before. And haven't read it. Have you read Hillbilly Elegy?
John David: I read
it in college. It was a required textbook and I kind of forgot a lot of the things that are in the book, but I do remember reading it and kind of talking about it in class and feeling this sense of, cuz you're a college student, I think these emotions are valid.
You're kind of reading this sense of rage of how can someone who isn't from Eastern Kentucky, from that immediate context mm-hmm. Come and take what isn't his. And his only prescription for that been we should just let the culture there die. And the other problem I was reading about this in preparing for this[00:09:00] this podcast is that the other issue is that JD Vance and his book, he leaves out
other voices in this matter. He leaves out people like bell hooks and Elizabeth Catte. He leaves people out like oh, I can't remember his name, but he's considered the grandfather of African American Appalachian, Bill Turner. He leaves out people like Bill Turner. He very much leaves out this forgotten activist history of Appalachia.
And he says, mm-hmm. , it's their fault. It's the government's fault. And. I'd like to remind people that Appalachia hasn't asked for government handouts. We haven't asked to be stereotyped by Hollywood. What we've asked is to be understood and to get the help to build a better region. And the problem with JD Vance is that while his story could be part of that Appalachian unit of,
you know, the opioid epidemic has essentially killed all families in Appalachia. What That could be a uniquely Appalachian story. But the problem with his [00:10:00] book is it almost feels like he comes into an area that's not really his. And when the floods hit out there, he did nothing for the people of Breathitt county.
He really left them out of the picture. Didn't talk about 'em on Twitter or anything. But the problem with JD Vance's book and people wanna read it, I think it's good to read it critically. We have a book here that wrestles with that book, Appalachian Reckoning. I also recommend that one. But the problem with that book is that it really leaves.
It really forgets the history and the people of the land and the region of the land. And it forgets why we're in this puzzle, why we're in this conundrum of why is the region poor, why is the region stereotyped, why is the region ignored? And if the policy solution is to let the region continually be ignored and isolated.
that's not good. There's a lot of talk right now in the region of what is the future of Appalachia, what is the future of Appalachian literature? [00:11:00] What's the future of Appalachian folklore? What's the future of Appalachian activism and Appalachian politics, and Appalachian history and Appalachian culture.
And it's not, it should not be, let it die. It should be, we should let it live. We should preserve it. But we should also fight to sustain it for the future because there's a lot of young people in Appalachia, who the Herald Leader just did a, a great piece about this who have determined to stay there,
rebuild it and fight for it unto Kingdom comes and, mm-hmm. . I think if people wanna read the book, read it critically read it with, you know, read it in contrast with what you're getting wrong about Appalachia. Read it with Appalachian Reckoning. Read it with those, those words in mind. And that's probably the unfortunate thing about books like JD Vance's, is it leaves out the, the true history, the the true voice of Appalachia and it, and he inserts himself as the voice, and that's not how that should work, so. Mm-hmm. . .
Carrie: Yep. All right. Well, thank
you.
John David: Oh, [00:12:00] you're
welcome.
Michael: For the Appalachia prompt this month I chose a true crime book called Blood Runs Coal, The Yablonski Murders, and the Battle for United Mind Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley. Taking place mostly in Central Appalachia during the late sixties and early seventies this book looks at Joseph “Jock” Yablonski in his insurgent presidential campaign to cleaning up the rampant corruption of the United Mine Workers of America, his subsequent murder, and the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators and conspirators.
It begins with John L. Lewis on the verge of retiring from the presidency of the UMWA. He's a larger than life character that's worshiped by the minors in the Union. One that he, he's built into one of the most powerful labor unions in the country, winning miners shorter working hours, a welfare or retirement fund, and hospitals and worker safety.
He was so revered by the U M [00:13:00] W A miners, " his picture hung beside that of Jesus Christ on the walls of their shotgun houses." When it finally came to step down for health reasons, Lewis named his aging vice president, his successor, but named Tony Boyle, the new Vice President over Jock Yablonski. They were both up and comers in union leadership who often clashed. Once Lewis' Vice president passed and Boyle ascended to the presidency
he wanted Yablonski out of his hair and out of theunion. Boyle, while small in stature was power hungry and paranoid inside Yablonski is a threat to his power. After playing yes man to Boyle for a few years. Yablonski decided enough was enough and it was time to run against him in the next election in 1969. Yablonski saw that the U M W A had lost its way and was fed up with seeing the U M W A cozying up to the mine operators and not protecting the minors in the union.
He knew was going to be a tough fight and most likely will be rigged. He even said that Boyle will likely even try to kill him. Boyle was [00:14:00] absolutely furious when he heard this news and knew Yablonski had to go, so he appointed his enforcer and high official the U M W A Albert Pass to have him killed. Albert Pass conspired with a former minor in District 19 enforcer,
silas Huddleston, a hard man who was used to getting non-union minors and mine operators in line, usually through violent and deadly tactic. He then persuaded his estranged daughter's husband to join the plot along with three petty criminals to kill Yablonski. These guys were the epitome of B. They drove from Ohio to Pennsylvania numerous times, trying to kill Yablonski.
They got lost. Were super suspicious around town, left evidence everywhere they went, and when they did get close to Yablonski, they usually lost their nerve. They were so conspicuous even Yablonski knew what was up, and knew guys were into his hometown out to kill him. He pleaded to the Secretary of Labor, George Schultz, for helping, but refused to get involved.
When they finally found their nerve and crept into the Yablonski's house in the [00:15:00] early morning hours of New Year's Eve of 1969, they unknowingly sparked something that changed unions in the U M W A forever. It's hard to believe this was non-fiction, and I honestly don't know how this isn't a movie yet. I could see Scorsese directing or even the Coen Brothers.
This book plays out almost like a Shakespearean tragedy with a setup of two young rivals who are vying for the crown to the U M W A after the sudden abdication of its revered leader. And that's not to mention Yablonski, also fortold his own death. So I highly recommend this to anyone who's a true crime junkie or someone who wants to know more about the ruthless and cutthroat labor history of coal mining Appalachia.
It's a decidedly eye-opening read. So I pair this one using one of my favorite cookbooks that I've used numerous times on this podcast and have made it a mission to use every recipe in it. . That's right. It's Victuals by Ronni Lundy. This time I paired it with a recipe for a perfect one eyed jack. [00:16:00] If you've never had a one eyed jack, it's essentially a piece of toast with a fried egg in the center.
It's super simple to make with just a piece of bread and egg on salted butter and salt and pepper. It's delicious on its own, but I had a little hot sauce on it to give a little bit kick. . So good. .
Carrie: And I knew when I went to look for that book for this podcast episode, Michael probably had it checked out.
Michael: Oh yeah,
yeah. It was like, oh man, it's time for a pairing. And I was like, oh, it better be there.
Jacqueline: So who wrote Victuals? I mean, it was it a Kentuckian?
Michael: Ronnie Lundy. I can find out for you real quick.
Jacqueline: OK.
Carrie: She is, she is from Kentucky. And the, the subtitle I think is An Appalachian Journey with Recipes and this book is a great book for you know, one of our prompts is to read a cookbook.
And this is the perfect kind of cookbook to [00:17:00] read, I think because it's full of stories about Appalachians. Like well, food history as well as current growers and makers. And so it's not, it's not just recipes. And in fact, although I have made a recipe from that, which I had to adapt quite a bit, , because I can't do dairy which is why I don't haven't made much in that book.
You know, it's, it's a book that I've not made anything from, but still enjoy. Mm-hmm. reading,
Jacqueline: I mean, I wonder if there's a lot of dairy in a lot of the recipes in this region.
Carrie: Well, there certainly are in, in that book, which is about , the, the food of the region. I know my, my grandma never quite, my grandma, who was mm-hmm.
originally from southwest Virginia, and also, and met my grandfather in West Virginia. Never [00:18:00] quite could get the No milk thing.
Michael: Really? .
Yeah.
Jacqueline: Yeah.
But it makes sense that there would be a page turner about a mining
Michael: Oh
man.
Carrie: Incident.
Michael: I mean, you know, I knew a little bit about it, but just stuff like, I mean, it was dynamite throwing dynamites, executing people rolling up cars, houses.
They wanted to blow up you Yablonski's house by tying some dynamite to a stick, putting next to his bedroom window. I mean this, it's crazy.
Jacqueline: That is crazy.
Michael: I mean, .
Jacqueline: And so it's, is that based on a true story?
Michael: No, this happened. Yeah.
Jacqueline: It actually happened
Michael: in 70 and then, yeah.
Jacqueline: Oh, wow.
Michael: 69 is when it happened, and then, you know, they, well, once they started investigating it, it, you know mm-hmm.
there's a trail right there for 'em to follow all the way to Tony Boyle.
Yeah. I mean, it's
wild. Yeah.[00:19:00]
Carrie: I have two books I wanted to talk about today. One of 'em I'll talk briefly about, but the first one is Trampoline by Robert Gipe.. And if I were going to describe the main character Dawn Jewell's job, which I did recently in response to a question on the Books and Bites Facebook group, which you should join if you haven't joined already.
I'd say that she is a 15 year old bootlegger with an unpaid side hustle of saving mountains from mountaintop removal . But Dawn is much more than her job description. It's late 1990s and Don lives in fictional Canard County in Eastern Kentucky. Don's father was killed in a mining accident when she was younger.
In her grief, Dawn's mother abuses [00:20:00] alcohol and drugs, leaving Dawn and her older brother to fend for themselves. Dawn lives a pretty chaotic life, bouncing between the houses of her grandparents, her outlaw bootlegger, uncle Hubert, and her aunt June, who lives in the comparatively big city of Kingsport, Tennessee.
When a mining company threatens to begin strip mining Big Bear Mountain, Dawn's grandmother Cora works to organize against it. Dawn inadvertently becomes a spokesperson for the cause when she's interviewed by an independent radio station in Kingsport. Her activism leads her to Befriend fellow Teen Willett, a DJ at the radio station. The two bond over their
shared love of punk rock. Throughout the book, Dawn gets herself into trouble over and over again, fighting, wrecking cars, and worse. She reminded me of the narrator in Lawn [00:21:00] Boy, another character with huge potential who makes maddening mistakes. At times. The plot of Trampoline feels a bit farfetched.
However, Dawn's voice feels absolutely authentic with writing that is both humorous and lyrical. And the novel is further enhanced by line drawings that appear throughout, punctuating the important scenes. The lines in the drawings are a bit shaky and sometimes comical, and they give the reader a glimpse into how Dawn sees herself.
Dawn and her family like to eat at the Kolonel Krispy, spelled with two K's, of course, , where Dawn says they order "hotdogs and fries and cherry pies. I got a large pineapple milkshake. Albert, a drink full of antifreeze- blue slush." Pair trampoline with a slaw [00:22:00] dog, also known as a West Virginia hotdog from Ronni Lundy's book, Victuals.
My dad was from West Virginia and I grew up eating coleslaw on hotdogs, and it's actually my favorite way to eat them. And I didn't realize until reading that book that it was a West Virginia thing. So, you know, Dawn wasn't from West Virginia, but there there's my connection to , to Appalachia is a slaw dog.
Michael: I love slaw dogs, and I gotta confess, I almost did that same recipe.
Carrie: Oh, really? .
Michael: I was like,
Carrie: that would've been funny.
Michael: I think I might've done this before. I can't remember. So I changed it.
I
Carrie: had to since you had it checked out, I had to find it online. And in doing that, I found there's a whole blog just on the West Virginia hotdog , and they go around to different, you know, drive-ins or dairy barns, whatever, however, I, she says they [00:23:00] call 'em custard custard bars all over West Virginia reviewing the various
west Virginia Hot dogs
Michael: that sounds awesome. . I would love
to do that.
Jacqueline: I'd never heard of slaw dogs until I lived in Alabama, and I was like, what? It's the law dog .
Michael: If you live in, according to the ARC, I mean, if you go down to, even to central Alabama, that's considered Appalachia.
Jacqueline: Okay, well,
Michael: I mean mm-hmm.
Carrie: So the next book that I wanted to briefly mention is Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. And it's an old favorite of mine that would also count for the epistolary book square. It's historical fiction told through the letters of Ivy Rowe, a woman born in 1900 in southwest Virginia. Ivy loves the mountain she grew up on and loves her life of subsistence farming in spite of its hardships.
She doesn't have much [00:24:00] schooling, but she is a born writer, and letters are her way of processing her experiences. She writes them to friends, relatives, and even a European pen pal. But the majority of the letters are written to her sister Sylvaney after she's been institutionalized. like Dawn Jewel's voice,
ivy's voice sounds like the voice of a real person. And as I mentioned before, my grandmother was from Southwest Virginia, and when I first read Fair and Tender Ladies back in the nineties, it was really the first time I'd read anything that sounded you know, like my grandparents' voice. The book is descriptive, lyrical, and has a strong sense of place, and it shares some of the same themes as Trampoline, including strong female characters and ordinary people fighting back when coal companies take advantage of workers and threaten the environment.
Jacqueline: The [00:25:00] novel I chose for the Books and Bites prompt set in or about Appalachia was The Giver of the Stars. It is fictional count of the packhorse librarians of Kentucky set in 1937 when the country was nearing the end of the Depression. The main character is a young English woman named Alice Wright.
Alice feels stifled by her life in England until she meets the handsome American Bennett Van Cleave from Kentucky. So when Bennett proposes Alice doesn't hesitate to accept his marriage proposal. She believes that her new life will be in Lexington, Kentucky and she is disappointed to learn that she will be living in a smaller town someway further south.
She tries her best to make due with her new life, but her marriage is wrought with disappointments. Her husband Bennett acquiesces to his father's demands that Allison Bennett live in the same house as him. Not only does she have to live with her overbearing father-in-law, she is [00:26:00] now allowed to make any changes in the house.
Alice's father-in-law, Mr. Van Cleve, is not just demanding. He's constantly interfering and inserting himself into their marriage. Alice quickly learns that she's traded one stifling and unfulfilling life for another. With the depression nearing an end, the President and Mrs. Roosevelt turned their attention back to education..
Unhappy with her situation. Alice sees a chance to do something meaningful when she learns about the president and Mrs. Roosevelt's efforts to restore attention to literacy and learning with the mobile library program. Alice is impressed when she meets Marjorie, a fellow librarian already participating in the program.
Marjorie is a tough Kentucky native. She doesn't follow convention. Remaining an unmarried working woman . So Alice and three other women volunteer to participate in the library program with Marjorie. They ride horses and mules to get books to the people living in Kentucky's Appalachia Mountains. We learn about these women's [00:27:00] heroic efforts along with the hardships these women endure.
The women became known as the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. These women defy conventions and dangerous landscapes to do meaningful and productive work. We also get a glimpse of their personal trials . My favorite part of the book is Moye's use of scenes to create realistic and recognizable characters. As a reader, I felt emotionally connected to the women and invested in all aspects of their lives.
I felt a strong bond with Alice. Her rejection by her family and her husband had me rooting for her to find caring people who will accept her for who she is, not the person they want her to be. These women were brave. Not only delivering books to the people but brave in their personal lives as well.
They stand up to convention, corruption and unfair treatment. You will find your heart sympathizing as you root for these women as they navigate the rugged terrain and dangerous mountain men. For instance, in this scene, Marjorie faces [00:28:00] one man as she rides her mule, deep into the forest just below Arnott's Ridge.
In this scene, a man named Clement McCullough attempts to attack her. Moyes writes, "Marjorie's head snaps around. He's staggering slightly, but his gaze is level and direct.. His rifle, she sees, is cocked and he carries it like a fool with his finger on the trigger. So you look at me now, will you, Marjorie. Then McCullough tries to force Marjorie off her mule.
She fights back. She grabs a heavy book and smacks him in the face as hard as she can. When McCullough is found dead, Marjorie is accused of murder. Can Marjorie prove that she didn't commit murder or will she be found guilty and the library program be disbanded? Not only does she bring her characters to life, but Moyes' description of Kentucky is also poignant.
For example, she writes, "as they rode, Marjorie talked to Alice of the milkweed and goldenrod pointing out Jack in the pulpit and tiny fragile flowers of touch me nots. So once [00:29:00] where Alice had just seen a sea of green, she pulled back a veil to reveal a whole new dimension." Moyes' storytelling gives us a realistic account of the history of Kentucky's past, and it made me read, want to read more accounts of the efforts to bring literacy to the people of Kentucky.
If you want to learn more about life in post-depression, Kentucky, librarianship and overcoming obstacles, then this book is an excellent choice. The women often drank bourbon after a long hard day to celebrate a victory. So I chose to look for a bourbon recipe. And when I attended my first Oaks party here in Kentucky, it was hosted by a librarian friend.
I had my first delicious mint Jule made with simple syrup recipe by a former Indiana Southeast librarian, Francis Livingston. That said I chose to look for a mint ju presby made with simple syrup. There's no nothing more Kentucky. , than a mint julep, and you can find a recipe for the simple syrup at www tree hugger.com.
Carrie: [00:30:00] And we're definitely getting into mint julep season.
Michael: It is .
Jacqueline: Yeah. Not too far. Good.
Carrie: So I know that Jojo Moyes is actually English. She's not, she's not even American. Did it feel pretty authentic to you? The, the book written about Kentuckians?
It
Jacqueline: did. I mean, I think there are people that come here from other countries and settle here, so I mean, all of us has actually come from somewhere else, unless we're Native Americans.
So I kind of felt like she gave a real, she gave us a real glimpse of, of the people that she met. Mm. . So I, I think it because of that, I think it felt pretty authentic. Mm-hmm. ,
Michael: did you find like any stereotypes of Appalachia in there?
Jacqueline: Oh yeah. There were a few. I think some of the, the way some of the men were portrayed as, you know, ignorant and abusing women and stuff like that.
I don't know how, I'm sure [00:31:00] it does happen everywhere in the world, not just in Kentucky, but it, it did seem like it was a very Hollywood, Hollywood portrayal of some of the, the male characters. Mm-hmm.
Carrie: and you know, of course there's the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which is a very popular book also about the pack horse librarians.
Mm-hmm. and I think that one came out before this one. And the author Kim Michelle Richardson, kind of accused Jojo Moyse of stealing her idea. So there was this big scandal about it.
Jacqueline: I heard, I read about that. I was like, uh, and I was gonna read the other one. But I think Michael said that this one was really good.
So I read this one instead. I. And I, I probably should read the other one just to see, to compare the two. Um,
Carrie: I tried reading the other one, , couldn't, couldn't get through it. Yeah, but I know it is [00:32:00] really popular and she has a sequel that came out and the PAC Women librarians, those are.
Real. I mean, they were, they were real. And there was a documentary on KET. Mm-hmm. about them that we actually showed here not too long ago at the library.
Jacqueline: I saw that, and I, I actually looked at some pictures of, of some of the librarians, mm-hmm. as I, because I got interested in, in learning a little bit about it, and I was like, oh, wow, this is really cool seeing the, their images and stuff online.
Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Yeah. So, and I was just excited. , how, how interesting that women, you know, librarians were always doing something, you know, were leading the way. Mm-hmm. . And lots of things and literacy in particular.
So
Carrie: yeah,
absolutely.
Michael: Could you imagine doing that today, taking books around Jessamine County?
Jacqueline: Well, we do
Michael: On horseback
Carrie: We're not, not in horseback, non
Jacqueline: horseback and not into the Hills , [00:33:00]
Carrie: but yeah. And actually Kentucky is a, has always been a leader in book mobiles in public libraries.
Michael: Really?
Carrie: Yeah. We have, you know, like, mm. have always had one of the top number of book mobiles in the country. And I, you know, I suppose that's in part because we're such a rural state.
Yeah.
Jacqueline: Yeah. Boyle County has a book mobile. I just went to that library this past weekend and saw their book. Mobile. Yeah. Mm-hmm. .
Carrie: So Yay us .
Michael: Yay.
Jacqueline: Let's pat ourselves on the back. Right.
Carrie: Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about Books and Bites Bingo, visit us@justpublib.org slash books hyphen Bites. Our [00:34:00] theme music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with The Enemy by Scott Whiddon. You can learn more about Scott and his music on his website, adoorforadesk.com.