In this episode, we get excited about two new books: The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig and I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney. Then Dave talks about the stellar winners of the 2025 Pen America Awards.
Links
The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
Invasive by Chuck Wendig
I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney
Truth in Advertising by John Kenney
Writer’s Digest interview with John Kenney
The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float by Farley Mowat
Pen America website and Instagram
Pen International website
Pen American Literary Awards Finalists
Dead in Long Beach, California by Venita Blackburn
With My Back to the World: Poems by Victoria Chang
On Freedom by Timothy Snyder
Transcript of this episode.
The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com
Join our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.
Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace
As always, you can find us at:
Our site
Instagram
Substack
Patreon
Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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17:44
LoLT: The Uncensored Library and Two New Books
In this episode, we get excited about two new books: Exit Zero: Stories by Marie-Helene Bertino and The Pretender: A Novel by Jo Harkin. Then Mel talks about the remarkable digital library fighting global censorship.
Links
Exit Zero: Stories by Marie-Helene Bertino
2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino — hear Mel talk about it on our Pennsylvania episode
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino — hear Mel talk about it on our Outer Space episode
The Pretender: A Novel by Jo Harkin
Tell Me An Ending by Jo Harkin
The Uncensored Library
The Uncensored Library on the Minecraft website
BBC: Minecraft ‘Loophole’ Library of Banned Journalism
Peabody Awards on The Uncensored Library
Transcript of this episode.
The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com
Join our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.
Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace
As always, you can find us at:
Our site
Instagram
Substack
Patreon
Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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15:51
LoLT: Putting Names to Nature and Two New Books
In this episode, we get excited about two new books: Perspective(s): A Novel by Laurent Binet and The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer. Then Dave shares the app that’s decoding nature’s secrets in his favorite park.
Links
Perspective(s): A Novel by Laurent Binet
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
HHhH by Laurent Binet — hear Mel talk about it on our Prague podcast episode
The Black House by Peter May — hear Mel talk about it on our Scotland episode
Seek by iNaturalist: download the app for Apple or Google, watch a demo video, get the user’s guide
Transcript of this episode.
The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com
Join our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.
Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace
As always, you can find us at:
Our site
Instagram
Substack
Patreon
Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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12:40
Replay: A Mini-Episode With Answers to Questions from Our Audience
We have a slew of new listeners — hello, new book friends! — so we’re sharing this episode from 2020 in which we answered questions about how we choose the books we read for the show, whether or not we really love everything we recommend, how we met, previous jobs, and other behind-the-scenes info. Hope you enjoy the peek into our lives and work!
Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other lovely readers who are curious about the world.
Transcript of this episode
Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!
Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio. Some effects are provided by soundly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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26:31
LoLT: The Witches of Scotland Tartan and Two New Books
In this episode, we get excited about two new books: When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Then Mel shares the meaningful story of the new Witches of Scotland tartan.
Links
When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory
Daryl Gregory’s website
Read an excerpt from When We Were Real
Podcast: Mel talks about Spoonbenders in our Chicago episode
Mel’s write-up of Spoonbenders
Podcast: Mel talks about the P&T Knitwear bookshop
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
The Witches of Scotland website, Instagram, and TikTok
The book: How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women
The podcast: Witches of Scotland Tartan Episode
Smithsonian magazine on the campaign and tartan
Nicola Sturgeon Issues Apology for ‘Historical Injustice’ of Witch Hunts.
Transcript of this episode.
The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com
Join our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.
Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace
As always, you can find us at:
Our site
Instagram
Substack
Patreon
Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One lifetime is too short to visit everywhere and meet everyone. That‘s why we love books with a strong sense of place — they let us travel the world in our imagination. In each episode of our Strong Sense of Place podcast, we explore one destination and talk about what makes that place different from everywhere else. Then we recommend five books that took us to that place on the page. Every other week, we share The Library of Lost Time, a mini-pod that features two new books and our Distraction of the Week. We‘re on a trip around the globe, one great read at a time. Please join us!
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