Welcome back, my fellow creatives! Winter is the perfect time to curl up in a blanket with a pile of books, and I can think of no better place to find those books than at the local library.

It’s all too easy to just meander over to my favorite sections, though, and 2022 is the year to try new things! So, for this series on Story Cuppings, I am only going to pick books from my library’s New Release shelf by the entrance. Those books could be of any genre, fiction or nonfiction. If it’s on that shelf, it’s game for a podcast!
Today I plucked from the New Release shelf:
As the Wicked Watch by Tamron Hall

What does a reader experience in those opening pages, and what lessons can a writer take away in studying but a few paragraphs? Let’s find out!
If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.
On the back cover, Booklist tells us that “From the start, readers will be intrigued…” So I BETTER be intrigued! 🙂
And say, what’s on the New Release shelf at your own local library? I’d love to know!
Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!

I enjoyed that! Great reading and commentary as ever Jean. The fact that the book is a mystery/crime novel set in Chicago immediately made me think of Sara Paretsky’s, V. I. Warshawski novels which I adored, especially the earlier ones. It could be in that league.
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Ah, fascinating! Now you’ve given me another detective to check out. Thanks, Chris! xxxxxx
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Some of the books were adapted for BBC radio, narrated by Kathleen Turner. Really good listening!
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Kathleen Turner?! That is AWESOME!
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Jean, you are epic in all you do for everyone and epic in the way you discuss that first chapter
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Aw, thanks Lady Shey! Hope you get to have some lovely fun this coming Valentine’s Day. xxxxxxxx
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Lokl. We booked a meal in one of the local pubs for this weekend.
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Wonderful! Hope it was a real treat. 🙂
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yeah, then we popped round the corner to our local for a few. It was great.
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I have to return books to the library today. Will check out the new release shelf.
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Please do! There was only one book on the New Release shelf when I went today, but it was totally worth it. 🙂 Serendipity! xxxxxx
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Turns out our library doesn’t display new releases. Instead they display ‘what’s popular’. These books can be checked out for a week. One title that caught my attention was ‘The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison’.
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Oh, that does sound enticing, Peggy! I’ll have to see if we have that book…
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I so love these. xxxxx Our nearest library is 15 miles away. The village has a converted telephone box which people leave books so it becomes a mini library. You would have a field day with some of the books in there.
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Oh, I bet! We have these wee little free libraries sprinkled about town, which are great places for people to take a book and leave a book in return. You can find aaaaaaaaaaaaaall sorts of things in those boxes…
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Always a delight, Jean!
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And always a joy to connect with you, Pam! 🙂 xxxxxx
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♥️💕🌹
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Thank you for this post Jean Lee. Among my childhood memories are the enchanted wonderment of going to a library to pick out books to read. I have the same feeling even now.
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It’s a feeling that never grows old, David, to be sure! xxxxx
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