As the days get cold and dark, we settle in and hibernate with our books, maybe revisiting old favourites. But what draws us back to books we’ve already read? Is re-reading a waste of time? Karen McKay from the Centre for Equitable Library Access joins us to share her top cozy reads, and we explore the reasons we turn to our comfort books over and over again.

Literary characters make for good friends, great enemies, andrealistic mirrors of who we are. Sometimes, we use them to imagine our lives in different ways; other times we just can’t believe what they would get up to. We dive into the ‘why’ of connecting with fictional characters, and the depths of what makes them stick with us.

Living with narcolepsy and cataplexy, Michelle Weger (rhymes with eager) has turned her toughest experiences into fuel to power her success. Don't Snooze Your Dreams, her memoir and self-help guide, takes us on her journey-from managing a rare debilitating sleep disorder to launching a successful business and becoming an advocate for narcolepsy awareness. Michelle and Jacob get into what it means to be diagnosed, the real role writing a book played in Michelle’s rehabilitation, and more about Michelle’s ‘soul-dog’ Maximus.

Well… Can you? Some of us are not picking up a book if it’s labelled as anything other than human-narrated. With AI in the mix, others of us can’t even tell it’s not even recorded by a real human. Then there are a handful of us who are soothed by the familiar tones of our own screen-readers. We go through your hot takes on the topic.

Jacob Shymanski thought he was Stevie Wonder’s Number 1 fan, until he heard Barack and Michelle Obama’s relationship started with bonding over the guy. We get into it when we review The Wonder of Stevie, an Audible Original Production, written and Hosted by New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, Wesley Morris.
Sara Hillis, Ramya Amuthan, and Jacob Shymanski have a whole lot to say on the Audible production, and their impressions of Stevie Wonder after checking out this project.

Do ratings and reviews make an impact on what book we pick up next? Is mandatory reading during school prepping us to enjoy reading as adults? Where do we draw the line when it comes to taking Reddit recommendations. Jacob Shymanski and Ramya Amuthan hash out their thoughts around these questions.

Our friends at the Centre of Equitable Library Access, Karen McKay and Theresa Power join us to talk about why people may be fiction adverse, and prefer non-fiction books.

Host Jacob Shymanski and his guests from CELA chat about fiction stories, escapism, and the benefits of reading non-fiction books too!