Blogs & Podcasts

Find early literacy tips and children's books on the Children's Blog. Discover your next great read on the Books Movies Music Blog. Dig into Nashville history with the Community History Blog. Listen to stories, history, and culture on NPL Podcasts. Please see this Note for Readers.

Frame from video game. multiple story house has porches and staircases.
Minecraft, a computer game where everything is made of blocks, is sweeping the nation. Everywhere you look you can find children playing the game, reading the books, or begging adults to buy them Minecraft merchandise at the store. There are many benefits to playing the game, and they can all be summed up in five letters – STEAM.
Podcast
family folk tales logo

Family Folktales: The Terrible Head

Listen to “The Terrible Head.” In this retelling of the myth of Perseus, a young man goes adventuring before fulfilling a prophesy.

Rain Makes Applesauce book cover.
This year we are blessed with children’s books by two masters of illustration, Marvin Bileck and Christopher Myers, who provide glimpses into extraordinary, imaginary worlds. Check them out!
Book cover for The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward shows a man in a tuxedo.
A Southern family dynasty romance? I’m so in. I have a real soft spot for Southern literature and family sagas, so to put those together was very exciting.
Book cover for Captain Underpants showing a cartoon drawing of a boy wearing a red cape and underwear.
By
Next week is Banned Books Week – a holiday with which you may not be familiar, but trust me, it’s big news around libraries.
Podcast
legends of film logo

Legends of Film: Kevin Connor

During this episode we talk to Director Kevin Connor. Mr. Connor’s credits include Motel Hell, The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth’s Core, and From Beyond the Grave. Connor discusses his career in film, including the making of From Beyond the Grave, directing the legendary Peter Cushing, and editing Richard Attenborough’s historical drama, Young Winston. 

Pass for the headquarters AAFF Gunnery School in Florida.
I often marvel at how amazing it is that we have letters from Civil War soldiers, store ledgers from the 1900s, and interviews with people that lived through the Great Depression.
Podcast
legends of film logo

Legends of Film: Gary Sherman

During this episode we talk to Director Gary Sherman. Mr. Sherman’s film credits include Raw Meat, Vice Squad, Dead and Buried and Lisa. Mr. Sherman discusses his love of shooting at night, how to shoot a scene by candlelight, and how the film Lisa actually came to be.