In the first episode of this special 5-episode series, Russell, Rachael, Rachel, and Riley share inspiring quotes from favorite authors.

• Brené Brown, “Atlas of the Heart”
• C.S. Lewis, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
• Rita Mae Brown, “Rubyfruit Jungle”
• Lauren Wolk, “Echo Mountain”
• Dr. Seuss, “The Lorax”
• Jack London, “The Call of the Wild”

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat about our January reading challenge, books featuring a horse. They discuss the Chinese Zodiac which inspired the challenge, share a glimpse behind the scenes into the creative process and bond over the nostalgia of childhood trauma.
If you have a favorite literary horse we somehow missed, let us know on social media!

Books we discuss include:

• “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende
• “Animal Farm” by George Orwell
• “My Friend Flicka” by Mary O’Hara
• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving
• “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
• “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” by Don Rosa
• “Casper and Nightmare” comics
• Barney Google Snuffy Smith
• “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman
• “The Horse and His Boy” by C.S. Lewis
• “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks
• “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy
• “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand
• “The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America” by Elizabeth Letts
• “Misty of Chincoteague” by Marguerite Henry
• “The Perfect Horse: the Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis” by Elizabeth Letts
• “Ghost Riders: When US and German Soldiers Fought Together to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II” by Mark Felton
• “The Unmothers” by Leslie J. Anderson
• “Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang” by David Philipps
• “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell
• “National Velvet” by Enid Bagnold
• “The Black Stallion” series by Walter Farley
• “Joe Pickett” series by C.J. Box

Find out more about Booked Monthly on our website.

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat with our guest Katelyn Murray, one of the new owners of The Dog-eared Page bookshop on Main Street. We discuss finding that one perfect book for you, receiving letters of praise from your favorite author, and unexpectedly learning how showers work!

Books/Authors we discuss include:

• “Daughter of the Forest” by Juliet Marillier
• “Redwall” series by Brian Jacques
• “Kaleidoscope” and everything by Ray Bradbury
• “The September House” by Carissa Orlando
• Author Ali Hazelwood
• Author Abby Jimenez
• “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry
• “The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter” by Brionni Nwosu
• “Vampires of Shanghai” by Katherine Mercer (releases January 2, 2026)

For more Ray Bradbury, join us at Unrequired Reading Classics Book Club to discuss “Fahrenheit 451” on Monday, January 26 at 5:30PM. Call 434.799.5195 or visit readdanvilleva.org to register.

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat about our December reading challenge, books with a holiday theme, which it turns out cover a wide range of topics and genres. We discuss the magic of Santa, turkeys, and the 80s.

Books we discuss include:

• “Turkey Claus” by Wendy Silvano, illustrated by Lee Harper
• “Santa Jaws” by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Galia Bernstein
• “The Christmas Guest” by Peter Swanson
• “Secret Santa” by Andrew Shaffer
• “Silent Night: Fear Street Super Chillers” by R.L. Stine
• “Spirit of Steamboat” by Craig Johnson
• “Christmas in Absaroka County” by Craig Johnson
• “Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker” by Gregory Maguire
• “The Christmas Appeal” by Janice Hallett
• “American Christmas Stories” edited by Connie Willis, featuring stories by Mark Twain, John Updike, Langston Hughes, Ray Bradbury and more
• “Claus: Legend of the Fat Man” by Tony Bertauski
• “The Immortal Nicholas” by Glenn Beck
• “A Boy Called Christmas” by Matt Haig
• “Nicholas - The Legend Begins” by Joe Dodridge
• “Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays” by Leigh Eric Schmidt
• “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
• “Make My Wish Come True” by Rachael Lippincott
• “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat with our guest Bill Guerrant, local goatherd, Vice President of Pittsylvania Historical Society, and author of four books including “Jim Wrenn” and “Let a Pillar Arise”. We discuss reading in all its many varieties, including newspapers and the dictionary and the importance of keeping historical research alive.

Books we discuss include:

• “A Primer for Star Gazers” by Henry M. Neely
• The Dictionary
• “Nine Who Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki” by Robert Trumbull
• “Baudolino” by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver
• “Looking for Class” by Bruce Feiler
• “Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War” by Maury Klein

View Bill Guerrant's works:

• A Daily Dose of History
• A Daily Dose of the American Rev
• Novels by William Guerrant on Amazon
• Novels by William Guerrant at the library

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat about our November reading challenge, books about a historic event. We discuss the wide range of topics, genres and time periods this challenge encompasses and what history can teach us about the time we are living in now.

Books we discuss include:

• “War Games” by Alan Gratz
• “Grenade” by Alan Gratz
• **Fact check: The character in this book lives on the island of Okinawa.
• “By Any Other Name” by Jodi Picoult
• “The House Is on Fire” by Rachel Beanland
• “Yonder” by Ali Standish
• “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams
• “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson
• “Future Boy” by Michael J. Fox
• “The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas
• “Stalking Jack the Ripper” by Kerri Maniscalco
• “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulsen
• “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei
• “Wicked Danville” by Frankie Y. Bailey and Alice Green

Get hype! It’s the BRO SHOW! (air horn sounds)
Russell, and also the Rach(a)els, chat with returning guests Scott Longerbeam and Charles Perkins about life, the universe, and every reading rabbit we could possibly chase.

Books we discuss include:

• “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams
• “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll
• “American Rapture” by C.J. Leede
• “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon
• “Death Without Company” by Craig Johnson
• “The Witcher” series by Andrzej Sapkowski
• “The Book Eaters” by Sunyi Dean
• “The Passage” by Justin Cronin
• “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston
• “Jim Wrenn” by William Guerrant
• “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London

Russell, Rachel, and Rachael chat about our October reading challenge, Folklore, Fairytales, and Cryptids! We discuss the wide range of cultures and genres this topic overlaps. Russell gets very excited about every cryptid from Bigfoot to Nessie, the chupacabra to the hodag. The gang's all here!

Books we discuss include:

• “The Island of Forgotten Gods” by Victor Pineiro
• “Dear Mothman” by Robin Gow
• “Gilded” and “The Lunar Chronicles” series by Marissa Meyer
• “Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre” by Max Brooks
• “Monster” by Frank E.Peretti
• “Rougarou Magic” by Rachel M. Marsh
• “Empire of Wild” by Cherie Dimaline
• “Windigo Island” by William Kent Krueger
• “Cryptids, Creatures & Critters: A Manual of Monsters and Mythos” by Rachel Quinney
• “The Menagerie” series by Tui T. Sutherland, Kari H. Sutherland
• “Greenteeth” by Molly O’Neill
• “Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery” by Brom
• “Monster Hunter” series by Annelise Ryan
• “Impossible Creatures” series by Katherine Rundell
• “Four Treasures of the Sky” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
• “Carmilla: The First Vampire” series by Amy Chu, Illustrated by Soo Lee
• “Big Pumpkin” by Erica Silverman