Life of Plenty

036 Ali Olsen's Reading Journey

On this episode of Life of Plenty, Ashley and Lisa are joined by Ali Olsen. Ali started off as a Plenty volunteer and board member, but now works part-time at the store just because she loves it so much.

She talks about how her mother got into reading with The Velveteen Rabbit and encyclopedias. She read what she found in the house and then moved onto popular novels, before getting into historical romance. And then she talks about the books she's really connected with, both on her own and with her kids. 

035 Heather Babcock and The Measure

In this episode of the Life of Plenty Podcast, Lisa and Ashley discuss meaningful books with Heather Babcock, formerly of Whirlwind Book Bar in Oklahoma. When Whirlwind closed, inventory and chairs from the store made their way to Plenty, so the store has lived on here in Cookeville. Heather shared some of the books that have impacted her, starting Nikki Erlick's The Measure, a novel that asks if it was possible, would you want to know exactly how long you had to live? That question of time became more personal after she received a stage four cancer diagnosis.

 

Other books discussed include The Harry Potter series, The Little Prince, The Little Liar,  A Man Called Ove, and Radical Acts of Love, all of which have held meaning to Heather during different aspects of her life.

019 The Book Pharmacist

Lisa and Ashley sit down and chat with Tracey Hackett, the Book Pharmacist. Tracey talks about learning to read despite being diagnosed with dyslexia, and how she grew fond of books at an early age.

 

Then she discusses how during the pandemic, she obtained a certificate in bibliotherapy, the art of matching someone with a book prescribed to their situation, thus becoming the Book Pharmacist. Together they discuss finding hope and healing in books, and how it's not always self-help books that we need to read to learn something about ourselves.

018 Meet Wren, a Voracious Reader

This Life of Plenty episode features a special guest, Ashley's daughter, Wren! A voracious reader, Wren talks about books she remembers from earlier in her childhood, all the way back to board books and Dr. Seuss, to what she's reading now. (The Keeper of Lost Cities series.) 

 

Lisa, Ashley, and Wren discuss traveling through reading, and how books can help you connect with what you're learning in school, like how Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series makes mythology come alive. 

 

Wren also talks about rereading books and series that she loves, and starting off the day right with a good book.

017 The Pursuit of Happiness by Jeffrey Rosen

On this episode of A Life of Plenty podcast, Lisa and Ashley do a deeper dive into The Pursuit of Happiness by Jeffrey Rosen, and talk about the fact that America was founded on virtues. Lisa briefly discusses her own book, America Becoming, and then they look forward to Jeffrey Rosen's upcoming appearance here in Cookeville. 

016 Meet Book Lover Sara Kruszka

Plenty volunteer, Sara Kruszka, joins Ashley Michael on this episode of The Life of Plenty Podcast. She talks about books that shaped her, including Home for a Bunny that she couldn't remember the name of. And then discusses wanting to live in the woods like Laura Ingalls Wilder, be a detective like Nancy Drew, and the various book clubs she's a part of. Her and Ashley also talk about a Goodreads alternative that's so much more fun to use, Storygraph. 

015 How to Know a Person

On this episode of Life of Plenty, Lisa and Ashley do a deep dive into David Brooks' How to Know a Person. They discuss how important it is to be present in each others lives, and how to be a deep listener in order to really know someone. And inversely, Brooks describes how not to get to know a person. 

 

This was the first staff-wide Plenty Bookshop read, because Lisa and Ashley believe in the importance of the book that much. 

014 Library Director Kathryn Wisinger

On today's episode of Life and Plenty, Ashley and Lisa talk to Dr. Kathryn Wisinger about her reading ritual, and the books that got her into reading. She mentions favorites characters from childhood like Laura Ingalls Wilder and Harriet the Spy. 

More recent favorite authors include Amor Towles and Carlos Ruiz Zafón. And she also talks about her love of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and how the young adult novel is good for all ages teen and above.