Beyond the Shelves: Book Club #1, 'Harlem Rhapsody', and Other Fun News

Beyond the Shelves: A Podcast from the Des Moines Public Library

The Beyond the Shelves first ever Book Club episode is live! This month, Jes and Sarah both read Harlem Rhapsody, by Victoria Christopher Murray. They discuss the historical fiction novel about Jessie Redman Fauset, a real life figure dubbed "midwife of the Harlem Renaissance," and her relationship with W.E.B. Du Bois. This podcast does contain spoilers - but you don't have to have read the book to listen and learn more about the Harlem Renaissance era!

Show Notes The Book Club Book

Harlem Rhapsody, by Victoria Christopher Murray

Further Reading

• "A History of The Crisis" (NAACP website)
• The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
• I Too Sing America: the Harlem Renaissance, at 100 by Wil Haygood
• Smoketown, by Mark Whitaker
• Joy Goddess: A'lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, by A'lelia Bundles

Authors in the Book

• Blues in Stereo, by Langston Hughes
• Cane, by Jean Toomer
• Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories From the Harlem Renaissance, by Zora Neale Hurston
• My Soul's High Song, by Countee Cullen
• Passing and Quicksand, by Nella Larsen
• The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, by James Weldon Johnson
• The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. Du Bois
• Home to Harlem, by Claude McKay
• Amiable with Big Teeth, by Claude McKay

Timestamps

• 0:00 - AViD Lineup/What We're Reading
• 11:20 - Book Club Discussion
• 46:32 - Book Bulletin

What They're Reading/To Be Read

• A Thousand Ships, by Natalie Haynes
• A Hard Day for a Hangover, by Darynda Jones
• Haunted Ever After, by Jen DeLuca
• Crossings, by Ben Goldfarb
• The Shots You Take, by Rachel Reid
• Blood Over Bright Haven, by M.L. Wang
• Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, by Grady Hendrix
• Sula, by Toni Morrison
• The Knockout Queen, by Rufi Thorpe
• Idle Grounds, by Krystelle Bamford
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride

Book Bulletin

• "A Court of Thorns and Roses TV Series Dead at Hulu" (Variety)
• "Meet-cute at Mansfield Park: can modern covers turn young readers on to Jane Austen?" (The Guardian)
• "Readerlink Will Stop Distributing Mass Market Paperbacks at the End of 2025" (Publishers Weekly)
• Women's Prize for Fiction longlist