Episode 608: Psychological Thriller - Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange

Hi everyone! Welcome back to your book group podcast, Reading With Libraries! We are here to talk about books, to enjoy some beverages, and to have this time together. Thanks for joining us!

It’s hard to be an expert on ALL of the great books out there! So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar area for you!

This week we are enjoying a new genre to the show: Psychological Thrillers!

We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we are here to support all of our 300 member libraries. They all like books, we like to share books with our patrons, and we know you like books too. So let’s jump in here and discuss some books in today’s genre!

And our new Guest Host is Delaine! She works at the Great River Regional Library System. Welcome to the book group!

Beverages:

Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. You are an important part of this book group, so if you don’t have a beverage go ahead and get one now. Each of our beverages will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

Poison Apple

This isn’t the same poison apple the evil witch gave to Snow White. This one’s much tastier and sweeter. To make this drink, you’ll need: 2 oz. vodka, 1 oz. orange liqueur, 1 oz. apple liqueur, an apple slice and ice. Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice. Shake and pour over ice into double old fashioned glasses. Add an apple slice garnish.

Black Widow

This cocktail may bite back a little, but it sure is refreshing. To make this delectable potion, you’ll need: 2 oz. blackberry juice, 1 oz. simple syrup and 1 oz. vodka and ice. Fill a highball glass with ice, add ingredients, stir and serve.

The Raven

You no longer have to ponder weak and weary to find a new autumn cocktail recipe, here it is. To make this spooky cocktail, you’ll need: 1-1/2 oz. coffee liqueur, 4 oz. cold cola and ice (if desired). Pour ingredients into glass, stir until mixed.

Genre Discussion:

This week we are discussing the genre of psychological thrillers, with maybe a few solid horror books thrown into the mix.

Winter is a great time to enjoy some scary books. It’s cold and dark outside, which encourages us all to stay inside, under the covers – which is the best place to read scary books. We’ve talked about thrillers before on this show, but psychological thrillers are an interesting subgenre. They aren’t just scary, they can reach down into your mind and shake out all the scary things.

The website reedsy says: “Be it a backwoods murder mystery, a gothic period piece, or a prestigious drama that just happens to be about an arsonist, these are the best psychological thriller books that dive into the brain of the bad guy… and make you question your own brain along the way.”

Clearly, these are the best books to read when you are alone indoors, and it’s dark and cold outside. We suggest you turn the lights down pretty low, flip on an audio book, and prepare to enjoy some scary times.

Here are a few additional resources for you, to help you find the best psychological thriller books for yourself or for your patrons:

Book Discussion

Now we are a little more familiar with this week’s genre, and we have enjoyed some of our special beverages, let’s get to the book discussion!

We will give you a list of all the books we share today. You can click on any of these links to go to Amazon.com for more information. If you buy anything while you are there, Amazon will give us a small percent of their profits from your purchase. Thanks in advance for helping to support the mission of CMLE – we appreciate it!

The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones

Barbed Wire Heart, by Tess Sharpe

We need to talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver

Loverboy, by Victoria Redel

Out, by Natsuo Kirino

My Lovely Wife, by Samantha Downing

Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn

Fight Like A Girl, by Clementine Ford

My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty

The Weight of Blood, by Laura McHugh

Conclusion:

Thank you so much for joining us on Reading With Libraries! A special thanks to our Guest Host Delaine! And thank you for listening; you know it’s always a better book group when you are here with us.

Join us next Thursday with another genre, more guest hosts for our book group, and more books to share and discuss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a single episode!

And if you want to hear more about the work we do in libraries or expand your library skills, check out our podcast Linking Our Libraries!

Bring your book ideas, bring your beverages, and we will join you back here on Thursday!