The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historical narrative that chronicles the Great Migration, the decades-long exodus of nearly six million Black Americans fleeing the oppressive Jim Crow South for Northern and Western cities. Wilkerson captures the immense scale of this demographic shift through intimate, intertwined biographies of three individuals—Ida Mae Gladney, George Starling, and Robert Foster—who relocated during different eras and to different destinations. Their personal journeys of hardship, perseverance, and triumph serve as a microcosm for the millions who reshaped American culture, politics, and urban life.

My guest this week is Adriana from Bring Me Books! Adriana is the creator behind Bring Me Books, a literary platform dedicated to amplifying Black literature, nonfiction, and stories that challenge the way we think. She has built a community of more than 45,000 readers who believe that books are more than entertainment, they’re tools for liberation, critical thinking, and meaningful conversation.

As the founder of Truth Club, her signature nonfiction book recommendation series, Adriana curates thought-provoking recommendations that encourage readers to think more critically about history, culture, politics, identity, and the world around them. She has interviewed acclaimed authors and entertainers, been featured in Fox 2 News, Sirius XM Radio and partnered with major publishers and literary organizations that center Black voices, history, and culture.

Known for her signature blend of humor, honesty, and intellectual curiosity, Adriana has become a trusted voice in the book community, helping readers discover works that educate, challenge, and inspire.

Sun Tea

Ingredients

• 4–6 tea bags (black tea, green tea, or your favorite herbal tea)
• 1 gallon cold water
• Lemon slices, fresh mint, or fruit (optional, for serving)
• Ice
• Sweetener, such as sugar or honey (optional)

Directions

1. Place the tea bags in a clean 1-gallon glass jar or pitcher and fill with cold water.
2. Cover the container and set it in a sunny spot outdoors for 2–4 hours, depending on how strong you like your tea. Avoid steeping longer than 4 hours.
3. Remove the tea bags. Refrigerate the tea until thoroughly chilled.
4. Serve over ice with lemon, mint, or fresh fruit if desired. Sweeten to taste, stirring well until dissolved.

Note: Be very careful when brewing Sun Tea. For food safety, use clean equipment and refrigerate the tea promptly after brewing. Discard any tea that becomes cloudy, slimy, or develops an off smell.

First ever Patreon-only episode is now live! Find me on Patreon.com/Drinksinthelibrary to listen to Bill’s fifth episode of the pod and hear us discuss how much we did not enjoy this week’s drink - a Dirty Shirley!

Thank you for being a part of Libration Nation!

The Half Life by Rachel Beanland is a novel set on a remote Italian island, about a navy wife’s reckoning with power, love, and the price of staying silent in the Atomic Age. I loved this book and reached out to Rachel and her team to see if we could do a special Drinks in the Library episode, I was thrilled when she said yes!

Rachel Beanland is the author of the novels, The House Is On Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever. Her latest novel The Half Life, is coming out July 14, 2026, which is also the date this episode is airing, so if you are listening to this - go out and get a copy now!

Our drink this week is an Aperol Spritz, there is just nothing else that says perfect Italian summer at the beach!

Aperol Spritz

Ingredients

• 3 oz Prosecco
• 2 oz Aperol
• 1 oz club soda
• Ice
• Orange slice, for garnish

Directions

1. Fill a wine glass with ice.
2. Pour in the Prosecco, followed by the Aperol.
3. Top with the club soda.
4. Gently stir to combine.
5. Garnish with an orange slice and serve immediately.

Announcing a Patreon subscribers only episode coming out this week over at Patreon.com/DrinksintheLibrary, we will be discussing Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, so if you have been thinking about joining us over there, this is the time to do it!

To support Drinks in the Library and listen to ad-free episode and additional bonus content, subscribe on Patreon

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien is a timeless adventure novel, tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. Can a simple hobbit resist the corrupting power of the One Ring and succeed where great warriors have failed?

My guest this week is Salaam Bhatti, a public-interest lawyer, husband, and father of two boys, and is running as a Democrat for Congress to fight for families across Virginia’s 1st District.

Salaam is a child of immigrants who came to America to pursue the American dream. While at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, he led bipartisan efforts to expand SNAP food assistance for 25,000+ families, helped secure free school meals for tens of thousands of children, and increased cash assistance for families by historic amounts. You can find out more about him at salaamforva.com

Evenstar Elixer

Ingredients

• 2 oz tart cherry juice
• 1 oz white grape juice
• ½ oz fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz rosemary simple syrup (or honey syrup for a warmer flavor)
• 2–3 oz sparkling water
• Ice

Directions

1. Fill a glass with ice.
2. Add the tart cherry juice, white grape juice, lemon juice, and rosemary syrup.
3. Stir well.
4. Top with sparkling water.

• 5. Garnish with the rosemary sprig and cherries.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. This is the wildly fun and fast moving plot from the book Starter Villain by John Scalzi which I discuss with this week’s guest, Allie Speakmon!

Allie is a book reviewer and content creator based in the New Braunfels, Texas area. She runs @speakingof.books across Instagram, TikTok, and her website speakingof.org where she reviews mysteries, thrillers, romantasy, and contemporary fiction with honest takes and a full glass of wine. She's a project manager by day, a mom of 3 under 4 including twins, and a self-proclaimed Type C reader who reads by vibes and ignores her TBR pile. She's been in the bookstagram community for 9 years, reads 100+ books a year, and recently founded The Quarterly Bookclub in New Braunfels for busy women who love books but think monthly is too much commitment.

Villain Spritz

Ingredients

• 1½ oz vodka
• ¾ oz elderflower liqueur
• ½ oz honey syrup
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• 4–5 fresh blackberries, muddled
• Prosecco or club soda, to top
• Mint sprig and fresh blackberries

Directions

1. Add the blackberries to a cocktail shaker and muddle gently.
2. Add the vodka, elderflower liqueur honey syrup, lemon juice, and ice.
3. Shake well until chilled.
4. Fill a rocks glass with fresh ice and strain the cocktail over the ice.
5. Top with a splash of Prosecco.

• 6. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a few fresh blackberries.

To support Drinks in the Library and listen to ad-free episode and additional bonus content, subscribe on Patreon

Hannah Coulter is Wendell Berry's seventh novel and his first to employ the voice of a woman character in its telling. Hannah, the now-elderly narrator, recounts the love she has for the land and for her community. She remembers each of her two husbands, and all places and community connections threatened by twentieth-century technologies.

Lacey Keigley is a mother, writer, educator and the author of her memoir: Nevertheless: Essays on Divorce, Single Parenting & Hope in which Lacey bends her trademark wit and style to the uncommon commonalities of daily life in a new normal, flinging back the curtains and inviting readers to witness the chaos, blessings, burdens, and hilarity of her world.

At the heart of each lyrical essay is one harrowing question.

When life doesn't turn out as planned-what then?

You can find her on Facebook and on Instagram @SoEveryDay, and on substack: substack.com/@soeveryday

We sipped on a sweet tea during this episode as a tribute to Wendell Berry, his southern roots, as well as our own!

Every book has two stories: the one it tells, and the one it hides.

If you ’re enjoying our show we think you might like the Secret Life of Books — a weekly podcast by Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole that uncovers the hidden stories behind classic books: Who made it? What were their motives, their scandals? And, above all, what secrets lie behind the iconic books you thought you knew? And if you need some reading motivation, they have a Book Club for Secret Life of Books members that offers exclusive bonus episodes, reading notes, and helpful yet hilarious comments, as they chapter by chapter. Their next Book Club read is Charles Dickens’ Bleak House! So go and check out the Secret Life of Books. The first episode in their Book Club is out now, and you can listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Transcendent Kingdom is a 2020 novel by Yaa Gyasi that follows Gifty, a Ghanaian-American neuroscience PhD candidate at Stanford, as she studies addiction and depression in mice while grappling with her family's history of trauma, addiction, and faith. The story explores the tension between science and religion, memory, and the search for meaning after her brother's opioid overdose and her mother's severe depression, all while reflecting on her upbringing in Alabama.

Deanna Allbrittin is the main evening anchor and Development and Engagement Manager at WRIC - 8News. That means she leads station community engagement initiatives and special projects, while mentoring early-career journalists in investigative and community-centered reporting. In addition to wearing all those hats, Deanna has earned regional Murrow, Emmy and Associated Press awards. You may have also seen her moderating nationally televised debates for Virginia's closely watched U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races.

Also, Deanna hosts the podcast All About Books which is a video podcast AND we recorded this episode, so head over there if you want to see the episode as we recorded it here at my home studio in Richmond! Thank you also to videographer Nikita for help make that happen!

Sobolo Tea Recipe - Sobolo is a traditional Hibiscus tea served at Ghanaian parties and picnics. Deanna was kind enough to make and share it for us to sip during the episode. Incredible! This is her modified recipe, originally from Black Foodie

Sobolo

Ingredients

• 1 Pineapple
• 2 Large thumbs of ginger, peeled (about 1/3 cup)
• 15 Grains of selim
• 7 African nutmeg
• 2 1/2 tbsp Cloves
• 1 tbsp Black peppercorn
• 1 tsp Grains of paradise
• 1 cup Dates, pitted
• 16 cups Water
• 2 cups Hisbiscus flowers, dried (sorrel)
• Sugar, to taste
• White vinegar
• 2 Cinnamon sticks

DIRECTIONS (Adapted)

1: Clean the pineapple by soaking in a water and vinegar solution for 10-15 minutes. Lightly brush with a produce brush to fully clean extra dirt from the skin.

2: While the pineapple is soaking, soak the dates in warm water then drain when nice and soft.

3: Pluck several leaves from the pineapple crown and peel the pineapple. Cut it into 2-inch chunks, making sure that the core is removed.

4: In a blender, blend the pineapple fruit with the ginger and dates till smooth.

5: In a pot, add the pineapple leaves, skin, blended mixture, and spices with 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. Do not cover the pot otherwise it will splash.

6: Once the water has come to a boil, add the hibiscus leaves/sorrel and bring the heat down to allow the mixture to steep at a rolling boil.

7: Let the mixture steep for 30-45 minutes, then turn the stove to simmer.

8: Add sugar to taste. I added ~ 1 cup of brown sugar, a quarter of a cup at a time until it was just slightly less sweet than I wanted. Allow it to continue to simmer for 5-10 additional minutes, then turn the stove off.

9: Let the mixture cool till the drink is room temperature. Then, strain the sobolo with a fine mesh strainer, pour it into a bottle and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to enjoy it!

To support Drinks in the Library and listen to ad-free episode and additional bonus content, subscribe on Patreon

Set in a totalitarian superstate, George Orwell's 1984 follows Winston Smith, an official tasked with rewriting history to align with state propaganda. Driven by a desperate yearning for truth and individuality, Winston rebels against the regime by keeping a forbidden diary and pursuing a secret love affair. Ultimately, he is captured by the Thought Police, subjected to brutal psychological torture, and brainwashed into unquestioning submission.

My guest this week is the 2025-26 President of the American Library Association, Sam Helmick! They work as a Community and Access Services Coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library. Sam has served as a member of the ALA Executive Board and as president of the Iowa Library Association. They previously served as chair-elect of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table and chair of the Iowa Governor’s Commission of Libraries. They have served on many committees within the American Library Association and have held leadership roles at multiple levels. Sam is a 2016 Emerging Leader, as well as an author, consultant, and instructor in social media marketing and graphic design.

Sam and I had this conversation over a Smokey Whiskey, which felt like some of the moments in the book, held in smokey bars and back rooms. My exact recommendation is the Bourbon & Spire Oak and Eden, forever one of my favorites!

To support Drinks in the Library and listen to ad-free episode and additional bonus content, subscribe on Patreon

Set in a world where every person’s soul exists outside their body in the form of an animal companion called a dæmon, The Golden Compass follows a brave young girl named Lyra Belacqua as she uncovers a sinister plot involving kidnapped children. Lyra journeys from the halls of Jordan College to the frozen Arctic in search of answers to her questions about power, knowledge, and free will.

Laura McAsh a writer of whimsical worlds and a creator of quirky characters. A library clerk by day, Laura is a neurodivergent nerd passionate about diversity, inclusion, and representation. Beginning her undergrad at the University of Guelph, she completed her Bachelor of General Studies (Arts and Sciences Designation) with distinction at Athabasca University. A collector of hobbies and interests, she is a lover of all animals and is always down for grabbing nachos with friends or snuggling with her cat, Dinosaur. Don’t miss her debut novel Alison’s Adventures in Time!

Our drink this week is a Hungarian Wine, a reference to a scene in the story where Lord Asriel, Lyra’s uncle is almost poisoned with Hungarian white wine. You can pick any brand you like, I went with Kiwi Cuvee Pinot Grigio.