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J Hall - The Okie Bookcast

I'm here to connect curious readers like you with your next great read. Subscribe to the Bookcast Newsletter to get bookish content and episodes of the podcast straight to your inbox.

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Stories About Incredible Oklahomans - Bookcast Newsletter

Books About Great Oklahomans Hey there Reader, Welcome to September! Our interview this month is from an author with a fantastic book about Henry Starr - a famous bank robber turned actor from Oklahoma. In honor of this conversation, we're celebrating great biographies of Oklahomans. Grab a couple of these to find out more about the incredible history of Oklahoma. What other books would you add to this list? Let me know on social media - @okiebookcast. Don't Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest...

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Don't Call It a Comeback! Hey there Reader, We're back from our hiatus! July was a great month to reset and get ready for the Fall - I can't wait for you to hear the lineup of conversations we have coming! Since we're jumping back in, this month I put together a list of thrillers where the protagonist gets pulled back in for one last job. Each book is linked and every purchase supports the Bookcast - win / win! The Chain - Adrian McKinty: A mother’s child is kidnapped. To get her back, she...

Busy Month? Keep Reading! Hey there Reader, If your May is anything like mine, your calendar is full of end-of-school events, graduations, parties, and preparations for the summer to come. These are all great, but might make it a little hard to find time to read. No problem! This month I've put together a list of short (under 250 page) reads to help you keep pace on your reading goals. As a bonus, they also happen to be incredible books! The books below are a combination of classics and new...

It's Indie April, Bookcasters! Hey there Reader, As you know, we are all about indies here at the Bookcast. So for Indie April, here are some indie presses, bookstores, and books you need to know! Indie Presses: Oklahoma is home to some fantastic small presses putting out great work from authors worth reading. Here are just a few: Turning Plow Press Belle Point Press (technically just across the border in Arkansas, but a huge publisher of Oklahoma authors) The Roadrunner Press University of...

Fictional Schools Hey there Reader, From Hogwarts to Battle School to Shiz University - readers love books set in or around a school. To celebrate the release of my new book College Unpacked: A Practical Guide to Choosing, Preparing For, and Excelling in College here is a list of books or series in academic settings. What's your favorite bookish school? Let me know on social media - @okiebookcast. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - Is there a more famous literary school than Hogwarts? Red Rising...

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2025 New Releases from Bookcast Guests Happy New Year Reader! If you're like me, one of the things you have been thinking about as 2025 approached is what your reading year is going to look like - how many books you want to read, what new authors or genres you want to explore, and what new books are coming from your favorite authors. To help you with that last question, I asked my former guests to let me know what they have coming out in 2025, so here's a big list of releases coming this year...

It's Christmas Book-Shopping Season, Bookcasters! Hey there Reader, It's December and that means it's time to think about what you're going to get for the readers in your life, especially the young readers. To help you out, I've put together a list of over 30 Oklahoma authors who write for children and middle-grade readers. The list includes links to their websites or other places where you can purchase their books to make it easy to support these local authors and grab some great fantastic...

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It's National Novel Writing Month! Hey there Reader, It's November and for many writers that means it's time to try to crank out 50,000 words on a project for National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO for the cool kids). So remember to support / encourage your favorite author as they tackle the challenge. Since we're thinking about writers, this months recommendation list is 10 novels that feature writers as a main character. I've got everything from romance to horror and from brand new to...

It's Spooky Season, Bookcasters! Hey there Reader, Every October we ask past guests to share their favorite Halloween reads for spooky season. This year they went above and beyond! Here are 43 recommendations from 22 guests. I've put together a special shop on Bookshop.org where you can check out all of these titles. Click here to purchase these books From kids's books to horror novels, classics to comics, this should fill up your Spooky Season TBR list: Grace Filer, YNGR: Something Wicked...

Happy Autumn! Hey there Reader, I get it, it's only September and it's still hot in Oklahoma, but school (and football!) has started and eventually the season is going to turn. With the turning seasons come turning leaves, which made me think about colors - so here are eight books with colors in the title to check out this fall on your road trip to watch the leaves change color in Eastern Oklahoma! Remember - you can get any of these books (and help out the show!) by clicking on the link and...