Middle Ground Books: After Hours

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Science Fiction Show

Megan, Debra, and Lance celebrate crossing 100 YouTube subscribers with viewer shoutouts, comment responses, and a little appreciation for the people helping the podcast grow. Then science fiction takes over the shop, asking how much of the genre belongs to real science, how much belongs to imagination, and how much comes from the fears people are carrying at the time. H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, the French comic Valerian, and Olivia Waite’s Murder by Memory shape a conversation about invisibility, alien communication, poppycock science, dystopian fiction, and climate anxiety. Some science holds up. Some really doesn’t. How much bad science are you willing to forgive if the story works? Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Print and ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks [https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks] Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks [https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks] If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com [https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/] Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📖 The Covered Pages The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells The Time Machine by H. G. Wells Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott Relativity The Special and the General Theory by Albert Einstein The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Valérian and Laureline by Jean Claude Mezieres and Pierre Christin The Fifth Element by Luc Besson Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman After the Fall by Edward Ashton The Danger of Small Things by Carol Lewis Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Divergent by Veronica Roth The Maze Runner by James Dashner Silvercloak by L. K. Steven Strange Buildings by Uketsu Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com [https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: From You, 142 Days Ago

An episode recorded near Christmas 2025, sent forward like a bookstore time capsule. Megan, Debra, and Lance have a conversation that somehow involves a naked detective over Los Angeles, imprisoned gods, betrayal, lost Narnia doors, and food comparisons that we have now grown accustomed to. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Print and ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks [https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks] Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks [https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks] If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com [https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/] Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📖 The Covered Pages The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin Stripped for Murder by Richard S. Prather Embers by Sandor Marai The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com [https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Parade of Horribles

Lit RPG takes over the shop as Megan, Debra, and Lance dig into Dungeon Crawler Carl, A Parade of Horribles, and the strange pull of stories built around game mechanics, monsters, and impossible odds. The conversation branches into isekai, Aethon Books, sci-fi versus fantasy, Reddit reactions, and why Matt Dinniman’s series hits harder than its premise suggests. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Print and ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks [https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks] Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks [https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks] If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com [https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/] Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📖 The Covered Pages Strange Buildings by Uketsu Silvercloak by L. K. Steven The Close Encounters Man by Mark O'Connell The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman (Book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl) Delvers LLC by Blaise Corvin He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon The Primal Hunter by Zogarth Hell Difficulty Tutorial by Cerim The Martian by Andy Weir Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com [https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Happy Little Accidents

Debra, Megan, and Lance settle in after a long week for a looser, after-hours recording. The conversation drifts through Emporia Kansas events, Comic Con memories, merchandise ideas, and the podcast’s unexpected international reach, with side tangents that stretch from Bob Ross to Scooby-Doo. Another chance to spend time with the hosts outside the usual book talk. Well…for the most part. Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Print and ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks [https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks] Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks [https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks] If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com [https://www.middlegroundbooks.com] Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📖 The Covered Pages American Fantasy by Emma Straub The Egyptian Book of the Dead by E. A. Wallis Budge Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Absent by Brendan P. Bellacourt Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss Will the Pigeon Graduate by Mo Willems You’re On Your Way by Melanie Watt Marcie and the Giraffe by Kim Gregory 12 Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu Middle Ground Books After Hours is produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. If you’re working on a podcast, business media, or creative project and need audio, video, or media assets, learn more at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com [https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Independent Bookstore Day Eve...Eve

Independent Bookstore Day is almost here, so the shop is in prep mode. There are plans for a costume event for kids, raffle prizes, local authors coming through, and a couple golden tickets hidden somewhere in the store. In between all the planning, the trio still finds time to give the rundown. When a bookstore turns an event into something interactive, does it bring people in or just add to the noise around it? Support Middle Ground Books wherever you are. Physical books and ebooks are available worldwide through the shop’s Bookshop page, and audiobooks are available through the store as well. Print and ebooks https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks [https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks] Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks [https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks] If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS to browse in person, meet the team, and find your next great read. You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com [https://www.middlegroundbooks.com] Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. This chapter centers on Independent Bookstore Day at Middle Ground Books, with plans for a costume event, raffle prizes, local authors, and a couple golden tickets hidden somewhere in the store. Megan, Lance, and Debra talk through what’s coming together, what’s already in motion, and what they’ve been reading in the middle of it all, from mystery and horror to a few unexpected standouts. 📖 The Covered Pages The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas Vicious by V. E. Schwab Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri Delvers LLC by Blaise Corvin Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.