Lance, Debra, and Megan look back at their favorite reads from 2025 and share what they’re excited to read in 2026. The episode touches on what’s ahead for the store, including new events and activities, and ways they’re hoping to make the shop an even more active place for readers to spend time together in the year ahead.

📖 The Covered Pages

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

The Everlasting by Alex E. Harrow

Whitewash by Carey Gillam

Poisoning the Well by Sharon Udasin and Rachel Frazin

The Call by Yannick Murphy

Fast Like a Girl by Mindy Pelz

The Menopause Reset by Mindy Pelz

Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe

The Torchlight by Mura Bofini

Somewhere, a Boy and a Bear by Daniel Bernstrom

If this caught your ears, you can find it through the links in the section below.

Stay connected with Middle Ground Books After Hours by following the store on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The team shares new arrivals, staff picks, community updates, and behind the counter moments.

Explore upcoming events, book recommendations, and new releases at https://www.middlegroundbooks.com.

If you are near Emporia Kansas, stop by Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street to shop local, meet the hosts, and find your next great read.

If you cannot visit in person, you can support the store through their Bookshop page at https://www.bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks.

Every purchase through Bookshop helps keep the shelves full and the community growing. You can also browse expanded reading lists curated by each host.

Middle Ground Books After Hours is remotely produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. Learn more about creative audio, music production, and media services at https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com.

Follow @CosmicAtomSounds on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. If you have a podcast or creative idea waiting to be heard, Cosmic Atom Sound Studios helps bring your vision to life and make it sound. Let us come together and build something new.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.