Today Carrie and I speak to Holly McArthur, a former news producer now local high school teacher who specializes in media studies including tv, radio, and yearbook. She also happens to be a mother of 4 children and belongs to two different book clubs. We talk about how a personal tragedy nudged her into joining her first group 10 years ago.

We are so excited to introduce you to our guest today, Rheonna Nicole, a spoken word artist and poet. 4 years ago she started an all female poetry slam In Louisville KY called Lipstick Wars. She started in a small theater that holds 600. That filled up and the next year she filled another theater that held 1200

Today we welcome Brandon Vigliarolo, a freelance writer who shares his love and books and reading by giving a slice of history. He is a historical reenactor at Locust Grove, a 55 acre estate and mansion from the late 1700s. He felt he needed authentically made books to enhance his performance as an 18th century gentleman. So, he decided to make them himself. Thus began his bookbindery Strano Books.

Today on the show, we talk with Sherry Howard, a Kirkus starred children's book author who refuses to be defined by what society expects of someone with a spinal injury or of a more mature woman. Her creative mind knows no limitations.

Our guest today is Minda Honey, a woman who is talented and busy with lots of irons in the fire. She is a local writer, the new director of Spalding University's Creative Writing program, as well as the creator of LEO Weekly's advice column, Ask Minda Honey, where she gives her answers to all those relationship questions you've been dying to ask. She is currently busy writing a memoir that sounds like an updated version of Sex In The city with single black women making their way in California. We are going to talk all about the queen of Black American literature, Toni Morrison and what other books you should check out if you want to see Morrison's influence on the new generation of black writers. She also speaks to the best ways to make opportunities for yourself if you are a writer as well as her new plan to motivate people to read more with the age old incentive; money. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @MindaHoney and you can find her bi-weekly advice column on leoweekly.com.

This week in the studio we welcome our guest, Kim Vidrine, a freelance editor and high school English teacher in Austin TX. We talk about the parallels and differences between her bookclub and her high school students, why some of the classics of American literature have become problematic for her bookclub, and why she loves the "fun" in dysfunctional family fiction. Last but not least, she describes the shocking thing she did to inspire her students to appreciate good writing.

Our guest today, Kim Esposito, knows a little something about bookclubs. She is a pianist who owns and teaches music lessons to young children at The Children's Music Academy. She also has been with the same bookclub, the Ya- Yas for almost 20 years. She tells us how sharing books can help you form strong lifelong friendships, why finding your voice and rediscovering your identity is so so important as you get older, and we discuss whether symbolism in books is a "real" thing. There is a lot of laughter in the studio this week on Perks.

In this week's episode we talk to Erin Nevitt, a children's librarian with the local library system. She tells us why summer reading is the busiest time of the year, how you can explore some of the city's bet kept secrets with the Cultural Pass, and what makes a book tantalizing for young readers.

On this show, we welcome Amy Attaway, Associate Artistic Director for Kentucky Shakespeare. She will share with us her favorite Shakespeare characters, what is so special to her about live theater, and how memorizing monologues makes you popular at cocktail parties. We are talking all things Shakespeare and the many programs Kentucky Shakespeare has to offer.

On this show, your hosts, Amy Smalley and Carrie Vittitoe, interview Abigail Harrelson, a 20-year old author from La Grange, inspired to write about a local native son known in Hollywood as Buddy Pepper. Her book is called "Pepper at the Piano: The Stories and Songs of Oldham County's Buddy Pepper”