Middle Ground Books: After Hours

About Middle Ground Books: After Hours

Welcome to Middle Ground Books: After Hours. We’re Megan, Debra, and Lance from Middle Ground Books in Emporia, Kansas. After a long day at the bookstore, this is where we sit down, grab a few drinks, and talk about whatever happens to be on our minds. Sometimes that means books, authors, and what we’re reading. Other times it takes us into movies, fandom, life, the shop, and whatever else comes up along the way. We try to keep things family friendly, depending on how the drinks are treating us. Mostly, After Hours is just a chance for us to unwind, laugh, share what we’ve been thinking about, and spend a little more time with the community around Middle Ground Books. New chapters every Thursday . Have something you think we should talk about? Stop by the shop, say hi, and let us know what’s on your mind. You never know what might make its way into an episode. And as always, we’ll meet you in the middle. 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: 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) When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks (https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks) 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. Here: Middle Ground Books Biblio Shop (https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414) 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, 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 (https://www.facebook.com/middlegroundbooks/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/middlegroundbooks/), YouTube (https://open.acast.com/networks/684375b6a13d337373a1612c/shows/690826ce47e14fea24e5a49a/episodes/No%20maybe%20you%20should%20go%20back%20to%20lying%20), and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@middlegroundbooks?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Middle Ground Books and Gifts LLC

Category

arts · comedy · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Nov 2025

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

49 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Chapter Forty-Nine: Dental Floss and Vampire Teeth

   Megan, Debra, and Lance head into Halloween with childhood costumes, trick-or-treating memories, old-school spooky movies, and the strange ways being a nerd in October has changed from hiding it to building an entire community around it. 📖 Question of the Chapter: What Halloween tradition from your childhood do you still miss? 📚 Covered Pages “Dreamland” by Olive Blake “The Book of Night” by Holly Black “The Pirate Queen” by Ariel Lawhon “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown “The King in Yellow” “Twilight” “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series “Throne of Glass” series “A Court of Splintered Harmony” Pasted markdown 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks (https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks?utm_source=chatgpt.com) When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks (https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks) 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 (https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414) 🌐 Website & Events: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com (https://www.middlegroundbooks.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com) 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, grab something from the cafe, and join the community at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/middlegroundbooks/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/middlegroundbooks/), YouTube (https://open.acast.com/networks/684375b6a13d337373a1612c/shows/690826ce47e14fea24e5a49a/episodes/No%20maybe%20you%20should%20go%20back%20to%20lying%20), and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@middlegroundbooks?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)to keep up with the shop and the growing nerdosphere. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com (https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Chapter Forty-Eight: Snickers Bar or Fine Dining?

   Some books are a Snickers bar. Others deserve the full fine-dining treatment. Megan, Debra, and Lance turn the focus from what we read to how we read, digging into attention, reading habits, and whether every book deserves the same kind of time and thought. 📖 Question of the Chapter: How do you read when you really want a book to stick with you? 📚 Covered Pages “Proust and the Squid” and “Reader, Come Home” by Maryanne Wolf “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau “The Iliad” by Homer “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien “Yes I Can” by Sammy Davis Jr. “The Fine Art of Lying” “Why Your Five-Year-Old Could Not Have Done That” 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books 📖 Print & Ebooks: https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks (https://bookshop.org/shop/middlegroundbooks) When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore so your purchase supports the Emporia shop. 🎧 Audiobooks: https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks (https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks) 🔎 MGB's Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 (https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414) 📅 You can also explore upcoming events, book clubs, and everything happening at: https://www.middlegroundbooks.com (https://www.middlegroundbooks.com/) 🏪 Visit the Store: Browse the shelves, meet the team, and find your next read at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. 📱 Follow and subscribe to @middlegroundbooks on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/middlegroundbooks/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/middlegroundbooks/), YouTube (https://open.acast.com/networks/684375b6a13d337373a1612c/shows/690826ce47e14fea24e5a49a/episodes/No%20maybe%20you%20should%20go%20back%20to%20lying%20), and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@middlegroundbooks?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🎧 Produced and audio engineered by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com (https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Chapter Forty-Seven: Let Those Leaves Fall

   📖 Question of the Chapter: When fall hits, what kind of book do you reach for first: something spooky, something cozy, a classic, or something completely different? The possibility, the rumor of fall. Megan, Debra, and Lance settle into fall reading season and the shift in what sounds good once the weather starts to turn. Some readers lean spooky, some want something cozy, and some finally reach for the classic or new release they have been meaning to start. Fall is also a good time to clear the reading list. Life is too short to keep forcing your way through a book you are not enjoying when there are so many others waiting. The gang keeps that idea going by looking at what feels worth picking up next when the season changes. Chapter Forty-Seven: Let Those Leaves Fall The DNF Episode for Fall Reading Season 🔔 Subscribe: Subscribe for more book recommendations, bookstore life, new releases, and after hours conversations from Middle Ground Books. 🛒 Support Middle Ground Books: 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) When ordering through Bookshop.org, make sure Middle Ground Books is selected as your bookstore. If Bookshop asks you to choose a bookstore, search for Middle Ground Books and select the Emporia, Kansas shop so your purchase supports the store. 🎧 Audiobooks https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks (https://libro.fm/middlegroundbooks) 🔎 Rare, Special, and Hidden Finds Middle Ground Books also has a Biblio shop for unusual, rare, specialty, and secondhand books that might not show up everywhere else. https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414 (https://www.biblio.com/search.php?author=&title=&keyisbn=&order=pricedesc&dealer_id=5343414) 🏪 If you’re near Emporia, Kansas, visit Middle Ground Books and Gifts at 606 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS. Browse in person, meet the team, grab a complimentary lemonade, 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 (https://www.facebook.com/middlegroundbooks/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/middlegroundbooks), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@MiddleGroundBooks/featured), and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@middlegroundbooks) to stay connected with the shop and the reading community. 📚✨ 🗓️ Store Events and News: Speculative Fiction Writers Group meets Thursday, September 17th at 5:30 PM. Late Night with Metalark follows Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Family Story Time is Saturday, September 19th at 11:00 AM. Second Breakfast Book Club meets Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 PM to discuss Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher, with themed food from the book. The fall sale begins Tuesday, September 22nd with yellow, orange, and red tag discounts. The first Crochet and Knitting Ensemble, also known as CAKE, meets Tuesday, September 22nd at 5:30 PM. The Threshing Day midnight release party begins Monday, September 28th at 11:00 PM, with the book available at midnight. 📚 Covered Pages A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Animal Farm by George Orwell Autumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen Fuller Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel Hollywood, Ending by John Green Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert 1984 by George Orwell Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher Sabriel by Garth Nix Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway Victorious by V. E. Schwab Vicious by V. E. Schwab 🎧 Produced by Cosmic Atom Sound Studios: Produced and audio engineered by “Cosmic” Ron of Cosmic Atom Sound Studios. Email: ronald@cosmicatomsounds.com (mailto:ronald@cosmicatomsounds.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/ (https://www.instagram.com/cosmicatomsounds/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSound (https://www.facebook.com/CosmicAtomSound) YouTube: ‪@CosmicAtomSounds‬ (https://www.youtube.com/@CosmicAtomSounds) Website: https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com (https://www.cosmicatomsounds.com/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Contact Middle Ground Books: After Hours

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.