You might say that I am an addict of Book TV, but I am not sure if the 12-step program works for this type of addiction. Ever since I downsized my cable into a more affordable option, I was freed from the plethora of junk television shows. I was then forced to pay attention to more quality programming. I traded in NY1, with its contentious political commentary, for the more staid PBS News Hour, which has a lot of more interesting topics anyhow. It was painful to part with Animal Planet and the Food Network, but I was thrilled to discover Book TV! This is the best thing ever, and it makes me so glad that I decided to save money on my cable! It is better than all of those other networks that I used to watch, combined.

Treasures

I cannot laud the series of book-related programs that airs each weekend on CSPAN2 (channel 115 for me) enough. You can also view all of the programs online. From 8 am on Saturday to 8 am on Monday, every single weekend, the following programs are featured: interviews with authors, which may be followed by audience questions, information about book fairs and other book-related events across the nation, panel discussions that feature authors discussing literary themes, interviews with curators, mobile book librarians, even an interview with Tony Marx, president of NYPL, and more. Mostly nonfiction books for adults are featured, but fiction and literature for children are also occasionally discussed. Book TV has been in existence since the 1990s.

Learning and Professional Development

They say that they broadcast the program on only on the weekends, but it is also shown on some holidays. It is difficult to articulate how the program supplements my career and augments my knowledge of books, the writing process, literary repositories, and library administration. Basically, everything knowledge and libraries is discussed on the programs that air on Book TV. Many of the programs are author presentations and interviews that occur in bookstores, libraries, synagogues, and book fairs across the country. 

Memorable Programs

Even if I do not read the books that are featured, listening to the authors speak educates me about topics that I might not learn about otherwise. I first was disturbed to learn that the United States tortures their prisoners of war from a program on Book TV. Another program showed a panel of authors talk about what they read, why and how. One time, I listened to a physical therapist describe the challenges and joys of working with multiple-amputee war veterans in a hospital. On another occasion, I was fascinated to learn from a forensic psychologist what life is life in a forensic hospital. I later blogged about that book, as I do about many of the books that I learn about from Book TV, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, through my own research or ones that I find simply lying around the library. The Book TV programming is fascinating, intellectually stimulating, and supplements the Children's Literary Salons that I attend at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in person, usually on the first Saturday of the month. I love blogging, and learning about the authors' writing processes causes me to reflect on my own.

• Book TV's web site
• Interview with Tony Marx, president of NYPL