The Reading Culture Podcast

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The Reading Culture Podcast

The Reading Culture Podcast
co-founder Jordan Lloyd Bookey hosts conversations with author

17/09/2025

Welcome to The Reading Culture podcast, Brian Selznick!

We all want to feel in control, mold our lives and experiences, and shape the world into something we can hold. But control is slippery; one moment, it can steady us, the next, it slips away.

Brian Selznick— #1 New York Times bestselling author, illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner—has spent his career playing with this tension. From “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” to “Wonderstruck” and, most recently, “Run Away With Me,” Brian believes that it’s his job is to control the reader's experience, forcing page turns and placing illustrations in a particular order, all while acknowledging that control is ceded to the reader once a book is in their hands.

In this episode, Brian reflects on his lifelong pull toward control in life and art—what drives it, how it shapes his work, and when the need to let go becomes inevitable. He shares his fascination with all things miniature and opens up with unflinching honesty about his complicated relationship with his father, spanning life and loss. He also reveals a formative influence you might not expect, and a most extraordinary afternoon with Ray Bradbury.

Settle in for a fascinating, moving episode with one of the great creators of our time. Do you have a favorite book by Brian Selznick? Share in the comments!

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This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Chelsea Pisani, a rockstar children's librarian at Maple Valley Branch Library (Akron Summit County Public Library) in Akron, Ohio (fitting it's OH given one of Brian's fantastic anecdotes). She shares the story of how one student, also with a keen ability to take control, is spreading his passion for reading among his peers by setting up his own book club.

***rauthor ***rstories

12/09/2025

I love how these two quotes from Victoria Aveyard encapsulate her writing and quest for justice in her own writing. Raise your hand if you relate to that first one!

05/09/2025

For her reading challenge, Chosen/Unchosen, Victoria encourages readers to question the trope of “the chosen one.” She asks us to challenge why some are handed the quest, the crown, or the magic…and what happens to everyone else. Listen to the full episode to hear more about the books she has selected for this one-of-a-kind list.

03/09/2025

Welcome to The Reading Culture podcast, Victoria Aveyard!

Unfairness is a pervasive theme in a lot of fantasy fiction. With battles between good and evil dominating title after title, these stories appear to have a good grasp on fairness and justice. But for Victoria Aveyard, the world of fantasy frequently falls short on these promises. Even in some of her favorite works, light may ultimately overcome the darkness, but not every character is given a fair chance to shine.

Victoria Aveyard is the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Red Queen series and the Realm Breaker series. In her work, Victoria creates epic fantasy landscapes where women loom large and conventions around chosen characters are challenged.

In this episode, Victoria opens up about why her sense of fairness took shape early, shares which undersized movie character is her icon, and reflects on why there’s no escaping politics in literature. Oh, and we also explore some of our shared superstitions...there are so. many.

Settle in for a fast-paced episode filled with humor and a lot of Victoria’s beloved hot takes. Do you have a favorite book by Victoria Aveyard? Share in the comments! :)

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This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Camille Perez, a former media specialist at the elementary and high school levels in Osceola County, Florida, and now a Beanstack team member. Today, Camille shares her hot takes on the modern school library and why shush culture should be a thing of the past.

27/08/2025

And how I tried to shorten this one long quote. And couldn't! So here we are with three panels. You're welcome.

22/08/2025

Tiffany D. Jackson’s reading challenge is a celebration of African-American horror and thrillers, genres she has been questioned for writing. Listen to the full episode to hear more about that and also the background for this awesome reading list!

20/08/2025

Welcome to The Reading Culture podcast, Tiffany D. Jackson!

Some of the most unsettling monsters don’t come from nightmares or ghost stories. They walk among us in daylight, smiling widely, and blending in. They can be shaped by our environments, our circumstances, or people’s choices — and in stories, as in life, they challenge us to look closer and to see the human before the horror.

Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Allegedly, The Weight of Blood, Blood in the Water, and many more, including her forthcoming book The Scammer. She is also the recipient of the Margaret E. Edwards Award, honoring her significant and lasting contribution to teen literature. She blends real-world horrors with the sharp tension of a thriller, always keeping our emotions and nerves on edge! In this episode, Tiffany shares how her own encounters with “unintentional monsters” have shaped her writing. She also opens up about finding her voice in film school, why stories like Monday’s Not Coming are drawn from real-life cases, and how fiction is her way of building empathy where the headlines fall short. Buckle up for a gripping episode from Tiffany’s very first anecdote about a childhood horror story.

Do you have a favorite book by TDJ? Share in the comments!

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This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is once again Kelly Shelton, an elementary librarian for Garland ISD in Texas. This time, she shares how building a strong reading culture goes beyond the library -- into the hallways, the bus line, and even your students' plays!

15/08/2025

Becky Albertalli's thoughts upon her first reading of Jaclyn Moriarty's book, "The Year of Secret Assignments."

08/08/2025

For her reading challenge, Q***r Coming of Age Stories, Becky Albertalli has curated a list packed with q***r stories, identity shifts, big feelings, and characters trying to make sense of themselves, one awkward moment at a time.

***rcomingoutstories ***rstories

06/08/2025

Welcome to The Reading Culture podcast, Becky Albertalli!

What if there were two stories running through your life: the one you’re telling the world–and the one you’re you haven’t even admitted to yourself? That’s the kind of truth Becky Albertalli explores in her writing, and that she’s lived in her own life.

Becky is the bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat, and more recently Amelia, If Only. Her books capture the awkward, earnest, messy work of figuring out who you are–and remind us that coming out, growing up, and becoming yourself rarely happen all at once. In this episode, Becky opens up about growing up and fitting (or not fitting) in in a conservative suburb, finding refuge in theater, and explaining how The Babysitters Club is q***r canon. She also reflects on how writing helped her work through parts of herself she hadn’t yet named, discusses why q***r-coming-of-age stories still matter, and reminds us of the glory that is Rent.

Do you have a favorite book by Becky Albertalli? Share in the comments!

***

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Kelly Shelton, an elementary librarian for Garland ISD in Garland, Texas. She’s been an educator for 26 years!! And in the library for nearly a decade. She shares how unlocking a love of reading can start with dinosaurs, Dog Man, or a well-timed Taylor Swift Break.

***rstories

29/07/2025

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