LanguaTalk

The Reading Culture

Host Jordan Lloyd Bookey speaks with authors and reading enthusiasts to explore ways to build a stronger culture of reading in our communities. They'll dive into their personal experiences, inspirations, and why their stories and ideas are connecting so well with kids.

The Reading Culture: Yearbook 2025

43 mins; December 23, 2025

No Wasted Sunshine: Sophie Blackall on the Meaning of Home

33 mins; December 10, 2025

Joy to the People: Mychal Threets Live from AASL

43 mins; November 25, 2025

Expanding Woman: Nic Stone on Forgiveness and the Freedom to Change

33 mins; November 12, 2025

You Can't Just Move On: Erin Entrada Kelly on Limbo

37 mins; October 29, 2025

Tender Heart: Kate DiCamillo on Awe and Grief

31 mins; October 15, 2025

I Love You, Man: Jason Reynolds on Masculinity

38 mins; October 01, 2025

Under My Thumb: Brian Selznick on Control

43 mins; September 17, 2025

The Unchosen Ones: Victoria Aveyard on Fairness in Fantasy

31 mins; September 03, 2025

Unintentional Monsters: Tiffany D. Jackson on Real Horrors and Core Memories

34 mins; August 20, 2025

Becky, Obviously: Becky Albertalli on Bullies, Bodies and Breaking Through

31 mins; August 06, 2025

*ICYMI* Cool To Be You: Kwame Alexander On Authenticity

37 mins; July 23, 2025

Our Job is to Live: Jasmine Warga on Belonging and Radical Hope

38 mins; July 09, 2025

Slow Reveal: Gayle Forman on Friends, Flaws, and Finding Immortality

36 mins; June 25, 2025

Stories Left Untold: Ibi Zoboi on Secrets Lost and Found

41 mins; June 11, 2025

Touched for the Very First Time: Soman Chainani on Books That Turn Scrollers into Readers

39 mins; May 28, 2025

Mixtape: Mychal Threets Lays Out His Life in Books

25 mins; May 13, 2025

Good Luck, They’re Yours: Sharon Draper on Giving Students Room to Read

28 mins; April 30, 2025

We Contain Multitudes: Debbie Levy on the Dangers of Reductionist Thinking

46 mins; March 19, 2025

Art Against the Machine: Aida Salazar on Writing for the Resistance

39 mins; March 05, 2025

In the Heights: Jerry Craft Subverts Expectations

38 mins; February 19, 2025

Porch Stories: Jewell Parker Rhodes on Ghosts, History, and Staying Open to Love

48 mins; February 05, 2025

Scratching the Surface: Vashti Harrison on Going Past Skin Deep

38 mins; January 22, 2025

Indomitable: Yamile Saied Méndez on Puberty, Dictatorship, and Brave Women

44 mins; January 08, 2025

The Reading Culture: Yearbook 2024

35 mins; December 23, 2024

We Are Always Rising: Andrea Davis Pinkney Spreads Stories and Hope

42 mins; December 10, 2024

Revisit - Hero of the Anti-Heroes: Gregory Maguire on the Value of Second Chances

44 mins; November 26, 2024

Tiny Spaces: Mac Barnett on Why Kids Are Better Than Adults at Reading Picture Books

44 mins; November 12, 2024

Keep Me Out of It: Eliot Schrefer on the Costs and Benefits of Self-Erasure

38 mins; October 29, 2024

A Quiet House: Katherine Marsh on Why We Need to Turn Down the Noise

42 mins; October 15, 2024

Rebel With Claws: Zoraida Córdova on the Pleasures of Nonconformity

39 mins; October 01, 2024

Always in the Room: Elizabeth Acevedo on Ancestors, Neighbors, and Secret Mentors

39 mins; September 17, 2024

Worthy of Protecting: Ari Tison Faces Down Monsters With Words

42 mins; September 03, 2024

Surreal Talk: A.S. King on Validating Teen Trauma

41 mins; August 20, 2024

Natural Resources: Katherine Applegate on the Wisdom and Solace of Animals

38 mins; August 06, 2024

Revisit - Mixed Feelings: Matt de la Peña on Balancing Being Stoic and Sensitive

40 mins; July 23, 2024

Revisit - Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Sabaa Tahir on the Need to Bear Witness

43 mins; July 09, 2024

You Are Flawed, You Are Messy, You Are Loved: Shannon Hale on Hope and Heroines

44 mins; June 25, 2024

Unstoppable Force, Movable Object: Dhonielle Clayton on Levering Children's Books Into the 21st Century

38 mins; June 11, 2024

Summon the Tiger: Minh Lê Blurs the Boundaries

42 mins; May 28, 2024

Twilight Zone: Julie Murphy on Self-Doubt and Self-Love

42 mins; May 14, 2024

Filling in the Blanks: Cece Bell on the Comedy of the Absurd

43 mins; April 30, 2024

Hero of the Anti-Heroes: Gregory Maguire on the Value of Second Chances

42 mins; April 16, 2024

Simple Thing, Felt: Nina LaCour on Unwrapping a Moment

37 mins; April 02, 2024

The World As It Should Be: LeUyen Pham Illustrates an Ideal

40 mins; March 19, 2024

If Your Heart Breaks, It’s Working: Nicola Yoon on Love and Other Risky Behaviors

40 mins; March 05, 2024

The Blackest Book Ever: Derrick Barnes on Writing Unapologetically

39 mins; February 20, 2024

Rabbit Holes: Brandy Colbert on Deep Research and Deep Characters

39 mins; February 06, 2024

The One and Only John: Mr. Schu Turns His Heart Inside Out

38 mins; January 23, 2024

A Gut Punch and a Hug: Mark Oshiro on Practicing Vulnerability

41 mins; January 10, 2024

The Reading Culture: Yearbook 2023

29 mins; December 26, 2023

The Things We Know: Oge Mora on Finding the Magic in the Everyday

36 mins; December 12, 2023

Visibility Cloak: Hena Khan on Commonality Over Conformity

40 mins; November 28, 2023

A Good Guest: Daniel Nayeri on the Obligations of a Storyteller

37 mins; November 14, 2023

Revisit - The Gift of Fear: Lamar Giles on How Horror Helps Kids Cope

29 mins; October 31, 2023

Family Ties: Dan Santat on Childhood, Parenthood, and Finding Himself

37 mins; October 17, 2023

Inner Section: Kacen Callender on Trauma, Healing, and Magic

37 mins; October 03, 2023

Cool To Be You: Kwame Alexander On Authenticity

35 mins; September 19, 2023

Here, Extrapolated: Neal Shusterman on The Art of World Building

33 mins; September 05, 2023

Negative Space: Jon Klassen on Restraint

39 mins; August 22, 2023

Revisit - The Heart of the Story: Karina Yan Glaser Talks Empathy in Writing

35 mins; August 08, 2023

Revisit - Voice Through Verse: Renée Watson on Poetry as Empowerment

35 mins; July 25, 2023

Big Summer Reading Giveaway!

1 min; July 24, 2023

The Fire Inside: Jacqueline Woodson Carries the Torch

42 mins; July 11, 2023

Mixed Feelings: Matt de la Peña on Balancing Being Stoic and Sensitive

39 mins; June 27, 2023

Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Sabaa Tahir on the Need to Bear Witness

42 mins; June 13, 2023

Recovering Identity: Angeline Boulley Calls for a Reckoning

38 mins; May 30, 2023

Never Empty-Handed: Yuyi Morales on the Stories, the Pain, and the Hope We Carry

39 mins; May 16, 2023

The Depth of the Universe: M.T. Anderson on the Sneaky Relevance of Sci-fi and Fantasy

38 mins; May 02, 2023

Inflection Point: Shadra Strickland Puts the Dash in Author-Illustrator

38 mins; April 18, 2023

Little Windows: Victoria Jamieson on the Underrated Power of Graphic Novels

40 mins; April 04, 2023

Lonely Planet: Erin Entrada Kelly on Looking After the Overlooked

36 mins; March 21, 2023

Screen Play: James Ponti on Writing with a Filmmaker's Eye

35 mins; March 07, 2023

Eye of the Tiger: Ellen Oh on Rising Up for the Right to Read

42 mins; February 21, 2023

Comfortably Uncomfortable: Nic Stone on the Story Less Told

37 mins; February 07, 2023

Oh, the Humanity: Grace Lin on Art and the Human Experience

36 mins; January 24, 2023

Truth From Fiction: Adam Gidwitz on Plato, the Devil, and the BFG

36 mins; January 10, 2023

Revisit - Cultivating Story: Meg Medina on the importance of storytelling in life, writing, and the fight against book bans

37 mins; December 27, 2022

They Already Know: Kate DiCamillo on Helping Kids Find Hope in Darkness

42 mins; December 13, 2022

Voice Through Verse: Renée Watson on Poetry as Empowerment

34 mins; November 29, 2022

Voice Training: Zetta Elliott on Reckoning with Your Past and Disrupting the Future

29 mins; November 15, 2022

The Gift of Fear: Lamar Giles on How Horror Helps Kids Cope

28 mins; October 31, 2022

Connecting With Authors: Varian Johnson and Seeing Yourself Beyond the Pages

32 mins; October 18, 2022

The Heart of the Story: Karina Yan Glaser Talks Empathy in Writing

34 mins; October 04, 2022

Cultivating Story: Meg Medina on the Importance of Storytelling in Life, Writing, and the Fight Against Book Bans

36 mins; September 20, 2022

The Reading Culture: Trailer

1 min; August 17, 2022

The Reading Culture

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