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Welcome to Chapter 79!

We're doing something a little different to kick off the year. I’ve invited three experts working in the field of literacy across Oklahoma to join me for a conversation about where we are as a state and what is being done to help meet childhood and adult literacy challenges. You are going to hear some passionate folks talk about some inspiring interventions and results and you’re also going to hear about how you can get involved. 

Erin Bell - Project Manager for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Oklahoma

Connect: Imagination Library Website | Erin on IG

Melissa Ahlgrim - Program Director of Literacy Policy and Programs at the Oklahoma State Department of Education

Connect: OKDOE on FB | Website | Melissa on IG

Christopher Myers - Director of Academics for the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County. 

Connect: OICOKC Website | OICOKC on IG | 405.235.2651

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Mentioned on the Show

Nancy Drew Mysteries - Carolyn Keene

Get Out of Your Own Way - Mark Goulston and Philip Goldberg

The Mountain is You - Brianna Wiest

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Welcome to Your Next Great Read! 

This month, Hannah and J talk about som recent reads and then recap a great year of reading in 2025. We read a lot of great stuff this year and loved getting a chance to talk about all of our favorites in one place. 

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Connect with Hannah: website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Huge thanks to Self Publish Me for sponsoring this episode! 

Books discussed on the show:

Hannah

The Ghostwriter - Julie Clark

In a Holidaze - Christina Lauren

Favorites of 2025:

When the Wolf Comes Home - Nat Cassidy

The God of the Woods - Liz Moore

Normal People - Sally Rooney

This Thing Between Us - Gus Moreno

The Winter People - Jennifer McMahon

J

Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - Dennis H. Taylor

Favorites of 2025:

Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones

Crooks - Lou Berney

Shake Bouchon series - Lou Berney

Children of the Neon Bamboo - B. Glynn Kimmey

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Welcome to Chapter 78! This month we are featuring books for kids with our first ever Children's Author Round Table! I'm joined by two great authors to talk about their work and a ton of other books.

Mark McCraw is a Former educator, AF and Air Force Reserve Veteran, corrections officer, adjunct professor, daycare teacher, migrant Head Start teacher, children's book author, and non-profit executive. He’s the author of 12 books for children and speaks and reads to kids all over the state and across the country. 

Eileen Hobbs is the author of 8 books for ages 7-11 including the Heath Cousins Series, Under the Golden Rain Tree, Stella and the Sea Stars, and The Girl from Korn. She also completed her first picture book titled "Charlie's No Fun Day at the Beach". 

Connect with Mark: website | FB | YouTube

Connect with Eileen: website | FB | IG

Don't forget to subscribe to Read LOKal, our new newsletter highlighting Oklahoma new releases and bookish events. Find out more, subscribe, and submit your book (all for FREE) at readlokal.substack.com.

Mentioned on the Show:

Mary the Missionary: A Kenya Adventure - Yvonne M. Morgan

I Move a Lot and That’s OK - Shermaine Perry-Knights

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

Inspiration in Uniform - Dona T. Mularkey

Una Belle Townsend

Tammi Sauer

Rizzoli and Isles Series - Tess Gerritsen

The Ship of Brides - Jojo Mayes

Something In the Water - Catherine Steadman

The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena

Diana Kathryn Penn

Visions: Stories and Poems from Peculiar Perspectives - Diana Kathryn Penn, ed. 

The Quire: An Omnibus of Story - Diana Kathryn Penn

Flights of Fantasy: Bedtime Stories and Poems for Children - Diana Kathryn Penn

Dr. Seuss

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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It's always a blast when Jamie (JL) Hyde joins us on YNGR! In addition to some fantastic mysteries and thrillers, we also manage to go on about Grady Hendrix, Tiger King, Indie Authors, how much reading we did during COVID, tons of other books, and the bookish bullet I dodged when Hannah was about 9 years old (you can hear the fear in my voice as she tells this story!). 

Settle in and get ready to build that TBR tower even higher!

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Connect with Jamie: website | Instagram | TikTok

Connect with Hannah: website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Huge thanks to Self Publish Me for sponsoring this episode! 

Books Discussed on the Show:

Jamie

The Kidnapping of Alice Ingold - Cate Holahan

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls - Grady Hendrix

You’ll Never Know - Caleb Stephens

All the Missing Girls - Megan Miranda

Hannah

Family of Liars - E. Lockhart

The Chain - Adrian McKinty

Look Closer - David Ellis

The Guest List - Lucy Foley

J

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

By the Fire We Carry - Rebecca Nagle

The Andromeda Evolution - Daniel H. Wilson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Welcome to Chapter 77! For this episode, we’re talking about one of, if not the, most iconic Oklahoma story of all - The Outsiders. I got to sit down with Jimmie Trammel from the Tulsa World and Danny Boy O’Connor, founder of the Outsiders House Museum to talk about their new book, Staying Gold: An Oral History of the Outsiders.

Jimmie Tramel, who was born in Pryor and raised in Locust Grove, is a lifelong Oklahoman who has worked at the Tulsa World since 1989. He was a sports writer for 25 years and wrote books on (or with) former Oklahoma State football coach Pat Jones and former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. He switched from sports to entertainment 11 years ago and became the Tulsa World's pop culture writer.

Danny Boy O’Connor is the Founder and Executive Director of The Outsiders House Museum in Tulsa and a founding member of the 90s rap group, House of Pain. 

In our conversation, we talk about their new book, the challenges and opportunities of writing an oral history, the legacy of the Outsiders and the Outsiders Hour Museum, and the biggest mistake they made in putting the book together.

Connect with Jimmie: Twitter | Facebook

Connect with Danny: Twitter | Facebook | The Outsiders House Museum

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Authors - Submit your new releases to Read LOKal

Mentioned on the Show

The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

Woke Up this Morning: The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos - Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa

Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests - Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

Exile on Front Street: My Life as a Hells Angel . . . and Beyond - George Christie

Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Cameron Crowe

The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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It's the October edition of YNGR! This month we are celebrating spooky season with our forever October guest - author Stacey Kade (AKA S.A. Barnes)! 

Plenty of horror and thriller reads at a variety of scare levels to finish out your October TBR. We also get a quick rundown of Stacey's new book, Death's Daughter (preorder here)!

Connect with Stacey: Instagram | website

Connect with Hannah: website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Huge thanks to Self Publish Me for sponsoring this episode! 

Books discussed on the show:

Stacey

The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo

Exiles - Mason Coile

Play Nice - Rachel Harrison

The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher

Hannah

The God of the Woods - Liz Moore

Such Quiet Girls - Noelle West Ihli

Suffer the Children - Craig DeLouie

In the Tall Grass - Stephen King and Joe Hill

J

Paranoia - James Patterson and James O. Born

Fantasticland - Mike Bockoven

Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Welcome to Volume 14! This time we have poems from 12 Oklahoma poets cued up and ready for you to enjoy. Be sure to connect with the poets across their social media (linked below) to let them know how much you appreciate their work.

You can check out previous volumes at okiebookcast.com/behindtherain

Here's the Lineup:

Toy Box Apocalypse - Hallie Waugh

• IG: @halliewaugh_writer
• halliewaugh.substack.com

Fish Dream - Scott LaMascus

• scottlamascus.com

Chevy Blue - Brand Rackley

• IG: @brandrackley 

Clouds and Lemonade - Rob Sturma

• IG: @ratpack_slim

Wildflowers - Alicia Daggs

• IG: @solatidont

The Universe is Big - Brea Lynnett

• IG: @breanne.lynnett

We Come Home Now - Grace

• IG: @_kristen_grace

Up Seven Parking Levels, On the Wall - David Jennings

• FB: @DJennPhotos
• davidjenningsartinphotographyandpoetry.com

I Remember You - Nichole Yates

• IG: @nicholeyates

Tonight Held for Me a Dream - Jake Spann

• FB: @jake.spann.9

Missing You and Something Had to Change - Aubrey Green

• IG: @bluecloverediting

I Finally Used a Rhyme Scheme - Laken Quinn

• IG: @above.the.clouds.poetry

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Welcome to Chapter 76 of the Okie Bookcast - Our 4th Bookcastaversary Show!

Stay tuned after the conversation for some updates as we move into Year 5.

For this special episode of the Bookcast, I sat down with the incredible Daniel H. Wilson. Daniel is a Cherokee citizen, Tulsa native, and the multiple New York Times bestselling author of techno-thrillers such as Robopocalypse, The Clockwork Dynasty, and The Andromeda Evolution (an authorized sequel to the Crichton classic). He earned a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as Masters degrees in Machine Learning and Robotics. He just released a new novel, Hole in the Sky, a fantastic story of Native First Contact. In our conversation, we talk about the new book and its deep connection to his Oklahoma roots and Native heritage. We also talk about writing technology for non-technical folks, indigenous science fiction, and Daniel gives a quick impromptu masterclass on screenwriting.

Connect with Daniel: website

Mentioned on the show:

Robopocalypse - Daniel H. Wilson

How to Survive a Robot Uprising - Daniel H. Wilson

Earth 2 - Daniel H. Wilson and Jorge Jimenez

The Clockwork Dynasty - Daniel H. Wilson

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones

The Gilda Stories - Jewelle Gomez

HP Lovecraft

Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

The Doomed City - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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I'm joined by my YNGR co-host and favorite oldest daughter, Hannah Herron, to talk about the 2025 film adaptation of the Richard Bachman / Stephen King classic - The Long Walk. What did the filmmakers get right? What did they miss? And what do we think of the changes?
If you love the book and / or the film, you'll love this conversation. If you haven't read or seen it, you're going to want to by the time we're through.
Check it out and let us know what we got right (or wrong).

Connect with Hannah: website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Purchase The Long Walk

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Welcome to Your Next Great Read! Hannah and I welcome author Laura Vogt - her debut novel, In the Great Quiet, releases in March. 

We have a lot of fun with Laura botching author names, giving family shout outs, and hearing Hannah’s first impressions of The Long Walk. Oh, and we talk about books too - historical fiction, fantasy, sci fi, and horror - something for every reader. 

Connect with Laura: website | Instagram | TikTok

Connect with Hannah: website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

This episode of YNGR is brought to you by Nouscraft World 1: The Zombie Apocalypse by Leonard Buford. On sale now!

Discussed on the show

Laura

Thirteen Moons - Charles Frazier

Mystic and Rider (12 Houses) - Sharon Shinn

Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy

Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishiguro

Hannah

The Book of Accidents - Chuck Wendig

The Giver of Stars - JoJo Moyes

The Night Guest - Hildur Knútsdóttir

The Magician’s Nephew - C.S. Lewis

J

Hole in the Sky - Daniel H. Wilson

Anji Kills a King - Evan Leikam

The Southern Book Club Guide to Slaying Vampires - Grady Hendrix

Watership Down - Richard Adams

Connect with J: website | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Music by JuliusH