Read. Return. Repeat.

Sara and Daniel talk with author Natalie Zina Walschots, author of Hench, where they take a closer look at ReadICT Category 5, a book told from the villain's point-of-view. In this episode they examine the lives of the hired help of supervillains, why nobody thinks about the real-world cost of superheroes destroying everyone's favorite coffee shop, and why even henches deserve universal health care.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e9.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

Sara and Daniel interview local historian Seth Bate, author of Winfield's Walnut Valley Festival, as they delve into ReadICT category 6: a book about time and talk about the timelessness of music, building community through a shared passion, and why more people should play musical saws.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e8.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

Sara and Daniel interview author Travis Baldree, author of Legends and Lattes, the bestselling cozy fantasy novel about an orc who trades in her weapons to open a coffee shop in a quiet village. In this episode – which focuses on ReadICT category 3, a book about friendship – Travis shares his thoughts on how our friendships are a form of self-reflection, why found families are important, and what exactly a hobgoblin is.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e7.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

Sara and Daniel interview author David Heska Wanbli Weiden to discuss his novel Winter Counts, a gritty crime novel taking place on the Lakota Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This episode explores ReadICT category 10, a book set in the Great Plains, and how place can be inextricably linked to one’s identity, especially for Native Americans.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e6.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy celebrate Pride Month by doing a deep dive into category 8: a book featuring a LGBTQIA+ protagonist. Joining them on the podcast is author Nghi Vo, who has authored multiple books featuring queer characters. She discusses her most recent novel, Siren Queen, which tells the story of a Chinese American actress in an alternate Hollywood during its Golden Age, featuring monsters both real and imagined. In this novel, she explores themes of mythology, power dynamics, colorism in Hollywood and the importance of support networks in marginalized communities, and how this impacts us today just as much as it did during the time period in which the novel was set.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e5.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy get a little "culty" to explore category 11: a book about a secret or closed society! Joining them on the podcast is editor, publisher and cartoonist Robyn Chapman, who edited the graphic novel collection American Cult: A Graphic History of Religious Cults in America from the Colonial Era to Today, which comprises a collection of stories about various cults in American history, some that are older than the founding of this country! They talk about why cults fascinate us, the link between true crime and cult stories and where we draw the line between belief and brainwashing.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e4.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

In this episode, hosts Daniel Pewewardy and Sara Dixon talk about the often-avoided topic of death in recognition of #ReadICT category 9: a book about death or grief. Joining them on the podcast is journalist Hayley Campbell, who wrote the book All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work. They discuss what led her to writing a book about a topic that makes many people squeamish, which job she could (or couldn't) do if she had chosen to work with the dead, and why we should take more afternoon strolls through cemeteries.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e3.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy take a deep dive into category 1: A Book with a Non-Human Narrator. Joining them on the podcast is author and filmmaker C. Robert Cargill, author of post-apocalyptic robot westerns Sea of Rust and its prequel, Day Zero. From robot morality to the history of swearing to why Isaac Asimov was a pessimist, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e2.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

Opening Season 3 of the podcast, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy talk with Arielle Zibrak, Associate Professor of English and Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Wyoming to discuss the topic of Category 4: Guilty Pleasures. Zibrak, who is also author of the book Avidly Reads: Guilty Pleasures, discusses the concept of shame and media consumption and why we should never feel bad about the things we love.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e1.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.

In this bonus episode recorded before a live audience, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy join Suzanne Perez and Beth Golay from the KMUW podcast Books & Whatnot to celebrate the 2023 kickoff of the #ReadICT challenge. A departure from the usual podcast format, these book aficionados and fellow podcasters talk about the history of the challenge and explore each category and how it might be approached differently by readers. This episode is full of great recommendations for each category (including some from a few very brave audience members) as well as their own reading plans for #ReadICT 2023!

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e0.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.org/readict.