Nic Stone isn’t interested in staying in her lane. 

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, her young adult novels—Dear Martin, Chaos Theory, and Clean Getaway—explore nuances of racism, power, and mental illness with clarity and compassion. 

Now, she’s stepping into uncharted territory with Boom Town, her first adult novel. Set in a legendary Atlanta strip club, it’s a story about women, survival, and social power, and is a reflection of Nic’s own creative evolution. 

In this Second Chapter conversation, Expanding Woman: Nic Stone on Forgiveness and the Freedom to Change, Nic returns to the podcast and gets real about what it means to grow louder, freer, and to become more yourself. She talks about lighting rage letters on fire, a recent existential crisis (hello, middle age), and the surprising way her new book helped her dad heal old wounds. 

Settle in for a conversation that’ll make you want to live a little louder and embrace every chaotic (and beautiful) version of who you are. 

http://thereadingculturepod.com/nic-stone-second-chapter

***

Show Chapters
Chapter 1: Unpaved Territory

Chapter 2: Right on Schedule 

Chapter 3: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Chapter 4: Learning the Steps

Chapter 5: Let It Burn

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Nic Stone 
• Nic Stone Instagram 
• Boom Town
• The Picture of Dorian Gray 
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

“It’s that old expression that I love, which is ‘wherever you go, there you are.’ So you never really get out of the limbo, because the limbo is you.” — Erin Entrada Kelly

There are seasons when life slows down, even as our minds continue to race. When we find ourselves caught somewhere between motion and stillness, haunted by what came before and reaching for what’s next. 

That tension has become deeply personal for Erin Entrada Kelly. After an aggressive cancer diagnosis, Erin found herself living in a space between who she was and who she was becoming. 

A two-time Newbery Medal winner, best known for “Hello, Universe,” “We Dream of Space,” and “First State of Being,” Erin has always written stories that reveal the quiet courage of ordinary kids. But lately, her life–and her writing– have taken on a new kind of gravity. 

In this episode, You Can’t Just Move On: Erin Entrada Kelly on Limbo, Erin returns to the show for a “Second Chapter” conversation.  This time, Erin reflects on recovery, rest, and redefining momentum. She shares how illness has reshaped her creative process, the surprising calm she’s found in cinematic ASMR, and a haunting true story from a hotel in New Orleans that might just make you believe in ghosts. 

Settle in for an honest, tender conversation about living in the in-between. 

***

http://thereadingculturepod.com/erin-entrada-kelly-second-chapter

This week’s Beanstack Featured Librarian is Kimberly Thompson, the library media specialist at East Side Middle School in Bullock County, Kentucky. After all that talk about being stuck in limbo and building momentum, Kimberly shares a story of one reader who found his mo’.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Momentum

Chapter 2: Walt Whitman

Chapter 3: Please Hold

Chapter 4: False Alarm

Chapter 5: The Tell-Tale Heart 

Chapter 6: Push & Pull

Chapter 7: Toxic Positivity 

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Erin Entrada Kelly
• Erin Entrada Kelly Instagram
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
• Moonlight Cottage ASMR
• The hotel!
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

“This is what awe always does: it’s the zoom out. All of a sudden, you can see how tiny and insignificant you are, and you plug into that bigger thing” - Kate DiCamillo

When was the last time you were so captivated by the beauty of the world around you that it stopped you in your tracks? Kate DiCamillo intentionally has those moments daily. In a world that can feel dark and hopeless, she maintains a sense of awe. It’s the force that helps her move through both joy and loss. It’s what allows her to keep noticing the miraculous in the ordinary.

One of the most beloved voices in children’s literature, Kate is a two-time Newbery medal winner and author of more than 25 books—from Because of Winn-Dixie to The Tale of Despereaux to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

In this episode, Tender Heart: Kate DiCamillo on Awe and Grief, Kate returns to the show for the first of “The Second Chapter” conversations with previous guests. This time, Kate reflects on awe, grief, and the beauty that connects them. She shares the moments that have gobsmacked her across decades—from childhood discoveries of “protective coloration” to the painting she has revisited at every stage of her life. Kate also opens up about coping with tragedy and how the best way through those moments in life is “the doing of it.” 

Settle in for an honest, hard, and still uplifting conversation with one of the most cherished voices of a generation.  

***

https://www.thereadingculturepod.com/kate-dicamillo-second-chapter

This week's Beanstack Featured librarian is Chelsea Pisani, a rockstar children's librarian at Maple Valley Branch Library in Akron, Ohio. She returns to share her secret sauce for igniting a love of reading in all kids. 

Show Chapters
Chapter 1: The Art of Noticing 

Chapter 2: The Hem of the Garment

Chapter 3: Charlotte’s Web 

Chapter 4: Ramona the Great 

Chapter 5: Then and Now 

Chapter 6: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Kate DiCamillo
• Repast in a Garden Painting
• Charlotte’s Web
• The Accidental Tourist 
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey
  
  

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

We all inherit scripts about who we’re supposed to be. For boys, they often center on toughness, aggression, and hiding their emotions. Jason Reynolds has spent his life questioning those scripts, carving out space for tenderness and love, honoring friendships that offered freedom, and exploring what masculinity might mean beyond the narrow definitions passed down to us. 

Jason Reynolds is a national treasure. A Newbery Medal winner, a National Book Award finalist, a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and a two-time National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he is the beloved author of “Ghost,” “Long Way Down,” “Look Both Ways,” “Twenty-four Seconds From Now,” and so many more. Jason brings expansiveness to his books, illuminating the gentleness, humor, and vulnerability too often left out of stories of boyhood. 

In this episode, Jason shares his thoughts on masculinity: the good, the bad, and the beautiful. He explains why everyone needs to have a 'tuning fork' friend, reveals how Saturn flipped his life around at age 30, and pays an incredible tribute to the tattooed biker badass who was his loving father.

Settle in for a vulnerable, revelatory conversation with an icon of American literature. 

***

For his reading challenge, Challenging Conventions, Jason has curated a collection of books that push back against the narrow definitions of boyhood and girlhood many of us have come to live by. Peruse selected titles and Jason’s full reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/jason-reynolds.

***

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarians are not actually librarians, but they are integral members of the literary community who are pioneers when it comes to student voice and writing. They happen to be friends of Jason Reynolds. Kathy Crutcher and Sasa Aakil – from Shout Mouse Press – share about their upcoming book, “Bright Before Us Like a Flame,” which Jason Reynolds called “a gift,” and for which a previous guest of the podcast, Elizabeth Acevedo, wrote the foreword.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Aaron

Chapter 2: It’s OK to Say I Love You

Chapter 3: It’s Complicated

Chapter 4: Growing Pains

Chapter 5: Girl

Chapter 6: Cultivating What Matters

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Show Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Jason Reynolds
• Jason Reynolds on Instagram
• Girl by Jamaica Kincaid
• The Cosby Show
• Good Times
• Bright Before Us, Like a Flame
• Shout Mouse Press
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey
  
  

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

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 as the author 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, Under My Thumb: Brian Selznick on Control, 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.

***

For his reading challenge, Brian has curated two lists: one exploring queerness in literature over time and the other celebrating the power of the page turn. The latter is about his commitment to books, experimenting with form, and the balance of control between writer and reader.

Peruse selected titles and Brian's complete reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/brian-selznick

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Chelsea Pisani, a rockstar children's librarian at Maple Valley Branch Library in Akron, Ohio. 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. 

Show Chapters
Chapter 1: Who Holds the Reins?

Chapter 2: Size Matters

Chapter 3: It's All Under Control

Chapter 4: Merwin and Louise

Chapter 5: The Martian Chronicles

Chapter 6: A Most Extraordinary Afternoon

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (check here for a video that will show off Brian's incredible miniature collection)
• Brian Selznick
• Brian Selznick Instagram
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Guernica
• The Borrowers
• Ray Bradbury
• The Martian Chronicles
• Dandelion Wine 
• The Houdini Box (read aloud - check out the page turns)
• Beanstack resources to build your community's reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey
• Akron Summit Public Library
• Case Study about Akron Summit Public Library and featured librarian Chelsea Pisani

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb, Ryan Sutton, and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Ryan Sutton, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Unfairness is a pervasive theme in a lot of fantasy fiction. With battles between good and evil dominating title after title, these tales appear to have a tight 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, the 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, she 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. Settle in for a fast-paced episode filled with humor and a variety of Victoria’s hot takes. 

***

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.

Peruse selected titles and Victoria’s complete reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/victoria-aveyard

***

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.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Rotten With the Need for Justice

Chapter 2: Hell Yeah, There’s My Personality

Chapter 3: The Invisible Women

Chapter 4: Six of Crows

Chapter 5: Everything is Political

Chapter 6: Whipped Cream Shire

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Victoria Aveyard
• Victoria Aveyard Instagram
• Red Queen
• Realm Breaker
• Number the Stars
• A New Hope opening scene
• Samuel Delaney
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb, Josia Lamberto-Egan, and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

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 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. She received 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 opens up about how growing up between Brooklyn and Westchester sharpened her view of the world and the people in it. Tiffany also talks 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.

***

Tiffany’s reading challenge celebrates African-American horrors and thrillers, genres she’s been questioned for writing.

Peruse selected titles and Tiffany’s full reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/tiffany-d-jackson

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

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Unintentional Monsters

Chapter 2: Take Me Back to Brooklyn 

Chapter 3: What Happened to You?

Chapter 4: A Safe Harbor

Chapter 5: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Chapter 6: Core Memories

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Tiffany D. Jackson
• Tiffany D. Jackson Instagram
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Sister Souljah
• Lockdown TV Series
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

What if there were two stories running through your life: the one you’re telling the world, and the one 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, Imogen, Obviously, and many more. 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 a conservative suburb, finding refuge in theater, and The Babysitters Club. She also reflects on how writing helped her work through parts of herself she hadn’t yet named, discusses why queer-coming-of-age stories still matter, and reminds us of the power of Rent. 

***

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

Peruse selected titles and Becky’s complete reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/becky-albertalli.

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. 

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Georgia Peach

Chapter 2: I Hate School, But I’m Very Good At It

Chapter 3: Proud Member of the Babysitter’s Club

Chapter 4: The Year of Secret Assignments

Chapter 5: Hindsight 20/20

Chapter 6: Best Friends Forever

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Becky Albertalli
• Becky Albertalli Instagram
• Love, Simon film
• The Babysitters Club Scholastic
• The Babysitters Club Netflix series
• Rent musical
• The Year of Secret Assignments
• Wesleyan University
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

This week, we revisit our episode with Kwame Alexander while we take a quick summer break!

Kwame Alexander recently interviewed the esteemed and now former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, for the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Philadelphia. They talked about the power of poetry, the role of libraries in creating access and imagination, how Dr. Hayden remains hopeful and positive in this moment, and of course, how books can help kids be better humans and dreamers. It was such an inspiring conversation that we wanted to re-air this much earlier episode with the bestselling, beloved author (and apparently incredible interviewer!) Kwame Alexander.  

Summer Reading Giveaway
Enter our summer reading giveaway for your chance to win a book by any author we've featured on the show, plus the special reading culture mug that Jordan sends to every guest.

To enter, just like and comment on our summer reading giveaway post on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter at the reading culture pod.com/newsletter. Better yet, if you tag a friend, you can win together. 

***

"I'm just being real. I'm telling my story. I think Nikki Giovanni calls it dancing naked on the floor. I am unafraid and I'm doing my dance… I don't feel like I can go wrong if I'm just being me.” - Kwame Alexander

Exciting reluctant middle school kids about reading (or really, anything) can be a battle. Getting them to think reading is cool is another. Kwame Alexander excels at both. His ability to authentically relate to his readers is a skill around which he has built his career.

Kwame is beloved by parents, educators, and students, for his ability to ignite a love of reading (especially middle school boys) through poetry and characters who reflect their real experiences. But his impact extends beyond just an introduction to books; he also opens the door for readers to explore their own emotional depths. As he tells us, “I think part of my job is just to show a different side of masculinity.”

Kwame is best known for "The Crossover," "The Undefeated," "The Door of No Return," and numerous other novels and poetry collections. He also recently authored his memoir "Why Fathers Cry at Night." He won the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award among many other awards, and this year, "The Crossover" was adapted into a Disney+ original TV series. 

In this episode, he tells us about his own upbringing surrounded by Black storytelling and literature, reveals his secret to making middle-schoolers think he’s “cool”, and shares about a letter he received (which was “not fan mail”) that inspired a surprise visit to an unsuspecting kid.

***

Connect with Jordan and The Reading Culture @thereadingculturepod and subscribe to our newsletter at thereadingculturepod.com/newsletter. 

***

This episode’s Beanstack Featured Librarian is Kirsten, the programming specialist for the Indianapolis Public Library. She shares some moving stories about a book club she runs for teens at a residential treatment facility. 

Chapters

Chapter 1: Glasses first

Chapter 2: Mom’s stories, dad’s garage

Chapter 3: Love After Love

Chapter 4: The “Reluctant” Readers

Chapter 5: Kwame Shows Up

Chapter 6: America’s Next Great Authors

Chapter 7: Blackout

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian 

Chapter 9: Hidden Track

Links

• The Reading Culture
• Kwame Alexander
• Folly Island
• NYT article by Teddy Wayne about the potential benefits of clutter
• Beef, No Chicken
• Love After Love by Derek Walcott
• Kwame’s Newbery Banquet Speech
• Why Fathers Cry: The Podcast | Kwame Alexander
• #KwameShowsUp
• Nikki Giovanni
• Collected Poems, 1948-1984 -  Derek Walcott
• The Crossover | Official Trailer | Disney+
• America's Next Great Author
• The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
  
  

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb, Jackie Lamport, and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Jackie Lamport, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

We all want to make the most of our time here. Not just survive, but dream big and live fully. For Jasmine Warga, that means carrying forward the strength of those before her while creating space for joy, curiosity, and self-discovery. It means letting go of perfection, holding on to radical hope, and writing stories that reflect kids’ realities. 

Jasmine Warga is a Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author of Other Words for Home, The Shape of Thunder, A Rover’s Story, and more. Her work explores identity, belonging, and how being different can be what unites us. 

In this episode, Our Job is to Live: Jasmine Warga on Belonging and Radical Hope, Jasmine shares what it was like growing up as a mixed kid and daughter of an immigrant in Ohio, her lightbulb moment while teaching sixth grade, and how Animorphs, surrealist art and a dash of Virginia Woolf shaped not only her voice as a writer, but also her commitment to living joyfully, and spreading joy to others.

***

For her reading challenge, Read Global, Jasmine invites adult readers to step outside the familiar and read more broadly, beyond their own borders.

Peruse selected titles and Jasmine’s full reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/jasmine-warga

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Cassie Owens Moore, a middle school librarian in South Carolina at Seneca Middle School. She shares how a group of fired-up sixth graders convinced her that Marvel and manga deserved their own sections of her library, and why building a great library means working for your students.

Show Chapters
Chapter 1: Where Are You From?

Chapter 2: The Other Side of Home

Chapter 3: So Many Questions

Chapter 4: The Hours

Chapter 5: I Am The Mars Rover

Chapter 6: No One’s Gonna Read This Book

Chapter 7: Radical Hope

Chapter 8: Reading Challenge

Chapter 9: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Jasmine Warga 
• Jasmine Warga Instagram
• Mr. Schu (Jasmine’s neighbor)
• Palestinians in Jordan
• Animorphs
• The Hours
• Camille Claudel
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey
  
  

Host and Production Credits
Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey