Book Friends Forever Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 328: 2025 Holiday Gift Guide! Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina have their annual holiday gift guide episode where they give gift recommendations for the people in your life! The gifts ideas include bread lamps, banned books socks, board games, and more!

For the Fortune Cookie they talk about School Library Journal's 21st Century Canon and the lack of inclusion of picture books by women. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1. See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor. Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/ https://shop.carlemuseum.org/product/ling-tings-lunar-new-year-two-times-lucky-hardcover

Episode 327: Inventory Management with Lianna Izzo! Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina continue their Publishing Curriculum series and welcome special guest Lianna Izzo, to talk about inventory management! They cover everything from what is entailed with evaluating how many books to print, as well as the supply and demand of books, and which departments Lianna works with the most. They talk about the difference between books printed overseas vs domestic printing, and what happens at the end of a book's life.

For the Fortune Cookie segment, they share their favorite ways to eat Thanksgiving leftovers, and they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Episode 326: CHOP SUEY: New Imprint, AI and Library Laws, Literary Travel, and Book Recs with Alison Morris! Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling have an odds and ends episode where they talk about the big news that was recently announced--Alvina is going to be starting a new imprint in the new year! And, the LBYR editorial team is being reorganized. They also talk about how AI is being used by some librarians in Texas to comply with some new book banning laws. And they also talk about traveling alongside literary themes.

And then, children's literature specialist Alison Morris joins to share some book recommendations. And, they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Episode 325: Decision Making and Regret! Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling discuss how regret factors into their decision making, and they discuss five styles of decision making, and which style they both fall under. They also talk about the endowment effect and how that factors into their decision making, and their feelings about making mistakes and whether they consider themselves to be careless or careful.

For the Fortune Cookie segment, they discuss various pieces of publishing news, including a follow up on the closing of Baker & Taylor, a new Dr. Seuss book discovered, and the announcement of a Children's Booker Prize. They end as always with what they're grateful for.

Episode 324: Two Topics: Asian Parents and Gratitude Chains! Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina talk about two topics this week. The first, inspired by a post by actor Ming Na Wen, they talk about different types of Asian parents and what some of the stereotypes and cultural differences are. Then, they talk about gratitude chains, where you start with the thing you're grateful for, and then work your way back to trace all the things that had to happen for that thing to exist.

For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about a garlic aoili-scented vampire book! And they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.

Episode 323: Does Publishing Have a Gambling Problem? Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina discuss a recent article about the challenges regarding the business model of book publishing, and how publishers tend to gamble big on debut novels. They discuss sales track and how that affects how publishers view you, and the ups and downs of publishing in general. For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about what their favorite type of landscape is. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.

Episode 322: CHOP SUEY: Baker & Taylor, Banned Books, Interns, and Book Recs with Alison Morris! Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they talk about the closing of Baker & Taylor, and they touch on some topics regarding banned books. They also talk about internships and their own experiences working as interns back in the day, as well as some advice for interns today. Then, Alison Morris joins to share some book recommendations, and they end by sharing what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.

Episode 321: Community Building With Debbi Michiko Florence! Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling welcome special guest Debbi Michiko Florence--Grace and Debbi are recording together while on their Very Asian Book Trip! They talk about building community, including the Asian American Voices retreat at Highlights. They talk about the impact the pandemic had on their respective communities. And they talk about how the main thing needed to create community is putting yourself out there. They also talk about the potential pitfalls of creating community.

For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about their Mid-Autumn Festival wishes, and they end as always with what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.

Episode 320: Gift and Specialty Sales with Adelia Kalyvas! Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Adelia Kalyvas to talk about her job working in Special Sales, specifically the gift side. You'll learn all about how she got into publishing and what "specialty sales" and "gift sales" entails. They talk about the type of products that work well in the gift market, including mini kits and wrapping paper books, and how they sell to accounts using paper catalogs and gift shows. For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about their favorite retail stores to shop, and they end as always with what they're grateful for. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1. See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Episode 319: Freedom of Speech! Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

Grace and Alvina discuss some recent events surrounding the Freedom of Speech, including late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel being pulled from the air temporarily. They talk about censorship and cancel culture.

For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about Slate.com's recent "25 Greatest Picture Books of the Last 25 years." And they end as they always do with what they're grateful for.

Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.

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