The Reading Culture

Latest Episodes:

Becky, Obviously: Becky Albertalli on Bullies, Bodies and Breaking Through Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

“There were kind of always like two simultaneous stories happening with my coming out. One was the realization and breaking through some of that denial and repression, seeing kind of what was right there in front of me, and I gave that story to Imogen.” – Becky Albertalli

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.

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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

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

*ICYMI* Cool To Be You: Kwame Alexander On Authenticity Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

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.

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"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.

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

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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

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

Our Job is to Live: Jasmine Warga on Belonging and Radical Hope Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

"We all need to have radical hope. I have my really hopeless days too, but… it’s such a privilege to get to live and to survive. Our job is to live, and I think that’s a really amazing thing.” - Jasmine Warga

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.

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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

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

Slow Reveal: Gayle Forman on Friends, Flaws, and Finding Immortality Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

“Those moments of connection when you can have them with people who seem so different from you on the outside, I really do think that it braids a level of connectiveness and empathy, and it is much harder to harden your heart.” — Gayle Forman

What does it mean to rise to the occasion, not once, but over and over again? Sometimes it means reckoning with grief. Other times it means stumbling forward, messing up, and trying again. And sometimes it means simply showing up, imperfect, but still trying to be better.

Gayle Forman is the bestselling author of If I Stay, Frankie & Bug, Not Nothing, Afterlife and more. Whether it’s Mia in If I Stay, Alex in Not Nothing, or Amber in Afterlife, her characters often walk a jagged path toward healing, falling short, trying again, and inching closer to the people they hope to become.

In this episode, Gayle talks about growing up as a self-described “odd duck,” the Ramona books that shaped her childhood and parenting, and the formative years she spent traveling solo. She opens up about why she is so drawn to flawed characters and how fiction became a way to survive grief and stay connected to the people she has lost.

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For her reading challenge, Flawed, Gayle is going to bat for the prickly, messy, not-here-to-be-liked protagonists. She points out that kids are used to reading about heroes, but it can be just as powerful, maybe even more so, to read about characters who fall short and grow anyway.

Peruse selected titles and Gayle’s full reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/gayle-forman.

This week’s Beanstack Featured Librarian is Lori Shallio, media specialist at Heritage Intermediate School in Middlebury, Indiana. She shares how a Hot Ones-style challenge involving her principal and spicy nuggets helped students smash their community reading goal.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: What We Carry

Chapter 2: Odd Ducks

Chapter 3: Top School, Bottom Marks

Chapter 4: Beezus and Ramona

Chapter 5: University of Life

Chapter 6: What We Share

Chapter 7: Mind the Gap

Chapter 8: Embrace It

Chapter 9: Rise to the Occasion

Chapter 10: Reading Challenge

Chapter 11: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

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

Stories Left Untold: Ibi Zoboi on Secrets Lost and Found Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

“As my own mother is aging, she's telling me … before I take this to my grave, here is something you should know. So the secrets are coming out. And as more and more secrets are revealed, I'm learning more about myself.” - Ibi Zoboi

Ibi Zoboi writes to remember—her own story, her family’s legacy, and the long history of migration, myth, and memory that shaped them both. For Ibi, storytelling is a form of resistance and reclamation. It’s how she makes sense of the secrets that shaped her life and gives voice to those left out of the narrative. A National Book Award finalist and the bestselling author of American Street, Pride, Star Child, and (S)Kin, Ibi’s work blurs the line between folklore and futurism.

In this episode, Stories Left Untold: Ibi Zoboi on Secrets Lost and Found, she opens up about growing up Haitian in 1980s Brooklyn, discovering a half-sister decades later, and finding her way to writing through soap operas, Stephen King, and the voices of women who came before her. She also shares how a Vodou ceremony in Brooklyn changed her relationship to her culture, why she always sought out elders and activists, and how she’s still learning to push back against the pressure to fit a mold—on the page and off.

Ibi’s reading challenge, Haitian Creations, celebrates stories of migration and identity from first-generation and immigrant voices—stories that, like hers, speak to the truths we inherit and the ones we uncover for ourselves.

Download Ibi’s reading challenge at thereadingculturepod.com/ibi-zoboi

And this week’s Beanstack Featured Librarian is once again William Shaller, the librarian at Hoffman Middle School in Houston, Texas. This time, he shares how a surprise resurgence of Twilight led to an unforgettable moment of joy and connection in his school library.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Under The Table

Chapter 2: Danny Boy

Chapter 3: Two Thousand Suns

Chapter 4: Brooklyn Vodou

Chapter 5: Ghosted

Chapter 6: Reading Challenge

Chapter 7: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

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

Touched for the Very First Time: Soman Chainani on Books That Turn Scrollers into Readers May 28, 2025

Show notes

“I tell kids that books are not there to torment you. The author has to get you in the first ten pages. If they do not, they fail, because a book is like a lawnmower—you pull it, and either it starts or it doesn't start.” –Soman Chainai

Soman Chainani wants reading to feel irresistible. The bestselling author of "The School for Good and Evil," series and the recently released graphic novel, "Coven," shares how his own reading life began—powered by Anne Rice, Michael Crichton, and a complete lack of adult supervision—and how those early obsessions shaped his belief that stories should be bold, boundary-pushing, and personal.

In this episode, Soman explains why middle grade books can (and should) feel dangerous, how his grandmother’s glamorous storytelling shaped his imagination, and what a book needs to do in its first ten pages to hook a reader. He also unpacks the “moral grayness” that defines his favorite novels and his own writing, and makes a compelling case for why kids need more honesty, not less, in the stories we give them.

Tune in for a fast-paced episode that includes Madonna, hot takes, and tips for breaking (all) the rules.

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Soman’s reading challenge, Immersive, is all about getting lost in a story. The books he curated blur the line between fiction and reality, pulling the reader in so completely you forget the world around you.

Learn more and download Soman’s recommended reading list at threadingculturepod.com/soman-chainani

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This week’s featured librarian is Jasmine Haverly from Aldine Independent School District in Texas. Jasmine shares how competitions and “book tastings” are growing the reading culture in her library.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1 - Florida Man

Chapter 2 - Well, That Escalated Quickly

Chapter 3 - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Chapter 4 - The Rules Are Made Up

Chapter 5 - Main Character Energy

Chapter 6 - Use Your Imagination

Chapter 7 - Express Yourself

Chapter 8 - Reading Challenge

Chapter 9 - Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

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

Mixtape: Mychal Threets Lays Out His Life in Books May 13, 2025

Show notes

"I think all of us had the experience after reading the book of looking in maybe our grandparents' wardrobe, our parents' wardrobe, and like knocking on the back of the wardrobe and being like, maybe this is my time. Maybe they're gonna call me in here."

— Mychal Threets

For this week’s episode, we are testing out a slightly different format, something we have named a “Mixtape” episode. Rather than making the reading challenge the last bit of an author’s show, we have made the reading challenge the show itself. We could not be more excited to welcome the biggest spot of joy on the web, Mychal Threets, to the podcast.

In this episode, we learn about Mychal’s playlist, the books that shaped him, and when he was a young library kid. As someone who grew up in the stacks and eventually made his calling his career, Mychal walks us through the books that sparked what he calls his "book joy."

As it happens, Jordan will be doing a full interview with Mychal during a live recording at the upcoming American Association of School Librarians meeting (AASL) in St. Louis this October. But who wants to wait for the joy that Mychal brings? Nobody!

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of mental health and suicide, which come up in Mychal’s reading passage. If you’d prefer to skip this portion, it runs from [19:50-23:35].

Tune in for an episode that will brighten your day and give you insight into the early life and times of someone who has shined a light on the joy and importance of libraries (and librarians!).

We have set up Mychal’s mixtape “playlist” as a reading challenge that can be downloaded for free or activated on your Beanstack site. Learn more and download Mychal’s reading challenge at thereadingculturepod.com/mychal-threets

Show Chapters

Chapter 1 - Holes by Louis Sachar

Chapter 2 - Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

Chapter 3 - Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Chapter 4 - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

Chapter 5 - Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Chapter 6 - The Giver by Lois Lowry

Chapter 7 - Love Among the Walnuts by Jean Ferris

Chapter 8 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Chapter 9 - Letters to You by Jazz Thornton

Links

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

Good Luck, They’re Yours: Sharon Draper on Giving Students Room to Read Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

“And I think that’s what reading is… It’s a personal interpretation of the story, and it may not be the same as somebody else's. That’s the whole idea of a good teacher. There should be different interpretations, and sometimes a student will come up with something that I never thought of.” —Sharon M. Draper

Give a story to twenty kids, and you might get twenty different takeaways. Some will catch the details you didn’t even notice. Others will pull out meaning that wasn’t intentionally placed, but rings true all the same. Sharon M. Draper writes for everyone and fiercely advocates for students’ right to read for themselves.

Sharon knows the capacity of a book to transport and transform kids; she was the kid who maxed out her library card every Saturday at the Cleveland Public Library. She then became the teacher who read aloud to even the most skeptical students, and the writer whose bestselling novel "Out of My Mind," which was adapted into a film for Disney+ and remains requisite reading for many middle schoolers year after year. A two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner, Sharon is the author of "Stella by Starlight,""Blended," "Tears of a Tiger," and many, many more.

In this episode, "Good Luck, They’re Yours: Sharon Draper on Giving Students Room to Read," Sharon discusses what it means to trust readers, how her students helped guide her first book, and seeing her stories banned in classrooms. We also talk about church music, spiked lemonade, and how she ended up with a special library card that gave her access to the library's adult section, even as a child.

When we asked Sharon to come up with a reading challenge, she was reluctant to give us a list of must-reads. Maybe that’s not surprising, given her past frustrations with inflexible required reading lists. In true teacher fashion, she flipped the assignment and gave us a lesson plan.

This week’s Beanstack featured Librarian is William Schaller, the middle school librarian at Hoffman Middle School in Houston, Texas, for the past seven years! William shares his secret sauce for getting kids excited about reading.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1 - The Reader Kid

Chapter 2 - Spike Lemonade and Porch Stories

Chapter 3 - Shut Up and Say You Like It

Chapter 4 - We Never Say That in the Locker Room

Chapter 5 - Student Teachers

Chapter 6 - Reading Challenge

Chapter 7 - Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

Host and Production Credits

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

We Contain Multitudes: Debbie Levy on the Dangers of Reductionist Thinking Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

"It's very rare for a person to just be one thing. Most issues, most things that matter, are not so black and white." – Debbie Levy

We all want to believe in heroes and villains, right and wrong, and clear-cut answers. But history and life are rarely that simple. Debbie Levy has spent her career exploring the gray areas, challenging readers to see multiple perspectives and embrace complexity.

A former lawyer, journalist, and now award-winning children’s author, Debbie has written books like “I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark,” “The Year of Goodbyes,” and “A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight Over Science in Schools.” Her work invites readers to think critically, recognize misinformation, and understand that even those we disagree with are still human.

In this episode, We Contain Multitudes: Debbie Levy on the Dangers of Reductionist Thinking, Debbie reflects on what rabbis and Supreme Court justices have in common, why she’s optimistic about students’ ability to deal with disinformation, and how books can help kids hold space for complexity. Plus, a book so sad it was sold with tissues in it, a surprising childhood obsession with Superman, and why her mom taught her that being too good wasn't always a good thing.

We also have a special hidden track at the end of the show. Debbie reflected on our conversation and shared a special story about her dad’s unbelievable but real wartime experience that we saved for the very end.

Tune in for an episode that will make you re-think your perspectives and let you settle into some delightful storytime moments!

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Jewish identities vary across families, experiences, places, and so much more. In short, they are not one-size-fits-all. Debbie’s reading challenge, Illuminating the Jewish Experience, highlights books that capture its richness and diversity.

Learn more and download Debbie’s reading challenge at thereadingculturepod.com/debbie-levy.

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This episode's Beanstack Featured Librarian is once again Amy McMichael, the media specialist at Dutchman Creek Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the lead librarian for all secondary schools in her district. In this episode, Amy shares about the biggest impact Beanstack has had on the reading culture in her library and school.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Marbles on the Sewer Top

Chapter 2: Schoolyard Fist Fights

Chapter 3: The Funny Guy

Chapter 4: Tearjerker of the Month

Chapter 5: Dissenting Opinions Welcome

Chapter 6: It’s Complicated

Chapter 7: The Art of Being Wrong

Chapter 8: Reading Challenge

Chapter 9: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

Host and Production Credits

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

Art Against the Machine: Aida Salazar on Writing for the Resistance Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

“I lean on my community. I lean on the power of the pen. I lean on remembering who my ancestors are and what they endured, the colonization that they survived in the Americas, I think, ‘we've been here before, and the lineage from which I come is one that is powerful and resistant.’ I would be dishonoring that legacy and that lineage if I didn't step up in this moment.” — Aida Salazar

Aida Salazar believes deeply in the power of words to change the world. For Aida, writing isn’t just a creative act; it’s a responsibility—an act of honoring her ancestors, healing personal wounds, and empowering her young readers.

Her stories like The Moon Within, Land of the Cranes, Jovita Wore Pants, and Ultraviolet center on identity, social justice, and healing, with a particular focus on the immigrant experience. As a poet, novelist, activist, and mother, Aida discusses how writing helped her process grief, how Latin American literature gave her the permission to dream, how growing up in a mixed-status household shaped her, and how motherhood steered her toward children’s literature.

In this episode, she shares how the act of writing itself has been a huge part of helping her heal and survive difficult chapters in her own story. Plus, she reflects on how a fart poem, a Parker pen, and a punk rock-inspired zine all had unique roles in shaping her journey as a writer.

Tune in for an episode that moves from gut-wrenching stories to gut-splitting laughs, the best kind of listening roller coaster!

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For her reading challenge, Banned in Middle Grade, Aida curated a list of banned middle-grade books that reflect themes of identity, social justice, and the experiences of young readers navigating complex worlds. Aida is devoted to middle grade literature and wants to amplify the important stories that are so important for those readers. From Melissa by Alex Gino to Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes, these titles spark essential conversations. Learn more and download Aida’s reading challenge below.

Download Aida’s reading challenge at https://www.thereadingculturepod.com/aida-salazar.

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This episode's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Amy McMichael. She is the media specialist at Dutchman Creek Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the lead librarian for all secondary schools in her district. She does it all! In this episode, she discusses her strategy for luring reluctant readers with an unconventional library setup.

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Fart Poems

Chapter 2: A Spark from Clark and a Parker Pen

Chapter 3: Writing Through Grief

Chapter 4: Beneath the Shadow of the Freeway

Chapter 5: Writing Through Grief. Again.

Chapter 6: The Three Pillars of Poetry

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

Host and Production Credits

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

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