This week I'm so delighted for you to meet Kate Reynolds, also known as The Lavender Librarian. Kate is a passionate advocate of inclusive storytimes for children, and she has some innovative ideas for how to share reading time with kids. 

I was initially hesitant when Kate suggested we read a children's book for this episode - afraid that we wouldn't have enough to talk about to fill the half hour. But I was so, so wrong. Talking to librarians is always a wonderful experience, but talking to this particular one about this particular book was extra-specially magic. 

Host: Julie Strauss

Website/Instagram 

Guest: Kate Reynolds

Instagram/Facebook/Youtube

Storytime Solidarity - Website/Patreon/Facebook Group

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Discussed in this episode:

A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond

Roald Dahl

The Babysitters Club

Beverly Cleary

Mr. Rogers

Sharon, Lois and Bram

Sandwiches by Fred Penner

Je suis une Pizza by Charlotte Diamond

123 Andres

Jim Gill

Little Miss Anne

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

Mouse by Art Spiegelman

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Tiffany Hammond’s Instagram

(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Today I am joined by Lisa Petersen, my dear friend since college. We agreed to spend the summer revisiting our favorite childhood classics by Judy Blume, and now we’re back to discuss our feelings about the books as children vs. as adults. Along the way, we talked about banned books and parenting, and how our love for Judy Blume has carried us through the years.

Host: Julie Strauss

Website/Instagram 

Guest: Lisa Petersen

Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

Discussed in this episode:

Judy Blume

The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling

The Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang 

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume

Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Blubber by Judy Blume

Deenie by Judy Blume

Forever by Judy Blume

It’s Not the End of the World by Judy Blume

Judy Blume Forever - 2023 film

Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret - 2023 film

Terry Gross Interview

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

You’ve Got Mail - 1998 film

Also, for fun: 87 Books Featured in “You’ve Got Mail”

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Yolanda Skeete, an avid reader and co-host of Thrillers by the Book Club SoCal, is back on the show with our book club pal Vanessa Vicente. Yolanda and Vanessa are both bookstagrammers living in Southern California who love to review thrillers, nonfiction, romance, and other genres. As mothers ourselves, we have a lot to say about the 2022 Science Fiction novel “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan. In this episode, we talk about our experiences, hardships, and joys as mothers, and the discussion ranges from KidLit to Black Mirror to Michelle Obama to questions like “Why aren’t moms allowed to be sexy??”

Host: Julie Strauss

Website/Instagram 

Guest: Yolanda Skeete

Instagram 

Guest: Vanessa Vicente

Instagram

Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast, AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

Discussed in this episode:

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022

Maribel’s Year and Others by Michelle Sterling

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds

Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds

The Couch Potato by Jory John

The Bad Seed by Jory John

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Harambe

Black Mirror TV Show

The Sitting Month

The Drowning Woman by Robin Harding

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen

Judy Blume

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Movie

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Drowning by T.J. Newman

(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Today I've got my first "three-peat" guest, Marion Hill. Just like in our two previous conversations, Marion introduced me to a book that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, that I sort of dreaded reading, and that I wound up loving and thinking about nonstop after I finished!

Host: Julie Strauss

Website/Instagram

Guest: Marion Hill

Website/Instagram

Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

Discussed in this episode:

The Book of Strange new Things by Michel Faber

The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

Eva Luna: A Novel by Isabel Allende

Marion’s previous picks on the podcast

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint, which we talked about on Episode 008

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which we talked about on Episode 083

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Gilead by Marilyn Robinson

Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Sportswriter: Bascombe Trilogy 1 by Richard Ford

Independence Day: Bascombe Trilogy 2 by Richard Ford

The Lay of the Land: Bascombe Trilogy 3 by Richard Ford

Let Me Be Frank with You: A Frank Bascombe Book by Richard Ford

Be Mine: A Frank Bascombe Novel by Richard Ford

The Kammbia Series by Marion Hill

Marion’s 25 by Marion Hill

Marion’s 25 Volume II by Marion Hill

(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Host: Julie Strauss

Website/Instagram

Guest: Ambika Devi

Website/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn

Join the Best Book Ever Newsletter HERE!

Subscribe for FREE to receive weekly emails with complete show notes, photos of our guests, and updates on what Julie is reading on her own time.

Support the podcast for just $5/month and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter AND a monthly themed curated book list.

Become a Founder for $100 and you’ll receive the weekly newsletter, the monthly curated book list, AND a personal thank you on the podcast AND a Best Book Ever T-Shirt in your favorite color and style.

Discussed in this episode:

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Fun With Dick and Jane

Lilith by Ambika Devi

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Cupid is a Bastard by Ambika Devi

Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe

Danielle Garrett

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Artemis by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary

(Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you shop using my affiliate link on Bookshop, a portion of your purchase will go to me, at no extra expense to you. Thank you for supporting indie bookstores and for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)