Podcast appearances and mentions of jonathan auxier

Today, one of my very favorite authors returns to Read-Aloud Revival. You know him as the author of Sweep, The Night Gardener, the Peter Nimble series, and The Fabled Stables. That's right–Jonathan Auxier is back!This time, we're talking about the much-awaited conclusion to the Peter Nimble series, The War of the Maps. In our conversation, we delve into the guiding questions he explores during the writing process, and how each of these questions becomes a doorway for discovering who we are, whose we are, and what our work is here in the world.In this episode, you'll hear: Why Jonathan often explores the tension of the end of childhood in his books How trying to solve a guiding question shapes the narrative of Jonathan's works The best way to write a story Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/jonathan-auxier-is-back

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading retreats, one finished and one scheduled Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: we boss some more TBRs The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  1:16 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 7:18 - Our Current Reads 7:32 - Finders Keepers by Stephen King (Meredith) 9:37 - Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King 10:24 - Holly by Stephen King 12:17 - The Stand by Stephen King 12:18 - The Shining by Stephen King 12:55 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Kaytee) 17:24 - Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World by Mark Aldridge (Meredith) 20:46 - Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton (Kaytee) 24:54 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (Meredith) 28:58 - Mrs. March by Virginia Feito 29:30 - The Lost Library by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead (Kaytee) 31:08 - CR Season 5: Episode 25 31:10 - The Candymakers by Wendy Mass 31:12 - CR Season 3: Episode 41 31:14 - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 31:27 - Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead 33:08 - Boss My TBR From Emily 33:45 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier 33:48 - My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman 33:52 - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty 33:54 - S by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst 33:58 - Vicious by V.E. Schwab 34:18 - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune 34:20 - A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 34:23 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 34:25 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 34:27 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall 36:38 - Schuler Books From Bethany 40:38 - Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (releases April 8, 2025) 40:42 - The Last Party by Claire Mackintosh 40:45 - Out by Natsuo Kirino 40:47 - Baby X by Kira Peikoff 40:50 - The Stolen Child by Ann Hood 41:03 - Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray 41:09 - The Wedding People by Alison Espach 41:12- The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker 44:55 - The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 45:17 - Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer 45:47 - I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger 46:17 - Virgil Wander by Leif Enger 47:30 - Meet Us At The Fountain 48:25 - I wish people would utilize our website for the plethora of things it offers. (Meredith) 49:46 - The Candymakers by Wendy Mass 49:49 - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 50:17 - I wish for a “find all and replace” option for books. (Kaytee) Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March's IPL comes to you from our tried and true partner, An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: Feeling like a lady of yore and how bookstores contain the best people Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: answering the question “What is some advice you would tell your past readerly self"?” The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  1:23 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 1:52 - Tubicen Portable Table Lamp 9:42 - Our Current Reads 10:01 - The Clackity by Lora Senf (Meredith) 13:48 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 14:29 - Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb (Kaytee) 17:52 - The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan 19:01 - The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (Meredith, Amazon link) 22:57 - Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV (Kaytee) 26:29 - Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe 26:35 - El Deafo by Cece Bell 27:03 - The Mesmerist by Caroline Woods (Meredith) 29:01 - Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 32:11 - All This and More by Peng Shepherd (Kaytee) 32:35 - Bright Side Bookshop 32:44 - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd 35:36 - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 35:38 - Life after Life by Kate Atkinson 36:37 - The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd  39:06 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 40:04 - Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore 40:33 - Deep Dive: Advice For Our Past Readerly Selves 42:46 - CR Season 7: Episode 1 42:48 - Morning Glory Milking Farm by C. M. Nacosta 54:10 - Meet Us At The Fountain 54:55 - I wish there was a searchable database for every piece of content related to books we talk about on CR, books I've read, etc. (Meredith) 57:04 - Currently Reading Patreon 58:53 - I wish all authors would just do the right thing. (Kaytee) 59:11 - Stardust by Neil Gaiman Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. September's IPL comes to us from Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Arizona! Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Roxanna and Mary are discussing: Bookish Moments: teaching littles to read and a book press Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: tropes Roxanna and Mary want to see MORE of in their reading The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  .  2:09 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:25 - Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann 4:02 - The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou (Blackwell's hardcover link, releases in paperback in the US October 8, 2024. If you want to wait for the paperback you can pre-order HERE) 5:51 - Our Current Reads 5:56 - Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Mary) 6:08 - Waterstone's 10:14 - The Undertaking of Heart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (Roxanna) 11:02 - Under The Whispering Door by T.J. Klune 14:12 - A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter (Mary) 17:46 - Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (Roxanna) 17:54 - Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center 21:20 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center 21:30 - How To Walk Away by Katherine Center 23:16 - The Bodyguard by Katherine Center 24:30 - @katherinecenter on Instagram 24:36 - The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow (Mary, Amazon link) 27:46 - It's Easier Than You Think by Sylvia Boorstein (Roxanna) 27:57 - Mary and Roxanna's Top Ten Reads of 2023 episode 33:52 - Deep Dive: Bookish Tropes We Want More Of 36:30 - Small Change by Roan Parrish 36:41 - Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes 38:03 - Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh 38:16 - Mary's Instagram (Holiday Romance is under her “Books Vol. 6” highlight) 39:54 - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams 40:25 - Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan 42:58 - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett 43:05 - Hench by Natalize Zina Walschots 43:13 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center 44:17 - The Change by Kirsten Miller 46:01 - The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty 47:01 - The Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White (Sinister Summer #1) 47:07 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 49:31 - Happily Ever Ninja by Penny Reid 50:54 - Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather 51:35 - Search by Michelle Huneven 51:43 - In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden 52:36 - Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson 52:38 - Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson 54:54 - The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso 55:30 - Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark 57:07 - Meet Us At The Fountain 57:12 - I wish to motivate listeners to spend time with their physical TBR and plan reads or cull books. (Mary) 59:35 - I wish to press Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. (Roxanna) 59:46 - Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski 1:02:18 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March's IPL comes to us from our Anchor store An Unlikely Story! Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

We know you'll be thrilled to hear from Mary and Roxanna again this weekend as you've been asking for their top 10 lists, and we've got them for you! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . . 1:15 - 2023 Reading Review 3:02 - CR Season 6, Episode 22 (Meredith and Kaytee's top 10) 5:26 - Currently Reading Patreon 8:30 - Our Top Ten Reads of 2023 8:43 - The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Roxanna) 10:05 - It's Easier Than You Think by Sylvia Boorstein (Mary) 12:35 - A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (Roxanna) 14:45 - Happy Place by Emily Henry (Mary) 16:58 - Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather (Roxanna) 20:49 - All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Murderbot #1) 21:22 - The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson (Mary) 21:33 - @Maryreadsandsips on Instagram 23:32 - Small Change by Roan Parrish (Roxanna, Amazon link) 25:48 - Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder (Mary) 26:00 - Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder 27:17 - Malagash by Joey Comeau 28:27 - The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (Roxanna) 30:42 - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Mary) 31:51 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow  32:34 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Roxanna) 33:57 - The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson (Mary) 34:03 - Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Junon Dawson 35:52 - CR Season 6, Episode 23 36:39 - Essentialism by Greg Mckeown (Roxanna) 39:03 - Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano (Mary) 40:50 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 42:13 - City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (Roxanna #3, Daevabad Trilogy #1) 42:15 - Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty 42:17 - Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty 44:30 - Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (Mary #3) 47:14 - Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Roxanna #2) 48:37 - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Mary #2) 48:45 - CR Season 6, Episode 19 (Kaytee's Divine Rivals setup episode) 49:26 - Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross 50:49 - Search by Michelle Huneven (Roxanna #1) 53:38 - After This by Claire Bidwell Smith (Mary #1, audiobook is the only way to purchase!) 53:55 - CR Season 5, Episode 36 (Mary's in depth discussion about After This) Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January's IPL comes to us from our anchor store, Fabled Bookshop. Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are taking a look back at their favorite reads of 2019. These stood the test of time better than our 2018 reads, and most of these books should be available for you to grab if any interest you after hearing us rave about them four years ago! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  .  4:30 - Our Top 10 Reads of 2019 5:07 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier (Kaytee) 5:35 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier 6:23 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson (Meredith) 7:31 - Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (Kaytee) 7:45 - Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski 8:23 - A Better Man by Louise Penny (Meredith) 10:00 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Kaytee) 11:00 - The Whisper Man by Alex North (Meredith) 11:03 - Book of the Month 11:56 - The Passengers by John Marrs (Kaytee) 12:08 - The One by John Marrs 12:58 - The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye (Meredith) 14:15 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts (Kaytee) 15:56 - The Current by Tim Johnston (Meredith) 16:05 - Descent by Tim Johnston 18:04 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (Kaytee) 19:47 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff (Meredith) 21:48 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live w/Garrett Graff 22:09 - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (Kaytee) 23:26 - American Royals by Katharine McGee (Meredith) 25:15 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal (Kaytee) 27:04 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 27:36 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth (Meredith) 29:21 - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Kaytee's #2 book) 29:37 - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 30:32 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich (Meredith's #2 book) 32:10 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (Kaytee's #1 book) 33:53 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (Meredith's #1 book) 35:19 - Deep Dive: Discussion on our Top Books of 2019 35:49 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 36:03 - White Women by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao 36:13 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier 36:14 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 37:10 - American Royals by Katharine McGee 37:31 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff 37:33 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich 38:25 - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead 38:40 - The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January's IPL will be with our anchor store, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX. Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: being immersed in spreadsheets and the publishing woes of Iron Flame Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: foodie books that symbolize different thanksgiving dishes The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  .  2:19 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:01 - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 2:46 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 10:52 - Currently Reading Patreon 11:08 - Current Reads 11:41 - Slewfoot by Brom (Meredith) 14:50 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 13:52 - The Novel Neighbor 16:44 - Krampus by Brom 17:14 - Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab (Kaytee) 17:29 - City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 19:53 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 19:54 - The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud 19:55 - 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson 20:17 - Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab 21:16 - Under the Influence by Noelle Crooks (Meredith) 23:22 - Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis 25:32 - The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger 27:30 - The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (Kaytee) 31:19 - Kill Show by Daniel Sweren-Becker (Meredith) 34:32 - Article about racial bias media coverage 35:46 - Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven 35:50 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 35:59 - Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff 36:08 - Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton (Kaytee) 36:25 - Foyles UK 39:59 - Deep Dive: Foodie Books to Create Your Thanksgiving Plate 41:20 - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver  43:26 - Taste by Stanley Tucci  43:44 - Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Mananasala 44:33 - Notes From A Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwauchi 45:42 - Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan 46:39 - A City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller 47:39 - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain 48:49 - Chef's Kiss by T.J. Alexander 49:22 - La Cucina by Lily Prior 49:32 - Chocolat by Joanne Harris 49:33 - Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquivel 50:09 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree 50:37 - Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree 50:53 - The House Witch by Delemhach 51:34 - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson 51:55 - Still Life by Louise Penny 52:34 - The Novel Neighbor on Instagram 53:06 - Meet Us At The Fountain 53:14 - I wish to convey my most heartfelt thankfulness to our listeners and to Kaytee herself for a wonderful bookish partnership. (Meredith) 54:00 - I wish for listeners to let me know about their favorite Indie bookstores. (Kaytee) 54:19 - Indie bookstore SURVEY Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. December's IPL will be a yearly recap from us, so we can give our beloved Indies a break for the holidays! Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

On this week's episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: seeing each other in person and comfort Kindle reading Current Reads: books new and old, from new to beloved authors Deep Dive: what we think about “best” versus “favorite” books The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!  We are now including transcripts of the episode (this link only works on the main site). The goal here is to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Bookshop affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. If you'd prefer to shop on Amazon, you can still do so here through our main storefront. Anything you buy there (even your laundry detergent, if you recently got obsessed with switching up your laundry game) kicks a small amount back to us. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . 2:01 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:12 - The Popcast 3:07 - Book People 6:24 - Kindle Oasis 7:15 - Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer  8:04 - Current Reads 8:11 - Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker (Kaytee) 8:28 - The Husbands by Chandler Baker 8:29 - CR Season 4: Episode 33 8:32 - Whisper Network by Chandler Baker 8:33 - CR Season 2: Episode 4 8:40 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty  8:42 - Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage 13:00 - Malice by Keigo Higashino (Meredith) 13:43 - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino 15:42 - The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart (Kaytee) 19:12 - A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales (Meredith) 24:42 - Invisible Son by Kim Johnson (Kaytee) 24:58 - This Is My America by Kim Johnson 26:43 - Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson 26:54 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas  28:01 - Plum Island by Nelson DeMille (Meredith) 29:12 - The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille 31:50 - Deep Dive: The Best Books Versus Our Favorite Books 31:56 - @ezeekat aka Jaysen Headley 32:05 - Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa 33:40 - Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 33:42 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 34:37 - A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales 35:45 - Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 35:50 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 38:20 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 38:28 - Babel by R.F. Kuang 39:28 - All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle 44:48 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 44:51 - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 45:59 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 46:53 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 46:54 - In Memoriam by Alice Winn 47:28 - Meet Us At The Fountain 47:39 - I wish we would all focus on something to learn in our reading lives. (Kaytee) 49:24 - Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia and Bill Gifford  49:56 - I wish to press The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier into readers' hands. (Meredith) 49:56 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading    

On this week's episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Mary are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading with family and choosing family's reads Current Reads: lots of books great for fall! Deep Dive: books that follow a formula, and when it feels phoned in or not The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!  We are now including transcripts of the episode (this link only works on the main site). The goal here is to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Bookshop affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. If you'd prefer to shop on Amazon, you can still do so here through our main storefront. Anything you buy there (even your laundry detergent, if you recently got obsessed with switching up your laundry game) kicks a small amount back to us. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . 1:40 - Currently Reading Patreon 3:42 - The Novel Neighbor 4:09 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 4:16 - Elizabeth Barnhill on Instagram @wacoreads 6:13 - This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger 7:33 - Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese 7:40 - Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kreuger 7:46 - Holly by Stephen King 7:58 - Current Reads 8:06 - A Death In Door County by Annelise Ryan (Mary) 9:53 - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant  10:44 - Death in the Dark Woods by Annelise Ryan (releases December 2023) 11:43 - Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent (Meredith) 13:39 - Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent 15:36 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live 16:25 - The Maid by Nita Prose 18:17 - The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (Mary) 18:26 - The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston 21:34 - Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia and Bill Gifford (Meredith) 23:06 - Oprah Daily “The Life You Want” talk w/Dr. Peter Attia (this is for Oprah Daily subscribers. I tried finding it elsewhere and no luck. Sorry friends!) 26:08 - Tim Ferriss and Dr. Peter Attia episode #517 27:06 - Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano (Mary) 29:39 - @what_amy_reads on Instagram 29:48 - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier 29:56 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King 32:00 - DM Mary on Instagram if you read Dead Eleven @maryreadsandsips 32:21 - The Governess Game by Tessa Dare (Meredith) 37:58 - Deep Dive: Books That Follow Formulas 38:08 - The Only One Left by Riley Sager 48:43 - Meet Us At The Fountain 48: 53 - I wish everyone would find their bookish joy and be totally extra about it. (Mary) 50:22 - I wish everyone would follow Mary on Instagram! (Meredith) Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcastand www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading

In this "Help! My kid needs a book!" episode, Chrissie responds to 3 listener requests: Funny early readers Gentle mysteriesTween summerween (middle grade horror)See below for all books mentioned in the episode.EARLY READERS:SEE THE CAT series by David LaRochelle (3 books)HI, JACK! series by Mac Barnett (8 books)Ready to Read Graphics from Simon KidsFIGGY AND BOONE by Janee TraslerNUGGET AND DOG by Jason TharpGERALDINE PU by Maggie ChangTHUNDER AND CLUCK by Jill EsbaumWORM AND CATERPILLAR ARE FRIENDS by Kaz WindnessI Can Read Comics from HarperKidsNARWHAL AND JELLY by Ben Clanton (7 books)TATER TALES by Ben Clanton OWLY by Andy Runton (4 books)SIR LADYBUG series by Corey Tabor (3 books)FOX AND CHICK by Sergio Ruzzier (4 books)PIZZA AND TACO by Stephen Shaskan (7 books)CHICK AND BRAIN by Cece Bell (2 books)FITZ AND CLEO by Jonathan Stutzman (3 books)CRANKY CHICKEN by Katherine Battersby (3 books)Theodor Seuss Geisel Award from the ALAGENTLE MYSTERIESAVEN GREEN series by Dusti Bowling (4 books)FABLED STABLES series by Jonathan Auxier (3 books)TIDE POOL TROUBLES by Ashlyn Anstee A MOUNTAIN OF A PROBLEM by Ashlyn AnsteeMYSTERY CLUB by Davide CaliJUST HARRIET by Elana K. ArnoldHARRIET SPIES by Elana K. ArnoldWHEN SEA BECOMES SKY by Gillian McDunnTO CATCH A THIEF by Martha BrockenbroughMIDDLE GRADE HORRORSMALL SPACES series by Katherine ArdenDEAD VOICES by Katherine ArdenDARK WATERS by Katherine ArdenEMPTY SMILES by Katherine ArdenSCRITCH SCRATCH by Lindsay CurrieSPIRIT HUNTERS by Ellen OhHARU, DOG ZOMBIE HERO by Ellen OhSINISTER SUMMER series by Kiersten WhiteWRETCHED WATERPARK by Kiersten WhiteVAMPIRIC VACATION by Kiersten WhiteCAMP CREEPY by Kiersten WhiteMENACING MANOR by Kiersten WhiteTHE ZOMBERT CHRONICLES by Kara LaReauTHE RISE OF ZOMBERT by Kara LaReauTHE RETURN OF ZOMBERT by Kara LaReauTHE REVENGE OF ZOMBERT by Kara LaReauSCARY STORIES FOR YOUNG FOXES by Christian McKay HeidickerSCARY STORIES FOR YOUNG FOXES: THE CITY by Christian McKay HeidickerTHE CLACKITY by Lora SenfTHE OJJA WOJJA by Magdalene VisaggioTHE NIGHT GARDENER by Jonathan AuxierTHE JUMBIES by Tracy BaptisteTHE BELLWOODS GAME by Celia KrampienTHE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF DERELICTION by Jacqueline DaviesBe sure to follow the show on Instagram @bookdelightpod, follow Chrissie on Instagram @librarychrissie, and subscribe to Chrissie's monthly kidlit newsletter at librarychrissie.substack.com. 

This month, Mara and Josh apparently fall into a mirror world where Long Lankin doesn't exist. Instead, there is only Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener, a story that is superficially similar but vastly different in end result. Take a trip to the other side! Also discussed: Wings of Fire, Henry Sellick, flip books, Bohemian Rhapsody, anti-anxiety medication, and either Amy Adams, Naomi Watts, or Nicole Kidman. Next month we will be reading Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur. Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram. Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

The time has come to confront the smiling man once and for all. Will Coco, Ollie, and Brian succeed in returning to a normal life filled with therapy? Only one way to find out! Join Mara and Josh as they finish the Small Spaces quartet with Katherine Arden's Empty Smiles. Also discussed: Labyrinth, Looney Tunes, Marlon Brando, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Spore, and Stranger Things. Next month we will be reading The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram. Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

In season five, episode six of Gotham Writers' Inside Writing, host Josh Sippie talks with Jonathan Auxier about his career writing children's books and his origins as a scriptwriter. They discuss the ins and outs of writing for a young audience, the transition from scripts to prose and back again, unconventional writing routines, and the writing life. Links from the panelists: Jonathan's website: https://www.thescop.com/ Jonathan's books: https://www.thescop.com/my-books Connect on social media! Jonathan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonathanAuxier Jonathan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auxierjonathan/?hl=en Gotham Writers' Twitter: https://twitter.com/gothamwriters Josh's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sippenator101

Authors Jonathan Auxier and Grace Lin answer the question Has one of your books ever not made sense? and kid reviewer Leora reviews Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier.

Today I have my dear friend Julie Bene on the podcast. Julie is one of my go-to people for book recommendations. In our conversation today, we're discussing Sweep by Jonathan Auxier--a new favorite of us both (and a book recommended to me by Julie).    The most delightful children's bookstore!

Jonathan Auxier is the author of such books as Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes and The Night Gardener, among others, and he joined the guys this week to discuss his favorite books, his inspiration, his taste in food, and much more. Of course, this episode also includes jokes, riddle time, snack time, and all kinds of shenanigans. Hope you enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jonathan Auxier:Website: https://www.thescop.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonathanAuxier Good Story Company:Website: https://www.goodstorycompany.comMembership: https://www.goodstorycompany.com/membershipWriting Workshop: https://www.storymastermind.com Mary Kole:Manuscript Submission Blueprint: https://bit.ly/kolesubCrafting Dynamic Characters Online Course: https://bit.ly/writingcharacterWriting Irresistible Kidlit: http://bit.ly/kolekidlit Follow us on social:YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/goodstoryTwitter: https://twitter.com/goodstorycoInstagram: https://instagram.com/goodstorycompanyFacebook: https://facebook.com/goodstoryco

Our Downingtown Middle School and Lionville Middle School librarian, Mrs. Beth DePalma, shares some spooky young adult book selections for the #Halloween season. The highlight book for the month is “The Night Gardener” by Jonathan Auxier.

Jonathan Auxier returns for a record fifth time to discuss what he originally wanted to discuss last time: Genre, how it is like burgers, and what this all has to do with the movie Alien. James then high-roads us with some classical music cues.

Jonathan Auxier returns again with his best idea yet: Everything you write should have an Author Draft, an Artifact Draft, and an Audience Draft.

Erika shares her take away lessons from the book of Ruth.  Boaz was the go'el - the kinsman redeemer and he desired to restore what rightfully belonged to the owner.  What does that teach us?  How did he do that?  What did he restore?  Who showed chesed throughout the story and what does that mean for us today?How do God centered people affect God and His willingness to show up?  We referenced Jonathan Auxier's book "The Night Gardner" and Cynthia Clawson's song "Trust His Heart."  Both are excellent and worth reading and listening to.   We also shared our plans for a summer study.  We will be back the first Monday in June and then you can hear our new podcasts on the first and third Monday of June, July, and August.  Tabuk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4453-tabukLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

An interview with Wendy McLeod MacKnight, author of three books for middle-grade readers, who shares her habit of drafting quickly and revising painstakingly, her advice on getting to know your characters before you write them, and her delighted surprise at discovering Voldemort under Quirrell's turban. 20 minutes. All ages. A full transcript is available at CabinTales.ca. Show Notes [0:00] Intro [1:15] Interview with Wendy McLeod MacKnight CA: Do you ever do object studies, either as an exercise or has an object ever figured in one of your books? WMM: Oh yeah for sure…Probably my most intense was when I was writing about the paintings at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery …  The idea was what would it be like to be stuck in the painting, you can't get out, and then what if you made a friend who has not the greatest home life and is an artist, and wishes they could get into the paintings because wouldn't life be easier. He can't get in; she can never get out…. that's one of the things that I recommend is to really drill down into the character's internal and external struggle through it all. …   [3:50] CA: Do you have any favorite plot twists? WMM: … I really enjoyed the moment when I discovered that Voldemort was up in Quirrell's turban… The very ending of The Frame Up solves a problem between my two main characters perfectly. …people have come to me since then and said, “I did not see that coming.” …That's so great.     [5:00] CA: … How do you feel about sad endings or endings where the good guy loses? … WMM: …. I think that in middle grade, even if it's sad there has to be hope. … I think though, once you get into YA, then I think you've got a lot more flexibility. … When I read too many books like that, I usually need like a palate cleanser, like give me something funny. …. But I think that we do kids a disservice when things are too easy and don't cause pain, you know.   [6:40] CA: Will you stick with middle grade? WMM: … I'm obsessed with middle grade. … the books that I read when I was in middle grade are still the books I find great comfort in now as an adult. … And they're the books that you're picking out…. And you have to see yourself in them… I think that even that's part of the reason why the first few books I've written, I set in New Brunswick. …   [8:15] CA: Do you have any favorite settings from other people's fiction? WMM: … I love really amazing worldbuilding. So, like Phillip Pullman's worldbuilding in The Golden Compass … I could live in anything that was kind of Dickensian. … you also have to be really careful, especially when you're writing for kids, to not get bogged down in so much minutia that they get bogged down with you. … I really love books set in Canada. …   [9:25] CA: And do you have any favorite fictional characters? WMM: Oh yeah. For sure Meg Murry from A Wrinkle in Time. … Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon. I love David Copperfield…The main character in The War that changed my Life by Kim Brubaker Bradley, that character stayed with me for so long.   [10:00] CA: And are there any setting or character exercises that you would recommend to young writers? WMM: I always tell them that they need to interview their main characters…. And I do that a lot with settings too. … the more you can know your characters and the more you can know the place before you start…   [11:50] CA:. While you're drafting, do you do self-editing or do you just let it out? WMM: I get it all out. So I always have to remind myself that it's probably going to take me 8 drafts and I just don't, I'm not going to worry about it anymore. … Sometimes at the end of the book it's, like somebody wrote this book and I don't know who it was. …. There are moments when the characters on your page sometimes feel more alive than the people that are around you. … that's the magic.   [14:00] CA: So you've said you spend a lot more time revising than drafting. WMM: …I write full time, so I could get a first draft done within probably six weeks. If it's you know, if it's anywhere between 50 and 80,000 I can probably get that. Like usually when I'm really into writing, I'm writing like 2500 to 3000 words a day. But it's also, they're not good words. It's just getting it all out, right? So very fast first drafts, very very very slow revisions.   [14:35] CA: And do you have a favorite POV to write from? WMM: I love first person. … The Frame Up, I have dual points of view…. I think third person gives you more freedom. … I don't think I could ever write second person. …   [15:30] CA: And have you ever written an unreliable narrator? WMM: Not in the typical sense of an unreliable narrator. …. I think that would be fabulous. I have been toying with that, so that may be something in the future.   [16:10] CA: And you have written about siblings. WMM: Yes. It's a Mystery Pig-Face! is about a brother and sister… and I do not espouse, by the way, name-calling -- but I did use it in this particular story because my brother, when we were kids, used to just torture me. … I think I'm in almost all of my books in some way. … I think there's probably a bit of me in some of the parents as well. …   [17:40] CA: And what do you think is scarier: humans or monsters? WMM: Humans… we have a lot of people who are very damaged. … Certainly in my old job and things that I saw -- I would rather take my chance with a monster. … I do feel that most people are redeemable. And the human monsters I met are almost always products of situations where they needed people when they were very young and they didn't have those people. And that's probably the same with most of the monsters too, right? If they had a really great monster mom and dad or a really good monster friend…   [18:40] CA: Did you tell stories around a campfire as a kid? WMM: I did. … Like you'd be on some overnight trip and you'd all be trying to freak each other out, to terrify each other before you went off to your tents… I was usually more on the receiving end of the terror though, because I am such a scaredy cat. …   [20:00] CA: Do you have a favorite scary movie or scary story? WMM: In terms of scary books, I thought Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener was so creepy… And in terms of movies, I'm going to go really old school… The Exorcist. …I'm going to have to watch something funny before I go to bed tonight, just thinking about it….   [20:30] CA: Do you collect anything? WMM: … I've always collected rocks. … And if I ever see anything while I'm out about The Wizard of Oz… because I love that movie so much.   [21:40] Wendy McLeod MacKnight introduces herself WMM: I'm Wendy MacLeod McKnight. I am the author of three middle-grade novels: It's a Mystery, Pig-Face!, The Frame Up, and The Copycat. The Frame Up has been published in Taiwan and is currently being translated into French and is going to be published in French in the next year. I love middle-grade fiction so much. My heart is just embedded. And I love writing about where I live, which is New Brunswick, but I also love writing about all over the world too, because this is an amazing time to be an author right now. [music]   [22:30] Find out more about Wendy McLeod MacKnight   You can find out more about Wendy McLeod MacKnight and her books from her website at WendyMcleodMacknight.com. You can hear more great creative writing advice from Wendy McLeod MacKnight on Cabin Tales Episode 3.5, “Author Interviews about Inspiration”; on Episode 4, “Bad Things Happen,” about plotting; on Episode 6.5, “Author Interviews about Beginnings,” and on Episode 8, “The Never-ending Story,” about revision.   [23:35] Upcoming National Public Reading If you like the spooky stories on Cabin Tales,  join me for a National Public Reading on March 16th, at 9 a.m., when I'll be telling a tale or two to some local students in a virtual visit funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and administered through the Writers' Union of Canada and the National Readings Program. Drop me an email at cabin@catherineausten.com to ask for the zoom link if you want to listen in.   [24:10] Thanks and coming up on the podcast I'll be back next week with leftovers from my interview with Philippa Dowding, the award-winning children's author, poet, and musician, who joins us from Toronto. Thanks for listening. Credits Music on the podcast is from “Stories of the Old Mansion” by Akashic Records, provided by Jamendo (Standard license for online use). Host: Catherine Austen writes books for children, short stories for adults, and reports for corporate clients. Visit her at www.catherineausten.com. Guest Author: Wendy McLeod MacKnight is the author of three middle grade novels: It's a Mystery, Pig Face! , The Frame-Up and The Copycat. In her spare time, she gardens, hangs with her family and friends, and feeds raccoons. Visit Wendy online at wendymcleodmacknight.com .  

Kristine reviews two books by the kids' author Jonathan Auxier. The Night Gardener and Sweep are both gripping and adventurous fantasy tales, with characters you really root for in dangerous circumstances.

Today, Kaytee and Mary are discussing: Bookish Moments: virtual author events and a library fake out Current Reads: books that get better and better and have big emotions Deep Dive: what is spoopy season? And what do we read for peak spoopiness? Book Presses: spoopy presses for your shelves As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  New: we are now including transcripts of the episode. These are generated by AI, so they may not be perfectly accurate, but we want to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . . Bookish Moments: 2:14 - Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center Current Reads: 6:01 - The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller (Mary) 9:34 - New York by Edward Rutherford (Kaytee) 11:54 - A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green (Mary) 11:59 - An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green 15:38 - Book 3 - I could find no evidence! 16:19 - Big Friendship by Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow (Kaytee) 16:27 - Scribd: try it out for 2 months free 17:03 - Call Your Girlfriend Podcast 19:29 - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness with Siobhan Dowd (Mary) 23:53 - My Storied Year by Katie Proctor (Kaytee) Deep Dive - Books for Spoopy Season: 29:23 - The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix 30:14 - City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 31:48 - Sweep: A Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier 32:40 - The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud 33:48 - Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell 34:45 - Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 34:52 - A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro 34:58 - A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas 36:56 - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 38:00 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 38:11 - Jane Eyre narrated by Thandie Newton 40:32 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 41:32 - Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson 41:33 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey 41:40 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling 41:41 - Tana French books 42:28 - Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman 42:37 - Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands: 44:52 - My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton (Mary) 44:58 - My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton 45:09 - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 47:42 - The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Kaytee) 47:51 - It by Stephen King 47:53 - Pet Sematary by Stephen King Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mindy is @gratefulforgrace on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

Fleeing famine, Irish siblings, Molly and Kip travel to England hoping to find work and a home at the Windsor estate. They arrive to find the estate is a creepy, crumbling manor - but the house and its family are not what they seem. Soon they find out about an ancient curse and a mysterious spectre that may threaten their very lives! This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recording made with permission of Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Returning guest Jonathan Auxier stops by to discuss franchise finales, because he's about to write one himself. It's another long one!

Listen along as The Story Seeds Podcast host Betsy Bird chats with Tracey Baptiste (New York Times bestselling author of MINECRAFT: THE CRASH, as well as the  Caribbean adventure series THE JUMBIES.) They go behind the scenes and talk about what it was like virtually working and collaborating with 12 year old Amalia on Episode 7 “Barking Up the Right Tree” to grow her story seed about an athletic girl named Joy and her magical relationship with the oak tree in her backyard. In this bonus episode, Tracey shares her writing tips and shares a cool creativiity hack: how to take two very different things and bringing them together to create something entirely new in your writing! Books mentioned in this episode: Minecraft The Crash and The Jumbies series by Tracey Baptiste. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge. Grimm’s Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm.Tracey’s Youtube channel which features her talks on Creativity Under Pressure (created during the COVID-19 pandemic)Calls to ActionKids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at storyseeds@literarysafari.com, or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club.Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the  kid in you!). You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Get our Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity activity book! It pairs perfectly with the podcast and features tons of episode-inspired prompts and projects! Order your copy here!Hey Listeners! Looking for ways to support our show? Well, now you can! Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. This episode is also available on our YouTube channel. Subscribe here. Show creditsMatt Boynton and Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio for the sound mixing, design, and score of our bonus episode. Theme music is composed and performed by Andrew VanWyngarden. And, our host is Betsy Bird. The Story Seeds Podcast is a creation and production of Literary Safari www.literarysafari.com

Author Jonathan Auxier joins Grace in this pre-recorded episode. Grace and Jonathan talk about hoe heartbreak in their real lives affected their writing, and ultimately made their stories better.

Meredith and Kaytee are back with the episode you’ve been waiting for. Our favorite books of 2019! Rather than spending time on all our regular segments, we are diving right into the good stuff. No Bookish Moments, no Current Reads, no Deep Dive, no Pressed books, just a reflection on our 2019 reading year and then the top 10 lists you’ve been waiting for! We are each sharing 10 books we LOVED this year (plus a couple bonus picks that we slide in under the radar). We do a lot of gushing, we have a lot of words, and we think this episode contains the real gems for us and readers like us. If you have books you think we’ll love based on these lists, put them in the comments! If you agree or disagree with a pick, put that in the comments as well! We love hearing from you! As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . . Let’s Talk About Stats, Baby: 3:22 - Kaytee on Goodreads 3:23 - Kaytee’s spreadsheet (with excessive stats) comes from the BookRiot spreadsheet with some special modifications. You can grab a copy directly from BookRiot though! Patrons get my copy with all the bonus challenges and stats already included. 3:26 - 2020 Reading Journal Top 10 Lists: (Titles in Italics and parentheses are books we mentioned that are not part of the official top 10 list) 13:40 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier 14:11 - (Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier) 15:02 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson 15:41 - (Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson - book 2) 15:46 - (The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson - book 3) 16:14 - Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski 16:28 - (Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski) 17:08 - A Better Man by Louise Penny 18:50 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow 19:56 - The Whisper Man by Alex North 20:00 - (Book of the Month subscription) 20:59 - The Passengers by John Marrs 21:11 - (The One by John Marrs) 22:02 - The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye 22:11 - Episode when listeners press books into OUR hands 23:23 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts 25:08 - The Current by Tim Johnston 25:15 - (Shelf Subscription from Bookshelf Thomasville) 27:31 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 29:28 - The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff 31:28 - (Sarah’s Bookshelves Life interview with Garrett) 32:00 - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter 33:20 - American Royals by Katherine McGee 35:13 - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 37:06 - (Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry) 37:40 - (The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides) 37:44 - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth 39:41 - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead 39:57 - (Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead) 40:54 - The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich 42:39 - The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall 44:47 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/09/bonus-episode-superfight.html   In May 2019 I posted an interview with Jonathan Auxier, the author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster. In our interview we talked about the book, of course, but we also talked about our favorite board games. I met Jonathan at the 2019 Association of Jewish Libraries conference where he'd come to accept his Sydney Taylor Book Award, and we got to play one of those games together along with a roomful of other authors, illustrators, and librarians. Here's your chance to listen in as we play a round of Superfight: A Game of Absurd Arguments. First we'll hear the description of the game from Jonathan's May 2019 appearance on The Book of Life podcast. Then we'll hear a clip of me versus Jonathan Auxier in actual gameplay. Just so you know, the game was ultimately won by illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky, who was at the conference to receive the Sydney Taylor Book Award for All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah. His Superfight character was Gal Gadot (because he drew the card letting him pick a favorite actor), who was unaffected by impact, but who had no depth perception. He won a badminton challenge against a tween werewolf with jellyfish instead of hands. That's Superfight for you! Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473. 

Kaytee and Meredith are so excited to be sharing YOUR presses with our listeners this week! We asked for you to call us or email us with your books you want to press, and you certainly delivered! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each host: a realization about the true status of hoarding tendencies, and a book that immediately led to dinner time yumminess. Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We’ve got 6 (or more) books that someone will want to read ASAP, so get those library cards ready! For our deep dive, we are sampling 10 of our favorite “listener presses” for our Reading Challenge! If you sent us a press that didn’t make it into the episode, it was just because we didn’t have time. We loved hearing from all of you! You’ll hear our thoughts on each of these books as well, because, you know we have them! As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we’d like to press into every reader’s hands. This week we’ve got a title that’s perfect for the extreme heat of mid-summer, and a press that comes with a caveat. As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  .  .  .  .  .  3:17 - A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Gamache #7) Life hack: Pasta, asparagus, pine nuts, and goat cheese. Fantastic dinner. 4:47 - The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz 4:56 - The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz 7:18 - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 7:27 - The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz 8:13 - YA Alex Rider series (starts with Stormbreaker) by Anthony Horowitz 9:04 - The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See 11:52 - All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai 15:32 - Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 16:34 - YouTube Interview with Eoin Colfer 19:13 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier 19:24 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier 20:11 - Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos 25:29 - Mary in Episode 36 25:34 - Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey 29:17 - The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory 31:48 - The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 35:06 - Unbroken - a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 35:14 - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand 37:14 - Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters 40:14 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck 40:50 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 43:57 - First Person Plural by Cameron West  46:07 - The Friend by Dorothy Koomson 46:15 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 47:49 - How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery 49:51 - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly 51:25 - Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang 53:54 - Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell 54:05 - I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell 56:00 - The Heirs by Susan Reiger 57:41 - Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham 59:25 - The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Special guest Jonathan Auxier returns to the program to give us some pushback on our last three episodes (Listen to those first!) And after you've listened to this, check out this follow-up blog post: http://www.secretsofstory.com/2019/05/new-podcast-more-fun-with-jonathan.html

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/05/sweep-story-of-girl-and-her-monster.html   May 1 is May Day, the chimney sweeps' holiday. It's the perfect day to bring you a podcast about Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier. The book introduces us to Nan, a chimney climber, and her golem friend Charlie, a creature made of soot. This middle grade novel won the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children's books, along with numerous other literary awards. In this lush, dense interview, Jonathan gives us much to think about! Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473. 

Meredith and Kaytee are joined by a special guest co-host this week, Mindy Brouse, a Currently Reading listener and super-fan of the show. This one was fun, you guys! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each of us: a funny bookish conversation, a sweet picture book that made me feel ~seen~, and a spoiler-ific discussion of a previous book. Next, we discuss our current reads. Since there are three of us, we kept it to two titles each, but there’s no shortage of great stories and big opinions. For our deep dive, we’re talking to Mindy about reading aloud to kids of multiple ages, since she has been homeschooling for 20 years and has 7 kids with a large span. Our listeners asked for something exactly like this, and Mindy delivers! We also get to hear from her about something we’ve heard from a lot of you: how Currently Reading changed her reading life. It’s a sweet conversation. As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we’d like to press into every reader’s hands. This week’s picks include a favorite read-aloud title, a YA sci-fi (Y-fi?) series, and a fairy tale retelling that has been a favorite for DECADES. As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  .  .  .  .  .  3:49 - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls 3:53 - Calico Bush by Rachel Field 3:57 - The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 4:02 - On The Edge of the Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson 5:31 - Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro 6:43 - Lil’ Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal 6:59 - Lil’ Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal 7:06 -Lil’ Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal 7:48 - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 9:51 - The Gown by Jennifer Robson 13:07 - The Editor by Steven Rowley 13:14 - Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley 18:09 - The Lost Man by Jane Harper 18:39 - Force of Nature by Jane Harper 19:38 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 21:39 - Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe 23:40 - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 26:49 - Sweep by Jonathan Auxier 26:54 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier 30:30 - Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin 33:27 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin 33:28 - The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin 33:43 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 44:15 - I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino 46:57 - Honey for A Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt 51:36 - The Firm by John Grisham 55:44 - The Chosen by Chaim Potok 57:22 - Cinder by Marissa Meyer 1:00:11 - Beauty by Robin McKinley Deep dive. Here’s the photo and corresponding list of books that Mindy’s family has chosen as their very favorites over the past two decades. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park By The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert Dejong The Broken Blade by William Durbin The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark The Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff On The Edge of the Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Meredith and Kaytee have to try to keep themselves under control this week as we have a bit of a longer deep dive segment. It’s hard, listeners, to reign in the book talk, especially after a week away! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each of the hosts: ditching a time-suck that was preventing reading, and a new bookish website.   Next, we discuss our current reads. Since we had to limit ourselves, these four titles are all AMAZING. We dare you to not get excited about at least half of them, no matter what your wheelhouse is! Our deep dive this week includes and extra special interview with the ladies from Pantsuit Politics, Beth and Sarah. Whether you’re already a fan, or these are new voices in your ears, you’re guaranteed to learn something. I (Kaytee) did, and have been a raving fangirl for more than two years. It’s unbelievable to me that I even got to talk to them! As always, we finish up with A Book (yep, capitalized) that we’d like to press into every reader’s hands: a non-fiction pick from Sarah if you want to broaden your political reading, a poetic choice from Beth for sanity in turbulent times, and one from each of your regular hosts (a sweet picture book and a creepy true crime novel). That’s a lot of pressed books! As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  .  .  .  .  .  4:00 -myTBR.co - Tailored Book Recommendations from Book Riot 7:10 - Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier 10:24 - The Hunger by Alma Katsu 10:46 - The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown 13:54 - Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce 17:48 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson 18:00 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 20:08 - The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart 20:12 - A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket 22:40 - I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) by Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland 45:59 - The Righteous Mind: Why People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt 47:05 - Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamott 48:30 - The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum 49:00 - Pantsuit Politics Podcast and Website Pantsuit Politics on Twitter Pantsuit Politics on Instagram 50:28 - Stellaluna by Jannell Cannon 52:31 - The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (set in Washington state) 53:07 - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Author Jonathan Auxier takes us behind the scenes of her middle grade novel, SWEEP.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Acclaimed novelist Jonathan Auxier joins Matt Bird and James Kennedy to talk about POV in prose!

Jonathan Auxier has been a writer for a very long time, but he says he never really felt like he had found his place until he began writing children’s literature. Thank goodness he did! The New York Times best-selling author of what he calls “strange stories for strange children,” his books include Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, The Night Gardener and most recently, Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard. In this episode he joins Sarah (and 13-year-old Allison!) to talk about writing for children, and why he’s so driven to connect kids with stories. In this episode, you'll hear his mother's decision to homeschool him for a year so he could read for three hours a day why he always recommends other authors' books too to the kids he meets scary books and sensitive kidsAllison's favorite books series (Jonathan hadn't heard of it before!)  Click the play button below: More free resources & booklists Get the best episodes and reources from the Read-Aloud Revival Keep an eye on your inbox! We'll keep you posted whenever we have a new podcast episode or a great free booklist or resource for you. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. Email Address I'd like to receive the free email course. Yes! Powered by ConvertKit /* Layout */ .ck_form.ck_minimal { /* divider image */ background: #f9f9f9; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #666; font-size: 16px; border: solid 1px #d1d1d1; -webkit-box-shadow: none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow: none; clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; text-align: center; } .ck_form.ck_minimal h3.ck_form_title { text-align: center; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-size: 28px; } .ck_form.ck_minimal h4 { text-align: center; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; padding-top: 0px; margin-top: 0px; } .ck_form.ck_minimal p { padding: 0px; } .ck_form, .ck_form * { -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } .ck_form.ck_minimal .ck_form_fields { width: 100%; float: left; padding: 5%; } /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea { display: none; /* temporary */ } #ck_success_msg { padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; } .ck_form.ck_minimal input[type="text"], .ck_form.ck_minimal input[type="email"] { font-size: 18px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 68%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; /* border radius */ background-color: #fff; /* layer fill content */ margin-bottom: 5px; height: auto; float: left; margin: 0px; margin-right: 2%; height: 42px; } .ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus { outline: none; border-color: #aaa; } .ck_form.ck_minimal .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; color: #fff; margin: 0px; padding: 11px 0px; font-size: 18px; background: #6fc171; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px; /* border radius */ cursor: pointer; border: none; text-shadow: none; width: 30%; float: left; height: 42px; } .ck_form.ck_minimal .ck_guarantee { color: #626262; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; padding: 15px 0px 0px; display: block; clear: both; } .ck_form .ck_powered_by { display: block; color: #aaa; font-size: 12px; } .ck_form .ck_powered_by:hover { display: block; color: #444; } .ck_converted_content { display: none; padding: 5%; background: #fff; } .ck_form.ck_minimal.width400 .

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy talk about some of their favorites moments with their dads. Then they bring on Jonathan Auxier. Jonathan Auxier is a Canadian-American writer of young adult literature, who won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award for his 2014 novel … Continue reading #222 – Jonathan Auxier →

Jonathan Auxier is an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of books for young readers. He recently had an opportunity to return to his screenwriting roots when his second novel, The Night Gardener, was optioned by Disney. Paul and Jonathan talk about the joys of first drafts, C.S. Lewis's words on children's literature, and what it's like when Disney comes calling. Paul also coaxes Jonathan into giving us a few hints about what's next in the pipeline (or in his case, the chimney).

Jonathan Auxier (@JonathanAuxier), author of The Night Gardener (Henry N. Abrams) and Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (Amulet Books), stops by to talk about conquering your own fears through your characters, crazy dares over Skype, and his tell-all "After the Book Deal" blog series.

An interview with Jonathan Auxier, recorded May 6, 2014. Jonathan discusses his new book, The Night Gardener. Along the way we talk about storytelling, board games, reading to kids, and Auxier's mastery of the yo-yo.