Podcast appearances and mentions of maggie tokuda hall

“I didn't question it. I howled.” In this episode of Fictional Hangover, Amanda and Claire talk about numerous PSAs in this book about werewolf mean girls with murder: wash your g'dang hands! call someone by their preferred name! don't desecrate graves! have an adult alpha! wear what makes you feel comfortable! … and then the sexy screaming starts in their discussion of Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Steele.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight on APEX Express, join the Powerleegirls Host Miko Lee speaks with children's book authors Lorraine Nam, Uma Krishnaswami and Maggie Tokuda-Hall about Library Joy in honor of National School Library Month! To Learn More Lorrraine Nam, illustrator and  author Michael Threet's book: I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy    Uma Krishnaswami Her books: Book Uncle Triology   Maggie Tokuda-Hall Her book: Love in the Library  Every Library Authors Against Book Bans   Show Transcript [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:35] Ayame Keane-Lee: Welcome to tonight's episode of Apex Express Celebrating Library Joy. I'm Ayame Keane-Lee the editor of tonight's show, and part of the PowerLeeGirls bringing you the introduction to tonight's show. Did you know that April is National School Library Month and in just 10 days from April 19th to 25th is National Library Week? The theme for this year's National Library Week is Find Your Joy with Honorary Chair Mychal Threets. The first of three interviews you'll hear my mom, Miko Lee have tonight is with Lorraine Nam the illustrator for the newly released children's book written by that very Mychal Threets called, “I'm So Happy You're Here”. You will then hear Miko speak with Uma Krishnaswami about her children's book “Book Uncle and Me,” and lastly with Maggie Tokuda-Hall about her children's book, “Love in the Library,” and the important work of Authors Against Book Bans. As a library kid and current library worker, I have experienced firsthand the transformative power of library access and the importance of inclusive and diverse storytelling. In and out of schools, libraries are vital to nurturing and uplifting the autonomy and sovereignty of children, which always has and continues to be a liberatory practice. We hope tonight's show will inspire you right into your local library to check out some of the great books mentioned here or to put them on hold. Let's listen in.    [00:02:06] Miko Lee: Welcome, Lorraine Nam, illustrator of amazing  children's books. Welcome to Apex Express.    [00:02:13] Lorraine Nam: I'm excited to be here.    [00:02:16] Miko Lee: I wanna start with a question I ask all of my guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:02:24] Lorraine Nam: Who are my people? I would say creative people. People who are interested in having an open mind, and looking at the bright side of things, the beautiful things, people who are curious. The type of legacy that I bring I think is just my parents who are creative and then bringing that, to this new generation.    [00:02:57] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. I am, I'm looking at your beautiful face, and behind you is this, find your joy and, and it's in lots of colors on this pink banner and in at the top we see opening up of a library door with Mychal Threets, who's the author of this book, “I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy.” I'm wondering if you can talk about your collaborative process with Mychal Threets.    [00:03:25] Lorraine Nam: The first impression that you have of writer and illustrator for a picture book is that they work really closely together, and that's actually not the case. We work pretty separately, but I was very excited. Mychal wrote the words to this book and they were looking for an illustrator and my agent called me and she asked me if I was interested. I was very excited about the project. I signed up for it and we worked pretty separately. We connected on Instagram, but he pretty much had no art notes, everything was pretty much whatever I was open to. Then we met for the first time and we got our very first copy of the book and we met in New York.    [00:04:10] Miko Lee: And what was that like?    [00:04:12] Lorraine Nam: Um, amazing. He is exactly who he is in his videos.    [00:04:18] Miko Lee: Can you share for our audience who he is and a little bit more about him, just in case folks don't know.   [00:04:24] Lorraine Nam: The book calls him a librarian ambassador. He describes himself as a reader, a lover of librarians or the number one fan of libraries. This is his first book and he's also the host of Reading Rainbow on PBS. We met at the New York Library, public Library for the first time, and he's just so nice, very kind. Honestly, it felt like we already knew each other just because we had been talking through the publisher about the book.   [00:05:02] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. It's so beautifully illustrated and you have a incredibly diverse,, amount of people in the book, both racially but also physically, and I really appreciate how you encapsulated that. I'm just wondering what inspired you to develop this specific imagery for this book?    [00:05:22] Lorraine Nam: Yeah, so one of the only stipulations in the art notes was that he wanted to have a diverse group of people attending the library. People of all ages of all color, all sizes, all disabilities. That seemed like a no brainer to me because I just know the message that he puts into the world. The only difficult part was narrowing down the cast. There's all these different types of people and just trying to figure out who to focus on. I wanted to make sure that you still see the same group of kids over and over. So it felt like you were following the along throughout the day, while still having lots of diversity and lots of different types of people.    [00:06:11] Miko Lee: Had you set what the cover was gonna be at the beginning or did that come after you had already finished the whole book?   [00:06:19] Lorraine Nam: Oh, that came much later. We pretty much had the art for the interior nailed down, and then we were working on concepts for the cover. I knew from Mychal's social media presence that maybe he didn't want to be the poster cover of the book. He wanted to be about the library goers and the people rather than himself. And so I was kind of towing that line of like obviously people wanna see him, it's his first book. They're such huge fans, and so like how much to put Mychal in and how much to showcase him, as well as showcase like all the other people who go to the library.   [00:07:02] Miko Lee: He definitely does have a joyous kind of ebullient vibe to him. I recommend for audience to check out his socials because he has this, you wanna listen to him. He's so inviting and I love the poster behind you because he is saying, like, “welcome, come into the library. This is my world.” And you also made him look so cute. Really looks like a cartoon version of him. So sweet. In your artistic process, I'm wondering what helps you define the style of art you utilize? I'm thinking about the paper cutouts that you did for a tale of two princes. What is it about the work that inspires you to select that type of style?   [00:07:43] Lorraine Nam: I actually had a very winding path to the style that I have today. So the style that I have today is very much layered. It's painted, a lot of it is painted. And then I cut it out and then I glue and collage different elements, and then I scan everything in and enhance certain aspects through Photoshop. But a lot of it started actually in wanting to make a physical book. So it was with book binding and then with book binding, because that's just a technique to produce a product, it was what goes in those pages and that's when I started doing cut paper. So just silhouetted, cut paper. And I was doing that for a long time, just cutting out rice paper to make silhouettes. I wanted to tell more of the story and depict people. So then I started making paper cut [laughs] sets. So I would build —almost like Legos— a whole set of paper buildings and paper people and paper objects that are three dimensional. And then I would photograph them. And then from there, I landed in this more 2D, but playing with still technique and texture and layers.    [00:09:10] Miko Lee: Wow, that's so interesting. Can you share a little bit more about your artistic process? Do you start at a certain time of day? Do you only work at night? Do you have a whole studio set up?   [00:09:20] Lorraine Nam: well, For the book projects because there's such a timeline to 'em and they're very specific. I'll do very loose sketches on Post-it notes. They're readily available and then you can stick two of them next to each other to make a full spread. I use these post-its, and then I would just fold them in half and use that as like very quick pencil drawings. And then if I had something that I liked, I would just go in and pen. But they were still very small. So it was more about looking at silhouettes and composition. And then I would print, it's a very old school technique, but I would print out all the text for the book and cut 'em out. And double sided tape and just stick them on to see where the text should be on the page and where it could fit. I would just do that manually until I had something that I liked a little bit more. Then I would start creating digital, like line drawings.    [00:10:21] Miko Lee: And are you lining this all up on a wall or putting it on the desk?   [00:10:26] Lorraine Nam: Um, so they're in like a notebook.    [00:10:29] Miko Lee: Oh, you put 'em in book format?    [00:10:31] Lorraine Nam: It's all the spread. So it should take about two pages basically. You should be able to look at it and look at it from like an eagle eye perspective of what the entire book will look like and what the flow will be like, and if there's closeups or this is like a far away saying, you get more of the like, setting of the library.   [00:10:52] Miko Lee: And with the font printed out really small so that it's on the bottom of that Post-it note.    [00:10:56] Lorraine Nam: Mm-hmm.    [00:10:57] Miko Lee: Wow, that is so fascinating. And what is it when you're eagle eye-ing, what are you looking for?    [00:11:04] Lorraine Nam: I'm pretending that I'm a kid looking at a book for the first time, with zero context and maybe zero reading level skill and just looking at the pictures and seeing if I can spot the same character and if there is a story that follows along, because this is a library book where it doesn't talk about specific people. I wanted to be able to follow each character in the book and see what their day was like in the library. So when they first came into the library, what they were doing during the day, what friends they made, and then maybe them leaving or, you know, a resolution of some kind, like their parents are checking out symbols at the library.    [00:11:52] Miko Lee: the concept of having the character go throughout the book. Was that in the instruction or was something that you created.   [00:11:59] Lorraine Nam: That was something that I wanted. Because I know looking at picture books, the pictures can also tell a story where, the words, it might not be in the words. So I wanted there to be more of a layered storytelling through image.    [00:12:18] Miko Lee: I appreciate that as a mom. I remember when my girls were little, they would always say, where is that rabbit on the page? Or where is that thing? And so being able to track a character all the way through, is quite delightful. It adds another dimension for the multiple readings. You mentioned before about how you didn't really meet Mychal, the author of the book until the very end, and I guess that's common as an illustrator and you've worked with so many different experts in their fields from, physicist Neil Degrasse Tyson to Skater Nathan Chen. How is their very different fields, how does that impact your art making?    [00:12:57] Lorraine Nam: It's actually the most fun. It's what drew me to illustration in the first place. I love being able to do like a deep dive and a specific subject that I wouldn't necessarily have gravitated towards and do that research. I actually do go to the library. I start the process at the library and I look at all the books about that particular topic, and then see what other people have done. And so working on the book for Neil deGrasse Tyson, it was so much fun looking at different how space is depicted the idea of galaxies and making that tangible and real for kids. And then for Nathan Chen, I was already a fan before I got the project, so it was very easy. But watching the videos, seeing all the different techniques and for his book it was more looking at sports books. Because he's such a unique person in his specific field in figure skating that there weren't very many books on figure skating and most are of a female portrayal. I was looking more at sports and how people show different types of movement, , and show like form. And the more technical aspects that are very, very, very specific and very critical to those things.    [00:14:32] Miko Lee: And how did that manifest into your book?    [00:14:35] Lorraine Nam: Um, a lot of drawings of like, the breakdown of his jumps and trying to figure out can a child do this jump [laughs]? And also doing a lot of research 'cause he's a very private person. His book is not about him, it's not a biography, but it's also loosely based off of him. You know, I have two other siblings. If I had a book based off of me, I want my siblings to be involved and represented in that as well. So I included his family, even though they're not a huge part of the book, his siblings are not like big characters. But they're still represented in there. So he can still be like, oh that's my family. This is based off of my story.   [00:15:32] Miko Lee: So when you're doing these approaches, like including Nathan's family or in the library book, making sure characters go all the way through, is that something you have to check in with the writer about, to see if they're okay? Or is that something that you just do and then you submit and you see if they like it?   [00:15:50] Lorraine Nam: That's something that I do, that I find joy in and see. Usually the first eyes on my sketches are the publisher and the art director. And I actually have no idea what, at what stage they really share the sketches, if it's like at a more finalized stage or if it's an early on one, but I usually just go with my own ideas and see what they think about it.    [00:16:20] Miko Lee: Wow. I didn't know that you could have that much say into it. That's lovely. You talked a little bit about using the library for research. Gosh, I imagine that Neil deGrasse Tyson, there's so much research on it, that must have been a deep dive. I'm wondering what the library meant to you as a child.    [00:16:38] Lorraine Nam: Yeah. I grew up as a big reader. The library for me it was a magical space that I wasn't really sure what it was. My parents, because they grew up in Korea and moved here to the States, there was a big language barrier between us and they're also very not talkative people. They just took us to this place one day and it was our local public library and it was right before closing and we were able to check out as many books as we wanted in whatever type of book that we wanted. I felt like that was magical, that there was no limit to it.    [00:17:19] Miko Lee: My last question is, what are you working on now?    [00:17:22] Lorraine Nam: I'm working on a few books, actually. I'm juggling a few, but they're all very fun and different. I'm doing a book about a boy dreaming of flying, being a pilot. So I think that will be a really fun imaginative book.    [00:17:43] Miko Lee: What is one of your books that you would've liked to read to your younger self?    [00:17:50] Lorraine Nam: Mm, I probably Wei Skates On, the book with Nathan Chen. ‘Cause his story is about overcoming obstacles and being disappointed. And just feeling frustrated and upset. And I feel like that's an important lesson even in adulthood. It's not really resolved through words. It's more of like the, everyone is there for him, his family is there for him, and they all just want him to enjoy what he's doing and to not care about winning or losing.    [00:18:33] Miko Lee: Lorraine Nam, thank you so much for chatting with us about your work and about the library as a magical place, appreciate talking with you.    [00:18:42] Lorraine Nam: Thank you so much. I had so much fun talking with you.   [00:18:45] Miko Lee: Welcome, amazing award-winning children's book author Uma Krishnaswami, I'm so happy to have you here on Apex Express.   [00:18:54] Uma Krishnaswami: Miko, it's my pleasure to be here.    [00:18:57] Miko Lee: I wanted to start with a question I ask all of my guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:19:05] Uma Krishnaswami: What a wonderful question. Who are my people? My people are children who are, my ideal readership is the eight to 12-year-old group. I write for children. I'm not particularly thinking about audience when I begin writing. But at some point I want my readership to feel validated, whether they recognize themselves as being in my stories or my stories are offering them a window into a world that they are not immediately familiar with. So I would say those are my people.    [00:19:45] Miko Lee: And what is the legacy that you carry with you?    [00:19:48] Uma Krishnaswami: I grew up in India. The year that I was born India had been independent for all of nine years. So I carry very much that colonial legacy. I also am an immigrant to two countries, early in my adulthood to the United States and about 12 years ago to Canada. So my legacy is one of moving and finding new roots, finding community. Those are the things that I try to carry forward in my stories. When I began writing, I lived in the US and I started writing when my son was born. So there I was with a little brown baby and I went looking for books that would represent him and I didn't find them. And I think that is what made me think in my early thirties that, real life people could write children's books because of course the books I had read as a child were all written by people from England and many of them were dead. I kind of thought you had to be dead and British to be a writer. So yeah, it's complicated, isn't it? All of that works into, what you think of as, as your legacy. Having done this for 30 plus years now.    [00:21:03] Miko Lee: And you've written so many beautiful books. Tell us about a little bit more about that first book.   [00:21:09] Uma Krishnaswami: So the very first book, it was called Stories of the Flood. I realized very quickly that I didn't really know what I was doing. I looked to folk tales and traditional tales as a way to teach me about story. My second book called The Broken Tusk Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha. That is the one that I consider as the book that taught me how to write. I had a wonderful editor [unintelligble] Thorpe at a small press in Connecticut, Linnet Books. She told me to lean into story and to see myself as a storyteller. In a way, every book I've written has taught me how to write.   [00:21:47] Miko Lee: Can you tell us about your favorite book as a kid?    [00:21:52] Uma Krishnaswami: My favorite book as a kid, it would have to be Winnie The Pooh.    [00:21:58] Miko Lee: And what was it about Winnie the Pooh that enamored you?    [00:22:01] Uma Krishnaswami: I came to it very early and aunt had traveled to England and she brought me my copy of winnie the Pooh in the House of Poo Corner. And I read them, sitting in very Indian gardens, sometimes up in trees. I spent lots of time up in trees and I took my own geography and placed it over the geography of the book. , So that for me, the a hundred acre wood had lime trees and banyan trees and possibly mango trees. It didn't occur to me, until much later when I read an Enid Blyton reader. I had my moment of disillusionment with Enid Blyton and that's when it really occurred to me that there was an us and a them in, in some of the storytelling I was consuming.   [00:22:49] Miko Lee: What age was that where you recognized that?    [00:22:51] Uma Krishnaswami: My post-colonial moment?    [00:22:53] Miko Lee: Yes.    [00:22:54] Uma Krishnaswami: I might have been a 11.    [00:22:56] Miko Lee: Oh, wow. And were you still living in India at that time?    [00:22:59] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah, yeah. 11 was a very formative year for me. My grandfather passed away, so it sort of brought mortality , into the framework for me. Also that was my year of disillusionment with Blyton. 'cause I read The , river of Adventure. And the villain in it had my name. He was called. Uma, Raya or Raya Uma or something like that. And yeah, I was just shocked. Just totally shocked. It was pure coincidence, I'm sure. She probably just, pulled the name out of the air and plunked it in. But. I began to notice that he was described as dark skinned and he was described as cunning. All this language that had slid right past me before began to be apparent. So, yeah,    [00:23:47] Miko Lee: I love that. That is so amazing. This name, like what? That's my name as the villain.    [00:23:53] Uma Krishnaswami: I'm the Bad Guy. No, I'm not.    [00:23:56] Miko Lee: And all of your books are such a wonderful clap back to that because you have a multitude of characters and so many different worlds. Initially reached out to you because I started reading book Uncle this trilogy of books that are so lovely. Can you first share a little bit about what the Book Uncle's Trilogy is about.    [00:24:16] Uma Krishnaswami: Okay, so it didn't start out as a trilogy. It didn't even start out as a book. It started out as a short story and then it didn't quite fit. It wasn't a picture book. It seemed to have more layers than that, so it kind of grew. But what started Book Uncle and Me was I was visiting my parents in India. At the time, and I was on this very busy urban street and there was this kid sitting on this on the, on the sidewalk. Um, it was kind of a broken brick sidewalk, and she was sitting cross-legged right in the middle and she was reading book and she was just oblivious to the crowd going around her and the. Buses on the road and there were, you know, random goats and dogs running around and she just was ignoring everything and she was absorbed in her book. And I remembered that I had been that kind of reader as a child. There was an election going on at the time as well, and I thought, I wonder what would happen if I put those two things together. And that is how Book Uncle came to be.    [00:25:14] Miko Lee: And then there was just, you wanted to live in those characters more, so you ended up writing additional books?    [00:25:20] Uma Krishnaswami: Hmm and that's a very good question. And actually no, I didn't, I thought I was done. I wrote Book Uncle and Me back in, I'm say 2009, 2010, something like that. I probably started it in 2010. Um, it got published originally in India in 2012, I believe. And then it was picked up by Ground Wood in Canada and published in Canada and the US so North American edition in 2016. And I thought, you know, I'm done. I'm writing other things. And then come the pandemic and we're all in lockdown. And like a lot of writers, I was doing, um, many, many, virtual. Presentations and programs. Um, and I did something through the North Vancouver Public Library and, there were kids zooming in from, you know, some from home, some from their bubbles, some from classrooms, whatever. And we were talking about book uncle and one of the kids, I think in third grade maybe, she said, Are you gonna write a sequel? And I am just joshing, right? I am. I said, yeah, should I? And they're all going, yeah, you should. And you should write three because you've got three characters you should give them each a [story]. And I'm like, all right guys i'll think about it. I absolutely will but not really taking it seriously. And then as often happens. the session ended and, you know, there we were all in lockdown going nowhere. And I thought maybe, maybe there's something there. Maybe I could return to that. And in a way I was kind of intrigued because I hadn't, had never thought about a trilogy and I was interested in how that would play out. Um, and it was kind of a writing challenge to myself, but honestly, once I started writing Birds on the Brain, which was book two it just kind of, I hesitate to say wrote itself 'cause I, that just seems, you know, so kind of woo woo. But, um, it did, it did. Uh, the, the kid came in and she took over and then a bird flew onto the rooftop and there I was on my way. So that's the story of, of how that that happened. In retrospect, I'm really sorry I didn't ask that child's name because I would've absolutely loved to have acknowledged her in the book. But thank you child from North Vancouver, whoever you are.    [00:27:40] Miko Lee: That is so amazing. That's by request, by audience request. You fulfilled this goal of a trilogy and and I I love that they even said, not just a sequel, but a trilogy.    [00:27:52] Uma Krishnaswami: Oh, they were. Yeah. They had it. I mean, they had, then they, they figured it out, which was really lovely.    [00:27:58] Miko Lee: And those, that trilogy is really geared, as you were saying to the second and third grade audience and I So many of your books are written around kids that can make a difference. What is it about that age that appeals to you and that motivation to show them how they can change the world?    [00:28:16] Uma Krishnaswami: I think they have this really, strong sense of what's fair. It's the age at which, you know, you start pushing back against what you see as small unfairnesses in your life. Parental restrictions quite often, or older siblings. You're pushing back. You're doing a little bit of finding who you are. And I think that uh, you begin to get a sense of awareness of the big world outside your small circle. And I think also one of the things that drives me, with writing to this age is that, I feel that it is so unfair that grownups, the adult world, has created so much injustice. And we just kind of expect the next generation to step up and step into it and, and do the best they can. and it just, it doesn't seem right not to at least give them the wherewithal to think about that. And they do, they have children have voices and their voices matter. As we found out with, the climate strikes. I mean it really was young people who brought those messages out into the world and forced us to think about them and talk about them. So, I think that we owe children that.    [00:29:34] Miko Lee: So which of your books would you want to read to the second or third grade Uma?   [00:29:43] Uma Krishnaswami: [Laughs] Maybe Book Uncle and Me. Because I think there's a lot of second and third grade Uma in that book. I was a compulsive reader like Yasmin. I would've absolutely read a book every day for the rest of my life if I'd had that many books available to me. I didn't. So I read the ones I had over and over again. I lived in an imaginary world, quite a bit of the time.   [00:30:06] Miko Lee: Speaking of having access to lots of books, I'm wondering what your relationship was like to libraries, both as a child and then now.    [00:30:15] Uma Krishnaswami: I'm a proud and inveterate library goer. I put holds on things. I go browse on shelves. I download eBooks and audio books. I always have a pending list. I'm very, very grateful for libraries and also for librarians whom many of whom I have come to know over my life and am immensely grateful for. I did not have access to libraries much as a child. We didn't have a public library system that was free and available and open to everybody. There were the kind of unofficial lending library types that I feature in Book Uncle and Me. There are sadly fewer of them now, but you still find them on street corners in India. I remember taking a book and giving one and then getting one back in return. That was, that was part of my life in some of the places we lived.   [00:31:07] Miko Lee: Did you know an actual book uncle?   [00:31:10] Uma Krishnaswami: I didn't actually pay much attention, to the people who handed those books out. I was much more, focused on the books I was getting. There are characters who I've seen who have run these things. I once had somebody email me and say, I'm a book uncle. This is what I do. So that was really nice.    [00:31:31] Miko Lee: That's sweet. I wanna roll back and talk a little bit more about your artistic process. I'm wondering if you, as a writer, as illustrator, you can sometimes be in your own world, and I'm wondering what your process is.   [00:31:43] Uma Krishnaswami: My place is right here. This is my office room, and I'm standing at a treadmill desk, and usually what I will do, is when I'm writing, I will turn that on very, very slowly. I usually start out at the idea stage with a notebook and a pen. I have fountain pens with very varied colors of ink, and I use those always to write my initial notes and questions about a new story idea. I don't go to the computer and the keyboard until the idea has started showing up quite a few times. In, perhaps in a few iterations, almost as if I'm actually pushing it away at first, you know, saying, don't scratch up my window until you are developed a little bit more. I'm not going to, indulge, the initial shallowness that usually the first idea is often not what it's gonna end up being. I question that, and sometimes this is gonna sound really crazy, but, if I write those questions many times over in different colored inks, the answers begin to break out in clumps. Once I've begun to think, okay, well maybe I, I know what I could do with this. That's when I open up a file.    [00:32:56] Miko Lee: Ooh share a little bit more about the different colored inks. How does that work?    [00:33:00] Uma Krishnaswami: Um, right over there, there's a whole row of inks, and right over here is a fountain pen, and I have several of them. I change the ink colors, and when I get stuck with something, it really does help to write those questions to myself, in a journal notebook. I have a terrible handwriting, so I used to really worry about when people gave me nice notebooks. Little empty notebooks with beautiful glossy pages. I used to think, God, my writing is so awful. I feel like I'm desecrating this beautiful book. I've gotten over that and it's actually really helpful to physically write that thought for me is very, very useful.   [00:33:39] Miko Lee: And when you see the different colors, is it like words that stand out to you, that you piece together? Yeah.    [00:33:44] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or sometimes I'll write something, in a paragraph, and then I'll break it up and write it in a lineated way, maybe in a different color. You just start seeing things differently when you try different ways of thinking about the same thing. It's all a trick to get the kind of managerial editorial mind out of the way. You need her later, but I don't need her when I'm trying to shape something.    [00:34:13] Miko Lee: The, for the creative process. Mm-hmm. The multiple colors just helps    [00:34:16] Uma Krishnaswami: Right.    [00:34:16] Miko Lee: Pull you into that.    [00:34:17] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah. It just loosens, it loosens my mind up so I don't feel so focused on the objective. I often tell myself, I think Linda Sue Park used to say this. You don't have to write a whole novel. You just write a scene. And so that's what I tell myself, I'm a sceneist. I'm not a novelist. I'm just a sceneist. I write one scene. And that's all I need to write. Then I will write another one and so forth.    [00:34:38] Miko Lee: And do you use sticky notes or something to keep those scenes separately or    [00:34:42] Uma Krishnaswami: just all kinds of things? I use sticky notes. I use little boards on which I draw plot lines, and then I write, notes to myself. I use the journal notebooks. I've started using Scrivener and I actually have found that helpful but not until I've got something, in enough shape to plug things in.   [00:35:01] Miko Lee: Oh, I love hearing about artistic process. That's so fascinating. I appreciate you and you're showing your beautiful pen and everything. It's so great.    [00:35:08] Uma Krishnaswami: It's messy, right? One of the things I've learned is to lean into the messiness and not try to organize things too fast, too early.    [00:35:16] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm. Giving yourself the time for the creative juices to flow.    [00:35:20] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah. Yeah.    [00:35:21] Miko Lee: So my last question is, what are you working on now?    [00:35:25] Uma Krishnaswami: I've actually just got done with edits on a picture book, which is going to be called Mango Sun. And then I'm working on another picture book. That's just gone to my agent. It's got to do with wildlife rescue and conservation in the Himalayas. It's an Indian setting, but a very different setting from Mango Sun.   [00:35:44] Miko Lee: And most of the ideas from your books are just coming from your imagination or something you read or where are you pulling from to get your inspiration?    [00:35:52] Uma Krishnaswami: Everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. I have a picture book that came out of a trip that we took to Galapagos and will it ever take form? I don't know, it's about the rewilding of an island , and how when you bring one species back, the other one follows. Some of it's from my childhood. I have two picture books that came out of a memory of planting a mango seed and watching it grow.   [00:36:21] Miko Lee: Sounds lovely. Two of my favorite things, mango and Sun [laughs], appreciate you joining us and sharing about your artistic process and your amazing book. And I'll put a link to your website in our show notes. And thank you so much for joining us and talking to us about Book Uncle and your work.    [00:36:37] Uma Krishnaswami: Miko, thank you so much. It's really a delight.    [00:36:41] Miko Lee: Welcome, Maggie Tokuda Hall to Apex Express.   [00:36:45] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Thank you so much for having me.   [00:36:47] Miko Lee: I'm so happy to have you talking about, your wonderful book, love in the Library. But first I wanna, ask you a question I ask my guest, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   [00:37:01] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Oh man. I feel like I have so many tribes that I identify with in different ways. , Gosh, who are my people? I mean, generally speaking, angry queer teenage girls very much my people. Tired Jewish aunties also my people. Exhausted Asian mothers also my people, [laughs] librarians and book people are my people. I, I, I don't know. I feel like I have so many people that I feel an affinity toward and an affection for, and kinship with.    [00:37:38] Miko Lee: I like you naming all of those because we're multifaceted people and there's many different things that make up who we are. Yeah. And what is the legacy that you carry with you from all these tribes you're a part of?   [00:37:50] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: From my mother, I carry a legacy of honoring the truth, like really believing that children are owed the truth and that part of being an adult is being courageous enough to tell it. but I also come from like a vibrant family of Jewish storytellers and I feel like I have that, that I carry with me as well.   [00:38:17] Miko Lee: Thank you. So you've written the book Love in the Library about Tamma, a woman who works at a library in the Minidoka concentration camp during World War ii.    [00:38:28] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Mm-hmm.    [00:38:28] Miko Lee: And she meets George and falls in love. Can you tell me about how you very first heard this true love story of your grandparents?   [00:38:40] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I can't actually, I don't remember the first time I heard this story. It is a story that I've just always known. like for me it's very much a fabric of how I came to understand the world and my place in it. Like sky is blue, grandma and grandpa met in a prison camp, you know, normal stuff. And so, um,    [00:39:00] Miko Lee: so it's just part of the family lore?   [00:39:03] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. Like, it's not something my mother was ever shy about telling us. And I truly do not remember the first time she talked to me about it because I remember being very small and already feeling like I knew that story.    [00:39:15] Miko Lee: Okay. Then how did you decide to turn it into a children's book?    [00:39:19] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah, so, in 2017 when President Trump took office for the first time, in his very first executive order was to sign the travel or Muslim ban where he was banning people from Muslim majority countries from coming to the United States. It was clear immediately that he was gonna be using his time and power to enact a white supremacist agenda. I knew I needed to do all the things that we're supposed to do. Like I called my representatives and I wrote my postcards and I marched and I did all those things. But I really did try to audit what I had to offer, particularly children in that moment. That was unique to me. And I realized I had this beautiful story in my own family, not just about the cruelty of those sorts of policies, but also the resilience and power of the people who they target.    [00:40:05] Miko Lee: Ooh. Fired up the, that truth teller part of you just became ready to go.    [00:40:11] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah.    [00:40:11] Miko Lee: Um, speaking of the impact of politics and what's going on and how that relates to books, I know that in April, 2023, Scholastic wanted to include love in the library in a collection around AANHPI folks, but they wanted to edit your amazingly fierce author's note. Can you share with our audience what happened?   [00:40:34] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, first of all, thank you for calling it amazingly fierce. In my author's note, I talk about how what happened to my grandparents wasn't an isolated moment in American history and that it was racist, which I think is a, a reflection of a very basic understanding of that history. It, it's not, a creative extrapolation and. Scholastic offered to license the book, but my licensing offer came with a caveat, which was that I had to remove that entire paragraph. Um, and I had to remove the word racism from the text altogether. And so I decided to say no and say no publicly. And for about three months, my full-time job was talking about Scholastic, but also about our obligation to tell children, American history, honestly.   [00:41:19] Miko Lee: And they wanted you to get word of the word racist. Did they say why?    [00:41:24] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes, they basically said, the language is too strong and we fear that some teachers won't bring it in for fear of this political climate, which is the nice way of saying like, we have to sell into places where book bans are happening and we think that this language is too incendiary for people who would ban books, which to me was always really, Unsatisfactory logic, because books about Japanese American incarceration are banned all the time and they don't use as strident of language as I use in that author's note. baseball saved us, gets banned. They called us, the enemy gets banned. This story is already considered dangerous by the people who would ban books, so they were trying to hold a center that just doesn't exist.   [00:42:04] Miko Lee: And so what did you end up doing?    [00:42:07] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I said no and said no publicly, just with like, sort of the hope of, sparking some intra community conversation among kid lit creators about what sort of edits are appropriate to offer people. I would, I still posit, that that's a completely inappropriate edit and that's about sanding down people of color's, history and perspective to cater to a white audience. And I was unwilling to do it. and Scholastic initially released like a very, incomplete apology. And then when they received a lot of pushback about that, they offered a much more full apology. They offered to meet with me and my publisher, the CEO of Scholastic and the head of their education divisions, which is the division that made me this offer. And then they also had me work with a restorative justice consultant, for like a year to try to figure out what they could do better. But what I said to them at the end of that time that I told them, I was extremely transparent that I would be talking about this publicly. So I don't feel bad saying exactly what I said to them here is, I think the exact same thing would've happened. It just would've happened more politely.    [00:43:17] Miko Lee: Wow.    [00:43:18] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I don't think that they actually reexamined what their role is as a publisher of Books for Children under Unconsolidated authoritarianism. They just figured out how to ask people to make racist edits more, more, uh, gently.    [00:43:33] Miko Lee: And you worked with them for one year with an RJ consultant.   [00:43:36] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, like, not every day, but we had, you know, meetings over the months. And she was a smart lady. Like I don't think that she, you know, did nothing. I think she was trying her best, but I think that, you know, big institutions are very slow to institute cultural change and that that on the one hand has to happen from the top down, but also can't happen from the top down.   [00:43:56] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.    [00:43:56] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: And so I genuinely believe that there CEO was trying his hardest to, to make a meaningful change, but without them really stopping and examining and questioning what their own role in this moment is in a critical way. I don't think that they are going to be able to have answered what I would've required for them to, for me to then accept their licensing offer. ‘Cause they made it again.    [00:44:25] Miko Lee: So at the end of the one year long, they made the licensing offer to you again?    [00:44:29] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. I think just to be kind, just as like a gesture of like, listen, we know we messed up. We'd love to license your book and I still said no because I don't think that they made meaningful enough change.   [00:44:40] Miko Lee: Hmm. Wow. I love this. What did you learn from this experience?    [00:44:47] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: That it is very unusual for people to blow the whistle within publishing, even when the examples are egregious.    [00:44:54] Miko Lee: Tell me about your connection with Authors Against Book Bans. Did that come out of this experience with Scholastic, or were you involved actively involved in this prior to that?    [00:45:05] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: No, it absolutely came as a result of my experience with Scholastic. Authors against Book Bans is an organization that I'm currently the president of. We're over 5,000 book creators across the country who are united under a single point of view, which is that the government shouldn't be allowed to tell us what to read. That's what we believe and that's what we fight for. And I got involved in founding the group along with specifically David Levithan, who's a really wonderful young adult and middle grade author, who had put together most of this group before I even came on board. Cause we realized that authors needed a central place to fight. There was no one organizing specifically us. And so Authors Against Book Bans was born out of necessity and, the dearth of a place that existed for us. Everyone would call on us to come speak, but it was extremely ad hoc. We weren't making any kind of unified movement, even though we all so passionately agree that, you know, book bans are anti-American and in violation of our First Amendment rights. And, you know, the freedom to read is a necessary freedom for a free and democratic society. and the reason I'd reached out to David initially was because I was hoping to put together something like Authors Against Book Bans, but just by myself, which is, maybe a testament more to my own personality [laughs] problems than anything else, but I was like, I'll just figure it out. And he was like, you know, I'm actually assembling a group that's trying to do this. Would you like to be a part of it? And that's how I came aboard. But I had gotten interested in it because as a result of the Scholastic fiasco, I was invited to give the keynote speech at the Idaho Library Association in 2023. I gave my little speech that I'd been giving a lot then, um, about how we have an obligation to tell American history honestly. And, people were like, the reaction was so emotional to it and so profound and like, I thought it was a good speech. I'm proud of the speech, but like it, something else was going on and I could feel it. And I started talking to the people who were there and when these librarians started telling me what they had gone through, just for making books like mine available to children, stalking, harassment, death threats. One of them had been followed home, like really frightening, scary things happening to them on like, in some cases a daily basis. I realized like I was gonna be a part of this fight. That was that. I wasn't gonna let them fight alone. And so, you know, in, in my advocacy work now, Idaho still holds like a very precious place in my heart because I think that it's a very forgotten state. When we think about places that need help, when we think about places that have been gerrymandered, when we think about places where there are so many good people who are disenfranchised and unable to affect meaningful change in their state level, governments. That have just been absolutely run roughshod over by Christian nationalists. We should be thinking about Idaho. They have, I think, like the highest neo-Nazi population in the United States. so it's a very direct line between my grandparents being incarcerated to the activism that I do now. And it wouldn't have happened without Scholastic's offensive offer.   [00:48:22] Miko Lee: I did not realize that librarians were personally being assaulted or attacked or followed. For books.    [00:48:29] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: You should watch, the librarian's documentary that's now streaming on PBS. Okay. Um, it's common across the country. Amanda Jones, who's an Authors Against Book Bans member no big deal, is a librarian in Louisiana that can't go grocery shopping in her own hometown anymore for fear for her own safety because she has taken a stand to like refuse to remove lgbtq plus books from her school library shelves. It's really dire. And I think people understand objectively that book bans are a problem in our country. I do not think that they understand how violent that this fight is. It's a really dark and hard time to be a librarian. So if you're a person who supports libraries, you should be thanking your librarians and letting them know one-on-one and in person face-to-face that you appreciate the work that they do, because there are people who are making their lives really difficult.    [00:49:25] Miko Lee: Can you talk about what the library meant to you as a child?   [00:49:30] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, honestly it was like a part-time babysitter. You're a kid, there's a library. Entertain yourself, you figure it out. I think the first time I really felt like a sense of belonging in the library was in middle school. We moved from LA to Northern California and I had to start a new school in seventh grade. I didn't really know anyone and it was embarrassing to not have people to eat lunch with and things like that. So I would eat lunch in the library. And the librarian was really kind about it. Like she never called attention to it. She never embarrassed me about it. She would let me sneakily eat in there, even though there was a very specific rule that you weren't allowed to eat in the library. she put, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles on an end cap once, and that's how I found them and ended up reading the entire series and that was really when I became a fantasy reader and you know, my debut novel was a fantasy novel. I still feel very much like a fantasy reader kind of at heart, and that started there. I mean, we never know when libraries are going to save a kid's life.    [00:50:39] Miko Lee: Can we go back to how you ended up writing this book about your grandparents' experience? Sure. And what was the first spark for you to say, I wanna turn this into something. It's a family lore, but I want more people to know about it.   [00:50:54] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, the Trump administration thing,    [00:50:56] Miko Lee: it was truly that. You said it was    [00:50:57] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. Trump was it    [00:50:58] Miko Lee: Trump got elected. People should know this happened.    [00:51:00] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes. What do you have to tell children in this moment If they're Muslim, they're scared, and if they're not, they need a way to understand what it means to feel afraid. Both of those things need to happen at the same time of like, you have to offer comfort to the children of the marginalized. You have to offer perspective to the children who have the privilege not to feel that fear. And so I have this story and what I love about this story is. I know that children are capable of holding the complexity of this story is both very romantic and very sweet, and also the circumstances it happened under were completely unfair. That's the kind of logic children are able to hold, and they should be given the opportunity to hold that kind of complexity because it'll serve them for the rest of their life because most of most situations we confront are complex.   [00:51:57] Miko Lee: And how were you able to eke out more details of that story? Did you do family interviews or was it more from your imagination?    [00:52:05] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: My mother is a journalist and she kept my grandmother's journals from the time she was in Minidoka. So some of it comes from my grandmother's journals. Some of it comes from working with my mother to make sure that it felt accurate, tonally and factually. ‘Cause she was not gonna let me publish a book that was nonsense. I always say it's Truman Capote true. ‘Cause the situation, the sensory details, all that stuff real, but the dialogue is made up. The dialogue is art. The dialogue is a way for children to understand how they might've been feeling. They never had succinct, quick conversations like this about their humanity and how they felt about each other. It was a long courting process, and so, you know. That part is made up for children,    [00:52:49] Miko Lee: but you, but you did include actual quotes from her journal too, right?    [00:52:53] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes. The book closes with her words, not mine.    [00:52:57] Miko Lee: Can you give us those final words?    [00:53:00] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: The miracle is in us as long as we believe in beauty, in change, in hope. Which are words she wrote while she was imprisoned in Minidoka.    [00:53:11] Miko Lee: And how does that resonate with you in the time of now?    [00:53:15] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: They are words that I desperately cling to in the hope that I can see them become manifest.    [00:53:23] Miko Lee: And what are you working on now?   [00:53:26] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Making Authors Against Book Bans as operational as possible.    [00:53:31] Miko Lee: And what does that look like?    [00:53:32] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: In late 2025, we became a nonprofit corporation. We have fiscal sponsorship under EveryLibrary, which is a really wonderful advocacy group that's a combination [501](c)3-(c)4, which means you can make tax deductible donations to them, but also they do overtly political work. And so now we can receive tax deductible, donations and continue to do the overtly political work that we do. We are an unapologetically political organization. We are more than happy to help get people elected who fight for the freedom to read, and we are delighted to show the door to people who would stand in our way of that freedom.   [00:54:09] Miko Lee: And how can people get more involved in your work?    [00:54:13] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: They could absolutely go to authorsagainstbookbans.com and make a donation. We need it [laughs]. We are one of the only organizations that receives donations that exists for the sole purpose of fighting book bans. Most every other group in our space have an angle that book bans affect them, and so they fight against them, but that's not their only purview. It is our only purview. So if it is something that you were interested in fighting, then you could make a donation to us. I would suggest signing up to be on the email list from EveryLibrary because they mobilize everybody, not just authors and book creators. And if you are a book creator, self-published, traditionally published, we don't care. Then you should sign up to be a member of Authors Against Book Bans and you'll get calls to action every Friday.   [00:55:07] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for sharing with us about your book and educating us about the work you're doing and appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for joining us.    [00:55:16] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Thank you for having me.   [00:55:28] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night..    The post APEX Express – 4.9.26 – Library Joy appeared first on KPFA.

The phrase “eat the rich”—attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution—has exploded across Gen Z and Millennial consciousness through films such as Parasite, The Menu, and Glass Onion; the resurgence of democratic socialism; and viral moments like Amazon union leader Christian Smalls wearing the slogan to the White House. Motörhead's anthem of the same name—which Peaches Christ has performed live—provides the evening's sonic backbone. On Friday the 13th, we're putting a drag queen, a centi-millionaire running for Congress, a children's book author who writes about werewolves who devour predatory men, and other provocative voices on the same stage—and asking them all the same question: Who's really eating whom?” Enjoy an original performance by Peaches Christ, warm-up conversation with Saikat Chakrabarti, main-stage panel with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Peaches Christ, and other guests moderated by Michelle Meow. Moderator Michelle Meow is the producer and host of "The Michelle Meow Show" on KPIX+. She is also a member of Commonwealth Club World Affairs' Board of Governors, and the former president of the board of San Francisco Pride.  Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. The appearance in Commonwealth Club World Affairs programs of candidates for office are not a recommendation or endorsement of their views or candidacy; the Club is a nonprofit, nonpartisan forum that does not take positions on candidates or ballot measures. See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Speaker photos courtesy the speakers. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.   This program contains EXPLICIT language.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brea and Mallory recommend escapist reads, solve a book tech problem about buying an ereader, and answer a question about the jacket copy on books. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com! Reading Glasses Merch Recommendations Store The Reading Glasses Book! Sponsors - ZocDocwww.zocdoc.com/GLASSES Green Chefwww.greenchef.com/50GLASSES CODE: 50GLASSES Links - Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Wish List Newsletter Libro.fm To join our Discord channel, email us proof of your Reading-Glasses-supporting Maximum Fun membership!www.maximumfun.org/joinBook Banning Bill   Books Mentioned -  The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wasteland by Sarah BrooksBlack-Owned by Char Adams   The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong Cambric Creek series by C.M. Nacosta Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz The Mermaid The Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda Hall

Each year, the San Diego Public Library honors former children's librarian Clara Breed's legacy through its annual Clara Breed Civil Liberties lecture.Breed is known for advocating for Japanese American youth who were incarcerated during World War II.Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall will be delivering this year's address. She joined Midday Edition Thursday to talk about exploring the history of Japanese American incarceration through the lens of her family's experience and the state of book bans and censorship today.Then, a new play looks back to the night the United States launched the Vietnam War draft lottery. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando brings us a preview.And finally, looking for things to do this weekend? KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans shares her top arts and culture picks for the weekend — plus, a preview of the latest episode of "The Finest."

The Pilot. FINALLY a prequel of a 40 year old IP. One of the top 3 this year after Andor and Alien: Earth! Finally we get a story from Stephen King involving Clowns and the Northeast. Red & Ivan hitchhike to Maine to talk HBO's IT: Welcome To Derry. Also, check out Red & Maggie Tokuda-Hall's podcast, Failure to Adapt, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via RSS As always: Support Ivan & Red! → patreon.com/boarsgoreswords Follow us on twitter → @boarsgoreswords Find us on facebook → facebook.com/BoarsGoreSwords

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we welcome back author Julie Leong to discuss her enchanting new novel, The Keeper of Magical Things. Set in the same whimsical world as her debut, The Teller of Small Fortunes, this story follows a novice mage with limited powers who's been given a deceptively simple assignment—transport and catalog magical artifacts alongside a brilliant (and unfairly attractive) super mage. Their destination? Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. But as they wrangle gossipy teapots, temperamental swords, and an unruly catdragon, it becomes clear that something bigger is brewing. With tensions between the Guild and the townsfolk at a breaking point, one wrong move could spark a magical disaster. Reader RecommendationsThe Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

In this episode, Maggie Tokuda-Hall speaks about refusing to write to market expectations. She reflects on her experience with censorship and her picture book Love in the Library—which ultimately led to her being a founding member of Authors Against Book Bans. Maggie also shares what it's like to author graphic novels, including The Worst Ronin and Squad, and to collaborate with artists throughout the process. She also highlights information on how listeners can fight book bans, as well as the most important action they can all take right now. On the topic, Olivia shares an opportunity for individuals to join a Banned Books Week Read-In this October to protest ongoing censorship. Read the full transcript: Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you'll have three from the start. About Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an MFA in creative writing from USF, and BA in art from Scripps College. She's the author of numerous award winning, best-selling children's and young adult books including Love in the Library, The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea duology, Squad, and The Worst Ronin. She has been called “... one of the most unflinching voices in contemporary genre literature.” Maggie is a founding member and national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. She is the co-host of the Failure to Adapt podcast. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog. Get Maggie's Books: Love in the Library The Siren, the Song, and the Spy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Books discussed on today's episode: Cantoras by Caro De Robertis Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti Banned Books Week resources: Banned Books Week Read-In near you Ways to learn more about and fight bans

Pirate and sirens and dragons, oh my! It's a sequel book club episode! This month we read Maggie Tokuda-Hall's 'The Siren, the Song, and the Spy'! Conversation begins around 27:50. Of course, before we do that, we check in on some stuff we've been playing, watching, and thinking about.PlayingThe Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA on NSO)Hollow Knight (Switch)WatchingListers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching (YouTube)Twisted Metal (Peacock)The Paper (Peacock)Thinking AboutNintendo Direct... before it happenedFinding old artworkFind us on BlueSky or Instagram: @NovelGamingPodSend us an e-mail: novelgamingpodcast@gmail.comLogo by: Katie!Theme song: "Bit Bossa" by Azureflux

Balazs Lorinczi returns to the podcast to talk about his newest graphic novel A Bite of Pepper. Balazs was last on the podcast to talk about Wolfpitch, which was a graphic novel I loved, so I was happy to have him back on to talk about A Bite of Pepper, which will be out on August 26th. Balazs and I chat about mixing vampires and skateboarding, the history of vampire lore, creating grounded characters, and pivoting during the editing process when you're faced with the possibility of having to rework completed pages. A Bite of Pepper is another fantastic graphic novel and it was a blast to chat with Balazs again. I love his approach to character and storytelling. Check out this episode and then go grab a copy of Wolfpitch and A Bite of Pepper. 

This week we continue our August celebration of our favorite interviews and themes—and this week we're going back to two authors who inspired us so much for their advocacy, their championing of non-mainstream characters, and their commitment to the hard work of speaking truth to power. Both of these heartfelt, brave authors had a lot to say about the kinds of characters they want to see in books, why representation matters, and how standing up for what they believe in isn't so much a choice as a way of being in the world. Very inspiring to bring Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lee Wind's voices together in this week's round-up. Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea, Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle, and Love in the Library illustrated by Yas Imamura with more books forthcoming. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, son, and their objectively perfect dog. Lee Wind is a storyteller out to engage, empower, and hold safe space for communities. He is the Chief Content Creator for the Independent Book Publishers Association and the author of multiple books, including the nonfiction titles No Way, They Were Gay? and The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie, the novels Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill and A Different Kind of Brave, and social justice and Queer-history themed picture books. Lee's popular blog is I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we continue our August celebration of our favorite interviews and themes—and this week we're going back to two authors who inspired us so much for their advocacy, their championing of non-mainstream characters, and their commitment to the hard work of speaking truth to power. Both of these heartfelt, brave authors had a lot to say about the kinds of characters they want to see in books, why representation matters, and how standing up for what they believe in isn't so much a choice as a way of being in the world. Very inspiring to bring Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lee Wind's voices together in this week's round-up. Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea, Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle, and Love in the Library illustrated by Yas Imamura with more books forthcoming. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, son, and their objectively perfect dog. Lee Wind is a storyteller out to engage, empower, and hold safe space for communities. He is the Chief Content Creator for the Independent Book Publishers Association and the author of multiple books, including the nonfiction titles No Way, They Were Gay? and The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie, the novels Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill and A Different Kind of Brave, and social justice and Queer-history themed picture books. Lee's popular blog is I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Book Lounge by Libby, we explore the powerful world of graphic novels. In our first segment, Joe is joined by a brilliant panel of creators—mother-daughter duo Hallie Bateman & Suzy Hopkins, Maia Kobabe, and Mattie Lubchansky—to discuss how graphic novels have evolved, the importance of accessibility, the unique creative process behind visual storytelling, and the lasting impact of their work.  Then in segment two, guest hosts Bre, Carmen, and Cece stop by with stellar graphic novel recommendations for your TBR—whether you're a long-time fan or just getting started.  Articles Mentioned in the Intro:  The rise of the graphic novel: Mainstream and small screen, they're not just for kids anymore  History of Graphic Novels: Ancient Times to 1920  Guest Host Recommendations:  Carmen  Tales from La Vida edited by Frederick Luis Aldama  Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo  Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler  On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder  Cece  Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer  On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden  Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (author) & Lisa Sterle (illustrator)  Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu  Bre  Monster by Naoki Urasawa  Bitterroot by Walker, Brown, Greene, Renzi, and Cowles  Earthdivers by Stephen Graham Jones  The Best we Could Do by Thi Bui  Joe  Animorphs vol. 1 – KA Applegate, Michael Grant  Follow the Guests & Guest Hosts:  Segment 1:  Hallie Bateman - Website  Suzy Hopkins - Instagram  Maia Kobabe - Website  Mattie Lubchansky - Website  Segment 2:  Bre – Links  Carmen – Links  Cece - Links  Time Stamps:  00:00:00 Title  00:00:16 Intro  00:05:52 Segment 1 – Hallie Bateman & Suzy Hopkins, Maia Kobabe & Mattie Lubchansky  00:54:50 BREAK – Check out PlotThreadsShop.com & a Libby Tip – Deep Search!  00:57:55 Segment 2 – Bre, Carmen & Cece  01:43:11 Outro    Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today's episode!  Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!  We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!   Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we're talking to Cirocco Dunlap, the showrunner of The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, easily one of our favorite shows right now. Season 2 just came out, and we talk to Dunlap about cute body horror, dealing with mental illness, and interspecies romance. Then contributing host Maggie Tokuda-Hall brings us some bad news. She talks to Kelly Jensen, who runs the newsletter Well Sourced, bringing us up to date on all the latest developments in book bans and library censorship in the United States. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

The mission of law & disorder is to expose, agitate and build a new world where all of us can thrive. But how do we get there? How do we build a world many of us have only seen in our dreams? That's where we believe the artists come in. So, each week we feature an artist, holding down a weekly residency with us, helping us to imagine a different, more liberated world. Our Resistance in Residence Artist this week is author Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Check out Maggie Tokuda Halls's website: https://www.prettyokmaggie.com/ — Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post Resistance in Residence: Maggie Tokuda-Hall appeared first on KPFA.

In this episode of the podcast we are joined by Maggie Tokuda-Hall!Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an MFA in creative writing from USF, and BA in art from Scripps College. She's the author of numerous award winning, best-selling children's and young adult books including Love in the Library, The Mermaid the Witch and The Sea duology, Squad, and The Worst Ronin. She has been called “... one of the most unflinching voices in contemporary genre literature.”Maggie is a founding member and national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. She is the co-host of the Failure to Adapt podcast. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog. Buy Maggie's books here: https://bookshop.org/shop/MaggieTokudaHallCheck out her website here:https://www.prettyokmaggie.com/Follow her on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/maggietokudahall/Support the show

Comic Reviews: DC DC Power: Rise of the Power Company 1 by Brandon Thomas, Charles Stewart III, Anthony Fowler Jr.; Zipporah Smith, Kelsey Ramsay, Francesco Segala; John Jennings, Caanan White, Atagun Ilhan, Andrew Dalhouse; Vita Ayala, Ray-Anthony Height, Chris Sotomayor DC's Lex and the City 1 by Sina Grace, Nick Filardi; Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Leslie Hung, Rachael Cohen; Jonathan Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi; Charles Skaggs, Serg Acuna, Alex Guimaraes; Brendan Hay, Stephen Byrne; Sabrina Futch, M.L. Sanapo, Arif Prianto; Callie Miller, Lisa Sterle, Marissa Louise; Dave Wielgosz, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi Superman: Lex Luthor Special by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas Marvel Star Wars: A New Legacy 1 by Charles Soule, Ramon Rosanas, Neeraj Menon; Jason Aaron, Leonard Kirk, Jay David Ramos; Kieron Gillen, Salva Espin, Israel Silva Storm: Lifedream 1 by John Jennings, Edwin Galmon, Andrew Dalhouse; Angelique Roche, Alitha Martinez, Andrew Dalhouse; Brittney Morris, Charles Stewart III, Frank William; Curtis Baxter, Karen Darboe, Yen Nitro What If… Galactus Transformed Spider-Gwen? by Kalinda Vazquez, Daniel Picciotti, Rain Beredo Marvel Unlimited Alligator Loki 46 by Alyssa Wong, Bob Quinn Boom Book of Cutter 1 by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal, Antonio Fuso, Werther Dell'Edera, Chris Shehan, Letizia Cadonici, Miquel Muerto Dynamite SilverHawks 1 by Ed Brisson, George Kambadais, Ellie Wright Image Blood Train 1 by Adam Glass, Bernard Chang, Andrew Dabb, Nelson Zorzetto, Ace Bibbs Ice Cream Man 43 by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O'Halloran, Et Al Seasons 1 by Rick Remender, Paul Azaceta, Matheus Lopes Oni Power Lords 1 by Dennis Culver, Matt Hotson, V. Ken Marion, Andrew Dalhouse OGN Countdown The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raul the Third Chickenpox by Remy Lai West Hollywood Monster Squad by Sina Grace, Bradley Clayton Adventures Of Invisible Boy Vol 2 by Doogie Horner Racc Pack Vol 2: Prince and Pawper by Stephanie Cooke, Whitney Gardner Additional Reviews: Mister Miracle by Tom King, Mitch Gerads Plane Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag Hobtown Mystery Stories: Cursed Hermit by Bertin, Forbes House of Cards Dog Man Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man ep 1 and 2 News: Hunger and Dusk switches to graphic novel format, IDW woes, Good Omens kickstarter distances itself from Gaiman, Coraline musical cancelled, Sandman cancelled after two seasons, more casting for Scream 7, Joe Q's Mad Cave line announcements, Dark Spaces: Dungeon optioned as a movie, Omninews, Jurassic World Chaos Theory renewed, Buffy revival Trailers: Electric State, Megan 2.0, FF teaser Comics Countdown (29 January 2025): Redcoat 9 by Geoff Johns, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Brad Anderson Green Lantern 19 by Jeremy Adams, Oclair Albert, Jason Paz, Fernando Pasarin, Romulo Fajardo Jr. TMNT 6 by Jason Aaron, Juan Ferreyra Superman: Lex Luthor Special by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas DC's Lex and the City by Sina Grace, Nick Filardi; Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Leslie Hung, Rachael Cohen; Jonathan Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi; Charles Skaggs, Serg Acuna, Alex Guimaraes; Brendan Hay, Stephen Byrne; Sabrina Futch, M.L. Sanapo, Arif Prianto; Callie Miller, Lisa Sterle, Marissa Louise; Dave Wielgosz, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi Seasons 1 by Rick Remender, Paul Azaceta, Matheus Lopes You Never Heard of Me 2 by Iolanda Zanfardino, Elisa Romboli Kosher Mafia 5 by David Hazan, Sami Kivela Hornsby and Halo 3 by Peter J. Tomasi, Peter Snejbjerg, John Kalisz Star Wars: A New Legacy by Charles Soule, Ramon Rosanas, Neeraj Menon; Jason Aaron, Leonard Kirk, Jay David Ramos; Kieron Gillen, Salva Espin, Israel Silva

Here's one of our favorite episodes from 2024 — it's about the mass psychology of fascism, plus how to fight book bans. We talk to friend of the pod Maggie Tokuda-Hall from the wondrous organization Authors Against Book Bans. We'll be back in two weeks with another brand new episode! Meanwhile, happy holidays!

This week, Kelly talks with Maggie Tokuda-Hall about book banning, its impacts on teens, and what Authors Against Book Bans is doing in response. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What's Up in YA newsletter! Keep up to date with the world of books and reading with Today in Books, Book Riot's daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Our editors offer commentary, context, and the occasional clap-back to keep you informed and entertained. Visit bookriot.com/todayinbooks to subscribe for free, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed Authors Against Book Bans Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Siren, the Song, and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Maggie's blog post about Scholastic requesting the removal of "racism" from Love in the Library Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) 5 Calls app Books Not Bans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the election, writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what Project 2025 has in store for authors and book bans. Tokuda-Hall explains Project 2025's misuse of terms like “critical race theory” and “pornography” and how these will be used to attack mainstream content, especially material by BIPOC and LGBTQ creators. She analyzes conservatives' plans to make reading less accessible to the general population and talks about co-founding the new organization, Authors Against Book Bans. She also reflects on her experiences with corporate attempts to censor her books for children and young adults, the importance of libraries, and how individuals can resist by connecting with others and by understanding and focusing on their own expertise.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Worst Ronin The Siren, the Song, and the Spy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Love in the Library Squad Others: Authors Against Book Bans Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 13: "Censoring the American Canon: Farah Jasmine Griffin on Book Bans Targeting Black Writers" "The Republicans' Project 2025 is Disastrous For Books," by James Folta | LitHub Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 12: "Intimate Contact: Garth Greenwell on Book Bans and Writing About Sex" Alex DiFrancesco's resignation from Jessica Kingsley Publishers | X Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 52: "Brooklyn Public Library's Leigh Hurwitz on Helping Young People Resist Censorship" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4, Episode 20: "Adam Serwer on Critical Race Theory and the Very American Fear of Owning Up to Our Racist Past and Present" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 22: “Rachel Bitecofer on Democratic Strategies to Counter Republicans in the 2024 Election” And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole Idaho House Bill No. 710 Iowa Senate File 496 Book Bans | PEN America Kimberlé Crenshaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the wake of the election, writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what Project 2025 has in store for authors and book bans. Tokuda-Hall explains Project 2025's misuse of terms like “critical race theory” and “pornography” and how these will be used to attack mainstream content, especially material by BIPOC and LGBTQ creators. She analyzes conservatives' plans to make reading less accessible to the general population and talks about co-founding the new organization, Authors Against Book Bans. She also reflects on her experiences with corporate attempts to censor her books for children and young adults, the importance of libraries, and how individuals can resist by connecting with others and by understanding and focusing on their own expertise. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Worst Ronin The Siren, the Song, and the Spy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Love in the Library Squad Others: Authors Against Book Bans Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 13: "Censoring the American Canon: Farah Jasmine Griffin on Book Bans Targeting Black Writers" "The Republicans' Project 2025 is Disastrous For Books," by James Folta | LitHub Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 12: "Intimate Contact: Garth Greenwell on Book Bans and Writing About Sex" Alex DiFrancesco's resignation from Jessica Kingsley Publishers | X Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 52: "Brooklyn Public Library's Leigh Hurwitz on Helping Young People Resist Censorship" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4, Episode 20: "Adam Serwer on Critical Race Theory and the Very American Fear of Owning Up to Our Racist Past and Present" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 22: “Rachel Bitecofer on Democratic Strategies to Counter Republicans in the 2024 Election” And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole Idaho House Bill No. 710 Iowa Senate File 496 Book Bans | PEN America Kimberlé Crenshaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly talks about Summer Scares and highlights several awesome YA horror books honored as part of the program. Get ready to get the chills. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What's Up in YA newsletter! Join Book Riot's editorial staff and expert guest writers at The Deep Dive, your destination for deep thoughts on all things reading, behind-the-scenes insights, informed takes, and so much more. Whether we're analyzing book deal trends, whittling down the best books of the century, or letting you in on the best book club book of the summer, you'll find something to nerd out over and enrich your reading life. With decades of experience in books and publishing between us, we have a wealth of knowledge, thoughts, and curated goodness we can't wait to share with you. Go ahead and take the plunge. Visit bookriot.com/deepdive to subscribe for free, or become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year and get unlimited access to members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies knowing you are supporting independent media. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed Summer Scares Resource Page All These Bodies by Kendare Blake #MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil Dead Flip by Sara Farizan Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Lisa Sterle Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Write-minded is a thoughtful conversation about where writers' values meet public persona and the writing life. Guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall treats us to her thinking about career, ambition, and why she writes what subjects and characters she writes, and why she doesn't write for adults. We get into the important topic of what's at stake when writers speak up and out—touching upon the tensions that exist between standing up for what you believe in and a literary world that doesn't always make those choices easy. Substackin' this week takes a look at Brooke's post about genre and category, “Your Story Is More Important Than Your Category.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's Write-minded is a thoughtful conversation about where writers' values meet public persona and the writing life. Guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall treats us to her thinking about career, ambition, and why she writes what subjects and characters she writes, and why she doesn't write for adults. We get into the important topic of what's at stake when writers speak up and out—touching upon the tensions that exist between standing up for what you believe in and a literary world that doesn't always make those choices easy. Substackin' this week takes a look at Brooke's post about genre and category, “Your Story Is More Important Than Your Category.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While we're off this week, we're encouraging everyone to listen to our Stop Book Banning episode, rereleased with new content! This week, we're talking to Maggie Tokuda-Hall, one of the founders of Authors Against Book Bans about the growth of book bans around the country in 2024. Book bans in United States schools and libraries are at their highest since the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom started collecting data, happening around the country, in every state, and disproportionately affecting books by and about LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people. What's more, challenges are likely underreported, because librarians who are resisting them are facing unprecedented workplace retribution and in some cases physical danger.Book Bans are on the ballot this year in every state and local election, up and down the ticket. State legislatures, local town councils, county leadership and school boards are being overrun with candidates supported by conservative activists looking to limit access to books and ideas that offer identity, empathy, awareness, and power to young people around the country. We're concerned, so today, we're releasing a special episode of Fated Mates focused on book bans across the country. We interview three experts on what's happening, who is most impacted, and how we can all help. Show notes are extensive, and we hope you'll take a look at them. The GuestsMaggie Tokuda-Hall, author, activist, podcaster and founding member of Authors Against Book BansJarett Dapier, librarian, activist and author of Mr. Watson's Chickens. Jarrett is offering his complete stage adaption of Chris Crutcher's YA novel "The Sledding Hill" to the Office for Intellectual Freedom in support of Banned Books Week as a free download to read. Schools and communities interested in performing the play can do so with a $75 donation to the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom. Lily Freeman, activist and student in Central Bucks County, PA. Read Lily's op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer and follow her instagram at ProjectUncensored. Congratulations, Lily, on your graduation!Melissa Walker, political activist at The States Project, journalist, and Middle Grade and YA author of Violet on the Runway, Let's Pretend We Never Met, Small Town Sinners and more. The ResourcesAuthors Against Book Bans, the author and creator wing of the fight for the freedom to readThe Youth Censorship Database at the National Coalition Against CensorshipBook Riot's censorship coverage is excellent and updated almost daily. They have an excellent explainer for

The number of books being banned and challenged in schools and libraries has increased exponentially in the USA in recent years. These attacks on our freedom to read are not coming just from fringe zealots -- they are being embedded into legislation across the country, and that's a BIG problem for anyone who values public libraries, public schools, education, books, and, yanno... FREEDOM. Authors Against Book Bans is a coalition of authors who are fighting the good fight to help change that, and YOU can help! Authors David Levithan and Maggie Tokuda-Hall are two of the founding members of AABB, and they join me to discuss what book banning even is, why and where the problem is blowing up, and what readers and authors can do about it. Show Notes can be found at: https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast  

On this episode of Shelf Care: The Podcast, we've got lots and lots of reading suggestions. First, host Susan Maguire is joined by Rebecca Vnuk, Executive Director, LibraryReads, for a mini-Read ‘n' Rave, a version of the hit program that Booklist and LibraryReads host at ALA Annual. Then, Audio Editor Heather Booth talks to her daughter Julia about how libraries can help teens find good audiobooks. Finally, Susan and Sarah Hunter, Editor, Books for Youth and Graphic Novels, sat down to share a ton of great new graphic novels that you can use to celebrate the tail end of Graphic Novels in Libraries Month (and beyond). “They Just Need to Get a Job”: 15 Myths on Homelessness, by Mary Brosnahan The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, by Lynda Cohen Loigman Break Every Rule, by Brian Freeman The Most Wonderful Time, by Jayne Allen Marigold Mind Laundry, by Jungeun Yun, tr. By Shanna Tan Swordcrossed, by Freya Marske Bury Your Gays, by Chuck Tingle Swan Song, by Elin Hilderbrand The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, v. 1, by Tri Vuong, art by the author The Puerto Rican War: A Graphic History, by John Vasquez Mejias, art by the author A Pillbug Story, by Alison Conway, art by the author Ash's Cabin, by Jen Wang, art by the author Plain Jane and the Mermaid, by Vera Brosgol, art by the author The Deep Dark, by Molly Knox Ostertag, art by the author The Worst Ronin, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, art by Faith Shaffer The Jellyfish, by Boum, art by the author Navigating with You, by Jeremy Whitely, art by Cassio Riberio Anzu and the Realm of Darkness, by Mai K. Nguyen, art by the author Gamerville, by Johnnie Christmas, art by the author A New Car for Pickle, by Sylvie Kantorovitz, art by the author Hearing Things, by Ben Sears, art by the author

Our first graphic novelist on the pod! Our first fellow podcaster on the pod! Our first fellow comedian on the pod! Our first fellow recovering youth group go-er on the pod! This week's guest is Jordan Morris! Jordan is a graphic novel writer and long-time comedy writer/podcaster. He is the host of the popular podcast Jordan Jesse Go, cohosted by NPR's Jesse Thorn, as well as recurring cast member on Youtube's premier daily talk show, Good Mythical Morning. Jordan's newest graphic novel, Youth Group (First Second Books, 2024), dropped July 16. Illustrated by Bowen McCurdy, the graphic novel explores a group of Orange County evangelical youths who must team up with youth of other religions to exorcize demons!  Books recommended by Jordan Morris Lunar New Year Love Story Written by Gene Luen Yang,  Illustrated by LeUyen Pham Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell The Worst Ronin Written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Illustrated by Faith Schaffer SHELF TALKERS is a podcast from Village Well Books & Coffee in downtown Culver City, CA, where we interview authors on their books, writing process, and what they are themselves reading. A new episode is released every other Wednesday! Need to reach out or have questions? Feel free to email us at podcast@villagewell.com. If you love the show and want us to keep creating, please consider leaving us a review!

Kelly and Erica reunite on the podcast to talk about May's best YA releases. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What's Up in YA newsletter! Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18! Head to mytbr.co to subscribe. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News and Things The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 delayed until 2025; adds additional episode Dead Boy Detectives Show Books Discussed Kelly's picks: Thirsty and We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia The Ultimate Updated Guide to YA Short Stories We Mostly Come Out at Night, edited by Rob Costillo This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss Sunhead by Alex Assan Bloom by Kevin Panetta Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Erica's picks: The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood  Dread Nation by Justina Ireland It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass  The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Faith Schaffer  Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He  The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté  Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O'Connell  For a complete list of books discussed in this episode, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Liberty and Emily discuss The Worst Ronin, Swiped, Lost Ark Dreaming, and more great books! Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and never miss a book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Make this your most bookish summer yet with personalized reading recommendations from Tailored Book Recommendations! Our bibliologists (aka professional book nerds) are standing by to help you find your next favorite read. Get your recommendations via email, or opt to receive hardcovers or paperbacks delivered right to your door. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Get started today from just $18! Head to mytbr.co to subscribe. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed On the Show: The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer Swiped by L.M. Chilton Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware Small Game by Blair Braverman You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine by Alexandra Kleeman Savages by Shirley Conran The Talk by Darrin Bell Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan Trust and Safety by Laura Blackett, Eve Gleichman Second Night Stand by Karelia and Fay Stetz-Waters For a complete list of books discussed in this episode, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science fiction has been warning us about fascism for decades — so why haven't we listened? How did Nazis become just another monster in our stories, like werewolves or cyborgs? Plus we talk about the new wave of book censorship with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, co-founder of the new organization Authors Against Book Bans. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Broken to the Fist. Friend of the pod and Creator of Counterpart, Justin Marks, is back on tv with Rachel Kondo for Hulu's Shōgun. Red & Ivan are joined by Award winning Author and friend of the pod, Maggie Tokuda-Hall!!! Pre-Order Maggie's Graphic Novel, The Worst Ronin!!!! Maggie is the author of the 2017 Parent's Choice Gold Medal winning picture book, Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is her debut young adult novel, which was an NPR, Kirkus, School Library Journal and Book Page Best Book of 2020. Its sequel, The Siren, The Song and The Spy comes out September 2023. Her graphic novel, Squad, is an Ignyte and Locus Award nominated comic book, and her newest picture book, Love in the Library, has been named a Best Picture Book of 2022 by Book Page, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Publisher's Weekly. Maggie is a founding member of Authors Against Book Bans. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog.  Also, check out Red & Maggie Tokuda-Hall's podcast, Failure to Adapt, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via RSS As always: Support Ivan & Red! → patreon.com/boarsgoreswords Follow us on twitter → @boarsgoreswords Find us on facebook → facebook.com/BoarsGoreSwords

For this KTCO “Book” Club conversation, writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall returns to the show to talk about the game Baldur's Gate 3. In our conversation, Maggie and I talked about what it's like to experience a story with so many branching paths, how player choices reflect the player's personality, as well as some standout storytelling moments from the game. (Recorded February 9, 2024.) Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Goodpods | TuneIn | RSS Support: Support our Patreon | Review on Apple Podcasts | Review on Podchaser Connect: Email | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Show Notes: Maggie Tokuda-Hall Purchase Baldur's Gate 3 Purchase The Siren, the Song, and the Spy Preorder The Worst Ronin Pools of Darkness Unlimited Adventures Icewind Dale Baldur's Gate 2 Octopath Traveler The Last of Us The Adventure Zone Dungeons & Daddies Neil Newbon Roger Ebert - “Video games can never be art” The Brothers Sun Sarah Lotz - The Impossible Us Transcript Episode Credits Editing/Mixing: Mike Sakasegawa Music: Podington Bear Transcription: Shea Aguinaldo

Nothing could keep FTA favorite and Hugo Award Winning Author Sarah Gailey* away from their Christian Grey. Sarah pilots Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall away in their helicopter to talk E.L. James' 2012 novel Fifty Shades Darker and the 2017 film of the same name Directed by James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross). * Sarah Gailey is a Hugo Award Winning and Bestselling author of speculative fiction, short stories, and essays. Their nonfiction has been published by dozens of venues internationally. Their fiction has been published in over seven different languages. Their most recent novel, Just Like Home, and most recent original comic book series with BOOM! Studios, Know Your Station are available now. Order Maggie's latest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Christina Hobbs! Lauren Billings!! The writing juggernaut known as Christina Lauren* joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall in Hawaii to discuss the 1998 Outside Magazine article Life's Swell by Susan Orlean and its adaptation into the 2002 classic, Blue Crush. *Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced nineteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in 2017 to critical acclaim, followed by Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, In a Holidaze, and The Soulmate Equation and Something Wilder. You can read Life's Swell, by Susan Orlean, here. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Welcome back to the UNTOLD LEGENDS podcast hosted by Natalie C. Parker & Zoraida Córdova. We've had a little bit of a rebrand, so if you remember VAMPIRES NEVER GET OLD, we are still the same editors and writers, we've just expanded. Natalie and Zoraida are welcoming in the new year by chatting with Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Preeti Chhibber! This episode navigates honesty in storytelling, figuring out who the real monsters are, and how different iterations of Peter Pan—specifically the enchanting and sometimes terrifying mermaids from the tale—inspired their stories. Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea, Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle, and Love in the Library illustrated by Yas Imamura with more books forthcoming. She can be found on Twitter @emteehall. Called “Spider-Man super fan and author” by Publishers Weekly, Preeti Chhibber is a YA author, speaker, and freelance writer. She has written for SYFY, Polygon, BookRiot, BookRiot Comics, The Nerds of Color, and The Mary Sue, among others. She also co-hosts the podcasts Desi Geek Girls and Tar Valon or Bust. She's appeared on several panels at New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic Con, and on-screen on the SYFY Network. Honestly, you probably recognize her from one of several BuzzFeed “look at these tweets” Twitter lists. She usually spends her time reading a ridiculous amount of Young Adult but is also ready to jump into most fandoms at a moment's notice. She can be found on Instagram @runwithskizzers. Additional media mentioned: The Abyss (1989), Peter Pan (1953), Peter Pan (2023), Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, The Little Mermaid (1989), Jennifer's Body (2009), and Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein. Follow Zoraida Córdova @zoraidasolo and Natalie C. Parker @ncparker on Instagram.

How do you perfect the premise of NYC street racers who are all in it together? You add Ja Rule and the world's least charismatic white cop. Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall slide into a black Honda S2000 to talk Kenneth Li's 1998 Vibe Article, Racer X, and the 2001 Rob Cohen film, The Fast and the Furious. You can read Racer X, by Kenneth Li, here. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Sharifah and Jenn are out this week, but never fear! We've got a very special guest episode on one of today's hottest sub-genres, romantasy, with Erica and Tirzah. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get even more SF/F news and recs, sign up for our Swords and Spaceships newsletter! It's happening, readers — we're bringing paperbacks! Whether you hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you're on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. You can also gift it (and the holidays, they are coming). Get all the details at mytbr.co. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News Scholastic Book Fairs separate books by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors Scholastic asks Maggie Tokuda Hall to remove references to racism More YA fantasy romance books Books Discussed Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh  Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan Noragami by Adachitoka Fire and Graceling by Kristin Cashore Six Crimson Cranes and Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colin Winnette* joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk about the Susan Orlean article, Orchid Fever, and the 2002 Spike Jonze film Adaptation. written by Charlie & Donald Kaufman. * Colin Winnette is the author of Haints Stay and The Job of the Wasp. His new novel Users is one of the New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023" and was called "a timeless and moving story about fatherhood and one man's yearning for a more meaningful life” by the NY Times. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Playboy, and BOMB magazine as well as numerous others. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

After the 2008 financial collapse a lot of people said something had to be done about Wall Street, but some of the women at Scores were the only ones with enough guts to take action. Stand-Up Comic and Writer Natasha Muse joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk the Jessica Pressler article, The Hustlers at Scores, and 2019's Hustlers Directed by Lorene Scafaria. You can read the 2015 Jessica Pressler article, The Hustlers at Scores, here. Natasha Muse is a Stand Up Comic and Writer who's appeared on Two Dope Queens, and was named both a “Comedian to Watch” and an “Artist to Watch” by SF Weekly. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Is there an interview subject so humble even God can't get them to talk about themself? Mister Rodgers is as close as it gets, and yet Tom Junod's 1998 profile is a masterclass turned into an equally ambitious film. Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall are back to talk the Tom Junod Esquire profile, Can You Say...“Hero”?, and 2019's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Directed by Marielle Heller. You can read the 1998 Tom Junod profile of Mister Rodgers, Can You Say.. “Hero”?, here. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Precogs can predict crime, but did they anticipate the seminal science fiction novella would become a Steven Spielberg blockbuster? You'd need a specialist to pick apart the causality, and thankfully Meg Elison, a Philip K. Dick Award winning novelist, joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to discuss The Minority Report, a 1956 novella, and Minority Report, the 2002 film. You can find the full issue of Fantastic Universe, where The Minority Report first appeared, here. Meg Elison is a Brooklyn author and essayist. Her debut novel, "The Book of the Unnamed Midwife" won the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award. Her novelette, "The Pill" won the 2021 Locus Award. She is a Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards finalist. She has been an Otherwise Award honoree twice. Her YA debut, “Find Layla” was published in fall 2020 by Skyscape. It was named one of Vanity Fair's Best 15 Books of 2020. Her parasocial thriller, "Number One Fan" was published in August 2022 by Mira Books.  Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Is it possible a movie that helped define Horror in cinema for generations is exceeded by the Novelette from whence it came? Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall step inside a phone booth besieged by corvids to investigate Dame Daphne du Maurier's 1952 novelette The Birds and Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic adaptation, The Birds. Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

THIS is episode 584 (I said in the intro that last week was 584 but I was wrong. Oops - my bad).Maggie Tokuda-Hall returns as a guest to talk about The Siren, The Song and the Spy, and so much has changed since our last conversation in Episode 406 when the first book, The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea released in May 2020.We also talk about racism and her experience with Scholastic regarding her book Love in the Library, and we talk about Baldur's Gate and queer pirate fantasy. Come for the discussion of dismantling facism, and stay for the video game and book recs. You know, as usual.You can find Maggie Tokuda-Hall at her website, PrettyOKMaggie.com.We also mentioned:"Scholastic and a Faustian Bargain" Maggie's podcast, Failure to AdaptHarper's Bazaar: "Refusing to Censor Myself" by Maggie Tokuda-HallAnd the picture from Our Flag Means Death that had us both on the floor.I also mentioned my appearance on the Rephonic.com list of 12 Best Author Interview Podcasts - thanks, y'all!  Join our Patreon for complete mayhem, shenanigans, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria Schwab, bestselling author of Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, and the international bestseller The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk about the 1973 Rolling Stone article by Cameron Crowe, “The Allman Brothers Story: How Gregg Allman Keeps Band Going After Duane's Death” , and its adaptation into the 2001 Cameron Crowe film, Almost Famous. Order V.E. Schwab's latest novel in the Shades of Magic series, The Fragile Threads of Power. And if you haven't already, check out The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, now in paperback! Order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

The most famous Volleyball scene in cinema was adapted from a magazine article with NO volleyball at all?! Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall step into the Danger Zone and talk Top Guns[1], Ehud Yonay's 1983 article published in California magazine, and the little known film it was adapted in to, Tony Scott's 1986 action film, Top Gun. Pre-order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy [1] Yes, plural. If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

Highlights from this episode with acclaimed author Maggie Tokuda-Hall include: Writing protagonists that are not role models The magic of the 25k word count and refusing to string along dead writing and trashing drafts Her thoughts on determining what are *her* stories to tell Why telling truth to kids matters and untangling what "age appropriate" means Mermaids, serial killers, and another perspective on The Giving Tree An overshare that should empower us all to say NOPE! Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of many books, including Love in the Library, and her debut young adult novel The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, which was named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Kirkus, School Library Journal and Book Page. Maggie is relentlessly bold in her writing and her truth-telling, and is an absolute force in the world of kid lit and beyond. IG and TikTok: @maggietokudahall Website: https://www.prettyokmaggie.com/ Discussion around the Scholastic censorship controversy   

One of the GOATs of children's literature has their disgusting green monster licensed by Steven Spielberg and somehow after a decade of development hell we get a generation defining comedy. All Star Comic, Writer and best friend of the pod Molly Sanchez joins Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall to talk the 1990 William Steig picture book Shrek! and the 2001 Dreamworks film Shrek. Pre-order Maggie's newest book, The Siren, the Song, and the Spy If you like us, you'll also enjoy: Following the pod on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/failuretoadaptpodcast/ Following the pod on X: https://x.com/FailureAdapt Supporting Failure to Adapt on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FailureToAdaptPodcast

On this week's episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Roxanna are discussing: Bookish Moments: new library cards and new projects Current Reads: so many books we convinced each other to read Deep Dive: tropes that we usually like, but might diverge into something we hate 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!*   . . . . 2:16 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 3:30 - Roxanna's Substack The Purpose Project 3:36 - Roxannathereader on Instagram 8:31 - Current Reads 8:52 - Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes (Roxanna) 8:58 - Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes 12:44 - Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb 15:06 - Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes 15:44 - Beneath the Swirling Sky by Carolyn Leiloglou (Kaytee) 18:25 - Currently Reading Patreon 21:38 - The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi (Roxanna) 21:46 - The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi 21:49 - The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi 27:08 - The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 28:11 - I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (Kaytee) 32:13 - Open Book by Jessica Simpson (Roxanna) 38:47 - The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (Kaytee) 38:53 - Back of Beyond Books 41:02 - Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li 42:26 - Deep Dive: Two Tropes Diverge In A Wood 43:30 - Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center 43:32 - Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes 43:33 - The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher 44:07 - The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney 44:08 - Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson 45:26 - Maame by Jessica George 45:54 - Sea Change by Gina Chung 47:16 - Notes From A Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwauchi 47:44 - Open Book by Jessica Simpson 51:44 - Search by Michelle Huneven 51:51 - House of Brede by Rumer Godden 53:25 - The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope 54:07 - The Mermaid, The Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall 54:14 - Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong 56:25 - City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty 58:00 - Nora Goes Off Script by Ananbel Monaghan  1:00:10 - Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult  1:01:13 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel 1:01:25 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 1:03:21 - Meet Us At The Fountain 1:03:53 - I wish everyone would check out the William Hannah Notebook (Roxanna) 1:03:54 - William Hannah Limited 1:07:14 - Filofax 1:08:06 - I wish I could give out staff picks like a bookstore employee (Kaytee) 1:09:07 - The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 1:09:08 - The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi 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  

Chasten Buttigieg is no stranger to hate. He joins this episode of The New Abnormal to share with Danielle more about his upcoming memoir, “I Have Something to Tell You―For Young Adults,” and reveal his secret to handling anti-LGBT hatred and attacks, from conservatives like Ron DeSantis and Tucker Carlson to right-wing trolls on Twitter. Later on this episode: Andy interviews Maggie Tokuda-Hall, the children's book author who refused to let Scholastic censor her book, “Love in the Library,” which tells the story of how her grandparents fell in love in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Plus! The hosts address the right's latest attempt to defame President Joe Biden and point out a big loophole in DeSantis' latest anti-trans healthcare bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.