Book Friends Forever Podcast

Apologies for the quality of Grace's audio! We're hoping to fix it for next week's episode.
Grace Lin and Alvina Ling talk about several topic, including aging--as they're both in perimenopause, they're dealing with issues like frozen shoulder and brain fog, and Alvina talks about being on hormone replacement therapy. And then, Alvina talks about the process of hiring a new assistant and what some of the things she's looking for. For the next topic, they talk about who their favorite teachers have been over the years.
And then children's literature specialist Alison Morris joins to share some book recommendations. They end as always with what they're grateful for.
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Grace and Alvina discuss a recent article in the Atlantic that bemoaned the end of reading in our society, the so-called "literacy crisis," and they also talk about Hachette Book Group's Raising Readers initiative to help counter that crisis and encourage parents and other adults to read with their children. They touch on social media use, and how so much of social media is photo or video-based rather than text based, and how instead of text messaging, some people are using voice memos instead. They also touch on AI use. They talk about how dire things are, but how there is still hope and things that we can all do to turn this around.
For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about their favorite summer treats, including their favorite popsicle flavor, ice cream flavor, and summer drink. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Grace and Alvina talk about that age-old question of nature vs nurture and how much people's genes versus upbringing and environment affect their personalities and lives. Alvina has been particularly thinking about this topic because of all of the different children in her life that she's been interacting with recently, including the "bio-kids" of her husband, who is an identical twin, compared to their niece and nephews (the children of her husband's twin brother). There have been a lot of twin studies done for this debate, and they discuss some of these studies and what they reveal, including how aspects like one's religiosity are proven to be related to "nature". They talk about how talent is affected, as well as intelligence and personality. And, they also talk about parenting styles.
For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about the silliest things they've seen online recently that has made them laugh. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Quade Kelley, who is a teenager, still in high school, and is also a very active book reviewer (and much more!). Quade and Alvina both share about their experience at ALA, and then they discuss Quade's journey as a reader and a book reviewer, as well as his many projects, including the Robie Harris Youth Choice Award, the Reading Athlete, and his participation with Bank Street, School Library Journal's Heavy Medal Mock Newbery blog, and the Children's Book Committee. They talk about his relationship with author Lois Lowry, how he approaches reviewing books, and what his career goals are. And, they also talk about Quade's time management and how he juggles his school work, athletics, and his extra-curricular activities.
For the Fortune Cookie segment they discuss what they're all working on right now--Quade talks about co-writing a book with author Emily Barth Isler, Grace talks about working on her new middle grade project, and Alvina talks about the upcoming picture book THE PROMISE OF AMERICA by John Rocco. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.  
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.  
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast  
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/
Find Quade here: https://whoisquade.com/

While Alvina is on vacation, Grace welcomes guest co-host, author and poet Laurel Snyder to discuss the differences between a vocation and a job. They talk about some of the challenges of the idea of earning money from writing, and what retirement might look like as a creative. They discuss the definition of "vocation" and how they feel called to writing, and how that differs from writing to earn a living.
They also discuss revisiting the world of their previous books and how they set about writing new books in the same world. Laurel is revisiting the world of her book ORPHAN ISLAND, and Grace is revising the world of WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.
And they end as always with what they're grateful for. 
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/
Follow Laurel Snyder on her Substack: https://laurelsnyder.substack.com/