Come for the books.
Stay for the conversation.
Intimate, curious conversations with the authors, artists, activists, actors, and culture-shapers telling the stories we cannot stop thinking about.
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Photo: Michael Dekker
Featured by Apple Podcasts in New & Noteworthy, Creators We Love, and Shows of the Month.
Taipei Story
R.F. Kuang joins Brian for a conversation about Taipei Story, language, diaspora, and the complicated feeling of belonging.
R.F. Kuang on Writing Her Latest Novel, "Taipei Story," Reclaiming Language, & Finding Home
Taipei Story
R.F. Kuang joins Brian for a conversation about Taipei Story, language, diaspora, and the complicated feeling of belonging.
Explore conversation →Malala Yousafzai on Identity and Purpose, and Her New Memoir "Finding My Way"
Finding My Way
Malala Yousafzai discusses Finding My Way, identity beyond public expectations, and making room for uncertainty while pursuing change.
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Jodi Picoult on "Hollow Bones," Her 30th Novel, Postpartum Psychosis & the Stories We’re Afraid to Tell
Hollow Bones
Brian and Jodi discuss the research behind “Hollow Bones,” motherhood, postpartum psychosis, the legacy of September 11, book bans, and fiction’s ability to open difficult conversations.
Explore conversation →Shelf Care Society goes beyond the familiar talking points to explore personal histories, creative decisions, cultural questions, unexpected obsessions, and the experiences that shape the stories we tell.
We are all these little cathedrals of contradiction. I don’t think God waits for us to completely clean ourselves out of every possible thing that is detrimental to us before we can receive beauty and grace in our lives.
You can be determined to bring change in the world, and it’s still okay for you not to have an answer to everything, not to have figured out every part of your life.
Watching people choose themselves, and give up something that they know is not making them feel better, is such an act of resistance and proclamation of your truest version of yourself.
It’s the willingness to take the hits and to have the guts to keep trying and to keep putting yourself out there and to keep being prepared to receive a no.
You can always get a language back. It is a connection that you can rebuild. There are communities that you can rejoin.
I think literature is an amazing way to create empathy for people that are different from you.
We don’t need to have a crisis to make a change in life. All we need is some curiosity or recognition that something might be better if we shift something.
Now is a really good time to remember how tragedy used to bring us together instead of break us apart.
More conversations are on the way. Follow the show for new episodes as they are released.
Casey McQuiston writes bestselling queer romantic comedies, including Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and The Pairing. Their work explores love, identity, and belonging.
Photography: Shawn Miller / Library of Congress · Source · CC0 1.0 · Resized; display crop
Robert Kolker is a journalist and bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road, Lost Girls, and The Vanishing Family. His reporting follows families and the medical and social questions that shape their lives.
Photography: Jeff Zorabedian · Source
Bethany Joy Lenz is an actress, singer, and bestselling author known for playing Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill. She is the author of the memoir Dinner for Vampires and the novel The Betrayal of Cora Wexford. Her creative work spans television, music, and books.
Photography: Robby Klein / Nashville Lifestyles · Source
Min Jin Lee is the author of Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko. Pachinko was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her fiction explores family, migration, class, and belonging across generations.
Photography: HaeRan / Channel Yes · Source
Sarah Jessica Parker is an actor, producer, and author whose work spans film, television, theatre, and publishing.
Photography: Andrew Day
V.E. Schwab is the bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the Shades of Magic series, and the Villains series. She also publishes as Victoria Schwab. Her fiction explores power, identity, and the people who live at the edges of ordinary worlds.
Brian Larson is a writer, speaker, literary creator, and the host of Shelf Care Society. Through @Brian.Reads, he has built a community around books, big ideas, and conversations that bring readers closer to the people behind the stories.
Brian is also the author of The Afterparty: An Open Invitation to Sobriety, forthcoming from Broadleaf Books on May 4, 2027, an Oprah Daily contributor, and an NBC10 Books contributor.
An Open Invitation to Sobriety
A forthcoming memoir from the host of Shelf Care Society.
Available May 4, 2027 · Broadleaf Books
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