One more episode.
One more good question.

TJ Klune

TJ Klune on “We Burned So Bright,” Queer Love & His New Book, "The Stars Look Like Home"

We Burned So Bright; The Stars Look Like Home

TJ Klune talks with Brian about queer love at the end of the world in We Burned So Bright, revisiting Murmuration, and writing grief and companionship in The Stars Look Like Home.

Brian Larson with Taylor Tomlinson

What should be on your reading radar as we head into the final stretch of 2026?

Brian shares his late-2026 reading radar, with a mid-episode conversation with Taylor Tomlinson about reading on tour, audiobooks, and creativity.

Kathryn Stockett

Kathryn Stockett on “The Calamity Club,” 17 Years After “The Help”

The Calamity Club

Brian and Kathryn discuss the seventeen years between "The Help" and "The Calamity Club," the publishing journey behind the novel, Depression-era Mississippi, and the "YES!" moment that unlocked the book.

Josh Silver

Josh Silver on “Fruit Fly,” Sobriety, Queer Storytelling & Who Gets to Tell Our Stories

Fruit Fly

Josh Silver discusses Fruit Fly, the ethics of storytelling, sobriety, and the complicated relationship between addiction and social media.

Jodi Picoult

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.

R.F. Kuang

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.

Cole Brauer

Cole Brauer on Sailing Solo Around the World, Betting on Yourself, and "First Light"

First Light

Cole Brauer discusses First Light, racing solo around the world, and the determination it took to reach the starting line.

Raphael Montes

Raphael Montes: Dinner, Death & the Deliciously Twisted

The Secret Dinner

Raphael Montes discusses The Secret Dinner, a dark story of ambition, inequality, and four roommates in Rio de Janeiro.

André Aciman

André Aciman on Elio, Oliver, and Returning to "Call Me By Your Name"

Call Me By Your Name: The Graphic Novel

André Aciman and Brian revisit Elio and Oliver through the graphic-novel adaptation of Call Me By Your Name.

Richard Russo

Richard Russo on Under the Falls, Hometown Secrets, and Writing a Thriller

Under the Falls

Richard Russo discusses Under the Falls, the secrets of a fictional upstate New York town, and writing a thriller.

Ben Reeves

Ben Reeves on “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt,” Writing Death with Tenderness, and the Small Moments That Make a Life

Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt

Ben Reeves discusses Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, a novel narrated by Death, and finding tenderness in ordinary moments.

Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick on "Dad, Love, Me," Sobriety, and Forgiving the Unforgivable

Dad, Love, Me

Matthew Quick discusses Dad, Love, Me, his memoir addressed to his father, alongside sobriety and forgiveness.

Cecily Mak

Cecily Mak on Going Alcohol-Free, Finding Clarity, and Living "Undimmed"

Undimmed

Cecily Mak discusses Undimmed, alcohol-free living, unwanted habits, and the clarity that can follow a change in how we cope.

Kerry Docherty

Kerry Docherty on "Selfish" & The Permission to Want More

Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth

Kerry Docherty and Brian explore ambition, marriage, self-worth, and the courage to tell the truth about what you want.

Tayari Jones

Tayari Jones on "Kin" & Letters & The Bonds of Family

Kin

Tayari Jones and Brian discuss Kin, family bonds, inheritance, and the connections readers bring to a novel.

Liz Tran

Liz Tran On Why Your "Agility Quotient" (AQ) Might Matter More Than Your IQ

AQ

Liz Tran discusses AQ and why the ability to adapt can change how we respond to uncertainty at work and in life.

M.J. Corey

Deconstructing the Kardashians—and Ourselves—with M.J. Corey

Dekonstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto

M.J. Corey discusses Deconstructing the Kardashians and what celebrity, media, and the family’s fame reveal about their audience.

Mason Currey

Making Art While Making a Living with Mason Currey

Making Art and Making a Living

Mason Currey considers how artists support their work, balancing creative ambitions with the practical demands of making a living.

Dr. Nicole LePera

Reparenting the Inner Child with Dr. Nicole LePera

Reparenting the Inner Child

Dr. Nicole LePera discusses Reparenting the Inner Child, familiar emotional patterns, and the work of changing how we respond to old wounds.

Michelle Maryk

What Objects Remember: On Storytelling with Michelle Maryk

The Found Object Society

Michelle Maryk discusses The Found Object Society and how the objects we keep, lose, and notice can become the beginnings of stories.

Matt Cooke

The Science of Manifestation: How to Attract What You Are

Beyond Wanting

Matt Cooke discusses Beyond Wanting, leaving corporate life, vision boards, and his approach to belief, identity, and personal change.

Dr. Khameer Kidia

Dr. Khameer Kidia on "Empire of Madness," Colonialism, and Reimagining Mental Health Care

Empire of Madness

Dr. Khameer Kidia discusses Empire of Madness and the colonial histories that shape mental health care.

Virginia Evans

Virginia Evans on Letters, Reinvention, and Slow-Burn Success

The Correspondent

Virginia Evans discusses The Correspondent, letters, reinvention, and the persistence behind her debut novel’s success.

Malala Yousafzai

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.

Brian Larson

Welcome to Shelf Care Society by @Brian.Reads

Meet Brian Larson and the conversations about books, sobriety, creativity, identity, and belonging at the heart of Shelf Care Society.