The Reading Culture

Beanstack co-founder Jordan Lloyd Bookey hosts conversations that dive into authors and reading enthusiasts' personal journeys and insights into motivating young people to read.

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About the Podcast

Reading regularly helps prepare students—academically and emotionally—to be global citizens. Listen in as Jordan Lloyd Bookey speaks with diverse authors about their own journeys as readers and storytellers, their perspectives on the cultural climate in children’s and young adult literature, and the experiences that motivated them to read more. Each episode features a themed reading list challenge of titles handpicked by the author to inspire students and readers of all ages.

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Author Eliot Schrefer

Eliot Schrefer

At a young age, Eliot Schrefer acknowledged that he was hiding himself. Growing up queer when he did meant concealing a key part of his identity for the sake of self-preservation. It was through books that he first learned to accept his queerness. That thread leads to one of his most well-known books, "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)." We unravel that and so much more about Eliot's journey in this episode.

 

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Author Katherine Marsh

Katherine Marsh

Every moment of every day, our attention is the subject of a battle. As adults, we struggle to focus on the 'right' things—so how can we expect our kids to? With this in mind, capturing and holding young readers’ attention is a key focus for Katherine Marsh in her books. But she’s determined to do so without sacrificing intellectual depth.

 

Striking this balance has become her mission: to keep readers on the edge of their seats while delivering something meaningful. To achieve that, she draws on her journalism background and the early influence of her grandmother’s captivating stories from Ukraine.

 

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Author Zoraida Córdova

Zoraida Córdova

Zoraida Córdova is an award-winning author celebrated for her genre-blending, magical tales like “Labyrinth Lost,” the first book in her Brooklyn Brujas series, which earned her an International Latino Book Award. Her versatility spans adult literary fiction, romance, young adult fiction, editing anthologies, and even adding a touch of romance to the Star Wars universe.

 

In this episode, Zoraida reflects on the importance of writing for yourself, shares the “about the author” blurb that changed her life, and details her tween years as a green-haired Wiccan screamo-punk (you can’t make this stuff up). Let’s just say that Zoraida’s commitment to rejecting the expectations placed on her began at an early age. (And she has the journals to prove it!)

 

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About Jordan

Jordan is a mother, avid reader, and co-founder of Zoobean and its flagship product, Beanstack. Prior to serving as the company’s Chief Client Success Officer, she was Google's Head of K–12 Education Outreach, taught seventh grade language arts, and currently contributes to "The Washington Post." She loves Broadway shows, Peloton rides, hiking, weekly movie nights with her family, and, of course, reading. Jordan’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for education led her to begin The Reading Culture podcast, where she hopes to share the love of reading with listeners around the world.

The Reading Culture podcast host and Zoobean co-founder Jordan Llyod Bookey

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