Do you think you know Los Angeles? Beyond the fantasy images that television and movies have fed us for decades, there is an even more magical city that lives with the people and places outside the media view. In this episode, my marvelous guest shares the book that showed her THIS Los Angeles: Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat.

We took the podcast on tour, and we learned so many things about the state of reading! In this episode, we report back from the inaugural Enchanted Realms Fantasy Book Festival in Los Angeles. DJ Diego Dela Rosa and I discuss what we learned about fantasy readers and the community they create, we share some interviews from the folks who attended, and I talk with Brooke Cantrall, the creator of the festival (which is now a rebranded fantasy events business called Dragons and Dreams).

We mention a fun personality quiz that we set up for the event, where we asked folks to choose the fantasy character archetype that best describes them. And DJ Diego curated a bespoke playlist for each! You can play along at home: choose the archetype that fits you best, and then mosey over to Spotify to hear your playlist. Here are your options:

The Crown, The Shadow, The Pen, The Rose, The Sword.

You can find these links, as well as book recs from the Enchanted Realms attendees, at our Instagram. As always you can contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

Why do we read hard books anymore? Is it worth the time and effort? My guest is here to make the case for how hard books make us better readers, and help us connect to other books and other people. (In fact, a book can read us. Yep. You heard that right!)

Bill McDonald grew up in SoCal, where both his parents and most of his relatives were teachers, and he was not a rebellious child. More-or-less educated at Colgate and The Claremont Graduate School, and then by four years of college teaching in downstate Illinois, Bill and his wife Dolores came back to California to help found Johnston College at the University of Redlands in 1969, where his interdisciplinary training in religion, philosophy, and literature proved to be of maximum utility. He's now twenty years retired from U of R's English department and the Hunsaker Chair in Distinguished Teaching, and sort of retired from Johnston. He says: "Retirement's a military trope: I've stepped away from the front lines but continue soldiering on with alumni and development work and teaching one-two courses a year." He's written a couple of books, including one on Thomas Mann, and co-authored, edited/co-edited several others with Johnston alums and colleagues, but at heart he's a co-learner who has taken delight in sixty years in "unsolitary reading" with generations of college students.

Don't forget this month's mixtape, courtesy of DJ Diego Dela Rosa, titled: This Mixtape Made Me Ponder. As always, you can find more about the podcast and host at our Instagram, or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

If you're finding yourself shellshocked and paralyzed by the times that we're living through, you're not alone! It's a great time to remember how art, and especially literature, can remind us that there are many possible futures, and reconnect us to our agency.

In this short episode, you'll hear a "book playlist" of speculative fiction that I turn to when I'm feeling despair about the world. On the list: R.F. Kuang's Babel, Kelly Barnhill's When Women Were Dragons, Chris Adrian's The Children's Hospital, and N.K. Jemisin's duology The City We Became/The World We Make.

And an extra bonus: DJ Diego Dela Rosa is back with a curated mixtape "This Playlist Made Me Resist." You can find it on Spotify.

Let us know what books keep you going in these times! Drop us your greatest hits at our Instagram page , or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com.

A small book can pack a big punch, and Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke, is a terrific example of this phenomenon. It just might make you see the world as a kinder, more magical place. My guest, Liz Andres, lays it all out for us in this episode.

Liz Andres is a museum professional and scholar based in Los Angeles. She holds degrees in Art History, Classical Archaeology, and Museum Studies from U.C. Berkeley and the University of Leicester and is currently pursuing a PhD in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her research focuses on hybrid and liminal creatures in ancient Greek art and mythology, museum taxidermy, and representations of death, myth, and nature in the visual arts. She is a resident mythologist with Morbid Anatomy, and frequent Death Cafe host. Follow her on Instagram or at Lilibet Sugarbones.

As always, you can find more about the podcast and host at our Instagram page , or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

Does conventional reality feel much smaller than the size of your dreams? My guest this month is here to convince you that the prize-winning and international bestseller The Alchemist, by Portuguese writer Paulo Coelho, has what you're looking for. And he's VERY convincing!

Marq Mervin (he/him) is The Renaissance Man: award-winning creator, educator, TEDx speaker, coach for creative polymaths, and lover of cartoons and video games. Marq's career journey is committed to accessible Art & Design education for under-resourced youth. Additionally, he is the host of the Keep Sailing podcast and author of One Day, I Hope That...: a collection of prose and poetry. When he's not traveling for game tournaments or speaking engagements, he's catching up on his favorite anime, taking on voice acting challenges, and performing at open mic nights. Catch Marq at any of the following spots online:

23Thirty Coaching & Consulting | Marq Mervin Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

What is joy, and how do we access it in a moment that feels so overwhelming? For two years, my guest and I have been studying the practices of a complex-but-easeful joy, using Ross Gay's book of essays "Inciting Joy" as an inspiration and a template. In this episode, we talk about what continues to shape our practice of experiencing joy in this moment.

We invite you to join us, and practice joy in community! We have two opportunities:

• ✨ A joy-centered book club where we'll read Ross Gay's Inciting Joy together - building community, sharing reflections, and nourishing what uplifts us. Register and learn more about the book club here: https://shorturl.at/ENKPk
• ✨ A 5-week community of practice that will cultivate and steward joy, especially in uncertain times. Register and learn more about the community of practice here: https://shorturl.at/Ip5oD
• And you can always download our free resource, the Joy Design Practices and Principles, as a starting place for your own work.

Here's more about my guest, colleague, and co-facilitator:

Lee Wilmoth (they/them) is a human-centered learning designer, strategist, and facilitator with over 10 years of experience. They hold an MA Ed. in Adult Learning and Development from Portland State University and are a LUMA Institute certified Human-Centered Design Practitioner and Instructor. Through their consultancy, Learn & Work, Lee partners with organizations experiencing change to create useful, usable, and desirable solutions. Whether it's a discovery and strategy project or a leadership development program, Lee always embeds equity and inclusion approaches and leverages their expertise in human-centered design, adult learning and development, and facilitation. Lee also has over 30 years of body-based training, dance technique, and performance experience, and has dedicated themself to ongoing studies related to joy, nervous system awareness, and the art and science of scent. They currently live in Portland, Oregon.

DJ Diego Dela Rosa is on vacation this week, but Lee and I did our best to make a playlist for joy, based in Ross Gay's work. You can find it on Spotify, as This Mixtape Made Me: Incite Joy.

It was a thrill to talk with Jen Capra, whose hilarious, GenX social media content gives us a backstage look at the wonders of Sesame Street. She's written for the program for years! In this episode, we celebrate Pride Month by talking about our shared love of Jeanette Winterson and her beautiful 1992 novel Written on the Body. It's a love letter from an ungendered narrator to the beloved, as well as a love letter to language.

Jen Capra is an Emmy nominated Sesame Street writer, aspiring author, and content creator-slash-professional starving artist. You can find her at Jencapra.com, as well as @genxistentialcrisis on TikTok.

Funding for Public Television and Radio is on the chopping block If you'd like to support the phenomenal work Sesame Street does for learners of all generations, you can find their fundraiser here.

Don't forget this month's Mixtape from in-house DJ Diego Dela Rosa! Curated to celebrate Pride Month, you can find This Mixtape Made Me: Riot on Spotify.

Finally, we dedicate this episode to Jen's faithful life and writing companion, Rosie, who passed away in January. You can find a picture of the best of all doggos at our Instagram page. We welcome feedback and suggestions at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com