Dear Book Nerd

My guest this week is the wonderful and hilarious Josh Gondelman. Josh and I discuss three very different questions from listeners and have a lot of fun giving our advice. Josh is a comedian and writer for “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver. He’s also the co-author of the forthcoming book You Blew It, available this fall from Plume. You can find him on Twitter @JoshGondelman. Thanks, Josh! This episode was sponsored by Scribd and The Closer You Come by Gena Showalter.

My guest this week is the delightful Preeti Chhibber. We had a lot of fun (and got a little heated) discussing questions relating to getting out of your reading comfort zone in different ways (see below for the specific questions). Have a listen and see if you agree with our advice! Preeti is the Book Buyer for the teen Scholastic Reading Club. She also co-hosts the Oh, Comics! podcast for Panels.net and is a Book Riot contributing editor. You can find her on Twitter @runwithskizzers.  This episode was sponsored by Scribd and The Closer You Come by Gena Showalter.

This week, author Michael Northrop and I answer four listener-submitted questions and discuss the issue of reading speed, reading time, and all the guilt and anxiety that sometimes go along with this! Michael Northrop is an author of books for kids and teens including Trapped, Rotten, Plunked, and the new TombQuest series (the first volume Book of the Dead hit the NYT bestseller list!) You can find him on Twitter @mdnorthrop. Thanks, Michael! This episode is sponsored by Scribd and TryAudiobooks.com.

My very special guest co-host is the wonderful Liberty Hardy. Liberty (who is a book GENIUS) and I tackle three listener-submitted questions about how to find books to read in specific genres, and how to promote them once you do. Don't miss it! Liberty is a bookseller, contributing editor at Book Riot, and curator of the Book Riot new books newsletter. You can find her on Twitter @MissLiberty and her Tiny Letter is here. This episode was sponsored by Scribd and First Time in Forever by Sara Morgan.

My special guest co-host this week is the wonderful Daniel José Older. Daniel and I answer two listener submitted questions and talk about topics such as how to differentiate between different age "genres," how to balance talking about different types of diversity in literature, and much more. Don't miss it! Daniel is the author of Half-Resurrection Blues (book one of the "Bone Street Rumba" urban fantasy series from Penguin’s Roc Books) and the upcoming YA Shadowshaper, as well as the ghost noir collection, Salsa Nocturna. His short stories and essays have appeared all over the internet, and his band plays regularly in NYC. You can find his thoughts on writing, read dispatches from his decade-long career as an NYC paramedic and hear his music at ghoststar.net, on YouTube, and you can find him on twitter @djolder. This episode was sponsored by Scribd and First Time in Forever by Sarah Morgan.

My guest host this week is the sparkling Rachel Fershleiser. We talk about whether or not spoilers make or break a reading experience, what to do when faced with a Rachel is the head of Tumblr's literary outreach specializing in publishing, nonprofit, and cultural organizations. She created “Six Word Memoirs” and edited the subsequent book Not Quite What I Was Planning from Harper Perennial (which was a NYT bestseller). You can find her on Twitter @RachelFersh. This episode was sponsored by DRAGONS AT CRUMBLING CASTLE (AND OTHER TALES) by Terry Pratchett and THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING by Shelly King.

My special guest co-host this week is the wonderful Varian Johnson. Varian and I answer two listener-submitted questions and discuss the complicated but extremely important topic of diversity in literature and publishing. Don't miss it! Varian is the author of The Great Greene Heist, as well as other books for young readers. You can find him on Twitter @varianjohnson. This episode was sponsored by THE DEVIL TAKES A BRIDE by Julia London and THE MOMENT OF EVERYTHING by Shelly King.

This episode celebrates the one year "podcast-aversary" of Dear Book Nerd, and I just want to thank everyone who has ever listened to or contributed to the show. It's been a great year full of interesting conversations, and since she was my very first guest co-host, I wanted to celebrate by inviting the wonderful Rebecca Joines Schinsky back on the show! Rebecca and I reflect on the year and answer a couple of listener-submitted questions that are sure to help you start your year off right.

My special guest co-host this week is the wise and wonderful Brooks Sherman, literary agent. Brooks and I discuss all things publishing: how to go about finding the right literary agent, whether or not self-publishing is a good choice for you, how to write an effective query letter, how to NOT get discouraged during this tough process, and much more. This episode was sponsored by The Moment of Everything by Shelly King.

My special guest co-host this week is the wonderful Alexander London. Alex and I answer three listener-submitted questions and discuss topics like what it's REALLY like to be a librarian, how to become a librarian in the first place, what a writer "should" read to help his/her writing career, and much more. This episode was sponsored by Random House Audio and X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon.

Rita's guest co-host this week is the sparkling Maris Kreizman. Maris gives some great book recommendations and we discuss breaking out of a "book bubble" and how to find your next interesting read. Don't miss it! Maris is the publishing community manager at Kickstarter and also runs the extremely popular website Slaughterhouse 90210, which will soon be turned into a book!

Rita's guest this week is the wonderful Saeed Jones. We talk about many bookish topics that deal with things such as how to read with an open mind, what place classics have in our reading lives, how to talk to people who don’t like reading, and much, much more. This episode is sponsored by Kobo and The Name of the Blade by Zoe Marriott.  

Rita's special guest host this week is the wonderful and informative Swapna Krishna. They discuss four listener-submitted questions about how to start a book club, how to maintain peace among members, how to pick books for meetings (scroll down for some of Swapna’s suggestions!), and much, much more. This episode was sponsored by Random House Audio and Kobo.  

Rita's guest co-host this week is the great Sam Sykes. Sam and Rita discuss three listener-submitted questions and (try to) give advice about topics such as: how do I, an introvert, approach someone who I want to be bookish friends with? Where are some places to meet people who love to read? How do I make talking about books in mixed company NOT awkward? And much, much more. This episode is sponsored by Kobo and Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Rita's guest co-host this week is the luminous and wise Dagmara Dominczyk. Dag and Rita discuss three listener-submitted questions and provide advice on topics like: what do I do when a long-lost friend has written a book and I hate it? How do I avoid a friend's poorly thought-out book recommendations? And much, much more. This episode is sponsored by As Long As You Love Me by Ann Aguirre and Love Is The Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Rita's co-host this week is the great and powerful Chuck Wendig. Chuck and Rita discuss three listener submitted questions and try to give advice on some interesting topics, including: what do I do when someone interprets a book differently than I do? How do I avoid a pack of roaming self-published authors? And, should I buy an author’s book if he acts like a…non-gentlemanly person? This episode is sponsored by Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce and Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix.

Rita's co-host this week is the remarkable Marc Tyler Nobleman is the author of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (which made the front page of USA Today) and Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman (which inspired a TED talk) as well as others. This episode was sponsored by I Want It That Way by Ann Aguirre and Matched by Ally Condie.

Rita's guest co-host this week is the delightful and talented Matt de la Pena. In this episode, Matt and I answer three listener-submitted questions and discuss topics such as: whether or not you have to be monogamous with your librarian, how it feels to have your own book challenged by a school board, why YA literature is so important in the lives of teens, great resources for finding great YA books, and much, much more. This episode is sponsored by Random House Audiobooks.

Rita's guest co-host this week is the vivacious Allison Robicelli, pastry chef extraordinaire at Robicelli's bakery in Brooklyn and co-author of Robicelli's: a Love Story, With Cupcakes, a deliciously entertaining "cookoir" which can be purchased in many different places. Rita and Allison spend the episode answering three listener-submitted questions about books and love. This episode was sponsored by Random House audiobooks.

Rita's guest co-host this week is the effervescent Cindy Pon, author of YA fantasy books Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix, with Serpentine coming out in 2015. They answer listener-submitted questions that focus primarily on book reviews. We discuss topics such as: what happens if you win a book in a Goodreads giveaway, but you don’t like the book? What should you do when an author responds to a negative review you posted? Is reading reviews before reading a book a good idea, or will it influence your opinion?  This episode was sponsored by Random House Audio.