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A Lit Life

Latest Podcast Episodes & Posts

Reading with a Radical Agenda with Amanda Spencer

March 5, 2024 in Get Lit(erate) Podcast
March is National Reading month and we are kicking off the month with a special guest who has a rather radical reading agenda: Amanda Spencer. Amanda is a Get Lit(erate). listener who is reading to change the way she thinks about the world...
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Celebrate Middle Grade March with Afoma Umesi

March 1, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
Happy Middle Grade March! Today, I’m celebrating Middle Grade March with a special guest: Afoma Umesi. Afoma embraces all things middle grade reading and hosts my FAVORITE middle grade blog of all time: Reading Middle Grade. Today, she joins us to share her story: how middle grade reading became her passion,...
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Literate Love for February 2024

February 29, 2024 in Get Lit(erate) Podcast
Happy Leap Day! On the very last day of every month, I share a bonus episode of what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and loving throughout the last 30 or so days…or 29 for this special month. Today, I’m spelling the beans on my literate life in February. I read THIRTEEN...
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An Interview with Teri M. Brown

February 28, 2024 in Book Reviews
Today, I’m joined by Teri M. Brown for a special Q&A on the blog. Teri is one of my favorites and  I have loved each one of her books for different reasons. It’s an honor to interview her on the blog and share her work with readers. Today, we’ll talk specifically...
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How to Get Out of a Reading Slump

February 27, 2024 in Get Lit(erate) Podcast
The reading life is full of ups and downs. From time to time, you might find yourself stuck in a reading slump and reading slump can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You might find yourself stuck in a genre, reading the same one over and over. You might...
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Michelle Knudsen: The Dragon of Trelian

February 23, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
Today, I am talking with Michelle Knudsen. Michelle is the author of 50 children’s books: from early readers, board books and picture books to middle grade, young adult and even short stories, too.  While we don’t have enough time to talk about all of her books, we do highlight a few...
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100 Days of Notebooking with Michelle Haseltine

February 20, 2024 in Get Lit(erate) Podcast
If you love notebooking or journaling, then you’re in for a treat inside today’s episode. Today, I’m chatting with Michelle Haseltine. Michelle is a lifelong notebooker (with 99 completed notebooks and counting!) and leader of the 100 Days of Notebooking Facebook Group. Her work has brought so much inspiration to my...
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Cynthia Harmony: A Flicker of Hope

February 16, 2024 in Kidlit Love Podcast
Today, I’m chatting with Cynthia Harmony, author of multiple picture books that celebrate the beauty of multiple languages, the world around us, family and home.  Come listen as we talk about her journey to writing, the threads that ties her books together and take a deep dive into her upcoming release:...
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Stephanie

A book-loving, notebook-hoarding bookologist on a mission to change lives one book and one notebook at a time.

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by Meg Haston
I read this hauntingly beautiful book on the recommendation of my teenage daughter. She told me it was powerful, told me I wouldn't want to stop reading it...and she was right. Meg Haston invites readers into the mind of Stevie, causing ...
The Gifts of Imperfection
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The Gifts of Imperfection
by Brené Brown
I haven't stumbled across anything written by Brene Brown that I did not love and this book is no exception. Written so conversationally as if Brene was literally speaking directly, and only, to me, I could'n help bu be personally moved ...
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
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I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
by Anne Bogel
True to its title, this book was simply delightful. I felt like I was talking with a long-lost friend, a fellow book-lover whose life was just as entangled with the plots, settings and characters of fictional books as they were those in ...
Some Places More Than Others
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Some Places More Than Others
by Renée Watson
It was almost like I was reading a book that was written just for me, even though the daily lives and locations of the characters were vastly different. The theme of love, self-worth and family connection was prevalent on each and every ...
Touching Spirit Bear
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Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
This book shook me to my motherly core. I read this with my 13-year old twins as part of a school assignment and was swept into Cole's story of literally fighting for survival and for love. My children were drawn to Cole's story of survi...

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On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel about their newest middle grade historical fiction novel: The Secrets of Lovelace Academy.

This middle grade novel is about Lainey, an almost teenager who lived most of her life at the Sycamore Home for Orphaned Children, until a chance encounter at an open house changed her life forever.

Come listen as Marie and Courtney share their origin story for writing together for the first time, discuss the powerful exterior and interior journey of the characters and the true power of learning about lesser-known historical figures. Plus, we invent a new book club along the way, too!

https://www.alitlife.com/2025/05/15/match-making-magic-the-secrets-of-lovelace-academy-with-marie-benedict-and-courtney-sheinmel/
This was a delightful little read: a short story b This was a delightful little read: a short story by a favorite author that quickly transported me to another place and season of life. 

Moving between then and now, trying to untangle how things ended up and yet could have been, this narrative was a light, yet powerful, look at relationships, the decisions we make and the paths we carve for ourselves. It’s also about letting go, trusting others to know themselves and radical acceptance of it all. 

This little story packed a powerful punch for me.

@mikegaylethenovelist
#ALitLife
#GetLiterate
#ShortStory
Oh, my goodness, this book. NEXT TO ME by Daniel Oh, my goodness, this book.

NEXT TO ME by Daniel Salmieri and Sophia Haas is a beautiful ode to all the wonderfulness around us: the people, the pets, the scenery, the community and all the things that wrap us up in wonder and in love. 

The cut-paper collages leap off the page and invite readers to consider the beauty of their own surroundings, too. 

For young readers, this is a delightful story about the many delights that surround us, big and small. For adult readers, this is a powerful lesson in staying present, staying connected and staying grounded in what matters most. 

@dansalmieri
@sophiaghaas 
#KidLitLove
#ALitLife
#PictureBooks
I recently read a book that completely challenged I recently read a book that completely challenged the way I read. 

While I usually read books at a steady pace and move right to the next one, MOTHERS AND SONS by Adam Haslett stopped me in my tracks and prompted a slower reading experience…something I didn’t realize I needed more of. 

Come listen as I talk about the three ways we can read more slowly, the research behind why it matters and the small, yet powerful, ways that you can get started.

#GetLiterate PODCAST LINK IN BIO
#ALitLife
#SlowReading
#MindfulReading
#SavoringStories
On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Sean David Hutchinson about the first book in his debut middle grade series: A Home for Unusual Monsters.

In this book, 12-year-old Sam and her friends search for clues that lead them to the secret hiding places of strange and unusual monsters. It’s captivating and riveting from the outset and goes into deeper themes like prejudice, grief and what it means to be a family, too. 

Come listen as we talk about Sean’s childhood love of tinkering that is evident in the books he writes today, the importance of finding and shifting perspective through the books we read and how books can give us the tools to unleash who we really are inside. 

#KidLitLove PODCAST LINK IN BIO
#MiddleGrade
Books make Mondays better! This week, I'm startin Books make Mondays better!

This week, I'm starting THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Mike Gayle.

I adored ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE, so I know I'm in for a treat with this short story about exes and how to get over them. 

Or not. =)

I think it's exactly what my Monday needs. 

What books are making YOUR Monday better?

@mikegaylethenovelist
#BooksMakeMondaysBetter
#IMWAYR
#ShortStory
#FavoriteAuthor
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