Book Friends Forever Podcast

Grace and Alvina talk about that age-old question of nature vs nurture and how much people's genes versus upbringing and environment affect their personalities and lives. Alvina has been particularly thinking about this topic because of all of the different children in her life that she's been interacting with recently, including the "bio-kids" of her husband, who is an identical twin, compared to their niece and nephews (the children of her husband's twin brother). There have been a lot of twin studies done for this debate, and they discuss some of these studies and what they reveal, including how aspects like one's religiosity are proven to be related to "nature". They talk about how talent is affected, as well as intelligence and personality. And, they also talk about parenting styles.
For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about the silliest things they've seen online recently that has made them laugh. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.
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Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Quade Kelley, who is a teenager, still in high school, and is also a very active book reviewer (and much more!). Quade and Alvina both share about their experience at ALA, and then they discuss Quade's journey as a reader and a book reviewer, as well as his many projects, including the Robie Harris Youth Choice Award, the Reading Athlete, and his participation with Bank Street, School Library Journal's Heavy Medal Mock Newbery blog, and the Children's Book Committee. They talk about his relationship with author Lois Lowry, how he approaches reviewing books, and what his career goals are. And, they also talk about Quade's time management and how he juggles his school work, athletics, and his extra-curricular activities.
For the Fortune Cookie segment they discuss what they're all working on right now--Quade talks about co-writing a book with author Emily Barth Isler, Grace talks about working on her new middle grade project, and Alvina talks about the upcoming picture book THE PROMISE OF AMERICA by John Rocco. And they end as always with what they're grateful for.  
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.  
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast  
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Find Quade here: https://whoisquade.com/

While Alvina is on vacation, Grace welcomes guest co-host, author and poet Laurel Snyder to discuss the differences between a vocation and a job. They talk about some of the challenges of the idea of earning money from writing, and what retirement might look like as a creative. They discuss the definition of "vocation" and how they feel called to writing, and how that differs from writing to earn a living.
They also discuss revisiting the world of their previous books and how they set about writing new books in the same world. Laurel is revisiting the world of her book ORPHAN ISLAND, and Grace is revising the world of WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.
And they end as always with what they're grateful for. 
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
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Follow Laurel Snyder on her Substack: https://laurelsnyder.substack.com/

Writing Tips! In honor of author Jane Yolen who has recently passed away, Grace and Alvina share writing tips on how to get unstuck. The advice comes from many different authors, including Jane's daughter Heidi Stemple, as well as Shannon Hale, Renee Watson, Linda Sue Park, Lisa Yee, Jonathan Auxier, and more. Who suggested lying on the floor staring at the ceiling? And who suggested walking for 6 miles? And they share Jane Yolen's famous advice, BIC: Butt In Chair. Just sit down and write. For the Fortune Cookie segment, in honor of the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Grace and Alvina share their thoughts on what being Americans mean to them, and their thoughts on the U.S.A. in general. And they end as always with what they're grateful for. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1. Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they revisit the topic of gossip and how necessary and powerful it can be. Did you know that couples who gossip together tend to have better relationship satisfaction? Also, gossip is a way to examine society's morals.
For the second segment they talk about the song lyrics that have resonated with them over the years. One example for Grace was Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and one example for Alvina was Alanis Morissette's "You Learn".
Then children's literature specialist Alison Morris joins and the three of them share the best and worse advice they've ever received. Some of the worst advice includes: "You always regret not buying things, but never regret buying things" and "Don't use photo references for your paintings" and some of the best advice includes: "Choose the bigger life," "Make an art of living" and "If it is to be, it is up to me."
And then Alison shares some book recommendations, which included NAVIGATING NIGHT by Julie Leung, illustrated by Angie Kang and Matthew Cordell's 102. And they end as always with what they're grateful for. 
Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1. F
ollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/