Books That Make You Podcast

Books That Make You Travel Back to Oklahoma in the 1940s Stories with a strong sense of time, place, evoking themes of family and home and all the attendant laughs, loves and drama, are the very ones that make us want to curl up on the porch rocking chair with a lemonade and crack open a book. Author Caren Simpson McVicker does just that with Henderson House , a book that invites you to lose yours...

Books That Make You Enter a World of Ancient, Mythological Powers and Secrets—in Seattle, Washington We love epic, gripping, epic tales that mix genres and turn tropes on their, well, tales. Such is what Rebecca Heidt delivers in her Acceptance series, where the peaceful life of the ruling nymph family (Lucas, Rose, and their daughter Selena) is broken by a betrayal from their friend Kieran. When...

Books That Make You Relive the Last Decade of Real Cinema—the 1990s Pop culture historian and entertainment scholar Scott Ryan has turned his sights on the 1990s in his latest work, The Last Decade of Cinema , a thoughtful, comprehensive book of dozens of essays looking back at twenty-five movies that defined the 21 st century's last generation. The book offers exclusive interviews and insights fr...

Books That Make You Feel That Anything Is Possible, Even When Things Seem Hopeless When he was just sixteen years old, Payam Zamani's parents paid smugglers to carry him safely across over a thousand miles of desert so he might escape brutal religious persecution in Iran. Not much later, he arrived as an adolescent refugee in America, equipped only with a dream. In just over a decade, he launched...

Books That Make You – Take Off for the Incredible Kauai Writers Conference If you have a love for the literary, if you take refuge and escape in the written word, then you may dream of writing your own story. Or maybe you've already written a book—or books!—or are curious about writing for TV and film. No matter the kind of writer you are, it's very important find your tribe at places like a write...

Books That Make You Journey with a Princess Who Doesn't Need Saving Adventure calls. Submerge yourself in a unique and fantastical journey with a rebel princess chasing her destiny—a princess who hardly needs rescuing. Author S.G. Blaise's The Last Lumenian is a coming-of-age tale of Lilla, the chosen one, as she battles outmoded traditions and shapes her own fate. Breaking away from the old trope...

Books That Make You Outstanding on the First Day of Your Career Just what combination of ingredients, exactly, makes an executive? What made them emerge and stand out as a leader? What is it companies are looking for, anyway? And how might you close the gap between what we learned in school and what it truly takes to stand out in the professional world? Author and CEO April Armstrong's The Day One...

Books That Make You Wanna Pursue Being an Indie Author Generally speaking, the more you read, the more you feel that burning urge to write. So what happens these days, when a reader becomes a writer? Chances are, if you're a new writer, and want to control your vision for your book, your first path into the writing world will be as an indie author. What should you know before venturing into this b...

Books That Make You Find a Flow State When undertaking a project or a task, or anytime we really need to concentrate in our lives, we can—with fortune and with dedication—enter what's called a flow state. A psychological concept in which a person becomes fully immersed and engaged in an activity, "flow" has been on the minds of many lately. For creatives in particular, it can be highly fruitful. P...

Books That Make You Grow In Your Career and in Life Career coach and talent development expert Elena Agaragimova is an ongoing source of inspiration, having helped many find their voice in leadership. In a remarkable career that spans everywhere from New York to Dubai, she is also a speaker, podcaster, entrepreneur and author. In 2019, she gave a TEDx talk called "Living Your Truth." Elena's appro...

Books That Make You Glimpse the Future—Where AI in Livestreaming and Digital Media Is Concerned The pandemic pushed us into a digital landscape, and that momentum remains strong. Livestreamed events like The BookFest—for which Books That Make You is a proud sponsor—are becoming more popular. As a leader in the live video and digital media space, Ross Brand helps artists and visionaries monetize th...

Books That Make You Try to Escape the Maze As a #1 New York Times bestselling author, James Dashner is perhaps best known for his YA "Maze Runner" series, though he is also the author of the bestselling "Mortality Doctrine" series, which includes The Eye of Minds , The Rule of Thoughts , and The Game of Lives . 2014 saw the release of a film adaptation of The Maze Runner , followed by another two...

Books That Make You Live Alongside an Immersive True Crime Investigator True crime stories, as many of us know, are among the most riveting, filled with intrigue and enigma and real victims for whom we can't help but empathize with. Understanding the victim's experience, and to relay that realness to readers, requires the unique skills of a true true crime author. Attorney and researcher Doug Kari...

Books That Make You Uncover the Reach and Power of Influencers Most of us know of influencers, and have some understanding of how the entertainment world, celebrities, and philanthropical institutions and brands all intersect. If you're in one of these realms, this knowledge can help you and your company get ahead by generating influencer ‐ based, cause campaigns that tap into the Influencer Effec...

Books That Make You Elevate Your Mental and Physical Health with an Innovative Approach For those tired of one-size-fits-all solutions to mental health, Dr. Paul D. Corona, a California-based physician with over 30 years of medical experience, has constructed a revolutionary approach that treats mental health not with quick fixes but a carefully calibrated, holistic method, one that includes off-l...

Books That Make You Find the Spark for Your True Story Writing a memoir involves far more than just listing your life experiences in order. It requires addressing a significant and poignant section of life, and delivering a story that caters more to the reader than to you. At times, writers—from the aspiring to veterans—need to find a spark to pursue the complicated work of self-exploration. Sue W...

Ways Humans Can Write Better, in the Era of Artificial Intelligence This episode is a follow-up to the one where we discussed how AI—or artificial intelligence—is affecting the writing and reading community. That first episode came out just a few months ago, eons ago in terms of this technology. Yet there is something very timeless about the act of writing that we believe will never be surpassed b...

Books That Make You a dventure Through Fifties-Era of Rock and Roll, and Get Hound Dogged The coming-of-age story is universal, enjoyed by every generation. The main reason: we older folks remember it fondly—or not so fondly—and younger folks are in the throes of experiencing it. Author Rebecca Hendricks's Hound Dogged is about growing up in a turbulent time—the 1950s—and has been compared to SE H...

Books That Make You Romp with Hysterical Rhymes—and Introduce You to a Great Children's Book Author Rhyming can help immensely in the learning process, especially for children, who may also love a good scary story. And they certainly would have fun with the offerings of Whimsical World, an innovative children's brand seeking to entertain and educate children of all ages, all while planting seeds o...

Books That Make You Understand Better How to Deal with Grief and Loss Probably the cruelest aspect of getting older is losing loved ones. How can we understand our grief and help others, while in the throes of their own? The award-winning author of Witnessing Grief; Inviting Trauma and Loss to Our Coaching Conversations, An Enneagram Perspective , Holly Margl is a name in the coaching realm. She's...

Books That Make You Consciously Adventure with Your Child, or the Child In Your Life Whimsical stories have a place in many a child's—and, by extension, grown-up's—heart, helping to inspire us and nurture a sense of wonder. Nowadays, however, that sense of wonder is compromised by the intensifying emphasis on screen-time, structured learning, timelines, and the chronic pressures of school and succ...

Books That Make You Go from a Blank Document to an Influential Author in 30 Days Readers often get the call to write. When we have our creativity sparked, our imaginations expanded, we might realize that we, too, have something profound and powerful to say, and it's perhaps one of the greatest moments in the life of a writer. How can we make that happen, though? What if you don't particularly like...

Books That Make You Step into the Shoes of a PTSD Soldier After over half a decade of military service that's left him traumatized, Christian returns home and struggles with civilian life, and to readjust to the normalcy of his family ranch. Such is the premise of 48 Hours to Home , by CJ Ives Lopez. Men and women in the armed forces often face incredible burdens when returning from service. We've...

Books That Make You Understand Poverty, Abuse and Addiction The value of memoirs is their empathetic deep-dive into another's life. Events that often come to us in data or statistics, or vague references to unfamiliar circumstances, tend not to penetrate our hearts until we confront them through the power of narrative. Brittany Means, a Chicana writer and editor out Albuquerque, New Mexico, has re...

Books That Make You Adventure Across a Mythical, Tolkien-Level World Nothing juices up our imaginations like immersing ourselves in fantasy worlds that feel so real, you can so clearly see the characters, the flora, the fauna, the communities, cultures and countryside. And so we have author C.D. McKenna's award-winning The Vorelian Saga , a world of a dark epic fantasy, full of anti-heroes and eth...