Read More, Read Well

Did you know Well-Read Mom groups are reading together all across the globe? This week Janel is talking with Maria and Ana, who share their experience of starting a Well-Read Mom group in Portuguese. They discuss the transformative journey they embarked on after attending a Well-Read Mom conference and the joy of connecting with like-minded women across different cultural contexts.

In today's A Closer Look Episode, Margaret Cronin discusses the importance of leisure for women, especially during times of uncertainty and unrest. Leisure is different from rest and entertainment, and it allows us to give our full attention to the beloved, whether it be a friend or God. Margaret emphasizes the need for women to take time for themselves and engage in activities that bring peac...

When we read and discuss great books, they change us, and we in turn bring that change out into the world. Janel and Courtney are back in "Radical Reading: Episode 2" to talk about how radical reading touches you and stays with you throughout your life...even to the point of influencing your vacation destinations! The difficult question is, though, how do we make room for radical reading...

Can reading be radical? It can be if you engage with literature, and let it change you. In today's episode, Janel is joined by Courtney LoCoco, and they discuss how reading and discussing worthy books can be a radical endeavor in a world that is so loud and distracting.

In this Closer Look Episode, we feature an interview between Marcie and author and publisher Joshua Hren about how literature can help form our moral imagination, and why that is so important. Find out more about Joshua Hren and his work on his website and through his publishing house Wiseblood Books.

Does reading a novel feel like a selfish use of your time? It's not! In today's episode, Janel and Dia talk about how reading is not just good for you, it's also good for the people around you.

In this second episode of "Fostering a Thoughtful Home" Janel and Dia Boyle talk about practical ways to incorporate reading into a thoughtful home, and how attentive reading can help us be attentive to the people in our lives. For more from Dia Boyle about the Thoughtful Home, head over to the Well-Read Mom Blog

In today's culture, family life and the home are more important than ever before. Janel and Dia discuss how to foster a thoughtful home, where focus and attention are developed - attention to the book in front of you, the work in front of you, or the person in front of you. This series will help you think more deeply about what is happening in the home, and what you want to be happening.

In this Closer Look Episode, Well-Read Mom founder Marcie Stokman shares about the art of reading by looking at two problems and a solution. The problem of motherhood and loneliness, the problem of reading, and the solution of reading together. To learn more about Well-Read Mom go to: WellReadMom.com

Do you find it hard to focus when reading a good book? Maybe you need to exercise your reading muscles! Janel and Jill talk about how your reading brain is a muscle that needs to be consistently utilized to get the most out of your reading. Using the principles of exercising your body, you can build the strength of your mind.

On today's closer look episode, we're taking a moment to enter into the Advent season with two great saints, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Jane de Chantel. Marcie, Colleen, and Fr. John discuss how these individuals lived with a love for something greater than themselves, and how we are all called to live in the fullness of Christ, no matter what our walk of life. We hope you enjoy this re...

We all have stressful situations in our personal lives, and the world is filled with stressful situations outside of our personal lives - how can reading literature help us with that? Janel and Linda talk more in this episode about easing your stress through reading literature. One key to managing the stress response is to have the ability to step back, look at something from the outside, and say,...

Stressed out? Pick up a book! In this series, "How to Ease Your Stress Through Reading" Janel talks with her good friend Linda, a Registered Nurse and licensed Psychologist, about stress and how we can manage the stress response through reading. At the top of the list of ways to manage stress is meaningful connections with others, and reading and discussing literature is one big way to d...

In this Closer Look episode, we go back to an interview from 2018 between Marcie and Dr. Maryanne Wolf discussing how reading has changed since digital content has become so prevalent in our day to day lives, and what that has done to our reading brain. Is it possible to be bi-literate; reading from print and on a screen? Learn more about this fascinating question with today's podcast. Find mo...

"...Every moment, the good or the bad, has the capacity for great, transformative beauty" In the final episode of the series, "How to Start a Reading Journal" Janel and Colleen talk about the transformational power of literature, and how writing in a reading journal can help us be more aware of the beauty of our daily lives. Find out more about the Between the Lines Journal.

In Episode 2 of the series "How to Start a Reading Journal" Janel and Colleen troubleshoot some issues we might face when trying to build a practice of reading literature and journaling to help build our memory. In becoming "savorers" of literature instead of "consumers" we begin to think in a new way - a way that can change culture! Find out more about the Between th...

Do you remember what you had for dinner last night? Without making an intentional effort to remember something, we so often just forget it. Don't let the wisdom you gain from reading great literature be lost from your memory! Janel and Colleen talk about how you can preserve your thoughts and experiences by writing them down, in this first episode of the series "How to Start a Reading Jou...

In our Season 2 launch, Janel is joined by Nicole Bugnacki, Executive Director of Well-Read Mom, and Joseph Pearce, author and professor of literature. They ask the question, "With so many editions of classic books out there, how do you choose a good one?" Pearce shares his wealth of knowledge and experience in literature and publishing to help us find good book editions. For more inform...

In the final episode of our very first season, Marcie interviews author Tracey Finck about her book, "Love Letters to a Child". Do you long to connect deeply with your children, but don't know how? Tracey shares that journaling for her children turned out to be one of the most effective things she did as a parent, and she can help you get started. Use this podcast as a sneak peek, th...

"I love this book...somebody's got to read it!" Have you ever felt this way? We love to share things that are important to us, and they help us connect with those we love. In this final episode in the series Connecting with Your Family Through Literature, Janel, Eric, and Elisabeth discuss how sharing books with your family is an amazing way to grow deeper in your relationship with t...

Would you love something that connects you with your spouse in a way that's deeper than just watching a TV show together? Try adding some literature to your lives. Janel, Eric, and Elisabeth talk about how reading can bring you closer to your spouse, even if you're not reading the same book!

One great reason to add literature to your life is the way it can help us connect with our family. Janel is joined in this series by Eric and Elisabeth Cyr, who are avid readers and parents of young children. They use literature as a way to connect, teach, and grow as a family.

In this second episode of the series Lifelong Learning, Janel and Karen talk about sharing the wisdom you gain through the years with those around you, and how important reading is to gain that wisdom.

It is never too late to learn, and never too early either! Janel and Karen talk in this series on lifelong learning - from reading childhood books to picking up a book as a grandma, our lives can always be enriched by learning. 

This week, author and speaker Elizabeth Kely Shares a beautiful Lenten reflection on the gift of forgiveness. Elizabeth's new book, A Place Called Golgotha: Meditations on the Last Words of Christ is available from The Word Among Us at The Word Among Us Press: A Place Called Golgotha: Meditations on the Last Words of Christ (wau.org)