Jen Nails

Revisions, How Our Favorite Books Change Us

Arts EN ↓ 25 episodes

Las Vegas-Clark County Librarian/author Jen Nails chats with authors, actors, comedians and librarians about why certain books from growing up made such a splash in their lives! Look for Season Three, out in late November, 2025, featuring local Las Vegas students Dara and Lyra, author Ken Lamug (National Book Festival Selection), author Willy Vlautin (Nevada Writers Hall of Fame), journalist Jane Borden (Carnegie Medal longlist), author Yamile Saied Méndez (Pura Belpré Award Winner), librarian

Author

Jen Nails

Episodes

"The Relaxation That You Look For," Braunohler reclines into the world of Vonnegut with Sirens of Titan (1959). 27.11.2025 46:55

Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon writer Kurt Braunohler discovers all of Kurt Vonnegut Jr's novels in junior high and begins developing his bizarro, brilliant brand of bombedy. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Kurt !

"Eventually We Will Open Them," under the gaze of her educator mom, Daria Peoples discovers Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston, 1937). 27.11.2025 1:02:06

Beloved picture book author/illustrator & Golden Kite Award winner Daria Peoples begins to understand what it means to live for herself when she discovers Hurston's classic as a young adult. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Daria!

"I've Always Been an Advocate," Desmond London raises his voice after re-reading Makes Me Wanna Holler (Nathan McCall, 1994). 27.11.2025 59:51

Nathan McCall's memoir reminds Jen and fellow librarian Desmond of the healing power of difficult conversations and then inspires one. Explicit content. Book recommendations inspired by my conversation with Desmond !

"The Fool's Card," Yamile Saied Méndez's Heidi tattoo! (Johanna Spyri, 1881) 27.11.2025 57:45

Pura Belpré winner & Reese's Book Club author Yamile shares what happened when her neighbor in Las Pampas began lending her classic literature beginning with Heidi, which was the first book she read all the way through. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Yamile !

"What Else Don't I Know?" Jane Borden humbles herself after college with Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser, 2001). 27.11.2025 49:46

Carnegie Medal longlister and esteemed culture writer Jane shares her discovery of Fast Food Nation and the calls t0 action that have inspired her since. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Jane !

"A Safe Place to Hide Out," Willy Vlautin takes cover inside the pages of Cannery Row (John Steinbeck, 1945). 27.11.2025 41:59

Award-winning author/musician & and Hall-0f-Famer Willy Vlautin describes how, since he was a teen, escaping into Cannery Row and spending time with Mack and the Boys has always brought him solace and comfort. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Willy!

"Something Sings in that Silence," Ken Lamug colors in the framework for creating graphic novels with The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943). 27.11.2025 44:20

Author/illustrator extraordinaire & National Book Festival selection Ken Lamug shares stories about moving to the U.S. as a teen after a childhood in the Philippines, his father's recipe for success, and gifting his high school crush (and future wife!) a book that would shape his artistic style: The Little Prince. Book recommendations based on my conversation with Ken!

"Two-headed Snakes and Legless Lizards," Lyra and Dara school Jen in reptilian anomalies (and other stuff!). 27.11.2025 29:40

Within their discussion of all-time faves Eva and the Lost Pony (Elliot, 2018) and Girls I've Been (Sharpe, 2021), Jen and two of her reading buddies ruminate on all the undiscovered gems awaiting them in books! Book recommendations based on my conversation with Lyra and Dara !

"Pulling Down the Journals," Micaela Blei reaches for the past to decode the present with Arcadia (Tom Stoppard, 1993). 14.05.2025 55:53

Multi MOTH-grand-slam champ, author and storyteller, Dr. Micaela Blei (You Will Not Recognize Your Life, Audible, 2024, Secret Life of Your Third Grade Teacher, HarperOne, 2027), assembles bits and pieces of wisdom on writing, love, and life. Book recs based on our conversation! Micaela's site You Will Not Recognize Your Life on Audible My favorite Micaela MOTH story

"I Wanted to Be a Cartoon Character," Billy Allen animates his journey from nursing major to library school, starting with Lean Mean Urkell Machine (Bonnie Worth, 1992). 14.05.2025 57:47

Branch Manager, Mr. Billy (Queer Eye, James Partridge Award winner) jumps into Steve Urkell's time machine as a 9-year-old and emerges 30 years later along with his team at the Whitney Library, as a rising library star. Book recs based on our conversation! Whitney Library Daily Beast covers Billy's Queer Eye episode Billy's IG

"Pickled In It," Jeff Hiller gets brined in Paul Monette's Becoming a Man (1992). 14.05.2025 52:21

The absolutely amazing actor, comedian and author Jeff Hiller (HBO's Somebody Somewhere) talks about finding the right book at exactly the right time. Book recs based on this episode! Jeff on IG Somebody Somewhere Link to purchase Jeff's memoir, Actress of a Certain Age (Simon & Schuster, 2025)

"Unaccustomed Earth," Mark Ciccone roots the meaning of life in The Razor's Edge (W. Somerset Maugham, 1944). 14.05.2025 49:15

As a teen, Mark (Obelisk Odyssey) observes his parents watching the 1946 film The Razor's Edge and his mom is crying and his dad is like, "huh?" Mark decides that he wants to get in on that conversation and picks up the novel. Book recs based on our conversation! Purchase Mark's memoir Obelisk Odyssey (Amplify, 2024)!

"When She Walks Into A Room," a 9-year-old Ms. China Hudson begins climbing the stairs of creative living with "Mother to Son" (Langston Hughes, 1922). 14.05.2025 46:51

Writer, director, performer and community advocate Ms. China (West Las Vegas Library Theater) tracks her career from performing Langston Hughes in 4th grade to being gifted a visit to Ghana on the cultural trip of her dreams. Book recs based on our conversation! West Las Vegas Library Ms. China receives Trailblazer Award

"Stop, Think, Observe," Kathy Erskine defines her formula for success at any volume with Encyclopedia Brown (Arnold J. Sobol, 1963). 14.05.2025 44:56

National Book Award winning author Kathy (Mockingbird, Mama Africa, Seeing Red) revisits her love for solving problems bad, bad Leroy Brown style. Book recs based on our conversation! Kathy's website Core Knowledge, one of Kathy's publishers

"High Vibrational Energy" reverberates throughout Charlie and Rachelle Luster's three faves: Charlotte's Web (White, 1952), People Could Fly (Hamilton, 1985) and Sting's Lyrics (2007). 11.05.2025 50:35

Owners of the Analop Dope bookstore share how their joint dedication to music and books brought them together, and how their touchstone shop connects all of the Las Vegas community. Book recs based on our conversation! Analog Dope bookshop Charlie Muse's album, "Saturn"

"The Think Tank," Jen joyfully reverse-ages to seventh grade while re-reading The Glad Man (Gloria Gonzalez, 1975). 11.05.2025 10:08

A weird and wonderful book conjures seventh grade Jen in "the library" of her home. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Jen's website & IG Jen's novel, One Hundred Spaghetti Strings (HarperCollins, 2017), will represent Nevada at the National Book Festival in DC on September 6, 2025!

"The Heartwarming Story of a Boy and his Cookbook," Dana Snyder and the ham loaf (Betty Crocker, 1969) 21.12.2024 42:17

Comedian/voice actor Dana Snyder (SpongeBob, Aqua Teen Hunger Force) discusses his attachment to the Foxfire Books, ham loaves, vintage menus, and collecting books that he's written in, inside the margins. Book recommendations based on this episode !

"The Frog-March," Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and the Tasha-Tudor-illustrated Secret Garden (1911) 21.12.2024 45:29

Newbery winner Kim (The War That Saved My Life, Fighting Words) recalls taking the ten bucks her grandma sent her during freshman year at Smith and buying a copy of the Secret Garden (instead of beer or ramen). Book recommendations based on this episode!

"I Didn't Even Know You Could Do It For Fun," Negin Farsad discovers Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint (1969) 21.12.2024 40:15

Superstar comedian Negin Farsad (How to Make White People Laugh, Fake the Nation) discusses growing up Muslim American in Palm Springs but learning the bones of comedy from Roth's Portnoy, a teenaged schmegegge from Newark. Book recommendations based on this episode!

"For the Dweebs," Chris Grabenstein discovers MAD Magazine (1952) 21.12.2024 39:17

NYT Bestseller (Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Stinky's Stories) Chris shares his joyful discovery in seventh grade of MAD Magazine which he subscribed to as a kid, back when the mag came in the mail wrapped in a brown paper bag (like porn). Book recommendations based on this episode! The 1989 Super Bowl ad that Chris worked on!

"There's Hope on the Far Side," Ellen Hopkins discovers The Hobbit (1937) 21.12.2024 41:15

NYT Bestseller and most banned author Hopkins (Crank, Sync) shares her sixth-grade discovery of Tolkien's classic and explores how the novel influenced her development as a writer. Book recommendations based on this episode!

"I Am Very Young," John Ross Bowie discovers Judy Blume's Then Again, Maybe I Won't (1971) 21.12.2024 37:09

Notorious JRB (No Job for a Man, Big Bang Theory) finds himself in Blume's Tony Miglione, who battles anxiety and panic during the year that his dad strikes it rich and his family moves from Jersey to Long Island. Book recommendations based on this episode!

"This is Something You Should Know," Kelsey discovers Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) 21.12.2024 44:21

Fellow librarian Kelsey Mazmanyan shares what happens when she and her stepdad compete to finish Goblet of Fire first. Book recommendations based on this episode!

"The Girl in the Mirror," Jen discovers Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Brave (1975) 21.12.2024 11:41

Welcome to Revisions. In this first episode, I will talk about trying to impress my third grade teacher, Mrs. Cormier, and discovering the book that opened the door to reading for me: Ramona the Brave, the book that opened the door to reading for me . Beverly Cleary

Revisions Teaser 09.12.2024 2:56

Grab a sneak peak into Season One!