Shelf Care Society by @Brian.Reads

Brian Larson
  • 4.7 (25)
  • Books

Shelf Care Society by @Brian.Reads is the podcast for readers who treat their TBR ("to-be-read") pile as part of their self-care routine. Hosted by Brian Larson, each episode brings you into intimate, curiosity-driven interviews with authors, artists, activists, and culture-shapers who are asking better questions about ambition, creativity, identity, belonging, and what it really takes to build a life that feels like yours. Expect thoughtful storytelling, big ideas made personal, & the occasional moment that cracks something open. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts & join the Society.

  1. 4d ago

    Casey McQuiston on Red, White & Royal Blue, Alex & Henry's Future and The Private Correspondence

    Alex and Henry are back, and so is the author who made us fall in love with them. ❤️ This week on Shelf Care Society, Brian Larson welcomes the brilliant Casey McQuiston, bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and The Pairing. We're celebrating all things FirstPrince, from the cultural phenomenon of Red, White & Royal Blue to Casey's highly anticipated new novella, Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence, arriving December 1, 2026. What does happily ever after actually look like for Alex and Henry? Through handwritten letters, personal memories, and glimpses of their future together, Casey returns to these beloved characters as they navigate love, marriage, family, and growing older together. We also chat about the upcoming Prime Video movie Red, White & Royal Wedding, writing queer joy, and what makes fictional characters feel like lifelong friends. It's a conversation full of laughter, heart, and plenty for longtime fans to get excited about. 📚 Preorder The Private Correspondence, available December 1, 2026: https://www.caseymcquiston.com/books 🎥 Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UHjmfue62UA Special thanks to Ginni Media for making the studio such a warm and welcoming place to record. Follow Shelf Care Society wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode with someone who loves Alex and Henry as much as you do. Come for the books. Stay for the conversation.

  2. Oct 22

    V.E. Schwab on “Victorious,” the Villains Trilogy, and an Ending 13 Years in the Making

    V.E. Schwab joins Brian Larson (@brian.reads) for a conversation about “Victorious,” the epic conclusion to the Villains trilogy and the ending readers have been waiting more than a decade to see. V and Brian talk about returning to Victor Vale, Eli Ever, and a world that has evolved alongside its author; what it takes to finish a story thirteen years after it began; and how Schwab thinks about ambition, morality, obsession, and the complicated people we cannot stop rooting for. They also get into the books that stay with us long after we finish them, the strange experience of watching beloved characters become part of readers’ lives, and what it means to build a career while continuing to take creative risks. Plus, Brian shares why Schwab’s books, including “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” became especially meaningful to him during a transformative period in his own life. “Victorious” is available now wherever books are sold. Follow Shelf Care Society on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more conversations with the writers and storytellers shaping what we read next. Come for the books. Stay for the conversation.

  3. Oct 19

    Bethany Joy Lenz on “The Betrayal of Cora Wexford,” Reinvention & Finding Your Voice

    Actor, author, and musician Bethany Joy Lenz joins Brian Larson on Shelf Care Society for a candid conversation about storytelling, reinvention, and learning to trust your own voice. Bethany takes us inside “The Betrayal of Cora Wexford,” her latest novel, and the process of building a story around complicated women, secrets, loyalty, and the choices that can change the course of a life. She also reflects on the unexpected turns of her own career, from “One Tree Hill” to becoming a bestselling memoirist with “Dinner for Vampires,” and what it has meant to tell increasingly personal stories on her own terms. Brian and Bethany talk about writing across different forms, the freedom that comes with fiction, the relationship between creativity and identity, and what she has learned about starting over when the life you imagined changes. Plus: the books that have stayed with Bethany, what she looks for in a great character, and a lightning round about reading, writing, and the stories she cannot stop thinking about. Come for the books. Stay for the conversation. Follow Shelf Care Society on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and follow Brian at @Brian.Reads.

  4. Oct 13

    TJ Klune on “We Burned So Bright,” Queer Love & His New Book, "The Stars Look Like Home"

    #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune joins Brian Larson on Shelf Care Society for a wide-ranging conversation about love, mortality, queer storytelling, and the books that stay with us. TJ takes us inside “We Burned So Bright,” his moving novel about an older queer couple facing the end of the world, and the questions at its heart: How do we make a life matter? What do we owe the people we love? And when time is running out, what is actually worth holding onto? They also talk about revisiting “Murmuration,” the evolution of TJ’s writing across his career, queer representation and responsibility, and the possibility of seeing more of his stories adapted for the screen. Then TJ previews “The Stars Look Like Home,” his forthcoming novel (available January 12, 2027) told from the perspective of a dog, and a story about grief, belonging, companionship, and finding your way home. Plus: the books and writers that shaped TJ, what more than 40 books have taught him about being an author, and a lightning round that goes delightfully off course. Come for the books. Stay for the conversation. Follow Shelf Care Society on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and follow Brian at @Brian.Reads.

  5. Sep 30

    What should be on your reading radar as we head into the final stretch of 2026?

    In this episode of Shelf Care Society, I’m talking through some of the books I can’t stop thinking about, from major new novels by Min Jin Lee, Barbara Kingsolver, Hernan Diaz, and V. E. Schwab to Robert Kolker’s extraordinary reporting on a family confronting inherited dementia and Ted Scheinman’s deeply personal account of electroconvulsive therapy. And about halfway through the episode, we take a detour: I sit down with comedian Taylor Tomlinson on the eve of the launch of her first book, “Actually, Nevermind,” to talk about what she’s reading on tour, the book that kept her awake until 3 a.m., audiobooks, creativity, and the writing book she has returned to again and again. Books discussed in this episode: • “American Hagwon” by Min Jin Lee• “The Vanishing Family” by Robert Kolker• “Ply” by Hernan Diaz• “Victorious” by V. E. Schwab• “Partita” by Barbara Kingsolver• “The Betrayal of Cora Wexford” by Bethany Joy Lenz• “Luna, Phoenix, Queen” by Julie Orringer• “Public Access World” by Jane Schoenbrun• “Jolt: My Electric Journey Out of Darkness” by Ted Scheinman• “Music Against the Night” by Yiyun Li Plus, in my conversation with Taylor: • “Actually, Nevermind” by Taylor Tomlinson• “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin• “Fruit Fly” by Josh Silver• “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron• “Walking in This World” by Julia Cameron Come for the books. Stay for the conversation.

    What should be on your reading radar as we head into the final stretch of 2026?

  6. Sep 21

    Kathryn Stockett on “The Calamity Club,” 17 Years After “The Help”

    Seventeen years after “The Help” became a publishing phenomenon, Kathryn Stockett is back with “The Calamity Club,” her sprawling, funny, devastating new novel and a #1 New York Times bestseller. Kathryn joins Brian to talk about what really happened during those 17 years, including false starts, losing her publishing home, finding the editor who helped her see the book clearly again, and the moment she discovered the disturbing history that ultimately became one of the novel’s driving forces. They also get into Depression-era Mississippi, compulsory sterilization and the eugenics movement, creating the unforgettable 11-year-old Meg, writing women who refuse to fit neatly into society’s expectations, queerness in the 1930s South, the influence of Kathryn’s rebellious mother, and why she bought an old Victrola while researching the music of the period. Plus, Kathryn shares the “YES! moment” that helped unlock the novel after years of work. “The Calamity Club” is available now wherever books are sold.

  7. Sep 17

    Josh Silver on “Fruit Fly,” Sobriety, Queer Storytelling & Who Gets to Tell Our Stories

    Josh Silver joins Brian Larson on “Shelf Care Society” to talk about “Fruit Fly,” his buzzy adult debut, available now. Josh takes us inside the darkly funny, deeply unsettling novel about Mallory Maddox, a blocked writer who goes looking for her next bestseller and finds Leo, a young gay man struggling with addiction whose life she begins turning into material. Together, Brian and Josh dig into some of the biggest questions behind the book: Who gets to tell whose story? What does “authentic” storytelling actually mean? And when does fascination with someone else’s pain become exploitation? Josh also opens up about his own sobriety, his years working as a mental health nurse, the complicated relationship between addiction and social media, and why there is no single path to recovery. They discuss queer representation in publishing, the rise of “MM” fiction, the influence of R.F. Kuang’s “Yellowface,” and why Josh completely rewrote the ending of “Fruit Fly” just before the book went to proofreaders. Plus: Malala Yousafzai posting about the book, its whirlwind success, and what Josh can share about the A24 television adaptation. “Fruit Fly” by Josh Silver is available now wherever books are sold.

  8. Sep 16

    Jodi Picoult on "Hollow Bones," Her 30th Novel, Postpartum Psychosis & the Stories We’re Afraid to Tell

    Jodi Picoult has spent more than three decades writing directly into some of the most complicated questions of our time. In this episode of Shelf Care Society, Brian sits down with the #1 New York Times bestselling author to discuss her 30th novel, "Hollow Bones," a haunting, deeply researched story set against the legacy of September 11 and arriving September 15. Jodi shares the anonymous PostSecret confession that sparked the novel, why she became fascinated by the question of someone using 9/11 to disappear, and how correspondence with an incarcerated mother led her to research postpartum psychosis in extraordinary depth. The conversation gets especially urgent as Brian and Jodi discuss the real-world case of Lindsey Clancy, the profound differences between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis, the ways women can fall through gaps in the healthcare system, and what happens when serious mental illness collides with the criminal justice system. They also talk about the erosion of America's public-health infrastructure, conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11, why fiction can sometimes reach people when political arguments cannot, and Jodi's continued fight against book bans. Plus, longtime Picoult readers will want to hear why she decided to bring back Jesse Fitzgerald from "My Sister's Keeper," what happened when Jodi took a real polygraph test for research, and the remarkable moment early in her career when she nearly gave up writing and applied for a job at Home Depot. It's a conversation about grief, truth, motherhood, public tragedy, the lies we tell to protect the people we love, and the extraordinary power of fiction to open a door where an argument cannot. "Hollow Bones" by Jodi Picoult is out now!

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About

Shelf Care Society by @Brian.Reads is the podcast for readers who treat their TBR ("to-be-read") pile as part of their self-care routine. Hosted by Brian Larson, each episode brings you into intimate, curiosity-driven interviews with authors, artists, activists, and culture-shapers who are asking better questions about ambition, creativity, identity, belonging, and what it really takes to build a life that feels like yours. Expect thoughtful storytelling, big ideas made personal, & the occasional moment that cracks something open. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts & join the Society.

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