Read. Return. Repeat. : A ReadICT Podcast

Sara and Daniel interview writer Ross Gay to talk about his essay collection, Inciting Joy, which was released in 2022. In this conversation, which explores ReadICT Category 4: A Collection, Ross talks about the meaning of incitement, the interconnectedness of everything and why inefficiency can be a great act of self-care.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s4e1.aspx

New to #R...

Sara and Daniel are joined by Suzanne Perez and Beth Golay of the Books and Whatnot podcast to talk about the new #ReadICT 2024 challenge categories. In this special kickoff episode which was recorded in front of a live audience at the Advanced Learning Library in Wichita, KS on January 4th, 2024, Sara, Daniel, Suzanne, and Beth talk about what their (reading) plans are this year for each category as well as some titles they would ...

Sara and Daniel interview prolific sci-fi author John Scalzi for #ReadICT category 12: A book by an author visiting Wichita. They talk about John's most recent novel Starter Villain, hyper-intelligent cats and what it’s like receiving celebrity fan mail.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e10.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more information visit wichitalibrary.o...

Sara and Daniel talk with author Natalie Zina Walschots, author of Hench, where they take a closer look at ReadICT Category 5, a book told from the villain's point-of-view. In this episode they examine the lives of the hired help of supervillains, why nobody thinks about the real-world cost of superheroes destroying everyone's favorite coffee shop, and why even henches deserve universal health care.

Episode Transcript and Show Note...

Sara and Daniel interview local historian Seth Bate, author of Winfield's Walnut Valley Festival, as they delve into ReadICT category 6: a book about time and talk about the timelessness of music, building community through a shared passion, and why more people should play musical saws.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rrr_s3e8.aspx

New to #ReadICT? Join the challenge! For more in...

Sara and Daniel interview author Travis Baldree, author of Legends and Lattes, the bestselling cozy fantasy novel about an orc who trades in her weapons to open a coffee shop in a quiet village. In this episode – which focuses on ReadICT category 3, a book about friendship – Travis shares his thoughts on how our friendships are a form of self-reflection, why found families are important, and what exactly a hobgoblin is.

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Sara and Daniel interview author David Heska Wanbli Weiden to discuss his novel Winter Counts, a gritty crime novel taking place on the Lakota Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This episode explores ReadICT category 10, a book set in the Great Plains, and how place can be inextricably linked to one’s identity, especially for Native Americans.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wichitalibrary.org/BooksMore/Podcast/Pages/rr...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy celebrate Pride Month by doing a deep dive into category 8: a book featuring a LGBTQIA+ protagonist. Joining them on the podcast is author Nghi Vo, who has authored multiple books featuring queer characters. She discusses her most recent novel, Siren Queen, which tells the story of a Chinese American actress in an alternate Hollywood during its Golden Age, featuring monsters...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy get a little "culty" to explore category 11: a book about a secret or closed society! Joining them on the podcast is editor, publisher and cartoonist Robyn Chapman, who edited the graphic novel collection American Cult: A Graphic History of Religious Cults in America from the Colonial Era to Today, which comprises a collection of stories about various cults in American histo...

In this episode, hosts Daniel Pewewardy and Sara Dixon talk about the often-avoided topic of death in recognition of #ReadICT category 9: a book about death or grief. Joining them on the podcast is journalist Hayley Campbell, who wrote the book All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work. They discuss what led her to writing a book about a topic tha...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy take a deep dive into category 1: A Book with a Non-Human Narrator. Joining them on the podcast is author and filmmaker C. Robert Cargill, author of post-apocalyptic robot westerns Sea of Rust and its prequel, Day Zero. From robot morality to the history of swearing to why Isaac Asimov was a pessimist, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Episode Transcript and Show No...

Opening Season 3 of the podcast, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy talk with Arielle Zibrak, Associate Professor of English and Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Wyoming to discuss the topic of Category 4: Guilty Pleasures. Zibrak, who is also author of the book Avidly Reads: Guilty Pleasures, discusses the concept of shame and media consumption and why we should never feel bad about the things we love.

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In this bonus episode recorded before a live audience, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy join Suzanne Perez and Beth Golay from the KMUW podcast Books & Whatnot to celebrate the 2023 kickoff of the #ReadICT challenge. A departure from the usual podcast format, these book aficionados and fellow podcasters talk about the history of the challenge and explore each category and how it might be approached differently by reader...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy close out Season 2 of the podcast by exploring category 12: A Book by An Author Visiting Wichita in 2022. Joining them is author Silas House, who visited Wichita in late October to promote his most recent novel, Lark Ascending. Silas talks about what inspires him to write about climate catastrophes, how music and poetry influence his writing, his favorite authors and more.

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In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy dive deeper into category 4: A Book About a Culture or Topic You’re Unfamiliar With. Joining them is Rebekah Taussig, author of Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body (who is also from Kansas!) to discuss a topic that may be unfamiliar to a lot of people beyond media depictions: living with a disability. From navigating the world not built for bo...

In this episode in honor of Banned Books Week, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy recorded a special edition of the podcast in front of a live audience to talk about why we celebrate Banned Books Week and the importance of the freedom to read. They are joined by Wichita Public Library Director Jaime Nix and Watermark Books & Café owner Sarah Bagby. Joining them virtually as the special guest is Sherman Alexie, author of The A...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy tackle category 3: A Book That Intimidates You. Joining them is Dr. Francis Connor, an Associate Professor of English at Wichita State University. They talk about Shakespeare, Classics, how people’s relationships to reading and books have changed in the past six-hundred years and why we should read more books that intimidate us.

Episode Transcript and Show Notes: http://wich...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy explore category 9, a book about immigration through the lens of food. Joining them on the podcast is Nina Mukherjee Furstenau, a food journalist and author of the 2014 Kansas Notable Book Biting Through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland. A first-generation immigrant who moved to Pittsburg, Kansas from India as a young child in the 1960s, Ms. Furstenau share...

In this episode, co-hosts Sara Dixon and Daniel Pewewardy dive into category 6, a book based on mythology or folklore. Joining them is Thomas Yeahpau (also known as That Native Thomas), a Kiowa and Apache Storyteller and author of the 2016 novel The Last Pow-Wow, which he co-wrote with Steven Paul Judd. They talk about the importance of storytelling, why it resonates with so many people, and how traditional stories are still releva...