Shelf Care Society by @Brian.Reads

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.

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.

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.

#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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

R.F. Kuang joins Brian for an intimate conversation about Taipei Story, her shortest and perhaps most personal novel yet. She shares how the death of her grandfather and a disorienting summer in Taipei first inspired a collection of private notes, written during a period when grief had left her feeling incapable of writing, and how those fragments eventually became Lily Chen’s story.

Rebecca discusses writing an intelligent but imperfect Gen Z protagonist without condescension, the shame that can surround losing a heritage language, and why language is not something inherited through blood, but a connection that can be rebuilt. She and Brian also explore the ways different languages shape our understanding of time, memory, identity, and belonging; Taipei’s complicated meaning as a place of cultural homecoming; generational trauma and family silence; and the responsibility writers assume when portraying communities beyond their own experiences.

The conversation also turns to the decline of sustained reading, Rebecca’s embrace of digital minimalism, and what educators can do to help students rediscover the pleasure of sitting with a challenging book. Finally, Rebecca shares the music she listened to while writing Taipei Story, her favorite Chinese idioms, the books she recommends for escaping a reading slump, and an early glimpse at the historical and artistic questions driving her next fantasy novel.

Cole Brauer made history as the first American woman to race solo, nonstop around the world, but getting to the starting line required almost as much determination as crossing the finish.

In this episode of Shelf Care Society, Brian sits down with the record-breaking sailor and author of First Light: Sailing Solo But Not Alone to talk about the extraordinary journey behind her memoir and what it means to build a life outside the routes other people expect you to follow.

Cole opens up about entering the notoriously male-dominated world of offshore sailing, learning to trust herself and the people behind her, and fighting for the sponsorship and resources necessary to pursue an ambition few believed was possible. She and Brian also discuss dyslexia and finding success outside traditional measures of achievement, the fear and isolation of sailing alone across some of the most dangerous waters on Earth, and why resilience does not have to mean doing everything by yourself.

They also get into Cole's relationship with her boat, First Light, the intimacy that develops between sailor and vessel, surviving brutal storms and "Hell Week," sharing an intensely solitary experience through social media, and the difference between recklessness and the kind of leap of faith required to chase an enormous dream.

Plus, Cole reflects on saying yes before you have all the proof, funding, or permission, what crossing the finish line actually felt like, and the call with her mom waiting on the other side.

First Light: Sailing Solo But Not Alone is available wherever books are sold.

What happens when four broke roommates in Rio de Janeiro discover that wealthy strangers will pay an obscene amount of money for the ultimate forbidden dining experience?

Brazilian bestselling author Raphael Montes joins Brian for a deliciously dark conversation about The Secret Dinner, his wildly entertaining new thriller about friendship, greed, desire, addiction, and a supper club with one very horrifying secret.

They talk about the real Rio behind the novel, writing characters who keep crossing lines they swore they never would, Dante’s queerness and recovery, the uneasy relationship between appetite and morality, and why a book about cannibalism can also be very, very funny.

Editor Ryan Doherty joins the conversation to tell the story of acquiring The Secret Dinner at auction, the moment in the manuscript that made him know he wanted to publish it, working with translator Zoe Perry, and bringing one of Brazil’s biggest thriller writers to a new audience.

Come hungry. Maybe don’t ask what’s for dinner.

Nearly two decades after “Call Me By Your Name” first introduced readers to Elio and Oliver, André Aciman is returning to their story in an entirely new form.

In this episode of Shelf Care Society, Brian sits down with André Aciman to talk about “Call Me By Your Name: The Graphic Novel,” illustrated by Sarah Maxwell. They explore what it means to revisit such an iconic story years later, how illustration can make Elio’s interior world visible in ways prose cannot, and the moments from the original novel that take on new life on the page.

André also reflects on desire, memory, love, and why Elio and Oliver continue to resonate with readers across generations. Plus, the conversation turns to one of the novel’s most enduring passages: the extraordinary conversation between Elio and his father about love, loss, and allowing yourself to feel deeply.

“Call Me By Your Name: The Graphic Novel” is available August 11 wherever books are sold.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo joins Brian to discuss his propulsive new novel, Under the Falls.

Set in the fictional upstate New York town of Stone Mountain, the novel follows a famous musician returning home to a community shaped by old secrets, economic decline, the opioid epidemic, and a devastating accident. Russo shares how the story began as a television pilot, why he ultimately transformed it into a novel, and how he brought the momentum of a thriller to the deeply human, character-driven storytelling readers have come to love.

They also discuss the complicated pull of our hometowns, the moral ambiguity of survival, Jason Isbell’s influence on the book, and the pivotal moment that helped Russo understand what kind of writer he wanted to become.

Under the Falls is available August 11 from Knopf and wherever books are sold.

Brian sits down with Ben Reeves, author of the extraordinary debut novel “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt,” a tender and deeply human story narrated by the personification of death.

Ben shares how the idea for Travis, a lonely and benevolent version of death, first came to him while watching his children play at the zoo, and why he wanted the novel to focus not on the finality of dying, but on the beauty, pain, and specificity of being alive. They discuss the intimate stories woven throughout the book, Travis’s quietly nuanced sexuality, the compassionate portrayal of addiction and sobriety, and the symbolism of restored photographs and mayflies.

Ben also reveals why Barnes & Noble prompted a last-minute cover change, how Kurt Vonnegut inspired the novel’s title, and why readers have begun sharing their own experiences of grief and loss with him.

Finally, Ben reflects on his personal “Yes! Moment”: choosing to stop what he was doing and play with his children, a decision that reminded him that a life is not made only from weddings, publications, or other major milestones. It is made from the ordinary moments we choose to notice before they disappear.

New York Times bestselling author Matthew Quick joins Brian for an intimate conversation about Dad, Love, Me, his deeply personal debut memoir written as a letter to his ailing father.

Matthew opens up about growing up with an angry and withholding parent, carrying his father’s critical voice into adulthood, and achieving extraordinary literary success while privately struggling with depression, addiction, and creative paralysis. He discusses getting sober, turning to Jungian analysis, and moving closer to his parents after his father was diagnosed with dementia, hoping to find some form of connection before time ran out.

Together, Brian and Matthew explore father hunger, wounded masculinity, the inheritance of shame, and the complicated work of forgiving someone who never learned how to love you well. It is a candid and ultimately hopeful conversation about ending generational cycles, choosing compassion without denying the past, and discovering that healing does not always arrive in the form we expect.

Cecily Mak joins Shelf Care Society for a deeply thoughtful conversation about alcohol-free living, unwanted habits, and the clarity that becomes possible when we stop dimming ourselves. Cecily is the author of Undimmed: The Eight Awarenesses for Freedom from Unwanted Habits, a founding General Partner at Wisdom Ventures, a breast cancer survivor, mother of two, and an advocate for a more honest public conversation about alcohol and health.

In this episode, Brian and Cecily discuss how her thirty-day experiment to go alcohol-free changed her life, and how habits like drinking, scrolling, overworking, or staying constantly busy can become “dimmers” that keep us from fully feeling and fully living. They also talk about family history, AA, meditation, found time in sobriety, Big Alcohol, breast cancer, and why Cecily’s Eight Awarenesses offer a more spacious and compassionate path toward freedom.

This is a conversation for anyone who has ever wondered what might become possible if they stopped reaching for the thing that helps them escape and started listening to the life waiting underneath.

What does it really mean to be “selfish”… and why are so many of us afraid of it?

This week on Shelf Care Society, I sit down with Kerry Docherty, co-founder of Faherty and author of Selfish, a sharp, deeply personal memoir about unlearning the roles that keep us small.

We start where the book does: on a therapist’s couch, where Kerry and her husband are negotiating Kerry's salary. From there, we unpack the invisible contracts so many of us inherit around marriage, work, ambition, and worth and what it takes to break them. We also discuss "soul contracts"!

In this conversation, we get into:

• Why “selfish” might be the most misunderstood word in personal growth

• The cost of being the reliable one in every room

• How ambition shifts when you stop performing for approval

• What it looks like to rewrite your role inside a marriage, a family, and a business

• The uncomfortable decisions that actually change a life

This is a conversation about telling the truth, even when it disrupts everything around you.

What do we owe the people who made us?

This week on Shelf Care Society, I sit down with Tayari Jones to talk about her stunning new novel, Kin, an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Tayari has a way of writing families that feel both intimate and expansive. In Kin, she turns her attention to legacy and inheritance through the lives of two girls, Niecy and Annie, and the bond that connects them across time. I take a shot at providing an overview of Kin—and Tayari reacts!

We discuss what it means for a novel like Kin to resonate at this moment, and why stories about family, history, and inheritance continue to find us exactly when we need them.

What if the thing that determines your success isn’t how smart you are, but how quickly you can adapt?

This week on Shelf Care Society, I’m joined by Liz Tran, executive coach and author of AQ: The Agility Quotient. We talk about why agility is becoming the defining skill of our time and how to build it in a world that rarely slows down.

Liz shares how AQ shows up in your career, your relationships, and your identity, especially in moments when everything you thought was stable begins to shift. We get into reinvention, letting go of outdated versions of yourself, and learning how to move forward without a clear roadmap.

If you’ve been feeling stuck or sensing that your life is asking something new of you, this conversation will meet you there.

Why are the Kardashians so famous—and what does that say about us?

In this episode of Shelf Care Society: The Podcast, I sit down with M.J. Corey (@mjcorey) to talk about her new book, Deconstructing the Kardashians: A New Media Manifesto—a sharp, surprisingly expansive look at the most influential family in modern media.

What starts as a conversation about Kim, Kris, and the empire they’ve built quickly becomes something much bigger. M.J. unpacks how the Kardashians didn’t just rise alongside the internet—they helped define it. From reality TV to Instagram to the algorithm-driven attention economy, their story becomes a lens for understanding how media has evolved over the past two decades—and how it’s reshaping our sense of identity, reality, and self.

We talk about narrative as strategy, the blurred line between authenticity and performance, and why the Kardashians function less as celebrities and more as a kind of cultural operating system. M.J. also shares her goal for the book: not to make you love or hate them, but to help you become a more active, intentional consumer of media in a world that’s constantly asking for your attention.

This is one of those conversations that starts in pop culture—but leaves you thinking about power, perception, and the stories we’re all participating in every day.