Revisions, How Our Favorite Books Change Us

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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 siteYou Will Not Recognize Your Life on AudibleMy favorite Micaela MOTH story

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 LibraryDaily Beast covers Billy's Queer Eye episodeBilly's IG

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 IGSomebody SomewhereLink to purchase Jeff's memoir, Actress of a Certain Age (Simon & Schuster, 2025)

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)!

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 LibraryMs. China receives Trailblazer Award

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 websiteCore Knowledge, one of Kathy's publishers

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 bookshopCharlie Muse's album, "Saturn"

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

Grab a sneak peak into Season One!