One Page At a Time Podcast

One Page At a Time Podcast


Episode 30: What Everyday Reading Looks Like with Janssen Bradshaw

October 01, 2020

Book recommendations, printable reading lists, a free ecourse on raising a reader and more all reside at this website, but here we interview Janssen about what everyday reading looks like to learn what goes into this powerhouse of information.

This week we are joined by Janssen Bradshaw, the woman behind the incredibly popular website and instagram account, Everyday Reading. While she seems to have a hand in everything from designing rainboots to perfecting the chocolate chip cookie, her background as a librarian led her to bringing us the support and book recommendations that make her sites stand out.

In this episode we talk about:

1. Janssen’s background from growing up in a “serious reading family” to discovering her own reading tastes as an adult and even becoming a school librarian in Boston before she started having her girls.

2. How her website started and evolved into what it is today.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to start reading again!’ So I went to the library, and I just wandered through all the stacks and I thought, ‘I have no idea even what to read!’”

3. What it was like to be a school librarian in Boston and some of the lessons she learned from those experiences.

4. What it takes for Janssen to make her epic book recommendation lists and some of the resources she uses for them. We learned she has a whole post on her website that compiles those resources, which she shared with us: 

https://everyday-reading.com/how-i-find-new-picture-books-and-where/

5. How book tastes are very unique and your taste may not line up with someone who is recommending books to you, but how there are books out there for everyone.

“There’s never better conversations on my blog or instagram than when I say, ‘what book does everybody love that you can’t stand?’”

6. What are some of the elements that make a book one of Janssen’s “favorites” and what are some of Janssen’s most popular recommendation lists from her website.

7. Where someone can start when they come to her website for the first time and get the most out of the information that she has compiled over the years.

8. Advice on what to do when the kids in your life start to get opinions about what they want to read and how to balance letting them read what they want while still suggesting and reading your book picks with them.

“Just because they don’t like it now doesn’t mean they’ll never like it.”

9. Some tips for anyone who is struggling finding books that their kids will read or having other kids of friction when it comes to kids and reading.

“I feel like as a parent...my job is to make reading fun and something that they enjoy.” 

10. We wrapped up with a little bit (or a lot) of love for audiobooks and how amazing they are for kids!

We are so grateful to Janssen for taking the time to talk with us! More information about her, her website, and her oodles of excellent book recommendations can be found in the following places:

To find more about what Everyday Reading looks like:

Instagram: 

@everydayreading

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/EverydayReadingBlog

Websites:

https://everyday-reading.com