Episode #170: Friendship!
Welcome back! Grace and Alvina talk about everything friendship-themed, including how to make friends, different kinds of friends, and their favorite literary friendships. The Book Friends have always touched upon friendship in various episodes, but have never really devoted an entire episode to it.
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“How have you been?”
Grace has been feeling under the weather and wondering if its Covid because she hasn’t had it yet! The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a little earlier than normal so she us feeling a bit rushed to prepare for it.
Alvina and Stephen took a ferry and a Lyft to celebrate his mom’s birthday with her in NJ. They also hosted a BBQ and attended the Crown-Heights West Indian Day Parade.
Friendship!
Encyclopedia Brittanica’s definition of friendship: A state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people. In all cultures, friendships are important relationships throughout a person’s life span.
This topic was inspired recently because Grace’s daughter Hazel just started the 5th grade with out her good friends. They were placed in a different classroom. Grace is worried about her having to make new friends this year. Grace wonders if all her worry is a possible projection of her own fears about being lonely. Hazel seems to be doing just fine! The Book Friends talk about being “old friends” and what they recall it was like to make friends in childhood.
“How are you making friends now as an adult?” -Grace
The Book friends share how they make friends as an adult but how to keep them right now as well. Alvina mentions the 3 types of close friendships that she read about in Psychology Today.
Socially Connected (a friend as a playfellow)
Emotionally Connected (a friend as nurturer)
Functionally Connected (a friend as a resource)
Do you have any “frenemies” and nemeses? They also discuss some of their favorite literary friendships such as the ones in Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Charlotte’s Web, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and Emily of New Moon.
Fortune Cookie Segment: Publishing News! (Drumroll please….)
Grace announces the project she has been working on with Alvina!: Chinese Menu, a celebration of Chinese culture and folktales coming out in Fall of 2023! The book will tell the myths and stories about American Chinese food menu items.
Here’s the big announcemen!
STAY TUNED!
Gratefuls:
Grace is grateful for the fresh picked apples she hand picked that are now in her work studio! Alvina is grateful that her colonoscopy went smoothly.
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Twitter and Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and @authorgracelin on Facebook
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