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There’s something both cozy and luxurious about closing your eyes and letting someone read to you.

Maybe it reminds you of when you were little, drifting off to sleep while a parent read your favorite story. Or, maybe it’s just nice to allow yourself a moment of stillness.

We invite you to check out from the real world for a little while and enjoy these local authors reading to you from their books.

All five videos are in this YouTube playlist, so you can press play and zone out.

• Rebekah Nolan reads her picture book, “Step. Step. Step.” It’s a comforting, lyrical read embellished with her oil-pastel drawing.
• Keshia McEntire reads from her young adult fantasy novel, “That Girl Who Ran Off And Kissed A Vampire.” Like the story’s heroine, you’ll find yourself stepping out of everyday life into a world of magical creatures and adventure.
• Then, Elizabeth Kraft Taylor brings us back to the real world with her memoir, “Three Jews Walked into a Shopping Center.” In it, she shares stories about working for Melvin Simon & Associates, the company behind Circle Centre Mall and other iconic shopping centers across the country.
• Speaking of real estate, Dr. James Glass reads from his book, “Architecture in Indianapolis 1820-1900 Volume One.” Drawing on his background as a preservationist and architectural historian, he walks you through some of the architecture that defined Indy’s early years.
• Getting hungry? Tanorria Askew reads from her cookbook, “Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry.” You’ll learn about the philosophy of pantry staples Askew was raised on, and hear her recipes for “Amazing pantry spaghetti” and “Lily’s sweet potato pie bars.”

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Brett Phelps is a community photojournalist for Mirror Indy in partnership with Report for America and Catchlight Local. Contact Brett by email brett.phelps@mirrorindy.org.

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ASMR: Soft-spoken storytime with Indy authors

by Brett Phelps, Mirror Indy
February 12, 2026

<h1>ASMR: Soft-spoken storytime with Indy authors</h1> <p class="byline">by Brett Phelps, Mirror Indy <br />February 12, 2026</p> <p>There’s something both cozy and luxurious about closing your eyes and letting someone read to you.</p> <p>Maybe it reminds you of when you were little, drifting off to sleep while a parent read your favorite story. Or, maybe it’s just nice to allow yourself a moment of stillness.</p> <p>We invite you to check out from the real world for a little while and enjoy these local authors reading to you from their books.</p> <p>All five videos are in this YouTube playlist, so you can press play and zone out.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Rebekah Nolan reads her picture book, "<a href="https://www.rebekahnolan.com/shop/p/stepstepstep" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Step. Step. Step.</a>" It’s a comforting, lyrical read embellished with her oil-pastel drawing.</li> <li>Keshia McEntire reads from her young adult fantasy novel, "<a href="https://krsmcentire.wordpress.com/coming-soon-that-girl-who-ran-off-and-kissed-a-vampire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">That Girl Who Ran Off And Kissed A Vampire</a>." Like the story’s heroine, you’ll find yourself stepping out of everyday life into a world of magical creatures and adventure.</li> <li>Then, Elizabeth Kraft Taylor brings us back to the real world with her memoir, "Three Jews Walked into a Shopping Center." In it, she shares stories about working for Melvin Simon &amp; Associates, the company behind Circle Centre Mall and other iconic shopping centers across the country.</li> <li>Speaking of real estate, Dr. James Glass reads from his book, "<a href="https://shop.indianahistory.org/products/architecture-in-indianapolis-1820-1900-volume-one" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Architecture in Indianapolis 1820-1900 Volume One</a>." Drawing on his background as a preservationist and architectural historian, he walks you through some of the architecture that defined Indy’s early years.</li> <li>Getting hungry? Tanorria Askew reads from her cookbook, "<a href="https://www.tanorriastable.com/book" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry</a>." You'll learn about the philosophy of pantry staples Askew was raised on, and hear her recipes for "Amazing pantry spaghetti" and "Lily's sweet potato pie bars."</li> </ul> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-local-authors-reading-videos/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=73402&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-local-authors-reading-videos/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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