Using a form of analysis that sees talk as social interaction, this study examines how a teacher-librarian-researcher and a parent of elementary-aged children construct reading, readers and social in/equality in the context of a research interview. The analysis suggests that the participants produced equal and unequal social relations and values in and through their talk of reading and readers. Using ethnomethodological tools, this analysis illustrates some of the challenges of transforming unequal social relations through a change in the words we use. The study recommends a greater attention to identifying how we recognize and mystify differences in terms of access to resources and wealth in our talk, so that we can create new narratives of reading/readers that recognize and value marginalized literacies without pretending that all literacies are equally valued in the world.