Podcasts about burning god

In this bonus book club episode, Marisa Serafini (@SerafiniTV) and I delve into RF Kuang's final book in The Poppy War trilogy, called The Burning God. In this final chapter, after saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it? Join the conversation! Share your thoughts, queries, and viewpoints in the comments or connect with Marisa (@serafinitv) and me on social media. Thank you for tuning in, and we're eager to hear your thoughts on this captivating book! #bookclub #bookreview #rfkuang #burninggod #poppywar Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe! Yours truly, Phil Svitek Filmmaker, author, podcaster & 360 Creative Coach ⁠http://philsvitek.com⁠

This week, Bryan is back on the show to cohost with Brie! Brie and Bryan sit down to talk about his upcoming match against Swerve Strickland at AEW: All In. It's a Title vs. Career match for Bryan, which means it could be his LAST MATCH ever. That's a lot to take in for Bryan. And even Brie.  Bryan reflects on his wrestling journey, the impact one teacher had on him that encouraged him to chase his dreams in the ring, his gratitude for everything that wrestling has brought into his life, some huge moments in his career, and his feeling the pull to spend more time with Birdie and Buddy and make memories with them on their terms. AEW: All In has put him at a difficult crossroads.  Bryan also touches on his relationship with William Regal and his passion for learning more about physics and gravity, an obsession he's used to help steer away from depressive spirals.  Then it's it's time for Bryan to answer some unique questions from Birdie and Buddy including embarrassing moments, fashion staples, bananas, favorite years of his life, and much more. Bryan Likes Books! Bryan also runs down the list of books he's been reading lately, including:  *From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks *Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg *The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: 10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed on Your Own Terms by Vishen Lakhiani  *The Bear by Andrew Krivak *Bewilderment by Richard Powers *The Complete Poppy War Trilogy: The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, The Burning God  by R.F. Kuang *The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin The episode closes out with Bryan's latest selection for Inspiration & Aspiration, which centers around chasing dreams and being authentic about what you're enthusiastic about in your life.  Call Nikki & Brie at 833-GARCIA2 and leave a voicemail! Follow Nikki & Brie on Instagram and send Nikki & Brie a message on Threads! To watch exclusive videos of this week's episode, follow The Nikki & Brie Show on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok! You can also catch The Nikki & Brie Show on SiriusXM Stars 109!

 We're not surprised when the world opposes the teaching of Scripture. But what is our view of Scripture as followers of Christ? Could it be that we are ignoring or marginalizing the Word of God? In this episode of THE VERDICT, Pastor John Munro unpacks a crucial lesson about the ways we respond to the Word of God.

The Word of God has always been opposed by those who wish to reject the truth.  But in the book of Jeremiah, we meet a wicked king who actually burned the Word of God.  In this episode of THE VERDICT, Pastor John Munro shares a powerful message about the primacy and indestructability of God's Word.

Zach concludes his reaction videos to The Poppy War trilogy (R.F. Kuang) with this spoiler-lite Book Blast about book 3, The Burning God. He tells us his thoughts on the conclusion: Did the author land the plane, was it a hot mess, or somewhere in-between? And should you read it, if you haven't done so yet? Again, safe for those who haven't read it, but good for those who have. If you know the book already, we'd love to hear your reaction to Zach's thoughts here! #fantasy #SFF #ThePoppyWar #PoppyWar #TheBurningGod #booktube #booktuber #booktubers We hope you'll Like and Subscribe! Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheages Rate & review us at Apple Podcast or wherever you download content. Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com. Find us on social media: Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fantasy4theAges Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasyForTheAges

Speculative fiction superstar Rebecca F. Kuang is the author behind the #1 New York Times bestselling The Poppy War trilogy. Described by Publishers Weekly as “an ambitious fantasy reimagining of Asian history populated by martial artists, philosopher-generals, and gods,” Kuang's early masterwork spans three installments: The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God. […]

Amberlee, Sarah, and Kim finish the trilogy war by discussing the length of books, writing about war, and RF Kaung's writing style.

Nadia Odunayo is the Founder and CEO of The StoryGraph, a new website and app for avid book readers because life's too short for a book you're not in the mood for. The StoryGraph helps you track your reading and choose your next book based on your mood, favorite topics, and themes. Victoria talks to Nadia about coming up with a product based on the concept of mood, what you're in the mood for to read, i.e., this book made me feel this way. How do I find a book that makes me feel similar? They also talk about keeping yourself open to feedback, the ability to flow and change direction, and developing a reviewing system that keeps biases in check. StoryGraph (https://thestorygraph.com/) Follow StoryGraph on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-storygraph-limited/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the.storygraph/), or Twitter (https://twitter.com/thestorygraph). Follow Nadia Odunayo on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nodunayo/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/nodunayo). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: VICTORIA: This is The Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Victoria Guido. And with me today is Nadia Odunayo, Founder and CEO of StoryGraph, a new website and app for avid book readers because life's too short for a book you're not in the mood for. StoryGraph helps you track your reading and choose your next book based on your mood and your favorite topics and themes. Nadia, thank you for joining me. NADIA: Thank you for having me. VICTORIA: And you are a repeat guest at Giant Robots. But for those who missed that episode, tell me a little bit about your journey. And how did this all get started? NADIA: Okay. Yeah, so that first time was in 2015, and that was not too long after I had just got into tech. I did a bootcamp in London in 2014, Makers Academy, and that's where I learned to code. My degree was in philosophy, politics, and economics, so rather different. I worked at Pivotal for about a year and a half after I graduated from Makers Academy. And during my time at Pivotal, I got into conference speaking, and my first talk was around game theory. So I took my favorite topic in economics, game theory, and I combined that with distributed systems because that's what I was working on at the time in Pivotal on their Cloud Foundry PaaS. I think I gave it at RailsConf, and I think someone there recommended me to Giant Robots. And so Ben Orenstein interviewed me, and it was all about different types of conference talks and that kind of thing. So after Pivotal, I left and started a hybrid kind of consultancy/product company with a colleague, did that for about a year, left that, worked for about a year with my friend, Saron Yitbarek, on her company CodeNewbie. And then, when that partnership ended, I essentially had five years of runway from money that I got from the company that I started after Pivotal because we did some consulting with a bank. I'd always been entrepreneurial. I'd been doing various entrepreneurial things since secondary school, actually, high school. It was time for me to just have time on my side projects. And so I started hacking away on one of my side projects at the beginning of 2019 in January, and I haven't stopped since. That's what the StoryGraph has developed into. VICTORIA: Wonderful. And yes, I saw that the very early stages of StoryGraph started as a creative writing e-publication. Is that right? NADIA: So what happened was when I was at university, I started a creative writing e-publication, came up with the name The StoryGraph. Because we had won or we were going for some grant funding or something like that, I set up a corporate entity. And when I stopped working on that e-publication, I remember my mom saying to me, "Don't shut down the entity. I really like the name. I feel like you'll use it for something," that was in 2012. And so fast forward to 2019, and the side project that I was working on was called Read Lists. And it was very specifically focused on tracking and sharing progress through reading lists on a dashboard. But when I was doing customer research, and the scope of the project grew, Read Lists didn't fit anymore. And that's when I realized, oh, I can use The StoryGraph thing again. And so it's basically had two different lives or two different forms, the StoryGraph company. VICTORIA: That's wonderful. And I'm reading about StoryGraph and how it's an Amazon-free alternative to Goodreads. Can you talk a little bit more about the product and why people would want to use it? NADIA: So, as I said, it started life as a very specific focused side project. And I just had so much fun working on it and working in the book space. I'd always been a reader since I was a kid such that I said to myself, I need to find a way to make me building a books product a full-time thing. And so that's when customer research came in because the only way that you're going to make sure that you don't build something that people don't want is by talking to people. As I was doing customer research and figuring out, are there pain points amongst readers, people who track their reading? What would happen was the pain points that came up drove me towards building a more fully fledged reading, tracking, and recommendations product. It actually started as a very focused recommendations product. And then, we got to the point where we needed to build more around it for it to be a compelling product. And as it was growing, we never advertised ourselves as a Goodreads alternative or as an Amazon-free alternative to what was out there. But that was clearly a pain point in the market. There were tweets about us saying, "Finally a Goodreads alternative. It's small; it's independent; it's Amazon-free. And so thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of people have come to us because of that. VICTORIA: Wow. NADIA: And so it got to the point...mainly when we launched our payment plan, and we were trying to figure out the reasons why people were pre-ordering the plan, it was at that point where we decided to lean into the Amazon-free Goodreads alternative because that was what the market wanted. VICTORIA: Was that surprising for you? Or were there other things that came out of your research on your marketplace that kind of were different than what you thought it would be going in? NADIA: I think the most interesting thing about the product development journey was that I at least originally felt like I was building a product that wasn't for me. So what I mean by that is in my earliest rounds of research, what I was finding was that people still didn't think that they had one place to get consistently good book recommendations. And so then I started to explore, well, how do you even give somebody consistently good book recommendations? And one of the factors that kept on coming up was this concept of mood, what you're in the mood for. This book made me feel this way. How do I find a book that makes me feel similar? And so it got to the point where I said to myself, oh wow, I'm building a product for mood readers right now; that seems to be the gap, that seems to be the thing that nothing out there yet had properly attacked. And I had never considered myself a mood reader. I just thought I'm a planner. I'm an organized person. I typically decide what book I want to read, and then I read it. And so there was a point where I was concerned, and I thought, wait, am I now building something that is not for me? But then, as I started to work and do more research and talk to more and more people and thinking about my reading experiences, I developed the hypothesis or the viewpoint rather that I think everybody's a mood reader; it's just the scale. Because there are probably some books that I may have rated lowly in the past that if I had read it in a different frame of mind, or at a different time in my life, different circumstance, it probably would have resonated with me a lot more. Now, that's not to say that's true for every single book. There are some books that are just not going to work for you, no matter what. But I do think we're all on the scale of mood reading. And sometimes we say a book is a bad book, but we just read it at not the right time. And so I think the most surprising thing for me is going on that journey of realizing that, oh, I am a mood reader too. VICTORIA: [laughs] NADIA: And I ended up building an app that's a lot less focused on just the pure ratings. I was someone who, on Goodreads, if it had less than four stars, I'm not interested. And the ethos of the product is more about, well, hang on; these ratings are very subjective. And someone else's two, three-star could be your next five-star. What are the factors that really matter? Do you want something dark, adventurous? Are you looking for something funny, light? And then what kind of topics do you want to discover? And then it doesn't matter if the five people before you thought it was average; you might think it's excellent. VICTORIA: Yeah, it reminds me thinking about how bias can come in with authors and writing as well. So a simple five-star system might be more susceptible to bias against different genders or different types of names. Whereas if you have more complex numbers or complex rating systems, it might be easier to have different types of authors stand out in a different way. NADIA: That actually relates to what was going through my mind when I was developing the reviewing system on StoryGraph. You can just, if you want, leave your star rating and say no more, but the star rating is lower down on the page. And up front, we say this book would be great for someone who's in the mood for something...and then you've got checkboxes. And how would you rate the pace of the book? And if it's a fiction book, we ask you, "Are the characters lovable?" Is there a flawed narrator? Is it plot-driven or character-driven?" Questions like that because the thinking is it doesn't matter whether you are going to give the book two stars in your own personal star rating. You can still help someone else find a book that's good for them because they will be looking at the summary on the StoryGraph book page, and they'll go, "Oh wow, 80% of people said it's lovable. There's a diverse range of characters, and it's funny. So the topics fit things I'm interested in, so I care less about the average rating being like 3.5 because everything else seems perfect. Let me see for myself." And actually, we've also had a lot of feedback from people saying that "Oh, normally, I never know how to review a book or what to say. And this system has really helped me, almost give me prompts to get started about explaining the book, reviewing it for other people to help them decide if it's for them. So that's great." VICTORIA: That makes sense to me because I read a lot of books, maybe not as much as I would like to recently. But not all books that I love I can easily recommend to friends, but it's hard for me to say why. [laughs] You know, like, "This is a very complicated book." So I love it. I'll have to check it out later. It's been four years since you've been full-time or since 2019, almost five then. NADIA: Yes. VICTORIA: If you could travel back in time to when you first started to make this a full-time role, what advice would you give yourself now, having all of this foresight? NADIA: Have patience, trust the process because I can sometimes be impatient with, ah, I want this to happen now. I want this to pick up now. I want these features done now. I'm a solo dev on the project. I started it solo. I have a co-founder now, but I'm still the solo dev. And there were so many things, especially now that we've got a much larger user base, that people complained about or say is not quite right. And that can be really tough to just have to keep hearing when you're like, I know, but I don't have the resource to fix it right now or to improve it. But I think one of the things is, yeah, having faith in the process. Keep going through the cycles of listening to the customers, prioritizing the work, getting the work done, getting the feedback, and just keep going through that loop. And the product will keep getting better. Because sometimes it can feel, particularly in the first year when I was so low, you sometimes have moments of doubt. Or if a customer research round doesn't go super well, you start to wonder, is this only a nice-to-have? And is this going to go anywhere? And so that's one piece of advice. And I think the other one is knowing that there are several right paths because I think sometimes I would agonize over I want to do the right thing. I want to make sure I make the right choice right now. And, I mean, there are some things that are not good to do. You want to make sure that you're setting up your customer interviews in a non-leading way. You want to make sure that there are certain standards in the product in terms of the technical side and all that kind of stuff, so there's that. But I think it's understanding that you kind of just have to make a decision. And if you set yourself up to be able to be adaptive and responsive to change, then you'll be fine. Because you can always change course if the response you're getting back or the data you're getting back is going in the wrong direction. VICTORIA: I love that. And I want to pull on that thread about being open to changing your mind. I think that many founders start the company because they're so excited about this idea and this problem that they found. But how do you keep yourself open to feedback and keeping that ability to flow and to change direction? NADIA: I mean, I didn't set out to build a Goodreads alternative, and here I am. VICTORIA: [laughs] NADIA: I just wanted to build this specific side project or this specific...it was a companion app, in fact. Like, the first version of the thing I built, the first thing you had to do was sign in and connect your Goodreads account so that we could pull in your shelves and start creating the dashboards. So as a solo bootstrapping founder, building a Goodreads alternative was not something that I thought was going to lead to success. But through years of experience, and just hearing other people's stories, and research, I just learned that it's such a hard space just running a startup in general, and 90% of startups fail. And I just said to myself that, okay, the only way I can kind of survive for longer is if I am open to feedback, I'm open to change course, I'm patient, and I trust the process. These are the things I can do to just increase my chances of success. And so that's why I kind of feel it's imperative if you want to go down this route and you want to be successful, it's vital that you're open to completely changing the product, completely changing your direction, completely going back on a decision. You'll either lose customers or you'll run out of money, whatever it is. And so yeah, you've got to just basically be quite ruthless in the things that are just going to minimize your chances of failing. VICTORIA: That makes sense. And now, I have a two-part question for you. What's the wind in your sails? Like, the thing that keeps you going and keeps you motivated to keep working on this? And then, conversely, what's kind of holding you back? What are the obstacles and challenges that you're facing? NADIA: I think this kind of role...so I'm like founder, CEO, and developer. In general, I think I thrive under pressure and pushing myself, and trying to always be better and improve. So I'm always trying to be like, how can I improve my productivity? Or how can I run the company better? All these kinds of things. So I feel like I'm getting to explore maximizing my full potential as someone in the world of work through doing this. So that just intrinsically is motivating to me. I love books, and I love reading. I think it's such an amazing hobby. And the fact that I get to make other readers happy is awesome. So even just as the product has grown, the messages that we get about if someone got a perfect recommendation from StoryGraph, or they hadn't read for years, and now an easy form of, you know, what are you in the mood for? Check a few boxes, and we'll show you some books that fit, whatever it is. That's just so...it's so awesome just to be able to enhance readers' lives that way in terms of the things they're reading and getting them excited about reading again or keeping them excited. So those are the things that keep me going, both the personal nature of enjoying my work and enjoying trying to be the best founder and CEO that I can and building a great product. It's always great when you build something, and people just enjoy using it and like using it. So I'm always incentivized to keep making the product better, the experience better. I'm currently mid a redesign. And I'm just so excited to get it out because it's going to touch on a lot of repeated pain points that we've been having for years. And I just can't wait for everyone to see it and see that we've listened to them. And we're making progress still like three and a bit years on since we launched out of beta. What's tough? Previously, what's been tough is navigating, remaining independent, and bootstrapped with just personally trying to make money to just live my life. So I had five years of runway. And it was this tricky situation about when I had a couple of years left, I'm thinking, wow, I really like doing this, but I'm going to need to start earning money soon. But I also don't want to get investment. I don't want to stop doing this. I can't stop doing this. We've got hundreds of thousands of customers. And so kind of trying to balance my personal needs and life situations with the work I've been doing because I've been working so hard on it for so long that in the last couple of years, it's gotten to a point where it's like, how do I craft the life I want out of a product that is very not set up to be an indie bootstrapped product? [laughs] Typically, you want to do a B2B. You want to start earning money from your product as early as possible. And I feel like I've landed in a product that's typically funded, VC-backed, that kind of thing. So kind of navigating that has been a fun challenge. There's not been anything that's kind of demoralized me or held me back, or made me think I shouldn't do it. And it's just kind of been a fun challenge trying to...yeah, just navigate that. And we've been doing things like we're currently in the process of transitioning our...we have a Plus Plan. And when we launched it, it was essentially a grab bag of features. We're completely changing the feature set. And we right now have six and a half thousand people who are on that plan. But we don't have product market fit on that plan, and I can tell from when I do certain surveys the responses I get back. And so we're completely transitioning that to focus in on our most popular feature, which is the stats that we offer. And so that's kind of scary, but it's part of making that Plus Plan more sticky and easier to sell because it's going to be for your power users who love data. So they want all the data when they are reading. And then the other thing is, okay, what kind of business avenue can we start which fits in with the ethos of the product but brings in more revenue for StoryGraph? And so, we launched a giveaway segment in our app where publishers and authors can pay to list competitions for users to win copies of their books. And it's essentially a win-win-win because publishers and authors get another channel to market their books. Users get to win free books, and readers love winning free books. And StoryGraph has another revenue source that helps us stay independent and profitable, and sustainable in the long run. VICTORIA: That's wonderful. And there are two tracks I want to follow up on there; one is your decision not to seek funding; if you could just tell me a little more about the reasoning and your thought process behind that. And you've already touched on a little bit of the other ways you're looking at monetizing the app. NADIA: Since I was a teenager, I've always been interested in business, economics, entrepreneurship. I've always felt very entrepreneurial. I've read so many founder stories and startup stories over the years. And you hear about venture capitalists who come in, and even if it's fine for the first year or two, ultimately, they want a return. And at some point, that could come at odds with your mission or your goals for your company. And when I think about two things, the kind of life I want and also the nature of the product I'm building as well, VC just doesn't fit. And I know there are so many different funding programs and styles right now, a lot more friendlier [laughs] than VC. But I'm just focusing on VC because when I was younger, I used to think that was a marker of success. VC funding that was the track I thought I was going to go down, and that was what I kind of idolized as, oh my gosh, yes, getting a funding round of millions and millions and then building this huge company. That was how I used to be, so it's so interesting how I've completely gone to the other side. That idea that you could have mismatched goals and how it's ruined companies, once you take the first round of funding and you grow and expand, then you've got to keep taking more to just stay alive until some liquidation event. That just doesn't appeal to me. And I just think there's something ultimately very powerful and valuable about building a product without giving up any ownership to anybody else and being able to make it into something that people love, and that's profitable, and can give the people who run it great lifestyles. I just think that's a mark of an excellent product, and I just want to build one of those. And then I think also the nature of the product itself being a book tracking app. I think the product has done well because it is run and built so closely by myself and Rob. And so it's like, people talk about how, oh, you can tell it's built for readers by readers by people who care. And I run the company's Instagram, and it's not just me talking about the product. I'm talking with a bunch of our users about books and what we're reading. And it really feels like it's just got such a great community feel. And I worry that that can get lost with certain types of investment that I've previously thought that I wanted in my life. And so, yeah, that's the reason why I've kind of strayed away from the investment world. And then it's gotten to the point, like, now we're at the point where we don't need funding because we've been able to get to profitability by ourselves. So we don't need any type of funding. And we're just going to try and keep doing things to keep making the product better, to convert more people to the Plus Plan. And, hopefully, our giveaways platform grows in the way we want such that our goal is to just stay profitable and independent forever for as long as possible. And we think that way, we're going to have the most fun running the company, and the product is going to be the best it can be because there's not going to be competing incentives or goals for the product. VICTORIA: That makes sense. And it sounds like, in reality, in the real case, you had a team, and you had the skills yourself to be able to move the product forward without having to take on funding or take on additional support, which is awesome. And I actually really like your background. I also have a degree in economics. So I'm curious if the economics and philosophy, all of that, really lends itself to your skills as a founder. Is that accurate? NADIA: I don't think so. VICTORIA: [laughs] NADIA: I love my degree. I get sad when I meet econ grads or econ majors, and they're like, "Oh, I hated it. Oh, it was so boring," or whatever. I'm like, "No, it was so great." I'm a big microeconomics fan, so I was all about...I didn't like macro that much. I was all about the game theory and the microeconomic theory, that kind of stuff. I don't think there's anything that really ties into my skills as a founder. I feel like that's more to do with my upbringing and personality than what I studied. But, I mean, one of the reasons I did love my degree is because there are elements that do crop up. It's such a widely applicable...the subjects I did are so widely applicable, philosophy, different ways of seeing the world and thinking and approaching different people. And then, obviously, economics that's essentially behavior, and how markets work, and incentives, and all that kind of stuff. And when you get to pricing and all those sorts of things, and business, and then politics as well, I mean, everything is politics, right? People interacting. So there are definitely things and conversations I had at university, which I see things crop up day to day that I can tie back to it. But yeah, I think it doesn't really...my specific degree, I don't think it's made me a better founder than I would have been if I'd studied, I don't know, English or Math or something. VICTORIA: Right, yeah. I think economics is one of those where it's kind of so broadly applicable. You're kind of using it, but you don't even realize it sometimes. [laughs] NADIA: Yeah. MID-ROLL AD: thoughtbot is thrilled to announce our own incubator launching this year. If you are a non-technical founding team with a business idea that involves a web or mobile app, we encourage you to apply for our eight-week program. We'll help you move forward with confidence in your team, your product vision, and a roadmap for getting you there. Learn more and apply at tbot.io/incubator. VICTORIA: So what made you decide to go to a bootcamp right after finishing school? NADIA: So I'd always been entrepreneurial. I remember...I don't know where exactly it started from, whether I got it from my mom. I know she's always been very entrepreneurial and into business. The earliest memory I have of doing something that was very specifically business-oriented was in what we call sixth form in the UK, which is essentially the last two years of high school before you go to university or college; we had this scheme called Young Enterprise. And essentially, you got into teams of people, small teams, or they could be quite big, actually. It could be up to 20 people. And you started a business, and there were trade shows, and pitch meetings, and all that kind of stuff, so I remember getting involved in all that sort of stuff at school. But I'd always been on the investment banking track because when I was young...so my parents...we come from a poor background. And so my parents were very much like, you know, try and find high-paying careers to go into so that you can pay for whatever you want and you have a much better lifestyle. So I had gotten onto the investment banking track from the age of 14 when I went with a friend...at the school, I went to, there was a Take Your Daughter to Work Day. My dad said, "Oh, you want to go to try and find someone whose parent works in an investment bank or something like that. That's like a great career to go into." And so I went with a friend's dad to UBS. And I remember being blown away, like, wow, this is so fascinating. Because I think everything seems so impressive when you're 14, and you're walking into a space like that, and everything seems very lively. And everyone's walking around dressed sharp. They've got their BlackBerries. So from the age of 14 until 20, it would have been, I was very much I am going to work in an investment bank. And I did all the things that you would do, like all the schemes, the spring programs. And it got to my final internship. And I just remember at the internship being rather disillusioned and disappointed by the experience. I remember thinking, is this it? I was studying at Oxford, and I put so much into my studies. And I remember thinking; I'm working so hard. And this is what I come to? Is this it? And so around the time as well, I was also meeting a lot of people in the entrepreneurship space, social enterprises, people doing their own ventures. And I just remember thinking, oh, I feel like I've got to go down that track. And I ended up winning a place on a coding course. It was set up specifically to help more women get into tech. And it was called Code First Girls. I won a place that started...it was just part-time. What I did was I actually...I got the banking job from Deutsche Bank, it was, but I decided to turn it down. It was a very risky decision. I turned it down, and I stayed in Oxford after graduating and worked in the academic office for a while. And then, twice a week, I would go to London and do this coding course. And during it, on Twitter, I remember seeing a competition for a full-paid place at this bootcamp called Makers Academy. And I just thought to myself, having tech skills, I'd heard the feedback that it's a very powerful thing to have. And I remember thinking I should go for this competition. And I went for the competition, and I won a free place at the bootcamp. If I didn't win a free place at the bootcamp, I'm not sure what would have happened because I'm not sure whether at that point I would have thought, oh, paying £8,000 to go to a software bootcamp is what I should do. I'm not sure I would have got there. So that's how I got there, essentially. I won a competition for a bootcamp after having a taste of what coding was like and seeing how freeing it was to just be able to have a computer and an internet connection and build something. VICTORIA: Oh, that's wonderful. I love that story. And I've spent a lot of time with Women Who Code and trying to get women excited about coding. And that's exactly the story is that once you have it, it's a tool in your toolset. And if you want to build something, you can make it happen. And that's why it's important to continue the education and get access for people who might not normally have it. And you continue to do some of that work as well, right? You're involved in organizations like this? NADIA: Like Code First Girls? No. I did some years ago. I would go and attend Rails Girls workshops and be a mentor at them, at those. And while I was at Pivotal, I helped with events like codebar, which were essentially evenings where people who were learning to code or more junior could come and pair with someone more senior on whatever project they wanted to. So I did a bunch of that stuff in the years after leaving Makers Academy. And I was even a TA for a short time for a couple of weeks at Makers Academy as well after I graduated. But in more recent years, I haven't done much in that space, but I would love to do more at some point. I don't have the bandwidth to right now. [laughs] VICTORIA: And you're still a major speaker going and keynoting events all around the world. Have you done any recently, or have any coming up that you're excited about? NADIA: So before the pandemic, my last talk, I keynoted RubyWorld in Japan. That was in November 2019. And then the pandemic hit, and 2020 June, July was when StoryGraph had some viral tweets, and so we kicked off. And amongst all of that, I was being invited to speak at remote events, but it just didn't make sense for me. Not only was I so busy with work, but I put a lot of hours into my talks. And part of the fun is being there, hallway track, meeting people, being on stage. And so it just didn't appeal to me to spend so much time developing the talk to just deliver it at home. And so, I just spent all the time on StoryGraph. And I remember when events started happening again; I wondered whether I would even be invited to speak because I felt more detached from the Ruby community. Most of the conferences that I did were in the Ruby community. StoryGraph is built on Rails. Yeah, I just thought maybe I'll get back to that later. But all of a sudden, I had a series of amazing invitations. Andrew Culver started up The Rails SaaS Conference in LA in October, and I was invited to speak at that. And then, I was invited to keynote RubyConf, that was recently held in Houston, Texas, and also invited to keynote the satellite conference, RubyConf Mini in Providence, that happened a couple of weeks earlier. And so I had a very busy October and November, a lot of travel. I developed two new talks, a Ruby talk and a StoryGraph talk. It was my first ever time giving a talk on StoryGraph. It was a lot of work and amongst a lot of StoryGraph work that I needed to do. All of the talks went well, and it was so much fun to be back on the circuit again. And I'm looking forward to whatever speaking things crop up this year. VICTORIA: That's wonderful. I'm excited. I'll have to see if I can find a recording and get caught up myself. Going back to an earlier question, you mentioned quite a few times about market research and talking to the customers. And I'm just curious if you have a method or a set of tools that you use to run those experiments and collect that feedback and information. NADIA: Yes. So I remember one of the first things I did years ago was I read "The Mom Test" by Rob Fitzpatrick. And that's great for just getting the foundation of when you talk to customers; you don't want to lead them on in any shape or form. You just want to get the raw truth and go from there. So that's the underpinning of everything I do. And then, I learned from friends I made through Pivotal about how you put together a script for a customer research. You can't just have bullet points or whatever. You should have a script. And the foundation of that script is a hypothesis about what you're trying to find out in that round of research. And once you figure out your hypothesis, then you can put together the questions you want to ask and understand how you're going to measure the output. So the first ever thing I was trying to find out when I first started interviewing people was just very general. It was just like, are there any pain points? I was just trying to figure out are there any pain points among the avid reader group of people? And then I remember the results from that were, "No place for consistent, high-quality recommendations." And so then I said, okay, how are people finding recommendations now, or what are the factors that lead to people thinking a book was great for them? And that's how I ended up getting to the moods and pace. But when I do my interviews, I record them all. I watch them back. And I condense everything on sticky notes. And I use a virtual tool. And I try to take word for word. When I summarize, I still just try and use their specific words as much as possible. So I'm not adding my own editing over what they say. Every single interviewee has a different color. And I essentially group them into themes, and that's how I unlock whatever the answers are for that round. And then I use that...I might have been trying to find out what to build next or whether we should go down a certain product direction or not. And so, depending on the outcome, that helps me make up my mind about what to do. So that's the high-level process that I follow. VICTORIA: Well, that sounds very methodical, and interesting for me to hear your perspective on that. And you mentioned that you do have a redesign coming out soon for StoryGraph. Are there any other particular products or features that you're really excited to talk about coming up soon? NADIA: Yeah, I'm so excited about the redesign because we're bringing out...it's not just a UI improvement; it's a user experience improvement as well. So there are a lot of little features that have been asked for over the years. And actually, it was trying to deliver one of them that sparked the whole redesign. So people really want a marked as finished button. There's no way to mark as finished. You just toggle a book back to read. And some people find this quite counterintuitive, or it doesn't quite explain what they're doing. And so when I came to deliver the mark as finished button, this was months and months ago now, I realized that the book pane was just becoming so cluttered, and I was trying to fight with it to squeeze in this link. And I remember thinking; this is not the only thing people want to see on the book pane. They also want to see when they read the book without having to go into the book page. They also want to be able to add it to their next queue. And I just said, you know what? I need to redesign this whole thing. And so I was able to luckily work with Saron Yitbarek, who is married to my co-founder, Rob. There's a funny story about all of that. And she helped me do this redesign based on all my customer research. And so I'm just so excited to get it out because the other thing that we're bringing with it is dark mode, which is our most requested feature in history. And it's funny because I've always felt like, ah, that's a nice-to-have. But obviously, for some people, it's not a nice-to-have; it's an accessibility issue. And even me, I'm quite strict with my bedtime. I try and be offline an hour before bed. In bed by 11, up at 6, and even me if I want to track my pages, I'm like, ooh, this is a bit bright. And my phone itself is set on adaptive, so it's light mode during the day and dark mode during the night. And even me, I can see why people really want this and why it would just improve their experience, especially if everything else on your phone is dark. So I'm really excited to get that out, mainly for the UX improvements. And the other thing I'm really excited to do is transition the Plus Plan to being the advanced stats package rather than the random selection of features right now. Because not only will the people who pay us get more complex stats functionalities such that they feel like, wow, the subscription fee that I pay not only does it still make me feel like I'm supporting an alternative to Goodreads, an independent alternative to Goodreads I also get such value from these extra features. But the other thing is what I found from my customer research is that if you're a Plus customer, there's often one or two of the Plus features that you love and that you don't really use the others. But they're all really great features. And so what I'm really excited about is that we're going to make all the non-stats features free for everybody. And so I'm so excited for, like, we have a feature where if you put in a group of usernames, we look at all of your to-read lists and suggest great books for you to buddy-read together. Now, there's a bunch of Plus users who aren't social and don't care about it. But there's going to be a bunch of our free users who are so excited about that feature, probably will use it with their book clubs, things like that. We have up-next suggestions where we suggest what you should pick up next from your to-read pile based on a range of factors. It could be, oh, you're behind on your reading goal; here's a fast-paced book. Or this book is very similar to the one that you just finished, so if you want something the same, pick up this one. And, again, that's behind a paywall right now, and I'm just so excited for everybody to be able to use that. When I remember starting out with StoryGraph, I remember thinking, wow, the way this is going, wouldn't it be so cool if we could just suggest books that would be the next perfect read for you? Because a lot of people have a pile of books by their bedside table or on their shelves, and they're just like, well, which one should I start with? And this tool literally helps you to do that. And so I can't wait for everyone to be able to try it. And so that's why I'm excited about that transition because the Plus Plan will be better, and the free product will be better. VICTORIA: That sounds amazing. And I'm thinking in my head like, oh, I should start a book club with thoughtbot. Because there are some engineering management and other types of books we want to read, so maybe we could use StoryGraph to manage that and keep ourselves motivated to actually finish them. [laughs] NADIA: Cool. VICTORIA: No, this is wonderful. And what books are on your reading list coming up? NADIA: Yes. I am excited to read...I'm not sure...I'm blanking on the series' name. But the first book is called "The Poppy War." I don't know whether it's called "The Burning God" or if that's the third book in the series. But it's this very popular trilogy, and I'm excited to read that soon. I'm doing a slow chronological read of Toni Morrison's fiction. I recently read "Song of Solomon," which was great, really, really good. And so I'm excited to read more of her novels this year. I'm also on a kind of narrative nonfiction kick right now. I love narrative nonfiction. So I just finished reading "American Kingpin," which is about Silk Road. And I've picked up "Black Edge," which is about SAC Capital and Steve Cohen and that whole hedge fund insider trading situation. So I'm probably going to look for more of the same afterwards. VICTORIA: Well, that's very exciting. And it's inspiring that as a founder, you also still have time to read [laughs] and probably because StoryGraph makes it easy and motivating for you to do so. NADIA: Yeah, everyone thought that my reading would tank once I started the company, but, in fact, it's multiplied severalfold. And a couple of reasons; one is it's very important in general for me to make time for me because I'm in a situation that could easily become very stressful and could lead to burnout. So I make sure that I make time for me to read and to go to dance class regularly, which is my other main hobby. But then, secondly, I feel like I can justify it as work. Because I say, wow, me being a reader and being able to communicate with people on Instagram and on Twitter about books, not just the product, adds legitimacy to me as the founder and developer of this product. And so it's important that I keep reading. And it also helps the product be better because I understand what features are needed. So, for example, I never used to listen to audiobooks. I'm a big podcast person; I love music. So between those two, when does audio fit in? And also, I didn't like the idea that I could just be absent-minded sometimes with some podcasts, but with a book, you don't want spoilers. It could get confusing. But I started listening to audiobooks because we had a large audiobook user base. And they would ask for certain features, and it was really hard for me to relate and to understand their needs. And now that I have started listening to audiobooks as well, we made some great audiobook listeners-focused additions to the app last year, including you can track your minutes. So you can literally get you read this many pages in a day, but you also listened to this many minutes. You can set an hours goal for the year, so not just a reading goal or a pages goal. You can set an hours goal. Or maybe you're someone like me, where audiobooks are the smaller proportion of your reading, and you just want it all calculated as pages. And so I've got it on the setting where it's like, even when I track an audiobook in StoryGraph, convert it to pages for me, and I just have my nice, all-round page number at the end of the year. VICTORIA: That's so cool. Really interesting. And I've had such a nice time chatting with you today. Is there anything else that you'd like to share as a final takeaway for our listeners? NADIA: If you are someone who wants to start a company, maybe you want to bootstrap, you've got a product idea, I think it's honestly just trust the process. It will take time. But if you trust the process, you listen to customers and really listen to them...research ways to talk to customers, and don't cut corners with the process. There have been so many times when I've done a whole round of research, and then I say, oh, do I have to go through all these now and actually do a synthesis? I think anecdotally; I can figure out what the gist was; no, do the research. You don't know what insights you're going to find. And I think if you just trust that process...and I think the other thing is before you get to that stage, start building up a runway. Having a runway is so powerful. And so whether it's saving a bit more or diverting funds from something else if you have a runway and you can give yourself a couple of years, a few years without worrying about your next paycheck, that is incredibly valuable to getting started on your bootstrapping journey. VICTORIA: Thank you. That's so wonderful. And I appreciate you coming on today to be with us. You can subscribe to the show and find notes along with a complete transcript for this episode at giantrobots.fm. If you have questions or comments, email us at hosts@giantrobots.fm. And you can find me on Mastodon at Victoria Guido. This podcast is brought to by thoughtbot and produced and edited by Mandy Moore. Thank you for listening. See you next time. ANNOUNCER: This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot, your expert strategy, design, development, and product management partner. We bring digital products from idea to success and teach you how because we care. Learn more at thoughtbot.com. Special Guest: Nadia Odunayo.

If you love historical fantasy, mysterious curses, witty banter, forced proximity, and found family, Where Iron Meets Flame is the perfect read for you. Filled with all the best kind of twists and turns, this book is a must-read! Welcome to this week's episode, an interview with the author Louise Everett! Join us while we talk about our obsession with Taylor Swift, dogs who want to participate in novel writing, and creating the perfect found family. Follow Louise on Instagram and check out Where Iron Meets Flame today! This episode is sponsored by Audible by Amazon, click here to try Audible for free! Our pick for the January Book Club Pick is The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, click here to join the discord and follow along! Please subscribe and leave us a 5 star review and follow along on Instagram and Tiktok @TheBookishBanterPodcast. Check out the new website here! If you want to check out our Patreon, click here for behind-the-scenes content and bonus episodes!!! Follow Tatyana on Instagram @TheLiteratureLlama2.0 and Tiktok! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebookishbanterpodcast/support

Welcome to this week's episode, an interview with Meghan Joyce Tozer! She is the author of an exciting new thriller Night, Forgotten and UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir. Join us while we talk about her creating the UnSlut Project, adapting her book from Wattpad to a full-length novel, and what made her decide to create Night, Forgotten. Follow Meghan on Instagram and Twitter and check out her website to sign up for her newsletter. See Meghan on January 25th at Whitelam Books and January 30th at West Wood Public Library This episode is sponsored by Audible by Amazon, click here to try Audible for free! Our pick for the January Book Club Pick is The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, click here to join the discord and follow along! Please subscribe and leave us a 5 star review and follow along on Instagram and Tiktok @TheBookishBanterPodcast. Check out the new website here! If you want to check out our Patreon, click here for behind the scenes content and bonus episodes!!! Follow Tatyana on Instagram @TheLiteratureLlama2.0 and Tiktok! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebookishbanterpodcast/support

The chaos continues with Chain of Iron! This might be our favorite series that Cassie has written yet. Join us on this journey of emotional termoil, Shadowhunter Universe spoilers, and lots of screaming. If you need us, we'll just be counting down the days until January 31st. Make sure to follow Grace at @BeachBayBooks and Tiffany at @TiffanyMBooks. This episode contains spoilers from the entire Shadowhunter Universe and House of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin with mentioned of Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin and Kingdom of the Feared by Keri Maniscalco. This episode is sponsored by Audible by Amazon, click here to try Audible for free! Our pick for the January Book Club Pick is The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, click here to join the discord and follow along! Please subscribe and leave us a 5 star review and follow along on Instagram and Tiktok @TheBookishBanterPodcast. Check out the new website here! If you want to check out our Patreon, click here for behind the scenes content and bonus episodes!!! Follow Tatyana on Instagram @TheLiteratureLlama2.0 and Tiktok! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebookishbanterpodcast/support

Happy 2023 everyone!!!! Hope you had a wonderful New Year and Happy Holiday Season! I am so excited to share this episode with you all. This is the first time we've dove deep into the Shadowhunter Universe and 2012 me is screaming with HAPPINESS!!! This universe has been such a huge part of my life for so long and it felt perfect to start with the children of our favorite book boyfriend!!!! Hope you enjoy this chaotic chat about Chain of Gold with my book besties, Grace and Tiffany!!! Follow Grace at @BeachBayBooks and Tiffany at @TiffanyMBooks.  This episode contains spoilers from: The Entire Shadowhunter Universe by Cassandra Clare and mentions of Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco and Red Rising by Pierce Brown.  This episode is sponsored by Audible by Amazon, click here to try Audible for free! Our pick for the December Book Club Pick is The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, click here to join the discord and follow along! Please subscribe and leave us a 5 star review and follow along on Instagram and Tiktok @TheBookishBanterPodcast. Check out the new website here! If you want to check out our Patreon, click here for behind the scenes content and bonus episodes!!! Follow Tatyana on Instagram @TheLiteratureLlama2.0 and Tiktok! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebookishbanterpodcast/support

This week we're talking about The Poppy War series books 1-3: The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God by R.F. Kuang. Check your trigger warnings for this one! send opinions and recommendations to litonliteraturepod@gmail.com NEXT WEEK: Babel by R.F. Kuang

The Sleeping Sorceress by Michael Moorcock, Book Two: To Snare a Pale Prince, Chapter Four: Punishment of the Burning God

Laura actually watched some movies/tv shows that Hannah recommended to her and LOVED them. Hannah reveals her immense knowledge of Soap Operas, which amazes Laura. Hannah also read a fun, second-chance romance that hit on some real truths. Then Hannah and Laura talk about characters in The Burning God, frustration with their favorite character, the progression of the novel and how they felt about the ending to their beloved Poppy War series.Media Mentions:The Poppy War by R.F. KuangThe Dragon Republic by R.F. KuangThe Burning God by R.F. KuangBabel by R.F. KuangThe Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonReboot---HuluCrazy Ex-Girlfriend---NetflixDo Revenge---NetflixParks & Rec---PeacockProm---NetflixFriends From College---NetflixJohn Tucker Must Die---HuluStranger Things---NetflixRiverdale---NetflixPod Save America podcastDays of Our Lives---PeacockAll My Children---AppleTVThe Young the Restless---Paramount+Law & Order: SVU---PeacockGood Omens---Amazon Prime VideoPretty Little Liars---NetflixTripping Arcadia by Kit MayquistThe Bromance Bookclub by Lyssa Kay Adams

 Hannah gives a new revenge movie recommendation that reminds her of some of those well-loved problematic movies from our "teenage years." Laura reveals that she has not watched the  favorite movie of FTF's Dylan. Then Hannah and Laura cover part 3 of The Burning God by R.F. Kuang and have a lot of complicated thoughts about the ending of the book and the trilogy overall.Media Mentions: The Poppy War by R.F. KuangThe Dragon Republic by R.F. KuangThe Burning God by R.F. KuangBabel by R.F. KuangThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power---Amazon Prime VideoShe-Hulk---Disney+Marvel Cinematic Universe---Disney+Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu@ronniereadsregularly@brews.and.books@goodbooksgreatgoatsThe Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. JamesThe Sun Down Motel by Simone St. JamesTripping Arcadia by Kit MayquistDo Revenge---NetflixShe's the Man---Amazon Prime VideoJohn Tucker Must Die---HuluFight Club---HuluSe7en---HuluThe Butterfly Effect---HuluEncanto---Disney+Friends Talking Fantasy podcastM*A*S*H---HuluDragon Tales---Amazon Prime VideoBeauty and the Beast---Disney+The Bechdel Cast podcastGame of Thrones---HBOmax

Today Hannah and Laura are covering Part 2 of The Burning God by R.F. Kuang! But first: Laura read an ADORABLE fantasy novel and Hannah read a YA novel that bookstagram has been RAVING over, but she thought was just "ok." Hannah and Laura  have been watching and enjoying The Patient on FX (Hulu), but think that sometimes things on the show get pretty uncomfortable to watch. Hannah also read a rom-com that she feels conflicted about and wishes there was more to some of the characters. Also, be sure to check out all of the books in OWWR Indie Intermission!CW for the plot section: violence; war; drugs; ptsd; blood; self-harm; abuse; mutilationMedia Mentions:The Poppy War by R.F. KuangThe Dragon Republic by R.F. KuangThe Burning God by R.F. KuangBabel by R.F. KuangYellowface by R.F. KuangLegends & Lattes by Travis BaldreeThe Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonThe Patient---HuluThe Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power---Amazon Prime VideoAce of Spades by Faridah Abike-IyimideSpoiler Alert by Olivia DadeAll the Feels by Olivia DadePretty Little Liars---HuluGossip Girl---NetflixGame of Thrones---HBOmaxHouse of the Dragon---HBOmaxThe Woman King---Movie TheatersLove and Basketball---HuluClueless---Disney+Mean Girls---Netflix

This week Hannah and Laura are covering part 1 of The Burning God by R.F. Kuang! It's actually happening. But first! Laura loves the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, but Hannah and Laura question the casting of the movies. She also did a buddy read-a-thon of a graphic novel favorite. Hannah watched a really cute movie starring Nick Offerman, and read a short book that is perfect for Halloween and gave her some scary dreams. She was also slightly let down by the ending of a science-fiction book that she really enjoyed.Also, be sure to check out our INDIE INTERMISSION and support Indie Authors!TW for the plot discussion: violence; drug use; sexual abuse; abuse; blood; war; deathMedia Mentions: The Poppy War by R.F. KuangThe Dragon Republic by R.F. KuangThe Burning God by R.F. KuangThe Titan's Curse by Rick RiordanThe Gilded Ones by Namina FornaThe Final Strife by Saara El-ArifiFriends Talking Fantasy podcastA Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony SnicketPercy Jackson and the Olympians---Disney+Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief---HuluMonstress Volumes 1-7 by Marjorie Liu and Sana TakedaBaywatch---HuluNew Girl---NetflixThe White Lotus---HBOmaxWhite Collar---HuluWe Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley JacksonCan You Keep a Secret---NetflixWhen We First Met---NetflixMamma Mia---Hulu@jonesandthebooksIf I Survive You by Jonathan EscofferyRing Shout by P. Djeli ClarkA Master of Djinn by P. Djeli ClarkSmall Things Like These by Claire KeeganUpgrade by Blake CrouchDark Matter by Blake CrouchHearts Beat Loud---AppleTVParks and Recreation---PeacockA League of Their Own---Amazon Prime VideoThe Bear---HuluMisery by Stephen KingThe Stand by Stephen KingIt by Stephen KingPet Sematary by Stephen KingShuggie Bain by Douglas StuartDerry Girls---NetflixDragonheart---Hulu

Hannah and Laura haven't talked in a while, so things went off the rails. Enjoy this discussion of things we've been reading and watching and we PROMISE that next week The Burning God will be our main focus. In the meantime, be sure to check out all of our Indie Intermission content on OWWRPOD.COM. There are some great books to read!Media Mentions:The Poppy War by R.F. KuangThe Dragon Republic by R.F. KuangThe Burning God by R.F. KuangBabel by R.F. KuangThe Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonThe Wheel of Time series---Amazon Prime VideoThe Bear---HuluThe Patient---HuluClaim to Fame---HuluOnly Murders in the Building---NetflixNever Have I Ever---NetflixSuperstore---HuluHilda---NetflixGrey's Anatomy---NetflixPartner Track---NetflixPenelope---Amazon Prime VideoStardust---HuluThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power---Amazon Prime VideoA League of Their Own---Amazon Prime VideoHouse of the Dragon---HBOmaxThe Sandman---NetflixHarley Quinn the animated series---HBOmaxThe Charm Offensive by Alison CochrunKiss Her Once for Me by Alison CochrunStrange the Dreamer by Laini TaylorThank You for Listening by Julia WhelanThe Queen's Gambit---NetflixMy Oxford Year by Julia WhelanThe Sandman by Neil GaimanPerish by Latoya WatkinsMarvel Cinematic Universe---Disney+The Little Mermaid---Disney+

The Burning God by R. F. Kuang Andy and Dani finish The Poppy Wars trilogy. Andy is actually a big fat loser, mismanagement of characters, failed predictions, getting rid of characters in dumb ways, is Rin a shitty drunk white guy, and what the hell was the point?

I talk about the Burning God, the final book in the Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang.  Thanks to David Hilowitz for the intro/outro music. If you have any questions or comments send them to LibromancyPod@gmail.com.  Please Like and Subscribe wherever you get your podcast from.   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45857086-the-burning-god

A new MP3 sermon from Pleasant Valley Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Are You Burning God Oil Speaker: Scotty Barrow Broadcaster: Pleasant Valley Baptist Church Event: Camp Meeting Date: 4/22/2022 Bible: 1 Chronicles 27:28 Length: 35 min.

The books of the moment for today's episode are The Poppy War Trilogy by R. F. Kuang. Just a forewarning for those of you listening, this is NOT a spoiler-free zone. We will be discussing this trilogy in all of its glory, which of course includes revealing the ending. R. F. Kuang is a Chinese-American fantasy writer. Her first novel, The Poppy War, was released in 2018, followed by the sequels The Dragon Republic in 2019 and The Burning God in 2020. Kuang has won the Compton Crook Award, the Crawford Award, and the 2020 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, along with being a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, The Kitschies, and British Fantasy awards for her first novel. If you enjoyed this episode, I encourage you to leave a review on whichever platform you are listening on, if applicable. If you have any further questions regarding topics discussed throughout the episode feel free to join our Hardcover Hoes Discord Server via the link in the show notes, or send us an email at hardcoverhoespod@gmail.com. Feel free to recommend books to cover in future episodes as well! Discord Server: https://discord.gg/zpvW4FyuPF TikTok, IG, Twitter: @HardcoverHoes Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/993967071461813/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We've got a bonus for you this week! The best of the first quarter of WAB Pod! Chapter markers available off of our website.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/WABPod)

Marisa Serafini (@serafinitv) and I are book lovers and we've decided to do a monthly in-depth book discussion. Our first book is The Poppy War and next month we'll be chatting about The Invisible Woman by Erica Robuck. The Poppy War is a 2018 novel by R. F. Kuang. It's a grimdark fantasy that draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, with the conflict in the novel based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, and an atmosphere inspired by the Song dynasty. The novel centers on a poor orphan, Rin, who trains in secret to test into the elite Sinegard Academy. Kuang said Rin's life is meant to parallel the trajectory of Mao Zedong. Grounded in the real-world history of Chinese wars and adding a fantasy drug element inspired by the Opium Wars, The Poppy War is a dark and fatalistic tale of warfare. When a conflict surfaces between the Nikara Empire and their neighboring nation, the Federation of Mugen, Rin is called to the front lines. She must decide whether to make a deal with the gods to unleash her shamanic powers. Her decision may change the war but result in the loss of her humanity. A sequel, The Dragon Republic, was released in August 2019, and a third book, The Burning God, was released November 2020. Thanks for tuning in. Also, feel free to ask questions or offer opinions of your own, whether down in the comment section or by hitting me up on social media @PhilSvitek. Lastly, for more free resources from your 360 creative coach, check out my website at http://philsvitek.com. RESOURCES/LINKS: -Coach or Consultant Services: https://philsvitek.com/lets-work-together/ -Podcast Services: http://philsvitek.com/podcastservices -Love Market Film (available now): https://www.amazon.com/Love-Market-Amy-Cassandra-Martinez/dp/B09DFS3FTZ/ref=sr_1_14 -Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philsvitek -Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/phil-svitek---360-creative-coach/ -Instagram: http://instagram.com/philsvitek -Facebook: http://facebook.com/philippsvitek -Twitter: http://twitter.com/philsvitek -Financially Fit Foundation: http://financiallyfitfoundation.org -Master Mental Fortitude Book: http://mastermentalfortitude.com -Elan, Elan Book: http://philsvitek.com/elan-elan -In Search of Sunrise Book: http://philsvitek.com/in-search-of-sunrise

Ben and Nate at last reach the end of their journey. Not just to this book but to this series of books. We get to look back and examine what it was all about. What was the purpose of all of this? What did we learn? What was the takeaway message? Is it okay to burn a village of your own people for fun? Is colonialism bad? It's bad right? It's bad? Right? Perhaps the most important question we look back on is this: was it all worth it? Were all the sacrifices of friends and family, the endless wars, the hunger and starvation, the betrayals, the drug addiction... was it all worth it? The answer is no.Also be sure to listen to the end where Ben and Nate settle their bet from last year! If Rin dies and Kitay also dies as a result of their soul bond link, Nate gets one of Ben's book picks this year!Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/WABPod)

The boys continue their discussion of The Burning God by R.F. Kuang. Ben defends Part 2 from Nate's relentless onslaught, but even Ben must admit that mistakes were made. Another question is raised. Would Daji be a better protagonist than Rin?Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/WABPod)

Ben and Nate discuss The Burning God, R.F. Kuang's conclusion to The Poppy War trilogy. The boys are shocked to find that The Burning God is not quite the slam dunk they thought it would be. Nate asks an uncomfortable question. Does this book ruin the series? Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/WABPod)

This episode carries content warnings for injury that affects mobility, aggressive animals, animal consumption of human flesh, insect infestation, bodily infection, and a description of a gory transformation. The Jade Moon's trip from the sea of Sapodilla back upriver towards Blackwick has a set schedule. 14 days, all accounted for. Meals prepared. Entertainment provided. A small number of stops for shopping, religious needs, and the general stretching of legs. And yet it is the case that some days are longer than others, no matter that they count one each. The day that most of the Blackwick Group, and a new companion, stepped out of the Jade Moon and into the Triadic Pyre's Bridge Cathedral is one such day. This week on Sangfielle: Passage on the Jade Moon Pt. 2 The Almanac of the Heartland Rider Places The Bridge Cathedral: In the hierarchy of all trains--or is it perhaps capitalized, I do not recall--there is one engine that storms ahead of the others. "The Burning God Among Iron Trains" is its name, but the Disciples of the Triadic Pyre call it simply Fire Alight. Well, whatever you might call it, it's a damned big one. And it needs to cross the Ojan like anything else. And thus: The Brdige Cathedral. Largest structure of its kind in Sangfielle or anywhere. At two miles across, it's partly a church, partly grim city, and partly an engineering pit. What are they engineering? Well... It turns out, being the devotees of the Fire Alight shifts your relationship with other trains. At least the ones who, themselves, are under the Burning God's thrawl. Sapodilla: One of, if not the, largest city inside of the walls of Concentus. Sapodilla rests on the western shore of the vast lake that takes up much of southeastern Sangfielle, and prizes itself as the rare hub of culture in the bloodfields. In recent years, the powerful witch hunting organization called the Glim Macula has grown in power there, owing to the city's focus on furthering “civilization.” The Sleeping City: Every 13 years, a metropolis wakes with the buzzing sound of life. Do not cross its borders uninvited, especially not when it and its inhabitants are at rest. Blackwick County: From the mines to the lake, the hills to the flats, the town once called Eastern Folly has felt a little more expansive now that it's out of the hard grip of the old curse. It's people aren't perfect, but they've made it through some dark times, and that's more than most can say. Zevunzolia: Who the hell knows. A miraculous city waiting to be built? A utopian dimension adjacent our own? "The Seventh Sun Itself," I think I heard one of those fools call it. All I know is, however prime and pristine it is in promise, the pricetag keeps going conveniently unmentioned...    Facts and Figures Etienne Alize (he/him): Deacon of the Blood in the Triadic Pyre, and de facto sawbones aboard the Jade Moon. The Blue Wind: One train among many in the Bridge Cathedral. This one seems to be inhabitted by a more boisterous group of Gandy Dancers than the others. Who could say why? If I had to guess, I'd say that those strange creatures are trying to take the train off of Fire Alight's track and put it back on the regular old Shape. The Ravening Beast (it/its): A howl in the mind of Lye Lyken. A beast on the hunt. It haunts through the course of time, the shape of mind. An echo of a possible future? Aterika'Kaal (it/its): An ambivalent and ancient spirit. Offers the sweet smell and sublime beauty of roses and the sturdy foundation of a root structure. In exchange: Feed it. The Course: There is debate about the true nature of the Heartland's Truth, the power that turned Sangfielle into what it is today. But the Cleavers call it the Course. Part river, part lesson, part direction traveled. Entirely beyond the grasp of mortal minds.  The Structure: Reason, logic, sense. The world is, fundamentally, a place that fits together and functions. We may not like that, say the adherents of the structure. And sometimes, the world may move in ways beyond our particular ken. But there is something holding it together, and that, they say, is the Heartland's Truth: The Structure. The Shape: Are the trains that run across the Heartland bound to the Structure, or do they direct it? Is the overlap between the two even real at all, or might two machinic forces be at work here in Sangfielle? The Ojan: To call it "The Ojan River" is not only to misspeak but to advertise your distance from knowledge. Ojan itself means "running water," and in Ojantani it is the word you attach to other words to mark them as rivers--each just an faint echo of this paragon of waterways.  The Jade Moon: A luxurious vessel, the Jade Moon glides up and down the Ojan. You have to work to find its exterior wooden hull, so covered is it in silken, green banners and curtains. Dining, Dancing, Gambling, Live Music, plush living. An engine that churns below. 250 feet long, 50 feet wide. It's a beast, but in the width of the Ojan--in some places over 2 miles wide--it pales. Teak: First mate of the Jade Moon. Organizations Wrights of the Seventh Sun: A secret society dedicated to the construction of Zevunzolia, whatever the cost. Their motivations are many: Some believe that the Devils ought to have continued climbing whent hey escaped hell, that this was not the paradise earned. Otherse believe that Zevunzolia is telos of telos, the end-cause of all end-causes, and thus will inevitably bring itself into being. And given that, to do anything but aid it is to risk exclusion from it, or worse. The Disciples of the Triadic Pyre: Appropriately devoted to a trio of gods, the Triadic Pyre believe that entropy is the only certain thing in this world, and as such aim to master it. Recently began to mark workers willing to do their tasks in the mines with their brand. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Text by Austin Walker Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

Hey, coven! In this episode, we discussing The Burning God  by R.F. Kuang — the third and final book in The Poppy War series. Rin is working to take down a bunch of people, and change the way Nikara is run. But is she the best person to do that? Rin doesn't think so! Let's just start with the content warnings for this episode and for the book. This is a book for adults. It is not YA book. Content warnings for war, violence, murder, starvation, drug use, cannibalism, and suicide.  With that said, on to the show notes! Recommend if you like.. A Game of Thrones (aka A Song of Ice and Fire) Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas  The Punisher (tv show) when Kelly says “George RR Martin can fuck off into the sun,” they are referencing this incredible article which you should definitely read We discuss the The Poppy War in episode 15 and The Dragon Republic in episode 43 “The Nine Curves River” – short story about Nezha and his little brother Mingja going to the grotto and the fallout (dragon eats bb, marks N).  Check out the Levar Burton Reads podcast episode for this story!!!  Kuang's new book, Babel, is due out in fall 2022. Here's a blog post with more details and an even more in depth tiny letter. — teaser! “the only kind of dark academia story I want now is the sort that tears the academy, and all its whiteness, down to its roots.” Highly recommend following R.F. Kuang on Twitter (@kuangrf) if you're a tweep Krystal Song's review of the trilogy in LARB gave us a lot to think about. Check it out!  As always, we'd love to be in discussion with you, magical people. Drop us a line in the comments or reach out to us on twitter, Instagram (@thelibrarycoven), or via email (thelibraycoven@gmail.com). Access complete show notes on our website, thelibrarycoven.com. We really appreciate ratings and reviews on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any other platforms. Help us share the magic by spreading the word about the podcast! You can support our labor by leaving us a one-time tip on Ko-fi or purchasing books from our Bookshop! Better yet, become a monthly patron via Patreon and you can unlock a bunch of exclusive perks like access to our community of reader-listeners on Discord. Our cover art is by the talented artist nimsby. The podcast theme song is “Unermerry Academy of Magics” by Augustin C from the album “Fantasy Music”, which you can download on FreeMusicArchive.com. We support #LandBack. The Library Coven is recorded and produced on stolen indigenous land: Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Ute (Kelly) and Chickasha, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Mascoutin, Miami, Mesquaki, Odawa, Ojibwe, Peankashaw, Peoria, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Wea (Jessie)

https://www.lightingthevoid.com​​​​​​​​​ (https://www.lightingthevoid.com​​​​​​​​​)Live Weeknights Mon-Fri 9 pm, PacificOn The Fringe FMhttps://fringe.fm (https://fringe.fm)S Ben Qayin's workings have spanned over several decades, and he offers his magical services through consultations, rituals, Tarot Readings, and apprenticeship. He has authored numerous books including Volubilis Ex Chasium, The Black Book of Azathoth, Harab Serapel: The Ravens of The Burning God, The Book of Smokeless Fire, and Thaumiel; The Dark Divided Ones. He has also designed 2 beautiful Tarot Decks: The Oracle of Qayin Tarot and The Whisperings of Iblis; Djinn Deck. The latter mentioned deck is designed to work intimately with the Djinn from The Book of Smokeless Fire. https://www.amazon.com/Books-S-Ben-Qayin/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AS.+Ben+Qayin (https://www.amazon.com/Books-S-Ben-Qayin/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AS.+Ben+Qayin)https://m.facebook.com/sben.qayin (https://m.facebook.com/sben.qayin)Producer Patrick "Patcho" NewlinAudio Engineer/Archive Manager Rohan Music is by Bundy, Chronox, Kevin Mcleod and Spaceboy at https://my.captivate.fm/spaceboymusic.com (spaceboymusic.com)DJ Steezy Stevie https://www.steezymusic.com/ (https://www.steezymusic.com/)Music by Chronox at https://www.chronoxofficial.com/ (https://www.chronoxofficial.com)Carbon Based Life Forms https://www.carbonbasedlifeforms.net/ (https://www.carbonbasedlifeforms.net/)

Rebecca F. Kuang started writing her first novel, The Poppy War, when she was just 19 years old. The final installment in the author’s dark military fantasy series, The Burning God, came out last November. Now, The Poppy War trilogy has been nominated for the 2021 Hugo Award for best series. This hour we talk with Kuang, who will also be starting a PhD program at Yale University in East Asian Languages and Literature. She has pursued an extensive academic career in modern Chinese studies—while also writing acclaimed fantasy novels. Kuang’s stories weave the fantastic with her deep knowledge of twentieth century Chinese history. Have you been reading The Poppy War trilogy? Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired November 17, 2020. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rebecca F. Kuang started writing her first novel, The Poppy War, when she was just 19 years old. The final installment in the author’s dark military fantasy series, The Burning God, came out last November. Now, The Poppy War trilogy has been nominated for the 2021 Hugo Award for best series. This hour we talk with Kuang, who will also be starting a PhD program at Yale University in East Asian Languages and Literature. She has pursued an extensive academic career in modern Chinese studies—while also writing acclaimed fantasy novels. Kuang’s stories weave the fantastic with her deep knowledge of twentieth century Chinese history. Have you been reading The Poppy War trilogy? Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired November 17, 2020. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Burning God : By – R.F. Kuang The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect. Website : https://gobookmart.com/book-review Follow us : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/GoBookMart1/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/gobookmart2 Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/gobookmart/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gobookmart-review/support

Happy New Book Tuesday! We're back with another week of upcoming events and new books! It's a short one this week, but there's still a lot to get through!    Events This Week:   Tuesday, November 17th: Brandon Sanderson    Tuesday, November 17th: Jonathan Maberry    Wednesday, November 18th: Essa Hansen, in conversation with Veronica Roth   Thursday, November 19th: Halley Sutton    Friday, November 20th: Chloe Gong, in conversation with Amélie Wen Zhao    Monday, November 23rd: RV Raman and Andrea J. Johnson      New This Week:   Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson    Ink by Jonathan Maberry    Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen    The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton    These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong    A Promised Land by Barack Obama    Unlocked by Shannon Messenger    Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi    The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill    The Burning God by R.F. Kuang    Daylight by David Baldacci    Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon    Daughter of the Serpentine by E.E. Knight    The Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie    City Monster by Reza Farazmand    The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars by Shivaun Piozza    You can now find us on Patreon! Unlock exclusive content by subscribing today! Special thanks to Austin Farmer for letting us use the track "Kill the Farm Boy", from his album Bookshelf Symphony Orchestra!  Send us your questions to podcast@mystgalaxy.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!  And support the store by ordering books at mystgalaxy.com!

Travis interviews author R.F. Kuang about The Burning God, the final novel in The Poppy War trilogy from Harper Voyager. The series reimagines the Second Sino-Japanese War set in a fantasy analogue of the Song Dynasty following a protagonist who parallels Mao Zedong's rise to power. Rebecca and Travis discuss her conflicted emotions at saying goodbye to the Poppy War series, revisit her powerful acceptance speech after winning the Astounding award for best new writer, and question the role of fantasy in a world whose problems may demand a more direct response. About R.F. Kuang: Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar, Chinese-English translator, and the Astounding Award-winning and Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award nominated author of the Poppy War trilogy. Her work has won the Crawford Award and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale. You can find R.F. Kuang on Twitter and Instagram as @kuangrf, or at her website rfkuang.com. Find Us Online: Blog Discord Twitter Instagram Support Us: Become a Patron Buy Us a Coffee Music: Intro: "The Legend of Iya" courtesy of https://philter.no Outro: "A Quest Unfolds" courtesy of https://philter.no The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Announcing the HarperCollins titles that were selected for the November 2020 LibraryReads list! On this episode, we announce the titles that made the list and hear clips from the authors. Congratulations to THE BURNING GOD by R. F. Kuang and WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Alexandria Bellefleur. We also congratulate Anthony Horowitz, author of MOONFLOWER MURDERS, for being inducted into the Hall of Fame! For more information on these titles, go to librarylovefest.com We also have a phone number! Call 212-207-7773 and leave us a message—it might end up on the show! You can find us on Facebook (@librarylovefest), Twitter (@librarylovefest), and Instagram (@harperlibrary).