Podcast appearances and mentions of rebecca yarros

Lesley Logan continues her two-part series on slowing down, because the detours and side quests that feel unproductive are often what a goal actually needs. She explains how boredom becomes fertile ground for the idea you have been chasing, and why rushing toward something builds pressure rather than the confidence it takes to get there. She also shares what leaving room in a suitcase before Paris taught her about leaving room in a schedule.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:Why side quests often teach the exact skills you need later on.The reason boredom is where your creative ideas actually come from.What one curious detour in Sedona turned into for Lesley.The problem with a schedule packed too tight for surprise.The one unproductive hour challenge for you to try this week.Episode References/Links:Ep 682 Intuition Series Part 1 - https://beitpod.com/ep682Ep 683 Intuition Series Part 2 - https://beitpod.com/683Ep 691 ft Clare Solly - https://beitpod.com/ep691Ep 568 ft Anthony Benenati - https://beitpod.com/ep568Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - https://rebeccayarros.com/fourthwingThe Artist's Way Book by Julia Cameron - https://a.co/d/0iZge5DzSubmit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questions If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! 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DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00  When we create space, we create room for confidence. So, if you are on a sprint, you're sprinting. You can only see what's in front of you, but when you slow down, you can actually take in what's in front of you into the sides of you.Lesley Logan 0:15  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 0:58  All right, my Be It babe, my high-achieving women, my recovering perfectionists and overachievers. Hi, how are you? Welcome back to the show. It's episode two in our slowing-down series. If you missed episode one, you should listen to it, or you could just skip ahead and then realize that that's a sign you probably should slow down. I promise they're not long. I promise. So our solo episodes are on topics that you are having questions about. You're sending into the Be It Pod, and you are wondering, needing help on that. We've had some really great guests on the show. We'll continue to have amazing guests, but sometimes we just need a 20-minute-ish chat about a topic, right? Where we can just go, oh yeah, that's that thing, right? Just like a nugget of reminding, and also to know you're not alone because hello, I see you, I see you. As a recovering perfectionist overachiever, I felt like everything, I remember feeling everything I did had to be productive of some kind. So, if I was going to listen to a podcast, it needed to be a business podcast or a self-development podcast of some kind. If I had to read a book, it had to be like that. It had to help me move the needle forward. If I was to go for a walk, I would always listen to something that would move the needle forward for sure. I'm not going to listen to just. I'm not going to just listen to the outside noise. Any space that I had in my life, I go, oh, now I can go work on that project that I've been willing to move the needle forward on. There was not just doing nothing. Lesley Logan 2:18  A lot of dinners that I would do when I lived in L.A. Like they had to always, they were always networking dinners of some kind. When I moved to Vegas, and I took during the pandemic, so obviously in the pandemic, we all lost a lot. But I recognized that when I moved to Las Vegas, I was like, "Wow, if I'm not traveling for work, I don't see any friends. And now that we're months into this pandemic, those same people are not calling. So, did I have friends or just have a network?" Right? I also know that I'm in a decade where I have spent several decades working and working on moving the needle forward. And I don't have kids, but many of you do. And I've had business. I've had worked jobs while also running my own business on the side and trying to date at the time. All those different things. But some of you, you have business and kids and your partner and aging parents. And so honestly, if anyone were to ask you right now, what you want next or what sounds fun to you, if you draw a total blank, you're not alone. Actually, it was in 2020. I was talking with my therapist. I was like, "I don't have a hobby. I don't have anything. I just do for the fuck of it. For fun. I'm just like, what do you want to do?" I was, I don't know. And that's why I went hobby hunting.Lesley Logan 3:39  And if you've been with the podcast long enough, you know that I, it took me a long time, but we get so busy, we have no inner voice that we listen to that says anything nice. We're not able to listen to our intuition. Go listen to intuition series if you need that help. We are often just listening to the judgey voice in our head that's like, "You are not doing enough. You should be doing more. How silly of you to think that you should sit there and just watch a show or learn to row, all that stuff." So, I want us to dismantle that trap today. So, I'm happy you're here. Thanks for being here. I want to talk about why being as curious as possible is actually not going to derail your goals. That the side quests that it will take you on are actually often what you need to learn a skill, or to have a moment of freedom in your brain, so that the idea that you've been trying to figure out how am I going to do that comes to you, or so that you have time with friends to just be yourself and have joy, right, and not have something productive happening. So, I remember when I was in college, I saw these shoes we were selling at my store, and they were hand-painted. And my girlfriend and I were like, "We can. I don't want hand-painted ones. I want. I want to decoupage some." So we decoupaged some shoes. And then when we did that, our bosses were like, "You made those?" We're like, "Yeah. Do you want to make more?" And so then we made them to sell them. And by the way, every dime we made, we reinvested back into the business. And we learned the hard way to have a resale license and to have a wholesale license and to sell and to have a business, there's taxes and others, accountant, all this different stuff, but what happened is a side quest back in college with my best friend Clare, who's been on the podcast, us doing that, it really actually showed me all the different parts I would need to have when I start my own business. So even though it wasn't, it didn't make money. It one, gave me a really cool story. I used to make shoes, and by the way, the shoe company that we used to decoupage, they actually ended up knocking us off, and that's what killed our business. But at any rate, totally fine. We needed to get out of it, anyways. But because of that, it wasn't scary for me to start a Pilates business, right? Lesley Logan 5:55  And so, when we think about little detours or side quests or pauses, often they're exactly what we need to gain a skill that will even not in the same thing. I'm not in the shoe business, but it will translate, right? I see this all the time in video games. There's these little side quests, and they often teach you a different way of using your character, and then there's different ways to get different gems or power-ups or things like that, and then you go back to the regular game, and now you have more skills, right? And so, side quests may not feel very productive, or there might not be an ROI that is measurable. But what they often give you is a boost in confidence, some self-trust, some self-knowing. I also just got to spend time with my best friend. When you're in college and you have a job, that's really hard to do. It's really hard to do. So when you go on a detour, you're giving your brain room to breathe, and that's what we need. Because often what happens is we just fill that space with stuff in our phone, schedules, social media. What's going on? What am I missing out on? Oh, I got to check that. Oh, I got to check with that person. And it's just a rush, and our dopamine brain need is being switched to cortisol injections, and they feel the same, but they are not. So even though my story is about making shoes, it was about getting bored.Lesley Logan 7:18  I do want to say that we need to talk about getting bored. Most of us listening to this podcast right now, remember a time where, as a kid, we got bored. Like we would say, "I'm bored," right? And let's talk to my yoga teacher, who's been on this podcast, Anthony Benenati. His kids, when they say they're bored, he's like, "Yes, congrats! This is a great place to be. This is where creativity comes from," right. So few kids are truly ever bored long enough to get creative because most of the time, when someone says, "Here's the kid's bored," they give them an iPad or something to do or some food. But boredom is the fertile ground of creativity that you have been looking for. That idea, that frustrating thing. Why can't I make this work? What do I need to do? When I am allowing my brain to just wander and follow? Oh, what if I did that? Wouldn't it be cool? We had episode one. Wouldn't it be cool if I did this? What could be better than this? Right? When you let your brain go on that path, you often come up with some brilliant stuff that you could never do in your stressed-out, rushing state. So, as I mentioned, side quests again, video game tip thing, right? Lesley Logan 8:28  Let's look at that example from when you're my recovering perfectionist overachievers. We need to make our time that we do spend reading that business book or listening to educational podcasts, and what if we just swapped one of those things for something that had nothing to do with that? Brad and I stopped listening to political podcasts in exchange for the Fourth Wing series, right? And now that that series is gone, someone just gave us another book recommendation, and I am so excited to go through that because the reality is having something at the end of the day, one, to look forward to because I'm, I can't wait to get lost in that book, and two, that has nothing to do with anything that matters allows us to just put our brain into a place that can actually get some good sleep, right? So look, you don't have to be, a book, doesn't have to be a podcast. Maybe it is a hobby. Maybe you, my girlfriend, she is going into bedazzle mode, right? She is, I'm bedazzling this, I'm bedazzling that because it's fun. It has zero to do with what her job is, zero to do what her house needs, and it allows her to just have something that lets her brain just take a moment, be on a side quest, right? And you'd be surprised how that downregulates the nervous system in a way that takes your stress levels down. I mean, many of us need to be literally thinking about our stress levels, not just for perimenopause, but for our heart, right? For our sleep. If you are not getting good sleep, oh my God, you need a side quest. You need a side quest. Right? Lesley Logan 10:00  I've talked a lot about curiosity. I talk a lot about this when it comes to teaching Pilates, but I really want to suggest that you take a kid-like approach to things. Get curious. Put question marks on things. Right? Too often we're like, I need a five-year plan on this thing that I'm doing. You just need to go, what happens if I do this? Right. We have, ladies, we've spent so much time taking care of so many people. We've often forgotten how to be curious, how to kind of flirt with our future selves. I wonder what I would look like in that style of jean that's out. Instead of going, oh, it'll never look good on me. Like I really thought I'm, I hate that the low-rise is back, but then I kept getting ads for these low-rise wide-leg pants, and I was, I don't know. So then after 72 ads, I was fuck it. I'm just gonna buy it. And honestly, with the long oversized shirts, the outfit looks so chic. It looks so good. It looks. It's also so comfortable, and that takes. But that takes curiosity. I wonder what I would look like in that. I wonder where I would wear that to. I wonder what would happen if I put these shoes on instead of these shoes.Lesley Logan 11:06  We get so used to being in our this is my usual, this is how I do things that we forget that there's this fun thing about being curious and trying things out, and often leads to other ideas and other adventures and other opportunities. When we're on tour, there's often some days we have time, and Brad and I will just pull off to a vintage shop and just walk inside, cause it's fun. We don't even buy anything; it's just fun to go in. Actually, curiosity led my girlfriend and I, we're in Sedona, there's this one more place I want us to go to, and it led us into a sound bath store, sound bowl store, right? And then we were, oh, okay. How much are these things? $15,000. Whoa, didn't expect that. But we ended up going to a sound bath. We got to enjoy a sound bath with bowls that collectively cost $105,000. I'm gonna tell you right now, I felt every dollar of that sound bath in my body, all because we're curious about what's in this store over here. I actually was we're looking for a different store completely. There is magic in detours, and some of your best ideas are gonna be in spaces you didn't plan for. And I'm telling you, that is so fricking true. Some of my best ideas have come from just thinking. Well, what if I did that? How would that fit the plan? I wonder. And then just following it in my brain, right? But that requires having pause time because I cannot let my brain follow a thought or a nugget if I'm rushed up against a deadline. Right? It's not going to work. So now that we know, I hope I sold you on curiosity. Lesley Logan 12:44  When we create space, we create room for confidence. So if you are on a sprint, you're sprinting. You can only see what's in front of you, but when you slow down, you can actually take in what's in front of you into the sides of you. Right? When you go for just a stroll, and so I'm often rushing to get to the gym. And the other day I decided to walk alongside my dad, and I was like, "Has that bar always gone in a full U? I thought it went up against the wall." And my dad looked at him. He was like, "Huh," right? We were just like, "Oh my god, there is space to be curious and see something different because we're not rushing. So the same goes for if you are wanting to take action towards what the the be it till you see it that you're working towards. If you are rushing towards that, you are only able to see what's in front of you. And one, by the way, that doesn't actually create confidence; it creates stress and pressure. But if you actually take a stroll, it allows you to take in all of your surroundings, and you actually have a sense of calmness around you. Think about when we feel safe in a space; it's because we can we know everything that's in it. We can see everything that's going on. We can take it all in, right? You will have more confidence because you know what is what's going on? What's over there? Can make better decisions. So being it until you see it, that next version of yourself, it requires space for magic and coincidence and possibility to enter. You cannot manifest a new reality if you are scheduled is packed tighter than my suitcase in for a month in Europe. Right? There is no room for surprise. You won't even look for surprise. So when we were traveling to Europe, I'll just bring my suitcase back into this. We were traveling to Europe. We were so excited because we had a bunch of flashcards we were getting rid of, and so we were gonna have space to get something fabulous from a vintage shop in Europe. And because we had the space, we went out seeking. We went to 20 vintage shops in Paris in one day. It was so much fun. I got the coolest jacket, and I was, oh my god! But I was really hoping for the purse, you know.Lesley Logan 14:48  But Brad found these great shoes, and we could, if we had packed everything so tight that there could be nothing new added to it. We would not have explored as much of Paris as we did. There would be no room for curiosity because there'd be no room for if we found anything. That goes for your life too. If you pack your schedule so tight, you don't even want a detour, even if it would take you exactly where you're wanting to go, because you don't have room to get lost. You can't trust that getting lost could take you exactly to the right place, right?Lesley Logan 15:20  So, what does this mean for you? What do we need to do next? Now that we've sold you on curiosity, we sold you on creating space, so you have confidence and room to be it till you see it. What do you need to do? What we need to do is play more, have more unproductive time, have time to be curious. Maybe you take walks without your podcast on, or before you turn your podcast on, maybe you look for, we had a guest who said, "Look for three miracles," right? Maybe you don't just go to a coffee shop to work, but you just go to a coffee shop to sit and read a book that has zero impact on your life, right? Maybe you do paint. Maybe you'll learn a skill that you has nothing to do with the career that you're on, but it's just fun. If that feels overwhelming, then I just want you to have one unproductive hour this week, just one. No cleaning, no working, no social media, so no phone. If you've ever read The Artist's Way, you go on an artist date, so you go do something that you have always thought about doing. Maybe there's a bookstore in town you've always wanted to go to, or a coffee shop you've wanted to explore, or someone recommended a salad or a sandwich at this new place that opened up. But you don't, you go and you don't get on your phone when you're there. You just go and you eat. You take yourself on a date, and you see what bubbles up when there's no pressure. I can't wait to hear about it. So please tell us what happened on your magical unproductive hour date by sending it to thebeitpod.com/questions. Maybe that's your win that you're sending in. Like, hey, I had an unproductive hour this week. I did it. I did my. I took myself on an unproductive date. I want to celebrate that with you. And if you know a friend, this could be helpful to please send it to them. Honestly, you sharing this podcast is one of the best things you could ever, ever, ever do. The next best thing would be a member of OPC, and that'd be something that supports you as well. All right, my loves. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 17:21  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod. Brad Crowell 18:03  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 18:08  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 18:13  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 18:20  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 18:23  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How can you tell where the real innovation in publishing is happening right now, and why is it emerging from the indie side first? How do you market your own book when you've spent 35 years marketing everyone else's? John Bond talks about Going Indie and what he's learned about authors who last. In the intro, my thoughts on writing with AI, Charles Dickens and encouragement for the 3-year-old dancing to K-Pop at the wedding, UK copyright law, The end of an era — Hugh Howey; Notre Dame, Paris; Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why 2012 was a watershed moment for publishing in the UK Whether the snobbery around self-publishing has finally gone How to co-write a book with someone, and why there's no formula The pride swallowing involved in getting endorsement quotes for your own book The shadow economy of indie sales that no industry chart measures The hallmarks of writers who build a long-term career You can find John at wearewhitefox.com. Transcript of the interview with John Bond Jo: John Bond is the co-founder of Whitefox, a premium publishing services agency, and has over 35 years in traditional publishing, from bookselling to marketing and management. He's also the co-author of Going Indie: Publishing Your Book Your Way, with James Silver. So welcome back to the show, John. John: Thank you, Jo. Thanks so much for having me. Jo: You were last on the show in 2022. You've been on a couple of times, but just set the scene. Tell people a bit more about you and your long background in publishing. John: I suppose I could say I started as a marketing manager at Penguin back in the early 1990s in London, and that role eventually evolved into running sales and marketing, as it often does. I did that at Penguin and at HarperCollins. Then I ran one of the publishing divisions at HarperCollins, including 4th Estate, and published Hilary Mantel and Jonathan Franzen and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others. I left that in 2011 and set up Whitefox in 2012, and it's a classic startup story. It was somebody I worked with at HarperCollins. We sat around a kitchen table, came up with an idea for a business, which was Whitefox, and that's grown into the creative agency that it is today. Jo: So back then, did you think, “I can do this better”? Was that the impetus, “I can do publishing better than Penguin and HarperCollins”? John: No, I thought we would solve a problem. There's something very attractive about that whole startup mentality and beginning something from scratch. I mean, I was in my early 50s. I'd had a long career in traditional publishing. On the plus side, I knew a lot of people, and I thought I could get meetings, people would reply to my phone calls or my emails. On the downside, I didn't necessarily have the energy of a 20 to 25-year-old. I knew a lot of people and I knew quite a lot of things, and I also knew what problems something like Whitefox could solve. We set up with this idea that if we could galvanise and organise the diaspora of freelancers in the publishing space and make them available to anybody that wanted to make a book, that that would be quite a powerful thing. These incredibly creative, wonderful people who were below the radar and were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. I thought if we could access that and make that available not just to traditional publishing people who know about these people, but to individual authors, businesses, brands, people that wanted to make a book, and if you added a layer of our expertise from traditional publishing, that could be quite powerful, I suppose. That's what I was thinking back then. Jo: It's funny, though. You said these wonderful freelancers who were not particularly valued or managed or utilised properly. That could also apply to a lot of authors in traditional publishing. John: Totally. Totally. But if I'm honest, I don't think I was thinking about that. What's really evolved since we started, even in that 2011, 2012 period, is so much has happened to independent writers, indie authors. The whole ecosystem has become much more vibrant, and what is accessible to those writers is much greater. I'd like to think we've played a part in that. What that's done is put power back into writers' hands, and that quickly became apparent in the business as a byproduct of what we'd set up. Jo: Yes, and 2012 I do think in the UK was a pivot point, because I got into self-publishing in 2006/2007 when the Americans did with the beginning of the Kindle and the iPhone. Really the American ecosystem grew first. I happened to be in Australia, and so I think I was able to escape the negativity of the vortex in the UK, which took a number more years to embrace self-publishing as a force to be reckoned with as opposed to an embarrassing thing in the corner for vanity press. Do you see 2012 as a changing point in UK publishing? John: I think we'd just come out of the Kindle moment, hadn't we? There were all sorts of conversations going on about how that was going to change things forever. I think no one quite knew what the upshot of that was going to be, but we knew that it was incredibly disruptive. In 2012, Penguin, as it was then, before Penguin Random House, had offered to buy Author Solutions for $115 million, presumably seen as some kind of defensive measure as to what the market was going to evolve into. I think it felt like a real period of change. In the UK, James Daunt took over running Waterstones, and he was then ultimately going to run Barnes & Noble. It felt like a bit of a watershed. I think we were lucky in that sense, that maybe in the UK and in London, what we were creating coincided with an opening up of opportunity and creativity, and people wanting access to more tools to be able to do things themselves. Getting this idea that you invest in your own talent and what that could mean for your ability to do things quicker, better. Some of it was happenstance, but lucky for us. As you say, we then became aware that in a sense a lot of these things had come to fruition earlier on the US side. In London, that whole idea of setting up something that wasn't a traditional rights-owning model, but where you wanted to be working with people creatively, felt actually really exciting and timely. Jo: And when you started to work with independent authors, probably a couple of years after that, you started to work with a lot more indie authors and things really started to change in terms of the business side. Did you feel any of the snobbery from the traditional industry? Like you mentioned, you have a lot of contacts, a lot of connections. I came to your wonderful launch party and there were just people from all over the industry. I wondered if you got any kickback, or if anyone raised their eyebrows a little bit at who you were choosing to work with? John: Oh, definitely. And I would say I really think that's gone. You may think differently, Jo, but from my perspective, I think there has been such an evolution in the nearly 15 years that we've been going. So any of that residual snobbery, looking down your nose at people that were going DIY, producing multiple books, learning from every single publication. We've spoken about this before. I remember you sat on the panel of a FutureBook conference in the UK, which was run by a trade magazine, with this idea of looking at the, in quotes, “digital future of the business.” It felt like there were a lot of things being talked about, but not a lot of action on the traditional side. I suppose some sort of awe that there was some magic going on with people who were making a success of self-publishing. But then quite a lot of people looking down their noses at things that shouldn't get through the gatekeepers. I do think that's gone. Or if it's not completely gone, I can see it on the way out of the door, because there's no room for that when agents are struggling to sell books to publishers because publishers are looking at the next indie author, the next Freida McFadden, the next Sarah J. Maas, the next Rebecca Yarros. So whoever it may be, or wherever they're publishing, whatever they're doing now, wherever they may be, knowing that a lot of those people will already be publishing and be on not their first, second, third or fourth, but potentially their 10th or 11th book. It's a race to see who can help those authors, as a traditional publisher would see it, amplify what they're doing. I think the idea that there's an us and them, if it did exist then, which it certainly did in certain publishing quarters, is gone. I used to go to those conferences, like the FutureBook Conference, and certain publishers would talk about publishing, and when they meant publishing, they meant a really tiny area of quite literary, traditional imprints. That's what publishing meant. They didn't even mean publishing to mean educational publishing, or children's publishing, or academic publishing, and certainly not Kindle or POD or whatever. So I think that's had to change for very good, sound, commercial, economic reasons. Jo: Yes, you're right. I definitely have heard, as we go to similar events sometimes, and you do hear agents used to talk a lot more about finding books very occasionally in a slush pile, or doing courses so you could meet people and do pitch events and all this. Now it's often build an audience on BookTok or whatever, and sell lots of books, and traditional publishing as an amplifier, as you said. That's how I always hear them pitch it now, the question of— What can traditional publishing still do when indie authors can do so much? It does seem to be, well, we can amplify you, we can get you into traditional press, we can get you in traditional bookstores, we can help you with film and movie deals, that kind of thing. So that's really interesting, because that's actually changed quite a lot. They don't now seem to say, “Oh, well, we can make sure we pay you,” or, “We are editorial success as such.” John: I think they don't say editorial success or quality or indeed marketing, because that was what used to be said. I think there's an understanding that a lot of indie writers are better marketeers of their own books than traditional publishers, and if you go into the publishing machine, then you'll get your slot. It lasts for a certain period of time and then that moves on to another book. Whereas obviously if you're writing your own book and you're marketing your own book, you're able to do that yourself 24/7 wherever you are in the world, and you will know more about your readers and your audience and how that evolves than a traditional publisher would. What they probably mean now is, as you said, as much as anything, distribution, or even physical distribution. Because to be part of that process, I think that is still where a large conglomerate is able to wield some muscle, with this idea that if you physically want to see your book in bricks and mortar retailers in X outlets around the world, that's potentially easier to do if that is your aim, via a traditional publisher. So it is constantly evolving, because it used to be that marketing was the silver bullet, and I don't think that's the case anymore. Jo: No. We'll come back to marketing, shall we? Struggling with marketing. So let's get into your book. You recently co-wrote Going Indie with James Silver, Publishing Your Book Your Way. Obviously you already knew a lot about indie authors, so I wonder, what did you discover in the process of researching the book and the interviews you did? And I was one of your interviews. Did anything come up that surprised you, since you're already pretty embedded in the world? John: I would say some of it was reinforcing what I knew. So how everything is so intertwined, how in some ways unlinear everything is. People are doing lots of things in a different order to the way that traditionally writers would perceive this relay race of a manuscript gets passed to an editor, an editor passes on. That's just not how it is or needs to be anymore. I still think there is—not even a misconception—but I think there's a received wisdom that when you're talking about self-publishing, you're talking about fiction. The majority of books that Whitefox produces are not fiction, they're non-fiction. Some of them are quite mainstream, some of them are quite niche. That idea of connecting to your audience and your followers, and being slightly more scientific about how you find readers in your non-fiction niche, I think is still unspoken about in a way, in that genre fiction tends to be what people automatically assume the conversation is about. This probably doesn't surprise you, but I was pleasantly surprised to have it confirmed to me quite how much swapping and sharing there is of skills and knowledge in that space. I'm not saying indie writing is egoless at all, but there's quite a lot of sharing of knowledge and what works, and collaboration, which I think is great to see. Again, if you've, as I did many years ago, come out of corporate conglomerate publishing, traditional publishing, there's less of that by the very nature of the kind of organisation. And look, we just talked about marketing a little while ago. I do think this whole idea that the cutting edge of experimentation, it's not traditional publishing, it's indie writers. They are looking at not just how to find readers, but how to fulfil orders, how to make commercial sense of what they're doing from the absolute outset and get-go of what they're doing. And just how now the lines are blurring between what would be classified as traditional digital publishers and the writers who are doing their own thing, or doing their own thing on behalf of a few other writers. Those lines have completely blurred. There used to be this traditional hardback, paperback, X number of books a year, a year after hardback there's a paperback. This is the model we have been doing for centuries, and people doing things on their own. I think that's blurring massively, and the Venn diagrams of people's areas of expertise are just overlapping massively. Jo: Well, I think you're right there, and certainly the hardback special editions with sprayed edges and foil. A lot of us now are doing that first and not putting out the other, or putting out the rest of it at the same time. I dare say probably there are more indie authors with sprayed edge hardbacks than there are traditionally published authors. John: I'm sure that's right. And what's interesting is if you go to a traditional book printer, they are loving the direct communication with writers, that's not coming through traditional channels and traditional relationships. It's great business, it's interesting. I think that's something that's even developed in the last couple of years, that cutting out of some of the middle men required. Jo: Yes, and in terms of supporting freelancers and small publishing houses and printers and stuff, the other thing I've heard is that indie authors pay upfront, or they pay quickly, compared to some of these big publishers who are asking for long lead times and steep discounting. So actually a lot of these independent businesses are doing better under indie author work than they were under traditional. John: I think that's right, and that's what I mean also about the sharing of information and this collaborative idea of sharing creative knowledge. I mean, I'm making it sound like a kind of 19th century cooperative, which it isn't. I'm not suggesting that for a second. It's this idea that there's a lot of people learning a lot of things and there's a keenness to share some of that information, because if you've developed your own readership for your unique creative product, some of those learnings are very exciting. The printers I've spoken to love working on those kinds of things, because they are also being challenged to come up with new ways of developing ever more innovative physical product. Jo: Yes, I think it's a fun, creative time for sure. Things like Kickstarter, which you came on and talked about crowdfunding years ago, and I've obviously done. I think, what am I on now? Seven? I've just done my seventh. John: Wow. Jo: It's so much fun. But now what's happening is traditional publishers are arriving on Kickstarter and all that kind of thing. So we really see a blurring. Let's come back to your book, so Going Indie. You co-wrote it. Now obviously there are lots of positive sides of collaboration, but in terms of any challenges with collaboration and co-writing and the writing process of doing this? Because I've done this several times and I've found it very challenging. So tell us about the collaborative writing process. John: We thought a lot about it before we took it on. What I would say, having done it, is I am assuming there is no formula for how you do this. At Penguin I worked with a married couple who were crime writers, and they wrote books together. They merged their names so it appeared to be one name. I could not tell you, and they didn't share what that process was, whether they were writing different chapters or … I don't know. So I can only speak from my own experience. James is an established journalist. He's great with deadlines. He was very good at chivvying me along when I needed to be persuaded to hit the deadlines that I'd promised. I write blogs, I write newsletters, I write content for our website, but this is my first book. I've never written anything of this length. So in a way it started with the structure. It started with this idea that we would play to what we perceived as our respective strengths in terms of writing. We absolutely were not each writing every third word or anything like that. It was a process of trust in different parts. I thought, James had done some research and will be better at writing that. He deferred to me on areas that he took to be my areas of expertise. We did every interview for the book together. We went over the notes from those before they became part of the interviews for the book. And some of the book's elements are diagrammatic, so those are very easy to collaborate on. I think we tried to be professionally, creatively constructive with each other. So it was raising an eyebrow rather than shouting at each other if we didn't agree about something. A lot of it was down to the editing, and I don't know what your experience was like with a co-writer, but a lot of it came down to: here is something which is quite baggy. How do we, between us, make this as tight as we possibly can? I don't mean copy editing or proofreading. I mean the actual sort of, how do we get this into a pithy, usable, practical but discursive book? We didn't ever set out for this to be a pure reference book at all. We wanted to take a snapshot of what was going on. So a lot of it was genuinely trying to do some research and get people to feed into what was going on from lots of different perspectives, which is why we wanted to get mainstream traditional publishers, we wanted to get agents, we wanted to get indie writers, we wanted to get people who have all sorts of experiences and perspectives. That's what makes it what it is, which is, here's what we think are some of the interesting discussion points of what's going on now. Jo: It is a fantastic snapshot. I think it's really interesting—and obviously you also have seen my book, Successful Self-Publishing, which is on its fourth edition—this is one of the difficult things with snapshot type books. So have you already thought about that? I know this one has just come out, but have you thought, “Oh no, in five years we have to do it again”? John: Well, I think we thought we're going to have to address AI, which we do in the book, and we really tried to caveat that with saying, look, so much may change so quickly, and here we are talking about what we know now. We obviously tried to set the context for where we are now, and we tried as much as possible to make something which would last as long as we can. I think what we did think was, we have tried to make it as international a perspective as possible. But at the same time, we are a London-based agency, and a lot of the views will be from people based in the UK. So I think what I would like to explore is something that looks at potentially somewhere like the US, where I think there'll be different people that would perhaps have different perspectives on different things. So I think we thought about potentially there being future iterations of the book, but not yet. Jo: Not yet. This is the challenge with non-fiction, of course. On that, I would say what you just said around the US and stuff, the successful UK authors all use the same systems as the US. So I wouldn't say that the US … I mean, we all have the US companies we all use. I say Kobo is obviously Canadian, but I would say that we use the same ways of doing things. Obviously you might interview a different author, but … John: That was all I meant. I meant interviewing. Because we've interviewed agents and authors and publishers and they are largely UK based. So it was the idea that maybe there are some perspectives on things rather than systemic. Jo: Differences. John: Yes. Just that. Jo: So then I guess another challenge, we've kind of nodded to it so far, is marketing. So let's talk about the challenges of getting this book out in terms of publishing and marketing. Because you've been on the inner circle side, trying to do that for other people's books, but your own book, this is a whole nother thing. So tell us about that. John: Well, how do you do it, Jo? I mean, honestly, I've loved some of it. I get how you become completely obsessed with your book and trying to make sure that you can get it into the hands of the people that you want to get it into the hands of. We've got some great endorsement quotes, which was a task that, how can I say this? I would call it pride swallowing. The idea that you really try and get people to say nice things about your book and, if they don't reply, you think, “How much do I pester them? How much do I annoy them by asking them again nicely?” And the absolute sheer unadulterated joy when they come back with something positive that you can use and utilise in some way. So that whole process of waiting for feedback, I suppose, and hoping that people are going to like what you've done and help you spread the word for it. We had a launch event, we've given books away. We've published the book as ebook and POD. I think one of the great things about that is it's enabled us to be completely adaptable and make changes right up until the last minute. That drove everybody in my team completely crazy because we were making changes up until the last minute. So, is the book definitely going to be available on publication date? What's it going to do? You know, all of that kind of stuff. Also, just getting this idea that I suppose you can never stop. Is that a very obvious thing to say to a writer? It probably is. You just can't stop, because if you go, “Right, well, I've done it,” complacency is the enemy. Just as soon as you've got that quote, or someone said that they're going to give you an opportunity to talk about it on a platform, it's just another day and you've got to keep thinking about how you can spread the word and tell people that it exists. Jo: Yes, well, I think that's right, and particularly non-fiction, which unless it's very timely and you must get it out right now. But other than that— Most books you just have to keep marketing for years. Then just as you say, when do you stop? Well, you kind of never stop unless you want to, unless you want to retire and just give up, basically. Dean Wesley Smith, who's a big writer in the US and a kind of a mentor of mine in past years, he talks about it as this massive sea of books. And when a book arrives, he pictures it coming down and landing on the water. So the day you launch, it's landed on the water, and then it begins to sink. Then there are all these other books coming down. It's like this rain of books, and your book is sinking as soon as it lands. And your job is to keep it afloat somehow. John: Keep it afloat. Jo: Yes. John: I think you're right, and it's such an interesting perspective for us, who work with a lot of people who have one book. You know, they've spent 10 years writing it. It's their life story. It's their memoir. It's their self-help book. It's their book that accompanies them on their speaking journey, or whatever. Then there are the people who are writing constantly and can't stop writing because they're exercising that creative muscle all the time and wanting to get better, and wanting to improve and learn and understand why this works and why that hasn't worked. Just getting a glimpse into what it must be like for that person for whom writing is not a hobby. I kept saying to myself, “This is not something you're doing as a hobby.” I want this book to be of value to people, and if I'm investing that time and effort into something that I want to get out there, you've got to commit to whatever it is you need to do to make sure you're not sinking. Jo: Yes. John: I will now not be able to get that image out of my head. Jo: Yes. I know there's people listening who don't have a mind's eye, which I always find fascinating, but for those of us with a mind's eye, you can now picture that and you will never forget it. The other thing, I guess, is that, having done a lot, over 40 books now, the inevitable thing is you cannot keep pushing all of those books back up to the surface. So when you do get the bug as such of writing, the most interesting thing for all of us is always the next book. It's always like, ooh, the next thing I'm doing, I'm very excited about. So you do have to pick your battles on marketing. So have you got the bug, do you think? Are you thinking of other books in general? Because as you said, you must be, I guess, in your 60s. John: I am. Jo: You could retire. John: I am. You were talking about that long career. I could. I mean, I really love doing it, and I would love to do more. I think one of the things that surprised me was just how many ideas came up while we were doing the book about tangents that one could take it. I have no desire to write a novel. I don't want to do that. I wouldn't be very good at that. I do think there are some interesting spaces around where there's a kind of intersection of creativity and learning, and how you can develop books that would help people who are trying to achieve different things in different sectors of publishing. So without getting too granular about it, this book doesn't really address brands who want to become publishers, and I think that is something that our business has developed into working with, not just individuals, but businesses and brands. I think there's definitely spin-offs of this book which are not about repeating what we've done so far. And this whole idea of what you've been doing for a long time, what we've been doing since 2011, 2012, it's evolving now at such a speed. I mean, who would have known what was going to come out of TikTok? As you talk about TikTok to Shopify, that whole kind of new ways of finding readers, of taking books to market. As you said, Kickstarter, crowdfunding. There's all sorts of things that I think will emerge, because in a funny sort of way traditional publishing at the moment feels quite conservative with a small c. I mean, the bestsellers. Dan Brown is number one in the bestseller list this week in the UK as I speak, who has been a bestseller forever. And obviously new writers come along the whole time, but the market feels a little bit as if it's waiting now for innovation. I think if that innovation's going to happen, it's probably going to happen in the indie space before it happens in mainstream publishing. So people are coming to us and thinking, does that represent a trend? Does that represent something which could be a way of looking at something a little bit deeper, doing some research around and creating something which is not a long book, not a massive thesis, but something which is indicative of something which could be useful for people. Jo: Just coming back on the Dan Brown is in the bestseller list. I think this is completely to do with the way that traditional publishing measures things. For many years, more than a decade, probably since the beginning of Kindle, certainly the beginning of Kindle Unlimited, there is a shadow economy, I call it, or a parallel economy. I would say that almost zero of my own personal sales are measured by any industry standards. Anyone who makes any money from Kindle Unlimited or Kickstarter or Shopify, or selling direct in any form, or selling books at conventions, none of this is measured by any traditional things. As you know, the New York Times list, for example, does not include Amazon sales in their bestseller list. So you've got indie authors in the UK who are incredibly successful who have to decide, say, someone like LJ Ross, for example, decides, “Okay, I'm going to set up a proper imprint with Gardners or whatever so that I can get in bookstores so that I can hit a Sunday Times list or something.” So I would say that seeing things like Dan Brown on a bestseller list has almost no meaning in the shadow indie economy. John: No, you're absolutely right. We're not even able to see audiobook sales. Jo: Yes, audio. Any kind of borrows, like Spotify. John: No, you're completely right. I suppose I was making a broader cultural point, that it doesn't feel like there's an enormous amount of innovation going on or risk taking within what I would call mainstream trade publishing. And there doesn't seem to be the need to be, because there will be more consolidation. Small companies will be bought by big companies, so there's growth through acquisition. There's still a hope that something will take off that is a surprise, and there's still an enormous reliance on established brands who, even through the traditional metrics of how you measure them, are probably selling less, but still at the top of the pile. I suppose that's what I was meaning. Jo: Yes, and I agree with what the industry looks at as signals. It's just, as we said, a lot of these signals are invisible. So coming onto innovation, at London Book Fair this year there were a lot of sessions on AI, and you mentioned AI briefly, and there is a chapter in Going Indie on generative AI. And of course there's a lot of negativity and drama and lawsuits and this, that and the other. But at the same time, at London Book Fair, a lot of traditional publishers talking about using it, and of course they always say, “Oh, we use AI only in marketing and business, not with the creative or editorial.” Everyone makes this distinction. What are your thoughts on what's happening and where's it going with AI? Is a lot of this stuff not happening in public and just going on behind closed doors? John: I think so. We do have a chapter in the book on AI. We've generated summaries of every chapter using AI, which we explicitly said in the book as well. We've got our Ten Commandments of what we think are useful guidelines. I think that there has to be an enormous amount being done, whether it's experimentation or speeding up for efficiency's sake, or things that slow you down, within mainstream publishing. There has to be more than just the guardrails around the creative process. And clearly when we're talking about metadata, book description, cover copy, presumably royalty calculations, presumably if you're trying to grow your newsletters. There has to be an enormous amount of activity going on. We're driven by the market, so we do not commission. Writers come to us and they either want to work with us and we want to work with them, or that doesn't happen. So we're in a sense seeing what the market is seeing, and that is a whole range of things. As I've said before, there's a lot of sweeping generalisations out there, which if you look back to that Kindle moment, we were talking a little while ago about what was going on in 2010/2011, about the enormous broad brush strokes that were being perceived as a result of Kindle. Kindle has affected some areas of publishing, it's affected some not at all. I think it will be absolutely fascinating when the sweeping generalisations stop and there becomes, I suppose, even more transparency. The thing that people are looking for, isn't it? A little bit less opaqueness as to what is really being done. Because everybody's being so careful about what they say they're doing and what they're not doing. I suppose ElevenLabs is the one where people are openly engaging on the audio side. I mean, everyone is being so careful and cautious. Jo: Me too. John: What do you think? We spoke a bit about AI within the book, and I'm interested to know what you think. Jo: Well, I've obviously been openly talking about it since 2016. I openly talk about using it, and I've got my Patreon community where we talk about how we're using it, and tips on how to use it. But then, because I have been writing and publishing since 2007, 2008, I'm very strong in my creative voice. I'm very strong in my understanding of what I consider to be my level of output, and what I publish under my own name is what I publish under my own name. John: Totally. Jo: So the problem is for people who are less confident, I think, in what they're doing creatively perhaps. I know some people feel like they're scared it will take over or something. When you're as strong-minded as me, it's not taking over anything. John: It's not going to take over anything. And the other side of the coin is how many people are finding Whitefox using ChatGPT. Jo: Mm. John: I'm thrilled that we are emerging, through very detailed briefing of AI, as something that is worth engaging with. Jo: Positive marketing. John: Yes, exactly. As you say, I think there's a lot of negativity, and I think it will settle down eventually. I think less hysteria. Jo: Yes, hopefully sooner rather than later. So as we come to an end, you've been in the publishing industry a long time and seen a lot of people who have disappeared, but also those who've lasted. I wondered if maybe you could comment on those who last, because I definitely feel like I'm in my 50s now, and I want to keep doing this. I'm pretty obsessed with— What are the hallmarks of people who have a long-term career? So reflections on that. John: Oh, that's such a good question. I think there's some common characteristics and themes. So I think authenticity, I think this idea of being continually curious. I think there are people who can't help but create, and this idea that once you've sort of expelled once, that's enough. I think there's people that just can't stop creating, whatever you do with it. But this idea that the more you do, the better you get, the more you evolve and keep an open mind. I think there's definitely entrepreneurial writers who love this idea of keeping their readers engaged, and how that conversation is something that evolves and that collaboration evolves, is fascinating. I think if you love that, and you listen, there's always an opportunity to keep building on what you do. I love the writers who we work with. I can think of a writer who we're working on his fourth novel at the moment, and he is a bundle of positivity. No matter the trials and tribulations, the things that have gone wrong, his expectations definitely not being met with his first book. He definitely has this idea that he wants to keep writing, he wants to get better, and he is getting better. It isn't a journey that has a beginning and an end. It's something that will continue for as long as he wants to write. Every single book that he has published, he has learned and gained confidence, gained a network of connections that he's utilised himself now to not make the first half a dozen mistakes he made on the first book. Who knows where it will end up? But certainly the satisfaction he's getting, and the sales he's getting, are growing as he becomes savvier and quicker to make the right choices and decisions. So I think that's my honest answer to that. I think there are definitely people who think, “Phew, I have really wanted to do this book. Now I can rest easy. I've done my book.” Then there are people who really, whatever their objective, whatever the definition of success is from the get-go, just can't help creating. I do love that and respect that. I don't think our book falls quite into that category, because I think it's a slightly different thing. I think there are people who are still making a success of what they do and redefining that as they go on, and who are really open to ideas and input from different people and are not closed off. I love working with those people. Jo: So where can people find Going Indie and everything you do online? John: Well, Going Indie is available online at all good bookshops. It's available at Amazon and anywhere you buy books online as ebook and POD. Our website is wearewhitefox.com, and you'll find information about not just our book there, but a lot of other things that we're doing on that site. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, John. That was great. John: Thank you so much, Jo. It's been a pleasure. The post Going Indie, Publishing Innovation, And The Challenges Of Book Marketing With John Bond first appeared on The Creative Penn.

PRESENTACIÓN LIBROS 00:01:55 Agatha Raisin y el día del gran diluvio. Agatha Raisin #12 (M.C. Beaton) 00:05:10 Heartstoppers vol 6 (Alice Oseman) 00:08:35 La última carta (Rebecca Yarros) 00:10:10 The story of us (Olivia Levin) 00:11:25 El fugitivo (Stephen King) 00:13:30 Gente a cenar y Someday this will be a funny story (Nora Ephron) 00:14:45 El diario de Bridget Jones (Helen Fielding) 00:17:20 Todos nuestros veranos (Carley Fortune) 00:17:55 Villano en prácticas (John Scalzi) 00:19:15 El despido (Donald E. Westlake) 00:20:55 ¿Quién miente? (Amy Tintera) 00:22:20 Los maridos (Holly Gramazio) 00:24:25 El club de las indomables (Kathryn Stockett) 00:26:55 Las mujeres de la guerra (Kristin Hannah) 00:30:00 No le dejes entrar (Lisa Jewell) 00:31:20 Deberes: Alchemised (SenLinYu) / Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke) PELÍCULAS 00:36:35 Un muchacho llamado Norte 00:38:00 La Odisea 00:42:55 Spiderman: brand new day 00:46:00 Heartstopper forever 00:47:30 Vaiana 00:49:00 Enola Holmes 3 00:51:35 Hombre bala 00:53:00 La ahorcada 00:53:55 Obsession SERIES 00:57:20 Cochinas 00:58:30 La casa de los espíritus 01:00:00 La otra hermana Benett 01:01:55 Worst neighbour ever 01:03:15 La más grande 01:05:00 Widow's bay (T1) 01:07:15 Sugar (T2) 01:09:05 Rick & Morty (T9) 01:10:30 Deberes: The Bear (T5) / Colegio Abbott (T5) 01:14:10 DESPEDIDA En este programa suenan: Radical Opinion (Archers) / Siesta (Jahzzar) / Place on Fire (Creo) / I saw you on TV (Jahzzar) / Bicycle Waltz (Goobye Kumiko)

Episode 56: What do you get when you combine dark academia, romantasy, and dragons? Join the Escape Crew as all, well, nearly all, grudgingly admit to maybe not hating this month's selection: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

This month on the Literary Anything podcast, Salma and Jasmine discuss 'This Story Might Save Your Life', the debut mystery/thriller/romance/contemporary novel by Tiffany Crum. So, two podcasters talking about a book about two podcasters... Fun!! They also discuss what other books they've been reading recently (featuring a 5-star read from Salma!!) and new books coming out from Rebecca Yarros and Taylor Jenkins Reid (you'll have to wait until the outtakes for this one).

Full show - Wednesday | Back ups | News or Nope - Miley Cyrus, Maxx Morando, Jen Hamilton, and Rebecca Yarros | What's Erica's next first? | OPP - Do I need to send my daughter away? | Heads or tails? | Were you at Megan Moroney last night | T'd Off with T. Hack - Sensors | Erica went to at least 16 weddings in her 20s!? | Stupid stories www.instagram.com/theslackershow www.instagram.com/askslacker www.instagram.com/ericasheaaa www.instagram.com/thackiswack www.instagram.com/radioerin

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Jeff and Rebecca enjoy The Odyssey afterglow, lament AI slop biographies, cover a bunch of adaptation news, recent reading, and much more. Jeff gets off some takes before the show gets going to talk about Amazon's best-selling books of all-time, a formidable new AI lawsuit, sales of THE ODYSSEY editions, recent reading, and much more. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening. Discussed in this episode: Emily Wilson's comments on Christopher Nolan's Odyssey Book Riot's best adaptations of the century so far Judge approves settlement in Anthropic copyright case Scammer caught after publishing 5,000 AI slop biographies New Taylor Jenkins Reid novel in March (same day as Percival Everett) Apple already has the rights to adapt Rebecca Yarros's next (non-Fourth Wing) novel Sony picks up The Silent Patient for fast-tracked adaptation This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Go to quince.com/wellread for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. It's now available for our friends in Canada too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine Riccio & Natasha Polis talk all things nerdy in the book, tv, movie, pop culture, fandoms, and how they integrate into their adult lives. Today they have special guest Chloe Laverson andthey're talking the books and characters that were like therapy for them. Plus they chat the latest updates from Taylor swifts wedding, the new Rebecca Yarros book threshing day, severance season 3 and more! The Main discussion start at : 41:30Find chloe on the internet:  instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloelaverson/roll with her! https://www.youtube.com/@RollWithHerrToday in Fangirl Tea Time : Join Christine and Natasha for more stories about their recent life escapades. Support the pod by joining the Forking Fangirls Patreon community: http://patreon.com/thoseforkingfangirls TEAM EDWARD: The first five Heated Rivalry episode commentaries are up now! Follow the visual show on our Youtube: http://youtube.com/@thoseforkingfangirls  Get Christine's new book THIRTY, FLIRTY, & FOREVER ALONE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1662532156Add Thirty Flirty & Forever Alone on Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230393104-thirty-flirty-and-forever-aloneCheck out Natasha's sewing classes: https://www.natashapolis.com/Join our patron to get 10 dollars off the classes!Website: https://thoseforkingfangirls.com/ Email us feedback: thoseforkingfangirls@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thoseforkingfangirls/Twitter: https://twitter.com/forkfangirlspod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thoseforkingfangirlsGet Christine's novel Attached at the Hip: https://a.co/d/grmPeVy Check out the Selkie Collection and get 10% off your order with code TASHAPOLIS https://selkiecollection.com/collections/all

Welcome back to Poppin' In! This week, we're reviewing Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (spoiler: we loved it) (5:21). We're also discussing the new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (47:48), the World Cup's wild halftime show (57:47), Chloe Fineman leaving SNL (1:04:25), Rebecca Yarros' casting for the Fourth Wing adaptation (1:10:32), and Alex and Ani's Twilight collection (1:20:47). Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @poppininpodcast!

Subscribe to our Patreon for our after-party → https://www.patreon.com/c/lamebcpod Melissa and Ellie close out House of Flame and Shadow with chapters 94 through 102, covering Bryce's black-hole science experiment gone wrong, her very temporary death and resurrection (thanks, Hypaxia), the "they shared souls during the sex" debacle, the reunion of Ruhn and Lidia's boys, and one very disappointing Ariadne appearance — plus a Kanye West detour, an Incredibles/Prince of Egypt tangent, and the girls holding Rebecca Yarros accountable. This wraps the main feed's Crescent City coverage for now — next week we kick off our Red Rising series, so if you haven't read it yet, get on it. Threshing Day and ACOTAR 6 talk is coming closer to release. Patreon members: your afterparty is up now with even more thoughts we couldn't say out loud. Follow us everywhere @LameBookClubPod and grab merch at lamebookclub.com (Patreon gets you 15% off).   Website→ https://www.lamebookclubpod.com/ Merch → https://www.lamebookclubpod.com/category/all-products Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/c/lamebcpod IG → https://www.instagram.com/lamebookclubpod/ Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2exV4FVCLeN7mYfxcNs9cB?si=36805589642e442c Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l-a-m-e-book-club-podcast/id1703598706 PODCAST BUSINESS ENQUIRES: lamebcpodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Die Wärme macht uns zu schaffen, es findet sich viel Chaos in unserem Kopf -> PERFEKTE Voraussetzungen für eine this or that Quatschfolge.Buchig bleibts trotzdem wie immer! Wir entscheiden zwischen Tropes, Sommerjobs und Buchverläufen und ganz nebenbei wird über Rebecca Yarros spekuliert (Funfact: wir haben die Folge Dienstag vor den NEWS aufgenommen)Schnappt euch also ein kühles (nach Alessa bitte ein warmes) Getränk und lasst euch von uns 3 Quatschbirnen berieseln. Es wird buchig & spaßig und ihr könnt euch selber fragen, wie eure Entscheidungen aussehen.Für mehr buchigen Content & Bookstagram-Vibes könnt ihr uns gerne bei Instagram & Tiktok folgen @dreimalgelesen✨(Jingle Credits - Music Radio Creative)

In Episode 228, Sarah, Catherine (@GilmoreGuide), and Chrissie (@ChrissieWhitley) take stock of the reading year so far, discussing the books, publishing trends, and industry chatter that have defined the first half of 2026. They dive into the biggest publishing stories of the year, the rise of "cozy everything," the continued influence of self-publishing and book-to-screen success stories, and whether it's possible to tap a Book of the Year before the second half of the publishing calendar arrives. Then, they share their Top 5 Books of 2026 So Far and a few disappointing reads that didn't quite live up to expectations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights How our 2026 reading has been so far How 2026 compares to this point in 2025  Each person's current Book of the Year pick Whether it's too early to crown a Book of the Year Midyear reading stats and surprise wins Each of our Top 5 books of 2026 so far Their biggest disappointments of the year so far Top 5 Books of 2026 So Far Sarah No One's Coming by Kevin Hazzard (Mar 3) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:42] A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot (Feb 17) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:36]  Whistler by Ann Patchett (Jun 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [39:44]  London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Apr 7) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:55] The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff (May 19) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:55] Catherine The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (Jan 20) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:11] A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot (Feb 17) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:36]  Land by Maggie O'Farrell (Jun 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:55] Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (Mar 3) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [49:42] Ruins by Lily Brooks-Dalton (March 31) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:09] Chrissie A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot (Feb 17) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:36]  Whistler by Ann Patchett (Jun 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [39:44]  The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski (Jan 20) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [44:44] Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell (Mar 24) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:10]  Seek the Traitor's Son (The Burning Empire, 1) by Veronica Roth (May 12) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:55] Other Books Mentioned The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) [41:31]  Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (2020) [42:14]  The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (2025) [53:03]  Dune (Dune, 1) by Frank Herbert (1965) [59:38]  Some Disappointing Books So Far Sarah Kin by Tayari Jones (Feb 24) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:00:33]  Go Gentle by Maria Semple (Apr 14) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:00:55] Leave Your Mess At Home by Tolani Akinola (Apr 14) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:01:35] Catherine The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung (May 12) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:02:03] The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (May 5) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:02:31] Chrissie Artifacts by Natalie Lemle (May 19) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:03:39] Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall (Mar 10) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:04:13] Fatherland by Victoria Shorr (Mar 10) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:04:54] Other Books Mentioned Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (2012) [1:01:01]  Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville (1851) [1:04:19]  Books From the Opening Discussion Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, 3) by Rebecca Yarros (2025) [2:39]  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021) [3:18]  Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, 1) by Matt Dinniman (2024)* [3:22]  Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Apr 7) [4:34]  Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (2025)* [4:41]  The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025) [5:03]  The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (2024) [5:57]  Game Changer (Game Changers: Heated Rivalry, 1) by Rachel Reid (2024) [6:09]  KPop Demon Hunters (Junior Novelization) by Jessica Yoon (Mar 31) [6:13]  KPop Demon Hunters (Screen Comic Boxed Set) by Netflix (Nov 3, 2026) [6:13]  The Martian by Andy Weir (2014)* [6:48]  The Names by Florence Knapp (2025) [11:17]  Trad Wife by Michelle Brandon (Aug 4, 2026) [16:57]  Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer (Feb 10) [16:59]  Too Blessed to Stress by Alli Hoff Kosik (Mar 3) [17:02]  The Midnight Show by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (Apr 7) [17:29] Good People by Patmeena Sabit (Feb 3) [17:35]  So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder (Feb 17) [17:40]  No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes (Mar 10) [18:00]  Upward Bound by Woody Brown (Mar 31) [18:33] This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (Feb 10) [18:35]   The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman (Feb 24) [18:38]  Brawler by Lauren Groff (Feb 24) [18:43]  My Dear You by Rachel Khong (Apr 7) [18:46]  All the World Can Hold by Jung Yun (Mar 10) [19:16] The Shippers by Katherine Center (May 19) [19:18]   American Fantasy by Emma Straub (Apr 7) [19:32]  Man Overboard by Kathleen Rooney (Jul 7, 2026) [19:37]  Swept Away by Beth O'Leary (2025) [19:47]  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. 1) by Beth Brower (2019) [22:45]  *Publication year reflects the later traditionally published edition. These titles were originally self-published. Additional Links The New Yorker | Glowworms by Ann Patchett  (Sep 29, 2025)

A few years back, novels classed as “romantasy”—a portmanteau of “romance” and “fantasy”—might have seemed destined to attract only niche appeal. But since the pandemic, the genre has proved nothing short of a phenomenon. Sarah J. Maas's “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series has repeatedly topped best-seller lists, and Rebecca Yarros's 2025 title “Onyx Storm” became the fastest-selling adult novel in decades. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz are joined by their fellow New Yorker staff writer Katy Waldman as they delve into the realm of romantasy themselves. Together, they consider some of the most popular entries in the genre, and discuss how monitoring readers' reactions on BookTok, a literary corner of TikTok, allows writers to tailor their work to fans' hyperspecific preferences. Often, these books are conceived and marketed with particular tropes in mind—but the key ingredient in nearly all of them is a sense of wish fulfillment. “The reason that I think they're so powerful and they provide such solace to us is because they tell us, ‘You're perfect. You're always right. You have the hottest mate. You have the sickest powers,' ” Waldman says. “I totally get it. I fall into those reveries, too. I think we all do.”This episode originally aired on February 13, 2025.Read, watch, and listen with the critics:“Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Novelist Steal Another Writer's Story?,” by Katy Waldman (The New Yorker)“The Song of the Lioness,” by Tamora Pierce“A Court of Thorns and Roses,” by Sarah J. Maas“Ella Enchanted,” by Gail Carson Levine“Fourth Wing,” by Rebecca Yarros“Onyx Storm,” by Rebecca Yarros“Crave,” by Tracy Wolff“Working Girl” (1988)“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)“The Vampyre,” by John Polidori“Dracula,” by Bram Stoker“Outlander” (2014–)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Mary are discussing: Bookish Moments: Indie Bookstore Day and adaptations exceeding expectations. Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: more reading therapy with Mary Before We Go: our new segment featuring something Meredith is curious about and some TBR triage for Mary. Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). . . .   :10 - Bite Size Intro 2:02 - Currently Reading Patreon 2:10 - Watch Anitra's video HERE 2:47 - Roar by Cecelia Ahern 3:41 - Bookish Moments of the Week 4:05 - Boswell Book Company 6:15 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 6:37 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 9:19 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower 9:44 - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 10:07 - Current Reads 10:13 - Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Mary) 13:37 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 13:51 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree 15:25 - Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Meredith) 21:26 - Dan in Green Gables by Rey Terciero (Mary) 21:35 - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 24:25 - This Cursed House by Del Sandeen (Meredith) 26:25 - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 27:06 - Feral and Hysterical by Sadie Hartmann 28:17 - Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 29:22 - Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan (Mary) 31:44 - Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente 32:45 - The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen (Meredith) 35:00 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 36:59 - Two Friends Books 38:28 - Deep Dive: Reading Therapy with Mary 40:42 - Slewfoot by Brom 43:11 - @maryoliversdrunkcousin on Instagram 43:18 - The Poetry Remedy by William Siegert 45:27 - The Popcast 45:54 - How We Live is How We Die by Pema Chodron 49:10 - Lightfall: The Girl and the Galdurian by Tim Probert 52:54 - Heartwood by Amity Gage 52:55 - The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella 52:57 - Wreck by Catherine Newman 52:58 - Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke 53:00 - Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein 53:25 - Sandwich by Catherine Newman 53:36 - Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen 54:02 - The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill 54:04 - The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 54:59 - It's Ok That You're Not Ok by Megan Devine 55:49 - Currently Reading Substack 56:27 - The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher 57:29 - Before We Go Meredith brings something she's curious about 57:46 - @Meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram 58:41 - The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo 59:47 - Sourdough by Robin Sloan Mary tries a little TBR triage 1:00:23 - The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid   Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. April's IPL is brought to us from a new to us bookstore, Book & Books in Coral Gables, Florida Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads | Substack | Youtube The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Book Besties Season 10 Episode 13: VariationThis week the Besties talk about Variation by Rebecca Yarros, their first contemporary romance by the author. Join them as they talk about April's BookCon experience, misconceptions of the Coast Guard, and decide that Yarros is truly able to do it all. Things talked about in this episode: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Info: https://www.gocoastguard.com/careers/enlisted/astAmerican Prima Ballerinas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_prima_ballerinas Meet Molly and April, they bonded over books and became Book Besties. So, what do you do when you find your book bestie? Start a podcast of course. Hang out with April and Molly as they talk about everything they love and hate about books. Follow the Book Besties on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube. If you'd like to contact the Book Besties, please email us at bookbestiespod@gmail.com or visit our website bookbestiespodcast.com. This episode is sponsored by Carpe Librium: Bookish Things for Bookish People. Use the code NEWTHINGS2026 to save $5 off of your order of $25 or more at https://beawesomereadbooks.com.

In the latest episode of the State of the Arts podcast (@sotapod), filmmaker and writer Des Doyle sits down with senior entertainment executive Scott Farris to discuss his role in shaping global franchise storytelling.Produced in partnership with Film Ireland and supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, the State of the Arts series explores the creative processes, industry challenges, and new opportunities that both Irish and international creatives face in today's ever-evolving artistic landscapes.In this conversation, Scott discusses his experiences in the changing world of TV development, offering insight into how large-scale projects are developed from the ground up. He discusses the realities of working with major IP, the collaborative processes behind franchise storytelling, and how the industry is evolving in response to changing audience expectations, technology, and global demand.Follow the journey of State of the Arts here: https://www.instagram.com/sotapod/Read more about the podcast here: https://www.filmireland.net/state-of-the-arts-podcast-senior-entertainment-executive-scott-farris-with-des-doyle/Scott FarrisScott is a senior entertainment executive with over 15 years of experience shaping global franchise storytelling. One of the earliest creative hires at Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, he helped build the studio from the ground up and played a key role in establishing Amazon as a major force in premium television.Scott pioneered Amazon's strategy for adapting global gaming franchises, securing and developing landmark properties including God of War, Mass Effect, Warhammer 40K, and The Sims, as well as the breakout hit Fallout, which drew over 100 million viewers worldwide and earned 16 Emmy nominations.Beyond gaming, his work focuses on large-scale worldbuilding and IP-driven storytelling, with projects including Mike Flanagan's upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, RoboCop with James Wan, and Fourth Wing, based on Rebecca Yarros' bestselling romantasy phenomenon. Scott is particularly passionate about the intersection of creativity, technology, fandom, and the future of franchise storytelling.Des DoyleDes is a D.I.T. graduate who spent fifteen years working in the Camera Department in the Irish film industry before moving into directing. He is the writer/director of the critically acclaimed feature documentary Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show, featuring JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe), Robert and Michelle King (The Good Wife), Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica) and Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory) amongst others.He has created a number of courses in conjunction with Screen Ireland over the last few years, which provide breakdowns of all the major US and international streaming networks and what their evolving programming needs may be. He also initiated the Pitching Programme for TV Drama and Comedy with Screen Ireland, giving a selected group of writers the opportunity to pitch directly to some of the major Irish production companies based on briefs they provide, and created the LA Writers Room Placements scheme, which allowed Irish writers to travel to LA and spend time in real-world US TV series writers' rooms.He has also lectured on Showrunning, US TV Production and the Future of Content at USC Los Angeles, Rowan University Philadelphia, Scriptmakers Berlin, APIT TV Producers Conference Lisbon, Northern Ireland Screen, IADT Dublin, Writers Guild of Ireland and as part of the recent Greenlight Screenwriting Labs in Galway. He is currently developing a new documentary series, which is a US/Irish co-production, as well as providing creative consultancy services to Irish producers, writers and directors with projects targeting the US or global streaming markets.Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.So make sure to subscribe and listen back! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heiße Sexszenen mit Drachenreitern, Orgien in verwunschenen Schlössern, ein Dreier mit den eigenen Bodyguards oder Fesselspielchen zwischen Kommilitonen an der Uni – Smut-Literatur bietet für jede (schmutzige) Fantasie das richtige Buch und boomt weltweit wie kein anderes Genre. Auch unsere Hosts, die Schwestern Denni und Josi, sind bekennende Smut-Fans. In dieser neuen Folge von „Oh, Baby!“ gehen sie dem Trend auf den Grund, fragen sich, was an Smut (oft auch als New Adult bekannt) so fasziniert, wie die Geschichten das eigene Sexleben beeinflussen, wie Männer von dem Hype profitieren und warum die Bücher ein safe Space sein können, um mit Machtfantasien zu experimentieren. Und natürlich werden auch ein paar heiße Szenen vorgelesen… Dennis und Josis Literatur-Tipps: - „Throne of Glass“-Reihe von Sarah J. Maas: Epische, kriegerische Story in einer komplexen Fantasy-Welt. Wenig Sex, dafür viel Wer-kriegt-wen? - „Flammengeküsst“-Reihe von Rebecca Yarros: Ähnlich wie „Tribute von Panem“ allerdings mit Drachen. Hier gibt es richtig heiße Sexszenen, daher erst ab 16 Jahren zu empfehlen - „A Court of Thorns and Roses“-Reihe von Sarah J. Maas: Märchenhafte Fantasy, sehr expliziter Gewalt und Folter, Sex ist eher in späteren Folgen ein Thema, dafür dann umso heißer - „Crescent City“-Reihe von Sarah J. Maas: Fantasy trifft auf moderne Welt. Harte Folterszenen, sehr heißer Sex und muss unbedingt nach ACOTAR gelesen werden (Crossover) - „Blood and Ash“-Reihe von Jennifer Armentrout: Mittelalterliche Fantasy mit Göttern und Untoten. Tolle Lovestory und sehr offenen Sexszenen - „Deep End“ von Ali Hazelwood: Kriegen-sie-sich-Story im Uni-Setting mit kinky Sexszenen - „Haunting Adeline“ von H.D. Carlton: Dark Romance mit Mystery-Elementen. Harter Stoff mit brutalen Sexszenen. Ab 18 Jahren empfohlen ***Diese Folge wird präsentiert von AMORELIE https://klsq.io/v3lork*** Auf der Suche nach einem Sex-Shop mit großer Auswahl und fairen Preisen? Ab zu Amorelie! Mit dem Cody OHBABY bekommt ihr ab einem Mindestbestellwert aktuell 15% Rabatt auf den Womanizer Enhance sowie auf den gesamten AMORELIE Shop – auch gültig für Reduziertes. Auf Instagram findet ihr uns unter @ohbabypodcast. Schreibt uns gerne – auch, wenn ihr Fragen für unsere Quickie-Folgen habt!

This month, to celebrate of our fiftieth episode, James and Melissa FINALLY discuss Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing (the first book only) through themes of power, friendship, and shadow daddies.Join us next month when we'll be reading The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez.

– Romantasy er et gateway drug til andre bøker, sier bibliotekar Rebecka Marie Scheen. Litteraturforsker Jonas Bakken har sine tvil.Hør om drager som politiske aktører i bestselgeren Fjerde ving av Rebecca Yarros, den beryktede «spice-skalaen» på BookTok og hva som ellers skal til for å få PISA- og PIRLS-pilene til å peke oppover igjen.I samtalen: Jonas Bakken, professor i norskdidaktikk ved Universitetet i Oslo, og Rebecka Marie Scheen, bibliotekar ved Lørenskog bibliotek.Programleder er Monica Bjermeland.

In Episode 218, Sarah chats with Enneagram author, speaker, and podcaster Sarajane Case about Reading Through the Enneagram. After a brief introduction to the Enneagram and how it differs from other personality systems, they dive into how Enneagram types show up in our reading lives — from guessing an author's type to rethinking our own habits as readers. Sarajane walks through the nine types, shares a book recommendation for each, and offers her own personal picks. Note: This episode was republished due to an Apple Podcasts feed glitch that prevented it from appearing for some subscribers. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Books by Sarajane Case: The Honest Enneagram and The Enneagram Letters A brief introduction to the Enneagram — and how it differs from other personality systems Sarajane's personal approach to working with the Enneagram A quick overview of the nine Enneagram types How each Enneagram type might approach reading Whether (and how) we can discern an author's Enneagram type through their work (and the Enneagram types most and least likely to be authors themselves) Practical tips for using your type to improve your reading life Reading Through the Enneagram [29:51]  Type 1: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:08] Type 2: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [30:50]   Type 3: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:27] Type 4: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:42]  Type 5: Fourth Wing (Empyrean, 1) by Rebecca Yarros (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [32:56]  Type 6: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:32]  Type 7: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:56]  Type 8: Crook Manifesto (The Harlem Trilogy, 2) by Colson Whitehead (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [34:20]  Type 9: Severance by Ling Ma (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [36:16]  Other Books Mentioned The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, 1) by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954) [32:08]  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) [33:49]  The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (2019) [34:57]  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022) [35:23]  Sarajane's Book Recommendations [36:37]  Two OLD Books She Loves The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [36:50]  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [38:08]  Two NEW Books She Loves Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:09]  A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:14]  Other Books Mentioned Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2019) [42:05]  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) [42:16]  Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2021) [42:28]  Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2022) [42:37]  The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (2022) [43:28]  One Book She DIDN'T Love Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:14]  Other Books Mentioned South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (1992) [44:20]  1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (2009) [44:49]  One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About Theodora's Tea Shop by Christy Anne Jones (July 28, 2026 — no US release date set yet) | Link to Blackwell's for US Orders [45:52]  Other Links Truity | Enneagram Personality Test

In Episode 218, Sarah chats with Enneagram author, speaker, and podcaster Sarajane Case about Reading Through the Enneagram. After a brief introduction to the Enneagram and how it differs from other personality systems, they dive into how Enneagram types show up in our reading lives — from guessing an author's type to rethinking our own habits as readers. Sarajane walks through the nine types, shares a book recommendation for each, and offers her own personal picks. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Books by Sarajane Case: The Honest Enneagram and The Enneagram Letters A brief introduction to the Enneagram — and how it differs from other personality systems Sarajane's personal approach to working with the Enneagram A quick overview of the nine Enneagram types How each Enneagram type might approach reading Whether (and how) we can discern an author's Enneagram type through their work (and the Enneagram types most and least likely to be authors themselves) Practical tips for using your type to improve your reading life Reading Through the Enneagram [29:51]  Type 1: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (2020) | Amazon| Bookshop.org [30:08] Type 2: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [30:50]   Type 3: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:27] Type 4: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:42]  Type 5: Fourth Wing (Empyrean, 1) by Rebecca Yarros (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [32:56]  Type 6: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:32]  Type 7: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (2021) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:56]  Type 8: Crook Manifesto (The Harlem Trilogy, 2) by Colson Whitehead (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [34:20]  Type 9: Severance by Ling Ma (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [36:16]  Other Books Mentioned The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, 1) by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954) [32:08]  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) [33:49]  The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (2019) [34:57]  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022) [35:23]  Sarajane's Book Recommendations [36:37]  Two OLD Books She Loves The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [36:50]  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [38:08]  Two NEW Books She Loves Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:09]  A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (2025) | Amazon| Bookshop.org [43:14]  Other Books Mentioned Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2019) [42:05]  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) [42:16]  Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2021) [42:28]  Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2022) [42:37]  The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (2022) [43:28]  One Book She DIDN'T Love Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:14]  Other Books Mentioned South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (1992) [44:20]  1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (2009) [44:49]  One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About Theodora's Tea Shop by Christy Anne Jones (July 28, 2026 — no US release date set yet) | Link to Blackwell's for US Orders [45:52]  Other Links Truity | Enneagram Personality Test

This month, Melissa and James discuss Lynn Painter's Fake Skating through themes of patriarchy, objectification, and so. many. tropes.Join us next month for our FIFTIETH episode in which we finally discuss Rebecca Yarros' endlessly popular Fourth Wing (the first book of the series only).

Becky, Holly, Jakob, and Austin talk about books of the 2020s, trends in reading and publishing, our hopes for the future, and a couple of predictions for the next big thing. This reading data: https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2024/federal-data-reading-pleasure-all-signs-show-slump Books mentioned include: Spillover by David Quammen, The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, The Plague by Albert Camus, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez,  These Precious Days and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, There is a Door in This Darkness by Kristin Cash ore, All Fours by Miranda July, Book Lovers by Emily Henry, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, What Were We Thinking by Carlos Lozada, Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen, Just Us by Claudia Rankine, The Trees by Percival Everett, Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette, Intimacies and A Separation by Katie Kitamura, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, Ducks by Kate Beaton, The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty, The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, The Most by Jessica Anthony, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, Autocracy Inc by Anne Applebaum, Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, Doppleganger by Naomi Klein, Detransition, Baby by Torry Peters, Woodworking by Emily St. James, Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan, Diary of a Misfit by Casey Parks, Jesus Wept by Philip Shenon, Romney by McKay Coppins, Motherland by Julia Ioffe, The Gales of November by John U. Bacon, Murderland by Caroline Fraser, King of Kings by Scott Anderson, All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilberty, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham, More Everything Forever by Adam Becker, Red White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, Wanderhome by Jay Dragon, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The House in the Cerulean sea by TJ Klune, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The Women by Kristin Hannah, Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey,  The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, Alchemised by SenLinYu, Convent Wisdom by Ana Garriga and Carment Urbita, The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, Berry Song by Michaela Goade, Legendary Frybread Drive-In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, The Tragedy of True Crime by John J. Lennon, The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne,  We Tell Ourselves Stories by Alissa Wilkinson, Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik, Enshittification by Cory Doctorow, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Back After This by Linda Holmes, The Caretaker by Ron Rash And authors Patricia Lockwood,  Claire Keegan, Rachel Kushner, Timothy Snyder, Helen Garner, Casey Plett, Mr Beast/James Patterson, Stephen Graham Jones, Silvia Moreno Garcia, and more!

Sarah and Kaitlyn discuss what romantasy is as well as popular titles in the genre—including A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) and Fourth Wing.Books mentioned: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, and Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.Also mentioned: A Game of Thrones and Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin; the TV series Bridgerton, based on the books by Julia Quinn; the Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent; and From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout.Check out books, TV shows and movies at countycat.mcfls.org, wplc.overdrive.com, hoopladigital.com and kanopy.com/en/westallis. For more about WAPL, visit westallislibrary.org.Music: Tim Moor via Pixabay

Tune in as Katrina (@katrinaslibrary) circles back around to 2CC so that she and Arthur can roll out their top ten books of 2025. Hoping that the growing subgenre of romantasy moves away from the likes of Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas, the importance of supporting armed resistance (including that which comes from Palestine), the deep flaws of Western liberalism, and the pervasive bigotry of anti-Asian racism and misogyny stand out as a few of the subjects on this episode.Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastrHere's how you can learn more about Palestine and IsraelHere's how you can keep up-to-date on this genocideHere's how you can send eSIM cards to Palestinians in order to help them stay connected onlineGood Word:• Katrina: Micro Rainbow• Arthur: The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi and Coffin Moon by Keith RossonReach out at email2centscritic@yahoo.com if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, Letterboxd, and TikTok: @arthur_ant18Follow Arthur on Bluesky: @arthur-ant18Follow the podcast on Twitter: @two_centscriticFollow the podcast on Instagram: @twocentscriticpodFollow Arthur on GoodreadsCheck out 2 Cents Critic Linktree

On this episode, Rachel Larkins, a listener of Books with Betsy, talks about her project to read all the winners of the Hugo award, so we talk about a lot of really great sci-fi books. We also dish about how great the Book Riot podcast universe is and we might convince you to pick up Dune.    Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy's reading:  Ring by Michele Lerner You Wanna Be On Top? by Sarah Hartshorne Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte  The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy    Books Highlighted by Rachel: Enders Game by Orson Scott Card  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell  The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson Red Rising by Pierce Brown A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller  Prophet Song by Paul Lynch  Among Others by Jo Walton  Network Effect by Martha Wells  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir  Dune by Frank Herbert  Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman  The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion    All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu  Travel Team by Mike Lupica  Recursion by Blake Crouch  Katabasis by R.F. Kuang  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood  The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon  Gilead by Marilynne Robinson  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 

Rebecca Yarros is a number one New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm, which became the fastest-selling adult novel in twenty years with 2.7 million copies sold in its first week. In this conversation from March 2025, Yarros sits down with Jenna Bush Hager to talk about crafting sweeping love stories and how living with chronic illness and growing up in a military family shaped the world of Fourth Wing. Plus, she opens up about balancing sudden fame with motherhood, why readers have fallen so deeply for her characters, and how writing romance helped her believe in a dream she once thought was out of reach. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For this episode, Moira and Adrian are joined by Abby Kluchin from the Ordinary Unhappiness podcast to discuss a recent publishing phenomenon and its implications for gender politics: romantasy, a genre that's been emerging over the last 10 years with renewed force. Series like Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses and the Empyrian-novels by Rebecca Yarros mix fantasy tropes with costume drama and pretty explicit sex scenes -- and they rely on a very particular kind of trauma heroine, and what seems to be a very particular understanding of gendered trauma.

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: reviving the book space and recs from bookish friends Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: all things special editions The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). .  .  .  1:39 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 2:35 - Currently Reading Patreon 4:16 - Currently Reading website to find your readerly type 5:03 - Sidedoor podcast 5:29 - Sidedoor Season 11 - Poison and Poisonability  6:50 - Our Current Reads 6:58 - Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle (Kaytee) 7:13 - @booksbybrady on instagram 11:02 - Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates (Meredith) 14:51 - Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates 16:17 - Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson (Kaytee) 17:41 - These Truths by Jill Lapore 19:37 - Two Cures for Love by Wendy Cope (Meredith, amazon link) 23:58 - The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel (Kaytee) 26:23 - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 26:54 - Bear by Julia Phillips 28:02 - For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn (Meredith) 35:26 - Deep Dive: All About Special Editions 35:41 - Special Edition reel by Docofthedarkarts 36:16 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (special edition) 36:33 - OwlCrate 36:34 - Fairyloot 36:38 - Satisfiction 37:40 - Foyles 38:47 - Still Life by Louise Penny (special edition) 41:01 - Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (leatherbound edition, pre-order out Feb 26, 2026) 41:45 - Hunger Games special edition box set 42:20 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 42:24 - The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher 44:29 - The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (deluxe special edition) 46:42 - Meet Us At The Fountain 47:14 - I wish to press Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (Kaytee) 47:15 - Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots 49:01 - For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn 49:25 - Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots (pre-order, releases May 19, 2026) 50:25 - If you are feeling slumpy in your reading, I wish for you to get your eyes checked! (Meredith) Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January's IPL is our annual visit to Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Continuing our series on Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx storm. Spoilers and theories inside.

On this episode of Currently Reading, Mary and Roxanna take the reins and are deep diving into their top reads of 2025! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  **Please help us by filling out the LISTENER SURVEY before JANUARY 25th!! 1:21 - Mary and Roxanna's Reading Year 4:14 - Mary's Reading Stats: 100 books read this year and picked up some graphic novels that normally she wouldn't have read in the past 7:54 - Roxanna's Reading Stats: 68 books read this year.  26 five star reads 15% general fiction, 16% historical fiction, 15% lit fic, 13% middle grade, 20% POC authors, 96% fiction 12:03 - Join the Currently Reading Patreon to access the reading tracker 14:25 - Mary and Roxanna's Best Books of 2025 14:38 - The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das (Roxanna #10) 17:09 - Empty Cradle, Broken Heart by Deborah L. Davis 18:16 - God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Mary #10) 19:23 - Sandwich by Catherine Newman 19:40 - The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z Hossain (Roxanna #9) 21:48 - Heart the Lover by Lily King (Mary #9) 22:36 - Writers & Lovers by Lily King 24:37 - The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe (Roxanna #8) 27:16 - The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Mary #8) 30:46 - To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (Roxanna #7) 34:06 - The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Ladies of Mad Science: Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon (Mary #7) 35:35 - The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon 37:39 - The Unseen World by Liz Moore (Roxanna #6) 40:04 - The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (Mary #6) 42:27 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 43:09 - The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman (Roxanna #5) 45:00 - Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune 46:01 - The Bones Beneath by Skin by T.J. Klune (Mary #5) 46:35 - House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune 50:11 - Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Roxanna #4) 50:24 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 54:14 - The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller (Mary #4) 54:33 - Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller 54:41 - The Change by Kirsten Miller 56:59 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Roxanna #3) 59:14 - Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross (Mary #3) 59:36 - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 1:00:05 - Circe by Madeline Miller 1:00:07 - Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati 1:01:02 - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Roxanna #2) 1:05:08 - The Correspondent by Virgina Evans (Mary #2) 1:08:17 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Roxanna #1 - the whole series!) 1:10:30 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery 1:10:36 - 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff 1:14:41 - Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert (Mary #1 - the whole series!) 1:15:31 - Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert 1:15:31 - Lightfall: The Dark Times by Tim Probert 1:17:22 - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January's IPL is our annual visit to Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

I stumbled across Stacy on Threads back in early 2025 when she posted about who she was hoping the algorithim would bring to her account. I followed Stacy for awhile and then realized "I bet she has an Instagram page" and followed her work there too. One of my favorite things about Stacy is that she wants to build and engage with those who do follow her on her platforms. I love that, and it's one of the things I enjoyed as I got to know her. This episode is split in half! The first half we're talking about Fantasy and Romantasy books. Stacy talks about what she looks for in a book, and what she's drawn to in the Romantasy sphere. We cover a number of different books including Cruel Prince, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and more. Stacy's full list of recommended titles is at the bottom of the show notes including links to purchase! The second half of the episode features Stacy talking about what she creates! From her fantasy inspired costumes to the photography that goes along with it - including great behind the scenes stories on some of her iconic shots from her instagram. Stacy gives us the inside scoop and I am absolutely here for it. We also talk about renaissance faires and fantasy balls, including Stacy's upcoming appearance at FrostFire Ball by Storybook Soirees (link in the notes for ticket info!)  Books that Stacy recommended are: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black - https://amzn.to/3LkH4gd A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas - https://amzn.to/4qNzFoG Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas - https://amzn.to/454cG0d The Assassin's Blade novella by Sarah J. Maas - https://amzn.to/3LumYQH The Rogue King by Abigail Owen - https://amzn.to/4svVQS5 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - https://amzn.to/4sz7UC1 Quicksilver by Callie Hart - https://amzn.to/4jxcX1C You can find more info about FrostFire Ball at: https://www.storybooksoirees.com/frostfire-ball You can find Stacy at: https://www.instagram.com/stacylkellam/ https://www.threads.com/@stacylkellam https://www.tiktok.com/@stacylkellam https://linktr.ee/stacylkellam

As the year comes to a close, it's time to share my list of the best romance books of 2025. These are the romance books that deserve my heard-earned 5 star rating because the writing is off-the-charts, the storylines captivating and the characters unforgettable. Trust me that all of these books deserve a spot on your must-read list because they are a cut above the rest of the romance books that released this year. BOOKS MENTIONED:Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: https://amzn.to/3UzCsEsOut of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young: https://amzn.to/3Cg7TNLDream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey: https://amzn.to/3NSuna7First Time Caller by B.K. Borison: https://amzn.to/4hKCnrwPromise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone: https://amzn.to/42GPbJSStory of My Life by Lucy Score: https://amzn.to/4efsoHxWild Side by Elsie Silver: https://amzn.to/44UibiMIf Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley: https://amzn.to/40H77TQ Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine: https://amzn.to/41una7vCan't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan: https://amzn.to/48AtvAeIt's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan: https://amzn.to/4ckulD8Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun: https://amzn.to/4nBN6atPitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey: https://amzn.to/4797Z6ZThe Homemaker by Jewel E Ann: https://amzn.to/4nn4BdNStand Your Ground by Kandi Steiner: https://amzn.to/4q8fBwSWilling Prey by Allie Oleander: https://amzn.to/4k66k5DGrace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman: https://amzn.to/4kgl5TIBranded by Saffron A Kent: https://amzn.to/4ntwqRsIn Your Dreams by Sarah Adams: https://amzn.to/48LNQFbBrimstone by Callie Hart: https://amzn.to/44wspVFLINKS MENTIONED: Join the She Reads Romance Books Book Club: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/bookclub2026 Romance Book Reading Challenge: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/reading-challenge-2026/My 2025 Reading List: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/2025-reading-list/FOLLOW ME! Join My Email List: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/joinBlog: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/ Podcast: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shereadsromancebooks Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shereadsromancebooks Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shereadsromancebooksblog/LEAVE A REVIEW!If you liked this episode or got a book recommendation you can't wait to read, please give a star rating and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. It helps me know what you like and want to hear. Thanks!This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got a present for you from our secret feed vault! Rachelle, Kelsey, and Brandy gather over a bottle of wine to discuss Rebecca Yarros' FOURTH WING. If you'd like to get in on these monthly extra episodes, subscribe as a Friend or a Friend-of-a-Friend.Subscribe to our newsletter for writing from Rachelle, Se'era, Jae, Alex, and Kelsey, plus blog recommendations and secrets!You can support Normal Gossip directly by buying merch or becoming a Friend or a Friend-of-Friend at supportnormalgossip.com.You can also find all kinds of info about us and how to submit gossip on our Komi page: https://normalgossip.komi.io/Episode transcript here.Follow the show on Instagram @normalgossip, and if you have gossip, email us at normalgossip@defector.com or leave us a voicemail at 26-79-GOSSIP.Normal Gossip is hosted by Rachelle Hampton (@heyydnae) and produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks (@seera_sharae) and Jae Towle Vieira (@jaetowlevieira). Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs) is our Supervising Producer. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Show art by Tara Jacoby.Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. Support Radiotopia's fall fundraiser here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Send us a textDeck the halls and clutch your pearls. We're unwrapping He Sees You When You're Sleeping, a Christmas-set dark romance with a morally grey fireman whose obsession lands him on the *naughty* list. Summon us @DTFaePodcast We like our coffee icy and our books spicy! Oh, and we're totally Down To Fae. A podcast for fantasy romance readers and fans of authors like Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rebecca Yarros and Carissa Broadbent. Follow along as your delulu hosts discuss your favorite romantasy books in a chapter-by-chapter read, re-read or refresher.

In today's episode, I'm sharing my favorite book boyfriends of 2025! Yep, these are all the romance heroes who captured my heart this year whether they were a fae warrior, a professional athlete, a single father, a wolf shifter, and many more – I fell hard for each and every one. Tune in to see if any of my favorite book boyfriends were yours as well.BOOKS MENTIONED: Brimstone by Callie Hart: https://amzn.to/49fFbdMIn Your Dreams by Sarah Adams: https://amzn.to/48LNQFbIt's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan: https://amzn.to/4ckulD8Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: https://amzn.to/3UzCsEsBreathe With Me by Becka Mack: https://amzn.to/3MBsNfrPromise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone: https://amzn.to/3KD28hHGrace and Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman: https://amzn.to/4kgl5TIMate by Ali Hazelwood: https://amzn.to/4olrQp7Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey: https://amzn.to/4797Z6ZDream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey: https://amzn.to/3NSuna7Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine: https://amzn.to/41una7vWild Side by Elsie Silver: https://amzn.to/4aUrzFXWilling Prey by Allie Oleander: https://amzn.to/4k66k5DSawyer by Jessica Peterson: https://amzn.to/4ino6zLHe Falls First by Jill Shalvis: https://amzn.to/4lrkLBXOne Golden Summer by Carley Fortune: https://amzn.to/49fzNHqThe Roommate Mistake by Pippa Grant: https://amzn.to/3MBneO5FOLLOW ME! Join My Email List: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/joinBlog: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/ Podcast: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shereadsromancebooks Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shereadsromancebooks Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shereadsromancebooksblog/LINKS MENTIONED: Book Boyfriend Hub: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/book-boyfriends/Join the She Reads Romance Books Book Club: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/bookclubLEAVE A REVIEW!If you liked this episode or got a book recommendation you can't wait to read, please give a star rating and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. It helps me know what you like and want to hear. Thanks!This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Xan travels back to the dawn of modern manga with Lost World by the legendary Osamu Tezuka. As the inaugural work in Tezuka's classic sci-fi trilogy, does this proto-manga about a rogue dinosaur planet stand as a visionary classic, or is it a fascinating but dated relic? We unearth its historical importance and see how it holds up today. In This Episode: Analyzing the historic, foundational style of this early sci-fi adventure. A look at the "Tezuka Star System" and how it shapes the classic characters. Update #3 in the "45 Books for 45 Years" project (Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros). The latest manga news and releases. Support the Show: Help us preserve manga history: Gofundme Engage With Us: Subscribe! YouTube | Website Follow @spiraken on X (Twitter), Bluesky, Instagram Join the community on Discord Support us on Patreon Rate us on Apple Podcasts Random Question of the Day: "What's the oldest or most historically significant comic or manga you've ever read, and what did you think of it?" #Spiraken #MangaReview #LostWorld #OsamuTezuka #Tezuka #ClassicManga #SciFiManga #DarkHorseManga #HistoryOfManga Music Credits: "Trendsetter" by Mood Maze (via Uppbeat) License code: YEPNB5COHX56JVES WHERE TO FIND US Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/spiraken.bsky.social Instagram: instagram.com/spiraken Email: Spiraken@gmail.com | Xan: xan@spiraken.com Patreon: patreon.com/spiraken Discord: tinyurl.com/spiradiscord X: x.com/spiraken YouTube: youtube.com/@spiraken Twitch: twitch.com/spiraken Amazon Store: amazon.com/shops/spiraken

In Episode 213, Sarah and Chrissie (@ChrissieWhitley) wrap up the year with the Best Books of 2025 Genre Awards. They reveal their Overall Best Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) and a full breakdown by genre, including: Best Literary Fiction, Best Romance, Best Brain Candy, Best Genre Mash-Up, and more! Plus, they share the winners for these same genres as chosen by the Sarah's Bookshelves Live Member Community. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Announcements The 2026 Reading Tracker is out! This year brings upgraded features across the board — including NEW average star rating and 5-star book tracking for every stat on the Dashboard — plus an updated Lite Tracker for those who prefer a streamlined version. Both Trackers are ONLY available to paid Patreon or Substack subscribers ($7/month) and is no longer sold separately. To avoid Apple's 30% fee, be sure to join directly from the Patreon website (mobile or desktop). Join our Patreon Community (here) OR become a Substack Paid Member (here)! Highlights Podcast reflections from 2025 — including top episodes based on download stats. A brief overview of Sarah's and Chrissie's 2025 year in reading. Their favorite books of the year: overall and by genre, including the SBL Member Community's picks. 2025 Genre Awards [12:39] Sarah The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [12:45]  The Favorites by Layne Fargo (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [16:32]  The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [20:13]  One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org   [23:48]  The Compound by Aisling Rawle (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [28:47]  August Lane by Regina Black (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [36:03]  The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [41:54]  Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:36] This American Woman by Zarna Garg (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [50:00] Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [52:59] The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [54:44]  Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [56:29] Next of Kin by Gabrielle Hamilton (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org   [1:00:10]  The Elements by John Boyne (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:03:10] Chrissie Fox by Joyce Carol Oates (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [13:42]  Joy Moody Is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:36]  Marble Hall Murders (Susan Ryeland, 3) by Anthony Horowitz (2025) | Amazon| Bookshop.org  [21:39]  The Pretender by Jo Harkin (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [25:51]  What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [30:28]  To Clutch a Razor (Curse Bearer, 2) by Veronica Roth (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [32:39]  The Love Haters by Katherine Center (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [37:03]  These Heathens by Mia McKenzie (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [43:31]  The Zorg by Siddarth Kara (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [47:11]  Misbehaving at the Crossroads by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [51:09] A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:38]  Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[55:11] Heartwood by Amity Gaige (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [57:16]  Future Boy by Michael J. Fox (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:01:23]  Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by James Goodhand (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:06:07]  SBL Member Community The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:43] The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [19:02] Heartwood by Amity Gaige (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [22:52]  Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:21] The Compound by Aisling Rawle (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:28]  The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:23]  One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:39] Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [40:57] Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:15] Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:17] Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:19] The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:22] Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:24] So Far Gone by Jess Walter (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [45:27] This American Woman by Zarna Garg (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:28] Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:20] Ordinary Time by Annie Jones (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [52:32] Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:31]  Among Friends by Hal Ebbott (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [59:25] Awake by Jen Hatmaker (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:02:33] Other Books Mentioned Leaving by Roxana Robinson (2024) [13:51]  Heart the Lover by Lily King (2025) [15:35]  Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025) [15:58]  Audition by Katie Kitamura (2025) [16:09]  The Names by Florence Knapp (2025) [16:11] Dream State by Eric Puchner (2025) [16:13] Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne (2023) [17:45]  Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (2025) [18:46]  Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (2025) [18:56]  The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (2025) [19:18] Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding by Lian Dolan (2025) [19:23] Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (2023) [21:28]  The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (2025) [23:03] The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (2025) [23:07]   Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (2025) [23:13] The Boomerang by Robert Bailey (2025) [23:15]   We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (2017) [24:09]  Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin (2022) [26:03] What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (2025) [26:55] Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2025) [27:06]   The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (2025) [27:12] Isola by Allegra Goodman (2025) [28:13]  Merge by Grace Walker (2025) [31:35] The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve (2025) [31:43]  Sunrise on the Reaping by Susanna Collins (2025) [31:48] Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (2025) [31:01] The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker (2025) [32:05] When Among Crows by Veronica Roth (2024) [33:05]  Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (2025) [34:23] Babel by R. F. Kuang (2022) [34:36] Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (2023) [34:37] A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (2025) [34:49] The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (2024) [34:54] Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (2025) [34:58] The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (2025) [35:05] Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (2025) [35:31] The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (2023) [36:49] The Favorites by Layne Fargo (2025) [38:54]  The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (2025) [40:30] Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (2025) [40:37] We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad (2025) [40:42] The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig (2025) [41:19] Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker (2025) [41:30] When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (2025) [44:56] The Wager by David Grann (2023) [47:34]  Replaceable You by Mary Roach (2025) [49:04] The Gales of November by John U. Bacon (2025) [49:11] Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025) [51:58] All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (2025) [52:08] Awake by Jen Hatmaker (2025) [52:24] Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (2025) [52:28] One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (2025) [52:49] The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024) [53:22] Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) [54:21] Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo (2025) [54:27] Woodworking by Emily St. James (2025) [56:16] Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (2025) [58:57] The Elements by John Boyne (2025) [59:15]   Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley (2025) [59:49] My Friends by Fredrik Backman (2025) [59:51] The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) [1:05:51] James by Percival Everett (2024) [1:08:07]  Top Podcast Episodes Ep. 199: Best Books of 2025 (So Far) with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) and Susie (@NovelVisits) Ep. 184: Best Books of 2024 Genre Awards with Susie (@NovelVisits) Ep. 185: Winter 2025 Book Preview with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) Ep. 205: Fall 2025 Book Preview with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) Ep. 192: Spring 2025 Book Preview with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) Ep. 198: Best of Thrillers with Anderson McKean of Page & Palette (@PagePalette) Ep. 188: Best of Fantasy with Chrissie (@ChrissieWhitley) Ep. 193: Clare Leslie Hall (author of Broken Country) Ep. 187: State of the Industry in 2024 with Kathleen Schmidt (@KathMSchmidt), author of the Publishing Confidential Substack Ep. 208: Best of Narrative Nonfiction with Elizabeth Barnhill of Fabled Bookshop (@FabledBookshop)

Send us a textOur Throne of Glass deep dive concludes with the final chapters of Kingdom of Ash. ACOTAR deep dive begins January 6!Summon us @DTFaePodcast We like our coffee icy and our books spicy! Oh, and we're totally Down To Fae. A podcast for fantasy romance readers and fans of authors like Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rebecca Yarros and Carissa Broadbent. Follow along as your delulu hosts discuss your favorite romantasy books in a chapter-by-chapter read, re-read or refresher.

Send us a textOur Throne of Glass deep dive continues with Kingdom of Ash chapters 110-117. Summon us @DTFaePodcast We like our coffee icy and our books spicy! Oh, and we're totally Down To Fae. A podcast for fantasy romance readers and fans of authors like Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rebecca Yarros and Carissa Broadbent. Follow along as your delulu hosts discuss your favorite romantasy books in a chapter-by-chapter read, re-read or refresher.

Ballet superstar Misty Copeland reflected on her groundbreaking career, the power of representation in the arts, and her journey to becoming the first Black principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. Next, bestselling author Rebecca Yarros shared the story behind her Fourth Wing series, the impact of BookTok, and how her life as a mother, military wife, and advocate for chronic illness shapes her writing. Conversation recorded on Thursday, Nov 20, 2025. Event sponsored by AARP.

Rebecca Yarros is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels including ‘Fourth Wing,' ‘Iron Flame' and ‘Onyx Storm.'  Her latest and highly anticipated novel ‘Onyx Storm' is the fastest selling adult novel in twenty years and sold 2.7 million copies in its first week. Rebecca sat down with Jenna Bush Hager to chat about how she drew on her experience with chronic illness and life in a military family to write “Fourth Wing,” and her process to plot out five books in the series. She opens up about balancing fame with motherhood, how readers have resonated with her books  and why becoming an author was the dream she always had but never knew was possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: losing track of time reading and bookish vanity plates Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: books we think would make great book club picks The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). .  .  .  1:19 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 2:29 - Snap by Belinda Bauer 6:34 - Our Current Reads 6:48 - The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig (Meredith) 10:13 - Wanderers by Chuck Wendig 10:33 - It by Stephen King 11:59 - The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko (Kaytee) 12:03 - Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko 14:24 - Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 15:13 - Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko 16:06 - How to Be A Saint by Kate Sidley (Meredith) 21:45 - Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery (Kaytee) 21:53 - The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery 26:46 - The Black Wolf by Louise Penny (Meredith) 27:01 - The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny 32:54 - State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton 34:20 - The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (Kaytee) 34:27 - The King's English Bookshop 36:49 - The Magicians by Lev Grossman 38:36 - Our Book Club Recs 39:22 - Currently Reading Patreon 40:34 - The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig 44:27 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 44:38 - Curfew by Jayne Cowie 46:04 - Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge 48:11 - The Push by Ashley Audrain 49:19 - The Art Thief by Michael Finkel 50:15 - One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie 51:24 - Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 51:25 - Washington Black by Esi Edugyan 51:27 - The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali 51:45 - Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 52:06 - CR Season 6: Episode 2 52:42 - Check our our instagram @currentlyreadingpodcast for our book club post! 52:54 - Meet Us At The Fountain 53:02 - I wish that if you don't already follow us on Instagram, to do so now. (Meredith) 53:07 - @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram 53:35 - I wish to reformat my bookish hard drive (Kaytee) 51:34 - Katabasis by R.F. Kuang 51:37 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 51:38 - Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon   Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. November's's IPL is brought to us from Content Bookstore in Northfield, Minnesota. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

In Ep. 210, Laura McGrath, author of the popular Substack newsletter, textCrunch, joins Sarah to take a sharp look at the State of the Publishing Industry in 2025. This packed episode covers a high-level look at the top sales and book trends, as well as Laura's insights into the future of the book world for 2026. Also, Laura shares her favorite books of 2025! This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Laura McGrath's book Middlemen (publishing April 28, 2026) is available for pre-order here: Amazon | Bookshop.org  Fiction's performance in the sales charts since 2019. The trend seen in nonfiction over the past few years and where it may be headed. The continued debate about whether 2025 has a "Book of the Year." Surprising sales trends in religious books and imprints. How self-publishing still brings us successful authors. What Laura sees in her research that she thinks publishers should be paying attention to. A bit about the current outlook for mid-list and debut authors. Laura's predictions for 2026 book trends. State of the Publishing Industry in 2025 HIGH-LEVEL OVERVIEW [2:45]  Onyx Storm (Empyrean, 3) by Rebecca Yarros (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [7:49] Fourth Wing (series, 1) by Rebecca Yarros | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:58]  The Women by Kristin Hannah (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [9:21] James by Percival Everett (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [9:59] The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [10:02] Flashlight by Susan Choi (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [10:25] The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [11:58] The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [12:04] A Guardian and a Thief by Leela Tapryal (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [12:31] The Names by Florence Knapp (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [13:19] Audition by Katie Kitamura (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [13:57] The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [13:59] 2025 BOOK SALES & TRENDS [14:41]   The Martian by Andy Weir (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:03]  The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [21:38]   The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [21:40]   Heart the Lover by Lily King (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:42]  BIG BOOK STORIES OF 2025 [30:18]  Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:30]  V by Thomas Pynchon (1963) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:32]  Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (1969) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:41]  The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:47]  The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [33:54]  2026 PUBLISHING PREDICTIONS [42:29]  Audition by Katie Kitamura (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [4:41] Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:55]  Discipline by Larissa Pham (January 20, 2026) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:01]  Under Water by Tara Menon (March 17, 2026) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:07]  Laura's 3 Favorites Books of 2025 [45:31]  Culpability by Bruce Holsinger (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:17]  Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghey (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[47:59]  The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [49:38] Other Links The New York Times | The Dogged, Irrational Persistence of Literary Fictionby Gerald Howard The Walrus | Publishing Has a Gambling Problem by Tajja Isen Time | How Taylor Jenkins Reid Became a Publishing Powerhouse by Lucy Feldman Book Riot | How Much Does Genre Matter to Readers? (Podcast Episode) Public Books | Who Cares About Literary Prizes? by Alexander Manshel, Laura B. Mcgrath, & J. D. Porter

SPOILERS FOR ALL OF THE EMPYREAN SERIESOH MY GOSH! We got to interview Rebecca Yarros AT DISNEY WORLD! AND EVEN BETTER, she gave us some JUICY insights into what we can expect from book four of the Empyrean sereis!Check out our recent sponsors: https://www.fantasyfangirls.com/sponsorsJoin the FanClub: https://fantasyfangirls.com/fanclubShop our merch: https://fantasyfangirls.myshopify.com/Support the show through our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fantasyfangirlspodcastNewsletter: https://fantasyfangirls.com/newsletterWebsite: https://www.fantasyfangirls.com/ Upcoming events:* Brimstone Midnight Release Party - go to https://events.humanitix.com/ffg-brimstone-release-partyThe Dreamers & Readers Festival - Use code FFG for a discount off your ticket!*For all Event Discounts - go to https://fantasyfangirls.supercast.com/subscriber_v2/posts/6891Listen now:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/24KydMMzrYfVpDggkFZx4j?si=fd7dc956393041b8Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-fangirls/id1706179464YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fantasyfangirlsFollow us:Instagram: @fantasyfangirlspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fantasyfangirlspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lesley Logan and Brad Crowell unpack the biggest takeaways from mindset coach Brad Bizjack, diving into what it really takes to create change that lasts. They reveal why perfectionism often hides behind the need for certainty, and how emotional leverage—not time—sparks transformation. Through real talk, personal stories, and practical takeaways, they show how knowing your “why” makes the “how” reveal itself. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How “certainty” disguises itself as perfectionism and quietly fuels procrastination.The real reason small, safe actions keep you from meaningful progress.What crossing the “line of lasting change” actually looks like in real life.Why unreasonable dreams push you to take bolder, smarter action.How doubt, pain, and vision each spark identity-level transformation.Episode References/Links:Winter Tour - https://opc.me/tourCambodia Retreat Waitlist - https://lesleylogan.co/retreatsPilates Journal Expo - https://xxll.co/pilatesjournalContrology Pilates Conference in Poland - https://xxll.co/polandContrology Pilates Conference in Brussels - https://xxll.co/brusselsSubmit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsBrad Bizjack's Success Accelerator - https://beitpod.com/successThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - https://a.co/d/4LmmMXAThe Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros - https://a.co/d/b1VxT1NLove Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant - https://a.co/d/e1J9w2YTiny Habits by BJ Fogg, PhD - https://a.co/d/4Ov1GNXWomen Waking Up by Wendy Valentine - https://a.co/d/08CWFHoMissionary Position by Celeste Holbrook - https://a.co/d/gXQBKeeThe Cycle of Galand by Edward W Robertson - https://a.co/d/94ZvPV4 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Brad Crowell 0:00  Change does not take a long time to do. It actually happens in an instant when you have the leverage to create that change. For example, people in painful relationships who know they should take different action, but they don't, until something happens and all of a sudden the lever is actually pulled, right?Lesley Logan 0:18  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 1:01  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co-host in life, Brad, and I are going to dig into the compelling convo I had with another Brad. This is Brad Bizjack in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that one, you did not get your life spiced up. You did not get extra dose of energy. You, you you need to, you have to go back. Brad Crowell 1:21  You're officially missing out. Lesley Logan 1:22  So you'll listen to us talk about him, and then go listen to that one. But you can't skip that one.Brad Crowell 1:27  Cannot skip it. It's a great interview, a great episode. Brad Bizjack is, he is, is very educated on emotional maturity.Lesley Logan 1:38  I think that's a good way of discussing it, yeah. Brad Crowell 1:40  And he, he explains in his programs, which Lesley and I have been students of, how we have connected the dots on things in a way that puts undue pressure on ourselves, right? So like success or security or all these amazing things that like we want and need and desire. But then, what is the like if we haven't laid it out properly, we end up feeling scared or afraid, or like a lot of pressure and all this kind of stuff. And that's why this his conversation was very compelling, because he also uses amazing. Lesley Logan 2:20  Acronyms. No, examples. Brad Crowell 2:23  Yeah examples and quips like short statements that are very thought-provoking. Loved it. Fantastic.Lesley Logan 2:31  No notes. Brad Crowell 2:32  Yeah, yeah, yeah.Lesley Logan 2:34  Well, we're gonna get into that in a second. But first Today is October 16th, National Spirit Day. Spirit Day is an annual observance that takes place on the third Thursday in October, and that's on October 16th this year. This day aims to create awareness for the bullying harassment that the LGBTQ community faces. Millions of people worldwide, identified as queer, and many more are yet to publicly declare their status. Such a large community, people shouldn't be alienated or marginalized just because of theire sexual orientation. But the reality, sadly, is that they are. All over the world, LGBTQ youth suffer harassment because of their identity. There is also a need for transgender individuals to have more protected rights. And so, you know, taking some time today to just see what's going on in your community and how you can support. I would even look up the people who are wanting if you're especially if you in a country where you can vote, look who's saying terrible things about these people and don't vote for them, period. Because here is the deal, it's not going to stop with them. It won't stop with them. If they take away all the rights of LGBTQ, where you live, they're not going to be like now we have the power we want, no, they'll come for someone, next. Brad Crowell 3:43  But it didn't start with them. That's the thing. And I think, I think that's the it's a misnomer that like, oh, wow, they're a huge problem. No, they're only a huge problem because they're the current topic of conversation, and they're and the problem is, is being well, it's being created in a way that it's not real. Right? So they're making it a problem. They're they're pretending that it's a problem because they need somebody to to alienate,Lesley Logan 4:07  Yeah, someone ha,s to be the thing that we all fear. And look, the word homosexual was not in the Bible till 1946, interesting, because I thought that was a work of of words that's been around for thouosands of years, right? So it was put in there to make you scared, to make you conform. And then in the 80s, they used the AIDS epidemic to get you scared and afraid of people and not even wanting to hug people. And now they want to make us all worried about the fucking sports. No one gave a rat's ass about women's sports and tell trans and there's like, 10 people in the NCAA sports that are trans. And when you there was a swimmer who was asked, like, are you worried about trans women in sports? She's just like, no, I'm worried about Republicans becoming Nazis. And I loved that quip. I loved it, because the reality is, is that, like, they're trying every. All of this is to scare you that there's someone different than you that is trying to take something away from you. And the reality is, is that, like bullying is rampant amongst everything. There is, I get bullying of I don't look this enough. I look too much of this. There's, everyone has it. But the reality is, is that there's a community that's getting it more right now, and it is dangerous. It's dangerous because we know that bullying costs lives. People, especially youth, will take their own lives and so it's.Brad Crowell 5:31  Dangerous on multiple levels. It's dangerous if there's an immediate danger, right? And that immediate danger is for people who are in the community that is being targeted. And currently what we're talking about is the LGBTQ community, but there's the, there's, that's the immediate danger, and then the long term danger is societally, right, because they aren't gonna, you know, somehow, like, it's not gonna stop with this community. When, when, when something, when, when the the public perception is finally, like, actually, we don't agree with you. Okay, then they're like, oh well, there's another community we need to be worried about, and they're just going to shift over to another community. They've done it. They've done it over and over and over and over. Lesley Logan 6:10  Yeah, they always do. It was the witches before this, which was just another word for women. And so my I bring, not to bring you all down, because we're gonna bring you back up again in just a second. But like, you have agency here. You can call your congress person. You can make sure that the school is do is taking action. You can also educate yourself, in case you have family members who are upset about it. Like there are ways to actually being in curiosity and ask the right questions that help them understand, you know, what is, to find out what are they afraid of? What are they so afraid of? And then we have to just also start loving more, because the other thing is, is that we just start getting mad at homophobic people, and that puts hate in our heart, and it doesn't make us any better than them. And so anyways, go observe Spirit Day. I love it. Brad Crowell 7:03  Yeah. Lesley Logan 7:04  Okay, we've announced the OPC tour, opc.me/tour so you can see all the dates. I would list all the cities off for you, but I don't have them today, while we're recording this. So they're up now, though they've been up for a couple of weeks, and you want to grab your spot. If you have any questions, let us know. But all workshops and workouts are for any lover of Pilates, new to very experienced and there are CECs, Balance Body is our sponsor. We are so, so excited about it. We're getting closer to you needing to be on that waitlist for Cambodia, because in January, you're gonna get the email that says, hey, hey, you want to get a discount on this? You're the only person who gets it if you're on the waitlist. We're in Cambodia right now.Brad Crowell 7:42  Yeah, actually, literally, Lesley and I are currently in Cambodia hosting a second retreat this year. Next year, we will only be having one retreat to Cambodia, and it will be in the fall, in October of next year, right? So if you want to be one of the group of people that can come, because it is limited, you got to be on the waitlist. Go to lesleylogan.co/retreats, that's plural, to get yourself on the wait list, you can find out all more more information on crowsnestretreats.com. But we will be making an announcement here soon, in January, about the early bird special. So prepare, stay prepared for that. Lesley Logan 8:17  Even if you hear it here, you still have to have the link in the email. So get on the waitlist. In a couple days, we're going to be in Singapore teaching a private event, and finally, seeing the Botanical Gardens. We're so, so excited about it. Brad Crowell 8:29  I'm so fired up about that. Lesley Logan 8:30  We've seen them from, like, a high up view, but we haven't actually been in them. And then, of course, we'll be on our winter tour. So that'll be five weeks long, almost like five weeks long, and then we come home for to unpack, and then we go to Huntington Beach to the Pilates Journal Expo, xxll.co/pilatesjournal, we'll get you links. We'll get you linked to the tickets.Brad Crowell 8:52  Yeah, go to xxll.co/pilatesjournal. Lesley Logan 8:55  There's a ton of people who are going to be there. I'm really excited about it. It's going to be like a reunion for me and some of these friends. So I can't wait, so you should come. And then in March, we're doing the Poland Controlology Pilates Conference. So Karen Frischmann and I are back in Wroclaw. Sorry, my Polish peeps, if I said that wrong, people try to teach you (inaudible) which is not it. It is not even close, I was like, but it's easier to say, it's like, well, that's not the name of your town. So we'll be there teaching a conference together, and then from there.Brad Crowell 9:23  So go to xxll.co/poland yeah.Lesley Logan 9:28  And then Karen, Brad and I are gonna like to-to-to through Europe until the following weekend. We'll be in Brussels. xxll.co/brussels.Brad Crowell 9:37  What do you think weigh in here, should we be saying xxll.co or should we be saying double X, double l dot co? What do you like? Think. Double X, double L? Double x, double l dot co. Lesley Logan 9:47  No, that's too hard. Brad Crowell 9:49  Double X double L. Lesley Logan 9:49  Because people might actually type in double.Brad Crowell 9:53  They might. Lesley Logan 9:53  They, our listeners would. Brad Crowell 9:55  But I, IKYKY. Lesley Logan 9:58  Yeah, but people say that. No one says. Brad Crowell 10:01  Double x, double l dot co. I'm making it a thing. Lesley Logan 10:04  No, xxll.co/brussels.Lesley Logan 10:07  I let you make OPC a thing. No, this is xxll.co or it should be xxll.co, maybe not saying the C-O, because the problem is, it just sounds like too many letters, and then I get overwhelmed. So at any rate, it's also in the show notes, you can just click it, Brussels. These are both in March, and then in April, we'll be at P.O.T. in London. Brad Crowell 10:27  Looking forward to that. Lesley Logan 10:28  Alright, we had an incredible question that was really fun, and, like, got us all chatting in the studio in between classes. Brad, so I thought I would bring the attendees from Essex question, because I just thought, let's talk about this.Brad Crowell 10:42  That's so fun. Okay, the question was, what non-Pilates books do you read? Lesley Logan 10:48  A lot. Brad Crowell 10:49  Okay. Lesley Logan 10:49  I don't read very many Pilates books anymore. I mean, there's only a couple good ones. So, okay.Brad Crowell 10:54  So let's talk about it. Do you prefer a specific type of genre of non-Pilates books? Lesley Logan 11:00  I love a good popcorn book. You know, a popcorn for your brain book. That's how my friend Sue and I talk about, like. Brad Crowell 11:04  What does that mean? Just like. Lesley Logan 11:05  You read the book and you get lost and like, it is not going to change the world. It's definitely not going to change your life. You can almost consume the book in like, two or three days. It's, it doesn't make, change your intelligence in any way. But it's like, it's like a little popcorn for your brain. The books are like, that would signify that as, like, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, that author, so good, that book, I read it in two days. I was like, I never have time to read. Right in two days, I have fucking plenty of time to read if I like the book. I don't. So I like that kind of genre, like a rom-com type book is like my go to but you and I are really into the Empyrean series. And I. Brad Crowell 11:45  We sure are. Lesley Logan 11:45  So I post. So I shared with this group. I said, oh, I'm deep in the Imperium series, because it's, like, a great way to, like, get lost in something. And the girls were like, The Fourth Wing, and I'm like, Yeah, I'm in. And they were like, okay, I've heard it's really good. So it's only making its way to the U.K. right now. At any rate. Brad Crowell 12:03  The Empyrean. E-M-P-Y-R-E-A-NLesley Logan 12:05  Yeah, so, Rebecca Sorrows. Brad Crowell 12:07  And yeah, no. Yarros. Rebecca Yarros, yeah.Lesley Logan 12:12  But I get this, so Yasmeen, she posted a picture and tagged me with The Fourth Wing and Tiny Habits. And she said, my recommended reading and I was like, never has anyone ever put those two books in the same like Recommended Reading section, for sure. So I shared it, and someone else was like, oh, are you reading that series? I said, Oh, I definitely am, and I recommend it all the time. And I got a recommendation for another series that's really good. So I haven't read it yet, so I can't tell you about it, but it's really quite fun to see how many people are in the (inaudible) people are into it. It's very, very good, look, it's, it's, it's gonna be it's like, what is it like, called? Romantic fantasy or it's like, what's the genre? Because it's fantasy, but it's not, if you don't read it with your kids, so it's got to have, like, another letter, another word. So while he's looking that up, I.Brad Crowell 13:03  They call it new adult fantasy romance or military fantasy.Lesley Logan 13:07  That's, no, that's, I would call it adult fantasy. That's what I would put it under. And it's great. I really, really like it. It's from a female, like, hero perspective. Brad Crowell 13:17  Oh, they call it romantasy. Lesley Logan 13:19  Romantasy. That's a better, that's good, that's romantasy. I also, other books that I recommend that are non-Pilates, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It, obviously said Tiny Habits, The Big Leap you're never getting out of that one that was a must read every year. And I, I think we have some authors who had some books come out. Wendy Valentine had a book come out, The Midlife something. And Dr. Celeste had her book come out on like, Missionary Position. So I would say, like, if I've had an author on the pod with a book, I've probably read their book. Or if their book's not out yet, I read it afterwards. And I love those people so much, of course, I'm gonna love their book. But I also recommend, if you're always reading business books, you got to get into the romantic, fantasy. Romantasy. Brad Crowell 14:00  Romantasy. Lesley Logan 14:01  You do you got to get lost in something. Life is too serious. So anyways, those are my non-Pilates books that I can recommend to you right now. Brad Crowell 14:09  Okay, I have gotten into a new author recently. His name is Edward W Robertson. Lesley Logan 14:16  Why does he need a W? His last name is so long. Brad Crowell 14:21  He has written 73 books. Lesley Logan 14:23  There's 73 books in the series? Brad Crowell 14:25  There are, no, he's written multiple series about different things, but I have read 14 books of his so far. Oh, there's a whole nother one. No, I've read 17 books of his. So I've read the Cycles. He's got three Cycles, Cycles of Galland, Arawn and Scour, and basically they are perfectly in line with the other books I've talked about over the years on this pod. They are definitely a fantasy. Lesley Logan 14:48  Like Wheel of Time. Brad Crowell 14:50  Right. That's Robert Jordan, and there's another author I'm a big fan of, Michael, Michael J, What's his last name? Sullivan. Michael J. Sullivan. But this is Edward W Robertson. And what I what I really enjoyed about this was he's also created his own, you know, dynamic duo of these, you know, unlikely heroes, their kids in the in this, they start off in their late teens, and they, you know, end up becoming major players on the world stage over the, you know, length of these 10 books in the one series. The one cycle series is kind of the precursor to it. Another one is a double precursor to it. So he started off. Lesley Logan 15:27  I'm going to tell you, you overwhelm people when you said 14 books (inaudible). Brad Crowell 15:31  Sorry, just listen to them. It doesn't matter. There, it's not even about that. It's not about finishing them. There's just something really enjoyable about them. I think, I think it went through them in like, six or eight months, because they're, they're shorter than the the Wheel of Time stuff, you know? Lesley Logan 15:46  Well, there you go. And so there are your books. You guys get lost in a book, I promise you. It's it makes. Brad Crowell 15:51  You're gonna love it. Lesley Logan 15:52  It's so much more fun. You like different person on the other side. Okay. And also, if you don't want to spend money on it, go to your public library and get a library card. You can actually get audio books and iPad books through your local library. Okay?Brad Crowell 16:07  Yes, you can. If you have any questions for us, you should text them to us. Text them at 310-905-5534, or you can send them in through beitpod.com/questions beitpod.com/questions or you can leave a win or a question and who knows they might end up on the pod.Lesley Logan 16:23  We need some wins.I want to share them on the pod. Okay, let's talk about Brad Bizjack.Brad Crowell 16:29  Well, stick around. We'll be right back. We're going to talk about Brad Bizjack, and we're going to be reinvigorated by his enthusiasm for life. The guy is just amazing. So can't wait. Stick around. Brad Crowell 16:42  Welcome back. Let's talk about Brad Bizjack. Brad is a personal development expert and coach who helps people rewire limiting beliefs, toxic thought patterns and emotional blocks that have been holding them back from success and the fulfillment that they deserve. After starting his career buried in $92,000 worth of debt and struggling for years to get his business off the ground, Brad discovered the power of shifting identity and mindset. Today, he has built a multimillion dollar business served over 70,000 people worldwide, and teaches others how to break free from perfectionism, procrastination and fear so they can step fully into their potential. And I gotta say, there's nothing more be it than the things that he's teaching. It's amazing when you dig in. And Lesley and I have been we've gone through two of his programs. Lesley Logan 17:32  Yeah, he's got a program starting next week, so.Brad Crowell 17:34  Yeah, literally next week. And it's free. Lesley Logan 17:37  It's free. Brad Crowell 17:37  Yeah, you should totally do his free program. Lesley Logan 17:39  Five days. Brad Crowell 17:40  We started there.Lesley Logan 17:41  And also it's like, it happens in the morning for us. So obviously, in the you know, if you're not in Pacific, it's not early morning, it's gonna be some other time. But it was really nice to start in the morning. We go for a dog walk, and just be like, lit up on this dog walk. And you're like, yeah, I'm ready. And I, anything you say, like, oh, I can't do I don't know, or I got this, I can't do it. I'm stuck. I won't know how to do it. Well, he really kind of, like, breaks down, like, some of these stories we tell ourselves, and one of the things he says is, like, when you know what you want and why you want it, the how reveals itself. When you know what you want and why you want it, the how reveals itself. And. Brad Crowell 18:18  Yeah, because it, because, I think that's. Lesley Logan 18:20  I think most people don't know why. Brad Crowell 18:22  Yeah, but I think the easiest thing for people to get stuck on is, how am I going to do that? I might as well not even try.Lesley Logan 18:28  Right. Because, but also, I think they, they know one of the two, but not both, like they know why they want to do something, or they know what they want to do, but they don't know both and their why is so superficial? Well, because I want to make money. And it's like, okay, well, why do you want to make money? Like, you gotta, like, why do you want to do it? Like, I told the story in the U.K. about, like, why I love to teach Pilates, you know? Like, what my mission is. Why is my mission this? And then Linda was like, can you repeat that? And it was like, really cute. It was a long story, but the whole thing is, like, I'm so passionate about what that is. It makes it the h does reveal itself, because opportunities come up or like, people say, say something, and you're like, wait a minute, that is an entirely different industry. But I could do it like the how reveals our tours happen because we knew what we wanted to do. We knew why we wanted to do it. And then this person over here is like, I want to go on a book tour. I'm like, how can we go on a book tour? Right? So, like, I really, really love that. And then we talked about, like, he believes we get so caught up in seeking the how, but struggle to take action. And so it's just procrastination in disguise. And then he said this occurs because of overvaluing certainty. And man.Brad Crowell 19:41  This is like, this was like a mic drop, you know, the overvaluing of certainty. You know what that is, that's actually like, we think that having certainty is going to help us move forward, but when we, before, we get to the place where we feel certain, we get stuck.Lesley Logan 20:02  Or we, he said, like, we take little actions because we're very certain we can do those little things, but we don't take the big actions because we don't know what's going to happen with those. We don't know how that's going to play out or what the outcome will be. So we're like, oh, I'm just going to keep checking the box, checked my email, responded to these people, post it on social, but we're not, no one's actually like, okay, I'm gonna do a class. I'm gonna do pilates and (inaudible) like, because, like, no one comes. Like, I need to make sure everyone's gonna be there. Everything is certain. And oh my god, when we study with him, we did this five day series that you can do next week. We did a couple years ago. And when he told me about certainty and perfectionism. I fucking was like, I felt so called out. I was like, oh my god, this is my problem. I was like, recovering perfectionist. But then I like, let certainty in there. And certainty is just perfectionism, guys. So anyways, I have I really love this man so much. And he said we base our worth on external success, leading to a feeling of burnout, or that nothing feels like enough. And I think this happens a lot. In fact, on an OPC call today, one of the girls who's going through a teacher training so that she feels like burnt out on Pilates, and, you know, she's doing this thing, and we were talking about how like, because when you're in a training program, there's a lot of corrections, like the teachers are correcting you a lot because they want you to know all the things. They don't want you going off thinking you're perfect at it. They want you to know how to do it. You know, you thinking you'd have all these cues. And really it's all this external success, like, okay, when I look like the 100 I have made it, versus this internalization of like the Pilates practice, like the focus in a teacher training is so external. What does the exercise look like? Can you do it well that you end up feeling burnt out and like nothing's ever enough, like you're not good enough to do this. And so I just this, just happened an hour before we hit the record on this. And I feel this so so much, because we're, like, waiting for someone to validate who we are and what we're doing, instead of ourselves, like an internal version of, like, what success is. I love this.Brad Crowell 22:11  So, just so that y'all know, we actually have an invitation for you to join Brad's program, the five day program for free, that's called the Success Accelerator, and it starts in just a few days.Lesley Logan 22:21  It's on the 20th, so it's, this is Thursday. It's gonna start on Monday.Brad Crowell 22:26  The link's in the show notes, but you can go to beitpod.com/success, and like I said, it's free. Lesley and I did this program, and it was really, really impactful for us.Lesley Logan 22:36  Well, what did you like that he said? Brad Crowell 22:38  Yeah. So, Brad said, I just, I love that you had to clarify Brad husband versus Brad Bizjack on the call, I was laughing. Lesley Logan 22:49  I know, because I think I told a story, and I was like, my Brad husband. Brad Crowell 22:52  Yeah, yeah. Brad said, hey, change does not take a long time to do. It actually happens in an instant when you have the leverage to create that change, for example, people in painful relationships who know they should take different action, but they don't, until something happens and all of a sudden the lever is actually pulled, right? That leverage comes from changing at a higher, more fundamental level than just behaviors or capabilities, you can you can say when you have to change, when you are forced to change, right? And I think it's interesting, that's actually where lasting change comes above the line of lasting change. I don't know why. Like, I don't basically.Lesley Logan 23:39  Oh, it's because, like, people often, like, change, and they do a little thing and they go back. They like as, like, if there's a line, and, like, you got to cross the line, and people think, oh, it's gonna take forever to make this change. Like, it's gonna take forever to create a habit. And so they think it's gonna take forever to create a habit, and they do it for two days, and they end up on the other side of not having the habit. And then they have a couple days of habit, and it's actually like no, if you know who you what you want, why you want it, and you make the decision to change, you can actually change it, because it's an emotional thing in your brain that does this.Brad Crowell 24:10  Yeah, I, I've personally experienced this kind of requirement for change. This must change or bad things will happen when it came to smoking cigarettes, and everyone talks about how addicting, you know nicotine is, and they're not wrong, because unless you absolutely have to change, you probably won't, because it is addicting and it will pull you back in but I was singing and I was in a band, and I was smoking cigarettes, and I remember being on stage coughing into the mic because I couldn't sing my own songs that I had written. And it became immediately clear that day I have to choose, do I want to keep smoking, or do I want to keep singing? And that was, like, so easy to decide, because I was like, well, I love singing. I love being in a band. So therefore, goodbye smoking, you're gone, and that was it. That was like, the moment of, I must, I made it above the line of lasting change, and, and, and also, too, you know, sure, did I still have these moments of like, you know, like, like, habit of like, when I used to, you know, where I would be smoking on the card, right into the opposite, whatever, you know where it was. It was just a regular, consistent thing, and I was missing that, yes, but because it was like an easy thing to know I I actually want to sing. I want to sing more than I want to smoke in those moments of trial, it was still easy for me to fall back on the decision I had made, because it was an emotional decision. I was terrified of the idea that I wouldn't be able to perform, you know. So, you know, there, there is like this moment of have to do that will bring about that change, you know. So yeah.Lesley Logan 25:52  And I think that goes back to like you knew what you wanted and why you wanted it, and that made it, the how easier.Brad Crowell 25:57  I knew what and I knew why and then so the how involved not smoking, and that is what made it easy to do, yeah, that's a great, great callback there. I love that. So yeah, we love a callback. Yeah, that was impactful for me. And these are the kinds of things that Brad addresses, you know, on the five days. So, you know, definitely go check that out.Lesley Logan 26:18  I just think that like if you are, if you were lit up at all by his episode, why not? It's free. There's no replays like, why wouldn't even if you watch one day of his stuff, next week, you're going to learn something about yourself that's going to change your life. I still think about like the things that we learned in those five days, even if we didn't pay for the program, like, I still like, like, I was forced to, like, level up in a way, like I was, like, it was great. Brad Crowell 26:48  Yeah, yeah, the Success Accelerator. And then we went on to do another program of his called Rewired After, but the Success Accelerator was absolutely worth it, and yeah.Lesley Logan 26:59  Especially if you just, like, are going if you just have a hard time not talking yourself down, you need someone in your ear who talks you up. You just do. Anyways, we got to get into the Be It Action Items. Brad Crowell 27:09  Yeah, okay, stick around. We'll be right back. We're gonna dig into these epic Be It Action Items from Brad Bizjack, we'll be right back. Brad Crowell 27:16  All right, finally, let's talk about those Be It Action Items. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with Brad Bizjack, I'm going to jump in first here. He said he shared three primary ways to shift any belief pattern, and these are the things where I was talking about the have to do. So it was really interesting. He said you can introduce the idea of doubt, you can introduce pain, or you can introduce vision, right? And I think that vision is probably the easiest to talk about, right? That's the one that we. Lesley Logan 27:48  It feels more positive. Brad Crowell 27:49  It does feel more positive, you know. But doubt is something that will challenge a worldview, right? You know, when you have doubt, or when doubt is introduced, it really does start to make you analytical, analyze the thing that you might be doubting. You know, whether that is the way you were raised, or we've always done it this way, or this is the quote-unquote, right way to do it, or the right thing to do. You know, maybe there are other things that you know that that cause doubt. He suggested looking for evidence that challenges those beliefs. For example, if you think money is super hard to make, you can ask yourself the question, but is is that true for everyone? Some people have the the golden touch, as it were, right? We've all heard that, that expression, well, if money isn't hard to make for them, why? How come it's easy for them, but difficult for me, quote-unquote, difficult for me, right? Maybe that's the story I'm telling myself. Right? So how do we change that belief since we have evidence that it's that other people have been able to do it. So that's an interesting idea of introducing the concept of doubt. Two, pain. He said if you can see the consequences of what happens if you don't change and actually live those consequences in your mind, you will start to change. This was my lived experience. Pain, right? I did not want the pain of not being able to perform, not being able to sing, and I could see a life that I did not want if I kept going down the path that I was going out when it came to cigarettes, right? He used the Christmas carol story as an example for this. Scrooge didn't want to make unbearable pain. Didn't want to make change until unbearable pain was linked to staying the same, right? That's the Christmas story. Vision, finally, explain that the your beliefs shift when we create a vision that is vivid enough to excite us into new action, right? So, so like this is where a dream board can come into play, or, you know, vision casting, or you know, reflection, or taking a moment of to yourself, to, you know, to dwell on what the future could look like for you. You know that that can be motivating enough to create lasting change, to put you above that line of change. He said when we can be compelled by a beautiful vision of the future, it gives us a reason to overcome procrastination, or whatever it is that's holding us back, right? So I love that. I thought that was actually, I mean, these are the kinds of things that he just blows by, and why we wanted to talk about him again, because I listened to it, and I was like, whoa. That was, that was a lot right there. That was probably like, you know, he probably studied for like, six to 12 months to be able to concisely say that in two sentences and three sentences, and you were like, there's so much in there, we kind of have to break this down. This when you're when you listen back to the pod, there's so many snippets like that where you're like, whoa, that was profound. Whoa, that was deep. Whoa, that was really worth listening to twice. What about you, though? What was one of your biggest takeaways?Lesley Logan 30:40  So you have to be compelled by a beautiful vision of the future. You really do have to take that's why I like to do our retreats. I like to do some breath work, and like actually think about a year from now. But you need a beautiful vision of the future, because that's so compelling. And he also said, you otherwise will default to focusing on the past and the present. And people do this a lot.Brad Crowell 31:00  Sure.Lesley Logan 31:01  And it's why you're not actually seeing change, because the past and the present don't like that's that's done, and if you keep repeating it, you just get to keep repeating them. But it often becomes more painful because you didn't like, you liked part of it, or we didn't like it at all, and like now here you're feeling a little stuck. He also his bold advice is to have unreasonable dreams, unreasonable, unreasonable, and I do. It's really hard for my brain to do unreasonable dreams. It's extremely hard. But also, like it does force you to think about how you're going to achieve that in a different way, because it's so easy to go back to we talked about that itty bitty stuff, and like thinking it's gonna make a big difference, when really it's just keeping you the same. You kind of have to have an unreasonable dream, because it helps you take bigger action. And then he said taking full responsibility for making that happen. And that, taking full responsibility for making that happen. Lesley Logan 31:54  Wait, say that one more time. Lesley Logan 31:56  Taking full responsibility for making that happen. Whenever I do my schedule workshop or my habits workshop, the amount of people that are responsible for the reason why someone can't go for a walk in the morning. Brad Crowell 32:09  Oh, you mean the amount of excuses slash other people are the problem. Lesley Logan 32:14  Other people are. Brad Crowell 32:14  Not, not the person who's. Lesley Logan 32:16  Yeah, not the person who like has allowed people to take advantage of them, or they've been doing too much for other people, or they simply just didn't have, like, the vision in place to take the it's okay, it's okay to have gone like, oh, my god, I never realized I wanted to do that. And I have been making time for that, like, it's okay. You didn't. You know when you know better, you do better. So now you just got to take full responsibility for making that happen.Brad Crowell 32:39  Yeah, I love that I love the this is, this is step three, or the third, you know, way to create change, you know, with the vision casting, you know. And I think it's scary to dream big in that way, to have an unreasonable dream, it can be really scary because, you know, you I, I, this is part of my story on our business why we you know. When you don't, when you don't dream big, what you're actually doing is you're, you're giving yourself an out to fail and be satisfied with the results of the fail, and that's where I think the problem is. I think it's important to fail. You must fail, right. But we associate failure with mediocrity and pain, right? Instead of learning knowledge and a step further along the path towards success. When we associate failure with pain and mediocrity. It's easier not to have a vision for the future, because then you can't experience that quote-unquote, pain, right? And I know I did this because I would leave myself an out and say things like, it'll be nice if that ever happened for us, you know. But, but the but then it's like, you know, I would love for that to happen for us, but there's an inherent comma. But if it doesn't, I guess it's okay. I guess it was meant to be that this, it wasn't in the cards, whatever, whatever it is the, you know, the phrase that we want to insert there. And the reality is, it's not until you go, but even when, even if it doesn't happen tomorrow, or if it doesn't, you know, the failure will that will happen along this path I'm going to consider, I'm going to persist until I get to that place, you know.Lesley Logan 34:31  Yeah, well, I here's the thing. I think a lot of people weren't given the opportunity to fail. That's not the world that most of us went to school under. You had to pass, and if you didn't pass, you were, like, it was not okay. So like, I think if you are having a hard time being having an unreasonable goal or failing, then you must go to beitpod.com/success because you are going to hear that even Brad hasn't hit a single goal in six months or six years, I think, six years, six years, he hasn't had a single goal, maybe it's eight now at this point, since we met like and it's not because he hasn't tried hard or had great success. It's because he sets unreasonable goals for himself to make himself work harder than last time, and then they like reflect upon what they like, why they maybe didn't hit those goals, but like what they did do. And it's just really, really cool. So beitpod.com/success. Go take it. Go relisten to the episode. Get fired up. Let us know if you sign up for this program. Brad Crowell 35:27  Yeah. We want to know. We want to know. Lesley Logan 35:28  We'll probably even see you there. Brad Crowell 35:29  Yeah, I think we're gonna do it, too. Lesley Logan 35:30  Yeah. I love the classes. So at any rate, you're amazing. Brad's amazing. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it. Share it with three friends. Guess what, when your friends change, it makes it easier for you to change. And until next time, Be It Till You See It. Brad Crowell 35:44  Bye for now. Lesley Logan 35:45  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 36:27  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 36:32  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 36:36  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 36:44  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 36:47  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

SPOILERS FOR ALL FAE & ALCHEMY SERIES Welcome to Fantasy Fangirls, a top-charts podcast hosted by sisters Nicole and Lexi, who deep dive into beloved fantasy stories one series at a time. Every episode, they cover several chapters of a book with a uniquely fun summary, then discuss insights, character analysis, foreshadowing, and theories, before wrapping up with an in-depth explanation about a world-building topic. Plus, lots of laughs, jokes, and sisterly banter along the way!Fantasy Fangirls has covered Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, the Kindred's Curse Saga by Penn Cole, and are about to begin Quicksilver by Callie Hart. New episodes air every Monday.Check out our recent sponsors: https://www.fantasyfangirls.com/sponsorsJoin the FanClub: https://fantasyfangirls.com/fanclubShop our merch: https://fantasyfangirls.myshopify.com/Support the show through our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fantasyfangirlspodcastNewsletter: https://fantasyfangirls.com/newsletterWebsite: https://www.fantasyfangirls.com/ Upcoming events:* Romantasy BookCon: SOLD OUTThe Dreamers & Readers Festival - Use code FFG for a discount off your ticket!*For all Event Discounts - go to https://fantasyfangirls.supercast.com/subscriber_v2/posts/6891Listen now:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/24KydMMzrYfVpDggkFZx4j?si=fd7dc956393041b8Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-fangirls/id1706179464YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fantasyfangirlsFollow us:Instagram: @fantasyfangirlspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fantasyfangirlspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: car picnics and even more bookshelves! Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: all about narrative POVs - do they matter? do we like one more than the other? The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). .  .  .  .  1:29 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 4:04 - Awake by Jen Hatmaker 4:44 - BookPeople 9:45 - Our Current Reads 9:53 - American Royals by Katharine McGee (Kaytee) 13:22 - Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 13:26 - Currently Reading Patreon to access Popcorn in the Pages 14:03 - Majesty by Katharine McGee 14:53 - A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (Meredith) 18:05 - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree  18:06 - The Spellshop by Sara Beth Durst 18:16 - A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 19:24 - House of Frank by Kay Synclaire 19:41 - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune 20:08 - These Truths by Jill Lepore (Kaytee) 20:32 - libro.fm 22:04 - The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon 25:07 - The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Meredith) 26:03 - Fabled Bookshop 29:39 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Kaytee) 32:04 - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 34:15 - The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan (Meredith) 40:05 - Deep Dive: Narrative POVs 45:38 - Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 45:43 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 45:59 - A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler 46:32 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes 48:28 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live 49:55 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 52:39 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 52:42 - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 52:47 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker 53:05 - We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin 53:09 - Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin 53:30 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 53:32 - Everyone In My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson 53:52 - Meet Us At The Fountain 53:55 - I wish to press Starling House into everybody's hands. (Kaytee) 54:00 - Starling House by Alix E. Harrow 54:08 - The Novel Neighbor 56:10 - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow 56:29 - I wish everyone would try a book flight. (Meredith)   Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. September's IPL is brought to us from Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

  #876: Join Michael Bosstick for an exclusive conversation with Mimi Evarts – The Skinny Confidential's powerhouse Director of Branding, the driving force behind every chapter, & most importantly, Michael's Sister-in-Law. Having been a key mentor throughout Mimi's stages of life, Michael sits down with her for a candid, real talk about navigating your 20s & lessons learned. In this episode, Michael & Mimi share hard-earned life lessons on investing early, cultivating meaningful relationships, discuss transformative books that shifted their perspective, & reveal the invaluable advice they wish they'd known sooner. Plus, get Michael's hot take on Rebecca Yarros' book, Forth Wing! Get ready for an inspiring conversation to level up your life & mindset – no matter your age.   To Watch the Show click HERE   For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM   To connect with Mimi Evarts click HERE   To connect with The Skinny Confidential click HERE   To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE   Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE   Shop The Skinny Confidential at https://bit.ly/ShopTSC15 and use code HIMANDHER15 to get 15% off sitewide for a limited time. Excludes bundles and subscriptions.   Head to our ShopMy page HERE and LTK page HERE to find all of the products mentioned in each episode.   Get your burning questions featured on the show! Leave the Him & Her Show a voicemail at +1 (512) 537-7194.   This episode is sponsored by The Skinny Confidential Your daily routine done better – with The Skinny Confidential Caffeinated Sunscreen. Subscribe today at http://bit.ly/TSCSunscreen and get it delivered right to your door – because great skin doesn't take days off!   This episode is sponsored by Just Thrive  Visit https://justthrivehealth.com/discount/TSC and use code TSC for 20% off.    This episode is sponsored by Squarespace Head to https://www.squarespace.com/SKINNY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code SKINNY This episode is sponsored by Hiya Health Receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to http://hiyahealth.com/SKINNY.   This episode is sponsored by Throne Ready to level up your performance? Check out Thorne's Magnesium Bisglycinate and more at http://Thorne.com.   This episode is sponsored by DailyLook For 50% off your order, head to http://DailyLook.com and use code SKINNY.    This episode is sponsored by Policygenius Head to http://policygenius.com/SKINNY to compare quotes and get the coverage you need. Produced by Dear Media