The Readirect Podcast

Ever find yourself in a literary rut, wondering what book to pick up next? Fear not, we are here with a treasure trove of curated reads that promise to ignite your passion for books.  We asked our listeners to share their recent favorite and least favorite reads, and created a list of personalized recommendations for them!  Here's a list of our recommendations: Anything by Lucy Foley  ( The P...

It's a jam-packed Book Talk episode today, as we have A LOT to discuss. First, we're talking Manacled , the Dramione story that rivals the original Harry Potter series. Emily may have gone on a deep dive into more Draco/Hermione pairings, and is also recommending Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love . To avoid Manacled spoilers, skip to 18:20. Then we're talking r...

We're back from holiday break with a fresh episode where we recap our recent reads and look forward to 2024.  Books Mentioned I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam Heartstopper (series) by Alice Oseman Joseph Smith and the Mormans by Noah Van Sciver Manacled (fanfiction) by senlinyu Plus, a Sam Claflin Count of Mont...

We're on a holiday break, but we're re-releasing one of our favorite bonus episodes, all about Judy Blume's cherished novel, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."  Having both missed out on this gem in our tween years, we unpack the novel's continued relevance. This deep dive sheds light on the book's educational value in navigating the roaring tides of pu...

Ready for a literary adventure? Buckle up as we, your hosts Abigail Hewins and Emily Rojas, invite you to remanence about 2023's year of books, featuring our dear friend and book-lover, Hannah (@dollhousebooks on IG!).  A soon-to-be librarian and an active bookstagrammer, Hannah adds an enriching perspective to our animated discussion on our top reads, reading experiences, and the books we ar...

We're back today for another Book Talk episode to discuss all things book-related we've been meaning to talk about! Mostly, this is a deep dive into our initial reactions of Iron Flame, sequel to Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. We're talking about the book's plot, THAT SHOCKING ENDING, and our theories for future installments. Spoiler alert!! Plus, we're discussing our thou...

Join us for a very exciting interview with NYT bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout! Jennifer is the author of the renowned 'Blood and Ash' series, and she's here today to discuss her newest release, A Fire in the Flesh , book #3 in the prequel 'Flesh and Fire' series. We're discussing world-building, writing a prequel series while simultaneously writing the ori...

For today's episode we're deep-diving the newest celeb memoir release - The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. Join us as we discuss the things you've already read from the headlines about this book, and the parts that haven't made as big of a splash. We surprisingly really loved this book, and found it heartbreaking, devastating and insightful. Read Britney's memoir, or just...

Journey with us as we navigate the heart-wrenching narrative of sacrifice, rebellion, and hope in Susan Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, and the much-anticipated prequel, the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. We'll paint a vivid picture of the oppressive regime, love triangles, and plot twists that keep readers turning the pages. We'll enlighten you on the intricate relationships, sacri...

Do the words, YA books, complex plots, and lovable characters make your heartbeat faster? Brace yourselves as we plunge into the eerie world of our favorite books, perfect for those autumn nights.  Join us as we take you down these chilly paths with our second annual spooky season book draft!  This year's draft picks: Emily The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris  The Raven Cycle (Book #...

Today we're covering the memoir we've been dying to read ever since it was first announced... Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar Dillard! Join us as we go chapter by chapter and deep dive all the secrets revealed inside this book.  Tune in next week as we'll be doing our annual Spooky Season book draft!

We're back with another book talk episode, the time for us to catch up on all things book-related! Today we're recapping books we've read recently, discussing our progress on our goals, and previewing upcoming new releases. Our next episode, we'll be doing a book club on Jill Duggar Dillard's upcoming memoir, Counting the Cost. Be sure to tune in for that in two weeks!

Today we're recapping and deep-diving into the wildly popular Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston! From the flirty emails to the political implications to the biggest reaches, we're covering it all. Also, we both watched the Amazon Prime original movie, and we're discussing the casting, the changes, and the love story. Here's the article Emily referenced that refers...

Today we’re talking about the books that built us, or books we read at a young age that helped shape us into who we are today. Here’s that first kiss video Emily referenced.  Thanks for listening! 

We're going back to elementary/middle school for today's episode and re-reading The Giver by Lois Lowry ! We loved this book as kids, but as we learned from Little House on the Prairie, not every book holds up to adult scrutiny. Listen to this episode to find out what we thought on the re-read. Plus find out what we've been reading lately (big updates ahead). What we've read re...

For today's episode, we're joined by screenwriter, old-timey novel lover and Abigail's fiance, Zach Freshley! We're discussing all things book-to-screen adaptations, ones we've loved, ones we've hated, and ones we're dying to see come to fruition. 

Today we're just catching up on all the book-related topics we've been dying to discuss! First, we talk about our recent read, The Song of Achilles. Then, we're recapping a few recent favorites. Finally, we're asking ourselves, why do so many book synopses have the word, "penetrating" in them? All of this and more is in today's Book Talk episode! Here's all...

Love her or hate her, most people have an opinion on one of the most prolific authors of our time. (And fair warning, we lean more towards hating her on that spectrum on this podcast, so be warned!) Today we're deep diving Colleen Hoover. Where did she come from? What has made her so popular? And why...? Just why. Here's her addressing one of the scandals we'll talk about in this ep...

Today we're drafting some books for you to read on the beach this summer. What makes a good beach read, and what would we never read on the beach? Listen to find out! Beach Reads Chloe Cates is Missing, Mandy Mchugh Winter in Paradise series, Elin Hilderbrand  The Unhoneymooners, Christina lauren The Woman in the Window, AJ Finn Ice Planet Barbarians, Ruby Dixon Dial A For Aunties, Jessie Q S...

Today we're talking all things memoirs!  First, hear our checklist of what gives you the right to write a memoir in the first place (looking at you Bachelor Nation). Then we're discussing who  hasn't  written a memoir yet that we absolutely need to spill all their dirty secrets in the pages of a best-seller. Somehow we get on a tangent about Bobby Flay that we promise is relevant. F...

Today we're diving deep into the newest Emily Henry release, Happy Place !  Tune in to hear us recap the book, read some of our favorite quotes, and fancast the movie we're already dreaming of (ahem, Miles Teller as Wyn).  Books we've read recently:  Emily:  The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand  Abigail:  Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert As always, be sure to follow us on Inst...

In honor of this beloved book hitting the big screen this week, we're dropping our first ever BONUS episode to discuss Judy Blume's classic novel, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.  Neither of us actually read this book as children, so we're coming to it for the first time as seasoned adults.  Books We've Read Recently: Abigail - Carrie Soto is Back and Malibu Rising b...

Today we're sharing our deepest, darkest unpopular book opinions! We've also solicited listener comments on Instagram and dived into the comments section on Reddit to gather even more unpopular opinions. To watch a semi-cringey video of Rupi Kaur's poetry, click here . Books We've Read Lately: Abigail: A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Emily: The Circle and The Ever...

Today's episode is our first ever "Book Talk" episode, where we're just catching up on all book-related topics we've been wanting to talk about. First, we're sharing how our reading journeys have been going so far this year. Here is a list of books mentioned:  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston The Spanish Love Dec...

Today we're talking all about fan fiction - the good, the bad and the ugly. We're sharing the fics we read, and Emily's even reading an excerpt from a fic she wrote back in the day. You can read Peeta's Games by igsygrace at this link. And listen to the episode of Normal Gossip about fan fiction at this link. What We've Been Reading Lately: Abigail - Comedy Sex God by Pete...