We Read That

Hey all! This is another iteration of "Beyond the Pod", where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler (2021) what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat Email: wer...

Jenny snuck another YA novel into the mix: the ladies are reading a modern retelling of Little Women, namely Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet (2026). Turns out you can retell this story, close to the primary source, with a twist of a murder mystery. Dani likes it. Jenny likes it. All is well. And why is Christian Bale only on their minds? Elsewhere, the ladies initially share some new releases they ar...

Hey all! This is another iteration of "Beyond the Pod", where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on Caitlin Mullen's Heather (2026) what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat Email: were...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We bring you a new episode of the pod, discussing Saratoga Schaefer's A Thousand Monstrous Forms (2026). The book has everything: isolation, snow up to your butt, scary spouses, ghosts, haunts, and creepy mansions. Dani and Jenny discuss whether the name Poppy is okay, why the protagonist - named Poppy - is so strange and not-practical (apparently a massive deal breaker for Je...

Hey all! This is another iteration of "Beyond the Pod", where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on Lucy Foley's Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel (A Miss Marple Mystery) what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on the soc...

Who would have thought that somehow Dani and Jenny manage to recreate Ross and Rachel's ever-lasting feud of "We were on a break" when talking Nicola Dinan's Disappoint Me (2026)? Not us! And yet, it is possible. The ladies talk about the love story between Max and Vincent, secrets from the past that upend their love story, and the poignant question of how much can one forgive/forget/let be when a...

Hey all! This is another iteration of "Beyond the Pod", where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on Ben Reeves' Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt (2026), what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on the socials: li...

This week: an episode from the deep dark vault (aka 8 months ago). Please enjoy this episode about The Compound (2025) by Aisling Rawle, an amazing debut novel about a reality show in the midst of the end times. It's still one of our favorite books we have so far covered on the pod. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Shownotes: All the socials: linktr.ee/wereadth...

Hey all! This is the first of many "Beyond the Pod" drops, where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on R.F. Kuang's Taipei Story (2026), what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat Thank...

Disclaimer 1: We mix up a protagonist's name. Just roll with it. Don't be mad at us. Disclaimer 2: This is an episode that discusses sexual assault, child death, postpartum psychosis/anxiety/depression. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SPOILER FILLED EPISODE! Jenny and Dani talk about Jodi Picoult's newest novel Hollow Bones (2026), which intertwines...

Stop the presses! Dani does not like Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. THE Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. She also does not not like him. It's more so that we ponder the big question: Does Armand Gamache in Louise Penny's first novel of the series (2005) ACTUALLY solve the murder? Or are his underlings and Clara the smartest folks in the room? And should Three Pines be a character on its ow...

Jenny and Dani are back discussing the new Riley Sager novel "The Unknown" (2026). They make a vow to not spoil anything, so no spoilers for this new twisty McTwist Twister novel that takes its readers to a remote island where a cast of actresses are rehearsing for an upcoming movie. The ladies dive deep into method acting (even though they are not actresses), the spiritual world, and wh...

Life got in the way. Sometimes that happens. New episode will be out next week! We are rereleasing a favorite episode of ours: the season 1 finale. In it we talk about Caro Claire Burke's smash hit Yesteryear (2026), which puts a new and exciting spin on the tradwife culture. Quite timely and full of amazing issues to discuss. Enjoy! Follow us on the socials everywhere: linktr.ee/wereadthat We...

Hello, hello, hello .... Dani and Jenny are back with a new episode, discussing one of Joyce Carol Oates' YA Novels, Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (2002). It's a book that Jenny picked out for a book report in High School approx. 50 years ago, prompting a long discussion between the ladies on what these two had to read in school and why (or did they even read them or just enjoy the cliff notes?)...

Welcome back! This week Dani and Jenny tackle a historical fiction/fantasy novel, "The Girl with a Thousand Faces" by Sunyi Dean (2026). Although Jenny initially thought Dani was dragging her into a fantasy pit, ultimately this novel deals with war memory, trauma, and grief in Hong Kong (Kowloon specifically) after World War 2. Dani appreciates the discussion of grief and how Dean convey...

Welcome back! This week, Dani and Jenny are diving into Julia Langbein's new novel Dear Monica Lewinsky (2026). The book tells the story of Jean, who in her 40s, (re)processes an encounter she at age 19 with her professor on a research trip in France. She realizes that her entanglement occurred at the same time as the Lewinsky/Clinton scandal become public news. Drawing parallels between the t...

Jenny and Dani are back, having read a Sarah Gailey's Make Me Better (2026). It's a cult book. The ladies encounter their first fiction about cults. And it is a doozy. They dive into all things the people of Kindred Cove accept has their reality, and how they lure in vulnerable people to perpetuate their crazy goals. If you like cults and all the creepiness that comes with, this is your ep...

Disclaimer! Jenny had to record from the middle of nowhere and had issues with the audio. We did our best to fix it, but ... please be kind b/c the conversation is still funny, engaging, and full of the usual shenanigans. ----------------------------------------------------------------- We are back! Jenny and Dani are talking about Evelyn Clarke's The Ending Writes Itself (2026), a new murder...

This week Dani allows Jenny to monologue on the fiction literature about trad wife culture. Instead of working, Jenny read not only Sarah Langan's Trad Wife (2026), but also Saratoga Schaefer's book (2026) and Elizabeth Richardson's TRAD Substack. The ladies ponder why horror seems to be the go-to genre for this kind of niche, and what sort of questions these works throw out and possib...

A day late, but not a buck short. This week Dani and Jenny tackle Jenny's pick Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno (2025). The story is about a woman's internal monologue while attending a dinner party with an artsy elite group of people in New York City. The protagonist churns through issues of nepotism, wealth, elitism, artistry and grief. Although Jenny and Dani appreciate the ideas and the...

Today, Jenny and Dani are tackling Lisa Jewell's It Could Have Been Her (2026). This new book is a homecoming for the two, as they share a love for Jewell's work and actually made in their very first episode ever one of the author's work their main topic (hint hint - go check it out). Jewell's latest book prompts the question: can you have a cozy murder mystery in a house of horror...

This is one is a short one. Jenny suggests the first book of The Murderbot Diaries series (2017), and the ladies just do not click with it. They click more with Alexander Skarsgard on the Murderbot show on AppleTV. What ensues is an in-depth conversation about what makes good science fiction (according to Dani and with plenty of great examples), and Jenny relates to Murderbot and his affinity for...

New week, new book! This week Jenny and Dani discuss Han Kang's The Vegetarian (2015), as Dani is trying to get Jenny to read more horror-ish books. This shorter book invites us into complex and violent family dynamics that unravel as one person decides - in act of control and protection - to become a vegetarian. This small act pushes at the boundaries of what is appropriate in a highly rigid...

Bruce Holsinger's novel Culpability (2025) brings us into the world of AI and what it means in our lives. After a fateful crash with an autonomous car, Noah, Lorelei and their three kids Izzy, Alice, and Charlie grapple with the idea of who responsibility, accountability and guilt when AI has taken the wheel - so to speak. This powerful family drama reveals complex family dynamics, which are i...

Dani finally did it! She got Jenny to read a V.E. Schwab book: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (2025). And Jenny has a lot to say about: toxic relationships, men, female rage, the vampire lifestyle, and whether vampires should travel more. If you like fantasy and a detailed play-by-play of a fascinating novel that brings female vampires from the 16th, 19th, and 21st century together, then this...