Bad On Paper

This week we're catching up with friend of the pod (and former co-host) Grace Atwood ! Grace shares everything she's been up to from buying a house to creating a shoe with Sarah Flint! We also share a few gift ideas for besties, coworkers, and more!  Follow Grace on Instagram , thestripe.com , and her newsletter!    Gift Guide For your work bestie - $20 Grace - A fun ornament from furbish studio o...

This week on the podcast we're chatting with Nora McInerny! Nora is the host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking and the author of five books, most recently Bad Vibes Only , a collection of essays that came out in October. With Nora, we take a walk down Tumblr memory lane and talk about how she decided to be so candid in her memoirs (and why she's done writing them) the difficulty of writin...

This week, we're sharing our reviews on products that have gotten a lot of internet hype and answering the question: IS! IT! WORTH IT! Our listeners requested items in various categories they wanted our opinions on, and we're breaking down our thoughts from the cost of the item, how long we've used it, what we like/don't like about it, and how it compares to alternatives!   We'd also like to stres...

We're back with this month's three things—hopefully a new monthly-ish tradition. We each brought something fun, something productive, and we both wanted to talk about an album we've had on repeat.    Becca's Three Things -Making a plan to vote: Go to vote.org to check your registration , find early voting locations , see what's on your ballot , and more! And for if you live in the state of  New Yo...

This week we're discussing our October Book Club Pick: When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff . We talk about the theories we had while reading this book, what we did and didn't like, our thoughts on the ending, and play two calls from listeners sharing their thoughts.  Content Warning: In this episode, we discuss the book's plotlines surrounding sexual assault & pedophilia, so if the...

This week we're talking about the books we loved when we were growing up! We highlight our favorite books from Elementary, Middle, and High School, and hear from listeners about their favorites!    Elementary School Olivia: Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt , Nancy Drew , The Dear America Series , Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery Becca: Bridge to Terabithia , Island of the Blue Dolphins , Walk Two...

It's time for Three Things: our new series where we each bring three miscellaneous topics that we want to talk about, but don't need a full podcast episode to break down. This month's things include fall clothes shopping, walking desks, celebrity heights, and more!  Becca's Three Things: Fall Clothes Shopping - @anindigoday on IG is great for how to apply new trends to your wardrobe, and Hillary K...

It's time for an advice episode! We're excited to answer your questions about staying motivated while writing a book, maintaining long-distance friendships, learning how to stop holding yourself back from dating, making big career changes, and more!  Obsessions Becca: Custom legal pad Olivia: We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (out Nov. 8) What we read this week ! Becca: In My Dream...

We're so excited to finally discuss our delightful and surprising September Book Club Pick: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn ! We share what we loved about this book, our thoughts on the rotating POV, which character we identified with the most, and our love for how the book addressed ageism. We also discuss our mixed feelings about the ending and if we could become CIA operatives.    T...

This week we're releasing our inner foliage sluts and soup fiends to talk about all things FALL! We discuss our favorite things about fall, and our favorite fall activities from weekends away to cozying up at home.   We also had to share a robust list of candle recommendations. Olivia recommends Bath & Body Works candles in the scents Hometown Sugar Cookies Autumn Chai , White Pumpkin , Flannel ,...

This week we're excited to interview two English teachers about what books are taught in High School English classes right now. We chat about what books are in their current curriculum, how books get chosen, what books students get excited about, and what books outside the curriculum are popular with high school students right now.    Mary's Books: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver , Fran...

We're preparing for indoor time this fall and talking TV and Movie recommendations! Becca and Olivia share their recommendations, and our listeners call in to share their favorite shows and hidden gems!   Olivia's TV Recs: Scripted: Yellowjackets , Severance , Under the Banner of Heaven , Starstruck , and Fleabag .   Becca's TV Recs: Partner Track , Loot , Never Have I Ever , Tell Me Lies , Hacks...

So excited to discuss our August book club pick: You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi . This lush romantic drama sparked a lot of conversation in our Facebook Group, and we share our differing feelings about the book as well! We also discuss why we think this book was so divisive, our thoughts on the characters' chemistry, how the theme of grief is explored, and what we thoug...

This week we're talking about all things freelancing. We share when, why & how we made the decision to go freelance, what our work entails, and if we ever see ourselves going back to a full-time job. We also answer YOUR questions about freelance life including how much experience you need, how to find clients, and how we structure our schedules and stay motivated.    We also get into all the money...

We're taking body diversity in books with Jennifer Weiner , the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen books, including That Summer , Big Summer , Mrs. Everything , Good in Bed , and an essay collection, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing .    Jennifer talks about her journey to becoming a best-selling author, what motivated her to feature women with different body types...

It's finally time for another Q&A! We answer some quick questions about how we found our voices as writers, advice for balancing creative projects and a day job, how we answer the question "so what do you do for work?" We also dive into lengthier questions about our favorite books of the year, the backlist books we love, the best & worst parts of hosting a podcast, and more!    Our favorite books...

For the final episode of our series about how a book gets made, we're talking all things marketing and publicity with Cristina Arreola, the senior marketing manager at Sourcebooks Landmark, and Ashley Winstead, the author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife , Fool Me Once , and the forthcoming The Last Housewife .  Cristina and Ashley answer our questions about at what point marketing gets involved in...

It's finally time to discuss our listener-picked Book Club selection: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus !  We talk about our general feelings about the book, how we reacted to the moments of sexism in the 1960s setting, our thoughts on the main character, and the differing perspectives of the three key women in the book. We also discuss how we felt about the ending and since this book already...

We're BACK and continuing our series about how a book gets made! This week we're chatting with Amanda Bergeron, an executive editor at Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and Carley Fortune, the author of Every Summer After .    Amanda breaks down the acquisition & publication process from the editor's end, how many submissions she receives, and what leads her to choose a book to work on....

We're so excited to start our summer series about how a book gets made! This week we're talking all about book agents, from what they do to how authors find an agent in the first place. We brought on Taylor Haggerty, an agent at Root Literary representing commercial fiction for teens and adults, and Iman Hariri-Kia, writer and editor born and based in New York City whose debut novel A Hundred Othe...

It's FINALLY time to talk about Cover Story by Susan Rigetti! Also, we recommend reading this book spoiler-free, so if you haven't read it yet, read it then listen to this ep! This book was fun, juicy, and compulsively readable. We discuss our overall thoughts on the book, what we thought of the format, and of course, we have a much-needed discussion about the ending!    Obsessions  Becca: Fresh f...

We're already halfway through the year and it's time for a 2022 goals check-in! Both Olivia and Becca share the personal and professional goals they set for this year, give an update on their progress, and discuss what they've learned along the way!    Related to our convo:  Check out the journal Olivia has been using here!  Check out Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burk...

This week we're discussing a topic we always get requests to cover, imposter syndrome! To help break things down, we brought on Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a licensed psychologist, executive coach, organizational consultant, and speaker. She recently gave a Ted X Talk about The Imposter Syndrome Parado , and is the co-author of Own Your Greatness: Overcome Impostor Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed...

This week we're (figuratively) ripping our skin off and talking about the books we're writing! This is an appetizer to a series we're planning to do this summer all about how a book gets made. We give a mini preview about what our books are about, and break down what our book writing process was like, from what made us finally start writing to what we wish we knew before we wrote our books. We als...

This week we're helping you build your summer reading list with recommendations from some of our favorite bookstagrammers! They each share two books they recommend we read this summer and answer a pressing question: If you could have a meal with any book character at any chain restaurant, which character and restaurant would you choose?   Sarah's Picks:  Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (esp for...