Book Gang

Enjoy this exclusive podcast interview with Allison Larkin discussing her writing process for The People We Keep . Download The People We Keep music playlist and book club guide. This is our final episode of season 1- the show will return on Be sure to scroll down to see the list of your top ten favorite episodes and my short list of must-listen episodes to keep you busy until our next season, lau...

Julia Whelan uses her background as an award-winning audiobook narrator to write her  romance novel, Thank You for Listening . Join me today for an interview to learn more about her writing process and the behind-the-scenes of an audiobook narrator’s life. This steamy romance read dishes up some surprising routines in an audiobook narrator's life, from their narration preparation to snack routines...

Fall in love with these book recommendations for the best audiobooks for your next reading day. Meg, from Sorta Awesome , joined the show to share her top recommendations and why they hit the sweet spot in her reading life. This book stack has everything you crave- deeply personal memoirs, science fiction (sci-fi),  young adult reads, and pure escapist fun. We start our discussion with our audiobo...

Sit down with our first wife-writing duo, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta, as they discuss their sophisticated summer romance, The View Was Exhausting . They join us from Berlin to share about their writing process, embracing romance tropes, and why they wanted to explore the topic of women of color in Hollywood. I am excited to host our first writing duo on the podcast today. It’s not just any...

Not everyone can say they published two books during the pandemic, but Ashley Winstead can. Today we discuss her romance debut Fool Me Once and how Winstead hopes to break the mold with her romance characters. This week we continue our conversations with writers in our Summer Author Interview series. After our incredible kickoff with Jenny Pentland’s memoir (episode 34) , we move into lighter fict...

What could be more frustrating than a reading slump? Sasha (@pathologically.literate) wants to break up her reading slump and I plan to guide her with my arsenal of advice and my top recommendations to get her reading life back on track. Sasha asked me for some guidance on choosing her next book and shared some of her all-time favorites that give me a good starting point for recommendations. This...

These page-turning cozy summer reads are just what you need for your beach bag. Try these summer books that embrace cozy love stories, small-town fun, and even light family drama.  This is the episode you need for your beach bag!  I know I am LIKELY not your go-to for COZY reading choices, so I thought I would bring on a guest who would be.  When I read something that gives me warm fuzzies, you kn...

Imagine your childhood becomes a sitcom. As the daughter of Roseanne Barr, Jenny Pentland knows a lot about this and documents her story in her riveting memoir, This Will Be Funny Later.  This coming-of-age memoir isn’t about Roseanne though. Jenny shares her journey through her teen years from fat camps to wilderness boot camps to her stay in mental health facilities that brought to light the for...

No need to wait for the latest summer releases when you have this list of best backlist books to check out. This is the second part of our discussion today.  My well-read co-host, Larry Hoffer, is back to talk about our favorite older books and why these should be in your stack this year too. Not familiar with the term backlist or frontlist books? The book industry groups published books into two...

No need to wait for the latest summer releases when you have this list of best backlist books to check out. My well-read co-host, Larry Hoffer, is back to talk about our favorite older books and why these should be in your stack this year too. Not familiar with the term backlist or frontlist books? The book industry groups published books into two types- frontlist (titles that have sold in the cur...

Do you struggle with reading focus and retention? Paula Engebretson is a Certified Life Coach that specializes in helping adults with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) live their best life. Who better to lead us on reading strategies and reading comprehension than her? At 31 years old, Paula was diagnosed with ADHD and had to learn how to create systems and routines that made sense w...

May is  AAPI Heritage Month, and we want to celebrate these voices with a well-curated book stack. Kristin from Fables Books joins the show to talk about this month’s StoryGraph reading challenge and share some of their best picks for a memorable reading month. I also bring a great book club selection, an under-the-radar book gem that swept me away, and debuts that pulled me out of reading slumps....

When the 2019 Booker Prize longlist was announced, Deedi (@deedireads) challenged herself to read them over a year. Reading this prize-winning literature ended up changing her reading life forever. Each year, this literary award (Booker Prize) for fiction is one of the most prestigious literary prizes given to an author. This prize is awarded to what is the best novel of the year written in the En...

If you need some fun in your life, this podcast on the funniest books is for you. Kristin from Fables and I agree that we don’t gravitate toward lighthearted books so it is always a fun surprise when books like these bring us unexpected joy. Expand your book stack beyond the funny classics like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Bill Bryson,  and Trevor Noah. This humorous book stack offers some under-the-ra...

Dana K. White is a bestselling author who shares reality-based cleaning and organizing tips on her podcast, A Slob Comes Clean. This discussion embraces the best time-saving cleaning tricks so you can read more and focus less on cleaning.  Get her advice on the best decluttering projects to pair with audiobooks and a few of her favorite audiobooks this year.  Don’t miss the “container concept” tha...

Kathleen Carter has worked with bestselling authors for years and has launched publicity campaigns for many of our most treasured books. It takes a lot of know-how to work in the publishing industry and her book promotions have garnered the attention of many bestselling authors and literary agents. Today we discuss how she landed this dream job, what goes into book publicity, and what really helps...

Award-winners don’t always yield a can’t-put-down book pace even if they make the critic’s best books of the year list. This episode is here to deliver on fast-paced reads with big themes. Discover what makes a book qualify for these award categories (like the Alex Awards, Hugo Award, or Edgar Award) and get the book reviews you need to make the most notable award-winning choices for your reading...

Who better to lead us on using The StoryGraph app than Nadia Odunayo- the CEO and Founder of The StoryGraph app. Nadia shares how the design’s simple tracking and insightful stats tool can enrich your reading life.  These personalized recommendations are based on your mood and can curate the perfect read for any mood occasion.     Today we discussed who were the users for The StoryGraph's features...

Lindsay (@theopinionatereader) may have been tasked with the most challenging podcast assignment yet, but it seemed fitting for a bookstagrammer that builds a brand on strong book opinions. So today we discuss three books she loved and three books she hated. Learn some of the best practices for sharing negative book reviews and what surprising author friendship blossomed from a positive book revie...

A Little Hope was selected as a Read With Jenna & Book of the Month Selection, but Ethan Joella is here to tell you that writing your first book can be quite the journey. Ethan knows all about good writing, in fact, he instructs his students on this topic. Today we are talking about the structure of this beautifully interconnected story in a sleepy seaside town and why good stories are often made...

This month, Kristin from Fables Books joins us to explore books about books through the brand new Fables Books Reading Challenge! We discuss our favorite books that embrace fictional bookstore settings and libraries. This episode has you covered whether you are looking for a love story or that perfect true crime nonfiction book escape with. This is the stack you need for your next book club night...

Debut novelist, Laura Tremaine, wrote a gorgeous little book called Share Your Stuff I'll Go First and might be a familiar voice to you because of her podcast 10 Things to Tell You. Not only will we be talking about Laura's experience writing her first book, but we will also be discussing the must-read true crime books you need to add to your stack. I knew we would have a lot of fun discussing the...

This week's podcast is another "Bookishly Curious" episode that explores the hopes and heartbreaks of pandemic publishing. Gae Polisner joins me, a YA author that's 2020 book launch was rocked by changes in the publishing industry, bringing repeated challenges to the sales of her book.   I believe that it is impossible to listen to this episode and not learn something new because Gae shows up in t...

The new FULLY BOOKED show is just what your reading life needs. We are giving you a sneak peek into our new Patreon show with a brand new co-host! Get the scoop on all the latest releases, discover the latest in bookish entertainment news, and find out what books to anticipate in the weeks ahead.  This episode will get you all caught up on all those new and shiny releases. Listen to this before yo...

Chip runs the Steam & Scream Book Club and brings his favorite book club romance and thrillers to our show today. His eye for steam, in particular, landed him a book cover deal with a romance writer that's just the kind of story you need to to hear today. Chip also brings his professional photography background to our show to discuss simple ways to document your reading year that will fit any budg...