Books and Beyond With ThatGuyJae

This week on Books & Beyond, I'm joined by BookTok friend Amberwithminibooks. Amber has taken her love for creative hobbies and reading and combined them into something truly unique! She creates 1/4 scale minibooks of both her read books and TBR using a 3D printer. But this conversation goes way beyond just creative hobbies. We dive into content creation strategies, how to protect your alg...

For decades Ferrari has represented a specific thing - raw power, exclusivity and performance at all costs. The Luce challenges all of that. In this solo episode, I discuss my thoughts on Ferrari's boldest move yet: going electric, going practical, going... five seats? I explore what this car means for Ferrari's image, the automotive industry's shift toward EVs, and whether Ferrari can...

In this weeks solo episode I dive into generative AI in creative spaces. Specifically what the Barnes and Noble CEO recently said about AI books being sold in stores. I also go over a quick reading and life update, as well as the watch of the day. Generative AI is an extremely important topic I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject in the comments. Follow my socials! Tiktok Instagram Fac...

This week on Books & Beyond, I sit down with indie sci-fi author Derek Borne for a conversation that covers everything from pizza and dinosaurs to building a writing career in 2026. Derek shares his writing journey, research methods for crafting believable sci-fi worlds, and how BookTok has expanded his book sales beyond what he expected. We dive into the practical side of self-publishing, the...

Amazon just announced they're killing support for older Kindle models through a firmware update that will essentially force users to upgrade or lose functionality. As someone who uses a Kindle and cares about reading accessibility, this news is incredibly disappointing and it highlights a much bigger problem with digital media ownership. In this week's solo episode, I break down what Amazo...

In this week's solo episode, I'm breaking down my top 5 reads from Q1 2026 and there's a surprising twist. 2026 has been an incredible reading year so far, but when I looked at my favorites, I noticed something interesting: only ONE of my top 5 comes from my usual preferred genres of sci-fi and fantasy. Even more surprising? Two of them are non-fiction, which is ironic considering I co...

In this week's solo episode, I'm talking about something that's been weighing on me: the algorithm trap. I titled this one "Don't Go Chasing Algorithms" (yes, a nod to TLC's "Waterfalls") because I realized I'd fallen into the exhausting cycle of obsessing over analytics and only posting what I thought would perform well. And honestly? It led straight to...

Books and Beyond Episode 56 In this week's solo episode, I'm talking about my intentional shift away from digital dependency and back toward analog living, with some interesting tech exceptions. I dive into the changes I'm making in my daily life: switching from digital notes to a physical journal, trading Google Calendar for a paper planner, and finally organizing my content ideas in...

Books and Beyond Ep 55 If you've found this podcast recently through my Shorts, social media, or just stumbled across it - welcome! With so many new viewers joining over the past few months, I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself and share the story behind Books & Beyond. In this solo episode, I open up about my injury history, how CRPS changed my life in 2017, and the years of is...

Books and Beyond Ep 54 This week I'm joined by fellow BookToker Nicki Kupps, who has built an engaged following of 70k+ in just two years. We dive into Nicki's reading journey, what inspired her to start creating content back in 2024, and how she's grown her BookTok presence. But we also explore her newest venture, content coaching services for creators looking to level up their platfo...

5 Books by Black Authors for Black History Month - Ep 53 In this episode of Books and Beyond, host ThatGuyJae celebrates Black History Month by recommending five books across different genres by Black authors. He shares insights on each book, discussing themes, personal reflections, and the importance of diverse reading. The conversation emphasizes the significance of supporting BIPOC authors and...

This week I'm joined by my friend Andy, an active WatchTok creator and fellow book lover, for a conversation that truly lives up to the "Beyond" in Books & Beyond. We kick things off talking watches, sharing our watches of the day, discussing the positive evolution of the online watch community, and geeking out over grail pieces we'd love to add to our collections. The conver...

This week I'm joined by my BookTok friend Melly for a conversation that goes beyond just books, we're talking about the future of independent bookselling and why it matters more than ever. Melly shares her reading journey and her exciting new venture: Casa Luna Books. Currently 18 years into her Navy career, Melly is planning to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore after retirement, but she&#...

Sam Boyd Reads returns to Books & Beyond for episode 50! Sam and I are kicking off 2026 by discussing our reading and content creation goals for the new year. We dive into our more laid-back approach to reading this year. Moving away from number focused goals and really leaning into reading what we want to read. I share my main 2026 reading goal: finally finishing more series instead of leavin...

What better way to close out the year than with a reading wrap-up? I'm joined once again by Supportive Dad Reads for a fun year-end conversation about our 2025 reading journeys. We start by reflecting on how our reading years went overall, then dive into our top 3 reads across four different genres (fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and other). We compare picks, explain why certain books made our list...

This week in a post Christmas solo episode, I'm mourning the death of the mass market paperback. After being tagged by a mutual on TikTok about this news, I did some research and confirmed the sad truth. After December 2025, mass market paperbacks will be mostly gone from publishing. In this episode, I dive into why this devastating news hits me so personally as a reader, especially since many...

It's the holiday season and you want to buy something special for the book lover in your life, but here's the truth: giving someone a book is actually pretty risky unless you know their reading taste inside and out AND what's already on their bookshelf. In this quick holiday episode, I'm sharing a practical gift guide with better alternatives to blindly buying books. I cover specia...

Episode 46 One year of podcasting! In this anniversary episode, I'm reflecting on what I've really learned over 40+ episodes. I dive into the challenges, promotion struggles, technical learning curves, starting with zero editing experience. I also celebrate the wins, especially how podcasting has helped me work through social anxiety and led to incredible conversations. I also look ahead t...

This week's solo episode tackles something I don't see discussed enough, the real, frustrating struggles of being a small content creator in 2025. After posting a question on TikTok asking fellow creators about their roadblocks, I received dozens of responses that revealed common patterns we're all dealing with. I share my own struggles with over-moderation, like receiving multiple community guide...

It's CRPS Awareness Month, so I'm getting vulnerable and sharing my chronic pain story. In this solo episode, I explain what CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) is, how a work injury in 2017 led to my diagnosis, and the realities of living with an invisible chronic illness. I dive into things I wish people understood about chronic pain, why I stopped being honest about how I'm doing, why unsolic...

This week I'm joined by fellow BookTok creator Supportive Dad Reads for a wide-ranging conversation about reading, community, and breaking genre expectations. We dive into his journey back to novels after years of exclusively reading comics and graphic novels, and explore his reading journey that spans all the way back to his teenage years. As two content creators and girl dads, we discuss what dr...

This week's solo episode tackles something we all struggle with: screen time and phone addiction. After recognizing how much of my life was being consumed by scrolling, I'm making intentional changes to reclaim my time and attention. I dive into the negative impacts of excessive screen time and share the analog shifts I'm implementing . From physical journals and a commonplace notebook...

Mid-fall check-in time! In this solo episode, I'm updating you on my fall reading (spoiler: IT by Stephen King took over my life), explaining my TBR jar system, sharing photography updates including my new lens and fall projects, and discussing horror movies with a request for your B-level horror recommendations. A cozy autumn chat covering books, photography, and spooky season vibes!

This week I was joined by my BookTok mutual Abe, a creator who takes seasonal reading seriously. Abe spent his entire summer curating the perfect fall reading list ! Yes, reading autumn books in the heat so you don't have to guess what to pick up this season! We discuss the art of intentional reading and how Abe creates the perfect atmosphere with scented candles, flavored coffees, and all the...

This week I was joined by Bloodfirejeff, a fellow BookTok creator who's also a touring musician in multiple bands. We dove deep into Jeff's reading journey, his longtime passion for fantasy, and his current complicated relationship with romantasy. But this conversation goes far beyond books, we explored the art of content creation, what it means to be a multi-faceted creative, and even gee...