Broken Spine Social Club

Welcome to our first installment of Scrap Papers - a lil voice note from me to you as I go on my daily walk (Mile High City altitude induced huffing + puffing included). Topics: * What is Scap Papers? * The first ACTUAL day of Fall: Sept. 15 * Pen15 * Weekend Recap (Crafting with the girls!) With the podcast on pause, this is an experiment in connection, so I’d love to know what you think - more S...

After a year-and-a-half of talking books, reading, and writing, I've made the decision to move on from Broken Spine Social Club. This is a farewell to the project, but not to all of you! I'll be back right here October 1st with a new, evolved way for us to stay in conversation. Thank you for listening - and chat soon <3 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...

Sam Wachman's debut novel is the powerhouse coming-of-age story of Artem, a 12-year-old boy navigating his sexuality and survival against the backdrop of the Russo-Ukranian War. Wachman's novel hits close to home. An English teacher and volunteer for Ukranian refugees, Wachman's love of his second homeplace infuses his story with deep emotion, complexity, and care. Today, Wachman and I sit down to...

What’s better than a good thriller? A good thriller spanning the Hamptons, Amsterdam, and London putting a critical eye to the art world. That’s precisely what’s in store for readers of author Rue Matthiessen’s debut novel, Woman with Eyes Closed. Rue and I chat though her writing process, interest in visual arts, and world-building in the place she calls home in today’s episode of Broken Spine So...

We couldn’t have covered a self-development month without talking about James Clear’s cult classic - Atomic Habits. This step-by-step manual for instituting good habits (and cutting bad ones) is said to be life changing…but is Clear’s framework really so different from some woo-woo alternatives?  MIDSUMMER RISE TOGETHER ON:  INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bsscpod   TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok...

The Artist’s Way is the beloved workbook by creative Julia Cameron, who believes that via a simple morning journal practice, you can reignite your creativity and achieve your dreams within 12 weeks. Friend and friend of the pod Shannon (aka Fluently Forward ) joins us today to talk about her recent Artist’s Way undertaking, plus our thoughts on the wild world of woo.   MIDSUMMER RISE TOGETHER ON: ...

WE’RE BACK..and bringing you a Broken Spine Social Club Month of Woo: Midsummer Rising. Over the month of July, we’re optimizing, actualizing, manifesting, and coming together with curiosity as we cover 4 weeks of spirituality / self-development in books.  Today’s episode: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza.  The world can be what we want it to be - and for Dr. Joe Dispenza,...

There’s no doubt that readers love talking shop (i.e. books) with other readers. But where and how do you cultivate that community, without the Amazon-ownership, plus an early-internet, Neopets-inspired aesthetic? Bookworm.  Bookworm is the brainchild of Amelia Goodman, a place to track your reading, find new book recommendations, and meet and connect with readers just like you. Oh, and you get a...

For the girls who wear vintage nightgowns, endure eternal existential dread, and are a little bit feral - there is Weird Girl Lit, the genre of unhinged women feeling feelings that has taken over literary fiction. Today we dive deep into these narratives and explore their history and why they’re so popular today. INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bsscpod   NEWSLETTER: https://blottingpapers.sub...

Tennessee Hill’s debut novel “ Girls with Long Shadows ” is the story of the 19-year-old Binderup triplets - Baby A, Baby B, and Baby C - but so much more: a haunting and beautifully written narrative on fear, siblinghood, and our very human need to be seen. Today, Tennessee and I sit down to discuss just that, along with her writing process, the lasting legacy of the Southern Gothic, and how Tenn...

Book-to-film adaptations are the original “expectation vs. reality.” Sometimes our favorite character is portrayed exactly like we’d imaged in our mind…and other times…not. Today, I sit down with fan-casting extraordinaire and hilarious friend Zara to go through our best loved movie versions, plus try our hand at casting (or recasting) some of our favorite books. BOOKS MENTIONED My Year of Rest an...

Thanks for joining me on a very special solo ep covering and reviewing the (very few) books I read — or, wished I hadn’t read — in Q1 of 2025. Plus a few reflections on DNFing, reading, learning, culture and how I’m staying sane in times of chaos. Enjoy! Books mentioned:  Long Island by Colm Toibin The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind  For Small Cr...

Read this? Read that! Inner Child Edition. Today, Kate of @k8sreads and I pair our favorite children’s books with their adult literary equivalent, as well as go deep on our best loved girlhood stories and the romance plots that took precedent over any kind of meaningful social narrative and critique in teen fiction.  KATE’s INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/k8tsreads KATE’S TIKTOK: https://www....

There's no better practice for honing your intuition than "getting your hands dirty", says Sam , psychic, reader, friend. Still, if you're looking to expand your consciousness, clear your shadows, or are just curious to learn more about the world of the mystical, my favorite guide to the spirit realm Spirituality with Sam joins us with her top book recommendations for all things spirituality - plu...

In honor of St. Patrick and the Land of Saints & Scholars, let’s put down the “Normal People” this year and read one of these incredible - but highly underrated - Irish literature greats. We cover my 5-star reads out of Ireland, the books and Irish authors I always recommend - plus, enjoy the world’s most Spark Notesiest overview of Irish literary history.  INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com...

Thanks to the likes of BookTok and Sarah J. Maas, there’s never been a better time to be a fantasy reader. However, if you were an avid reader of Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia as a kid and aren’t sure where to start with tapping into the fantasy world, the endless series and expansive world building can be daunting. Enter, my friend, @kassbookreviews - *the* go-to source for fantasy book re...

It begins with eye-catching hot pink cover art. When Cameron aka @slaggybookclub first encountered Ottessa Moshfegh’s ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’, the weird girl lit fic book was just the beginning. Now, Cameron is one of BookTok’s central creators on literary fiction. On today’s episode, Cameron chats with me about creating litfic bookish content and what to do when your hobby becomes your c...

Need the kind of friend who is always going to bat 100 for movie / book / TV show reccs? You need Tori aka @druzyveins. Tori is a cultural connoisseur for the new millennium and a true master of media. Today, Tori and I sit down to discuss what art is in the scope of short-form and social media, as well as give you some actionable tips when it comes to breaking out of the all-too-familiar “comfort...

It could be said that all writing has to do with matters of the heart, and that is certainly the case for three of literary history’s best known creative couples: Truman Capote and Perry Smith, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, and Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Today, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ll explore the trysts, triangles, and tragedies of these literary couples, whose passionate lov...

There’s no doubt about the appetite readers have for narratives exploring the messy, courageous, and devouring experience of woman-and-girlhood, and author Lucy Rose serves it up on a plate in her debut novel, The Lamb. Today, we sit down and get to the meat (no pun intended) of what it takes to capture the plurality of feminine experience through the written word, Lucy’s writing process, and all...

In the dark depths of bitter late January, we’re all ready to break out the Birkenstock Arizonas and stretch out in the sun. But what if embracing the winter blues is the happiest, healthiest choice for a more grounded, enjoyable cold snap? Taking a page (literally) from Aldo Leopold, today I recommend my favorite seasonal eats, wears, and practices - along with a few wintery book recommendations...

With 38 books bagged, which were my favorite reads of 2024? I take you through the top 5 books I read this past year, figuring out what my literary theme of 2024 was (hint: nature. A lot of nature.), as well as diving into a few of my not-so-favorite books I managed to get through before year-end!  SHOP BOOKS OF THE POD: https://bookshop.org/lists/books-of-the-pod INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram....

Oh Father! Shannon of FluentlyForward and I go deep - no pun intended - on Sierra Simone’s ‘Priest’, the spicy story of Father Tyler Bell, a man of the cloth who ditches his when the beautiful Poppy Danforth joins his small town Kansas parish. What makes spicy writing spicy, when is it *not* spicy, and special feature Sin-O-Meter ranking your fave fictional priests!  SHOP BOOKS OF THE POD: https:/...

In 1990, Emory graduate Chris McCandless donated his life savings and took off to wander the American West. In 1992, McCandless's remains were found in the back of a bus in the Alaskan bush. The seminal “Into the Wild,” by investigative journalist, climber, and outdoorsman Jon Krakauer attempts to uncover not *what* happened to the off-grid adventurer, but *why* McCandless took off on his own. And...

You may know him from the Oscars circuit for films such as “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” or “The Banshees of Inishierin”. But my work wife Cliona knows him (albeit, slightly mistakenly) as “that local fella” who wrote the plays her Grannie and Aunt took her to in Galway. Today we are talking Hans Christen Andersen, colonialism, and Phoebe Waller Bridge along with Martin McDonough’s ve...