Circle Time: A Book Club Podcast

The pals and special guest Ellen tackle the topics of codependence and love addiction through this impactful read by Pia Mellody. Whether you tend toward codependence or not, this book offers a lot to chew on. It prompts you to wonder, how can I be more myself in my relationships?   Join this conversation by sending us an email at circletimebookclub@gmail.com

W.W.B.B.S. What would Brené Brown say? This is the second half of the Daring Greatly conversation. Olivia dives into the top three protective shields in the vulnerability armory and the accompanying antidotes. Michelle, Lauren, and Olivia discuss their top vulnerability shield and their personal relationship to the antidote. Join the circle and do a deep dive into all things vulnerable. Join this...

This book changed Olivia's life and she can't wait to share how. Join the Circle Time ladies for this conversation about all things related to shame and shame resilience. From being innately worthy and deserving of goodness to getting knocked down time and time again by the same old shame scripts, this episode covers the basic introduction to Brené Brown's impactful book. Join this...

Welcome back for part 2 of Getting It by Allison Moon! In this half, we talk about consent, how we each would prefer to have hard conversations, vulnerability, a touch of shame, and a tangent about self-trust and confidence.   Plus, Olivia tries out the hard conversation formula and breaks up with Lauren and Michelle. Kidding! (maybe..) Give it a listen and let us know what you think!  Note: The a...

Heyo! We're back from a longer-than-planned break with a spicy 2-parter on Allison Moon's Getting It: A Guide to Hot, Healthy Hookups and Shame Free Sex. In this episode we chat about casual sex, knowing yourself, being a good sexual citizen, and tapping into your intuition. Lauren leads Michelle and Olivia through an abbreviated version of an exercise in the book (but you'll have t...

Join us with guest Ellen as she takes us through The Wim Hof Method. Step 1: breath meditation. Step 2: set an intention. Step 3: cold plunge. This episode dives into each step of the Wim Hof Method, ultimately convincing all of us to try it for ourselves. Ellen has been incorporating this method into her daily routine since April and swears by the positive effects it has had in her life. Join us...

This one's a doozy! Join Michelle and Olivia for this very messy conversation in tackling Man's Search for Meaning. They discuss Victor E. Frankl's logotherapy ( form of existential therapy), tragic optimism, as well as keeping hope and faith while enduring suffering. Come along with them on this bumpy but entertaining journey of discovering meaning! Join this conversation by sendin...

***Apologies for the background noise on this episode. Chewing and typing sounds may occur.*** In 1996, Bill Bryson was one among many thousands of hikers who attempted to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Joined by an old friend, Katz, the two amateur hikers set out to walk the over 2,000-mile journey and see what they learn along the way.  This was a very different kind of nature memoir for Mic...

Special guest (and dear friend) Michaela Eckler brings us this historical fiction novel to inspire conversation about what certain words truly mean, who gets to define them, and how to fight the "good fight" no matter who you are. This is a "slow-burn" novel; it doesn't quite suck you in, but its impact creeps up slowly, and leaves you thinking about it for weeks after rea...

Yoga, meditation, astrology, good diet, high self-esteem; where does it all come from and who gets to have it? In this episode, we take a close look at the wellness industry through the lens of anti-colonialism and Róisín's personal experience. The responsibility the author puts on yoga teachers hits close to home for Michelle. Olivia wonders how technology and Instagram play into "real&...

Here it is... a long-awaited Circle Time by yours truly, Olivia! This book changed her life and she couldn't wait to share it with everyone. In this episode, Lauren and Olivia discuss "the truth that lives there" and Michelle questions if Sugar's advice still stands in a marriage. Join them for some laughs, maybe some tears, and a whole lot of "horribly horrible true truth...

This book walked its way into Michelle's life and now she can't look back. The daily practices and Buddhist philosophies that Rinzler espouses here bring a renewed sense of meaning into work, and help calm the mind/body along the way. From setting intentions to focusing on the breath, we talk about how to slow down and be mindful at work. . . and the challenges that prevent us from doing...

Are any of us married? Nope. Do we have any experience with marriage? Nope. Are we still gonna talk about it? Yup. Through information from relationship researcher John Gottman, we talk about the Four Horsemen as they relate to the demise of a relationship as well as the initial "seeds" or warning signs that may mean your relationship could use some TLC. Join us for this conversation tha...

SPOILERS!!! Welcome back to the conversation about It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. In this episode Lauren spills all of her thoughts on the characters, the story, and the book as a whole. Michelle revisits her previous thoughts on what consequence and justice could look like for some characters in this book. Olivia and Lauren agree that they both don't like the ending. Join the circle for...

Let's talk about sex, baby! This insightful book is one of our favorites. We *came* out of it knowing so much more about communication around sex, managing turn-ons and turn-offs, and dealing with stress healthily. Talking points include: -completing the stress cycle -inhibitors and excitors  -how religion may tie into our perceptions of sex -tending your own "garden"  This is a 10/...

TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence. NO SPOILERS! This episode is all about Colleen Hoover's book It Ends With Us as well as the movie that stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. The Circle Time ladies discuss social and emotional implications this book and movie has on its audience. Olivia describes the premise of the book, Lauren explains where she is at with reading it, and Michelle reaaaal...

Michelle and Olivia get wild in this episode on one of our favorite books to return to: Women Who Run with the Wolves. (And by "get wild" we mean, get pretty sidetracked and don't actually talk about the book all that much. . .whoops!) Conversation drifts from the meaning of nicknames, to the dangers of opening up your heart, to Olivia's current obsession with pregnancy and pos...

Welcome to Season 2 of Circle Time! We're back from summer break and we're kicking off the new season with a rare occasion - all 3 of us read and loved this novel! Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a story about platonic love, the creative spirit, and, surprisingly enough, video games.  Discussion topics include: -general gushing about why we loved this book -what we value in a femal...

Get on "another level" with us as we talk about human relationships to animals. Can we truly communicate with animals in a deep and meaningful way? Is there a natural hierarchy found in the animal kingdom? Are we all created from the same plane? Would whales want to talk to us?! Join us for this conversation as we try to answer some of these questions. Join this conversation by sending u...

We're truly getting messy about life and covering a lot of ground in this episode as we chat about Sheila Heti's Pure Colour and welcome our very first guest to Circle Time, our beloved Lex!  Join us for some existential conversation about who we are as animals (bears, fish, or birds anyone?), autofiction, religion, mental health, and versions of the world we hope to see.  This is a much...

We return to the "woo woo bible" to explore one of our favorite topics: love and relationships. Estés analyzes the story of the skeleton woman; an Inuit folktale that speaks to the transformational nature of love, the willingness to embrace change, and  the ability to let the soul speak louder than the ego.  In this episode, Olivia tries to let go of childhood, Michelle tries to figure o...

Our first novel on the podcast! This is the second book in a series published in the 1990s by ecofeminist leader Starhawk. It tells the story of a young woman named Maya protesting the Vietnam War and trying to stay true to herself amidst all the pressures of family, peers and adulthood. Discussion topics include: -when did we become such non-fiction heads?? -personal communion with nature and how...

You can now join the Circle Time Bookclub Podcast Group on Goodreads! Check out the page here .  Join this conversation by sending us an email at circletimebookclub@gmail.com

Welcome back to another Circle Time! In this episode, Lauren shares from Negotiating with the Dead: Writers on Writing by Margaret Atwood. We put on our English class hats and talk about our ideas about writers, our experiences with fiction vs nonfiction, and get a little existential about being human and our desires to be remembered. Whew!  Join this conversation by sending us an email at circlet...

Olivia begins this conversation by giving an overview of what this book is about and who this book might be written for (probably not for us). We then dive into a discussion about qualities that make up a "life partner" and how those traits may be overlooked by some people because of smaller annoyances or distractions in the initial dating phase. We talk about how awkward and weird datin...