Reading For Pleasure

Can you really consent to a succubus? What is it about minotaurs that appeals to older women? Will Kim ever learn what qualifies as beastiality?!? Trigger/Content Warnings: death of a former mate (off page but referenced), assholishness of a former mate (off page but referenced), the dreaded words ‘we should talk,’ thrall attack, dominance play and beguilement (with consent), sexually explicit con...

Minotaur May is baaaack, and it's another week of us questioning our judgement. How does romance differ post menopause? Why is it usually the woman who leaves everything she knows and loves to move closer to man? And the age old question: wouldn't hooves be really slick on a yoga room floor? Trigger/Content Warnings: previous unhappy marriage described, first time flying, THC use, alcohol...

Welcome to WEEK TWO of Minotaur May! Where were indoor cats shitting in this world? Why aren't more romance novels outside? Why is sex work so often villainized in romance novels? Trigger/Content Warnings: claustrophobia, cave-ins, spiders, corpses, rats, grave robbing, parental neglect, financial insecurity, gambling, addiction, alcoholism, unprotected sex, rampant misogyny, knotting, sexuall...

Welcome to MINOTAUR MAAAAY! We're kicking things off with the one that started it all - Morning Glory Milking Farm. Join us all month as we break down the tropes, rate the hotness of cows, and fill our hearts with regret. Is Violet a sex worker? How much would you need to get paid to let someone eat you out? How are we coping with the KU/Audible breakup? Trigger/Content Warnings: sex work, glo...

We're joined this week by special guest and REAL gay person, Hank! Are there meaningful differences between MM books written by real gay men vs women/AFAB folks? Why do gay men like outside sex so much? How does body positivity differ in the gay male community? Trigger/Content warnings: cursing, sexual content, homophobia, lack of realism around safety, explicit language, consensual sexual deg...

Should Cis Women be writing MM romance? Does our digital footprint even mean anything anymore? What's the relationship between sex work as WORK and people who do it for the love of it (or...for the fans)?   Trigger/Content Warnings: mention of childhood sexual assault (not detailed on page), mention of sensitive religious topics, detailed trauma recovery & healing, mention of death & g...

We're joined by the one and only Producer Livia this week to discuss the book behind the latest season of Bridgerton! What are the differences between and book and the show, and why? Does Benedict care about Sophie at all? How does the show continue to challenge the white utopia that the book series created? Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, emotional abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassm...

What is it about this story that women love so much? Why is it so special to see secondary female characters portrayed so well? Does part of the allure of MM romance come from the closeted aspect? Trigger/Content warnings: homophobia (on-page), death of a parent, mentions of off-page suicide, dementia, injury (on-page), alcohol consumption, grief, strained familial relationships, sexually explicit...

What’s all the fuss about arranged marriages, anyway? And why are people so obsessed with getting married overall? How can we honor our deceased loved ones while also honoring ourselves? Trigger/Content Warnings: strained familial ties, death of a parent (off-page), mentions of dead family members, discussion of arranged marriage, grief, misogyny, mentions of medical racism  Tropes: Shakespeare Re...

What's the difference between angst and yearning? Why are vampires so frequently the good guys (but bad boys)? What’re the implications of posing white people as indigenous in the USA? Trigger/Content Warnings:   Death of several people within the context of a war between different species (vampires, werewolves, and humans) is mentioned Frequent mentions of blood Abductions Descriptions of sui...

Why don't we see more diversity in body shapes/sizes from male main characters? Do you picks books based on "hot" sports, or sports YOU played? Sex work is work! Trigger/Content Warnings: Cuckholding, threesomes, degradation, physical assault to a stranger, light stalking, unaliving of a parent (off page), injury (off-page), body shaming Who might feel repped? Ruggers, polyamorous pe...

Why isn't abortion discussed more in a sex positive genre like romance? How do we view strong women in relation to their need for softness? What is the actual definition of being "dickmatized?" Trigger/Content Warnings: racism, misogyny, prejudice, classism, medical injury (on-page), death of a parent (off-page), violence (on-page), medical procedure (on-page & off-page), abortio...

Would Reading for Pleasure Pod exist if 9/11 didn't happen?? Whyyy did this book create such a cultural phenomenon? Is there any better feeling than having a crush on someone? Trigger/Content warnings: Racism & anti-Native language Attempted suicide mentioned Blood depiction & blood-drinking Hospitalisation for illness & injuries (broken bones, blood loss) Mentions of the 1918 Spanish...

How important is it to have a safe word? What is so sexy about masks all of the sudden? Why does it still feel so taboo to engage in kink play? Trigger/Content warnings: sexually explicit discussion and scenes (including anal play), alcohol consumption, mention of rape (off-page), child abuse (remembered), medical content, blood and gore (in a hospital setting), discussion of mental health, mentio...

How important is sexual compatibility in a relationship; important enough to break up over? What does "good" kink look like when so many people practice it differently? Is it sanitary to not wear shoes at a public pool?!? Trigger/Content Warnings: Exploration of kink and some aspects of BDSM (always consensual and always negotiated); the sexual relationship between the MMC and the FMC in...

Welcome back to the number one Kathryn Moon fan club podcast, assumedly. Is it West Virginia cryptid cultural appropriation to have A mothman who isn't THE Mothman? Is there anything sexier than a (moth)man with a plan? If sex work was legal (as it SHOULD BE), what kind of tax status would the men of Monster Smash Agency have? Trigger/content warnings: voyeurism, exhibitionism, struggling to o...

We're back (for now)! We're better than ever (probably)! We're Reading for Pleasure (for SURE)! Get a sneak peek at what we're up to this season, and hear us complain about how difficult it is to create a podcast in these conditions (trump's america).

Wowza, you made our first year one for the books. In this episode, we look back at what we loved, what we fought about, and what we learned about ourselves. Thank you to our dozens of listeners for your love and support <3 We promise to be just as unhinged next year. See you in March!

We're joined this week by a special guest, Vannah: a real lesbian!! Do soulmates exist? Do we put too much emphasis on romantic relationships in life? What does it mean to be aromantic? Trigger/content warnings: alcohol use, mentions of parental neglect, abandonment, explicit sex Tropes: BFFs-to-lovers, second chance, snowed-in, left at the altar, angst, Christmas, grumpy x sunshine, one bed Maste...

What makes a Christmas romance novel? Are there Christmasy tropes we should expect (ie. Christmas markets, Santa, snowed-in)? How does someone overcome the parental pressures to get married and/or have children? And, are there any merits to car sex? Trigger Warnings/Content Warnings: profanity, death of children (off-page), hospital setting, children in hospice, diet culture toxicity, fatphobia, f...

What is it about tentacles that gets us all hot and bothered? Is there a difference in (female) pleasure based on whether or not a guy is circumsized? And will Kim ever stop choosing books based on their cover?? Trigger/Content warnings: depression, group play, tentacle play, anal, explicit language Tropes: MMF, tentacles, novella, monster romance, Christmas, unrequited love, snowed in Master Kim’...

Do we NEED to define our sexuality with one label? How does that help folks feel seen and affirmed, and what are the pitfalls? Why was the female main character doing so much emotional labor? Trigger/content warnings: Polyamory, fisting, toy play, oral, BDSM, anal, double penetration, primal play, rough sex, mentions of the foster care system, discussions of sexuality, mentions of parent death, an...

First and foremost, free Palestine. Why do so many romance novels (and Disney movies) have a dead or absent parent? Does anyone use dental dams? What IS sex?!?! Trigger/content warnings: Ableism, Alcohol, Bullying, Emotional Abuse, Injury, Mental Health diagnoses, Panic Attacks, Sexually Explicit Scenes, Toxic relationship (not Main Characters), Vomit Tropes: sapphic, workplace romance/sports roma...

Why are people willing to stay in unhappy relationships? Bc they're used to it? Bc it's comfortable? Why do hetero women want to date taller men? Why do we want to feel small? Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of religious topics, cheating (off-page), divorce, self-isolation, a family member going through terminal illness, feelings of anxiety, loneliness and not belonging, graphic sexual content...

Is kink becoming pop culture? Do we create dating profiles to be ABOUT us, or to ATTRACT? In the world of interracial romance novels, why is a Black female main character so frequently paired with an Asian male main character? Trigger/Content warnings : panic attacks (past, mentioned), anxiety, depression, PTSD, infertility and miscarriages (mentioned), domestic violence (past, mentioned, includes...