My 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide is live! The guide contains 45 recent and upcoming releases plus new titles in book series, fiction/nonfiction pairings, stellar mystery series and some anticipated spring and summer releases. All of these will make great reads for this winter and many are books you won’t see many other places; I strive to find those under-the-radar gems. If you are interested, fill out the Google form and submit a tip of your choosing.

Contemporary Fiction Episodes

July 2, 2021

Chantel Guertin - INSTAMOM

Chantel and I discuss Instamom, the world of Instagram influencers and how individuals now make careers of out being influencers, the term childfree and how it better reflects not having children, her book recommendations, and much more.

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June 29, 2021

Amy Mason Doan - LADY SUNSHINE

Amy and I discuss Lady Sunshine, how Woody Guthrie and Fleetwood Mac inspired her book, crafting the lyrics for the songs included in Lady Sunshine, taking someone’s art and finishing it, her unique Covid writing spot, and much more.

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June 27, 2021

Saumya Dave - WHAT A HAPPY FAMILY

Saumya and I discuss What a Happy Family, wanting to focus on mental health and the ways we do and do not talk about it, how memories are filtered through our own experiences, the origins of the title, balancing two careers and a young child, and much more.

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June 17, 2021

Kristan Higgins - PACK UP THE MOON

Kristan and I discuss Pack Up the Moon, how reading books about other people’s grief provides a safe way to cry over the things in your own life, why she chose to incorporate letters into her book, providing a story for a group of people who don’t often get their own story, the origin of her title,…

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June 4, 2021

Jeff Arch - ATTACHMENTS

Jeff and I discuss Attachments, crafting a story about relationships, his personal connection to the novel, how watching soap operas helped him write this novel, creating Sleepless in Seattle and behind-the-scenes details about its development, and much more.

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June 4, 2021

Laura Hankin - A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN

Laura and I discuss A Special Place for Women, how she loves the fake dating trope, exploring what happens when activism becomes performative instead of genuine, what her writing process look like, her COVID-19 book release video, and much more.

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June 2, 2021

Steven Rowley - THE GUNCLE

Steven and I discuss his new book The Guncle, including humor in his stories, how Auntie Mame and other magical caregivers inspired this story, the special message in his Acknowledgments, how The Editor came about, and much more.

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May 18, 2021

Emiko Jean - TOKYO EVER AFTER

Emiko and I discuss her latest book Tokyo Ever After, how drafting this book helped her reconcile her own identity, her writing process and how it has evolved, why it took her a while to write this book, what a privilege it is to blend in, how her stunning cover came about, viewing stories as “wind…

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May 10, 2021

Katherine St. John - THE SIREN

Katherine and I discuss her new book The Siren, using three points of view to slowly disseminate information to the reader, how she enjoys writing about the messiness of life, taking unexpected life paths, how lives are lived in chapters, and much more.

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May 6, 2021

Georgia Clark - IT HAD TO BE YOU

Georgia and I discuss her new rom-com It Had to Be You, why she switched to the rom-com genre, how her own wedding inspired her to write this story, her fascination with weddings, teasing out a balance between tradition versus modernity, and much more.

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April 23, 2021

Sanjena Sathian - GOLD DIGGERS

Sanjena and I discuss her debut novel Gold Diggers, the responsibilities that come with assimilation, conceptual orphans, writing the research problem she encountered into Gold Diggers, her background as a journalist, Mindy Kaling optioning her story for a TV series, and much more.

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March 29, 2021

Kathleen West - ARE WE THERE YET?

Kathleen and I discuss Are We There Yet?, how social media and cell phones play such major roles in teens’ lives today, parents who believe their self-worth and social standing are tied to their children’s, parenting in 2021, balancing oversight and privacy as a parent, and more.

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March 26, 2021

Bianca Marais - IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH

Bianca and I discuss If You Want to Make God Laugh, creating cultural context and awareness in her writing, her podcast and why she launched it, how to become a more responsible traveler, the importance of Own Voices stories, the advent of writing partnerships, and more.

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March 22, 2021

Kim Neville - THE MEMORY COLLECTORS

Kim and I discuss The Memory Collectors, the way inanimate objects hold power over us because of the memories tied to them, her favorite character to create in this book, her fascination with witches and magic, connecting with readers, and more.

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March 22, 2021

Jill Santopolo - EVERYTHING AFTER

Jill and I discuss Everything After, how a Counting Crows song helped spark the title of this book, encouraging open conversations about miscarriage, maintaining individuality and identity after getting married, the one thing that Jill wanted for her recent birthday and more.

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