Gabi and Megan chat with Lauren McHugh, the owner of Simplicitee. Lauren is an avid bookstagrammer at @laurenlovesto. They chat about starting a small business, the idea of scarcity versus abundance, and finding rest in the midst of a busy world. 

The Last Book You Loved:

Lauren's Pick: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Megan's Pick: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Gabi's Pick: Assembly by Natasha Brown

An Upcoming Release You're Excited About:

Lauren's Pick: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Megan's Pick: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez 

Gabi's Pick: How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

A Book You Always Recommend:

Lauren's Pick: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Megan's Pick: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Gabi's Pick: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Find us on Instagram: @andherbookspod

Find Lauren on Instagram: @laurenlovesto

Shop Simplicitee 

In this episode, Gabi and Megan discuss the books they're thankful for and why. They also chat about Thanksgiving traditions and their favorite dishes!

I'm thankful for books I can get lost in:

Megan's Picks: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

Gabi's Picks: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

I'm thankful for books that made me fall in love with reading:

Megan's Picks: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Gabi's Picks: Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene

I'm thankful for books that teach me/pull me into someone else's experience:

Megan's Picks: Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

Gabi's Picks: Infinite Country by Patricia Engel, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

I'm thankful for short stories/short novels:

Megan's Picks: The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans, Matrix by Lauren Groff

Gabi's Picks: Orange World by Karen Russell, Fraternity by Benjamin Nugent

I'm thankful for books with a strong setting:

Megan's Picks: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Gabi's Picks: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray

In this episode, Gabi and Megan chat with Linzi, @abookishendeavor on Instagram. We chat about her freelance graphic design work, moving to a different state, and the bookstore she is opening in 2022: Reading in Public Books!

Books Discussed:

The Last Book You Enjoyed:

Linzi's pick: The Ghost Variations by Kevin Brockmeier, Spirits Abroad: Stories by Zen Cho

Megan's pick: Still Life by Louise Penny

Gabi's pick: Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper

A New Release You're Looking Forward To:

Linzi's pick: The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Megan's pick: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Gabi's pick: The Bright Side Running Club by Josie Lloyd

A Book You Always Recommend:

Linzi's pick: Heartstopper Volume I: A Graphic Novel by Alice Oseman

Megan's pick: Passing by Nella Larsen

Gabi's pick: One Day in December by Josie Silver

Follow Along:

Linzi: @abookishendeavor
Linzi's Bookstore: Reading in Public Books
Reading in Public Books: Go Fund Me
Reading in Public Books: Merch Shop

And Her Books Instagram

This week Gabi and Megan do a bookish this or that, asking each other questions about their reading preferences. They talk about rom-com tropes, feel-good and feel-sad stories, and their favorite reading seasons. A fun mini-episode about all things bookish.

Follow us on Instagram: @andherbookspod

This week Gabi and Megan chat with Taryn Dennie, who you may know as @mentallybooked, on Bookstagram. They chat with Taryn about her social media, her role as Social Media Coordinator at Literary League, and get all the book recommendations.

The Last Book You Enjoyed:

Taryn's Pick: The Shimmering State by Meredith Westgate

Megan's Pick: Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey

Gabi's Pick: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

A New Release You're Excited About:

Taryn's Pick: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Megan's Pick: Amor Actually: A Holiday Romance Anthology

Gabi's Pick: Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

A Book You Always Recommend:

Taryn's Pick: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Megan's Pick: A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Gabi's Pick: The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

Follow Taryn on Instagram: @mentallybooked

Follow us on Instagram: @andherbookspod

Gabi and Megan discuss finding balance when you have a creative job, how they navigate feeling creatively stuck, and of course- talk about books too!

What We're Reading This Week:

We're Both Reading: Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper and Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Books We've Recently Bought:

Gabi: A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

Megan: A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria

Gabi and Megan talk about what they love in a witchy read and deep dive into four books that are perfect to read in October!

Books Discussed:

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

In this week's episode, Gabi and Megan chat about their love of Gilmore Girls and give a ton of read-a-likes if you also love the show!

Gilmore Girl Read-a-likes: If you love Gilmore Girls...

For the small-town setting:

Payback's A Witch by Lana Harper

For the family dynamics:

Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur

For the rich people problems:

Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster

For Luke's diner:

The Late Bloomers Club by Louise Miller

For the ivy-league lovers:

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

For desire, ambition, and experiences as a woman:

The Summer Demands by Deborah Shapiro

For the town gossip:

A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison

For Chilton:

Most Likely by Sarah Watson

For Richard and Emily:

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

For Small-Town Vibes:

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

For Emily/Lorelai:

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

For Lane/Mrs. Kim:

Revival Season by Monica West

In today's episode, Gabi and Megan discuss what they love in a book. They chat about their favorite genres, tropes, and give lots of recommendations!

Books Discussed:

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia with the narrator Imani Jade Powers

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

How To Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy

Dial A For Aunties Jesse Q. Sutanto

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine

A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Scwab

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

Other Things We Chatted About:

From The Front Porch Podcast

In this episode, Gabi and Megan interview Nnenna Odeluga @scsreads about the many industries she has worked in, how she balances work with her blog, and of course, her books.

Nnenna's Interview with Zakiya Dalila Harris, author of The Other Black Girl

Nnenna's Interview with Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev 

Books Discussed:

A book you recently loved:

Nnenna's Pick: The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Megan's Pick: Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi

Gabi's Pick: Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

A book you always recommend:

Nnenna's Pick: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Megan's Pick: Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

Gabi's Pick: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

A new release you're excited about:

Nnenna's Pick: To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

Megan's Pick: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Gabi's Pick: The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox