Who better to lead us on using The StoryGraph app than Nadia Odunayo- the CEO and Founder of The StoryGraph app. Nadia shares how the design’s simple tracking and insightful stats tool can enrich your reading life.  These personalized recommendations are based on your mood and can curate the perfect read for any mood occasion.  

Today we discussed who were the users for The StoryGraph's features. We also discuss the critical differences between GoodReads and The StoryGraph, like buddy reads, book club challenges, and content warnings.

Learn why I’m making the switch away from GoodReads after our discussion. I can’t wait to discover books this year through these curated lists and reading challenges.

Today’s episode includes a readable guide on How to Use the StoryGraph (linked in show notes) as we take you on a screen-by-screen capture of described features in our interview. 

Mentioned in this episode:

The StoryGraph

The StoryGraph Roadmap

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

Nadia Odunayo on Instagram

Nadia Odunayo on Twitter

The StoryGraph on Instagram

The StoryGraph on Twitter

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Lindsay (@theopinionatereader) may have been tasked with the most challenging podcast assignment yet, but it seemed fitting for a bookstagrammer that builds a brand on strong book opinions. So today we discuss three books she loved and three books she hated. Learn some of the best practices for sharing negative book reviews and what surprising author friendship blossomed from a positive book review.  

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR TODAY (with timestamps):
Today's episode does have trigger warnings for the last portion of our show (in the negative review section). 

The negative reviews do have spoilers.

43:05- A rape case is mishandled and there is a discussion on how this case would actually be handled based on Lindsay's background (and her husband's background) working as a sex crime's detective and intern in the sex crimes unit. 

52:52- May be triggering to those facing disabilities because it is about someone being dishonest about a health diagnosis.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Opinionated Reader on Instagram

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

Bath Haus Review on Patreon

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Book of Harlan by Bernice McFadden

Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger

Setting Free the Kites by Alex George

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

Such A Fun Age by Kylie Reid

When You Hate Your Neighbor, and Then Your Kids Start Dating by Kiley Reid in the NY Times

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez

Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

The Spoon Theory

Connect With Us:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Lindsay is @theopinionatedreader on Instagram

Join the Book Gang on Patreon 

MomAdvice.com

A Little Hope was selected as a Read With Jenna & Book of the Month Selection, but Ethan Joella is here to tell you that writing your first book can be quite the journey.

Ethan knows all about good writing, in fact, he instructs his students on this topic. Today we are talking about the structure of this beautifully interconnected story in a sleepy seaside town and why good stories are often made up of those little-noticed details.

Landing the traditional publishing deal for his debut fiction book took a lot of writing time and patience, but this novel ended up landing in just the right hands at the perfect time. It’s a magical story that I think you will really appreciate.

Today we are discussing this journey from book idea to bestselling author. Ethan candidly shares about his writing process and how social media has been a proven connection tool for published authors to get the word out about their beautiful books.

What story idea do you need to make happen? We hope this episode brings the motivation you need for your next writing session. This is the episode you need if you want to start writing and finish your book this year. I hope it inspires you to push through writer’s block and devote even fifteen minutes a day to making your literary dreams happen.

Mentioned in this episode:

Ethan Joella

MomAdvice on Patreon

The Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

MomAdvice Book Club

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg

MomAdvice Interview with Bill Clegg

Ernie’s Ark by Monica Wood

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Book of the Month

Alexandra Daddario

The People We Keep by Alison Larkin

Read with Jenna

Book of Harlan by Bernice McFadden

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

Jhumpa Lahiri

Curtis Sittenfeld

In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried by Amy Hempel

John Cheever

Ernest Hemingway

Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward

The Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild

Ethan Joella on Instagram

Ethan Joella on Twitter

A Little Hope on Amazon

A Little Hope on Target

A Little Hope on Barnes & Noble

A Little Hope on Goodreads

This month, Kristin from Fables Books joins us to explore books about books through the brand new Fables Books Reading Challenge! We discuss our favorite books that embrace fictional bookstore settings and libraries. This episode has you covered whether you are looking for a love story or that perfect true crime nonfiction book escape with. This is the stack you need for your next book club night and can be a great bonding tool for ANYONE who simply loves books. 

If you love reading, these backlist forgotten books are perfect for fans of comforting reading escape. I don’t know a book lover that wouldn't want to read a book about books and reading. There is nothing better than celebrating the power of books and everyone who loves them.

Along with today’s discussion, we are also talking about The Storygraph tool and how you can join the bookstore’s challenge or any other challenge to expand your reading life this year. Learn how this tool can be used in conjunction with your Goodreads profile or as a complete replacement for tracking and discovering your next stack of books.

Mentioned in this Episode:

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zenter

MomAdvice on Patreon

MomAdvice Book Club

Fables Books

Fables Books 2022 Reading Challenge

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

Library Reads List

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher

Ulysses by James Joyce

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Outlawed by Anna North

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

No Offense by Meg Cabot

Little Bridge Island Series

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

Once Upon a Con Series

The StoryGraph

StoryGraph Team

Fables Challenge on StoryGraph

Fables Books on Instagram

Fables Books on Facebook

Fables Books on TikTok

Debut novelist, Laura Tremaine, wrote a gorgeous little book called Share Your Stuff I'll Go First and might be a familiar voice to you because of her podcast 10 Things to Tell You.

Not only will we be talking about Laura's experience writing her first book, but we will also be discussing the must-read true crime books you need to add to your stack.

I knew we would have a lot of fun discussing these books and we are going to be sharing about that in the second half of the hour in our show. Laura comes with strong opinions including how you can't call yourself a true crime enthusiast if you haven't read THESE classics. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Laura Tremaine

Hollywood Housewife

Sorta Awesome

Smartest Person in the Room

10 Things to Tell You

Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine

MomAdvice on Patreon

Mom Advice Book Club

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

Stephen King Summer Book Club

Carrie by Stephen King

Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Misery by Stephen King

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Billy Summers by Stephen King

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

The Stranger Beside Me Original by Ann Rule

The Stranger Beside Me Twentieth Anniversary Edition by Ann Rule

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

And The Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi

Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Missoula by Jon Krakauer

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Laura’s Instagram

Laura’s Patreon

Laura’s newsletter

Laura Tremaine Link Tree

This week's podcast is another "Bookishly Curious" episode that explores the hopes and heartbreaks of pandemic publishing. Gae Polisner joins me, a YA author that's 2020 book launch was rocked by changes in the publishing industry, bringing repeated challenges to the sales of her book.

I believe that it is impossible to listen to this episode and not learn something new because Gae shows up in the only one that she knows how- authentically and vulnerably. Book printing wasn't the only challenge with this book. It is much more profound than that, and we are uncovering those layers with the challenges of being a midlist author, how author earnings work, and how this may affect future sales.

There isn't just heartbreak here, though, because Gae brings hope too. We learn what she is working on next and what best practices to help authors succeed.

If you want to better understand the book shortage before listening, Episode 9 (The Book Shortage Dilemma) is an essential discussion on how supply chain issues affect the book retail industry. This episode discusses how a paper shortage and labor shortage limited many printed book sales because the materials were not accessible for these printing runs. The printing capacity indeed changed book sales for many authors. It's so much bigger than that as we unbox what happened from a bookseller's perspective too.

Please note: Gae was having construction done at her home during our taping. We apologize for any distracting noise that might be happening during this show.  I hope it won't take away from all these valuable and beautiful lessons Gae is sharing.

Gae Polisner

Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me by Gae Polisner

MomAdvice on Patreon

Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas

Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisner

In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner

MomAdvice Reading Retreat

MomAdvice In Sight of Stars Book Chat

Cult of Pedagogy Blog

Changing Hands Bookstore

Fables Books

Robbie Crouch

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner

Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me on audiobook

gaepol on Twitter

gaepol on Instagram

Gae Polisner Author Page

Gae Polisner Personal Page

Consider the Octopus by Gae Polisner

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

The new FULLY BOOKED show is just what your reading life needs. We are giving you a sneak peek into our new Patreon show with a brand new co-host! Get the scoop on all the latest releases, discover the latest in bookish entertainment news, and find out what books to anticipate in the weeks ahead.  This episode will get you all caught up on all those new and shiny releases. Listen to this before your next library day!

Looking for the printable newsletter version of today's show? You will find it here! 

Mentioned in this episode:

MomAdvice on Patreon

Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright

Atlas of the Heart By Brene Brown

How to Resist Amazon and Why by Danny Caine

Larry on the BookGang Podcast

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Vox by Christina Dalcher

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Maid by Nita Prose

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Helny

Standard Deviation by Katherine Helny

The Book of Harlan by Bernice McFadden

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding

Room by Emma Donoghue

Wahala by Nikki May

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Sarah’s Bookshelves

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks

The Collective by Allison Gaylin

Do No Harm by Christina McDonald

False Witness by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

MomAdvice Daily Kindle Deals

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine

Laura Tremaine on Instagram

Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Running Wild by K.A. Tucker

The Simple Wild Series by K.A. Tucker

Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manasala

Goodbye Again by Mariah Stewart

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Connect With Us:

Amy on Instagram

MomAdvice

Larry's Bookstagram Account

It's Either Sadness or Bookphoria Blog

MomAdvice on Patreon (to get FULLY BOOKED monthly!)

Chip runs the Steam & Scream Book Club and brings his favorite book club romance and thrillers to our show today. His eye for steam, in particular, landed him a book cover deal with a romance writer that's just the kind of story you need to to hear today.

Chip also brings his professional photography background to our show to discuss simple ways to document your reading year that will fit any budget and how to streamline your photo editing process.

What I love the most about today's episode is that two of our selections today are self-published, a notable detail that I think is worth celebrating.

Regarding sound: this concludes the "Amy was hooked up to her web cam and not her microphone" show series. Thank you for bearing with me as I learn and grow. The sound greatly improves next week, I promise. Oh, how I have been humbled!

Mentioned in this episode:

Chip on Instagram booksovrbros

MomAdvice Reading Retreat

Lightroom app

Ache by Marley Valentine

Steam & Scream Book Club on Discord

Steam & Scream Merch on Bonfire

Joanna on Instagram booksjojoreads

Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge

The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochran

Without You by Marley Valentine

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Elena Armas on Instagram thebibliotheque

The Bullet by Mary Louise Kelly

MomAdvice Interview with Mary Louise Kelly

Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead

The Acts of Life by Kristin Mulligan

Kristin Mulligan on Instagram read.it.and.sleep

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

MomAdvice on Patreon

Looking for the second half of our Best Books of 2021? 

We are here for you!  

It’s time for the best books of 2021, and who better to lead us through this year than MomAdvice Book Gang superstar Larry. Larry ranks 28th as a top reviewer for GoodReads and has read over 360 books (so far) this year.  I have read a modest 109 for our stack. We were each challenged to bring our top twenty best books of the year to the show today and this is the second half of our discussion. Did you miss the first half? You can listen here!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

The Editor by Steven Rowley

A Star is Bored by Byron Lane

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby

Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Laurie Frankel Interview on MomAdvice

Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay

The Push by Ashley Audrain

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

In my Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg

The Power of Ritual by Casper Her Kuile

Book Gang Episode 2: Reading Rituals and Comforting Reads

The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun

We Begin in the End by Chris Whitaker

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Connect With Me:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood

Cosmology of Monsters by Sean Patrick Hopkins

Larry on Goodreads

Larry on Bookstagram

It’s Either Sadness or Bookphoria

Please note: Apologies for the audio on this episode. I was experiencing some technical difficulties that I hope it will not take away from your listening experience today.

It’s time for the best books of 2021, and who better to lead us through this year than MomAdvice Book Gang superstar Larry. Larry ranks 28th as a top reviewer for GoodReads and has read over 360 books (so far) this year. So we were each challenged to bring our top twenty best books of the year to the show today.  

There is a wide range of stories for every reader today. We have discovered it isn’t always the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels,  award-winning authors, or those New York Times bestsellers that end up making our list. This list showcases the beauty of a good storyteller and our deep mutual affection for debuts. Whether you are looking for short story format, science fiction,  historical fiction, love stories, family dramas, true stories, or just a diverse cast of characters…. we have you covered! Escape real-life with these fast page-turners and plan for your best reading year in 2022.

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Sorry to Bother You

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

A History of Wild Places by Shea Emshaw

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

How Lucky by Will Leitch

Rear Window

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Charly

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood

An Unexpected Kind of Love by Hayden Stone

Notting Hill

Finley Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Dopesick on Hulu

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zenter

Hare Psychopathy Checklist

A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks

Squid Game on Netflix

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

Big Night

Larry's Bookstagram Account

It's Either Sadness or Bookphoria Blog

Larry's GoodReads Profile

MomAdvice on Patreon