Book Gang

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

In search of cozy winter reads? Mary from Currently Reading joins the show to share her top 5 recommendations for our best winter book stack. So let's prep for the season with these book suggestions and set the winter mood with our ideas for your coziest, comfiest reading night.

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Larry's Episode (What It Takes To Be a Top GoodReads Reviewer)

Currently Reading Podcast

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Crafted by Catherine Blankets

Plum Deluxe Custard Apple Cherimoya Tea

Tazo Glazed Lemon Loaf Tea

ASMR room ambience

Big White Yeti Candles

Big White Yeti  Kitten Toots

Big White Yeti Frankenstein & Myrrh

Stars Above at Target

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Olive & June

Connect With Me:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram

Mary on Goodreads

Amy on GoodReads

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Are you ready to fall in love with holiday romance books?  Spend the holidays with these feel-good Christmas romance books that celebrate the holiday season by finding love in all of those magical places. Whether you are looking for a home for Christmas theme or embrace a small-town love story, we have you covered. Find your one true love book with my special guest Bree from @falling4romance and co-host of The Categorically Romance Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

MomAdvice 2022 Book Club Selections

MomAdvice on Patreon

falling4romance

TheCategoricallyRomancePodcast

Sleep Phones

Todd's Episode (A Friendly GoodReads Competition)

Buzzfeed's 24 Black Bookstagrammers Who Should Be On Your Radar

Bree’s Instagram

Susanna Kearsly

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Beverly Jenkins

Jill Shalvis

The Wildstone Series

Chat with Jill Shalvis

A Wedding One Christmas by Therese Beharrie

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

Love at the Icicle Cafe by Denise N. Wheatley

Christmas in Full Bloom by Denise N. Wheatley

Denise N. Wheatly on Bree’s Podcast

One Day in December by Josie Silver

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane

Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

RaeAnne Thayne on Bree’s Podcast

The Clause in Christmas by Rachael Bloome

Connect With Me:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

MomAdvice.com

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Today is the launch day of the MomAdvice 2022 Book Club year.  Do you want to have the best reading year ever? I'm going to give you that with these twelve book club selections for our year.  This episode will tell you everything you need to know about how to join the online club, what special bonus features we are offering our members, and the inside scoop on this year's books. 

Landing Page With All the Book Club Info For This Year:

https://wp.me/p6sEAo-8ey

Connect With Me:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

MomAdvice.com

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Mary Kubica joins the podcast to talk about her writing process and her latest domestic thriller, Local Woman Missing. Her journey from writing in secret to a successful award-winning suspense writer is the story you need to hear if you have been entertaining a writing dream of your own. We have a shared love for true crime and talk about the real-life cases that have influenced her work. I may be one of Mary’s biggest fans, and her newest edge-of-your-seat page-turner is just what you need to get you out of a reading slump. Mary is bringing 3 of her favorite under-the-radar thrillers to today’s episode, and I think they will surprise you as much as me. I’m also sharing a few of my favorite psychological thrillers that deliver on those unreliable narrators and murder mystery plots that kept me up until the wee hours of the night. So, if thriller writing is something you have been entertaining, I hope today’s episode offers the inspiration you need to kick start your writing career.

Mentioned in this episode:

MomAdvice Free Online Book Club

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Mary’s Interview on momadvice.com

Where I Lost Her by T Greenwood

Rust & Stardust by T Greenwood

Bodies of Water by T Greenwood

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Do No Harm by Christina McDonald

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Connect With Me:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

MomAdvice.com

Goodreads is the world's largest site for readers and many of us rely on it every day to make our own book choices. Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a top GoodReads reviewer on a platform with millions of members? Larry ranks 28th in the world on this platform and is giving us a peek into his daily reading life and how he shares books. Learn his preferred format to read a book, the process to rate and review books, how the GoodReads reviewer ranking works, his experience with review copies, and how he gained his loyal following. He offers 5 great books we should add to our stack immediately and I couldn't check them out fast enough. These fiction book recommendations include a couple that hit all the right notes for both of us.

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Patreon Community For the Bonus Content

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

A Friendly Goodreads Competition

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Tin Man Sarah Winman

The Dearly Beloved Cara Wall

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee

The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

UnREAL TV series

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

It’s Either Sadness or Bookphoria…

the.bookishworld.of.yrralh

Connect With Us:

Amy is @momadvice on Instagram

Larry H. on goodreads.com

Larry H. on Instagram

MomAdvice.com

Contact Information: [email protected]

Support My Work: https://www.patreon.com/momadvice

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