Book Thingo

Rudi, Gabby and Kat talk about significant reading moments, man-hymens, sex positions that destabilise the patriarchy, problematic faves, and our love for a good grovel. Also: Gabby ghosts us, and some of us come prepared with dick quotes.

Guests: Gabby and Rudi | Host: Kat Mayo | Audio producer: Rudi Bremer | Recorded: 27/01/2020 Sydney

It’s been a year since Gabby, Rudi and I recorded an episode where we were all in the same room. But we managed to sneak in a couple of hours, while Gabby was back in Sydney, to talk about reading challenges, spring rolls, Goodreads super powers, sulk body parts, and baking. Now that we’re living through a pandemic, it’s likely we won’t be recording in person again for a while, so we hope you enjoy our reunion episode!

Speaking of the pandemic, we recognise that COVID-19 has touched everyone’s lives in different ways, and that for some of us, this is a time of great anxiety and loss. We send you our love and our very best wishes.

Guests

Gabby — Wearer of socks and gloves, epilogue hater, sits in the wrong chair: @penneclearwater

Rudi Bremer — Long-suffering audio producer and recommender of books: @rudi_bee

Books

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — Work For It by Talia Hibbert

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — Beard Science by Penny Reid [ livetweets ]

* BD | 

Anna Cowan, Australian author of historical romance, talks about exploring the power structures of gender in her writing, and what she's been up to since publishing Untamed. She talks about trying to write her second book while raising children, and we have an incredibly honest conversation about the struggle to manage motherhood with personal ambition. Anna names some of her favourite queer romances, and drops some tidbits about her current work in progress!

Shownotes: http://bookthingo.com.au/podcast

Feedback: [email protected]

Host: Kat Mayo

Audio producer: Rudi Bremer

Recorded: 25/01/2020 Sydney

Guests: Rudi Bremer and Gabby | Host: Kat Mayo | Audio producer: Rudi Bremer | Recorded: 20/22/2019 Sydney

The Book Thingo podcast comes out of accidental hiatus (blame Kat!) with an episode dedicated (mostly) to The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite. Spoiler: we disagree about many things. This leads to a discussion of women taking up hobbies, such as knitting and baking, that are actually work. Does a hobby have to be productive? We have opinions and theories. (Because of course, we do.) We circle back to the book by exploring whether producing something beautiful has value of its own.

Just before the 1-hour mark, I describe a historical romance plot for a book whose plot I couldn’t remember. This book does exist! Details in the outro.

We love hearing from our listeners — thanks for patiently waiting for this episode to drop! We love hearing from you, so tag us on your live tweets and Instagram stories using #BTpod, or send us an email at [email protected].

Guests

Rudi Bremer — Long-suffering audio producer and recommender of books: @rudi_bee

Gabby — Wearer of socks and gloves, epilogue hater: @penneclearwater

Books

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — No Two Ways by Chi Yu Rodriguez

* BD | BT | Amz | Aud — The Fling by Rebekah Weatherspoon

* BD | BT | 

What happens when one of the BT bloggers moves overseas? Shenanigans, of course! Rudi enlists the help of some of our listeners to see if we can fill a gap in our show, and the results are hilarious. Thank you to Ana, Ben, Chachic, Mel and Sarah for taking part in this episode. You were all AMAZING!

And now, over to you, dear listener -- who do you think would make the best Gabby? Tweet your vote (write-ins welcome!) and tag us using #BTpod.

Shownotes: http://bookthingo.com.au/podcast

Feedback: [email protected]

Host: Kat Mayo

Audio producer: Rudi Bremer

Recorded: 7/09/2019 Sydney

Romance reader Sophie Ly taks to Kat and Rudi about why she loves graphic novels, and gives us some recommendations for series with strong romantic arcs.

Shownotes: http://bookthingo.com.au/podcast

Feedback: [email protected]

Host: Kat Mayo

Audio producer: Rudi Bremer

Recorded: 9/06/2019 Sydney

The Book Thingo bloggers decided to knock one book off our TBR piles. Spoiler alert: only one of us actually did the work, and you get no prizes for guessing who. We also talk about the books we lie about having read, books we feel guilty about not having read, and romance classics that didn't really work for us.

What happens when you combine a love of 80s action films with romance genre tropes? You get Ainslinn Kearns's books! Rudi and I caught up with Aislinn at the Romance Writers of Australia convention last year, and we talked about romance characters with disability, favourite tropes, and dealing with food intolerance in the apocalypse.

Rudi, Gabby and Kat talk about our personal reading rules and habits, and how they affect our enjoyment of books. #RomBkLove, the brainchild of the amazing Ana Coqui, is a month-long celebration of romance books, authors and readers. Book Thingo is excited to host today's topic: Rebellious readers.

Shownotes: http://bookthingo.com.au/podcast

Feedback: [email protected]

Host: Kat Mayo

Audio producer: Rudi Bremer

Recorded: 23/05/2019 Sydney

Aussie author Melanie Milbourne talks about changing her approach to writing heroes, reconciling feminism with problematic romance tropes, and some of the books she's reading.

Shownotes: http://bookthingo.com.au/podcast

Feedback: [email protected]

Host: Kat Mayo

Audio producer: Rudi Bremer

Recorded: 18/08/2018 RWA