This week, we’re talking with author (and puzzle entrepreneur) Rachel Hochhauser about the March Reese’s Book Club Pick, Lady Tremaine. It’s not just a re-telling of Cinderella — it’s an un-telling that dares to ask: what if the wicked stepmother wasn’t wicked … but a mom trying her best to provide for her children? And what if a marriage isn’t a happily ever after … but the beginning of a whole new story? Danielle and Rachel talk puzzle-solving strategies, falconry, and decentering men and romance in women’s stories. You may think you know the story of Cinderella, but you’ve never read it like this.

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

Cinderella by Charles Perrault 

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

Sleeping Beauty by  Charles Perrault

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This week, we’re time traveling with Philippa Gregory, prolific author and feminist historian (and maybe Danielle’s new bestie???). Philippa is the woman behind over 50 historical fiction novels that trace narratives across Medieval and Tudor England, including The Other Boleyn Girl, which was adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Her latest novel, The Boleyn Traitor, follows the infamous Anne Boleyn’s sister-in-law, Jane Boleyn, through her life as a spy in the English court. And this story, as so many of Philippa Gregory's do, brings a complicated, sometimes unlikeable, largely forgotten woman to the forefront. Because Philippa doesn’t really trust pure, pious women. She’s drawn instead to the truth – that women in from history are just as layered and diverse as we are today. 

BOOKS MENTIONED: 

The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory 

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory 

Wild Acre by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory 

Richard III by William Shakespeare

This Little World: A New History of Tudor and Stuart England by Nandini Das

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Little Grey Rabbit by Alison Uttley

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer

Ulysses by James Joyce

Mine Own Executioner by Nigel Balchin

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This week is a big one. For the first time ever, three romance royals sit down together: Beverly Jenkins, Tia Williams, and Kennedy Ryan. They talk about pioneering Black love stories when the industry didn’t make space for them, reshaping modern romance with depth and desire, and why a happily ever after is anything but predictable — it’s powerful. From writing Black female desire without apology to protecting your creative vision, this conversation is funny, honest, and deeply moving. 

BOOKS MENTIONED: 

Night Song by Beverly Jenkins

Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 

Frances Harper: Poems, Prose, and Sketches – This collection features “Bury Me in a Free Land”.  by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

The Perfect Find by Tia Williams 

Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Through the Storm by Beverly Jenkins 

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Hazard and Somerset by Gregory Ashe 

Ghalen by Walter Mosely

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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This week, we’re talking to director and screenplay writer Maggie Gyllenhaal about her upcoming film, The Bride! Maggie reveals how she gave a character from the 1930s with only a few minutes of screentime a big dose of main character energy. Danielle and Maggie also discuss the unthinkable thoughts of Mary Shelley, IMAX screenings, and what it was like to narrate a 48-hour audio book. Plus, get a sneak peek of the March Reese’s Book Club Pick, Lady Tremaine.

BOOKS MENTIONED: 

Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante 

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Mating by Norman Rush

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This week, we’re back with the author of the February’s Reese’s Book Club pick, Philippa Malicka, and we’re diving deep into her debut novel, In Her Defense. A whirlpool of love, lies and deceit, In Her Defense raises the chilling question: If you can’t trust your own memories, what else, or who else, can you rely on? Danielle and Philippa get into process, character development, reclaiming your own agency – and how, sometimes, writing a new story can feel like falling in love. 

BOOKS MENTIONED 

In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka

Hamlet by Wiliam Shakespeare

The Glass Essay by Anne Carson

Stranger, Baby by Emily Berry

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy 

Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbra Trapido

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Dogger by Shirley Hughes

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes

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On this special live episode of Bookmarked in collaboration with Apple Books and Apple TV, we’re celebrating Laura Dave’s newest novel, The First Time I Saw Him—January’s pick from Reese’s Book Club—and the highly anticipated second season of The Last Thing He Told Me on Apple TV. Danielle Robay is joined on stage by Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, Laura Dave, Angourie Rice, Judy Greer, and Rita Wilson for a candid, funny, and deeply thoughtful conversation about bringing the story into its next chapter.

 

BOOKS MENTIONED 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave

The Cocktail Party by T.S. Eliot

The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

JAmes by Percival Everett

Stuck Up & Stupid by Angourie Rice & Kate Rice

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If you’ve ever struggled to feel like you matter, you’re not alone. Feeling like you matter is as fundamental a need as food or water, yet it’s a need going unmet by many. Danielle sits down with journalist and author Jennifer Wallace, who spent over six years researching and interviewing everyday people about losing and regaining that sense of mattering. They discuss what it really means to matter, the role social media plays in the mattering crisis, and how to show up for your loved ones and make them valued. 

Books Mentioned

Mattering by Jennifer Wallace

Never Enough by Jennifer Wallace

1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

Choosing Civility by P. M. Forni

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Doorman by Chris Pavone

The Good Life by Robert Waldinger, M.D. and Marc Schulz, Ph.D

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What better way to kick off the month of love than with the queen of historical romance, Julia Quinn. The Bridgerton author chats all about how her series became a global phenomenon, the unexpected ways Bridgerton has reshaped the genre, and why historical romance deserves its moment in the spotlight again. And can you believe Julia almost became a doctor instead of a novelist? She’s sharing some behind-the-scenes insights for season 4 of Bridgerton and reminding us why we should still believe in happy endings.

BOOKS MENTIONED 

In Her Defense by Phillipa Malicka

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben

An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

First Time Caller by B.K. Borison

The Last Lady B by Eloisa James

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Lord of Scoundrels  by Loretta Chase 

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

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Returning Reese’s Book Club author, Laura Dave, gives us all the earnest insights on her newest release, “The First Time I Saw Him.” Laura talks with our host, Danielle Robay, about the quotes that inspire her, the two books every aspiring writer must read, and how much (or rather, how little) she knows about the story as she’s writing it. We also get a glimpse behind the curtain into the second season of the Apple TV series, based on the book.

BOOKS MENTIONED

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave 

How About Now by Kate Baer

London is the Best City in America by Laura Dave

On Writing by Stephen King

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelide

Defending Jacob by William Landay

The Land of Men by Adrienne Miller

Heartburn by Norah Ephron

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

 

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This week, Danielle sits down to discuss the adaptation of Hamnet for the screen with director Chloé Zhao, author Maggie O’Farrell, and actor Paul Mescal. When Hamnet hit the shelves in 2020, it left everyone obsessed — and devastated. Now that the story is on the silver screen, audiences are crying and cheering all over again. Together on Bookmarked, Chloé, Maggie, and Paul discuss the synchronicities that allowed the film to develop, the freedom of telling the story of a real life icon we know little about, and crafting the perfect tear-jerker ending. 

Books mentioned in the episode: 

• Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• House of Light by Mary Oliver
• The Underground by Seamus Heaney
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare

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