Books Around the Block

This week on Books Around the Block, we’re recapping everything we read in September! We’re sharing our best books, worst books, and leftover books, plus the books we’re adding to our October TBR.

And because Audrey’s birthday is in October, Lindsay and Adrienne have a special birthday challenge: they’re each choosing a book for Audrey to read! Will they pick a new favorite, a book she'll hate, or something completely outside her comfort zone they think she will actually like?

If you’re looking for book recommendations, September reading wrap-ups, October TBR ideas, best books to read, worst books of the month, romance books, thriller recommendations, or books to add to your fall reading list, this episode is for you!

Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty

The Unknown by Riley Sager

Down the Drain by Julia Fox

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

The Academy by Elin Hildebrand

The Make Believe by Hannah Murray

Picture This by Devney Perry

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

The Throughbreds by Elin Hildebrand

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Mrs Quinns Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

Entities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe

The Unknown by Riley Sager

This week on Books Around the Block, we are discussing Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden. There has been so much talk surrounding the red flags Belle Burden should have seen and the legitimacy of her woes due to her extreme wealth, and we aren’t afraid to go there! We’re diving into the complicated marriage, affair, relationships, and controversial conversations surrounding this memoir.

This discussion includes spoilers from Strangers by Belle Burden, so if you have not read it, be warned! However, the first 22 minutes of this podcast are SPOILER FREE, as we discuss what we are currently reading, watching, and obsessed with lately.

If you are looking for a book club podcast, if you’ve read Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden, or if you’re looking for a deep-dive book discussion about marriage, affairs, relationships, wealth, and complicated love, this is the episode for you and we have OPINIONS!

London Falling by Patrick Redden Keefe

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

 Mrs Quinns RIse To Fame by Olivia Ford

The Unknown by Riley Sager

Fall is finally here, and we're bringing you the ultimate Fall Reading Guide! 🍂 This week on Books Around the Block, each of us picks two fall bookish categories and assigns the perfect book to each one. From cozy mysteries and darker reads to historical fiction, elite drama, and unexpected autumn oddities, we've got book recommendations for every kind of reader.

Whether you're looking for your next fall read, building your fall TBR, or searching for the perfect cozy book to curl up with, we've got you covered!

Tune in for our Fall Book Recommendations, an extensive Fall Reading Guide, and 6 fall bookish categories that will help you find your next five-star read.

Three neighbors, six categories, and plenty of opinions. Let's get reading! 📚

The Throughbreds by Elin Hildebrand

 The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

 Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

 Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

 The Wonder by Emma Donahue

 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

  The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

 The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

 Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

Book-to-screen adaptations are everywhere, and we’re talking about the end-of-year 2026 movies and TV shows we’re most excited to watch! In this episode of Books Around the Block, each of us picks one upcoming book adaptation we cannot wait to see on screen. Will we choose one you're also looking forward to (Verity... Harry Potter... Hunger Games) or will we bring an adaptation to your attention you didn't know about?

We’re chatting about the plots, the casts, and the reads you loved coming to your screen in October, November, and December 2026. Do we think these stories will live up to the books we loved? Tune in now! If you love books, movies, TV shows, BookTok, and seeing your favorite novels brought to life, this episode is for you!

Which 2026 book-to-screen adaptation are YOU most excited to watch?

Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Sunrise on The Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Verity by Colleen Hoover

 Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Strangers by Belle Burden

The final months of 2026 are here, and we’re looking ahead to new books coming in October, November, and December 2026! Each host is sharing her top 3 most anticipated new book releases for Quarter 4, giving you 9 books to add to your fall and winter TBR.

From highly anticipated new releases and bestselling authors to hidden gem picks and books we think you’re going to be talking about all season, we’re breaking down the October, November, and December 2026 book releases we can’t wait to read. If you’re looking for your next great read, want to build your TBR list, or love knowing which new books are worth watching, this episode is for you!

We also dive DEEP into the true crime documentary Death of the Pastor's Wife on Netflix.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen

Back Where We Started by Becca Freeman

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Murder by Ally Carter

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford by Bethany Joy Lentz

The Witch by Freida McFadden

When They Find Me by Carter Wilson

Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane

A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J Maas

Wolf Point by Lisa Howells

Strangers by Belle Burden

Looking for your next great read? In this month's reading recap, we're sharing every book we read in August, including our favorite book, our biggest disappointment, and one book we just had to rant or rave about. Whether you're searching for your next five-star read or hoping to avoid a book that didn't live up to the hype, we've got plenty of honest opinions and book recommendations to add to your TBR.

Then we're looking ahead to September and each sharing the two books we're hoping to read this month. From new releases to backlist favorites, we're talking about the books we currently have on our TBR.

If you love book recommendations, monthly reading wrap-ups, TBR videos, book club discussions, romance books, thrillers, historical fiction, literary fiction, and all things Bookstagram and BookTok, you'll feel right at home with Books Around the Block.

Follow the podcast so you never miss a new episode every Tuesday, and come read with us!

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

 The Academy by Elin Hildebrand

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

 The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Wild Atlantic by Cillian Dunn

 My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

 Love and Other Killers by Brynne Weaver

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Brynn Greenwood

Love You More by Emily Griffin

Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen

Emma B Lions (vol 3) by Beth Brower

The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hildebrand

The Bright Side by Sarah Damoff

Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez

Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman

It’s time for our August book club discussion! In this episode of Books Around the Block, we’re diving into Whistler by Ann Patchett, sharing our ratings and discussing the book in full, including characters, relationships, major themes, favorite moments, and all of our thoughts on the ending. Warning: this episode contains full spoilers for Whistler.

We’re also announcing our September book club pick, so stick around to find out what we’ll be reading next! If you love book club discussions, Ann Patchett books, book reviews, spoiler discussions, book recommendations, and finding your next great read, this episode is for you.

What did you think of Whistler? Did it live up to the hype? Listen in for our full review, ratings, and spoiler-filled discussion!

Five by Ilona Bannister

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hildebrand

Strangers by Belle Burden

It's time to go back to school! In this episode of Books Around the Block, we're sharing 6 must-read books set in schools, colleges, boarding schools, and academic settings, or books that are academia adjacent. Each of us brings two books to the table, covering everything from school drama and campus life to academia, boarding schools, dark academia, secrets, friendships, and more.

Whether you're looking for back to school books, books set at school, campus romance, or dark academia reads, we've got plenty of books to add to your TBR. 

You don't have to go back to school to read these books!

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Whistler by Ann Patchett

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hildebrand

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

Heart the Lover by Lily King

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

The Academy by Elin Hildebrand

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

What happens when a book takes over BookTok and Bookstagram, everyone is talking about it, and you finally read it? 

In this episode of Books Around the Block, each host brings a viral, trending, or hugely hyped book from social media and gives the ultimate verdict: loved it or loathed it? We’re talking about the books that dominated BookTok, flooded our feeds, made it onto everyone’s TBR, and had readers everywhere talking. We’re breaking down whether these popular books actually lived up to the hype. If you love BookTok books, Bookstagram recommendations, trending books, popular books, and honest book reviews, this episode is for you!

P.S. We are also tackling a LOT of True Crime in our Read, Watch, Obsessed segment, so don't miss the first 25 minutes of this episode, especially if you're paying attention to the Lindsay Clancy trial.

Take What You Can by Naima Coster

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

25 Days by Per Jacobson

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

Looking for your next great read? In this month's reading recap, we're sharing every book we read in July, including our favorite book, our biggest disappointment, and one book we just had to rant or rave about. Whether you're searching for your next five-star read or hoping to avoid a book that didn't live up to the hype, we've got plenty of honest opinions and book recommendations to add to your TBR.

Then we're looking ahead to August and each sharing the two books we're hoping to read this month. From new releases to backlist favorites, we're talking about the books we currently have on our TBR.

If you love book recommendations, monthly reading wrap-ups, TBR videos, book club discussions, romance books, thrillers, historical fiction, literary fiction, and all things Bookstagram and BookTok, you'll feel right at home with Books Around the Block.

Follow the podcast so you never miss a new episode every Tuesday, and come read with us!

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen

The Unknown by Riley Sager

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

The Hour of the Wolf by Fatima Bhutto

Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe

Savor It by Tarah DeWitt

Someone Else's Husband by Kimberly McCreight

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce

Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves

Just For The Season by Rachel Griffiths

Its A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

The Lake Club by Lina Patton

For Love of the Grind by Sara Hall 

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

The Replacement by Liv Constantine

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hildebrand 

Love You More by Emily Giffin

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia

Whistler by Ann Patchett