Books With Your Besties

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The episode you asked for! Ask us anything from politics, to religion, to love languages, to books we DNF. No show notes because we want you to be surprised. 

To prepare for the next few weeks make sure to read:

Strange Sally Diamond By Liz Nugent

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead 

Snag your copies here! 

https://www.amazon.com/shop/thecreepybookclub

https://www.thecreepybookclub.com/

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Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

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Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

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Only weirdos like us see The Women by Kristin Hannah as a palette cleanser.

Show notes:

0:00-2:00 Intro

2:00-4:00 Intro to the characters and gender role chat

4:30 The way Frankie's dad discounted her service

5:00 Barb and Ethel and how women show up for one another

6:00-7:30 The setting, the smells

8:00 Interview with a nurse who had experience in Vietnam

9:00 Letters to the soldiers parents and how Vietnam wasn't that long ago

11:00 Types of death from war

13:00 The amount of people impacted and the timeline

14:00 What was traumatizing to Frankie?

15:00 Some of the love and romance throughout the book

18:00 Part II of the book when Frankie comes home

19:00 PTSD

22:00 Some of the male characters

24:00 Rock bottom and the creation of the farm

28:00 Frankie's relationship with her parents and her new reality

34:00 What happens when girls became pregnant?

36:00 The Werther effect

37:40 Our connections to the Vietnam War

https://lagoonsleep.com/ - use code BOOKCLUB

https://kristinhannah.com/books/the-women/

https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/artifact/1540/iowa-veteran-describes-her-experiences-nurse-during-vietnam-war

https://www.vvmf.org/echoes/EP12/

https://www.va.gov/

https://www.c-span.org/program/american-history-tv/vietnam-war-nurse-virginia-lee-dornheggen-oral-history-interview/591115

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2950285324000322

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

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A full spoiler discussion on A Killing Cold By Kate Marshall and a bigger discussion on religion, the ultra wealthy and the Murdaugh family. 

TW: Abortion, suicide, murder, child abuse 

0:00-2:00 Basic review and the setting

3:00 Theo's back story and meeting Connor

4:00 The non twist twist

4:30 The abortion story  and religion

5:30-7:30 Are we christians? No love like Christian hate 

8:00 Why doesn't Ashley know how to read books?

9:00 Theo as a smart and strong female character

12:00 PTSD/Memories

17:00 A discussion on the super wealthy

20:45 - 26:00 Harris Rosen 

27:00 The crimes of each person

29:00 - end What would you do with $10,000,000

https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/harris-rosen/

https://www.nytimes.com/article/murdaugh-murders-alex-paul.html

https://millionairesforhumanity.org/

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

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Today we drop part II of our "what happened at the Idaho town hall?" episode where we answer your questions and respond to your comments

0:00-2:00 Ashley's Idaho story

3:00-4:00 Introduction to today's episode and Emily's thoughts

4:00 What is one of Emily's biggest pet peeves

4:30 Idaho murder documentary

7:00 Fight/flight/freeze and that is "just Northern Idaho"

10:00 Hate comments

13:00 "If you just follow the rules"

14:00 A personal story from the event

17:00 The power of fear

20:00 Bystander effect

20:30 Portland True crime case

22:00 Democrats and Republicans current day

27:00 White women

28:00 Schindlers list

https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Alley-American-Pilots-Himalayas/dp/0811772624

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Portland_train_attack

https://www.cbsnews.com/tag/bryan-kohberger/

https://www.thecreepybookclub.com/product-page/a-killing-cold-by-kate-alice-marshall

https://apnews.com/article/idaho-protest-woman-removed-town-hall-b4348df006fe83723f95769a05007098

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

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Emily and Ashley get into the "why didn't anyone help her" event in Idaho and the bystander effect. We encourage you to listen to this episode and share it with a friend. We are better together, especially as women.

Please head to the chat and ask your questions and drop comments for a follow up episode

TW: Violence, Domestic Violence 

https://www.patreon.com/chats/184564adfbce4c188055f0d32897533a

Show notes: 

0:00-1:00 Intro 

1:00 Ashley’s favorite current tiktok - women empowering women 

2:00 Societal pressure for women finding a partner

4:00 Kids and phones 

4:00-6:00 WTF with Marc Maron and phones 

8:30-20:00 Let's Chat Coeur d’Alene Idaho 

20:00 Diffusion of responsibility 

23:00 Kitty Genovese murder 

26:00 Return to Idaho town hall - Do you raise your hand when no one else does? 

28:00 You can change the social norm of a situation 

29:00 Seizure disorder and script 

31:00 Fear for our own safety

32:00 Fear of being wrong 

33:00 How do we get the message to the people who actually matter?

34:00 Ashley fell into exactly what is wrong with the patriarchy 

35:00 Netflix Belle Gibson doc 

37:00 -40:00 Raising kids in community

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect

Tik tok video: UN Unty Tan 

https://www.history.com/topics/crime/kitty-genovese

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Bystander-Effect-in-Non-Emergency-Situations%3A-Cox-Adam/2d8a412dab1aa0622b7345928687fd13a68b90a7

https://academy4sc.org/video/the-smoky-room-experiment-trust-your-instincts/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

https://www.simplypsychology.org/kitty-genovese.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/us/idaho-woman-removed-town-hall.html

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content and behind the scenes content with us at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclubFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclubFollow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclubMusic is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Hi friends, 0:00-10:00 Have all the spoilers for the book night watching so fast forward through that if you haven't read it, minutes 10- end get into way bigger societal topics about why women aren't listened to. 

Show Notes:

0:00-4:00 Introduction to Night Watching and being scared 

4:00 https://www.instagram.com/tsierraauthor/?hl=en (diagram) 

5:00 Did the characters have names? 

6:00 Where did they hide? 

7:00 What happened to the husband?

8:00 Why don't we believe women? 

9:00 The ride Tracy took us on with doubting the main character

10:00 Multiple personalities 

11:00 Strong female characters

14:00 WHAT Was the big twist? Ashley might scream

14:00-17:00 Truer Crime episode https://truercrimepodcast.com/

18:00 Gabby Petito

19:00 Blake Lively and Amber Heard

21:00 OJ simpson 

23:00 Women who carry water for the patriarchy 

25:00 FAFO  - Government Spending 

28:00-35:00 Melissa Lucio Case 

37:00 Men who kill their families 

37:00-41:00 Why do women hate women especially Taylor Swift

42:00 Do you want to be defined by hate or love? 

42:00-45:00 The Tipping point and DEI

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-well/201112/why-did-or-mpd-is-bogus-diagnosis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie_Routier

https://innocenceproject.org/whats-next-for-melissa-lucio-texas-woman-on-death-row/

https://www.tracysierraauthor.com/

https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-state-of-texas-vs-melissa-48e646e4-be05-4465-815a-a3eb9756c914

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Plug in and listen to our get to know you interview with the host of Truer Crime, Celisia Stanton. How did being the victim of a crime help catapult her into the podcasting space and what else does she want us to know about her (other than how much she loves her cats). We feel incredibly lucky she chose to spend nearly an hour with us. Please follow her social media accounts and be sure to rate and review Truer Crime. 

Show Notes: 

Introduction 

Who is Celisia 

2:00-7:00  A handful of FUN get to know you questions 

7:00-12:00 How she got into podcasting 

13:00 How her true crime stories are different

16:00-22:00  How she picks the stories she picks and some specifics about a handful of them

22:30 How does she take care of herself while recording 

25:00 Live Show updates?

26:00 What does she want people to know about podcasting?

29:00 Current state of affairs

https://www.instagram.com/celisiastanton/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/truercrimepod/?hl=en

https://truercrimepodcast.com/

https://celisiastanton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ashleyspivey/

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Send us Fan Mail

Our 2025 Retreat is over and we are here with the rundown!  If you came to retreat hopefully this will make you smile! If you couldn't make it this year hopefully you will listen in, see what it is like day to day and join us in 2026! 

Show notes:

0:00-2:00 Getting to AZ

2:00- 7:30 Wednesday: Books, Scary Nail Salon, Perimenopause brain and forgetting items

8:00-11:00 Thursday: Author arrival, Poisoned Pen, Heather's sisters

11:45-14:00 Friday - Reception

14:00 Thank you to our sponsors (see links below)

18:00 Our dinner with the authors Friday evening and What types of conventions we do NOT WANT to go to. Jeneva had us rolling 

20:00 Saturday - Panel and Podcast overview 

25:30 Behind the scenes stuff shared at the live podcast 

28:00 How we MADE a number of podcast episodes we never ever used

28:30 Ashley and Emily and email (lol)

31:00 Wine and Art Walk 

32:00 Why our "Down day" was actually spent working and the wink from my dad

34:00 Emily's trip from hell

38:00 2026 plans

Sponsor companies and the links to support them found here: 

skinbylovely.com bookclub20

http://mapelboutique.com creepybookclub10

Lagoonsleep.com BOOKCLUB

https://www.seabrookwa.com creepy10 off your vacation booking

www.ksmithx.com/thecreepybookclub no code needed

ever.com CREEPY25

https://livesafely.co/collections/shop/creepybookclub BOOKCLUB

ulike.com Ulike2025

https://www.mitchellandwick.co/

https://www.instagram.com/maidible - Message her for a consultation

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Send us Fan Mail

You may know Alice Sebold as the author of The Lovely Bones but you may not know the story of Alice and Anthony. Anthony Broadwater was exonerated in the 1981 rape of Ms.Sebold. Listen to the Truer Crime Season 2 episode 3 for all of the details on the case. Today Emily and Ashley chat about the bigger themes of her episode...False Memories, Forgiveness and The Satanic Panic. Thank you for listening.

TW: SA, Abuse, Child Abuse, Murder

Show notes:

0:00-1:00 intro

1:00-4:00 An Overview of the case

4:30 Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson case

6:30 Eye witness testimony and knowing what's going on around us

7:20 What is the weapon focus effect?

8:20 Working memory and memory in general

10:00 Elizabeth Loftus - False Memories

14:30 False Memory task Dr. Reeder does with her students

19:00 Satanic Panic

20:00 Mcmartin Preschool Trial

25:00 The book The Secret

27:20 Paul Ingram story

37:00 Making a Murderer (Netflix)

39:00 Forgiveness Study and the power of forgiveness and what is the REACH method?

45:00 Who is forgiveness for?

Loftus, Loftus, & Messo (1987) - Weapon Focus Effect https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/bf01044839

Loftus and Palmer (1974) - Automobile accident - https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1975-04498-001

Roediger & McDermott (1995) - False memory in word lists - https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-42833-001

Wright (1993) The New Yorker on Paul Ingram -

 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/05/17/remembering-satan-part-i

Picking Cotton book - https://www.pickingcottonbook.com/

Elizabeth Loftus Ted Talk -  https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_loftus_how_reliable_is_your_memory

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-power-of-forgiveness

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/forgiveness-your-health-depends-on-it

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/josiah-sutton/id1565741041?i=1000523760385

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2018/06/09/brendan-dasseys-false-confession-supreme-court-column/652915002/

https://www.instagram.com/celisiastanton/?hl=en

Truer Crime https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truer-crime/id1565741041

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.

Send us Fan Mail

We are thrilled to be partnering with Celisia Stanton, the host of Truer Crime, to bring you our episode which touches on Lauren McCluskey and the themes that are a part of her story: domestic violence, failures of the justice system and why women aren't listened to. 

TW: Femicide, Domestic Violence, Rape, Stalking, SA, Murder. Show notes: 

1:30-3:15 What is a domestic thriller and what are some we have read? 3:15 - 3:30 Domestic violence as a psychological thriller theme 3:45- 6:00 Why are women often portrayed as dumb? Why do women apologize and/or why are we worried about being seen as rude? 
6:00 -9 :30 The Gift of Fear book (linked in show notes) and Dr. Reeder teaches us about pre planned responses
9:30-11:30 Damsel in distress article about female protagonists, what does the movie Frozen have to do with this topic?
11:30 -14:30 Domestic Violence stats (Trigger warnings) 
14:30 - 19:00Why don't women get help and Truer Crime with Celisia Stanton - Lauren Mccluskey
19:10-20:00 state laws around DV
20:00 - 25:00 Wendy Maldonado case (linked below) 
25:00 - 26:15 How can women expect to be listened to? What are options for women to leave?
26:45-28:00 How many women are killed annually around the globe per day?28:00 - 30:00 What is happening around you? Behind closed doors. 
31:30 All men. Why women choose the bear. What does Ashley want the last thing her kids to see be if something happens to her?

Book: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker - anywhere you shop for books

https://people.com/husband-wife-killed-murder-suicide-divorce-8769233

https://www.katherinemkennedywriter.com/post/the-damsel-in-distress-why-female-characters-are-still-stuck-in-a-tower

Every F-ing Day of my Life: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/every-f---ing-day-of-my-life/umc.cmc.1aq9cocb6lbot0y8a4kkq2aa9

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truer-crime/id1565741041

https://www.dvsn.org/january-2024-stalking-stats-tactics-impacts/

https://laurenmccluskey.org

 https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/UN_BriefFem_251121.pdf

https://unews.utah.edu/timeline-of-events-in-lauren-mccluskey-case/

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/09/21/this-harrowing-study-reveals-why-victims-of-sexual-violence-dont-go-to-the-police/

https://apnews.com/article/un-killing-women-girls-partners-family-global-c2f26290b8158e1d97b1b16ef76e85a8

Support the show

Subscribe on our patreon for weekly content, early access to episodes, one true crime episode per month and behind the scenes content at https://www.patreon.com/thecreepybookclub

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecreepybookclub and https://www.instagram.com/bookswithyourbesties/

Follow us on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@thecreepybookclub

Music is Ur Karma (Instrumental Version) by Craig Reever.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Emily and Ashley of The Creepy Book Club alone.