RAD Reading

A great book can sweep you away, but some books really take you on a trip. Today, we’re talking about books that transport you either to another place or transport you through time (because one of us is kind of obsessed with time travel/time loop stories.) So grab your suitcase or your flux capacitor and join us!

• Cheap travel via books
• Australian listeners, please reassure us there aren’t giant man-eating spiders everywhere
• Our favorite book settings
• Roni wants to read summer camp books but not actually, you know, attend anything involving camping
• Time travel books count as travel books because we say so
• Watch out, don’t accidentally stumble into a wormhole
• If Roni and Dawn were in a book with a grumpy/sunshine trope, it’s clear who would be the grumpy one and who would be the sunshine one
• Time loops, and wormholes, and multiverses, oh my
• Thoughts on sexy times in cringe-y locations
• Dawn feels Outlander shame
• Roni needs someone to explain season 2 of Russian Doll to her
• Dawn explains reverse harem books
• A stack of books we tried for this episode but that didn’t really work for us
• Roni gets library hold guilt
• Some books on our TBR that fit this theme but that we haven’t gotten to yet
• Dawn’s Friday the 13th trauma
• If Dawn ends up climbing a mountain, something has gone very wrong in the world
• Our RAD Recs of the week

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

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Today we welcome romance author Taylor Lunsford, who is sharing some of her favorite romantic books with us, and then we’re doing a special segment for those of you who may want to try writing your own book this summer. Join us as we get a little nerdy and share our favorite books on writing!

• We welcome Taylor Lunsford, author of the upcoming romance You’ve Got Matches
• Fan-fiction as an entrance ramp to writing
• The joys and pitfalls of online dating
• Roni’s own You’ve Got Mail moment 
• Love at the DMV
• Roni’s dog is post-surgical, in a vest, and not happy about it
• Taylor’s recommendations
• Thoughts on illustrated covers in romance & author input on covers
• Roni is slightly obsessed with books on writing
• The Newsies and New Kids on the Block fanfiction in our pasts
• Dawn was already asking for book reviews in elementary school
• NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - and Camp NaNoWriMo
• Roni’s accidental Twilight marathon and breaking news: she has changed Edward vs. Jacob “teams”
• Our favorite books on writing
• Books if you’re brand new to writing
• Where our ideas come from
• What we’re reading now
• Rereading vs. rewatching
• Our RAD Recs of the Week

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

• Taylor’s website
• You’ve Got Matches
• Fair Game
• Love Set Match

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It’s one of the best bookish times of the year—summer reading season! Today, we’re giving you our best picks to add to your poolside stack, whether you’re looking for traditional breezy beach reads or something a little darker to keep you turning the pages.

• Does our reading change during summer?
• Roni got herself in trouble with summer reading lists and her library holds
• Our easy breezy summer pics
• The book Roni was able to read at a NASCAR race and not be distracted
• Dawn is reading some historicals now but she needs something extra in them
• Roni is slightly concerned with her obsession with dual timelines and time-travel in contemporaries
• Why Dawn has a friend to thank for not missing her “moment” to meet her husband and Roni has an old computer and a non-compatible America Online CD-ROM to thank for not missing hers
• How Dawn failed as a parent ;)
• What Dawn can’t listen to on audio
• Our darker “summer is too sunny” recs
• Roni’s weird category of books that make her think of summer
• Our RAD Recs of the week

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re keeping it casual and having our first guests over to share their best book recommendations! Join us as we welcome indie editor Jessica Snyder and mystery writer Stacy Woodson. Expect some great romance, mystery, and suspense recommendations! Also, Roni has a number of books that she didn’t know quite how to rate because…reasons.

• Meet our guests!
• Dawn is giving her visitors the full Texas experience
• Roni admits she used to line dance
• Books that are hard to rate
• Dawn recommends a book with the word “sausage” in the tagline
• Editor Jess has a rec that’s a master class in upping the stakes in a story
• Editor/writer brain showing up when you’re reading can be a problem
• Thoughts on love triangles
• A tip for listening to books on your Kindle
• The upside of reading anthologies
• Roni found a book she didn’t know existed but definitely needed in her life
• Should authors go back and change things in earlier books
• Our RAD recs of the week
• And stay tuned for bloopers, in which Roni reveals just how embedded in her psyche, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is

• Editor Jessica Snyder - her website
• Author Stacy Woodson - her website

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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It’s a Freaky Friday! Dawn and Roni have accidentally swapped reading tastes this week. Roni is recommending suspense novels, true crime books, and true-crime documentaries. Dawn has all the romantic picks–including a subgenre she never reads. Also, we have some more library tips to share!

• We had a library adventure and Dawn is now the proud owner of a non-resident library card
• Roni is officially hoarding library cards
• Ways to get extra library cards in totally legal ways
• Our reading tastes have flip-flopped this week
• The importance of chasing reading whims, especially as a writer
• A book recommended by a favorite author that totally worked for Roni 
• Roni gets nerdy about writing craft
• Dawn is late-night clicking and not remembering how books ended up on her e-reader
• Roni learns an important DNF (did not finish) lesson
• The books we added to our library stacks
• A little lesson on “high concept” reads
• Recommending books to your library
• The true-crime documentaries Roni’s been watching
• What Dawn’s been watching (and has been getting nightmares from)
• Our movie outing and unrealistic book launch parties
• A RAD Reading announcement!
• Our RAD Recs of the week

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learning your personal reading tastes is one of the best ways to enhance your reading life. Today we’re talking about the difference between a “bad” book and a book that’s just not for you (or not for you right now.) Plus, we’re giving examples of books that fall into those categories for us along with our RAD Reading recs of the week!

• To read reviews or not to read reviews
• Roni’s trying something new with book reviews
• Dawn is not allowed to be on TikTok
• Where we look for book recommendations 
• Roni’s favorite bookish podcasts
• Book twins
• Random raptors and when one-star reviews are unhelpful
• Books and movies that are so bad they’re good
• “Bad” vs. “unenjoyable” - there’s a difference
• Not for you ever vs. not for you right now
• Roni’s reading journal “breaking news”
• Running experimental trials on your reading life
• Seasons of life and how it changes your reading
• Do you need likable characters?
• What Roni learned while reading domestic suspense
• Dawn’s hate-reading/rage-reading
• Dawn puts on her editing hat to teach us about author intrusion
• A list of books that were for us, not for us right now, and not for us ever
• Grim vs. dark
• Our RAD Reading recs of the week
• The blooper reel

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In honor of April Fool’s Day, we’re talking about the ways books can trick you—the good and the bad—and sharing the books that tricked us! WARNING: Because of some of the bookish topics, this isn't an episode to listen to with your kids in the car. ;)

• The worst prank Dawn experienced
• Why Roni can’t hear the 80s song “Don’t Treat Me Bad” without having prank flashbacks
• Good twists vs. bad twists
• Books that switch genres on you
• Misleading book covers
• Secondary plots that take over
• The “It was all a dream…” Dallas cliche
• Dawn’s fraught relationship with Nicholas Sparks
• The book that didn’t play fair (in our opinions)
• URNs and the Gone Girl effect
• Non-fiction can trick us too!
• Book expectations vs. the reality - why the mismatch?
• Horror vs. thriller
• Great books that tricked us
• RAD Reading Recs of the week
• Roni’s written a steamy story for a charity anthology to help Ukraine, pre-order Nightingale today!

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a while since one of our Read/Watch/Listen episodes, so now we have a big list of TV shows, movies, audiobooks, playlists, and yes, books to share with you today! 

• Calling a podcast audible
• Reading slumps 
• Roni is horrified by what her dog’s favorite treat is made out of
• Stress levels and how they affect what type of reading we do
• Books that make us clean out closets
• What would be a cry for help from Dawn?
• Did Amy Adams channel Meg Ryan?
• Dawn’s interesting movie experience at the 4pm showing
• What we’ve been watching
• Roni’s obsessed with the 90s
• Don’t move into a creepy house to combat writer’s block
• Dawn could watch one show with the sound off and be just fine
• What Roni’s listening to with her teen
• Dawn listened to another audiobook!
• Our RAD Recs of the week, including one that inspired Roni to write a 10k word story
• Stay tuned for bloopers

Click here to get the full show notes, including links to all of our recommendations and anything else we mentioned in the show.

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is all about the autobuy authors. We love finding autobuys, but we can also get stuck in a rut, only reading our sure things. Join us as we tackle the pros and cons of autobuy authors and then share a list of our favorite autobuys. And warning, technology and Roni’s puppy hated us this episode, so expect some bloopers in the middle and some outtakes at the end.

• Texas ice sucks
• Roni’s 6-month writing sabbatical
• Puppies eating post-it notes
• What is an autobuy author
• Why we love autobuy authors
• Why autobuys can sometimes get us stuck
• Your dad and James Patterson
• Somehow Twilight comes up again and we’re on different #TeamJacob #TeamEdward teams
• Where to find authors and books like your favorite autobuys
• Sometimes you can’t trust cover quotes
• Stephen King blurbs everything
• Our favorite autobuy authors in multiple genres
• Queso currency
• Dawn talks about ending on a cliffhanger and then the universe makes a joke about it
• Roni institutes the Emergency Kong Protocol
• Dawn and her aliens
• Our RAD Recs of the week
• Roni lent Dawn a book! 
• Stay tuned for outtakes

Click here to get the full show notes, including links to all of our recommendations and anything else we mentioned in the show.

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting ALL the books. Give us all the books! Unfortunately, very few of us have an unlimited book budget. So today we’re sharing our best tips on how to keep your TBR piled high without having to dig for quarters in your couch cushions. 

• When we use the phrase “at least it’s not drugs” and reference Scrooge McDuck right out of the gate
• Roni and pandemic book buying
• Why libraries are awesome and how to use yours to its fullest
• Dawn the book thief
• The fancy copy of The Neverending Story
• The magic of non-resident library cards
• Our favorite insider library tips
• Library sales
• Book subscriptions
• Book deal email lists
• Dawn uses “Roni curation” deals
• Goodreads giveaways and the one annoying feature that pushes Roni’s uptight buttons
• Becoming a book reviewer
• Dawn may still be bitter about getting rejected for a particular book
• Used bookstores
• Little Free Libraries
• Book swaps & Dawn declares “There are RULES for books swaps.”
• Don’t invite Roni to your book swap
• RAD Reading recs of the week

Click here to get the full show notes, including links to all of our recommendations and anything else we mentioned in the show.

• RAD Reading on Instagram
• RAD Reading Facebook Page
• RAD Reading Website
• RAD Rec Master List
• Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram
• Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.