Show notes:

How do you pick only 5 favorite all-time five star books? Why do we do this to ourselves?! Anyway, we tortured ourselves to bring you this episode and hope that you’ll find some great ones to add to your TBR list. We promise it’s not just Stephen King books and “The Idea of You”. Well, there will be some of that, let’s be real. 

Related links:

• Sarah’s 5 Star Reads:
• • Paris in Love by Eloisa James
  • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
  • Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Sarah’s Honorable Mentions:
• • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, 
  • Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, 
  • Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight, 
  • The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, 
  • The Royal We series by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, 
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab, 
  • Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy, 
  • Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
• Mia’s 5 Star Reads:
• • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  • Ten Degrees of Reckoning by Hester Rumberg
• Mia’s Honorable Mentions:
• • It by Stephen King; 
  • Carrie by Stephen King; 
  • 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• Other books mentioned:
• • Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy
  • Legacy by Nora Roberts
  • Wild by Cheryl Strayed
  • The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
  • Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links.

Click here to join The Fireside, our private community, to talk about all things life and books.  

At the beginning of this season we released an episode called the 10 Best Books We Read This Summer. The only problem? Sarah kept reading, finishing SIX other books and four of them were ones that you NEED to know about.

Books Mentioned:

• Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
• Finlay Donovan is Killing it by Elle Cosimano
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• Girl A by Abigail Dean
• Falling by TJ Newman

Show notes:

We’re getting comfy on the podcast therapy couch today! Sarah and Mia dive into those negative inner voices and critical thoughts that we often hear inside our heads; the ones that tell us we’re not good enough and keep us filled with fear and doubt. We also talk about where the heck these Negative Nancy voices came from and how we’re trying to move past them. 

Show quotes: 

“I think it's just the way I'm wired, because I'm such a perfectionist that when I go out to do these things, especially in a professional setting, I'm like, This isn't good enough.” -Sarah

“I don't think this comes as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I've always had a really difficult relationship with my mother and I think a lot of those voices come from her.” -Mia

Related links:

• Sign up for the Self-Worth Intensive
• Blog post: 4 Tips to Stop Negative Self-Talk by Nicole Hoglund
• Books mentioned:
• • Books by Lisa Jewell: Invisible Girl; Then She Was Gone
  • Falling by T.J. Newman
  • The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
  • The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
  • Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links.

Click here to join The Fireside, our private community, to talk about all things life and books.  

Show notes:

Books are our favorite things in the whole world, so we’re not exactly sure why we waited so long to have a bookish podcast. But here we are! In this episode, we’re giving you the scoop on what we’re reading right now, our “auto-buy” authors, how we read so many books each year, tropes we love and loathe, and so much more. Come be book nerds with us! 

Show quotes: 

“I’m that person who when my Kindle tells me I have an hour and 15 minutes left in a book, I'm like, I can do that in an hour and 7 minutes!” -Sarah 

“It was a fantasy of mine way back in the day that some gorgeous, sexy bad boy on a motorcycle was going to be like, Look at Mia reading that book like a nerd. I must be with her!” -Mia

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
  • Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
  • Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
  • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
  • Taylor Jenkins Reid books: Malibu Rising, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six
  • Lauren Weisberger books: The Devil Wears Prada, Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty
  • Kristin Hannah books: The Nightingale, The Great Alone
  • Katharine McGee books: American Royals series, The Thousandth Floor series
  • One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (available September 28)
  • Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (available September 14)

• Apps mentioned:
• • Goodreads
  • Airtable
  • Notion
  • Libby

• Other mentions:
• • Book Talk Etc. podcast
  • @bringmybooks for Trello organization

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links.

Click here to join The Fireside, our private community, to talk about all things life and books.  

Show notes:

Anger is a topic that isn’t talked about much in our everyday lives, but it needs to be. Sarah and Mia talk about the things that make them ragey and the shame spiral that inevitably follows. Come find out what makes Sarah give her husband the death stare and Mia give the middle finger salute to a stranger - and how they both feel about apologies.

Show quotes: 

“Kids, I've come to learn, know how to push every single button that you have. Even if you think it's a hidden button, they will find it and they will push it all day long.” - Sarah

“I'm very, very laid back and I'm also a recovering people pleaser, so I don't really let my emotions show or express my anger the way that I should.” - Mia

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Sadie by Courtney Summers
  • Horns by Joe Hill

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links.

Click here to join The Fireside, our private community, to talk about all things life and books.  

Show notes:

Here we go, it’s our first episode! We wanted to kick things off with our favorite topic: BOOKS. We are chatting about the genres we like to read, the book formats we enjoy, new releases vs. backlist titles, and best of all, we share our 10 best books of the summer. We have very different reading tastes, so this list will absolutely have something for everyone. Come chat books with us and add some titles to your TBR. 

Show quotes: 

“I always love a good classical book. Me and Charles Dickens are BFFs.” -Mia

“I discovered historical fiction a few years ago and that was all I read for basically an entire year.” -Sarah

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone; Siege and Storm; Ruin and Rising)
  • Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  • Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
  • Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton and Robert K. Oermann
  • Most Likely by Sarah Watson
  • Circe by Madeline Miller
  • What Comes After by Joanne Tompkins
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links.

Click here to join The Fireside, our private community, to talk about all things life and books.  

Welcome to Reading Through Life, a weekly podcast by two best friends who walk through life with great books and even better conversations. Together we created this podcast to talk about life honestly, experiences vulnerably, and the books that keep us going through it all.