Reading Through Life

Show notes:

This episode is about “Roar” by Cecelia Ahern, which is a fictional short story collection about women who experience various things - all with a magical realism twist. BUT it’s also about more than that. It’s about being a woman and the situations we face daily - mom guilt, aging, gender roles in society, identity, comparison, and so much more. We talk about the stories that resonated with us (and the ones that didn’t) and, of course, we have some short story recommendations for you as well. And #sorrynotsorry in advance for how many times we mention genitals. 

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Roar by Cecelia Ahern (obviously!)
  • Sarah is currently reading: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  • Mia is still currently reading: Billy Summers by Stephen King
  • Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
  • Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
  • Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
  • Broken by Jenny Lawson

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Click here to join our brand new Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Show notes:

Could we even have a bookish podcast and not talk about libraries?! It’s impossible. Unsurprisingly, we both love our local libraries. Free books, tons of activities and resources - what’s not to love? Come nerd out on libraries with us. 

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Sarah is currently reading: Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
  • Mia is currently reading: Billy Summers by Stephen King
  • A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
  • Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline.
  • The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow
  • Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
  • The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
• Also mentioned:
• • Libby app
  • Audible 
  • Kindle app
  • Kanopy
  • Mango Languages
  • Mia’s giant stack of library books. If her library has a book limit, she hasn’t found it yet!
  • George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland

* 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. It’s just $5 a month and we know you’re going to love it.

Show notes:

It’s possible to be surrounded by our happy, laughing children (or unhappy screaming ones, let’s be real) and still feel lonely. As moms, we are often giving everything we have to our kids and losing sight of who we are as individuals. And between mothering and working and cleaning and cooking and everything else, who has time for friends?! We’re feelin’ lonely like a mother in this episode and talking about it all. Plus, learn everything you never wanted to know about Mia’s wonky ovary. 

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Sarah is currently reading: Out of the Water by Ann Marie Stewart
  • Mia is currently reading: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
  • The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr
  • The Introverted Mom by Jamie C. Martin
  • The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms
• Also mentioned:
• • Reading Through Life, episode 6: Sanity-Saving Life Hacks

* 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:

We read a LOT of books in September. Sarah and Mia read 13 and 11 books, respectively. What can we say? We’re book nerds and proud of it. In this episode, we share what we’re currently reading, what we read in September, and a few books we’re excited to read in October. If you’ve got any room left on your TBR (who are we kidding, there’s always room!), add some of these titles that pique your interest. All books, all the time. 

Related links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • Sarah’s books:
  • • The Husbands by Chandler Baker
    • The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
    • Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
    • Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
    • The Leftovers by Cassandra Parkin
    • The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
    • Yearbook by Seth Rogen
    • Roar by Cecilia Ahern
    • Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy
    • I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
    • The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
    • The Redshirt by Corey Sobel
    • The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
    • Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman [currently reading]
  • Mia’s books:
  • • Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder [currently reading]
    • A Promised Land by Barack Obama
    • Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman
    • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
    • These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
    • No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
    • Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
    • Legacy by Nora Roberts
    • Roar by Cecelia Ahern
    • In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers by Don Brown
    • This Very Tree by Sean Rubin
    • 30,000 Stitches by Amanda Davis
    • The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
    • Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

* 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.  It’s just $5 a month and we know you’re going to love it.

Show notes:

When you’re looking for books to read, do you often go to the New Releases and check those out first? We get it. There are always new and shiny books coming out. BUT hear us out. What about reading some backlist books instead? They need love too! In this episode, we’re talking about our favorite backlist books from years past and also a few that we still haven’t read yet (but plan to… at some point… maybe!).   

Related links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • Sarah’s books:
  • • The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller [currently reading]
    • Verity by Colleen Hoover
    • Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
    • Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
    • The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
    • Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
    • A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
    • Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks
    • True Colors by Kristin Hannah
    • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
    • Fates and Furies by Lauren Goff
  • Mia’s books:
  • • These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong [currently reading]
    • The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
    • The Passage by Justin Cronin
    • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
    • Fluke by David Elliott and Bart Hopkins
    • Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
    • Dune by Frank Herbert
    • Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker
    • The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

* 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.  It’s just $5 a month and we know you’re going to love it.

Show notes:

Yes, we can do hard things (that’s what SHE said!), but we’re all for making things as easy as possible. In this episode, we’re talking about the life hacks that save us time, money, and most importantly, our sanity! We gathered additional life hacks from members of our community, The Fireside, and we also share some book recs that we turn to for life advice. Alexa, play “Easy Like Sunday Morning”.  

Related links:

• Books mentioned:
• • Sarah is currently reading: The Redshirt by Corey Sobel
  • Mia is currently reading: Clade by James Bradley
  • The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi (and The Lazy Genius podcast)
  • Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
  • The Introverted Mom by Jamie C. Martin
• Also mentioned:
• • Merrick’s Art car kit blog post

* 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:

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.