In honor of our 40th birthdays (March 5th for Mia, March 15th for Sarah), we’re sharing with you our top 40 all time favorite books. They’re not in any particular order and they cross all genres and all publishing years, but we love them with our whole hearts. We’d love to know if any of these books are on your favorites list as well. Thanks for celebrating this milestone birthday with us!

 

Mia’s Top 20:

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The Stand by Stephen King

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George

Ten Degrees of Reckoning by Hester Rumberg

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Fluke by David Elliott and Bart Hopkins

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Adrift by Tami Oldham Ashcraft

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger

In the Land of Dead Horses by Bruce McCandless III

 

Sarah’s Top 20:

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Already Enough by Lisa Olivera

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

Unprotected by Billy Porter

 

*We use affiliate links which gives us a small kickback if you purchase through our links - but don’t worry, there’s no extra cost to you!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

We read A LOT of books and the number one question we get is how we do it. Well, never fear, we have some great tips in this minisode for you to help you read more books more frequently. It can be done, we promise!

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Books We Both Love, Monthly Overflow Books, Bookish Conundrums, and The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

Bookish Goodies:

[3:00] Sarah - Scribd - use this link for 60 days free!

[4:15] Mia - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

[6:35] 8 Tips on How to Read More Related Links:

Episode 27: How to DNF a Book

 

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* 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.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Listener-favorite episode alert! It’s our monthly recap and we’re sharing with you the books we read in July. We’re glad to report that we had an extremely good reading month with lots of 5 star books. We hope you had a good reading month, too!

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Something Bookish:

[5:48] M: Pedro Pascal bookmarks on Etsy

[6:45] S: Bookstore hack: keep a list of books you want to find on your phone

 

The Books We Read in July:

[10:25] Both: Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

[15:03] S: You, Again by Kate Goldbeck (Sept 12)

[16:44] M: Funny Bones by Dr. David Friedman

[18:15] S: Pageboy by Elliot Page

[20:27] M: The Travel Bog Diaries by Liz Deacle

[22:17] S: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

[24:08] M: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

[26:28] S: Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

[28:50] M: The Possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love

 

[31:06] The Rest of the Books We Read in July

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @miamanagementco 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Happy 100th episode, woohoo! What a milestone. We’re really excited to celebrate with you in this episode. We asked and you all wanted a little bit of everything for today’s show and we are happy to oblige. We play a fun game, share some of our favorite books so far this year, and we reflect back on what it’s been like recording the podcast for 100 episodes. Come join the party!

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[3:32] S: New book light

[4:36] M: Team Sarah vs. Team Mia reader quiz

Episode 50, Ask Us Anything

 

[6:30] Bookish Guessing Game

 

[18:00] Favorite Books of 2023 So Far:

[18:31] M: The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

[19:08] S: Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

[19:54] M: A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

[20:48] S: The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn

[21:31] M: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

[22:06] S: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

[22:48] M: In the Land of Dead Horses by Bruce McCandless III

[23:34] S: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

[24:21] M: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 

[25:04] S: I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin

 

[25:44] Our Thoughts on Recording a Podcast for 100 Episodes (plus bonus episodes!)

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @miamanagementco 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Summer isn’t quite over yet, but we’re gettin’ there! The pressure is on for us to finish some of our summer TBR books. You won’t be at all surprised to hear that we have different definitions of what constitutes a summer read. 

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[2:34] S: Scribd (get 60 days free with this link!)

[4:15] M: NetGalley

 

Books We Need to Read Before Summer Ends: 

[6:16] S: Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

[8:01] M: Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

[9:11] S: After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

[10:29] M: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

[11:51] S: Talking at Night by Claire Daverley

[12:39] M: Writers & Lovers by Lily King

[13:47] S: Normal People by Sally Rooney

[14:45] M: Sour Lake by Bruce McCandless III

[16:01] S: Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

[17:24] M: The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @miamanagementco 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

It’s been a long time since we’ve done an episode specifically about audiobooks, so we want to revisit the topic again today. We’re sharing some of our favorite fiction and nonfiction books we’ve read recently, plus a few we hope to read soon. Happy listening!

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[3:16] M: Book Off! Podcast

[4:04] S: Pencilvania by Stephanie Watson

 

Fiction Audiobooks We’ve Loved Recently: 

[8:27] M: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

[9:42] S: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

[10:28] M: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

[11:20] S: Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

[12:03] M: The One by John Marrs

[12:44] S: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

[13:28] M: The Measure by Nikki Erlick

[14:15] S: Happy Place by Emily Henry

[14:41] M: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

[15:32] S: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

[16:08] S: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

[16:44] S: Love and Saffron by Kim Fay

[17:07] S: Yellowface by RF Kuang

 

Nonfiction Audiobooks We’ve Loved Recently:

[17:45] M: Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson

[18:27] S: Spare by Prince Harry

[18:34] S: I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein

[18:52] S: Already Enough by Lisa Olivera

[19:12] S: Scenes From My Life by Michael K. Williams

[19:29] S: Finding Me by Viola Davis

 

Audiobooks We’re Excited to Read Soon:

[19:58] S: Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

[20:16] M: Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

[21:02] S: Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

[21:36] M: Making a Scene by Constance Wu

[21:56] S: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

[22:26] M: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd 

 

Also Mentioned: 

RTL Episode 56, Learning to Love Audiobooks

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @miamanagementco 

 

* 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.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Mia has been not-so-patiently waiting to bring this topic to the show and we’re so excited about this discussion. Books have long been the source of movies and TV shows and today, we’re talking about the adaptations we love, the ones we don’t love, and the ones we wish existed. Tune in to see if we talked about your favorites. 

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[3:26] M: Read, Relax, and Recharge - the #1 subscription box for introverts

[4:28] S: The Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn   

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Books We Wish Would Be Adapted into Movies or Shows: 

[8:44] M: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

[9:26] S: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

[10:01] M: Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton

[11:55] S: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

[12:44] M: Out of Esau by Michelle Webster Hein

[13:38] S: The Measure by Nikki Erlick

[15:05] M: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

[16:02] S: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

[16:28] M: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

[17:35] S: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

 

[18:25] Wonderful Adaptations That Already Exist

 

[21:27] Adaptations in Production That We’re Excited/Nervous About

 

[24:19] Adaptations That Got It Totally Wrong

 

[27:13] Adaptations That We Haven’t Seen Yet But Plan to

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @miamanagementco 

 

* 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.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Another month is in the books! See what we did there? *wink* Here’s our recap of 10 books we read in June. As usual, they span all different types of genres because we like to keep it fresh around these parts. We hope you find more books to add to your TBR. The rest of the books we read in June will be in our Overflow episode available this Friday to our patrons. Happy reading!

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Projects We’re Working On Behind the Scenes:

[6:45] M: Mia relaunched her online business management (OBM) business, Mia Management Co. If you know any small biz owners who feel overwhelmed, send them Mia’s way.

[8:09] S: Sarah has 7 amazing courses for sale on her website on topics like body image, self-worth, friendship, and more. Check them out and spread the word.  

 

The Books We Read in June: 

[11:48] M: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

[13:50] S: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

[17:42] M: A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver

[18:58] S: Second Best by David Foenkinos (Sept 2023)
[21:01] M: The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

[23:22] S: Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
[25:19] M: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

[27:18] S: The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
[29:33] M: A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

[31:23] S: Scenes From My Life by Michael K. Williams

 

[33:38] The Extra Books We Read in June

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @thekindredwriters 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

We have no shame in our reading game here at Reading Through Life, but we totally get it that some people might be hesitant to share what they’re reading for fear of getting judged. But you know us, we’re going to talk about it all. Here are some books we’ve loved that people might consider guilty pleasures. Don’t send us hate mail. 

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[3:08] S: Sarah is reading romance books by the pool this summer and loving it. 

[4:13] M: Mia needs all the caffeine she can get these days. If you’re in the same boat, check out one of our coffee mugs in the merch shop: RTL classic mug, What Would Sarah Do? mug, and I Like Sad Books mug

 

Books Mentioned: 

[7:50] M: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

[9:34] S: The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

[10:36] M: Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

[11:57] S: Avalon Bay series by Elle Kennedy

[13:16] M: Divergent series by Veronica Roth

[14:45] S: The Selection series by Kiera Cass

[16:18] M: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

[18:13] S: Spare by Prince Harry

The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

Brothers and Wives by Christopher Andersen

Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie

The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

[19:30] M: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

[20:48] S: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Under the Influence by Noelle Crooks

 

Also Mentioned:

• Episode 75, What We Read in January (2023) - where Mia talked about Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

• Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake series) by Laurell K. Hamilton

 

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @thekindredwriters 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe

Show notes:

Today’s episode is all about the underrated book gems that haven’t gotten a lot of buzz for whatever reason. We want to change that, of course, because we loved these books and they deserve all the recognition and high praise. Come celebrate these amazing books with us! 

 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you’re going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you’re helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. 

 

Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned.

 

Support indie bookstores by shopping our picks on Bookshop.org!

 

Something Bookish:

[3:04] S: Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style by Paul Rudnick

[4:59] M: Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes 

 

Books Mentioned: 

[7:33] M: River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan

[8:51] S: How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann

[10:07] M: In the Land of Dead Horses by Bruce McCandless III

[11:13] S: The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

[12:10] M: The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

[13:00] S: Love Buzz by Neely Tubati-Alexander

[14:12] M: Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong

[15:20] S: The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook

[16:18] M: The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox

[17:33] S: A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

 

Also Mentioned:

• Book Break: The Books Everyone Will Be Talking About This Summer (video)

 

Follow RTL on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod

Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahhartleycoaching 

Follow Mia on Instagram: @fastlifeinslowlane + @thekindredwriters 

 

* 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.

 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingthroughlife.substack.com/subscribe