Ren Reads Too Much Podcast

Full disclosure, I recorded this a few weeks ago, and I’m just now getting the chance to post it! So if it seems like I’m all “Hooray! Fall is finally here in the middle (end?) of October, know that I’m the weird one, not you! But now that we are firmly in the -ber months, all I want is cozy, not creepy.

This week, I leaned into fall vibes with a mix of fanfic, plays, and a few go-to comfort re-reads. Sensitive nervous system energy is high right now for me, and I’m not above admitting that sometimes even “spooky season” means drawing the line at what feels good for my brain.

A loving reminder that you don’t have to prove anything to anyone with your reading choices!

As always, turning to old favorites is a major barometer for how I’m doing emotionally. If I’m craving a return to the Twilight series, it’s usually because I’m not at my best, and that’s okay. Rereading isn’t a reading rut: it’s a self-check-in.

Fall is when I most want to nest, eat imaginary apple cider donuts (damn you, gluten!!!), and just find joy wherever it decides to show up. Cozy reads, a bit of gentle self-care, and books that make space for imperfection were exactly what I needed.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

* Yaga by Kat Sandler

* The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

* Role Model by Rachel Reid

* Goblin Mode: How to Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection, and Thrive in the Muck by Michaela Coyle **Click here to join us inside The Joyful Reader Society to talk about this one on October 27, 2026!!

* The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius by Kendra Adachi

* influential men by lyric_ghost on AO3

* Always Watching by shadow_lillies on AO3

* we go on walks by tootwonnewts on AO3

💬 Let’s Chat

When I recorded this, I was thinking a lot about community and how we might carve out a little quieter space to talk books without all the online chaos.

One of the reasons it took me so long to get this up and posted was because I built that space for us!

The Joyful Reader Society is now live on Skool! 👈 Click the link to read with us!

You can join us as a founding member for just $5/month from now until November 1, 2026, then it goes up to $11/month. You’ll get access to our three monthly book chats (we do a fiction and nonfiction book chat each month, as well as our Silent Reading Book Club). Please note that paid members here on Substack also get access to the monthly Silent Reading Book Club!

While we’re waiting for our next Book Chat, remember that you never need to justify loving what you love! So let’s talk: what’s one book or story you always turn to when the world gets loud and you need comfort?

It’s officially cardigan season, and I am fully leaning into the cozy vibes. But this week, my reading life has been a mix of comfort and challenge.

While I’ve snuggled up with some heartwarming fanfiction to counterbalance the heavier nonfiction titles I’ve been working through, I’ve also been reflecting on how necessary that balance really is for me, especially when life feels a little too full.

That tension between needing soft landing spots and wanting (needing?) to tackle the harder stuff has shown up lately in my self-care, too. Sometimes the best thing I can do is let myself slow down and process whether that means walking with the dog, putting my legs up the wall, or just logging off entirely from the comments section (highly recommend, honestly).

And as always, reading has been the most reliable reset button…even the uncomfortable, thought-provoking books have their place.

This week, I dove back into Yaga by Kat Sandler, and without any spoilers, I’ll just say: endings that surprise me are a rare, rare treat.

Reading a play was a fun detour from my usual reads. I’m really looking forward to seeing the story play out in its new TV adaptation, even as I am wistful that I’m unlikely to see a stage production of the play anytime soon. And, of course, I’m most excited to talk about it all with you inside The Joyful Reader Society!

👉 Lock in your founding member rate of $5/month or $50/year when you join us here before November 1, 2026!

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* Yaga by Kat Sandler

* Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be by Robyn Koslowitz PhD

* Existential Kink: Unmask Your Shadow and Embrace Your Power; A Method for Getting What You Want by Getting Off on What You Don’t by Carolyn Elliott PhD

* Map Contact by Regolith (metonym) on AO3

* Somebody To Love by shadow_lilies on AO3

💬 Let’s Chat

Whether your version of self-care is a new book, a reread, or just carving out time to rest, I hope you’re finding what you need this week. How do you balance comfort reading with books that challenge you a little more, especially when everything else feels overwhelming?

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

This week, I took a detour from my usual “what I’m reading” updates to talk about homeschooling: the messy, creative, deeply imperfect way we’ve done it for thirteen years now.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from others who are homeschooling, or thinking about it, and it felt like the right time to share what’s worked for us and talk realistically about finding your own rhythm when the traditional school system doesn’t fit your kid’s needs.

We come to this as secular homeschoolers, meaning we don’t incorporate any religious teachings into our lessons, and that’s because…

I had to homeschool out of necessity.

My oldest simply wasn’t going to make it in a classroom when they were little.

Each year I’ve tweaked and adapted what we do to fit both my kids’ needs, while also prioritizing Lesson #1 of how not to go insane while homeschooling: your needs as the homeschooling parent matter too!

Some days as a parent feel magical, and some days don’t.

This book list will help you get through them all…even if you’re not homeschooling.

This episode talks beyond “how-tos” - although I did link to a few of my favorite homeschool books.

More so, I talked about parenting tools, executive functioning support, home organizing, and creativity. Honestly, the real work of parenting, no matter how you choose to educate your kid/s, is about meeting their needs, getting through the tough days, and finding tiny bits of joy and humanity for yourself in the process.

Whether you’re celebrating the first week of school back-to-school, all-in on homeschooling, just coasting through, or somewhere in between, I hope you find something that brings you a little peace in the (probable) chaos you’re experiencing.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.

* Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp (I’ve always used the 2nd Edition, but it looks like a new 3rd edition released on September 15, 2026...which is nice because the 2nd edition from 2020 is a little outdated. Might have to buy the new edition!)

* The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart

* Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Research & Planning by Ann Karako

* The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education by Grace Llewellyn

* Smart but Scattered Teens: The “Executive Skills” Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential by Richard Guare, Peg Dawson, and Colin Guare [ Here is the version for 4-13-year-olds, Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary Executive Skills Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential | And the one for emerging adults, Smart but Scattered--and Stalled: 10 Steps to Help Young Adults Use Their Executive Skills to Set Goals, Make a Plan, and Successfully Leave the Nest ]

* The Artist’s Way for Parents: Raising Creative Children by Julia Cameron and Emma Lively

* Simply Clean: The Proven Method for Keeping Your Home Organized, Clean, and Beautiful in Just 10 Minutes a Day by Becky Rapinchuk

* How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis, LPC

* Organizing Your Day: Time Management Techniques That Will Work for You by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims [ Please note that this book appears to be out of print. ]

* Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy Home by Laura Linn Knight

* Calm the Chaos: A Fail-Proof Road Map for Parenting Even the Most Challenging Kids by Dayna Abraham

💬 Let’s Chat

What helps you feel like you’re doing okay as a parent or educator (even if it doesn’t look “normal”)? I’d love to hear your wins, or even the things you’ve let go of lately.

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

August is traditionally a challenging month around my house, and this year was a double dose whammy…It’s been a couple of weeks since my last podcast update. But I should be back to my regularly scheduled weekly updates going forward.

This episode pairs two books that seem like they wouldn’t go together, but they help explain the current state of the US right now in a way I’ve not seen addressed together: Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back by Marc J. Dunkelman and The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller. Truly fascinating when read together as a tandem read!

It also covers a little bit of everything I’ve been reading (as of a few weeks ago). We’ve got both fiction and nonfiction, new-to-me books and familiar favorites, an old-school romance I enjoyed more than I expected (it was so silly!), a graphic novel anthology about life on the autism spectrum that is a great read for tweens and up, and even a little fanfic for good measure (and dopamine).

One of the benefits of me posting this a bit late is that if you choose to read Map Contact, the story is now in a much better place than when I first recorded this episode. It’s still a WIP that gets updated regularly, but [ Spoiler Alert ] the idiots are in love, and they are working it out now.

And because this episode was recorded during peak wildfire season, we’ve got cats wandering around while freaking out, smoke making me slightly loopy, and more hydration breaks than usual.

Just consider it part of the experience.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back by Marc J. Dunkelman

* The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller

* The Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

* Who Deserves Your Love: How to Create Boundaries for Healthier Relationships by KC Davis, LPC

* Map Contact by Regolith (metonym) on A03

* The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

* Sensory: Life on the Spectrum: An Autistic Comics Anthology by Bex Ollerton

💬 Let’s Chat

Was there a book that found you at just the right time and made everything “click,” or at least made things a little more bearable?

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

The past few weeks, things got a little bit spicy off the podcast too. One of my videos went pretty freaking viral (it’s now at over a million views, which is banana pants). And boy, did the questions and comments roll in!

Some of them were gentle curiosity about why I love certain stories so much, and others…well, the internet can be a wild and miserable place.

I went partial turtle-mode the past few weeks while dealing with the aftermath of the dysregulating nature of virality and being so very, very misperceived. I actually recorded this episode a few weeks ago, and wasn’t able to get it live for a bunch of reasons.

But, I wanted to open up about what I’ve been reading and give some honest answers to the valid questions that keep turning up in my DMs.

So I dove into all of it: queer romance, whether I left a perfectly happy marriage just because I fell for two fictional hockey players, and why representation matters. Plus, how reading MM romance has shifted how I look at men (in a good way), and how finding yourself in a story - or seeing a better version of love - can make you want more for yourself…and how that’s a good thing!

I also address the “are you fetishizing this?” and “are you just here for the spice?” concerns.

My answer: I’m here for love, growth, and seeing characters choose each other again and again, even when life isn’t easy. And I’m always down for a Happy Ever After - or at least a “happy for now” ending, which is a requirement of romance books, no matter the gender, sexuality - or number - of characters.

Remember my friend, stories give us language for joy and comfort, as they offer us new perspectives on our lives. I’m not apologizing for chasing all of that….

Or for loving a little bit of spicy smoochiness along the way.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* Keep Moving by Maggie Smith

* Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back by Marc J. Dunkelman

* Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey

* James Patterson by James Patterson

* Super Straight Broz (Live) by stickyslut17 on AO3

* Thin Ice by NortonAnthology on AO3

* Is Just a Ten Year Plan to F*ck by akatomlinson on AO3

* I Only Have Eyes For You by Norton Anthology on AO3

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

💬 Let’s Chat

Now I’m curious…has a book or show ever made YOU rethink something about your own life? What was the book, and what did you do differently?!

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

I did something a little wild this episode: instead of breaking down a couple of books I’m currently reading, I walked you through all 50 books I finished for my local library’s ultimate book nerd competition.

Putting the list together was both a celebration and a chance to look back at what made the cut (because honestly, if I finished it, it was at least worth the time).

As I went through the different categories, from “book with a purple cover” to “magical realism” to “written by an author from Alaska,” I noticed a lot of recurring themes in my choices: spicy romances, sports (especially hockey), some wild paranormal plots, and more Rachel Reid than I realized.

And, sometimes, books just didn’t click for me, and that’s okay!

Not every book needs to be life-changing to make your reading life a little more interesting, or even just fill a category so you can move on.

I also talked a bit about how reading challenges like this push me outside my comfort zone (even if I take the shortcut and find the shortest book possible for a dreaded prompt).

But that’s what I love about it…letting myself try things, DNF the duds, and figure out what feels joyful or useful right now.

Sometimes that’s a feel-good romance; sometimes it’s sitting in big feelings with a book that makes you uncomfortable or reflective.

🎧 More Podcasts!

Not to be too meta about the whole thing, but I did talk about two of my other podcast episodes on this one.

Check them out if you’re in the mood for a deep dive on the Game Changers Series or The Mountain Is You (which I almost completely forgot to talk about)!

Dopamine, Smut, and Self-Help: Curating a Reading Life That Feels Good | Episode 13

The Magic of Parallel Perspectives in Series Like Game Changers and Twilight | Episode 15

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit. You can find the entire list organized into a handy-dandy spreadsheet, along with authors and categories, here!

* The Re Do List

* Nevermore Bookstore

* Expiration Dates

* Savage Hearts

* Book Love

* Just One Taste

* Neon Gods

* Role Model

* Stop Letting Everything Affect You

* That One Night

* The Joy Luck Club

* Pucking Around

* Legends and Librarians

* Rejected Mate

* Love and Saffron

* One and Only

* Tough Guy

* The Mountain Is You

* The Age of Overwhelm

* Canadian Boyfriend

* Brutal Vows

* Wild Card

* Lobizona

* Twisted Soul

* Olive Kitteridge

* Cursed King

* Beautiful Exile

* This is Happiness

* A Murder on London Bridge

* Ice Bet

* The Long Game

* Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day

* The Witch

* Divine Fate

* The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

* Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

* The Empty Land

* How to Help a Hungry Werewolf

* Cocky Score

* Heated Rivalry

* Common Goal

* The Shots You Take

* Game Changers

* Untamed Mate

* Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

* The Serviceberry

* Roman Stories

* The Library of the Unwritten

* Magical Meet Cute

* The Snow Child

💬 Let’s Chat

Have you ever done an Ultimate or Extreme Book Nerd Challenge? If so, what did you think?

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

This week, my reading life has been all over the place! From comfort to transformation, and sometimes right back to comfort.

I bounced around between a few physical books, but let’s be honest: it’s been a big fanfic and smut week for me. If you’ve ever needed a permission slip to lean all the way into what actually feels good to read, this is it.

There was a time when I didn’t even want to touch books with “spicy” content. But life changes, and Gentle Reader, I am not the same person I used to be. Thank goodness!

Turns out, sometimes the thing that makes you blush or roll your eyes is exactly the thing that cracks something open in you once your nervous system is ready for the reset it offers.

These stories have been more than just an escape for me; reading them challenged what I thought I deserved…from books, from relationships, from my own life. There’s something powerful in joyfully choosing what makes you feel seen, wanted, or just a little less alone.

And I’m not apologizing for any of it!

Fanfic, smut, middle grade, highbrow, whatever, I’m done policing my own reading life (or much else for that matter).

Finding the joy and sparkle in the pages (or on AO3) has changed things for me in ways I didn’t expect, and reading, especially the stuff I once side-eyed, has genuinely helped me move through some messy, hard seasons.

Sometimes spicy books bring you back to yourself. I’m living proof of it.

This one is a bit of a longer episode, but I cry at the end, so be sure to stick around for that! 🙃

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

* The Joy of Doing Nothing by Rachel Jonat

* Welcome to Deadhouse by R.L. Stine

* Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

* blowback by 21cg on AO3 (fan fic)

* faded on the fine lines by impetuous on AO3 (fan fic)

💬 Let’s Chat

What kind of book or story has helped you feel less alone, or helped you realize you deserve more? Maybe it wasn’t smut…or maybe it was 😎 Share in the comments below!

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

This week, I’m leaning all the way into what reading looks like when your brain and your body aren’t always on your side.

After a June full of burnout and chronic pain days, it feels especially honest to talk about how books slide into those little gaps where the world feels like too much, or your body just won’t cooperate.

Reading has always felt like the most accessible kind of comfort…a way to cope, to rest, and to keep a little piece of magic in my pocket when everything else gets loud.

Living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has forced me to navigate energy limits and pain in ways I didn’t always want to admit. Books are often the one thing my hands (decorative, hypermobile, and, yes, slightly useless most days) can hold…sometimes with assistive gear, sometimes with a lot of breaks.

There’s a weird sense of anxiety that comes with a body you can’t trust from moment to moment, and reading is one of the few places I don’t have to negotiate with myself about rest or productivity.

From the DMs I’ve received, I know there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you get it. The secret menu of life hacks, the days spent figuring out how to exist when your body and mind have their own ideas. Struggling with a brain and/or a body that won’t just bend to your whimsy and your will…

I’m not here to hand out unsolicited advice, but I hope sharing a little bit of my own mess and magic makes it easier for you to feel seen. Whether you’re managing chronic illness, neurodivergence, or just need someone to scream “electrolytes!” at you for moral support, you’re in good company.

And if you want to read more about how I manage life with my own chronic health challenges, check out my article Chronic Illness, Reading, and Building a Life Bigger Than Pain, here! It’s got a pretty sweet book list of all my favorite books and a list of resources that have helped me tremendously.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan…Rereading this as an almost-parent of adults is giving me a whole new perspective

* Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May…A must for anyone needing permission for true rest and retreat.

* The CreativeAct: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin…the peanut butter to Big Magic’s jelly for creatives!

* Black Dog by delagauchetiere on AO3 (fan fic, FTW 🙌🏻 )...sweet + spicy is a healing combo and this fic has plenty of both.

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

This week I’m living for the way reading has completely cracked open my creativity, especially the kind that’s shown up in fandom spaces lately.

My reading life is spinning out all this energy, and it’s turning into real-world projects, joy, and small acts of rebellion.

Books aren’t just for reading…they’re fuel for investing back into my own creative work, whether that means making cross-stitches, designing weird t-shirts, or putting together this very podcast.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how making art (whatever “art” looks like for you) can be an anchor. The Amy McNee book I picked up this week kind of handed me a whole permission slip to create for the sake of it, and it landed hard.

It reminded me there’s no “right way” - your version of art can be silly, small, or something you never even share. But for me, making things has always been how I carve out a little more space for joy, and I want the same for you!

There’s a wild, giddy magic in being part of an online fandom where people are just constantly making things for each other…

AO3 fics, threads, edits, cross-stitches, shirts, fan art - if you want proof that the world isn’t totally broken, scroll around and see how much pure, feral joy comes from us just deciding to make something for no other reason than that it feels good.

It’s not about being the best or impressing everyone. It’s about connection, community, and giving yourself permission to create something, even if nobody but you ever sees it.

Bringing it back to being wild and feral, please check out the amazing artwork that riris_drawings is sharing with the world over on Instagram…all my fellow long-haired Shane enthusiasts, gird yourselves because you will not be disappointed!

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* We Need Your Art by Amie McNee

* Beep by Bill Roorbach

* It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken

* Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

* Black Dog by delagauchetiere (fan fic on AO3)

💬 Let’s Chat

So if you’re sitting on a creative urge and don’t know where to start, take this as your sign. Go make something, even if it’s messy, silly, or smaller than you hoped. Honestly, what’s the last thing you made purely for the joy of making it?

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!

This month was a crash course in burnout, resilience, and remembering how important it is to let books and small routines take care of you when real life feels a little too real.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: between family changes, tough conversations, and the general chaos that seems to come with June, my energy for showing up in any “official” capacity bottomed out. But you know what? That’s okay.

Old Ren would have called it failing; this Ren can actually see the growth in knowing when to rest instead of pushing through.

What helped the most wasn’t new releases, productivity, or keeping up with The Discourse on social media...so much discourse!

It was building intentional pockets of joy…reading comfort books, reaching for fanfic, spending time crafting, and accepting support from both the online and IRL communities that have somehow managed to make even hard weeks feel a little less lonely.

Sometimes you just need stories to wash over you, without expectations.

I’ve been leaning into books that make me feel good, fanfics written purely for joy, and remembering that reading what I like (even if it’s a spicy AO3 chapter or the tenth ReReid) is not something I need to justify to anyone.

A little joy, or even a momentary distraction, is enough in a season where you’re just putting one foot in front of the other.

📚 Books Mentioned

Some of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.

* Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

* Time to Shine by Rachel Reid

* We Need Your Art by Amy McNee

💬 Let’s Chat

If you’ve ever found yourself relying on old favorites or communal stories to get through a tough week, I’m right there with you. So let’s be honest: when was the last time your reading life felt like pure self-care and not something you had to perform for anyone else?

👕 Like the shirt? Get yours here!