Kiara Martinez of Solid State Books makes "Slow Burn" history as the first-ever two-time guest. This time around, she talks about the middle grade and young adult genres — and why adults should read them too.

On the list:

The music for this episode is "⁠⁠⁠⁠Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)⁠⁠⁠⁠" by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@slowburnpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠! Kiara is a writer and bookseller at ⁠Solid State Books⁠⁠. Follow her on Instagram ⁠@kiar.tiste⁠.

Bestselling monster romance author C.M. Nascosta pops in to share some recommendations from her body of work — just in time for spooky season.

On the list:

More from the monster universe:

The music for this episode is "⁠⁠⁠Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)⁠⁠⁠" by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@slowburnpodcast⁠⁠⁠! C.M. Nascosta is a writer of high-heat, small-town monster romance. Follow her on Instagram @cmnascosta⁠.

Kiara Martinez of Solid State Books roasts all of the bad books she's read — and admits that she even liked some of them!

Kiara's official recommendations:

Regular old books that we touch on:

The music for this episode is "⁠⁠Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)⁠⁠" by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram ⁠⁠@slowburnpodcast⁠⁠! Kiara is a writer, bad book connoisseur, and bookseller at Solid State Books⁠. Follow her on Instagram @kiar.tiste.

Christine Bollow of Loyalty Bookstore makes the case for reading by listening.

Christine's official recommendations:

Book cameos:

The music for this episode is "⁠Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)⁠" by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram ⁠@slowburnpodcast⁠! Christine is a bookseller, audiobook champion, and the Director of Programming and a co-owner of ⁠Loyalty Bookstore⁠. Follow her bookstagram @readingismagical.

Carly Biesiada of Chamblin Bookmine introduces me to the world of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

On the agenda:

Other books that came up in our conversation:

The music for this episode is "Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)" by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram @slowburnpodcast! You can find Carly at Chamblin Bookmine, where she is the general manager or on TikTok at @my.eight.arms.

Jacinta Allee of Lost City Books and I chat about the unfairly maligned romance genre and its many hidden gems.

On the agenda:

Honorable mentions (not necessarily romance, just #goodebooks):

The music for this episode is “Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)” by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram @slowburnpodcast! You can find Jacinta at Lost City Books, where she works as a full-time bookseller and advocate for "women's lit" and organizes the store's Meet Cute Book Club.

Chardai Powell of Loyalty Bookstores speaks about essays on Black vulnerability and shares the pearls of wisdom she’s gleaned from a lifetime of reading.

On the agenda:

Honorable mentions:

The music for this episode is “Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)” by Zight. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram @slowburnpodcast! For more from Char, follow her bookstagram on Black literature @pageswithcharr.

I work my way through a list of books under 300 pages with my dear friend and fellow bookworm Shelby Ernest.

This week’s recommendations:

Subscribe to the show for more reading recommendations and advice!

The music for this episode is a remix of “Daisy (EDM/Instrumental)” by Zight, and the cover art uses material from PNGs by Vecteezy. Subscribe to the show and follow us on Instagram @slowburnpodcast!

Welcome to "Slow Burn," a podcast for slow readers. Each episode, I talk with people I like about books they recommend. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the show. We're on Instagram at @slowburnpodcast. Reach out with topic suggestions or if you know a bookseller who'd like to come on the show. Keep listening and keep on reading!